COTIRTENAT
446
COURTENAY
?orest of Libanus", the "Porch of pillars", and the
throne-hall; farther in from the throne-hall (III K.,
vii, 8, Heb. text) and on a higher level another court,
called "middle court", IV K., xx, 4 (Heb.; D. V.,
■'the middle of the court"), contained the king's man-
sion and the house built for Pharao's daugliter (III
K., vii, 8). North of the middle court, on the top of
the hill, was the "inner court" (III K., vi, 36), also
called "upper court" (Jer., xxxvi, 10) and "court of
the priests" (II Par., iv, 9). No information is sup-
plied by the Sacred Text about the extent and form of
this latter court. Judging, however, from the second
and third temples, it would seem to have been rect-
angular ; the rabbis say that it measured 135 (N. to S.)
by 187 (E. to W.) cubits; but these figures, obtained
from the traditions concerning the second temple, can
claim no certainty. The floor of the inner court was
paved with stones (II Par., vii, 3; IV K., xvi, 17, has
no reference to this point; pavement in the Eng-
lish Bibles ought to be understood here: stone base-
ment). The descriptions of III K. and II Par. men-
tion no gates, but some must have existed ; one, very
likely, on the south side, connecting the temple court
with the middle court, and others probably on the
north and east sides for the accommodation of the
people. At any rate, that some time before the Exile
there were gates is evidenced by such passages as Jer.,
xxxviii, 14; IV K., xxv, 18 (cf. Jer., Hi, 24). An
eastern gate is said (I Par., ix, 18) to have existed; it
was called "the king's gate". To Joatham is attrib-
uted (IV K., XV, 35) the construction of "the highest
gate of the house of the Lord", most probably the
same as the "upper gate of Benjamin" of Jer., xx, 2,
or the " new gate" of Jer., xxvi, 10, xxxvi, 10, and per-
haps also the "gate of the altar" of Ez., viii, 5; all
these passages point out a gate on the north side.
Within the inner court were the temple proper, the
altar of holocausts, the brazen sea, and lavers. All
the walls encircling these various courts "were made
of three rows of hewn stones and one row of cedar
beams" (III K., vii, 12). Modern archajologists are
inclined to attribute to the son of David these courses
of huge stones which may be seen in various places of
the walls of the Haram esh-Sherif .
We possess little information concerning the second temple; but there are reasons to believe that, with the exception of the temple-house, which was certainly smaller, the arrangement and dimensions were about the same as those of Solomon's temple. In Herod's time the temple area was extended towards the north, according to some; towards the south, in the opinion of others, so that the outer court had probably the same form and dimensions as the actual Haram. This court was surrounded by a high wall covered with spikes. Along the walls on the inside, north, west, and east (Solomon's Porch), were double porti- coes, and on the south a triple portico, the "royal porch". Eight gates gave access from the outside: four on the west, two on the south (Huldah gates), one on the east, and one on the north (Tadhi gate); between the gates, along the outer walls, halls and chambers had been erected, among which we may men- tion the Beth-Din, or meeting-place of the ,Sanhedrin. Within this outer court, towards the north, a wall forty cubits high, limited the inner court. .\11 around this wall extended a terrace (the yn. M) ten cubits wide and reached by a flight of fourteen steps. A stone parapet, about a cubit high, encircled the inner edge of the yn, to which thirteen openings gave access; on the parapets tablets warned, imder penalty of death, the non-.Iows .against tresp.ossing. From the yn nine gates and stairways led the Israelites into the inner courts. On the inside, along the walls, twenty-live cubits high (the ground was some fifteen cubits higher than the court of the ('.entiles'), ran porticoes, and cells for sundry purposes had been erected between the gates. The walls of the inner
court encompassed two distinct spaces: the eastern
part, called "the women's court", which, among
other things, contained the boxes for the various col-
lections ; thence a gate, preceded by a flight of fifteen
steps, led to the western part, or "men's court".
There a balustrade separated the "priests' court",
containing the temple proper and the altar of holo-
causts and all their appurtenances, from the place
assigned to the lay people.
II. Attend.\nce of a King. — In the English Bible the word court is occasionally used also to mean the retinue of a person of high rank and authority (Gen., xlv, 16; IV K., vii, 9; Esth., xi, 3). It then stands generally for the Hebrew word n'a, "house", the only word which, in the sacred language, might in some instances, receive the sense with which we are now concerned. The Latin Bible in such places usu- ally has the noun aula, and once in the N. T. exercitus (Luke, xxiii, 11). Although mention of a court is seldom made in connexion with the kings of Israel and Juda, they nevertheless naturally had their court, consisting, besides their family and body-guard, of counsellors, secretaries, recorders, chancellors, min- isters, superintendents of public works, governors of the house, even the high dignitaries of the temple. Glowing descriptions are given of the splendour of the court of such kings as David (II K., xxiii; I Par., xi) and Solomon (Cant., iii, 7, 8) ; they furnished to later Jewish writers the colours wherewith to describe the glory of the palace of God. For Yahweh is king, not only over Israel, but over the whole world, and as be- comes a king, he must have his court. This is con- stituted by the innumerable host of the angels, ever ready to do his will. Several (seven, in the received text) imceasingly stand in His presence; legions of seraphim surround his throne, as a body-guard; thou- sands of heavenly spirits form his council (Tob., xii, 15; Is., vi, 2, 6; Pss. Ixxxii, Ixxxix). Ecclesiastical writers, developing this idea, oftentimes describe the heavenly court, made up not only of the angels, but also of the host of all those blessed souls who enjoy the beatific vision. On the other hand the courts of the Temple have sometimes been regarded by mystic writers as a figure of the souls striving for Christian perfection: the brazen laver represents the purifying penaoce, whereas the altar of holocausts signifies Christian mortification and its necessary sacrifices.
JosEPHDs, Bell. Jud.. V. v; Idem. Ant. Jud., VI. ii, iv, XIV, iv, xi; Talmud, tr. Middoth (Amsterdam, 1690-1703), V; Wilson, Warren, etc.. The Recovery of Jerusalem (London, 1870): Stade. Gesch. des Volkes Israel (1888); De VoguI:. Lt temple de Jerusalem (Paris. 1S641; Perrot and Chipiez, His- taire de I'art dans I'antiquite (Paris'). IV; Vincent, Canaan d'aprrfi r erploralion ri-cente (Paris, 1907); Revue biblique inter- na/., II. VII. etc.
Charles L. Souvay.
Courtenay, William, Archbishop of Canterbury, b. in the parish of St. Martin's, Exeter, England, c. 1342; d. at Maidstone, 31 July, 1396; was the son of Hugh Courtenay, Earl of Devon, and Margaret, daughter of Humphrey Bohun, Earl of Hereford. He studied at Oxford, where he took the degree of D.C.L. In 131)7 he was elected chancellor of the university, On this occasion the university successfully resisted the Bishop of Lincoln's claim to the right of confirm- ing its choice, and later Courtenay obtained from Urban V a Bull declaring a chancellor's election valid without the confirmation of the diocesan. After hold ing prebends in the churches of Exeter, WeUs, and York, he was elected Bishop of Hereford and conse- crated, 17 March. 1370. As bishop his support was given to the Prince of Wales and Bi.shop WyUeham against the anti-clerical movement led by John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, and l:itor his efforts to sup- press the Lollards were unceasing. In the Convoca- tion of 137.3 he strongly opposed t\\e granting of a sub- sidy to the king until the latter should try to remedy the evils then afflicting the Church. Courtenay was
