Frithstool

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Frithstool, also called fridstool or frith stool, is an old English word for a seat of peace or sanctuary. In Anglo-Saxon times it could mean a safe place, a place of refuge, or a seat, usually stone, near the altar in some churches where someone seeking sanctuary was protected. The term could also refer to a palace or a privileged place.

The best-known surviving examples are in Beverley Minster, St Mary’s Church in Sprotbrough, and Hexham Abbey. Beverley’s frithstool has a Latin inscription: Haec sedes lapidea Freedstoll dicitur, i.e. Pacis Cathedra, ad quam reus fugiendo perveniens, omnimodam habet securitatem. Translation: This stone seat is called the Freedstoll, i.e. the Chair of Peace, to which a criminal arriving by flight has complete security.