Tora Mosterstong ()—also known as Thora Mostaff—was one of

Harald Fairhair Harald Fairhair (; – ) was a Norwegian king. According to traditions current in Norway and Iceland in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, he reigned from 872 to 930 and was the first Monarchy of Norway, King of Norway. Supposedly, two ...

concubines Concubinage is an interpersonal and sexual relationship between two people in which the couple does not want to, or cannot, enter into a full marriage. Concubinage and marriage are often regarded as similar, but mutually exclusive. During the e ...

and the mother of Håkon the Good; Harald Fairhair's youngest son and the third King of

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

(c. 935–961). Harald Haarfagres saga-Tittelfrise-Gerhard Munthe

According to

Snorri Sturluson Snorri Sturluson ( ; ; 1179 – 22 September 1241) was an Icelandic historian, poet, and politician. He was elected twice as lawspeaker of the Icelandic parliament, the Althing. He is commonly thought to have authored or compiled portions of th ...

Saga of Harald Fairhair The Saga of Harald Fairhair (''Haralds saga hárfagra'') is the third of the sagas in Snorri Sturluson's ''Heimskringla'', after ''Ynglinga saga'' and the saga of Halfdan the Black. Snorri sagas were written in Iceland in the 1220s. This saga is ...

(''Soga om Harald Hårfagre''), Tora was from the island of

Moster Moster is a former municipality in the old Hordaland county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1916 until 1963, when it was merged into the new, larger municipality of Bømlo. The administrative centre of the municipality was the village o ...

and was descended from the

clan A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, a clan may claim descent from a founding member or apical ancestor who serves as a symbol of the clan's unity. Many societie ...

(''ætt'') of Horda-Kåre (''Hǫrða-Kára''): CodexFrisianus

Snorri consistently speaks of Tora as concubine and maidservant, which tends to produce the wrong connotations. Horda-Kåre was one of Harald Fairhair's old allies, and held high office at the

Battle of Hafrsfjord The Battle of Hafrsfjord () was a naval battle fought in Hafrsfjord sometime between 872 and 900 that resulted in the unification of Norway, later known as the Kingdom of Norway (872–1397), Kingdom of Norway. After the battle, the victorious Vi ...

. When Tora had a place with the king, it must have been part of a conscious policy to keep the two clans close.

Notes and references

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mosterstong, Tora Mistresses of Norwegian royalty Fairhair dynasty 9th-century Norwegian women 10th-century Norwegian women Concubines Mothers of Norwegian monarchs