The study conveys insights into the creative strategies employed by German romance authors of the high Middle Ages in the adaptation of their usually French sources. With reference to Heinrich von Veldeke, noted by his contemporaries for his pioneering status, it indicates that the adaptation process was influenced by firmly established rhetorical and poetic principles that the scholarly authors habitually complied with. While this restricted the scope of their poetic license, it also encouraged their creativity. It was in fact precisely their command of this rule-guided poetic repertory that enabled them to produce great literature.