Typology History

This article examines the evolution of non-maze labyrinth typology in the century since its foundational principles were defined, tracing its progression from early descriptive and historical cataloguing towards a rigorous, mathematical classification framework. The scholarly foundation was established in 1922 by W.H. Matthews, who provided the field's fundamental terminology, including the crucial distinction between unicursal and multicursal paths. This work was followed by subsequent categorisation and cataloguing efforts by other early figures, especially Hermann Kern and Wiktor Daszewski, who expanded the available historical examples. A pivotal shift occurred in the 1980s with the introduction of topological analysis by researchers such as Pierre Rosenstiehl and Anthony Phillips, who employed mathematical rules, thread diagrams, and a more formal language for understanding labyrinth patterns. This mathematical turn also highlighted the necessary separation of a labyrinth's consistent type (its underlying path topology) from its variable style (its visual expression). Despite these advances, the proliferation of new designs, inconsistent naming, and conflicting terminology necessitate an improved, scientifically grounded framework, which is the focus of ongoing research. This paper underscores the critical importance of a topological and algorithmic approach for developing a comprehensive, consistent classification system that can accommodate historical forms and modern innovations, ultimately resolving ambiguities for both academic and public use.