Hermann was probably the son of Billung. He was the younger brother of the Saxon count Wichmann the Elder. Hermann is generally counted as the first Billung duke ("Herzog") of Saxony, but his exact position is unclear. The ducal Ottonian dynasty had risen to German royalty with the accession of Henry the Fowler in 919 and had to concentrate on countrywide affairs. At least in 961, when King Otto I of Germany marched against the Kingdom of Italy for the second time, he made Hermann the administrator ("procurator regis") in his Saxon lands.