Herman I, Count of Winzenburg (also known as ''Herman of Windberg''; – 1137 or 1138) was count of Formbach and Radelberg. From 1109 to 1130, he was also Count of Winzenburg and from 1122 to 1138, he was Count of Reinhausen. He was also Landgrave of Thuringia from 1111 to 1130 and Margrave of Meissen from 1124 to 1130. And finally, he was high bailiff of

Corvey Abbey The Princely Abbey of Corvey (german: link=no, Fürststift Corvey or Fürstabtei Corvey) is a former Benedictine abbey and ecclesiastical principality now in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was one of the half-dozen self-ruling '' princel ...

. He was a son of Count Meginhard IV of Formbach, and his wife Matilda, a daughter of Count Elli II of Reinhausen. At a young age, he moved in with his maternal uncle, Bishop Udo of Hildesheim. In Hildesheim, he attended the cathedral school. At the age of sixteen, he travelled with his uncle to

Mainz Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-west, with Ma ...

, to be presented to the emperor on 9 November 1099. He was the first member of the family to call himself ''of Winzenburg'', after

Winzenburg Castle Winzenburg is a village and a former municipality in the district of Hildesheim in Lower Saxony, Germany. Since 1 November 2016, it is part of the municipality Freden. It comprises four smaller communities, including the village of Winzenburg, whi ...

, southeast of Alfeld, which he received as a

fief A fief (; la, feudum) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form ...

from his uncle Udo. He was an advisor of Emperor

Henry V Henry V may refer to: People * Henry V, Duke of Bavaria (died 1026) * Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor (1081/86–1125) * Henry V, Duke of Carinthia (died 1161) * Henry V, Count Palatine of the Rhine (c. 1173–1227) * Henry V, Count of Luxembourg (121 ...

and became very powerful during Henry's reign. In 1109, Henry V sent him to Rome, as a member of a diplomatic mission. In 1111 or 1112, he became the first

Landgrave Landgrave (german: Landgraf, nl, landgraaf, sv, lantgreve, french: landgrave; la, comes magnus, ', ', ', ', ') was a noble title used in the Holy Roman Empire, and later on in its former territories. The German titles of ', ' (" margrave") ...

Thuringia Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million. Erfurt is the capital and lar ...

, after it was split off from the Duchy of Saxony. He fulfilled his obligations as bailiff of

from a distance. When the sons of Count Widekind I of Schwalenberg attacked the abbey, Herman remained inactive. In the

Investiture Controversy The Investiture Controversy, also called Investiture Contest (German: ''Investiturstreit''; ), was a conflict between the Church and the state in medieval Europe over the ability to choose and install bishops ( investiture) and abbots of mona ...

, he sided with the

Pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

. This meant that he had to flee to the area where he was born, on the upper Inn. He made a large donation to the Göttweig Abbey. In 1122, his uncle Herman III of Reinhausen died in Formbach, and thereby the Counts of Reinhausen died out in the male line. As his closest relative, Herman I inherited Reinhausen and he also became bailiff of Reinhausen Abbey, which his maternal ancestors had founded. Later that year, his father died, and Herman I inherited Windberg and Formbach as well. He also became Count of the Leinegau. In 1130, he came into conflict with Burchard I of Loccum, an advisor of Emperor

Lothair III Lothair III, sometimes numbered Lothair II and also known as Lothair of Supplinburg (1075 – 4 December 1137), was Holy Roman Emperor from 1133 until his death. He was appointed Duke of Saxony in 1106 and elected King of Germany in 1125 before b ...

, about the construction of Burchard's castle. Herman I had Burchard assassinated on a cemetery. On 18 August 1130, during the Diet of Quedlinburg, Herman was outlawed for this murder, and all his

s were revoked: * The Landgraviate of Thuringia was given to

Louis VII Louis VII (1120 – 18 September 1180), called the Younger, or the Young (french: link=no, le Jeune), was King of the Franks from 1137 to 1180. He was the son and successor of King Louis VI (hence the epithet "the Young") and married Duchess ...

of Bavaria. * The Margraviate of Meissen was given in its entirety to Conrad of Wettin. * Winzenburg castle and the associated manors fell back to the

Bishopric of Hildesheim The Prince-Bishopric of Hildesheim (german: Hochstift Hildesheim, Fürstbistum Hildesheim, Bistum Hildesheim) was an ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire from the Middle Ages until its dissolution in 1803. The Prince-Bishopric must ...

, because these were fiefs from Hildesheim. Herman I and his sons Herman II and Henry retreated to Winzenburg Castle, and defended it for several months against the army the Emperor had sent. They surrendered on 31 December 1130. Herman I was arrested and brought the

Blankenburg Blankenburg may refer to: Places * Blankenburg am Harz, a German town in the district of Harz, Saxony-Anhalt * Blankenburg Castle (Harz), the castle in Blankenburg am Harz (see above) * Bad Blankenburg, a German town in the Saalfeld-Rudolstadt dis ...

. He was then held in custody in the

Rhineland The Rhineland (german: Rheinland; french: Rhénanie; nl, Rijnland; ksh, Rhingland; Latinised name: ''Rhenania'') is a loosely defined area of Western Germany along the Rhine, chiefly its middle section. Term Historically, the Rhinelands ...

for several years. In 1134, he was released and charged with defensive duties in

Holstein Holstein (; nds, label=Northern Low Saxon, Holsteen; da, Holsten; Latin and historical en, Holsatia, italic=yes) is the region between the rivers Elbe and Eider. It is the southern half of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost state of German ...

. He was commander of Segeberg fortress, where he died in 1137 or 1138. His death was mentioned in a document about the family that founded Reinhausen Abbey, written by abbott Reinhard sometime between 1153 and 1156. Reinhard himself died on 7 May 1156 and was buried in the church of Reinhausen Abbey. The document can be found in the State Archive in Hanover, document nr. 2 in the Reinhausen Abbey file.

Marriage and issue

Herman married twice. His first wife was a countess of Everstein, whose name has not been preserved. With her, he had two children: *

Sophie Sophie is a version of the female given name Sophia, meaning "wise". People with the name Born in the Middle Ages * Sophie, Countess of Bar (c. 1004 or 1018–1093), sovereign Countess of Bar and lady of Mousson * Sophie of Thuringia, Duchess o ...

( – 25 March 1160), married

Albert the Bear Albert the Bear (german: Albrecht der Bär; 1100 – 18 November 1170) was the first margrave of Brandenburg from 1157 to his death and was briefly duke of Saxony between 1138 and 1142. Life Albert was the only son of Otto, Count of Bal ...

, Margrave of Brandenburg * Conrad His second wife was either Hedwig of Assel-Woltingerode or Hedwig of Carniola-Istria, the niece of Count Ulrich II of Weimar-Orlamünde (d. 1112). With her, he had four more children: *

Beatrix Beatrix is a Latin feminine given name, most likely derived from ''Viatrix'', a feminine form of the Late Latin name ''Viator'' which meant "voyager, traveller" and later influenced in spelling by association with the Latin word ''beatus'' or "bles ...

, abbess of

Quedlinburg Quedlinburg () is a town situated just north of the Harz mountains, in the district of Harz in the west of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. As an influential and prosperous trading centre during the early Middle Ages, Quedlinburg became a center of in ...

(d. 2 April 1160) * Herman II ( – 20 or 30 January 1152) * Matilda (also known as Jutta) (d. 22 May 1155), married in 1128 to Count Udo IV of Stade, Margrave of the

Nordmark The Northern March or North March (german: Nordmark) was created out of the division of the vast ''Marca Geronis'' in 965. It initially comprised the northern third of the ''Marca'' (roughly corresponding to the modern state of Brandenburg) and ...

* Henry ( – 1146), Count of Assel

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Herman I, Count of Winzenburg Counts of Germany 1080s births 1138 deaths 12th-century German nobility People from Hildesheim