Parvise

Part ofSt. Peter's Squarein Rome, the parvis ofSt. Peter's Basilica

Colonnade of St. Peter's Square

"parvis" redirects here. For other uses, seeparvis (disambiguation).

Aparvisorparviseis the open space in front of and around acathedralorchurch,especially when surrounded by eithercolonnadesorporticoes,as atSt. Peter's BasilicainRome.It is thus a church-specific type of forecourt, front yard or apron.

Etymology

The term derives viaOld Frenchfrom theLatinparadisusmeaning "paradise".This in turn came viaAncient Greekfrom theIndo-EuropeanAryanlanguages ofancient 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 theMiddle AgestheSerjeants-at-lawpractised at the parvis ofSt Paul's Cathedral,where clients could seek their counsel. In the 14th centuryGeoffrey Chaucerreferred to"A sergeant of the laws ware and wise/ That often hadde yben at the paruis... ".Later,ecclesiastical courtsdeveloped atDoctors' Commonson the same site.

Late English use

Three-storeyPerpendicular Gothicporch ofChurch of St. John the Baptist, Cirencester:an elaborate example of what in later English usage has been called a parvise

InEnglandthe term was much later used to mean a room over theporchof a church. The architectural historiansJohn Fleming,Hugh HonourandNikolaus Pevsner,and the theologiansFrank CrossandElizabeth Livingstoneall say this usage is wrong. TheOxford English Dictionaryrecords 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 bookNorfolk,published in 1744.

Examples of English parvises

• 
  The Parvise atCastle Ashby,Northamptonshire
• 
  BletchingleyChurch Parvise,Surrey
• 
  Malmesbury Abbey,Wiltshire
• 
  The Parvise atDodfordParish Church,Northamptonshire
• 
  The Parvise atMarthamParish Church,Norfolk

See also

• Church of the Holy Sepulchre

References

Sources

• Brown, Lesley, ed. (1993) [1933].The New Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles.Vol. II (3rd ed.). Oxford:Clarendon Press.p.2112.ISBN0-19-861134-X.
• Chaucer, Geoffrey."The Clerkes Tale".The Canterbury Tales.verse 8396.
• Cross, F. L.;Livingstone, E. A., eds. (1997) [1957].The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church(3rd ed.).Oxford University Press.p.1224.ISBN0-19-211655-X.
• Fleming, John;Honour, Hugh;Pevsner, Nikolaus(1980) [1966].The Penguin Dictionary of Architecture.Harmondsworth:Penguin Books.p.238.ISBN0-14-051013-3.

Further reading

• Hoad, TF, ed. (1996).The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology.Oxford University Press.
• Soanes, Catherine; Stevenson, Angus, eds. (2005).Oxford Dictionary of English(2nd, revised ed.). Oxford University Press.