The Jerusalem Theory and Its Problems
~ Saturday, May 15, 2021 ~
The popular account of medieval cathedral labyrinths runs as follows. After Jerusalem fell to Saladin in 1187, pilgrimage to the Holy Land became impossible or dangerous for most European Christians. The Church responded by constructing symbolic substitutes — labyrinths in cathedral naves, called chemins de Jérusalem, roads to Jerusalem. Penitents walked them, sometimes on their knees, as a proxy for the actual journey. The centre represented the Holy City. The path represented the long road to get there.
This account is coherent. It has the further advantage of being emotionally satisfying in a way that makes it easy to repeat. It has one problem: it is not documented.