How to Cite

Fischer, Susanna: Städte in Ruinen: Ruinenpoetik in der lateinischen Dichtung des 12. Jahrhunderts, in Kipf, Johannes Klaus and Schwarz, Jörg (Eds.): Stadtgeschichte(n): Stadt und Kultur in Mittelalter und Früher Neuzeit, Heidelberg: Heidelberg University Publishing, 2024 (Das Mittelalter. Perspektiven mediävistischer Forschung. Beihefte, Volume 21), p. 41–64. https://doi.org/10.17885/heiup.1258.c19225

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https://doi.org/10.17885/heiup.1258
ISBN 978-3-96822-236-3 (PDF)
ISBN 978-3-96822-237-0 (Hardcover)

Published

03/28/2024

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Authors

Susanna Fischer

Städte in Ruinen

Ruinenpoetik in der lateinischen Dichtung des 12. Jahrhunderts

Abstract This contribution deals with the poetic concept of cities in ruins, mainly the ruins of Troy and Rome, in Latin poems from antiquity to the 12th century with a focus on the ninth poem, ‘Urbs erat illustris’, of Hugh Primas (ca. 1093–1160). It discusses the contrast of past splendour and the visible decay of the ruins as well as the contrast between civilisation and nature described in Latin poems on ruins.

It is shown how the poetics of ruins can be described in Latin poems on Troy. Motifs of the poetics of ruins include the depiction of how the ruins are overgrown with plants, which animals live in them and the contrasts of wealth / royalty and poverty / agriculture. Finally, the connection between ruins and the fame of the poet as a motif of the poetics of ruins is considered.

Keywords ruins; poetics; Troy; Rome