A prayer desk is a piece of furniture designed for private devotion, consisting of a low platform or step for kneeling and a raised ledge or sloping shelf in front on which to rest the arms or a prayer book. It is often referred to by the French term prie-dieu.
Prayer desks were used in churches, chapels and private homes from the medieval period, and examples survive from the Renaissance onwards in oak, walnut and other woods, often carved with Gothic tracery or religious symbols. In Victorian Britain the revival of religious feeling and of Gothic taste led to the production of many prayer desks for churches and domestic chapels, designed by architects and church furnishers in carved oak or pine, sometimes with brass fittings and upholstered kneelers. A related Victorian form, the prie-dieu chair, has a low seat and tall back with a padded top rail on which the user could kneel and lean. Collectors value good carving, sound construction, original finish and ecclesiastical provenance. Prayer desks are now used as reading stands, book rests or decorative pieces in halls and libraries, bringing a quiet Gothic note to an interior.
