Herman I (died 10 December 949) was the first Conradine

Duke of Swabia The Dukes of Swabia were the rulers of the Duchy of Swabia during the Middle Ages. Swabia was one of the five stem duchy, stem duchies of the medieval German kingdom, and its dukes were thus among the most powerful magnates of Germany. The most no ...

(from 926), the son of

Gebhard, Duke of Lorraine Gebhard of Lahngau ( 860/868 – 22 June 910), of the Conradine dynasty, son of Odo (aka Udo, died 879), count of Lahngau, and Judith, was himself count of Wetterau (909–910) and Rheingau (897–906) and then duke of Lotharingia (Lorraine). In ...

, and a cousin of King

Conrad I of Germany Conrad I (; c. 881 – 23 December 918), called the Younger, was the king of East Francia from 911 to 918. He was the first king not of the Carolingian dynasty, the first to be elected by the nobility and the first to be anointed. He was chosen as ...

. When duke Burchard II died at

Novara Novara (; Novarese Lombard, Novarese: ) is the capital city of the province of Novara in the Piedmont (Italy), Piedmont region in northwest Italy, to the west of Milan. With 101,916 inhabitants (on 1 January 2021), it is the second most populous ...

, while campaigning in Italy, King

Henry the Fowler Henry the Fowler ( or '; ; – 2 July 936) was the duke of Saxony from 912 and the king of East Francia from 919 until his death in 936. As the first non- Frankish king of East Francia, he established the Ottonian dynasty of kings and emper ...

gave the duchy to Herman. By investing the duke at a '' reichstag'' at

Worms The World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) is a taxonomic database that aims to provide an authoritative and comprehensive catalogue and list of names of marine organisms. Content The content of the registry is edited and maintained by scien ...

, the king clearly demonstrated that he, not the tribal noblesse, had the right to appoint the duke. Herman married Regilinda, the widow of Burchard. Only once during his reign did Herman face a rebellion by his vassals, but he was also forced several times to make concessions in

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. Sankt Gallen was given over to the direct protection of the king and the duke lost the use of its lands and incomes. By his control over the Alpine passes into Burgundy and Italy, he dutifully served Ottonian interests in these realms. At Worms in 950, after Herman's death,

Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor Otto I (23 November 912 – 7 May 973), known as Otto the Great ( ) or Otto of Saxony ( ), was East Francia, East Frankish (Kingdom of Germany, German) king from 936 and Holy Roman Emperor from 962 until his death in 973. He was the eldest son o ...

appointed his son Liudolf, who had, in 947 or 948, married Herman's daughter Ida (died 17 May 986), duke. Aside from being duke, Herman was from 939 count in Langau, from 948 count in Auelgau, and from 947 lay abbot of

Echternach Echternach (, ; or locally ) is a commune with town status in the canton of Echternach, in eastern Luxembourg. Echternach lies near the border with Germany, and is the oldest town in Luxembourg. History The town grew around the Abbey of Echt ...

. He founded the church of St Florin in Coblenz and was buried at the monastery on

Reichenau Island Reichenau Island () is an island in Lake Constance in Southern Germany. It lies almost due west of the city of Konstanz, between the Gnadensee and the Untersee, two parts of Lake Constance. With a total land surface of and a circumference o ...

Lake Constance Lake Constance (, ) refers to three bodies of water on the Rhine at the northern foot of the Alps: Upper Lake Constance (''Obersee''), Lower Lake Constance (''Untersee''), and a connecting stretch of the Rhine, called the Seerhein (). These ...

References

Sources

* * Dukes of Swabia 949 deaths Conradines 10th-century dukes in Europe Year of birth unknown Burials at the Imperial Abbey of Reichenau People from East Francia {{Germany-duke-stub