A parvis or parvise is the open space in front of and around a cathedral or church, especially when surrounded by either colonnades or

portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cult ...

es, as at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. It is thus a church-specific type of forecourt, front yard or apron.

Etymology

The term derives via Old French from the Latin ''paradisus'' meaning " paradise". This in turn came via Ancient Greek from the Indo-European

Aryan Aryan or Arya (, Indo-Iranian *''arya'') is a term originally used as an ethnocultural self-designation by Indo-Iranians in ancient times, in contrast to the nearby outsiders known as 'non-Aryan' (*''an-arya''). In Ancient India, the term ' ...

languages of ancient Iran, where it meant a walled enclosure or garden precinct with heavenly flowers planted by the Clercs (Clerics).

Parvis of St Paul's Cathedral

In London in the Middle Ages the Serjeants-at-law practised at the parvis of

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in London and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London. It is on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London and is a Grad ...

, where clients could seek their counsel. In the 14th century

Geoffrey Chaucer Geoffrey Chaucer (; – 25 October 1400) was an English poet, author, and civil servant best known for ''The Canterbury Tales''. He has been called the "father of English literature", or, alternatively, the "father of English poetry". He wa ...

referred to ''"A sergeant of the laws ware and wise/ That often hadde yben at the par uis..."''. Later,

ecclesiastical court An ecclesiastical court, also called court Christian or court spiritual, is any of certain courts having jurisdiction mainly in spiritual or religious matters. In the Middle Ages, these courts had much wider powers in many areas of Europe than be ...

s developed at Doctors' Commons on the same site.

Late English use

In England the term was much later used to mean a room over the porch of a church. The architectural historians John Fleming,

Hugh Honour Hugh Honour FRSL (26 September 1927 – 19 May 2016) was a British art historian, known for his writing partnership with John Fleming (art historian), John Fleming. Their ''A World History of Art'' (a.k.a. ''The Visual Arts: A History''), is now ...

and Nikolaus Pevsner, and the theologians Frank Cross and Elizabeth Livingstone all say this usage is wrong. The '' Oxford English Dictionary'' records this use as being "historical", and current in the middle of the 19th century. It may stem from an earlier misuse in F. Blomefield's book ''Norfolk'', published in 1744.

Examples of English parvises

File:CAParvise.JPG, The Parvise at Castle Ashby, Northamptonshire File:ParviseBletchingley.jpg, Bletchingley Church Parvise,

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

File:MalmesburyParvise.JPG, Malmesbury Abbey, Wiltshire File:Dodford Church 16th March 2007 (2).JPG, The Parvise at Dodford Parish Church, Northamptonshire File:IMAG0104.jpg, The Parvise at

Martham Martham is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It is situated some north-west of the town of Great Yarmouth and north-east of the city of Norwich. The villages name means 'marten homestead/village' or 'weasel/marten he ...

Parish Church, Norfolk

References

Sources and further reading

* * * * * *{{cite book , editor1-last=Soanes , editor1-first=Catherine , editor2-last=Stevenson , editor2-first=Angus , year=2005 , title=

Oxford Dictionary of English The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' (''ODE'') is a single-volume English dictionary published by Oxford University Press, first published in 1998 as ''The New Oxford Dictionary of English'' (''NODE''). The word "new" was dropped from the titl ...