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{{Short description|Portable folding chair used for Christian services}}{{More citations needed|date=February 2018}}
[[File:Firenze.Palvecchio.500.chair.JPG|thumb|Faldstool displayed at [[Palazzo Vecchio]] in [[Florence, Italy]]]]
[[File:Cadira plegable.JPG|thumb|Reconstruction faldstool, folded and unfolded]]
[[File:Italy, 15th-16th century - Ecclesiastical Faldstool - 1942.616 - Cleveland Museum of Art.tif|thumb|Ecclesiastical faldstool, 1400s-1500s]]

'''Faldstool''' (from the [[Old High German|O.H. Ger.]] ''falden'' or ''falten'', "to fold," and ''stuol'', [[German Language|Mod. Ger.]] ''Stuhl'', "stool"; from the [[medieval Latin]] ''faldistolium'' derived, through the old form ''fauesteuil'', from the [[French language|Mod. Fr.]] ''fauteuil'') is a portable [[folding chair]], used by a [[bishop]] when not occupying the throne in his own [[cathedral]], or when officiating in a cathedral or church other than his own; hence any movable folding stool used during divine service.<ref>{{EB1911 |wstitle=Faldstool |volume=10 |page=147 |inline=1}}</ref>

Whatever the origins, it is difficult not to note the general resemblance to the [[curule chair]] or '''''sella curulis''''', which according to [[Livy]] supposedly derived its name from ''currus'', "chariot", and like the [[Toga|Roman toga]] originated in [[Etruria]], but much earlier stools supported on a cross-frame are known from the [[New Kingdom of Egypt]].

Just as a [[campstool]] of similar form came to be used by military commanders in the field, so it became the ceremonial chair that accompanied the bishop in his official [[Canonical Visitation|visitation]]s. The bishop will either use the faldstool as a seat, or kneel in front of it, resting his forearms on it in prayer like a [[prie-dieu]], depending upon the [[rubric]]al requirements. Other [[prelate]]s may be granted the use of a faldstool during services, with certain limitations. The faldstool may be covered with silk cloth in red, green or violet, depending upon the liturgical season or the rank of the prelate.

In the [[Anglican Church]], a faldstool is a desk at which a [[litany]] is recited. It also refers to the small, upholstered [[prie-dieu]] at which the [[British sovereign]] and the [[List of British consorts|royal consort]] kneel during important religious services such as [[Coronation of the British Monarch|coronations]] and weddings.

The term ''faldistory'' has a similar meaning.

== See also ==
*[[Adirondack chair]]
*[[Aeron chair]]
*[[Barcelona chair]]
*[[Curule chair]]
*[[Glastonbury chair]]
*[[List of chairs]]
*[[Wassily Chair]]
* [[Watchman's chair]]
* [[X-chair]]
* [[Throne of Dagobert]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}
*''[[American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language]]'' ([[Houghton-Mifflin]] Co. Boston, 1973), s.v., "faldstool".

==External links==
{{Wiktionary}}

*{{cite Catholic Encyclopedia|wstitle=Faldstool|volume=5|first=Francis|last=Mershman}}

[[Category:Chairs]]
[[Category:Furniture]]

Faldstool - Revision history

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