What size and shape is the labyrinth?
Much has been written about the exact size and measurements of the Chartres labyrinth. Hermann Kern (Kern, 1982), for example, stated categorically that the labyrinth is elliptical rather than circular, 12.60 x 12.30 metres (41 feet 4 inches by 40 feet 4 inches). He based his statement on comments from Maurice Guinguand, who had presumably taken his measurements from the often-published overhead photograph that appears in many books. However, this photograph, taken through a small hole in the ceiling of the nave, where the vaulting ribs intersect, is not directly above the centre, but offset toward the entrance of the labyrinth. As a consequence, it will always appear slightly elliptical in any of these apparently ‘overhead’ photographs. The exact size of the labyrinth has been the subject of some disagreement. W.H. Matthews said about 40 feet, Nigel Pennick and Lauren Artress say approximately 42 feet and Emanuel Wallet gives 13 metres, nearer 43 feet. Actually the labyrinth is 12.887
