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Mazes and Labyrinths: a General Account of Their History and Development

by W. H. Matthews

By W. H. Matthews · Science · Public domain

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Mazes and Labyrinths: a General Account of Their History and Development is a public-domain classic of science by W. H. Matthews.

The complete text is on this page and the chapter pages below — all 38 chapters, about 63,619 words (~5 hours of reading), free to read online with no signup. Chapters include “CHAPTER X. Turf Labyrinths”, “CHAPTER XI. Turf Labyrinths (_continued_)”, “CHAPTER XII. The Origin of Turf Mazes”, and more.

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Author
W. H. Matthews
Length
63,619 words · about 5 hours to read
Chapters
38
Price
Free — public domain

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CHAPTER X. Turf Labyrinths

TURF LABYRINTHS

Local Names--The Alkborough "Julian's Bower"--Juxtaposition to Ancient Ecclesiastical Site--A Fragment of Folk-lore-- De la Pryme's Diary--The Breamore Mizmaze--Romantic Situation--The Wing Maze--The Boughton Green Shepherd's Race--Its Literary References--A Victim of the Great War-- Mazes of Ripon and Asenby--The Song of the Fairies--Other Lincolnshire and Yorkshire Mazes--Stukeley on Julian's Bowers--Wide Distribution of British Turf Mazes 71-78

CHAPTER XI. Turf Labyrinths (_continued_)

TURF LABYRINTHS (continued)

The Winchester Mizmaze--The Vanished Mazes of Dorset: Leigh, Pimperne, Dorchester and Bere Regis--Aubrey's Notes on Wiltshire and Cotswold Mazes--The Saffron Walden Maze-- The Comberton "Mazles"--The Hilton Maze and its Obelisk-- The Cumberland "Walls of Troy": Burgh and Rockcliffe-- The Nottingham Mazes: Sneinton and Clifton--The Somerton "Troy-town"--Records of Old Mazes at Guildford, the Malverns, and in Kent--"Julaber's Barrow" 79-91

CHAPTER XII. The Origin of Turf Mazes

THE ORIGIN OF TURF MAZES

An old Welsh Custom--"Troy" or "Turnings"?--Dr. Trollope on the Ecclesiastical Origin of Turf Mazes--The Welsh Figure-- Criticism of the Ecclesiastical View--"Treading the Maze" in Tudor Times--Shakespearean References--Alchemy and the Labyrinth of Solomon--Figure in a Greek Monastery--Heraldic Labyrinths--The Question of the Roman Origin of Turf Mazes 92-99

CHAPTER XIII. The Floral Labyrinth and the Dwarf-Shrub Maze

THE FLORAL LABYRINTH AND THE DWARF-SHRUB MAZE

The Dwarf Box--Its use by Tudor and Roman Gardeners--Floral Labyrinths by De Vries--Some Quaint Horticultural Books: Parkinson, Estienne, Hill, and Lawson--Designs of Islip and Commelyn--"Queen Mary's Bower" 100-109

CHAPTER XIV. The Topiary Labyrinth, or Hedge Maze

THE TOPIARY LABYRINTH, OR HEDGE MAZE

Topiary work of the Romans--Pliny's "Hippodromus"--Dubious Mediaeval References--Rosamond's Bower--Early French "Daedales"--Mazes painted by Holbein and Tintoretto-- Du Cerceau's Sketches--Elizabethan Mazes: Theobalds and Hatfield--Versailles and other Famous Labyrinths of France-- Some German Designs--Belgian, Spanish, Italian and Dutch Mazes--William III and his Gardeners 110-127

CHAPTER XV. The Topiary Labyrinth, or Hedge Maze (_continued_)

THE TOPIARY LABYRINTH, OR HEDGE MAZE (continued)

Hampton Court: the Maze and the Little Maze--Other English Mazes of the Period--Batty Langley and Stephen Switzer-- Allegorical Labyrinth of Anhalt--A Wimbledon Maze--The Mazes of Westminster and Southwark 128-136

CHAPTER XVI. The Topiary Labyrinth, or Hedge Maze (_continued_)

THE TOPIARY LABYRINTH, OR HEDGE MAZE (continued)

Latter-day Developments

Decline of the Hedge-Maze Vogue--Mazes in "Pleasure Gardens": North London, South London--Modern Mazes in Essex, Suffolk, Cheshire, Lincolnshire, and Gloucestershire--Some Modern Continental Mazes--The Case For and Against the Hedge Maze 137-146

CHAPTER XVII. Stone Labyrinths and Rock Engravings

STONE LABYRINTHS AND ROCK ENGRAVINGS

The Stone Labyrinths of Finland--Their Local Traditions and Nomenclature--Their Antiquity--Aubrey's Acute Observation-- Some Maze-like Rock Engravings in England, Ireland, and Brittany--A Curious Discovery in Arizona and a Spanish Manuscript--American Indians and the Cretan Labyrinth-- Another Indian Pictograph--Zulu Mazes--Distribution of Labyrinth Cult 147-155

CHAPTER XVIII. The Dance or Game of Troy

THE DANCE OR GAME OF TROY

"Troy" in Labyrinth Names--An old French Reference--The Vase of Tragliatella--Virgil's Account of the Troy Game--The Delian Crane Dance--Knossos and Troy--Ariadne's Dance-- Spring-Rites--"Sympathetic Magic"--Sword and Morris Dances--Troy-dances in Mediaeval Germany and in Modern Serbia--Preservation of the English Traditions 156-163

CHAPTER XIX. The Bower of "fair Rosamond"

THE BOWER OF "FAIR ROSAMOND"

"Fair Rosamond," Henry, and Eleanor--The Dagger or the Bowl-- History of the Legend--Accounts of Brompton and Higden-- Delone's Ballad--Rosamond in Verse and Prose--Her Epitaph-- A Question of Taste--Late Remains of the Bower--A Modern Play--Rosamond's Alleged Portrait 164-169

CHAPTER XX. Maze Etymology

MAZE ETYMOLOGY

The Question of Definition again--Bowers and Julian-Bowers-- What was a Bower and who was Julian?--The Labyrinth and the Double Axe--Chaucer and the Maze--Metaphorical Labyrinths-- The Labyrinth in Scientific Nomenclature--The Meanings of "Maze"--Troy-towns and the New Troy 170-181

CHAPTER XXI. Labyrinth Design and the Solution of Mazes

LABYRINTH DESIGN AND THE SOLUTION OF MAZES

The Need of a Definition--Practical Limitations--Classification of Mazes and Labyrinths--Unicursal and Multicursal, Compact and Diffuse Types--Modes of Branching--Straight-line Diagrams--Speculations on the Knossian Figure--Hints on Maze Design--Principles of Maze Solution--A Word on Mnemonics--Harris at Hampton Court 182-192

CHAPTER XXII. The Labyrinth in Literature

THE LABYRINTH IN LITERATURE

Romance, Mystery, and Allegory--Labyrinthine Book Titles-- Some Literary Monstrosities--Spiritual and Theological Labyrinths--Love, Labyrinths, and Anonymity--The Labyrinth in Modern Book Titles--Emblems--Melancholy Meditations in the Maze 193-200

CHAPTER XXIII. Miscellanea and Conclusion

MISCELLANEA AND CONCLUSION

A Maze Collector--The Labyrinth in Queer Places--The Maze on Paper and on the Sands--Mirror Mazes--A Temporary Hedge Maze--Maze Toys--A Verbal Labyrinth--The Maze in Place-names--A Plea for the Preservation of some Ancient Monuments 201-213

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL APPENDIX 215-235

INDEX 237-254

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

PAGE MAZE AT HATFIELD, HERTS. (Photo, G. F. Green) Frontispiece

1. EGYPTIAN LABYRINTH. Portion of Ruins, circ. 1700. (P. Lucas) facing page 12

2. EGYPTIAN LABYRINTH. Shrine of Amenemhat III. (Flinders Petrie) f.p. 14

3. EGYPTIAN LABYRINTH. Restored Plan. (Canina) 15

4. EGYPTIAN LABYRINTH. Restored Plan. (Flinders Petrie) 16

5. CRETAN LABYRINTH. (Florentine Picture Chronicle) f.p. 18

6. CRETAN LABYRINTH. (Italian Engraving: School of Finiguerra) 21

7. CAVERN OF GORTYNA. (Sieber) f.p. 28

8. KNOSSOS. Maze-pattern on Wall of Palace. (After Evans) 32

9. DOUBLE-AXE AND SOCKET FROM DICTAEAN CAVE. (Evans) f.p. 31

10. TOMB OF DOUBLE AXES. Plan. (Evans) 33

11. TOMB OF DOUBLE AXES. View of the Cist. (Evans) f.p. 33

12. BRONZE DOUBLE AXE FROM TOMB OF DOUBLE AXES. (Evans) f.p. 43

13. TOMB OF LARS PORSENA AT CLUSIUM. Restoration. (Q. de Quincy) f.p. 38

14. POGGIO CAJELLA. Labyrinthine Cemetery. (Dennis) f.p. 40

15, 16, 17, 18. EARLY EGYPTIAN SEALS AND PLAQUES. (British Museum) f.p. 43

19. EARLY EGYPTIAN PLAQUE OR AMULET. (Prof. Flinders Petrie's Collection, Univ. Coll., London) 43

20 to 25. COINS OF KNOSSOS. (British Museum) f.p. 44

26 to 31. COINS OF KNOSSOS. (British Museum) f.p. 46

32. GRAFFITO AT POMPEII. (Mus. Borb. XIV. 1852) 46

33. MOSAIC AT SALZBURG. (Kreuzer) 47

34. MOSAIC AT CAERLEON. (O. Morgan) f.p. 48

35. MOSAIC AT VERDES, LOIR-ET-CHER. (De Caumont) 49

36. MOSAIC AT CORMEROD, SWITZERLAND. (Mitt. Ant. Ges. Zurich, XVI) f.p. 48

37. MOSAIC AT SUSA, TUNIS. (C. R. Acad. Inscriptions, Paris, 1892) 50

38. GREEK KYLIX, SHOWING EXPLOITS OF THESEUS. (British Museum) f.p. 52

39. ANOTHER THESEUS KYLIX. (British Museum) f.p. 52

40. LABYRINTH ENGRAVED ON ANCIENT GEM. (Maffei) 53

41. BRONZE PLAQUETTE. Italian XVIth Century. (British Museum) f.p. 61

42. LABYRINTH IN CHURCH OF REPARATUS, ORLÉANSVILLE, ALGERIA. (Prevost) 55

43. LABYRINTH IN LUCCA CATHEDRAL. (Durand) 55

44. LABYRINTH IN S. MICHELE, PAVIA. (Ciampini) 56

45. LABYRINTH IN S. MARIA-DI-TRASTAVERA, ROME. (Durand) f.p. 56

46. LABYRINTH IN S. VITALE, RAVENNA. (Durand) f.p. 56

47. LABYRINTH IN CHARTRES CATHEDRAL. (Gailhabaud) 58

48. LABYRINTH IN AMIENS CATHEDRAL. (Gailhabaud) 59

49. LABYRINTH IN PARISH CHURCH, ST. QUENTIN. (Gailhabaud) 60

50. LABYRINTH IN RHEIMS CATHEDRAL. (Gailhabaud) f.p. 61

51. LABYRINTH IN AMIENS CATHEDRAL, CENTRAL PLATE. (Gailhabaud) f.p. 62

52. LABYRINTH IN BAYEUX CATHEDRAL. (Amé) f.p. 62

53. LABYRINTH IN SENS CATHEDRAL. (Gailhabaud) 62

54. LABYRINTH IN ABBEY OF ST. BERTIN, ST. OMER. (Wallet) 63

55. LABYRINTH IN POITIERS CATHEDRAL. (Auber) 64

56. LABYRINTHS ON TILES. Toussaints Abbey, Chalons. (Amé) f.p. 74

57. LABYRINTH IN ELY CATHEDRAL. (W. H. M.) 66

58. LABYRINTH IN CHURCH AT BOURN, CAMBS. (W. H. M.) 69

59. "JULIAN'S BOWER," ALKBOROUGH, LINCS. (Litho., Rev. G. Yorke) 72

60. TURF LABYRINTH AT WING, RUTLAND. (Photo, W. J. Stocks; by permission of Rev. E. A. Irons) f.p. 74

61. "SHEPHERD'S RACE," BOUGHTON GREEN, NORTHANTS. (After Trollope) 76

62. "MIZMAZE," ST. CATHERINE'S HILL, WINCHESTER. (W. H. M.) 80

63. TURF LABYRINTH, PIMPERNE, DORSET. (Hutchins) 81

64. TURF LABYRINTH, SAFFRON WALDEN, ESSEX. (W. H. M.) 83

65. "THE MAZLES," COMBERTON, CAMBS. (Photo, W. H. M.) f.p. 84

66. TURF LABYRINTH, HILTON, HUNTS. (W. H. M.) 85

67. TURF LABYRINTH, HILTON, HUNTS. (Photo, W. H. M.) f.p. 84

68. "WALLS OF TROY," ROCKCLIFFE MARSH, CUMBERLAND. (After Ferguson) 87

69. "TROY-TOWN," SOMERTON, OXON. (From sketch by O. W. Godwin) 89

70. "CAERDROIA." (After P. Roberts) 94

71. LABYRINTH DEVICE OF ARCHBISHOP OF EMBRUN. (After C. Paradin) 97

72. FLORAL LABYRINTH. (De Vries) f.p. 100

73. FLORAL LABYRINTH. (De Vries) 102

74. FLORAL LABYRINTH. (De Vries) f.p. 101

75, 76. HERBAL LABYRINTHS. (T. Hill) 104

77, 78. MAZE DESIGNS IN XVIITH CENTURY MANUSCRIPT. (Harley MS., Brit. Mus.) 106

79. MAZE DESIGN BY ADAM ISLIP, 1602 107

80. MAZE DESIGN BY J. COMMELYN, 1676 108

81. MAZE DESIGN BY J. SERLIO. (XVIth Century) 113

82. MAZE AT CHARLEVAL. (After Du Cerceau) 114

83, 84. MAZES AT GAILLON. (After Du Cerceau) 114

85. MAZE AT THEOBALDS, HERTS. (After Trollope) 115

86. MAZE AT HATFIELD, HERTS. (Photo, G. F. Green) Frontispiece

87. MAZE AT HATFIELD, HERTS. Plan. (W. H. M.) 116

88. LABYRINTH OF VERSAILLES. (Perrault) f.p. 118

89. LABYRINTH OF VERSAILLES. Fable Group: "Hare and Tortoise" 118

90. LABYRINTH OF VERSAILLES. Fable Group: "Fox and Crow" 119

91. LABYRINTH OF VERSAILLES. Fable Group: "Snake and Porcupine" 120

92. LABYRINTH AT THE TUILERIES, PARIS. (After Du Cerceau) 121

93. LABYRINTH AT CHOISY-LE-ROI. (Blondel) f.p. 121

94. LABYRINTH AT CHANTILLY. (Blondel) f.p. 121

95, 96. MAZE DESIGNS BY ANDRÉ MOLLET. ("Le Jardin de Plaisir," 1651) f.p. 123

97 to 106. MAZE DESIGNS BY G. A. BOECKLER. ("Architectura Curiosa Nova," 1664) 122-126

107. MAZE AT GUNTERSTEIN, HOLLAND. (Nicholas Visscher) f.p. 126

108. MAZE AT GUNTERSTEIN, HOLLAND. Plan. (Visscher) f.p. 126

109. GARDENS AT LOO, HOLLAND, WITH MAZES. (W. Harris) f.p. 127

110. MAZE AT HAMPTON COURT. (Photo, G. F. Green) f.p. 128

111. MAZE AT HAMPTON COURT. Plan. (W. H. M.) 129

112. HAMPTON COURT. Mazes and "Plan-de-Troy" in XVIIIth Century. (Engraving, J. Rocque, 1736) 130

113. HAMPTON COURT. "The Little Maze." (Photo, G. F. Green) f.p. 128

114. LABYRINTH DESIGN BY L. LIGER. (From London and Wise) 131

115. MAZE DESIGN BY BATTY LANGLEY. ("New Principles of Gardening," 1728) f.p. 131

116. MAZE DESIGN BY BATTY LANGLEY. ("New Principles of Gardening," 1728) f.p. 130

117. LABYRINTH AT TRINITY COLLEGE, OXFORD. (Williams) f.p. 133

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