Along w/ folk history, I'm sure we all can acknowledge the ancient days of timber framing is also a murky thing. Like Ken has said, "know that we don't know," etc... We don't know a lot about all this.
Given that, I'm not really hoping the wheel is a pagan symbol, but when I saw repeated references that it was used to ward off evil, I started to wonder. A chance web site is one thing, but three web sites makes me think there might just be something to the whole thing. I think it should remain on the table. There might be a connection down the line.
Though I doubt the wheel was created as a simultaneous building aid and "magic device," I do think it's origins are obscure enough to suggest some symbolic reference outside of architecture. Though I really have no idea, I'm willing to believe the wheel as a building aid came second to whatever it might have been before.
As we know, many early cultures built buildings and even whole villages upon templates designed for other, higher purposes in their culture. The pyramids of Egypt were built according to celestial bodies, Mayan temples were constructed to receive the sun on certian dates. The Forbidden City in China was aligned along a strict North-South axis and adhered to the harmonious science of feng-shui. Stonehenge.... and on it goes.
England--and Europe for that matter--was not always a Christian land. It only makes sense-- and I think we should be open to the possibility-- that some pagan influence is to be found in early timber framing design. The "Whetting Bush" is a fine example, in my mind, of a pagan-influenced rather than Christian-based custom associated w/ timber framing.
Something makes me think Germany, etc... the Norse traditions, as the root of attaching a small evergreen at the peak of a frame. I mean England is not known for being the softwood capital of the world. The Norse honored evergreens. Why didn't the English attach an oak to the peak? That's the forest that built their great structures, not spruce, pine and fir.
I'm looking forward to Gabel's upcoming post on what Laurie Smith has said about the wheel, it's origins, etc. And I wonder if Mr. Smith suggested why it fell out of favor as a design tool?
