"A Mighty Maze! Without a Plan" Cosmological
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
"A MIGHTY MAZE! BUT NOT WITHOUT A PLAN" COSMOLOGICAL INTERPRETATIONS OF THE LABYRINTH Vahtang Hark Shervashidze, Master of Arts <Hons. l, Science and Technology Studies, 1989 A.H.D.G. Expa.tia.te free o'er all this scene of Man; A mighty maze! but not without a plan; A viId, where weeds and flowers promiscuous shoot j Or garden, tempting with forbidden fruit. Alexander Pope, An Essay on Man, 1,5-8. I hereby declare that this submission is my own work and that, to the best of my know ledge and belief, it contains no material previously published or written by another person nor material which to a substantial extent has been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma of a university or other institute of higher learning, except where due acknowledgement is made in the text. Vahtang Mark Shervashidze 1 ABSTRACT The history of the labyrinth in Western thought is intimately connected with the development of Christianity and the philosophical movements associated with it. Roughly speaking, the labyrinth has passed through three periods of development. First, there were the Minoan and Greek sources of the Theseus cycle, which are the foundation of 1abyrinth-1 ore. The Greeks also provided the analogical structure which allowed the labyrinth to expand its repertoire of metaphor beyond mythology into literature. Secondly, perhaps due to the renascence of classical literature in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, the labyrinth enjoyed some popularity in France and Italy. Here we must distinguish between purely conceptual, literary labyrinths and the artifactual examples which dot cathedral and church floors across the lie de France and Italy. These artifactual labyrinths have us at a considerable disadvantage. Unlike their literary counterparts, they appear sourceless, their meaning lost. This brings us to the last period of labyrinth development - the secularization of the labyrinth in the Renaissance. This final period saw the transformation of a religious symbol into a garden ornament. Nevertheless, the 2 labyrinth retained its power as a metaphor, infecting new worlds with its enigmatic appeal. In order to comprehend the depth of the labyrinth’s symbolism and document transition from the sacred to the profane, consideration must be given to many testimonies. For instance, it is equally a chapter in the history of garden design as it is labyrinth-lore. The sources for such a study, include: the -QcvSSACfxL , cwid. Mech&oJi ; Sc^ApWe Owd iVa HcWa, Volv pW* Ov\ n^cJcki^ de&cyi In this thesis I have attempted to trace the various ways in which the labyrinth has been used to encapsulate man’s comprehension of the concept of "cosmos" at various periods up to the Renaissance, with special reference to certain key episodes in the history of the labyrinth. CONTENTS Introduction with Notes 1 I: The Labyrinth in Ancient Greece 30 II: The Labyrinth in Virgil’s Aeneid 62 III: The Labyrinth in the Christian World 100 IV: The Concept of the Labyrinth in Dante’s CommedicL 156 V: The Labyrinths of the Hypnerotoma.chi3i Poliphllli 177 VI: Conclusion 206 Notes - I 214 11 220 11 I 224 IV 238 V 242 VI 252 Bibliography 253 F l Qor.es 1* (Q'b') If owe wifa the cruaW^ pattern.... Z. The. e^plo'iiis of- TVie-Seos. 3>.— c\. C-fC^CUA, COm«^. 10. *TV>e Palace s>\ay\. 11. The. k.e*^ pcvHewv • 12..-»3. Twro versions of "the TWe^d ^a/W. t*+. "The labtjri^tU as <a caK| <k~ vVvouse". i5. Avi E^^ia&caaa- v/ase with Oaa i\\ usVab'erf cl la.(sH*d»\lWiiune 'I -T- > '( J TUvIOl . I (a. ”^c labjnatU of S». P^po^AfiAS ll. Avt OrtUDfltac \obvySnfls of Op'iza , ^eor^ia_ 2 \%. "The. lab^/'futU af Chores c^JjUedcsl. [°[. A Cjo** p<V\So*\, H\j£ ^«ovvAcivT>j &4 tkc la&ijtfiitfli cwvcj H\j£. rcrud- ^©ud t O^uwf^S. 20 . TVe- laU^rSAft« v.ia CWw^Wes CoJS^cJaTgI ua 1W s«XixWli\ CCaa^Uw!^ . *Da. Is +V raWtl" bura*^ 1W, sec*e> wa^ 1kc SCUacTuO^X^ ? Zl. The wesf Aaoade. , Cba^ncs aaa^I detail. 2.2-• R>l\pVhlo ua "tW ctcu/Li. wood- ZJb. "The plcuAeJ"CWtj S€aJS . l\. <V^>l\ pVulo befiye. &,weev\ EleittealicW wi 1W 'cdesfexl" paWe. 3L5. A pbviefex/tj IcvJotjAwlti • H*1 c&du*1^ . olb • The ^!0x^i/v\a.vMA. yyvT'T^j Cc\,&A(\a*f. 1 INTRODUCTION The labyrinth has exerted a fascination over man’s imagination from prehistory to the present day. It is a symbol which occurs in many cultures far removed from one another physically, temporally and philosophically. Yet, after several millennia its evocativeness remains undiminished. It is, with its sibling the maze, a wellspring of perplexity and awe, and the fear these breed. But, to solve the mystery of the labyrinth is to win the hero’s laurel. In this thesis I have attempted to trace the various ways in which the labyrinth has been used to describe man’s comprehension of the concept of "cosmos" at key periods up to and including the Renaissance. The history of the labyrinth in Western thought is ultimately connected with the development of Christianity and the philosophical movements associated with it. Roughly speaking, the labyrinth has passed through three major periods of development. First, there were the Minoan and Greek sources of the Cretan cycle of legends which are the foundation of 1abyringht-1 ore. The Greeks, and later the Romans, amplified the analogical structure of labyrinth symbolism which allowed the labyrinth to extend its repertoire of metaphor beyond mythology into literature. 2 The most important innovation in both the structure and interpretation of the labyrinth in the classical - as opposed to the antique - period of the labyrinth’s development was Virgil’s extensive use of labyrinth symbolism in his epic poem the Aenied. Secondly, perhaps due to the renascence of classical literature in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, the labyrinth enjoyed a restoration of popularity throughout Europe. Here we must distinguish between the purely conceptual, literary labyrinths and the artifactual examples which dotted cathedral and church floors across the lie de France and Italy, and, in the form of the turf mazes, of England’s pastures green! There are also examples of labyrinths formed by placing stones in a pattern, although these are almost exclusive to Scandinavia. These artifactual labyrinths have us at a considerable disadvantage, for, unlike their literary counterparts they appear sourceless, and their meaning lost. This brings us to our final period of labyrinth development - the secularisation of the labyrinth in the Renaissance. This period saw the transformation of a mysterious religious symbol into a garden ornament. Nevertheless, the labyrinth retained its power as a metaphor; infecting new worlds with its enigmatic appeal. 3 From its first conception, the labyrinth has been bound to the concept of heroism. A study of the labyrinth is equally a study of the adoption of the classical conceptions of heroism by early Christian thinkers and the eventual evolution of a purely Christian concept of heroism in Medieval chivalry (1). The Greek conception of the exceptional man endowed with arete, and tragically struck down by fate for his arrogance and hubris is represented by Theseus. He was the victim of the tension between the gift of fortune and the will to self determination. The Platonic hero who rises above the temporal flux of bodily passions by self-knowledge and self-transcendence, and who does not outwardly display his exceptionality, is represented by Aeneas; an individual whose every action dictated the genesis of an empire. Both these concepts of the hero were to transform the Biblical Judaic-Christian conception of heroism - blind obedience to complete an exceptional task with faith alone - by adding the elements of outward elegance and the quest for self-knowledge. This transformation emerges from the chivalric literature of the Middle Ages, and forms the basis of the cult of individuality which has been identified as the initiating presumption of the Penaissance (2). The importance of Virgil’s contribution to the development and elaboration of the metaphor of the 4 labyrinth cannot be overestimated. The pervasiveness of labyrinth symbolism in the Aenied provided an almost inexhaustible mine of interpretative information - some of Virgil’s own invention, some of it deriving from the Hellenic traditions of Augustan Rome. One of these traditions was the Troia.e lussus or Troy game. In the Aenied the mimetic war game is counter-pointed with the final battle between Aeneas and Turnus. With this bold stroke, Virgil in his epic modelled on the I1 1 i a.d linked the foundation of the Augustan empire to the mythological exploits of Aeneas. In so doing, Virgil elevated Aeneas to a new position of dominance in Roman history - a Roman Achilles - thereby extending the Platonic conception of heroism into the historical sphere bringing together the spheres of religion and politics. Furthermore, it was Aeneas’ labyrinthine journey into the Underworld which was the vehicle of the conjunction. This conjunction of spiritual and political power was to have profound effects on the development of the Christian Church and its rise to dominance in Western Europe, as the Roman empire became the Roman Papacy. If nothing else, it ensured the transmission of the labyrinth from Hellenic culture to the cultures of Northern Europe. This is most evident in the practice of naming labyrinths after Troy and in tracing the 5 heredity of European bloodlines to Trojan stock. I do not think it is too far-fetched to suggest that Virgil’s works, and in particular the Aenied and its commentar i es, made up the bulk o f the Antique "curriculum" which was revived i n the Caro1ingen and Ottonian renascences (3).