The introduction of these large labyrinths, together with the name which came at this time to be applied to them in France, namely, _Chemins de Jerusalem_, suggests the new use to which such arrangements now began to be put. It is well known that in some cases substitutes for the great pilgrimage to Jerusalem were allowed to be counted as of almost equal merit. Thus the Spaniards, so long as they had not expelled the infidel from their own territory, were forbidden to join the Crusades to the Holy Land; and were permitted to substitute a journey to the shrine of S. Jago, at Compostella, for one to the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. By an extension of the same principle, especially when the zeal of Christendom for pilgrimages began to cool, easy substitutes for the more exacting devotion were found in many ways. The introduction of the Stations of the Cross is ascribed to this cause, the devout following in imagination of the footsteps of the Saviour in His last sufferings, being accounted equivalent to visiting the holy places; and somewhat similarly, the maze, or labyrinth, is said to have been pressed into the service of religion, the following out (probably upon the knees) of its long and tortuous path-way, being reckoned as a simple substitute for a longer pilgrimage. From such a use as this, it was no great step to the employment of the maze as a means of penance in other cases. The whole of the intricate pathway was intended to remind the penitent of the difficulties which beset the Christian course; and the centre, which could only be reached by surmounting them, was often called heaven (_Ciel_). Nor could such a penance be deemed a light one. Though occupying so small a space of ground, the mazy path was so involved as to reach a considerable length, whence it was sometimes named the League (_La lieue_). The pathway at Chartres measures 668 feet; at Sens was a maze which required some 2,000 steps to gain the centre. An hour is said to have been often needed to accomplish the journey, due allowance being made for the prayers which had to be recited at certain fixed stations of it, or throughout its whole course.