The labyrinths of Chartres and St-Quentin are placed near to the west door. One colourful hypothesis is that the labyrinth derives from superstition and serves as a trap for evil spirits. We know that many pagan traditions were subsumed into Christianity in its early days and this may be an example of that process of assimilation. For it to have been incorporated into a church it must have had a Christian purpose. It has been found carved into rocks by prehistoric people thousands of years ago. The labyrinth is not a Christian symbol per se. Much research and even more speculation has gone into deciphering these strange patterns and few definite conclusions can be drawn. Mystery surrounds the origin and purpose of medieval labyrinths. There are no junctions no choices to make and no walls or hedges to stop you cheating.Ĭlearly, a labyrinth was not placed in a great church such as Chartres for frivolous reasons, so what is it doing there? The short answer is we don’t know.

You cannot get lost in an authentic labyrinth because it is flat and unicursal with only one path leading from the circumference to the centre. It is not to be understood in its modern sense as a synonym of a maze (a three dimensional puzzle with choices to make, a single right route from start to finish and dead ends to confound you) or a complicated cluster of streets or paths with no sense to their organisation. The exact form of these labyrinths varies but the principle is always the same. Medieval labyrinths, however, have been recreated in Amiens, St-Omer and St Quentin (all in northeast France), Guingamp in Brittany and Selestat in Alsace. That of Reims, for example, now only exists as the logo on the “monument historique” (ancient monument) signs to be seen around France. There were other labyrinths in other churches but they were torn up in the 18th and 19th centuries. This is the only undisturbed medieval labyrinth left in a cathedral nave in the world – although there is also an authentic labyrinth in the chapter house of Bayeux cathedral. Unfortunately, it is often covered with chairs so you can only see parts of it and not get an impression of the whole but you will see diagrams of it everywhere. Set into the paving stones of the nave floor is an extraordinary black and white design contained within a circle. Step into the great Gothic cathedral of Chartres and you literally step on to a mystery.

Languedoc labyrinth