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rescue a word: faldstool

August 12th, 2008 · 6 Comments

There are so many wonderful words in Dr Johnson’s Dictionary that don’t get the attention they deserve. Let’s dust them off and bring them back

faldstool. n.s. A kind of stool placed at the south-side of the altar, at which the kings of England kneel at their coronation

This word will really come into its own at the next coronation when you can impress people with your knowledge of stools. It could also be useful in scrabble

[The modern definition is a bishop’s folding chair, when he’s not sitting on the throne or a mobile desk or stool used for prayer] And yes, what about the queens of England, hmm?

Example of this word in literature:

A poet who may have been called Turoldus wrote

Un faldestoed i unt fait tut d’or mer,
La siet li reis ki dulce France tient.
Blanche ad la barbe e tut flurit le chef,
Gent ad le cors e le cuntenant fier;
S’est k·il demandet, ne l’estoet enseigner.

Is your Old French not what it used to be?

Upon a faldstool wrought in purest gold
Sits Charlemagne, the king who rules all France.
White is his beard and hoary is his head,
His stature noble and his countenance proud –
No need to point him out to any man.

(Song of Roland, Stanza VIII, line 115)

Tags: rescue a word

6 responses so far ↓

  • 1 warthog // Aug 15, 2008 at 12:35 pm

    Yes, it is a bishop’s folding chair.
    Tell me about it. I was cleaning our cathedral’s the other week.
    The state he’d got it in….chewing gum stuck all over the underside…squashed and melted chocolate raisins all over the velour.

    Bloody typical.

  • 2 squib // Aug 15, 2008 at 12:41 pm

    raofl!!

    Nobody seemed to like this word Wart. I will have to find a really exciting one for next week

  • 3 Rocafuentes // Aug 15, 2008 at 3:11 pm

    raofl?
    Please expand

  • 4 Matilda // Aug 15, 2008 at 3:39 pm

    rolling around on the floor laughing?

  • 5 Rocafuentes // Aug 16, 2008 at 10:38 am

    isn’t that a tad uncomfortable?

  • 6 squib // Aug 16, 2008 at 11:05 am

    All stools are a bit uncomfortable

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