| Notes |
- #Générale#Hermann I is the first member of the house of Werl for whom some reliable data are available. It remains unclear whether the Hermann mentioned in connection with the convent of Meschede about 913 was his grandfather, or whether a Heinrich mentioned in 947 and in 955 was his father. Possibly a Bernhard, who held countship rights over the Hellweg and in North Rhine Westphalia, was his brother.
The sources for Hermann are sparse. Even in his time the counts of Werl were probably already stewards of the abbey of Werden. He also had his seat in Werl. There is only one document in which Otto granted, at the request of his wife Theophano (Skleraina), to the abbess Thiezswid of Meschede the court of Völlinghausen and its related possessions in the district of Engern in Hermann's county. Hermann was a supporter of the emperor. The emperor's agreement to the donation of the court in Völlinghausen to the house of Werl's convent of Meschede could have been a reward for Hermann's assistance in the victory over Otto's cousin Heinrich II 'der Zanker', Herzog von Bayern.
He was probably present at the court in Dortmund in 978, when conflict broke out between Otto II and his mother Aelis (Adelheid) de Bourgogne, who had sided with Lothar I, king of France, when he invaded Lorraine and occupied Aachen, forcing Otto to leave. Adelheid left the imperial court for the court of her brother Konrad I, king of Burgundy. Around this time Hermann also came into contact with the Burgundian court. He may have accompanied the emperor's mother there.
This relationship led to his marriage about 978 or 979 with Gerberge de Bourgogne, Konrad's daughter with Mahaut de France. The marriage is only confirmed a little later by indirect sources, especilly the Quedlinburg Annals. The slightly later _Annalista Saxo_ text gave the reference somewhat distorted, casting some doubt on the marriage. However today's research reveals no doubt over the marriage of Hermann and Gerberge.
Through his marriage, Hermann became a brother-in-law of Heinrich II 'der Zanker', Herzog von Bayern, married to Gerberge's half-sister Gisela de Bourgogne, and entered into a family connection with the imperial house (Heinrich's father Heinrich I was a brother of Otto II's father Emperor Otto I 'the Great'). Hermann and Gerberge had three sons, Hermann II, Bernhard and Rudolf or Ludolf, and a daughter Ida or Hitda who later became abbess of Meschede. It may have been she who made precious gifts to the abbey, including the Hitda Codex, when she took office. Hermann II and Rudolf are recorded as having progeny.
Hermann is believed to have been the Count Hermann who travelled with Emperor Otto II to Italy in 983. After Otto's death in Rome that year this Hermann was working as a go-between who succeeded in settling the dispute within the royal family with Heinrich II 'der Zanker'. The likelihood that Hermann was the count of the same name is strengthened, inter alia, by the fact that the imperial court was in Soest in August 985, close to Werl. From there, the court moved to Wiedenbrück where Emperor Otto III, at the instigation of his mother the Dowager Empress Theophano, confirmed the previous privileges of the convent of Meschede. This can be seen as thanks for Hermann's efforts in imperial service.
Because Hermann was not specifically named as steward of Meschede, it is assumed that he had died shortly beforehand. About 988 Hermann's widow Gerberge married Hermann II, Herzog von Schwaben, with whom she had progeny.
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