hermann billung perhaps was married twice: according to the chronicles of st michael's abbey in lüneburg, a countess oda died on 15 march in an unknown year after 973, the xanten annals noted the death of one "ode", spouse of duke hermann, on the same day. she probably was related to the royal ottonian dynasty; henry the fowler's grandmother was named oda (herself a member of the billung dynasty), which was also the name of his sister. a second wife "hildesuith" or hildegard of westerburg is mentioned in the chronicles, but her relation to oda remains unclear. hildegard was also the name of the spouse of hermann's son bernard. the name of hermann's granddaughter oda of meissen suggests that oda was the mother of his children.