CHAIRS

Have you seen a picture of the Last Supper with Jesus and his Apostles sitting around a table and breaking bread?  I'm sure you have.  Well, don't believe it. The custom at the time was to "recline at table".  There may have been some pillows on the floor but almost certainly not chairs.  If there was a table, it was only a few inches off the floor.

Leonardo Da Vinci's famous work depicting a long table with chairs is what a person would expect at the time he made the painting in the late 15th century -  not 33 AD.  Chairs were not commonly found in homes until the Middle Ages (5th - 15th centuries).   

Chairs were first made for Kings and other royalty. The Chair was a sign of one's power and dignity.  There was usually only one chair in a castle or a building of government like the Roman Senate.  Our government buildings and court rooms are fashioned in this manor.  The seating for the congress or common people is called "the benches"- only the top guy gets a chair.

You know, we call the person in charge of a group the "chairman".  Yes, the man who has the chair.   The Chairman of the board. 

Oooops!  We only use the 'chair' on the worst criminals.

Now, do you think the first rocking chair was made by accident?   If you have any other thoughts on chairs, let me know.