Ulrich von Richental was born in Constance in 1364. It is documented that he was the city chronicler in the second half of the 14th century. Presumably, he is not of noble birth, since his name is not contained in the list of noble houses of the city of Constance. According to his own statements, he undertook several journeys, including to Bohemia. Nothing is known about his education. His knowledge of Latin enabled him to follow the events of the Council of Constance and write the known chronicle. According to his own writings, he helped with several of the council's chancellory affairs. For example, he placed his own property at the disposal of King Sigismund and his entourage and housed a bishop of the Archdiocese of Gnesen. The many insights into the background workings of the city and the standpoint of a largely uninvolved eyewitness allowed him to produce a vivid, descriptive, and credible depiction of all public events and assemblies involving secular and ecclesiastical ceremonies. The wealth of details contained in the chronicle as regards the names of participants, official writings, statistics on delinquency, number of foodstuff deliveries, etc. lets one infer that von Richental himself had access to the city agencies through an official city position or at least maintained good contact with these agencies. It can be assumed that he had a position in the city's chancellory and treasury during the time of the Council. He died in 1437 in his hometown of Constance.