Abstract

The medieval urbanisation of Europe, not least in its manifestation in the region presented here, embraced the whole natural landscape as well as the social landscape. Water - as an indispensable prerequisite for human settlement - was a recurring topic for urban magistrates - even in the relatively humid regions north of the Alps. In this contribution, exemplary aquatic aspects of the urbanisation of the Upper and Middle Rhine Valley in the 13th century will be examined. The analysis shows once more how many facets and forms of water had to be made use of, regulated and negotiated in political conflicts - between town lords and townspeople and within the communes. But also the environmental challenges which particularly floods (in themselves often a fallout of deforestation for urbanisation) posed for towns are taken into account. In doing so, the methodological problems with the scarcity of given sources in this relatively early urban era of the Middle Ages (in this region) are weighed throughout.