Chartres Labyrinth (June 1)

I was keen to get back to Chartres Cathedral early-ish to avoid any crowds and to walk the labyrinth.  They were just moving the chairs when I arrived, so I helped.

When the labyrinth was built into the floor (in the 1200s, possibly as late as 1240), people never sat in church, they stood, so you could walk it any time.  In fact, over the years, it was seen as a frivolous past time, and there was talk about destroying it, as others had been destroyed.  At Chartres, the chairs are moved back every Friday (unless there is some special Mass or service on), and people now come as a pilgrimmage to walk the labyrinth.

There is one way into the centre, and you retrace your steps along the same route out.  Everyone has their own style of walking.  The woman in front of me paused at every corner.  I think she was doing a meditation as she went.  The design means that you are walking the longest distance within the smallest area.  Just when you think you are finished you head back in.  When you think you are meeting someone head on, each path curves away. 

The design is just under 13 metres in diameter, and the path length is about 260 metres.  I walked it once with shoes and once barefoot, to feel the texture and the coldness of the stones and to connect with those who'd gone before.  I'm not religious at all, but it's a wonderful experience.

The floor of the cathedral is paved with light mustard yellow stones, quarried from nearby Bercheres les Pierres.  They are quite beautiful