Hugo von Langenstein

Hugo von Langenstein, a Swabian nobleman who took holy orders, was the author of a legend of St Martina, a saint new to the German calendar. Hugo, whose family owned land in Hegau and the island of Mainau in Lake Constance, entered the Teutonic Order (see Deutscher Orden) in 1272, and is last mentioned as a priest in Freiburg (Breisgau) in 1298. Die Heilige Martina, an immense poem of 33, 000 lines, recounts the saint's sufferings, steadfast faith, and martyrdom. Its length derives partly from prolixity of style and partly from the application to the saint's legend of the method of allegorical interpretation. The poem is dated 1293. Hugo seems to have been influenced by Konrad von Würzburg, whom he knew personally. He has also been credited with the authorship of the Mainauer Naturlehre.