court, in architecture, an open area surrounded by buildings or walls. There have been such courts from the earliest recorded times and in all civilizations. In medieval Europe the court was a characteristic adjunct of all major domestic buildings, as the cloister of a monastery, the ward of a castle, and the quadrangle of a college or hospital.

Palaces often included a complex of courts. The Alhambra in Granada, Spain, built in the 13th and 14th centuries, has six, including the Court of the Lions and Court of the Myrtles, the most celebrated of all Muslim patios. In Tudor and Elizabethan England of the 16th century, the principal mansions frequently had a forecourt, with wings of the house projecting forward on either side. The larger houses in France were similarly planned; but by the late 17th century it became necessary to add a second courtyard at the rear for stables, coachhouses, and the like; and the forecourt became the court of honour (cour d’honneur). See also cortile.