Hermann I (died 25 April 1217), Landgrave of Thuringia and (as Hermann III) Count Palatine of Saxony, called the Hard, was the second son of Louis II, Landgrave of Thuringia (the Iron), and Judith of Hohenstaufen,[1] the sister of Emperor Frederick Barbarossa.

[3] Louis had been made Count Palatine of Saxony as a reward for his services to the emperor, but transferred the dignity to Hermann.

Emperor Henry VI attempted to seize Thuringia as a vacant fief of the Holy Roman Empire, but Hermann frustrated the plan and established himself as the landgrave.

[citation needed] Henry VI was not only successful in detaching Hermann from the hostile combination, but gained his support for the scheme to unite Sicily with the Empire.

[2] Hermann was fond of the society of men of letters, and Walther von der Vogelweide and other Minnesingers were welcomed to his castle, the Wartburg.