Hermann was a son of Count
Giselbert of Luxembourg (1007–1059). His elder brother
Conrad inherited the
County of Luxembourg and became a faithful supporter of the
Salian king
Henry IV of Germany in the
Investiture Controversy and the civil war of the
Great Saxon Revolt.
Investiture Controversy The major issue between
Pope Gregory VII and Henry IV was the appointment of bishops. It was a custom that if a bishop was to die, the emperor would appoint a new bishop based on his ecclesiastical qualifications. Henry, on the other hand, was appointing bishops for political reasons which made Gregory furious and thus prohibited the appointments of investiture by any lay person, including the emperor. From the 10th century, the rulers of the Holy Roman Empire were elected
Kings of the Romans, who expected to be crowned by the
Pope as
Holy Roman Emperor. However, because Henry believed the papacy should submit to the crown, Pope Gregory had him
excommunicated and declared that he was unworthy of being Emperor. Because of this, the church broke off from Henry and supported the election of German anti-kings.
Election Upon Henry's humiliating
Walk to Canossa, several
princes met at
Forchheim and had the
Swabian duke
Rudolf of Rheinfelden elected anti-king in 1077. Henry's and Rudolf's forces met in the 1080
Battle on the Elster, whereby Rudolf died from the wounds he received. While Henry turned to
Italy in order to enforce his coronation in
Rome, the
Saxon and
Swabian nobles led by the deposed
Bavarian Duke
Welf I elected Hermann as the second anti-king opposed to the Salian monarch in
Ochsenfurt,
Franconia on 6 August 1081. He immediately entered into an armed conflict with the loyal
Hohenstaufen duke
Frederick of Swabia and retired to the Saxon lands, where Archbishop
Siegfried of Mainz crowned him king in
Goslar on 26 December.
Military campaigning Unfortunately for Pope Gregory, Hermann was nowhere near as strong a leader as Rudolph and this caused Henry's power to grow. Henry was crowned Emperor by
Antipope Clement III in 1084, leaving Hermann in a very awkward position. He gained broad support by the Saxon nobility, however, his plan to gather an army on the banks of the
Danube and march across the
Alps into Italy was dashed by the death of his main retainer, Count
Otto of Nordheim. When Emperor Henry IV came into Saxony with a large army in 1085, Hermann fled to
Denmark. Little is known of what happened to Hermann after this other than he served as an anti-king under Gregory's rule. During the revolt of Margrave
Egbert II of Meissen, Hermann was able to return to
Germany. Once again in alliance with Duke Welf I, he defeated the emperor at the 1086
Battle of Pleichfeld on the river
Main, taking
Würzburg. Soon after his victory, however, he had to witness Egbert's reconciliation with Emperor Henry and the killing of his ally Bishop
Burchard II of Halberstadt. Tired of being a pawn in the hands of the grandees, he retired to his familial estates. King
Conrad (III) began his rule after Hermann's death. He died near the
Imperial castle of
Cochem later that year of 1088 in a skirmish with his relative Count palatine
Henry of Laach, ending the Great Saxon Revolt. His wife, Countess
Sophia of Formbach, left him a son,
Otto, who succeeded him in Salm. According to a legend perpetuated by the
Brothers Grimm, Hermann was mocked as "King Garlic" by his opponents. First celebrated by local
Kalands Brethren, an annual "Garlic Wednesday" is held after Pentecost in the region around
Halle up to today. ==References==