1. Labyrinths,
introduction
Since
ancient time labyrinths have fascinated people in most parts of the world.
Entering a labyrinth you feel excitement, thrill, and mystery, or danger, or
you feel increasing piety by walking the winding lanes.
Contents of figures
(photos):
Fig. i1: Pylos Labyrinth
on the back of a clay-tablet
Fig. i2: Troja 3
labyrinth in Hesselager Church, Funen, Denmark
Fig. i3:
Floor-labyrinth in Piadena, Italy
The most
mysterious classical labyrinth is the legendary labyrinth which king Minos had
built in Crete, Greece by his clever master builder Daidalos (=Daedalus).
Inside the labyrinth there is a terrible monster, Minotauros. The monster is
overcome by the brave prince Theseus, who only finds his way out of the labyrinth
again because he got a ball of yarn thread of Ariadne, the daughter of king
Minos. Ariadne’s thread and labyrinth
have since then in abstract form been part of philosophy
and psychology and the way of talking: one should find and follow Ariadne’s
thread. The Minotauros Labyrinth or its blueprints or sketches have never been
found, and this is probably preferable to keep the exciting mystery about it.
It was necessary for Theseus to use an Ariadne thread, so the labyrinth has
been a maze with multiple choice lanes and possible with blind lanes it is said
(maybe like the troja 2 in fig. tr4 but in a round form according to legends).
However a labyrinth does not need to be a maze with multiple choice lanes and
blind lanes (dead ends) to be an interesting experience.
Alle Tiders Labyrinter – an
excellent book in Danish
Jørgen
Thordrup has 2002 written an important book: ”Alle Tiders Labyrinter” in Danish
telling the history of several hundreds of labyrinths and mazes. The figures
fig. i1 - i4 in this section are copied from his book.
Modern labyrinths
There are
many labyrinths and mazes in the world, and a lot more are found in books and
computer games. To make the labyrinths for games more challenging they are
often made with casual winding lanes and blind lanes in no specific pattern.
Those labyrinths are not part of this website.
Only the 3 classic
types of labyrinths
We shall
analyse and further generate only the 3 classic labyrinths that follow a set of
historic rules in artistic harmony: Roma-Piadena
from approximately the year 0, Troja from the year
1200 BC, and Chartres from the year AD 1200. (I
include Chartres in classic labyrinths). Roman labyrinths, from the Roman
Empire (here Piadena) I name roma (=Rome).
Monster, protection against evil,
solemnity of the centre
The troja
labyrinth and roma labyrinth have in the historic form a monster, a minotauros, inside, in the
centre, a monster you fear to approach, a monster you need to overcome and
defeat. With the building of the labyrinth in the Chartres Cathedral in France
1000 years later this seems to eventually change so that this labyrinth has a
solemnity in the centre that you want to reach. According to historic
traditions the Chartres Labyrinth was probably placed there by its master
builder to protect the church from evil entering the church, because evil
cannot pass the winding lanes of a labyrinth. This is in the same way as the
Romans placed a protecting labyrinth inside their front door.
Troja labyrinth
The first
labyrinth of this type of known origin is from Pylos in Greece from the year
-1200 (1200 BC), according to Thordrup’s book. (See Appendix
below). The name troja (troya or troy in English) is found in the Trojaborg
Labyrinth on Gotland in Sweden, and the name troja is written on a troja 2
labyrinth on an Etruscan wine pitcher
from year -630 (630 BC). The troja labyrinth has also other names e.g. the
Cretan labyrinth. The labyrinth can be inhabited by a monster as described in
year 79 in Pompeii. This monster can hold a young girl in captivity and brave
young men will enter to liberate her, as we know from medieval dances in the
Nordic countries. You can dance in the labyrinth in a long line holding one
another’s hands (e.g. 2 steps forward and 1 step backwards, sidewards), while
singing one of the old long medieval ballads with a good choir leader. Or you
can run through the labyrinth with running steps or polska steps. This is a
special experience even in the simple predictable troja 1 labyrinth, with the
lines turning back to back at one turn, and face to face passing slowly by
after the next turn. Ballads are often song and danced again in Denmark since
1980.
Fig. i1: Pylos Labyrinth on the back of a
clay-tablet
In the same
way as you nowadays often in a hurry will use the back of a piece of paper to
make a small drawing for explaining something to somebody else, the back of
this “paper” which is a clay tablet showing the accounts of goats for a palace,
has the drawing of this troja 2 labyrinth. After having been filed for a couple of years
the clays tablet only needed to be moistened to be reused for the next account.
But the palace and file burned year -1200 and by this the clay tablets were turned
into brick tiles and preserved in the ground for 3000 years until dug out in
1957. (Photo from Thordrup’s book).
Fig. i2: Troja 3 labyrinth in Hesselager
Church,
There are
several examples of fresco paintings of labyrinths in Danish and Nordic
churches. On this fresco from 1481 written backwards and with the name Maria
there is shown a troja 3 labyrinth where the pointed internal wall ends are
rounded with small circles. (Photo from Thordrup’s book).
Roma-Piadena labyrinth
In the
villas in the Roman Empire they often had mosaic floors with labyrinths. In a
villa near Piadena in northern Italy from shortly after year 0 there was found
this interesting labyrinth.
Fig. i3: Floor-labyrinth in
This is an
interesting Roman floor mosaic labyrinth. There are distinct 4 quadrants,
divided by one and just one line. As described in the section Roma-Piadena
Labyrinth I find it
an interesting traditional cultural experience to have e.g. repetition from
quadrant to quadrant. In the centre of the labyrinth we se the monster
Minotauros, dying after being defeated by a brave labyrinth wanderer, Thordrup
says in his book. (Photo from Thordrup’s book).
More
examples of Roman labyrinth are given in section 3A.
Chartres Labyrinth
In the
cathedral in Chartres in France there is a circular labyrinth
in the floor from about year 1200. In arches of 90° and 180° you move forth and
back, out and in, to finally end in the centre, the holy goal. The labyrinth is
nowadays often covered with benches for people to be seated for the church
service. 300 years older drawings for this labyrinth have been found.
Fig. i4: Chartres Labyrinth
The big
beautiful labyrinth in the floor in the Chartres Cathedral in France is here
shown illuminated. (Photo from Thordrup’s book, copyright Jeff
Saward/Labyrinthos).
More photos
of the Chartres Labyrinth (and other labyrinths) can hopefully be found on this link.
Much more
is written of the history of labyrinths on http://www.labyrinthos.net/firstlabs.htm.
Labyrinth patterns
should be used for squares paved with flagstones
Squares
paved with light and dark flagstones in some pattern can as well have a
labyrinth as pattern by which the pattern will be of a much more interesting value.
In the other sections of this website there are examples of a number of
different labyrinths and proposal for the construction of a lot more so it
should be possible to find a suitable labyrinth for almost any square. If a
mosaic look is preferred choose a roma type (Roman
type). If a more straight forward type with long lines is preferred I propose
the troja type (Trojaborg, Cretan type). This is the labyrinth
most of all with mystery and exciting ancient culture from many cultural
societies, and constructing its drawing should be tried by all school pupils.
If a labyrinth of a little more variation in the long straight lanes is wanted
then select a chartres type. Its beauty with the
long rounded tongs is probably best seen in the circular form, but the square
form is also fine.
Many town
hall squares and public places are suitable for a labyrinth pattern to give the
place more character. At recreational centres like summer resorts the pavement
of pedestrian squares should be labyrinth patterned so this cultural experience
is included in the vacation there. At nursery schools and playgrounds the
pavement should have a labyrinth, e.g. the small chartres model “you cannot
catch me”, see fig. ch7. Besides there can be labyrinths in parks,
e.g. a chartres model with lanes for the flowers that are there anyway. For
these purposes I prefer labyrinths from among the 3 here included historic and
well-arranged types.
Computerized placing of flagstones
It is
easier to place the flagstones when every second is light and every second is dark
than to make a labyrinth pattern. In a labyrinth it is important that every
flagstone is placed correctly to make it possible to find ones way in the
labyrinth. This affects the prize. But computer aid is on its way also in
laying flagstones so just give the drawing to the computer and you get the
right pattern for your labyrinth.
The
Canadian book: The Idea of the Labyrinth, by Penelope Reed Doob, 1990, shows a
troja 2 labyrinth from Cornwall which it estimates to be 200 to 600 years older
than the Pylos Labyrinth in fig. i1.
Fig.
i5: Cornwall Labyrinth
Troja 2
labyrinth carved in stone 1800 – 1400 BC.
(Plate 1 in Doob’s book).
Other recent sources estimate this labyrinth
carving to be less than 400 years old.
Contents of the other
sections:
5 Chartres Labyrinth in Chartres
6 Labyrinths
of chartres style
7 Comparing
labyrinth-examples