Herman of Ename information

Herman (or Hezelo) of Ename (died 28 May 1029), was a count in what is now Belgium, who was responsible to the emperor for holding the frontier fort at Ename (sometimes spelled "Eename") in the Pagus of Brabant, which faced the County of Flanders in the Kingdom of France.

Herman was the third son of Godfrey "the captive", Count of Verdun and Margrave of Ename, and Matilda, who was a daughter of Herman, Duke of Saxony, and widow of Baldwin III of Flanders (died 962). Herman was therefore a member of the Verdun branch of the family referred to today as House of Ardenne. During this period this family coordinated with the bishops, who were in many cases also relatives, to enforce imperial policies in Lotharingia.

Herman fought in several important battles supporting his brother Godfrey "the childless", who was Duke of Lower Lotharingia. Another brother of theirs, Gozelon, held another Lotharingian border position against Flanders at Antwerp, and later became duke of both Lower and Upper Lotharingia. The county of their father, Verdun in Upper Lotharingia was held by another brother Frederic, but during this period it apparently came under the suzerainty of the Bishopric of Verdun. Apart from the increasing pressure coming from Flanders, the brothers also fought against the "Reginarid" family who had once held a similar position of power in Lotharingia, but were now seen as rebellious allies of Flanders. After the death of the Reginarid Lambert I, Count of Louvain, marriages were arranged between the two families.

Tensions with Flanders were not resolved during Herman's lifetime, and it is only some generations later that his Brabant lands were divided between enlarged versions of the counties of Hainaut and Flanders, which then remained as a stable situation for centuries.