- faldstool
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/fawld"stoohl'/, n.1. a chair or seat, originally one capable of being folded, used by a bishop or other prelate when officiating in his own church away from his throne or in a church not his own.2. a movable folding stool or desk at which worshipers kneel during certain acts of devotion.3. such a stool placed at the south side of the altar, at which the kings or queens of England kneel at their coronation.4. a desk at which the litany is said or sung.[1595-1605; < ML faldistolium < WGmc *faldistol (cf. OHG faltistuol, late OE faeldestol, fyldestol); see FOLD1, STOOL; cf. FAUTEUIL]
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a folding stool used by a Roman Catholic bishop when not occupying his throne in his own cathedral church, or when he is officiating outside his own church. Because the stool has no back, it can be used both for sitting and for kneeling when in prayer. By extension, the term came to mean any movable folding stool used for kneeling. A faldstool is commonly composed of two pairs of crossed legs pivoting at the intersection, with each pair joined by stretchers near ground level and by a flexible (usually fabric) seat at the top. A faldstool is provided for the use of the British sovereign at his or her coronation.* * *
Universalium. 2010.
