Editing Pope Urban IV (section)

==Legend of Tannhäuser==
[[Tannhäuser]], a prominent German [[Minnesang|Minnesänger]] and poet, was a contemporary of Urban. Two centuries after the respective deaths, Pope Urban IV became a major character in a legend about the Minnesänger, which was first attested to exist in 1430 and became established in ballads from 1450.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Feast of Corpus Christi|last=Barbara|first=Walters|publisher=Pennsylvania State University Press|year=2006|isbn=978-0271076386|page=105}}</ref>

According to this account, Tannhäuser was a knight and poet who discovered [[Venusberg (mythology)|Venusberg]], the underground home of [[Venus (goddess)|Venus]], and spent a year there worshipping the goddess. After leaving Venusberg, Tannhäuser was filled with remorse and traveled to [[Rome]] seeking Pope Urban IV's absolution of his sins. Urban replied that forgiving him would be as impossible as the papal staff growing leaves. Three days after Tannhäuser's departure, Urban's staff began growing leaves. The pope sent messengers seeking the knight, but he had already returned to Venusberg, never to be seen again. <ref name="Morris2002">{{cite book|last=Morris|first=William|title=The Earthly Paradise|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_uHAQAbRrjUC&pg=PA714|access-date=6 September 2012|year=2002|publisher=Psychology Press|isbn=978-0415941518|page=714}}</ref>