Hermann (Saxony)

Hermann († May 31, 1086 in Lüneburg ) from the Billunger family was Count in Bardengau and Vogt of the Diocese of Verden .

During the imprisonment of the Billung dukes Ordulf and Magnus in the Saxon Wars against King Henry IV , he decisively determined the policy of the Princely House.

Origin and family

Hermann was the younger son of Duke Bernhard II and Eilika. His older brother Ordulf succeeded his father as Duke in Saxony when he died . Hermann had three other siblings Gertrud († August 4, 1089 (or 1093)), Ida († July 31, 1101) and Hadwig / Hedwig († July 17 around 1112). He himself remained at least without legitimate children.

Disputes with Archbishop Adalbert

With the death of their father Bernhard II in 1059, the brothers inherited the extensive Billungian estates around Verden , Hamburg and Lüneburg . From then on they determined the policy of the Billungers jointly and apparently by mutual agreement. This was initially directed primarily against the expansion efforts of the Hamburg-Bremen Archbishop Adalbert , who sought to expand his rule with extensive castle construction and, in particular, touched the Billunger's sphere of interest with the claim to sole exercise of jurisdiction. In an effort to strike a balance with the Billungers, Adalbert Hermann transferred a fiefdom, but a dispute arose over its size. Eventually Hermann plundered Bremen and destroyed the newly built castles of the archbishopric. At the instigation of the archbishop, King Heinrich IV banished Hermann, but pardoned him year and day later. As atonement, Count Hermann and his brother Duke Ordulf had to transfer 50 Hufen land to the Bremen Church. However, the dispute was only temporarily resolved. When Adalbert lost the favor of the king and thus his protection in 1066, he had to buy peace with the Billungers by transferring 1000 Hufen of land to the Billungers in the person of Ordulf's son Magnus.

War with Henry IV

During the Saxon War from 1073 to 1075, Hermann initially played a leading role in the fight against King Henry IV on the side of the opposition Saxon nobility. On July 26, 1073 he was one of the conspirators of Hötensleben . Ordulf died in 1072. His son Magnus was unable to take on the ducal office of Saxony because he had been in captivity by the king since 1071. The king declared that he would keep Magnus in custody until he renounced the traditional title of duke and transferred his property to the king. On top of that, the king had taken the Billunger castle on the Lüneburg Kalkberg and with a Swabian team under Eberhard VI. occupied by Nellenburg . With this permanent presence of royal rule in the center of the Billungian sphere of influence, Henry IV demonstrated to the Billungers his right to exercise suzerainty in this part of Saxony, which the Billungers had to perceive as interference and provocation.

In this difficult situation, Hermann, as head of the Billung family, had initially unsuccessfully asked Heinrich IV to have his nephew released. Finally he conquered the castle by surprise and took 70 Swabians prisoner in order to exchange them for Magnus. In a message to Henry IV, Hermann threatened the king with the execution of the prisoners if the king did not finally release Magnus. This threat was considered unheard of by contemporaries and something unprecedented. Hermann, on the other hand, was challenged to make this drastic announcement by the king's unacceptable conditions for Magnus' release, which also represented a breach of all traditional rules. Finally, the princes, who were close to the king, moved Heinrich IV to give in and the imprisoned Duke Magnus was exchanged for the captured 70 Swabians on August 15, 1073.

Two years after Magnus' return, in October 1075, Hermann himself was taken into royal captivity for the first time, and Magnus was again with him. After the lost battle at Homburg on the Unstrut , they had to submit to the king barefoot in front of the whole army and were then arrested at various locations. Hermann managed to escape in 1076. Until Magnus was released, he was again head of the Billunger house. In 1078, after the battle of Mellrichstadt , Hermann was captured a second time by Henry IV, who then released him in 1080 after Hermann had probably acted as a negotiator in the peace negotiations with the Saxons.

As a result, the Billungers no longer took part in the uprising of the Saxon nobility against the king.

Hermann probably died as a monk in the Michaeliskloster in Lüneburg. In the necrology of the Church of St. Michael in Lüneburg and that of the Möllenbeck Monastery there are corresponding entries in his memory for May 31.

swell

• Adam of Bremen : Gesta Hammaburgensis ecclesiae pontificum . In: Werner Trillmich , Rudolf Buchner (Hrsg.): Sources of the 9th and 11th centuries on the history of the Hamburg Church and the Empire. = Fontes saeculorum noni et undecimi historiam ecclesiae Hammaburgensis necnon imperii illustrantes (= selected sources on German history in the Middle Ages. Freiherr-vom-Stein-Gedächtnisausgabe. Vol. 11). 7th edition, expanded compared to the 6th by a supplement by Volker Scior. Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, Darmstadt 2000, ISBN 3-534-00602-X , pp. 137-499.

literature

• Gerd Althoff : The Billungers in the Salier era. In: Stefan Weinfurter (Ed.): Salier, Adel und Reichsverfassungs (= The Salier and the Reich. Vol. 1). Thorbecke, Sigmaringen 1991, pp. 309-329.
• Ruth Bork: The Billunger. With contributions to the history of the German-Wendish border area in the 10th and 11th centuries. Greifswald 1951 (Greifswald, University, phil. Dissertation, 1951, typewritten), pp. 165–169.

Remarks

1. ↑ Gerd Althoff: The Billunger in the Salierzeit. In: Stefan Weinfurter (Ed.): Salier, Adel und Reichsverfassungs (= The Salier and the Reich. Vol. 1). Thorbecke, Sigmaringen 1991, pp. 309-329, here pp. 323-328.