The covering above a seat found, for example, in the choir of a "cathedral. In time, canopies became extremely decorative. However, this did not alter their function, which was to shelter the monk in the seat from the downward draughts of the "clerestory above. In the 15c, the word was spelt 'canape'. [< Gk. konopeion = a mosquito net]
Dictionary of Medieval Terms and Phrases. Christopher Coredon with Ann Williams.