Sentence:  The construction of a <WSD>misericord</WSD> stall is very peculiar. The shaped standards or elbows are cut out of wide planks. They are notched over a deep and massive bottom rail (to which the <WSD>misericords</WSD> are hinged in many cases), and are housed into the massive capping, which is very wide and hollowed out with semicircular recesses to form curved backs for the stalls. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  A ledge, sometimes ornately carved, attached to a folding church seat to provide support for a person standing for long periods; a subsellium.