Where does 'falling between two stools' come from?

Everyone uses it, hardly anyone knows where it comes from. A short dive into its history.

To fall between two stools means failing because you can't choose between two options. The image is of someone trying to sit on two stools at once and ending up on the floor.

The Dutch have a similar saying about falling between the quay and the ship.

Both images tell the same story: try to belong to two places at once, and you may end up belonging to neither.