"If, to the academic chair and the episcopal cathedra, we add the regal throne, the judicial bench, the congressional seat, it is clear that the chair itself occupies the place of pre-eminence in the community".[1]

The dictionary definition states the chair as being for a single occupant. In the context of this chapter the term is used in a generic form to imply a seat which varies in size, style and number of occupants.

 

Historically the chair has a number of spiritual and social symbolic forms. The spiritual form of the chair is based on allowing the body to rest.