The Idea of the Labyrinth from Classical Antiquity through the Middle Ages

by Penelope Reed Doob

Ancient and medieval labyrinths embody paradox, according to Penelope Reed Doob. Their structure allows a double perspective—the baffling, fragmented prospect confronting the maze-treader within, and the comprehensive vision available to those without. Mazes simultaneously assert order and chaos, artistry and confusion, articulated clarity and bewildering complexity, perfected pattern and hesitant process. In this handsomely illustrated book, Doob reconstructs from a variety of literary and visual sources the idea of the labyrinth from the classical period through the Middle Ages.

Doob first examines several complementary traditions of the maze topos, showing how ancient historical and geographical writings generate metaphors in which the labyrinth signifies admirable complexity, while poetic texts tend to suggest that the labyrinth is a sign of moral duplicity. She then describes two common models of the labyrinth and explores their formal implications: the unicursal model, with no false turnings, found almost universally in the visual arts; and the multicursal model, with blind alleys and dead ends, characteristic of literary texts. This paradigmatic clash between the labyrinths of art and of literature becomes a key to the metaphorical potential of the maze, as Doob's examination of a vast array of materials from the classical period through the Middle Ages suggests. She concludes with linked readings of four "labyrinths of words": Virgil's Aeneid, Boethius' Consolation of Philosophy, Dante's Divine Comedy, and Chaucer's House of Fame, each of which plays with and transforms received ideas of the labyrinth as well as reflecting and responding to aspects of the texts that influenced it.

Doob not only provides fresh theoretical and historical perspectives on the labyrinth tradition, but also portrays a complex medieval aesthetic that helps us to approach structurally elaborate early works. Readers in such fields as Classical literature, Medieval Studies, Renaissance Studies, comparative literature, literary theory, art history, and intellectual history will welcome this wide-ranging and illuminating book.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Mythology, Art, Medieval, Literary Criticism, Design

541 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1990

Reviews

[Rex · Rating 4 out of 5]

Regrettably, large portions of this book read like they were written by a literary critic (which they were), but jargon notwithstanding, this book has a lot of valuable insight into the meanings of the labyrinth archetype in classical and medieval literature.

[Shawnee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting examination of the idea of the labyrinth as inherited from classical sources and used in medieval world and literature.

[Mary Catelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

An analysis not so much of labyrinths -- though she discusses the ancient treatment of them -- as what was thought about them. For instance, a labyrinth can be a symbol of marvelous artistry, or even of creation itself. On the other hand, it can be an inextricable condition -- invariably a symbol of something bad, such as sin or error (which, in its original meaning was "wandering astray"). Or again, it can be an impenetrable condition -- usually bad, sometimes good, as a symbol of learning and so finally arriving at the center.

Some of the comparisons seem a bit strained, but it's full of interesting stuff.

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

An enormously learned and thorough investigation of the ways in which the idea of the labyrinth travelled from classical Greece through the early Christian period to inspire and influence three great medieval writers - Boethius, Dante and Chaucer, each in their turn building on the earlier masterpiece of labyrinthine artistry, Virgil's Aeneid. The author's erudition is a thing of awe, and she acts as a deliberate and illuminating guide to take us through the labyrinths which she puts before us, both in terms of her subject and the structure of her own book. I'm not a medieval scholar - the importance of the book for me was to demonstrate the meanings within and the applicability of that idea of the labyrinth, which may well have much to offer us in our own time as an image of the political, cultural and spiritual world in which we live.

[Dan · Rating 1 out of 5]

Did not finish. Interesting premise but too dry and academic for my tastes.

[Virginia · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Pj · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is definitely one I'm keeping so I can reference back to it. Author relates the IDEA of the Labyrinth to Virgil's Aeneid, Boethius's Consolation of Philosophy, Dante's Divine Comedy, and Chaucer's The House of Fame. Gives me inspiration to read all of them and relate it back to this book.
The first few pages explained the form of a labyrinth, but mainly this book uses the IDEA of a labyrinth metaphorically rather than the actual architecture of one. So, if you want to explore more in-depth history or ideologies regarding labyrinths you may need to seek another book, but this book stretched my mind a bit and I liked that! I think if you are into language construction, text, and, if I may, 'verbal maze's you will get something out of this one!
Quite the intellectual read.

[DeCarabas · Rating 4 out of 5]

The 'labyrinths' here get more abstract and rely more on the author's own theories and interpretations as the book goes on, from Crete to garden mazes to 'labyrinthine' sermons - by chapter six I kept thinking 'now you've stretched the metaphor too far' and needed some convincing that we were still talking about medieval ideas of the labyrinth and not just the present-day author's, but most of the time she did end up convincing me by the end of the chapter! Her focus is much more on the middle ages, which was a bit of a disappointment for me personally, the 'classical antiquity' part should have been left out of the title really; but those last chapters on fictional labyrinths were compelling, the section on the Queste del Saint Graal especially.