Editing Labyrinth (section)

==Medieval labyrinths and turf mazes==
[[File:Inneres der Kathedrale.jpg|thumb|right|[[Chartres Cathedral]], about 1750, Jean Baptiste Rigaud]]
When the early humanist [[Benzo d'Alessandria]] visited [[Verona]] before 1310, he noted the "''Laberinthum'' which is now called the [[Arena of Verona|Arena]]";<ref>"quod nunc Harena dicitur": Roberto Weiss, ''The Renaissance Discovery of Classical Antiquity'' 1969:25.</ref> perhaps he was seeing the ''cubiculi'' beneath the arena's missing floor.
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 [[Cathedral of Chartres|Chartres]], [[Reims Cathedral|Reims]] and [[Amiens Cathedral|Amiens]] in northern France. The symbolism or purpose behind these is unclear, and may have varied from one installation to the next. Descriptions survive of French clerics performing a ritual Easter dance along the path on Easter Sunday.<ref name="kern_church" /> Some labyrinths may have originated as allusions to the [[Jerusalem|Holy City]]; and some modern writers have theorized that prayers and devotions may have accompanied the perambulation of their intricate paths.<ref>{{CathEncy|wstitle=Labyrinth}}</ref> Although some books (in particular guidebooks) 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]].<ref name="Wright">{{cite book
|last=Wright
|first=Craig M.
|title=The maze and the warrior: symbols in architecture, theology, and music
|year=2001
|publisher=Harvard University Press
|isbn=978-0-674-00503-7
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=e-wGs_-9H8IC&q=%22Chemin+de+Jerusalem%22&pg=PA210|page=210
}}</ref> The accompanying ritual, depicted in Romantic illustrations as involving pilgrims following the maze on their knees while praying, may have been practiced at Chartres during the 17th century.<ref name="Wright" /><ref name="russell">{{cite journal
  | last = Russell
  | first = W. M. S.
  | author2 = Claire Russell
  | title = English Turf Mazes, Troy, and the Labyrinth 
  | journal = Folklore
  | volume = 102
  | issue = 1
  | pages = 77–88
  | publisher = Taylor and Francis
  | year = 1991
  | jstor = 1260358
  | doi = 10.1080/0015587x.1991.9715807
 }}
</ref> The cathedral labyrinths are thought to be the inspiration for the many [[turf maze]]s in the UK, such as survive at [[Wing, Rutland|Wing]], [[Hilton, Cambridgeshire|Hilton]], [[Alkborough Turf Maze|Alkborough]], and [[Saffron Walden]].

Over the same general period, some 500 or more non-ecclesiastical labyrinths were constructed in [[Scandinavia]]. These labyrinths, generally in coastal areas, are marked out with stones, most often in the simple 7- or 11-course classical forms. They often have names which translate as "[[Troy Town]]." They are thought to have been constructed by fishing communities:  trapping malevolent [[troll]]s or winds in the labyrinth's coils might ensure a safe fishing expedition. There are also stone labyrinths on the [[Isles of Scilly]], although none is known to date from before the nineteenth century.

There are examples of labyrinths in many disparate cultures. The symbol has appeared in various forms and media ([[petroglyph]]s, classic-form, medieval-form, pavement, turf, and basketry) at some time throughout most parts of the world, from Native [[North America|North]] and South America to Australia, [[Java]], India, and [[Nepal]].