Thor Longus or Thor the Long (fl. c. 1113
×1124) was an early 12th-century
Anglo-Saxon
The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...
noble associated with
Roxburghshire
Roxburghshire or the County of Roxburgh ( gd, Siorrachd Rosbroig) is a historic county and registration county in the Southern Uplands of Scotland. It borders Dumfriesshire to the west, Selkirkshire and Midlothian to the north-west, and Berw ...
, a culturally Northumbrian and Brythonic Cumbric Celtic (Carvetii, Brigantes, Selgovae) territory ruled by the Scottish king from the 11th-century onwards. A charter dating between 1107×1113 and 1124 claims that Thor the Long founded
Ednam, previously a deserted waste granted to him by King
Edgar of Scotland.
[Howlett, ''Caledonian Craftsmen'', pp. 10–11; Lawrie (ed.), ''Early Scottish Charters'', no. 24]
Ednam lies close to the Northumberland border with Roxburghshire. The charter states that he repopulated the settlement with his own followers and built a church.
[ The charter grants the church to the monks of St Cuthbert.][ There survives the notice of this grant given by Thor to his lord Earl David (future David I of Scotland), as well as Earl David's confirmation of the same grant.
Thor had a brother named Leofwine, mentioned in Thor's charter as requiring "redemption". Leofwine "the monk" was commemorated in the ''Martyrology'' of the Durham Cantor's book for June 2 (day of death), and in the same source Thor Longus was commemorated for May 14. The year of his death and descendants are not known, but Ednam appears to have been transferred into the Crown's hands by 1136,][Lawrie (ed.), ''Early Scottish Charters'', pp. 259–60, and no. 86] so he can be presumed dead by that date.
Several Scottish families/clans claim either lineage or name-sake of Thor Longus (Longus is Latin for 'Long/Laing/Lang meaning 'Tall' in Anglish/German/Scots/etc):
* Stirling
* Crawford
* Nisbet
* Swinton
See also
* Thor of Tranent
Thor of Tranent, also known as Thor, son of Sveinn or Thor, son of Swain ( fl. 1127 x 1150), Lord of Tranent and Sheriff of Lothian, was a landlord and chieftain active in Lothian in the reign of King David I of Scotland. He is attested in a l ...
Notes
References
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* (1970). Burke's peerage and baronetage. London, Burke's Peerage.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Longus, Thor
12th-century deaths
12th-century English people
Anglo-Norse people
People associated with the Scottish Borders
Year of birth unknown