Gothic Labyrinth

Descripción

The full flowering of the medieval labyrinth came about from the twelfth through fourteenth centuries with the grand pavement labyrinths of the gothic cathedrals, notably Chartres, Reims and Amiens in northern France. These labyrinths may have originated as symbolic allusion to the Holy City; and some modern thinkers have theorized that prayers and devotions may have accompanied the perambulation of their intricate paths. Although some books suggest that the mazes on cathedral floors served as substitutes for pilgrimage paths, the earliest attested use of the phrase «chemin de Jerusalem» (path to Jerusalem) dates to the late 18th century when it was used to describe mazes at Reims and Saint-Omer.