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its course during services" (Bord, 95).
The significance of the octagonal form of the labyrinth that is found in the cathedral of Amiens is in its shape’s association with the Christian initiation of baptism. As many baptistries and baptismal fonts were octagonal in shape, its shape signifies the labyrinth’s association with the concepts of resurrection and rebirth.
Following the reformation and counter-reformations of the Christian Church, the forced conversions and widespread persecution of the era caused many to become disillusioned with the Church. The Labyrinth of the World and the Paradise of the Heart, written by the Czech scholar known as Comenius, is a prime example of the literary works reflecting the melancholy mood of the Christians during this era. Comenius explained the title of his book as being "a clear description of how in this world and in all the things of this world, nothing prevails except error and confusion, uncertainty and torment, lying and deception, fear and misery, and ultimately revulsion towards everything and despair; and how only he who dwells at home in his heart and shuts himself up there alone with God attains the true and full peace of his soul and achieves joy" (Jaskolski, 91-2). His commentary recalls the medieval usage of the labyrinth as a symbol of the world of sin; however, the implied center now reinforces the importance of God rather than the institution of the Church.
Bartolomeo Veneto, Girolamo Bedoli-Mazzola, and Dosso Dossi executed three paintings during the Renaissance period that include the labyrinth symbol in their iconography. Veneto’s portrait, dated to about 1510, is that of a contemporary gentleman who has a large embroidered labyrinth figure prominently displayed on the front of his tunic. This labyrinth has been interpreted as symbolizing secrecy, an interpretation which is supported by the fact that his garments are also "decorated with ‘Solomon’s Knots’, a design which combines labyrinth, cross, and swastika and is known as the ‘emblem of divine inscrutability’" (Bord, 111).
An interesting note regarding the embroidery of the labyrinth figure on the tunic of Veneto’s sitter is that "labyrinth symbols were sometimes displayed on the robes of Roman emperors" (Bord, 111). This information was found in an ancient manuscript that was "discovered by A.F. Ozanam in the Laurentian Library in Florence. It is entitled ‘Graphia Aurea Urbis Romae’ and contains, under the heading ‘De diarodino imperatoris’ the following passage: Habeat et in diarodino laberinthum fabrefactum ex auro et margaritis, in quo sit Minotaurus, digitum ad os tenens ex smaragdo factus, quia sicut non valet quis laberinthum scrutare, ita non debet consilium dominatoris propalare.
‘Let there be represented on it (the Emperor’s robe) a labyrinth of gold and pearls, in which is the Minotaur, made of emerald, holding his finger to his mouth, thus signifying that, just as none may know the secret of the labyrinth, so none may reveal the monarch’s counsels’"(Matthews, 53).
The portrait attributed to Girolamo Bedoli-Mazzola depicts a gentleman, with the labyrinth symbol inscribed on the wall behind him and to his left. The subject in Mazzola’s portrait holds, with his left hand, an hourglass in which the sand has almost finished its transition from top to bottom.