Herman (died 3 July 1049), Count of Mons and Hainaut, son of

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 Mons, ...

, and Mathilde of Verdun, daughter of

Herman, Count of Verdun 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 ...

. As the Count of Mons, a title inherited from his father, he allied with Godfrey the Bearded, Duke of Lorraine, and Baldwin V, Count of Flanders, against

Emperor Henry III Henry III (28 October 1016 – 5 October 1056), called the Black or the Pious, was Holy Roman Emperor from 1046 until his death in 1056. A member of the Salian dynasty, he was the eldest son of Conrad II and Gisela of Swabia. Henry was raised by ...

. This won the countship of

Valenciennes Valenciennes (, also , , ; nl, label=also Dutch, Valencijn; pcd, Valincyinnes or ; la, Valentianae) is a commune in the Nord department, Hauts-de-France, France. It lies on the Scheldt () river. Although the city and region experienced a ...

, completing the reconstruction of Hainaut. His wife, who preferred an alliance with the emperor, attempted to get Herman to imprison Wazo, Bishop of Liège, but he refused. In 1040, Herman married Richilde, whose origins are uncertain. Herman and Richilde had two children: * Roger de Hainaut (d. 1093),

Bishop of Châlons-sur-Marne A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

1066-1093 * Gertrude, a nun of the

Order of St. Benedict , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , found ...

. After the death of Herman, Richilde married the son of Baldwin V, who arranged for Herman's children to be disinherited. Richilde's new husband, Baldwin VI the Good, became Herman's successor and count of a unified Hainaut/Flanders. Because of this passage of Hainaut to her new husband and children, Richilde is sometimes wrongly portrayed as daughter of Reginar V. Her true parentage is subject to speculation, one theory being that she was the daughter of a count of Eguisheim and Dagsbourg.

References

Sources

* Napran, Laura (Translator), ''Gilbert of Mons, Chronicle of Hainaut'', Boydell Press, Suffolk, 2005 * Varenbergh, Emile, ''Herman, Académie royale de Belgique, Biographie nationale, vol. 9'', Bruxelles, 1887 étail des éditions* Medieval Lands Project
Comtes de Hainaut, 998-1051, Reginar Family
{{Authority control 1049 deaths Counts of Hainaut Counts of Mons