Page - 148 - in The Power of Urban Water - Studies in premodern urbanism

148 Margit Dahm-Kruse ezwasouchgeleitet, Eswurdeauchweitergeleitet über al die burc gebreitet: unddurchdie ganze Stadt geführt. daz geschachmit sinne. Das geschahmit gutemBedacht: die strâzendar inne Die Straßen inder Stadt, beide grôz undkleine die großenwiedie kleinen, wârn vonmarmelsteine, warenausMarmorsteinen, sumlîche grüeneals ein gras. manche so grünwiedasGras. so inder burc erhabenwas Wennman inder Stadt aufgestandenwar undmandâ schônewoldehân, unddort Sauberkeitwünschte, sô liezmandazwazzer sân so ließman sogleichdasWasser über al die burc gên. durchdie ganze Stadt fließen. sômohtedâniht bestên So konntedortweder Staub weder dazhor nochdermist. nochUnrat bleiben. in einer vil kurzen frist In kürzester Zeit sôwart die burc vil reine. wurdedie ganze Stadt gereinigt. ichwaeneburcdeheine Ich glaube, daßesauf der ganzenErde ûf erden ie sô rîch gestê: keine soprächtige Stadt gibt: ir strâzen glizzen sôder snê. Ihre Straßenglitzernwieder Schnee.26 These springs rising symbolically from the royal courtyard and therefore from the heart of the city, formanotheranalogy to theHeavenly Jerusalem.Thepicture inventoryof John’s revelation contains a river rising from themidst of theHeavenly city, carrying thewater of life from the lamb’s throne to the entire city.27 Throughthe imageof theHeavenly Jerusalem, thecityofGrippia isequippedwith religious meaning in the first instance, but the Christian pattern is undermined as the story progresses andGrippia’s inhabitants return. TheGrippians are hybrid beingswith crane-heads atop their well-shaped andwell-dressed human bodies.28 They have abducted a Christian princess from Indiawho, to her horror, shall be forced tomarry Grippia’s King. Of course the Duke decides to free the princess. A tremendous slaughter starts andmany Grippians lose their lives, but unfortunately the Indianprincess andmost of Ernst’smen,whohad rushedback to the city to help theduke, die, too. But the initially heavenly-seeming city is not only called into question by the appearance of its cruel and heathen inhabitants and the devastating battles. The perfect cityscape itself turnsout tobeadoubtfulorambivalentplace through thestrongseductivepower ithason the succumbing protagonist. This becomes apparent in the scene where the Duke discovers the water supply and the bathhousementioned above. The protagonist’s behaviour in this scene becomes slightly strange. Even though his companion urges him to hurry up, because he is afraidGrippia’s inhabitantscouldreturnatanymoment,Ernst insistson the twoof themtaking off their clothes and bathing extensively in the golden bathtubs. Afterwards, theywalk to the royalbedchamberand liedowninamagnificentbed–which isprepared for theweddingnight ofGrippia’s king–and there, they rest for awhile. 26 ‘HerzogErnst’, ed. Sowinski 1979,V. 2681–2698. 27 Apc 22, 1–2. 28 The appearance of Cyclopes, Skiapodes, Antipodes or other kinds of so-called ‘Wundervölker’ ormonstra is a quite commonpattern,not only in severalmedievalnovels, but also inmedievalmappaemundi. For example, the EbstorfMap (around 1300) or theHerefordMap (endof the 13th century) depict different kindsofmonstrous races more or less everywhere outside Europe.Medieval ‘knowledge’ ofmonstra is basedonan encyclopaedic tradition fromAntiquity, especiallyonPlinius’Naturalis historiaand theantiquePhysiologus (cf.Haupt 2006, 79f.; Szklenar 1966, 182).While there is consensus about these origins in general, the source of the crane-men as a particular and also unique type of Easternmonstrum remains unclear. Lecouteux presented an old legend found in a letter of Petrus Damiani (1007–1072) as a possible source (cf. Lecouteux 1981, 100–102), while Haupt considered the crane-men to be a variety of the Cynocephali as amore frequentlymentioned sort ofmonstrum (cf. Haupt 2008, 167f.). For anoverviewof the researchon the crane-men, seeBowden2012, 24–26.