
Holy Roman Emperor Karl IV (1316-1378) | Translation of the poem Vor Alten Jaren (From Years Past) dated about year 1550: From ancient times, for certain, is the family called the Langmanns, who already before the year 1280 resided in the town (Nuremberg). This we learn from many families who were their friends at the time, all noble people, well known; and it was at the time of the year 1347 after Christus that Herr Hans Langmann was elected, from his family the first to the senate of Nuremberg, the noble imperial city. There he served his fathers' land with remarkable zest and enthusiasm because he was clever and wise. He was by the plebeians driven out of town in the year 1349,*) along with everyone from the council, so the story goes; but reinstated by Karl IV, and was then for quite some time still on council, until the year 1369 when he was taken away by death. After him has none other (Langmann) been appointed to the senate; although they still for quite a while resided in the city as well as several places here and there, serving the clergy with great zeal. Finally, like everything else in the world disappears and comes to an end, so these Langmenn, altogether, reached an end with their name. The family (Nuremberg line) has been extinct for a long time; more than 200 years now. *) At the time Nuremberg had a population of between 3,000 and 4,000 souls and the city-republic was governed by representative for the 42 patrician families that made up the aristocracy. |