Church Misericords and Bench Ends

Misericords, the ledges or 'mercy seats' provided for the comfort of the clergy while they sang the divine offices of the medieval Church, and the benches installed in parish churches in the later middle ages are the objects of a large proportion of the surviving medieval woodcarving in Britain. The subject matter of these carvings is not merely concerned with religion and religious symbolism. This book outlines the history of church seating, considers the status of the craftsmen and the influences on their work, and then explains the subject matter of the carvings.