Pulpit

A pulpit is an elevated stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin pulpitum. A traditional pulpit is raised well above the surrounding floor for audibility and visibility, accessible by steps, with sides about waist height. From the late medieval period onwards, pulpits have often had a canopy known as the sounding board, tester or abat-voix above and sometimes also behind the speaker, normally in wood. Although sometimes highly decorated, this is not purely decorative, but can have a useful acoustic effect in projecting the preacher’s voice to the congregation below, especially before the invention of modern audio equipment. Most pulpits have one or more book-stands on which the preacher can rest his bible, notes or texts.