Miserichords, Little Malvern Priory

Monks would have spent a long time standing during their religious services. It must have been a relief to have been able to perch on these large wooden folding seats, which are called miserichords.
I doubt if the equivalent of the modern cushions pictured here would have been available, though given the relatively bountiful and rich diet in most monasteries, I reckon there would probably have been quite a bit of natural padding in place.

Comments

[Josephine]

I love the frame of this photograph. Very unique. How old is this place?

[Peter Bryenton]

Thank you, Josephine. It's often quite a useful pictorial device, a frame-within-a-frame. Getting this one right involved my leaning out of the pulpit.
Little Malvern Priory dates from around 1075 A.D.