The family of Tosny deserves to be better known to historians of the early Norman period. Arising from possibly French (Frankish) rather than Norman ancestors, and after only perhaps two or three generations, they became so famous that troubadors wrote and sang chansons about them.
We introduce here a number of essays regarding various members of the family, and also information about their religious activities and secular land-holdings. Most of what we record relates to the family's activities in Normandy, but there is also material which reflects their considerable later activities in England. Much more could be said about the Tosnys to add to the theses that have already been written, articles and antique records that exist in various archives, and the folk-lore of Normandy. We only offer here a skeleton upon which we hope that some future historian will attach the flesh and create a full and comprehensive account of the family.
You may wonder why we are so concerned about the Tosny family. The main reason is that one of the family, who had already had an illustrious career as Abbot of a Royal monastery in England, eventually rose to become one of the first of the long line of Bishops of Moray. We can learn a great deal about this bishop by considering the history and traditions of his family. This, in turn, yields a glimpse of the early life of the Diocese of Moray during a historical period when very little is known about the Scottish Church.
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