- Title
- The labyrinthine path of pilgrimage
- Creator
- Morrison, Tessa
- Relation
- Peregrinations: International Society for the Study of Pilgrimage Art Vol. 1, Issue 3
- Relation
- http://peregrinations.kenyon.edu/welcome.html
- Publisher
- International Society for the Study of Pilgrimage Art
- Resource Type
- journal article
- Date
- 2005
- Description
- Within many of the great Gothic cathedrals such as Chartres Cathedral, San Michele Maggiore, Pavia, and San Vitale, Ravenna, lay large floor labyrinths. Most of these face the altar as the dominant feature of the nave, and are either round or octagonal in shape. They vary in size from cathedral to cathedral. In France, some measure a massive twelve and half meters in diameter, large enough to walk on, following the path into the center. (Figure 1) The geometric structure that appears in the architectural labyrinths also appears in computus manuscripts, which feature calendar computations, astronomical computation, and cosmological texts. This article will examine how pilgrimage became embodied in the concept of the labyrinth, beginning with the earliest known use of these medieval floor labyrinths, the Auxerre pelota ritual and its possible predecessors, then it will investigate its connection to Easter and its embodiment in ecclesiastical dance that reflected the harmony of the spheres and the tripartite dance of the angels.
- Subject
- cathedrals; labyrinths; pilgrimage; medieval floor labyrinths
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/935363
- Identifier
- uon:12055
- Identifier
- ISSN:1554-8678
- Language
- eng
- Full Text
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