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Peristyle surrounding the Roman Baths in Bath, Somerset
Wikimedia Commons

A peristyle is a range of columns surrounding a building, courtyard or other architectural feature.[1] The term is a borrowing from the French péristyle, itself derived from the Latin peristylum, referring to the colonnade surrounding the interior court of a building;[2] the court itself is known as the peristylium.[3]

The peristyle was an important feature of Greek and Roman architecture.[4] In the Christian ecclesiastical architecture that developed from the Roman basilica, a courtyard peristyle and its central space came to be known as a cloisterCovered walkway usually set out in the form of a square..[5]

References



Bibliography


Burkhard, Emme. Peristyle. Online, Blackwell Publishing, 2013.
Clarke, Michael. “Presbytery.” Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art Terms, Online, Oxford University Press, 2010, https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780199569922.001.0001/acref-9780199569922-e-1374.
Curl, James Stevens. “Peristyle.” Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture, 3rd ed., Oxford University Press, 2006, https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780198606789.001.0001/acref-9780198606789-e-3449.
Curl, James Stevens, and Susan Wilson. “Basilica.” Oxford Dictionary of Architecture, Online, Oxford University Press, https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780191918742.001.0001/acref-9780191918742.
OED. “Peristyle, n.” Oxford English Dictionary, Online, Oxford  University Press, 2022, https://www.oed.com/view/Entry/141086.