Hermann Fressant was a 14th-century town clerk in the German city of Ulm

Ulm

Ulm is a city in the federal German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the River Danube. The city, whose population is estimated at 120,000 , forms an urban district of its own and is the administrative seat of the Alb-Donau district. Ulm, founded around 850, is rich in history and...

. He was probably born in Augsburg

Augsburg

Augsburg is a city in the south-west of Bavaria, Germany. It is a university town and home of the Regierungsbezirk Schwaben and the Bezirk Schwaben. Augsburg is an urban district and home to the institutions of the Landkreis Augsburg. It is, as of 2008, the third-largest city in Bavaria with a...

. His claim to fame is the late Middle High German

Middle High German

Middle High German , abbreviated MHG , is the term used for the period in the history of the German language between 1050 and 1350. It is preceded by Old High German and followed by Early New High German...

verse tale of marital fidelity, Der Hellerwertwitz (A Ha'porth of Good Sense). A philandering merchant is advised to pretend that he has become a pauper. He finds that his golddigging mistresses abandon him; in contrast, his loyal wife comforts him.