Turf maze


 
 

Historically, a turf maze is a labyrinth made by cutting a convoluted path into a level area of short grass, turf or lawn. Some had names such as Mizmaze, Troy Town, The Walls of Troy, Julian's Bower, or Shepherd's Race (see #Maze names, below). This is the type of maze referred to by William Shakespeare in A Midsummer Night's Dream (Act 2, Scene 2) when Titania says

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

:"The nine men's morris is fill'd up with mud;

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

:and the quaint mazes in the wanton green,

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

:for lack of tread are undistinguishable."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

As a group they were (and still are) commonly known as "mazes", although the terms "maze" and "labyrinth" are no longer considered interchangeable. Unlike a maze, which is an entertaining puzzle with many dead ends, a labyrinth is unicursal: it consists of one path which twists and turns but leads inevitably to the centre. In some turf labyrinths, the groove cut in the turf is the path to be walked (sometimes marked with bricks or gravel); more commonly the turf itself forms the raised path which is marked out by shallow channels excavated between its twists and turns.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Most British examples are based on one of two layouts: the Classical or the later, more complex Medieval type which is derived from it.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~


 

Labyrinth: :This article is about the mazelike labyrinth. For other uses, see labyrinth (disambiguation)...

Grass: In popular language grass means a short, green, ground covering or lawn, usually, but not necessarily comprised of a "true grass" or grasses, called turf. See also pasture, grassland.In botany, grass refers to plants of the Family Poaceae. These are the true grasses.Plants with "grass" in their name...

Turf: Turf may refer to...


Turf maze related Images and Photos (experimental)

Maze Pen
Maze Pen
Turf Purse
Turf Purse
Maze Racer
Maze Racer
Garden Maze V
Garden Maze V
The Turf Club
The Turf Club
Mechanical Maze
Mechanical Maze
The Maze  1953
The Maze 1953
The Maze  1953
The Maze 1953
Maze of the Subconscious
Maze of the Subconscious
Maze Cafe Cup and Saucer Set
Maze Cafe Cup and Saucer Set
Magnetic Color Maze
Magnetic Color Maze
Magnetic Number Maze
Magnetic Number Maze

~ Table of Content ~

Introduction
Origins of the turf maze
The purpose of turf mazes
Maze names
Historic turf mazes
Some modern turf mazes
See also
Further reading
External links
 


 

~ Related Subjects ~

Titania (1) - Maze (1) - William Shakespeare (1) - A Midsummer Night's Dream (1) - Classical (1) - Medieval (1) - Puzzle (1) - Unicursal (1) - Turf (1) - Lawn (1) - Labyrinth (1) - Grass (1) - Julian's Bower (1) - #Maze names (1) - Mizmaze (1) -
 

~ Community ~

History Forum
Come and discuss about History, Civilizations, Historical Events and Figures
History Web-Ring
A community of sites, blogs and forums dedicated to History. Do not hesitate to submit your site.