Herman, Count Of Verdun
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Herman (or Hezelo) of Ename (died 28 May 1029), was a count in what is now Belgium, who was responsible to the emperor for holding the frontier fort at Ename (sometimes spelled "Eename") in the Pagus of Brabant, which faced the
County of Flanders The County of Flanders was one of the most powerful political entities in the medieval Low Countries, located on the North Sea coast of modern-day Belgium and north-eastern France. Unlike the neighbouring states of Duchy of Brabant, Brabant and ...
in the
Kingdom of France The Kingdom of France is the historiographical name or umbrella term given to various political entities of France in the Middle Ages, medieval and Early modern France, early modern period. It was one of the most powerful states in Europe from th ...
. Herman was the third son of Godfrey "the captive", Count of Verdun and
Margrave Margrave was originally the Middle Ages, medieval title for the military commander assigned to maintain the defence of one of the border provinces of the Holy Roman Empire or a monarchy, kingdom. That position became hereditary in certain Feudal ...
of Ename, and Matilda, who was a daughter of Herman, Duke of Saxony, and widow of Baldwin III of Flanders (died 962). Herman was therefore a member of the Verdun branch of the family referred to today as House of Ardenne. During this period this family coordinated with the bishops, who were in many cases also relatives, to enforce imperial policies in Lotharingia. Herman fought in several important battles supporting his brother Godfrey "the childless", who was
Duke of Lower Lotharingia The kings and dukes of Lorraine have held different posts under different governments over different regions, since its creation as the kingdom of Lotharingia by the Treaty of Prüm, in 855. The first rulers of the newly established region were ...
. Another brother of theirs, Gozelon, held another Lotharingian border position against Flanders at
Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...
, and later became duke of both Lower and Upper Lotharingia. The county of their father,
Verdun Verdun ( , ; ; ; official name before 1970: Verdun-sur-Meuse) is a city in the Meuse (department), Meuse departments of France, department in Grand Est, northeastern France. It is an arrondissement of the department. In 843, the Treaty of V ...
in Upper Lotharingia was held by another brother Frederic, but during this period it apparently came under the suzerainty of the Bishopric of Verdun. Apart from the increasing pressure coming from Flanders, the brothers also fought against the " Reginarid" family who had once held a similar position of power in Lotharingia, but were now seen as rebellious allies of Flanders. After the death of the Reginarid Lambert I, Count of Louvain, marriages were arranged between the two families. Tensions with Flanders were not resolved during Herman's lifetime, and it is only some generations later that his Brabant lands were divided between enlarged versions of the counties of Hainaut and Flanders, which then remained as a stable situation for centuries.


Life

As explained in the medieval account of the Deeds (''Gesta'') of the bishops of Cambrai: :Regarding the estate at Eename. There is a place located on the Scheldt River that they call Eename. In contemporary times, the venerable man Count Godfrey and his wife Mathilda, the venerable matron, constructed a fortification there and established a river port, a market, a toll, and other businesses because it was their property and was suitable for their purposes. They founded a monastery in honor of St. Mary within this stronghold and established canons there. Their son Hermann established two monasteries outside of the walls, one in honor of St. Laurence and the other in honor of the Holy Savior. Now, therefore, as we recently have learned, this place flourishes with an abundance of all things. However, it would flourish even more if it were not shaken by frequent enemy attacks. Indeed, it suffers most of all from the enemies of God because of its role in maintaining the stability of the kingdom and because of its loyalty to the emperor. It has been proposed (for example by Wampach) that Herman might be the same man of that name who held counties in what is now Germany, in the Eifelgau in the 10th century but the identification is likely to be wrong. Other proposals have been made associating Herman with records further north in Germany, but these are also unlikely to be correct. In 1013, Herman was present at
Hoegaarden Hoegaarden () is a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the province of Flemish Brabant, in Flanders, one of the three Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium, regions of Belgium. The municipality comprises the villages of Hoegaar ...
on the side of his brother Duke Godfrey the childless, defending against an attack of Lambert I, Count of Louvain on behalf of the prince-bishop of Liège. Herman was captured and placed in the custody of Robert II, Count of Namur. He was soon released due to the negotiations on his behalf by Robert's mother Ermengarde, who achieved imperial forgiveness for Robert in return. Herman was again present with his brother Godfrey at the battle of Florennes in 1015 when their opponent Count Lambert was killed. After this success, the bishop of Cambrai, Gerard, reluctantly gave permission for Herman's daughter to marry Lambert's nephew, Reginar V, in the interests of peace.''Gesta episcoporum Cameracensium'', 3.10. Herman was one of the greatest benefactors to the near Verdun. Both he and his brother Frederick became monks there and were buried there. Herman and Abbot Richard also worked towards the investiture of Herman's cousin Gerard of Florennes as Bishop of Cambrai. Herman had a wife named Mathilde of unknown origins, and together they had at least three children who, like him and Mathilde, were interred in Saint-Vanne: * Gregory. Hugh of Flavigny says he died young. Alperic of Trois-Fontaines says he was Archdeacon of
Liège Liège ( ; ; ; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the Liège Province, province of Liège, Belgium. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east o ...
, but also calls his father a count of Dagsburg. * Godfrey. It has been proposed that he was a Count of
Westphalia Westphalia (; ; ) is a region of northwestern Germany and one of the three historic parts of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It has an area of and 7.9 million inhabitants. The territory of the region is almost identical with the h ...
and Count of Cappenberg. Johanna Maria van Winter has proposed that he died in Merwede in 1018, at the battle which imperial forces led by his uncle Godfrey lost against the count of Holland. * Odilia, Abbess of Hohenbourg in Alsace, who died while celebrating Easter at Saint-Vanne with her parents. Two more children are known to have buried young in Velzeke, near Ename: * Herman *Berthilda And a particularly important child was his daughter: * Mathilde de Verdun (died after 1039), married to
Reginar V, Count of Mons Reginar V (c. 995–1039), was the eldest son of Reginar IV, Count of Mons and Hedwig of France. His maternal grandparents were Hugh Capet of France and Adelaide of Aquitaine. Reginar inherited his father's precarious position as count of Mon ...
. Herman had one illegitimate son by an unknown mistress: * Godefroi (died before 995). Herman died 28 May 1029, as was recorded in the necrology of the abbey, and also the necrology of Saint Lambert in Liège.


See also

* ''Germany and the Western Empire'', Volume III of the Cambridge Medieval History, University of Cambridge, 1922 * Abbé Charles Nicolas Gabriel, ''Verdun, Notice historique'', 1888, réédition 1993 * Poull, Georges, ''La maison souveraine et ducale de Bar'', Presses Universitaires de Nancy, 1994 * Crowe, Eyre Evans, ''The History of France'', London: Longman, Brown, 1858


References


Biography

* * * as been republished in .* as been republished in Dutch in .* Medieval * Hugh of Flavigny, ''Chronicon'', https://www.dmgh.de/mgh_ss_8/index.htm *'' Gesta episcoporum Cameracensium'': :*Latin MGH edition: :*English translation: {{citation, title=Deeds of the Bishops of Cambrai, Translation and Commentary, last1=Bachrach , first1= David S , first2=Bernard S , last2=Bachrach , first3=Michael , last3=Leese , ref=none 1029 deaths Counts of Verdun House of Ardenne–Verdun