He was the son of the
Lotharingian Count Palatine Ezzo (955–1043) and his wife
Matilda of Germany, Countess Palatine of Lotharingia (979–1025), a daughter of Emperor
Otto II and his consort
Theophanu. He was a member of the
Ezzonian dynasty. Herman's younger brother
Otto became
Duke of Swabia in 1045; among his sisters were
Richeza, who married the
Polish King
Mieszko II Lambert, and
Theophanu, Abbess of Essen. museum
Pope Benedict IX elevated him to the
College of Cardinals around 1036, at the same time the
Salian Emperor
Conrad II appointed him Archbishop and granted important privileges to the Church in Cologne. Herman accompanied Conrad on his
Italian campaign and remained loyal to his successor
Henry III. In 1049 he received
Pope Leo IX in Cologne and in 1051 consecrated
Goslar Cathedral. His
claritas generis allowed him to baptise and crown the emperor's newborn son
Henry IV, a privilege that was disputed by Archbishop
Luitpold I of
Mainz. Herman also supported the emperor during the revolt led by Herman's nephew Duke
Conrad I of Bavaria. In 1050 he dedicated the collegiate
Church of St. Simon and St. Jude in
Goslar. Archbishop Herman II died in Cologne and is buried in Cologne Cathedral. In the 13th century, the present-day
Romanian city of
Sibiu received its German name
Hermannstadt in his honour. == References ==