Hermann
"Billung" Hermann
"Billung"In 936, Hermann was chosen as leader of the army (princeps militiae) by the new king Otto I "the Great" ["Placuit igitur novo regi novum principem militiae constituere. Elegitque ad hoc officium virum nobilem et industrium satisque prudentem nomine Herimannum." Widukind, ii, 4 (p. 59)]. In events of 953, he is named by Widukind as duke of the Saxons ["Militante adversus Mogontiam rege Herimannus dux Saxoniam procurabat." Widukind, iii, 23 (p. 98)]. He appears as marchio in an act of Otto I dated 13 August 956 ["... per interventum Herimanni marchionis ..." MGH DD OI 266 (#183)] and as dux on 18 January 968 ["Herimanno et Thiadrico ducibus ... Herimanno duce" MGH DD OI 488 (#355)]. He constructed the castle of Lüneburg and founded the monastery of St. Michael there ["Iste Hermannus primus castrum Luneburg construxit et cenobium in honore sancti Michaelis, ..." Chronicon sancti Michaelis Luneburgensis, MGH SS23: 394]. He was succeeded in 973 by his son Bernhard I.
Hermann is now commonly called by the epithet of "Billung", but there is no contemporary authority for this, and the claim that he was the son of a count Billung dates from the thirteenth century. (See the Commentary section.)
Date of Birth: Unknown.
Place of
Birth: Unknown.
Date of Death: 27×8 March 973.
["Heriman dux." Annales Necrologici
Fuldenses, s.a. 973, MGH SS 13: 202] Hermann's death appears
under 27 March in the necrology of Lüneburg ["Hermannus
primus dux Saxonie fundator huis cenobii." Althoff
(1984), 376 (H 6)] and under 28 March in the necrology of
Merseburg [ibid.]. An entry in the Merseburg necrology under 1
April for duke Hermann III of Schwaben (Swabia) (d. 1 April 1012)
misled Thietmar of Merseburg to place Hermann of Sachsen's death
on 1 April ["Kalend. Aprilis Herimannus autem dux ibi
tunc moriens, imperatoris gaudia turbavit. Huius corpus dum ad
Liuniberg a filio suimet Bernhardo deferretur, contigit Brunonem,
Ferdensis ecclesiae antistitem, in proximo esse."
Thietmar ii, 20, MGH SS 3: 753; Dümmler (1876), 506, n. 6]
Place of Death: Unknown.
Place of
Burial: Lüneburg.
Father: Unknown.
Mother: Unknown.
See the Commentary section.
Spouse: Oda, d. 15 March, year uncertain.
Althoff cites the necrology of St.
Xanten for 15 March as giving the obituary of Hermann's wife
("obitus Ode uxoris Hermanni duci"), and the
necrology of St. Michael's at Lüneburg gives the same date
[Althoff (1984), 392 (G 27)]. Countess Oda ("Ode comes.")
heads the list of women in Tabula gentis Billingorum
[MGH SS 13: 344], followed by "Hildesuith comes."
and "Hildegard com.", the latter of whom can
be identified with the wife of Hermann's son duke Bernhard I. The
often repeated claim that Hermann's wife was named Hildegarde is
discussed in the Commentary section. Based primarily on the fact
that the name Oda also appears in the Liudolfinger family (see
the page of Oda, wife of duke Liudolf), Jackman would place Oda as a
sister of bishop Bruno I of Verden (see below) and of a count
Liudolf I of Derlingen (fl. 942), daughter of count Bruno II of
Derlingen (fl. ca. 937), and granddaughter of duke Bruno (d. 880,
see the page of duke Bruno's father Liudolf) [Jackman (2000), 34,
38, 56]. However, the extremely conjectural nature of this
attribution is evident, and there seems to be no good reason to
accept it ["There is every likelihood that this Oda was from
the Brunoner line of the Liudolfinger, a sister therefore
(possibly niece or daughter) of count Liudolf I." ibid., 38;
the table on p. 56 places Oda as a sister of Liudolf I and bishop
Bruno of Verden without any indication of uncertainty].
Possible second wife: Hildesuith.
As noted above, "Hildesuith comes."
appears second in the list of women in Tabula gentis
Billingorum [MGH SS 13: 344], following Hermann's wife Oda
and preceding Berhnard I's wife Hildegard. She was evidently
either the second wife of Hermann or the first wife of Bernhard.
Children:
["Peracto autem tricesimo die, domna
Suanehildis cum filiis ad Misni profiscitur. Hec erat filia
Herimanni ducis de Liuniburh, soror Bennonis ducis, qui et
Bernhardus, et Liudigeri comitis et Machtildis comitisse, que
nupserat Baldewino Flandrensi comiti et post eius mortem
Godefrido duci. Nupserat autem hec Suanehildis primum Thetmaro
marchioni, fratri Geronis Coloniensis archiepiscopi, genuitque ex
eo Geronem marchionem. Postea ex Ekkihardo predicto marchione
genuit Herimannum et Ekkihardum et Gunterum." Annalista
Saxo, s.a. 1002, MGH SS 6: 648]
Bernhard I (Benno), d. 9 February
1011, duke of Sachsen (Saxony);
m. Hildegard, d. 3 October 1011, daughter of Heinrich I, count of
Stade.
[Thietmar ii, 20 (see above); "Eodem
tempore Hermannus, Saxonum dux, obiens, heredem suscepit filium
Bennonem, ..." Adam of Bremen, ii, 21 (c. 67), MGH SS
7: 313; "Bernhardus dux, a rege secundus, multigenis
sapientiae scientiae pietatisque donis fecundus, invehitur
coelos, sanctae ecclesiae multa tempora lugendus. Quem lamentione
dignum, 18. die moriens secutus est Liudgerus comes, frater suus."
Annales Quedlinburgenses, s.a. 1011, MGH SS 3: 80;
"Ibi Bernhardus pius dux 5. Id. Februarii obiit, et in
Luniburg cenobio beati Michaelis magno exequiarum planctu
sepultus, quod ipse a fundamento construxerat, et in qua
monachorum congregacionem adunaverat." Annales
Hildesheimeenses, s.a. 1011, MGH SS 3: 93; Althoff (1984),
375-6 (H 4); "Hoc etiam anno saeva mors de obitu
Hildegardis ductricis miserabile lamentum intulit, dum reliquit,
quod doluit." Annales Quedlinburgenses, s.a.
1011, MGH SS 3: 80; Althoff (1984), 383 (H 33), citing Hucke
(1956), 26ff. (not seen by me) for the parentage of Hildegard]
Liudger, d. 26 February 1011, count;
m. Emma, d. 3 December 1038, sister of Meinwerk, bishop of Paderborn.
[Ann. Quedl., s.a. 1011 (see above); "Anno
archiepiscopi 22. Benno, dux Saxonum, obiit, et Liudgerus, frater
eius, qui cum uxore sua venerabili Emma Bremensi ecclesiae
plurima fecerunt bona." Adam of Bremen, ii, 44 (c. 85),
MGH SS 7: 322; "In diebus illis nobilissimua senatrix
Emma obiit, uxor quondam Liutgeri comitis, [et soror Meginwerki,
episcopi Padarburnensis,] sed iam vidua per annos quadraginta,
..." ibid., ii, 76 (c. 115), p. 333; "Frater quoque praefati
ducis Bernhardi, comes Liutderus, proxima quarta Kalendas Aprilis
obiit, qui cum uxore sua Emma, senatrice christianissima, multa
bona ecclesiae Bremensi contulit." Vita Meinwerci
episcopi, c. 14, MGH SS 11: 114; Althoff (1984), 390-1 (G
18), 425 (G 172)]
Mathilde, d.
25 May 1009;
m. (1) Baldwin
III, d. 1 January 962, (joint)
count of Flanders;
m. (2) Godefroid, d. 3 September, 997 or later, count of Verdun, count
in Bidgau and Methingau, marquis of Eename.
["Qui [Baldwin III] ad legitimam
perveniens etatem, Deo concedente ac patris voluntate accepit
coniugem nobilitati suae condignam nomine Mathildim, filiam
nobilissimi principis vocabulo Herimanni." Witger, Genealogia
Arnulfi comitis, MGH SS 9: 304; "Hic [Baldwin
III] duxerat filiam Herimanni ducis Saxonum Mathildem, ex qua
genuit Arnulfem. Mathildis vidua relicta nupsit Godefrido duci de
Enham, ex quo suscepit tres filios, Gozolonem ducem, Godefridum
Hezelonem" Genealogia comitum Flandriae Bertiniana,
MGH SS 9: 306; "Qui dux Godefridus duxit Mathildem,
filiam Herimanni ducis Saxonum, viduam relictam Baldewini
comitis, qui erat filius Arnulfi magni marchionis."
Interpolation to chronicle of Sigebert de Gembloux, s.a. 1005, Sigeb.
auctarium Affligemense, MGH SS 6: 399; "Mathildis
Saxoniae comitissa ... . Haec comitissa comiti Godefrido
copulata, quinque filios ex ipso genuit, ..." Gesta
episcoporum Virdunensium, Continuatio, c. 9, MGH SS
4: 48; "... Baldwinus, juventutis flore
honestissimus, cum coniuge nuperrime desponsata nomine Mahthilda,
Saxonici generis, aequali nobilitate conspicua."
Folcwine, Gesta abbatum S. Bertini Sithiensum, c.
106, MGH SS 13: 632; "Iste est Gozilo,
filius Machtildis, que filia fuit Herimanni ducis Saxonum de
Liuniburch, soror Bennonis sive Bernhardi ducis et Liudigeri
comitis. Hec primo nupserat Balduino Flandrensi comiti, ..."
Ann. Saxo, s.a. 1037, MGH SS 6: 681]
Swanhild, d. 26 November 1014;
m. (1) Thietmar, d. 3 August 979, margrave of
the Ostmark;
m. (2) Ekkehard I, d. 30 April 1002, margrave of
Meissen.
["Ekkihardus ... Thietmari comitis
viduam et Bernhardi ducis sororem, nomine Suonehildam, in
matrimonium sibi copulavit, ..." Thietmar, iv, 26 MGH
SS 3: 779] The Saxon Annalist places Thietmar's death in 978, but
the correct year is 979 ["Thietmarus marchio, frater
Geronis Coloniensis archiepiscopi, obiit et Nuwenburh sepelitur.
Hic habuit coniugem filiam Herimanni ducis nomine Suanehildam,
..." Ann. Saxo, s.a. 978, MGH SS 6: 627;
Uhlirz (1902), 126, 245-6]. He appears under 3 August in the
necrologies of Lüneburg and Magdeburg [Althoff (1984), 409 (G
98)]. Ekkehard was killed in battle on 30 April 1002 ["...
Eghardus marchio in Palithi a Sigifrido et Udone pessime occisus
est, plurimique suorum cum illo 2. Cal. Maii." Annales
Quedlinburgenses, s.a. 1002, MGH SS 3: 78; see also
Thietmar, v, 4, MGH SS 3:792; Althoff (1984), 396 (G 42)].
Swanhild died in 1014 ["Post 14 dies domna Swonehild,
socrus eiusdem, morte subitanea 6. Kalendas Decembris obiit."
(1014) Thietmar, vii, 5, MGH SS 3: 839], and appears under 26
November in the necrologies of Lüneburg and Merseburg [Althoff
(1984), 424 (G 168)].
Brothers:
Wichmann, d. 23 April (or 12
May?) 944, count;
m. NN, daughter of count Dietrich.
Wichmann appears in an acto of
Otto I on 11 October 937 as count in the pagus of Unimodi
["... in pago Unimodi in comitatu Wigmanni ..."
MGH DD OI 104 (#16)]. In 937, envious that his brother Hermann
had been chosen as leader of the army, Wichmann briefly rebelled
against the king, but was soon reconciled with him. ["...
Herimannum. Quo honore non solum caeterorum principum, sed et
fratris sui Wichmanni, offendit invidiam." Widukind ii,
4 (p. 59); "Everhardus dux Francorum, et Wigmannus
Saxonicus, atque improbus Thancmer, inani consensu conspiravere
in regem: sed Dei gratia cito revelante regi, illa iniqua
conspiratio sapienter oppressus est. ... Wigman vero supplicando
pedibus regi, reconciliatus est." Annales
Quedlinburgensis, s.a. 937, MGH SS 3: 56]. The necrological
annals of Fulda place his death in 944 ["Wigman comes."
Ann. nec. Fuldenses, s.a. 944, MGH SS 13: 197]. The
Lüneburg necrology shows counts of this name under both 23 April
["Wigman com", Althoff (1984), 395 (G 40)] and
12 May ["Wichmannus com", ibid., 397 (G 46)].
For his marriage to a sister of queen Mathilde, see the page of
count Dietrich. Decker-Hauff has suggested that Wichmann was not a
brother of Hermann, but that he was only a brother-in-law, and
has used this to suggest the origina of Hermann's wife (see below
in the Commentary section), but there is no good reason to accept
Decker-Hauff's arguments [Decker-Hauff (1955), 269-70; against
this, see Tellenbach (1956), 177].
Amelung, d. 5 May 962, bishop
of Verden 933-962.
["Qui [Amelung]
aecclesiam in Werduun, cui racionabiliter prefuit, de ligno, quia
lapis defuit ei, fecit egregiam, et magnitudine et qualitate
caeteras precellentem benedixit. Et in senectute bona proficiens
obiit 3. Nonas Mai. frater prefati ducis [Hermann]."
Thietmar, ii, 21, MGH SS 3: 753; "Amalungus Fardensis
episcopus obiit, frater Herimanni ducis, eique Bruno, Corbeiensis
monachus, cognatus eiusdem ducis, successit." Annalista
Saxo, s.a. 962, MGH SS 6: 615; Dümmler (1876), 394,
n. 2; Althoff (1984), 300 (B 39)]
Relative:
Bruno I, d. 9 March 976, monk
at Corvey, bishop of Verden, 962-976.
Bruno, a cognatus of duke Hermann,
succeeded Amelung as bishop of Verden [Ann. Saxo; see
above under Amelung]. Thietmar calls him a consanguineus
of duke Hermann ["Fuit hic [Bruno]
consanguineus predicti ducis [Hermann], nova monachus
Corbeia; et ob venerationem suam imperator eundem Amolongo
successorem statuit episcopo." Thietmar, ii, 21, MGH SS
3: 753]. Thietmar places his death on 9 March ["Brun
presul supra memoratus 7. Idus Marcii obiit, ..."
Thietmar iii, 4, MGH SS 3: 760]. Jackman would place Bruno as a
brother of Hermann's wife Oda [Jackman (2000), 38, 56; see
above].
The origin of Hermann and the "Billunger"
Although Hermann and his dynasty are now commonly referred to as the "Billunger", there is no contemporary evidence to justify this name. In fact, except for the names of his two brothers Wichmann and Amelung and his relative (of unknown degree) bishop Bruno (see above), there is no good evidence for his origin. That he was of noble Saxon origin is known from his contemporaries Witger and Folcwine ["nobilissimus principis" Witger, MGH SS 9: 304 (see above under daughter Mathilde); "Saxonici generis, aequali nobilitate conspicua" Folcwine, MGH SS 13: 632 (see above)]. We can safely reject the statement of Adam of Bremen, writing a hundred years later, that he was of common origin ["Vir iste pauperibus ortus natalibus, ..." Adam of Bremen, Gesta Hammaburg. eccl. pontif., ii, 8 (c. 54), MGH SS 7: 308].
Supposed father (extremely
doubtful):
Billing/Billung, count.
Hermann was first called a son of a count
Billung in the first half of the thirteenth century ["...,
Hermanno viro egregio, filio comitis Billingi, ..." Chronicon
Sancti Michaelis Luneburgensis, MGH SS 23: 394; see also the
fourteenth century Cronica principum Saxonie, MGH SS 25:
472ff.]. There was a Billing with lands in Thuringia who appears
in records from 944 to 968 (count from 963) [see Dümmler (1876),
573-4], but he does not make a chronologically believable father
for Hermann. A count Billing appears with a death date of 26 May
in the Lüneburg necrology, but it otherwise unknown unless he
was the same as the Billing of 944×968 [Althoff (1984), 399 (G
53)].
However, even though Hermann is now commonly called Hermann Billung, there is no good early evidence to suggest that Hermann was the son of a Billung, or that he was called by the epithet "Billung" either during his own lifetime or even soon afterward [see Dümmler (1876), 570-6]. There is a family ancestral to the German king Heinrich I that could be called the "Billunger", but it was a Frankish, and not a Saxon, family [see the page of Heinrich I's ancestor Billung].
Possible forbearers:
The following individuals are
possible earlier relatives of Hermann, because of onomastic (and
sometimes also geographic) considerations. However, there is no
proof that any of these individuals were ancestral to Hermann.
Wichmann, fl. 811, count.
A "Wigman comes" was
among the individuals representing Charlemagne at the peace with
the Danes in 811 [ARF, s.a. 811, 134; Dümmler (1876), 576;
Althoff (1984), 65]
Hermann, fl. some time before
860, count.
Count Hermann is mentioned in a work composed ca. 860. He
is placed in Lesum, an area later held by the
"Billunger" ["Sed et de
Liastmona quaedam fuerat ancilla venerandi comitis Herimanni, ..."
Ansgar, Vita S. Willehadi, c. 29, MGH SS 2: 389; Althoff
(1984), 65].
Wichmann, d. 880, count.
A count Wigmannus was listed among
twelve Saxon counts killed by the Normans in 880 [Ann. Fuld.,
s.a. 880, 94 (listed first after Brun dux); Dümmler
(1876), 576].
Egbert, fl. 892, d. 7
February, before 932, count.
In 892, king Arnulf granted Egbert lands
which were later held by the "Billunger" [Althoff
(1984), 65, 71-2, 390 (G 15); cites DD Arn. #102,106].
Bernhard, d. 14 December 935,
count of Borghorst; m. Berta, d. 12 March 989.
[Althoff (1984), 392 (G 24), 426 (G 177)]
Falsely attributed
father: Burkhard I,
duke of Swabia.
Falsely attributed
mother: Regelinda.
[Decker-Hauff (1955), 268ff.] The basis of
Decker-Hauff's conjecture is a confraternity book in which three
Hermanns appear (including Herimannus dux) along with
Regelinda (Regnilda) and (in a different hand) Burkhard
I of Swabia (Purchardus dux) [MGH Libri Confrat., 383
(III 109); see Tellenbach (1956), facing 168, for a photograph of
the original]. Decker-Hauff conjectures that one of these
Hermann's was Hermann "Billung", and that he was on the
list because he was a son of Burkhard I and Regelinda. This was
added to an equally improbable conjecture about Burkhard's
mother, leading to a supposedly unsought
("ungesuchten") result that Hermann was allegedly a
descendant of the princeps Billung, father of Oda,
wife of duke Liudolf of Saxony. This contrived and implausible result was
severely criticized by Tellenbach [Tellenbach (1956), 174-7].
Falsely attributed
wife: Hildegarde.
The claim that Hermann's wife was named
Hildegarde is based on a late source which is evidently confusing
the wives of Hermann and his son Bernhard I ["Iste
Hermannus primus castrum Luneburg construxit et cenobium in
honore sancti Michaelis, quod ipse multis prediis et ornamentis
ditavit, in quo etiam cum uxore sua Hildegarda honorifice
sepultus est." Chronicon sancti Michaelis
Luneburgensis, MGH SS23: 394]. Based on a suggestion that
Hermann's brother Wichmann (see above) was actually a
brother-in-law, Decker-Hauff has claimed that Hermann's wife was
a sister of queen Mathilde, and a daughter of count Dietrich [Decker-Hauff (1955), 269-70; against this, see
Tellenbach (1956), 177]. There is no good reason to accept
Decker-Hauff's hypothesis.
Falsely attributed
daughter: Imma,
d. 21 December, abbess.
[see Althoff (1984), 361 (A 89)]
Althoff (1984) = Gerd Althoff, Adels- und Königsfamilien im Spiegel ihrer Memorialüberlieferung (Munich, 1984).
ARF = Georg Pertz & Friedrich Kurze, Annales Regni Francorum (Annals of the kingdom of the Franks), MGH SRG 6 (Hannover, 1895), a collective name commonly given to two closely related sets of annals, Annales Laurissenses Maiores and the so-called Einhardi Annales (Annals of Einhard), in parallel on alternate pages until the coronation of Charlemagne in 800 (s.a. 801).
Decker-Hauff (1955) = Hansmartin Decker-Hauff, "Die Ottonen und Schwaben", Zeitschrift für Württemburgische Landesgeschichte 14 (1955), 233-371.
Dümmler (1876) = Rudolf Köpke & Ernst Dümmler, Kaiser Otto der Große (Leipzig, 1876).
Hucke (1956) = Richard G. Hucke, Die Grafen von Stade 900-1144. Genealogie, politische Stellung, Comitat und Allodialbesitz der sächsischen Udonen (Stade, 1956). [I have not seen this work.]
Jackman (2000) = Donald C. Jackman, "A Greco-Roman Onomastic Fund", in Keats-Rohan & Settipani, eds., Onomastique et Parenté dans l'Occident médiéval (Oxford, 2000), 14-56.
MGH DD = Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Diplomata series.
MGH Libri Confrat. = Paul Piper, ed., Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Libri Confraternitatum Sancti Galli Augiensis Fabariensis (Berlin, 1884).
MGH SS = Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Scriptores series.
Tellenbach (1956) = Gerd Tellenbach, "Kritische Studien zur großfränkischen und alemanniscen Adelsgeschichte", Zeitschrift für Württemburgische Landesgeschichte 15 (1956), 169-190.
Uhlirz (1902) = Karl Uhlirz, Jahrbücher des Deutschen Reiches under Otto II. und Otto III., 2 vols., (Leipzig, 1902).
Widukind = Georg Waitz & Karl Andreas Kehr, eds., Widukindi monachi Corbeiensis Rerum Gestarum Saxonicarum libri tres (4th ed., MGH SRG 55, Hannover & Leipzig, 1904).
Compiled by Stewart Baldwin
First uploaded 3 April 2011.