Hermann I (died 25 April 1217),

Landgrave of Thuringia Thuringia is a historical and political region of Central Germany. Kings of Thuringia *500?–507 Bisinus *507–529 Baderich *507–525 Berthachar *507–532 Herminafried :''Conquered by the Franks.'' Frankish dukes of Thur ...

and (as Hermann III)

Count Palatine A count palatine (Latin ''comes palatinus''), also count of the palace or palsgrave (from German ''Pfalzgraf''), was originally an official attached to a royal or imperial palace or household and later a nobleman of a rank above that of an or ...

Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...

, called ''the Hard'', was the second son of

Louis II, Landgrave of Thuringia Ludwig II, Landgrave of Thuringia, nicknamed ''Louis the Iron'' (1128 – 14 October 1172 at Neuenburg Castle (Freyburg), Neuenburg Castle in Freyburg, Germany, Freyburg). Life He was born in 1128, the son of Louis I, Landgrave of Thurin ...

(''the Iron''), and

Judith of Hohenstaufen Judith of Hohenstaufen, also known as ''Judith of Hohenstaufen'' or ''Judith of Swabia'' ( – 7 July 1191), a member of the Hohenstaufen dynasty, was Landgravine of Duchy of Thuringia, Thuringia from 1150 until 1172 by her marriage with the L ...

, the sister of Emperor

Frederick Barbarossa Frederick Barbarossa (December 1122 – 10 June 1190), also known as Frederick I (; ), was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death in 1190. He was elected King of Germany in Frankfurt on 4 March 1152 and crowned in Aachen on 9 March 115 ...

Life

Little is known of his early years, but in 1180 Hermann joined a coalition against

Henry the Lion Henry the Lion (; 1129/1131 – 6 August 1195), also known as Henry III, Duke of Saxony (ruled 1142-1180) and Henry XII, Duke of Bavaria (ruled 1156-1180), was a member of the Welf dynasty. Henry was one of the most powerful German princes of ...

, Duke of Saxony, and with his brother, Louis III, Landgrave of Thuringia, suffered a short imprisonment after his defeat by Henry at Weissensee. The brothers were released the following year.Remy, Arthur F.J. "Hermann I." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 7. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 13 Dec. 2012
/ref> Louis had been made Count Palatine of Saxony as a reward for his services to the emperor, but transferred the dignity to Hermann. He strengthened his authority over the

County Palatine In England, Wales and Ireland a county palatine or palatinate was an area ruled by a hereditary nobleman enjoying special authority and autonomy from the rest of a kingdom. The name derives from the Latin adjective ''palātīnus'', "relating t ...

by marrying Sophia, daughter of Lutgard of Stade and Frederick II of Sommerschenburg, a former Count Palatine. Louis III died in 1190. Emperor Henry VI attempted to seize Thuringia as a vacant fief of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

, but Hermann frustrated the plan and established himself as the landgrave. Having joined a league against the emperor, he was accused, probably wrongly, of an attempt to murder him. Henry VI was not only successful in detaching Hermann from the hostile combination, but gained his support for the scheme to unite

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

with the Empire. Hermann joined the German

Crusade of 1197 The Crusade of 1197, also known as the Crusade of Henry VI () or the German Crusade (''Deutscher Kreuzzug''), was a Crusades, crusade launched by the House of Hohenstaufen, Hohenstaufen emperor Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor, Henry VI in response ...

but returned on news of Henry VI's death. In the wars between the rival kings,

Philip of Swabia Philip of Swabia (February/March 1177 – 21 June 1208), styled Philip II in his charters, was a member of the House of Hohenstaufen and King of Germany from 1198 until his assassination. The death of Philip's older brother Henry VI, Holy Roman E ...

and Otto of Brunswick (1198-1208), Hermann's support was purchased by the emperor's brother, Duke Philip of Swabia, but as soon as Philip's cause appeared to be weakening he transferred his allegiance to Otto of Brunswick, the later Emperor

Otto IV Otto IV (1175 – 19 May 1218) was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1209 until his death in 1218. Otto spent most of his early life in England and France. He was a follower of his uncle Richard the Lionheart, who made him Count of Poitou in 1196 ...

. Philip accordingly invaded Thuringia in 1204 and compelled Hermann to come to terms by which he surrendered the lands he had obtained in 1198. After the death of Philip and the recognition of Otto, Hermann was among the princes who assembled at Nuremberg in 1211 and invited Frederick of Hohenstaufen, King of Sicily (afterwards Emperor Frederick II), to come to Germany and assume the crown. In consequence of this step the Saxons attacked Thuringia, but the landgrave was saved by Frederick's arrival in Germany in 1212. After the death of his first wife in 1195, Hermann married Sophia, daughter of Otto of Wittelsbach. By her he had four sons, two of whom,

Louis IV of Thuringia Louis IV the Saint (; 28 October 1200 – 11 September 1227), a member of the Ludovingian dynasty, was Landgrave of Thuringia and Saxon Count palatine from 1217 until his death. He was the husband of Elizabeth of Hungary. Biography Louis wa ...

and

Henry Raspe Henry Raspe (; – 16 February 1247) was the Landgrave of Thuringia from 1231 until 1239 and again from 1241 until his death. In 1246, with the support of the Papacy, he was elected King of Germany in opposition to Conrad IV, but his conteste ...

, succeeded their father in turn as landgrave. His oldest son Louis, who succeeded him, was the husband of St. Elizabeth of Hungary. Hermann died at

Gotha Gotha () is the fifth-largest city in Thuringia, Germany, west of Erfurt and east of Eisenach with a population of 44,000. The city is the capital of the district of Gotha and was also a residence of the Ernestine Wettins from 1640 until the ...

in 1217 and was buried at

Reinhardsbrunn Reinhardsbrunn is a historic complex in Friedrichroda near Gotha, in the German state of Thuringia. From its founding in 1085 to 1525, it was the site of the Benedictine house monastery of the Ludovingian Landgraves of Thuringia. Later used as ...

. Hermann was fond of the society of men of letters, and

Walther von der Vogelweide Walther von der Vogelweide (; ) was a Minnesänger who composed and performed love-songs and political songs ('' Sprüche'') in Middle High German. Walther has been described as the greatest German lyrical poet before Goethe; his hundred or s ...

and other

Minnesinger (; "love song") was a tradition of German lyric- and song-writing that flourished in the Middle High German period (12th to 14th centuries). The name derives from '' minne'', the Middle High German word for love, as that was ''Minnesangs m ...

s were welcomed to his castle, the

Wartburg The Wartburg () is a castle originally built in the Middle Ages. It is situated on a precipice of to the southwest of and overlooking the town of Eisenach, in the state of Thuringia, Germany. It was the home of St. Elisabeth of Hungary, the ...

. In this connection he figures in

Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, essayist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most o ...

's ''

Tannhäuser und der Sängerkrieg auf Wartburg Tannhäuser (; ), often stylized "The Tannhäuser", was a German Minnesinger and traveling poet. Historically, his biography, including the dates he lived, is obscure beyond the poetry, which suggests he lived between 1245 and 1265. His name ...

''.

Issue

With Sophia of Sommerschenburg: *

Jutta The feminine name Jutta (pronounced "yutta") is the German form of Judith. There is also an alternative theory that it could be derived from the Germanic name ''Eutha'', meaning "mankind, child, descendant", or from a short form of ''Henrietta''. ...

(1184–1235), married twice: *# in 1194 to Margrave

Theodoric I Theodoric I (; ; 390 or 393 – 20 or 24 June 451) was the king of the Visigoths from 418 to 451. Theodoric is famous for his part in stopping Attila the Hun at the Battle of the Catalaunian Plains in 451, where he was killed. Early career In 41 ...

of Meissen (1161–1221) *# in 1223 to Count Poppo VII of Henneberg (d. 1245) * Hedwig, married in 1211 to Count Albert II of Weimar-Orlamünde With Sophia of Wittelsbach: * Irmgard (b. 1197), married in 1211 to Count

Henry I Henry I or Henri I may refer to: :''In chronological order'' * Henry I the Fowler, King of Germany (876–936) * Henry I, Duke of Bavaria (died 955) * Henry I of Austria, Margrave of Austria (died 1018) * Henry I of France (1008–1060) * Henry ...

of Anhalt * Herman (b. 1202–1216) * Louis IV (1200–1227) *

(1204–1247) *

Conrad Conrad may refer to: People * Conrad (name) * Saint Conrad (disambiguation) Places United States * Conrad, Illinois, an unincorporated community * Conrad, Iowa, a city * Conrad, Montana, a city * Conrad Glacier, Washington Elsewher ...

(1206–1240), Grand Master of the

Teutonic Knights The Teutonic Order is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem was formed to aid Christians on their pilgrimages to t ...

* Agnes, married twice: *# in 1225 to Henry "the Profane" of Babenberg (1208–1228), a son of Duke Leopold VI of Austria. They had a daughter,

Gertrude of Austria Gertrude of Austria (also named ''Gertrude of Babenberg'') (c. 1226 – 24 April 1288) was a member of the House of Babenberg, Duchess of Mödling and later titular Duchess of Austria and Styria. She was the niece of Duke Frederick II of Austri ...

who claimed the inheritance of the

House of Babenberg The House of Babenberg was a noble dynasty of Austrian Dukes and Margraves. Descending from the Popponids and originally from Bamberg in the Duchy of Franconia (present-day Bavaria), the Babenbergs ruled the imperial Margraviate of Austria from ...

. *# in 1229 to Duke

Albert I Albert I may refer to: People Born before 1300 * Albert I, Count of Vermandois (917–987) * Albert I, Count of Namur () * Albert I of Moha *Albert I of Brandenburg (), first margrave of Brandenburg * Albert I, Margrave of Meissen (1158–1195) *Al ...

of Saxony ( – 1261)Jonathan R. Lyon, "Princely Brothers and Sisters: The Sibling Bond in German Politics, 1100-1250", Cornell Press, 243

References

Sources

* *E. Winkelmann, ''Philipp von Schwaben und Otto IV. von Braunschweig'' (Leipzig, 1873–1878) * *F. Wachter, ''Thüringische and obersächsische Geschichte'' (Leipzig, 1826) * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hermann 01, Landgrave of Thuringia Landgraves of Thuringia Ludovingians Year of birth uncertain 1217 deaths Christians of the Crusade of 1197