Abstract

Medieval poets used water as a complex metaphor for a wide range of purposes. Through examples taken from the 13th-century novels ‘Herzog Ernst’ and Konrad Fleck’s ‘Flore und Blanscheflur’, the contribution will show that literary texts often refer to the broad symbolic and especially religious implications given to the element of water. Both epics contain elaborated descriptions of waterworks as central elements within different urban structures and architectures. These depictions of water refer to biblical images like the Garden of Eden or the Heavenly Jerusalem and therefore transport specific spiritual concepts of meaning. At the same time, a particular aesthetic and representative impact is given to them. The visualisation of artful controlled water turns out to be a highly suitable pattern to signify technological skills, power, and cultural refinement. The poetical significance of these waterworks lies in the creation of an intriguing interaction of this worldly claim of validity and the ‘proper’ Christian meaning of water.