of the comet and then he died when the comet disappeared. Legend of Tannhäuser Tannhäuser, a prominent German Minnesänger and poet, was a contemporary of Urban—the pope died in 1264, and the Minnesänger died shortly after 1265. Two centuries later, the pope became a major character in a legend which grew up about the Minnesänger, which is first attested in 1430 and propagated in ballads from 1450. The legendary account makes Tannhäuser a knight and poet who found the Venusberg, the subterranean home of Venus, and spent a year there worshipping the goddess. After leaving the Venusberg, Tannhäuser is filled with remorse and travels to Rome to ask Pope Urban IV if it is possible to be absolved of his sins. Urban replies that forgiveness is as impossible as it would be for his papal staff to send forth green leaves. Three days after Tannhäuser's departure Urban's staff begins to grow new leaves; messengers are sent to retrieve the knight, but he has already returned to Venusberg, never to be seen again; while the Pope, for refusing a penitent, is damned eternally. See also List of popes Notes References David Abulafia, 1988. Frederick II, pp 413ff. External links Catholic Encyclopedia: Pope Urban IV 1195 births 1264 deaths People from Troyes French popes Latin Patriarchs of Jerusalem 13th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in the Kingdom of Jerusalem 13th-century French Roman Catholic bishops Non-cardinals elected pope Bishops of Verdun Apostolic Envoys to Poland Viterbo Papacy Christians of the Prussian Crusade Popes 13th-century popes