Lab Text 4b

Interestingly, the symbolism of the pagan myth regarding the Cretan Labyrinth was adopted and adapted by Christians during the medieval era. Rather than the seven convolutions of the Cretan labyrinth, medieval labyrinths depict eleven. Christian number symbolism denotes the number eleven as simultaneously symbolizing sin and imperfection, as it surpasses the number of commandments yet has not reached the perfect number of twelve.

The eleven convolutions of the medieval labyrinths represented the world of sin, although, when the sign of the cross was laid over them, it reorganized them into an unprecedented pattern that symbolized "the world of sin is placed under the saving sign of Christ, which conquers Satan" (Jaskolski, 63). Indeed, medieval labyrinths emphasized the importance of the church and its function of providing the "way" to salvation, thus again associating the labyrinth with death and subsequent rebirth.

Many medieval churches and cathedrals in Italy that were stations of the Via Sancti Petri, the pilgrimage route to Christendom Rome, displayed labyrinths upon the north wall of their bell towers. The center of the labyrinth displayed at the Cathedral of San Martino in Lucca depicts the battle between Theseus and the Minotaur. The accompanying inscription reads, "Here is the Labyrinth that Daedalus of Crete built and which no one can leave who is once inside; only Theseus achieved this thanks to Ariadne’s thread" (Jaskolski, 54).

The lines of the labyrinth were somewhat worn away by the churchgoers individually running a finger over them, possibly as a symbolic reenactment of Theseus’s triumph over perceived evil. The interpretation of the evolution of the symbolism includes Theseus, as the son of Aegeus or Poseidon, having been compared to Christ, the Son of God; the triumph of Theseus over the Minotaur having represented Christ’s triumph over Satan; and Ariadne’s thread having represented the guiding Word of God.

The labyrinth displayed at the Romanesque cloister church San Pietro de Conflentu has no references to the pagan myth. Instead, the monogram of Christ, IHS, appears in the center of the labyrinth as a "reference to Jesus Christ as the center of the world" (Jaskolski, 68). The convolutions have become earthly obstacles through which one must successfully maneuver in order to gain eternal life through Christ, portrayed as of central importance. In addition, since the Minotaur had originally occupied the center of the Labyrinth, Christ can be compared to him in several ways; both were the son of a god, and both had to die in order for life to be ensured to others.

Other medieval cathedrals, including Notre Dame de Chartres, incorporated labyrinths into their designs. The floor of Chartres Cathedral boasts a large, inlaid labyrinth design, of which the total length of the pathway is equal to 294 meters. The center of the labyrinth displays a six-petal flower that is representational of the stained glass, western rose window that depicts Christ in the center. The parallel design implies Christ’s central position in the inlaid floor labyrinth as well.

The cathedral of Notre Dame de Reims also included an ambulatory labyrinth that was called "the Jerusalem road". The churchgoers’ walk through the labyrinth was symbolic of the pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Unfortunately, this labyrinth, which dated to 1211, was deliberately destroyed in 1779 because "one Canon Jacquemart did not like the noise made by the children and others who followed

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