User:Torchitor/De Thori

Coat of arms of the ruling house in the Giudicato of Torres

Coat of arms of the ruling house in the Giudicato of Arborea Giudicato

The De Thori were an important Sardinian family of princely rank during the Giudicato era, particularly influential between the 11th and 13th centuries. Also known, due to the difference in pronunciation of the "th" in the Sardinian language, in the variants Zori, Thuri, Thurio, Tori, Çori, Zori, Zoris and, finally, in the two modern univerbate variants that form the current surnames Dettori and Atzori[1], the first widespread in Northern Sardinia and the second in the southern part of the island.

In the 11th and 12th centuries, between 1065 and 1246, the de Thori family reigned in the Giudicato of Torres, Giudicato of Gallura and Giudicato of Arborea[1]. In this precise period they produced six kings and as many queens, two of whom united with the Lacon-Gunale dynasty which then reigned in the Giudicato of Calari.

On 10 August 1164, Emperor Frederick Barbarossa crowned Barisone I de Lacon de Thori Serra King of Sardinia, in a ceremony in the Cathedral of San Siro in Pavia.

GIUDICI o RE di Torres del Casato de Thori

nome	figlio del giudice	data	note
Andrea Tanca Lacon de Thori.	Barisone I	1064 - 1073
Mariano I di Torres Lacon de Thori		1073 -1082
Costantino I di Torres Lacon de Thori	Mariano I di Torres Lacon de Thori	1082 - 1113
Gonario II di Torres Lacon de Thori	Costantino I di Torres Lacon de Thori	1127 - 1153
Barisone II di Torres de Thori	Gonario II di Torres Lacon de Thori	1153 - 1190
Costantino II di Torres de Thori	Barisone II di Torres de Thori	1191 - 1198
Comita II di Torres de Thori	Barisone II di Torres de Thori	1198 - 1218	Fratello di Costantino II
Mariano II di Torres de Thori	Comita II di Torres de Thori	1218 - 1232
Barisone III di Torres de Thori	Mariano II di Torres de Thori	1232 - 1236	Assassinated in Sorso following a popular uprising fomented by the Doria and Malaspina families
Adelasia do Torres de Thori	Mariano II di Torres de Thori	1238 - 1246	Sister of Barisone III. She is Queen of Sardinia. She married Enzo, son of the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II of Swabia. After her, the Kingdom of Torres became extinct.

GIUDICI o RE D'ARBOREA del Casato de Thori

nome	figlio del giudice	data	note
Mariano I de Lacon-Zori	Barisone I de Lacon-Gunale di Arborea e Torres	+ 1073
Orzocco I Lacon-de Thori	Mariano I Lacon-de Thori d'Arborea	1050 - 1110	he moved the judicial seat from Tharros to Oristano
Torbeno Lacon-de Thori	Orzocco I Lacon-de Thori d'Arborea	1070 - 1120
Orzocco II Lacon-de Thori	Torbeno Lacon-de Thori d'Arborea	1090 - 1150	Author of the "Confirmation Card"
Comita III de Lacon de Thori Serra	Costantino Lacon-de Thori d'Arborea	1112 - 1170	Son of Anna de Zori, this sister of Pretziosa, wife of Mariano-Torchitorio II de Lacon-Gunale of Cagliari.

Political power and land base

The genealogies of the first two centuries of the second millennium attest to the contemporary presence of the Thori at the top of all four Sardinian kingdoms, especially in the seventy years between 1065 and 1135. In this period the family expressed six kings in the Giudicati of Arborea, Gallura and Torres, and as many queens, two of whom united with the Lacon-Gunale dynasty, which then reigned in the Giudicato of Calari..

The power and political prestige expressed by this great family rested, to a large extent, on a very solid landed base. Historian Alberto Boscolo observed that the Thori constituted "the most important family in Logudoro."

Connection with the Lacon-Gunale dynasty

The Lacon-Gunale dynasty was grafted onto the Thori lineage after Mariano de Thori, son of Barisone I of Torres and also a judge of Arborea, vacated the throne having fathered three daughters. One of these, Susanna, married Mariano de Lacon-Gunale, a judge of Logudoro. The dynastic line represented by Judge Gunnari, son of Constantine I, was fully identified with this family.

The power and political prestige expressed by this family rested, to a large extent, on a very solid landed base.

Other branches of the same family belonged to the class called "Majorales" and some of its members held important roles in the public administration of the Judiciary, such as "Curadores", data attested in the various districts, particularly in Logudoro and in the historical region of Nurkara and Caput Abbas[1].

The main possessions of this family in the Giudicale era extended mainly in two macro areas, the first extended between the current municipalities of Pozzomaggiore, Padria, Bosa and Villanova Monteleone[1] and the second in the lower Anglona[2] (Santa Maria Coghinas, Valledoria, Castelsardo, Tergu), as attested by the various donations made by members of this family to different monasteries in the area.

Further evidence of these properties can be found in local toponymy, see the Roman bridge called "Ponte de Thori" and the church dedicated to "San Giorgio de Thori" located in the Padria area and "Pedra Ettori" in the Villanova Monteleone area.

Main exponents

Kings

• Mariano I de Thori (11th century) - Judge of Logudoro, completed the construction of the Basilica of Porto Torres
• Barisone I de Thori - Judge of Torres
• Mariano de Thori - Judge of Arborea
• Constantino I de Thori (died before 1127) - Judge of Torres
• Gonario II de Lacon-Gunale de Thori (1110-1114 – Ville-sous-la-Ferté, after 1182) - Judge of Torres from 1127 to 1153
• Barisone II de Lacon-Thori (1153-1190) - Judge of Torres

Gonario II and the Cistercians

Gonario II de Lacon-Gunale de Thori played a particularly significant role in the religious history of Sardinia. During a journey to Jerusalem in 1147, he stopped at Montecassino to confirm the donations made by his predecessors. On the return journey, in Apulia, he met Bernard of Clairvaux, founder of the Cistercian order. In 1153, Gonario II abdicated in favor of his son Barisone II and in 1154 retired to the Cistercian abbey of Clairvaux in Champagne, where he spent the rest of his life as a monk. He died after 1182 in Ville-sous-la-Ferté, near Clairvaux.

In 1149, Gonario founded the abbey of Cabuabbas (Sindia), encouraging the penetration of Cistercian monks into the kingdom of Torres. In 1154, the pious judge abandoned all earthly possessions, including his judicial rights (inherited by his son Barisone), and retired to religious life in the monastery of Clairvaux, where he died after 1182.

The Letter of Peter of 1205, preserved in the Grand Cartulaire of Clairvaux (Archives départementales of Aube en Champagne), represents the only known document attesting to a direct donation by a Sardinian judge-sovereign to the Cistercian abbey of Clairvaux.

In 1205, Comita II de Thori donated properties located in Romangia (Save, Osilo, Taverra, Septempalmas, Enene) to the Cistercians and founded the abbey of S. Maria di Paulis, endowing it with a significant patrimony of movable and immovable property.

Anthroponymy and nicknames

The numerous homophonies within the collateral branches of the family gave rise to nicknames, a characteristic phenomenon of medieval Sardinian anthroponymy. Among the most notable are:

• Comita series: Gardis, Leriane, Thipircu, Camba Curtha, Gavisatu, Perras
• Gosantine series: Errecane, Variu, Coke and Mandica, Divite, Ispentumatu, Radongiu
• Mariane series: Aspru, Bardeiu, Cavallare, Grassu, Mannu, Mutatu, Zurrumpis, Oglospintos, Pedinkellu, Cantarellu, and for the clericu and previteru professions
• Others: Gunnari Pellincari, Barusone Iudas, Dorgotori Manosvarias, Ithocor Rubiu

Sources from the 11th to 13th centuries document approximately one hundred and thirty members of the family, about twenty of whom were women. Four-fifths of the known members are originally from Logudoro, while 20% are from Arborea.

The genealogical reconstruction is complex: the tree reported in the volume of medieval genealogies by Brook, Casula et al. (1984) includes only 15% of the Thori documented in the sources. The relative relationships of most of the members of this house are unknown.

Land holdings

The Thori owned extensive landed estates, documented mainly through:

• The Sardinian-Cassinese Diplomatic Code (ed. Saba)
• The Codex Diplomaticus Sardiniae (ed. Tola)
• The Condaghes of Silki, Trullas, and Salvennor
• The sixteenth-century fundaghes

Main monastic donations

The sources document over fifty condaghes records, recording properties that a long series of Thori members (sixty-two individuals) donated, exchanged, or sold to monastic congregations. The landed properties recorded in the condaghes well exceed one hundred; adding the properties documented in other sources, the total exceeds one hundred and sixty units.

Donations to the Cassinesi Benedictines (Montecassino):

• 1113-1120: Church of St. Peter of Simbranos (Bulzi) - donated by Costantino di Carbia and Giorgia de Zori
• 1120-1126: Domo near Bosove - donated by Comita de Azzen and Musconiona de Zori
• 1121: Church of St. Mary of Tergu with appurtenances - donated by Mariano de Zori and Giusta de Serra
• 1122: Church of St. Nicholas of Soliu (Sedini) - donated by Furatu de Gitil and Susanna de Zori
• 1122: Vast holdings in Anglona - donated by Susanna de Thori (vineyard in Barranca, domestica of Pruna Zonca, lands of Concas and Laccos, Salto di Nuse)
• 1122: Domo in Cocinas - donated by Vera de Thori
• 1122: All assets in Anglona and Montiferru - donated by Susanna de Thori in exchange for food and clothing
• 1153: Confirmation of all previous donations by Gonario II de Lacon. The territory removed from the royal demesne documents the considerable extensions of the jurisdictional states: in this case, the area transferred from the demesne to the Cassinese congregation is approximately eight thousand hectares, between Tergu, Sennori, and Sorso. Within this area, along the western edge, stood the Cassinese monasteries of San Pietro de Trecinglo (or Trighinzos) and San Pietro d'Othari, passing "towards its giant monument" (the Giant's Tomb of Oridda-Badde Nigolosu).

• 1210: Territory of Orrea Manna and Orrea Pitzinna (about 2,000 hectares in the southwestern sector of Anglona) - donated by Maria de Thori

Donations to the Vallombrosans (Abbey of St. Michael of Salvennor):

• Entire territories of Salvennor and Agustàna in the curatoria of Figulinas (about 1,200 hectares in the curatoria of Caputabbas)

Geographical distribution of possessions

The documented possessions of the Thori extended mainly in the Giudicato of Logudoro, in the following curacies:

• Anglona: The most documented, with approximately 4,000-4,500 hectares transferred to the Cassinesi and Camaldolesi
• Figulinas: The Thori almost exclusively owned the territories of Salvennor and Agustàna
• Caputabbas: Approximately 1,200 hectares (an area where Dettori descendants still own significant tracts of land)
• Romangia and subdivisions of Fluminargia and Montes
• Coros, Nurra, Ogianu, Oppia, Montiverru, Meilogu, Marghine, Lerron, Valles, Ulumetu, Anela

The sources have not preserved any information about the curacies of Dore, Nughedu, Nugor, Nulàuro, Nùrcara and Frussìa, but this does not mean that the Thori did not have possessions there.

Historical anecdotes

Passion for wine

The Logudorese Chronicle (Libellus Iudicum Turritanorum) reports the excessive passion for wine of judge Mariano I de Thori (11th century), so intense that his mother resorted to spells to keep him from drinking. Mariano, "cured" of his vice, nevertheless fell ill from drinking too much (contaminated) water.

The Murder of the Acolyte

In 1204, Ithocor de Thori was excommunicated for killing an acolyte of the Bishop of Ampurias who was destroying his vineyard. The acolyte was unrecognizable as a cleric because he dressed like a layman and did not wear a cleric. Pope Innocent III, at the request of Ithocor, who declared himself unable to travel to the Apostolic See, instructed the Archbishop of Torres Biagio to verify the veracity of his claims and, if necessary, to proceed with his absolution, requiring him to use the money he would spend on his trip to Rome for charitable works.

Even today, after many centuries, the agglutinated variant Dettóri does not betray its ancient glory: in the area corresponding to the curacy of Caputabbas, the land extensions owned by this family are still considerable.

Sources from the Giudicati period allow us to identify most of the properties that the House of Thori donated to the Benedictine congregations. For some of these properties—concentrated in the curacies of Anglona, ​​Figulinas, and Caputabbas—it is possible to identify their locations and estimate their surface areas with a good approximation.

As Professor Mauro Maxia [1] states, the origin of the family name is lost in the early Middle Ages. The surname has a toponymic origin, like most of the noble names of the Sardinian Giudicato era, and refers to the ancient toponym Thori, Zori, Thuri, corresponding to the Arborean centre of Zuri, a small village in the curatoria of Gulcier, in today's Arborean territory.

The surname still exists today with the forms Zori and Zuri in the same Arborea area, while in the Logudorese area the variant Dettori has become established. An apheretic variant, Ettóri, documented as early as the 16th century, has crystallized in the toponymy of some municipalities in northern Sardinia (Osilo: punta Marettóri; Nulvi: nuraghe Marettóri; Villanova Monteleone: punta Ettóri). The form later spread to southern Corsica, where it remains very common today.

Bibliografia

• Alberto Boscolo, Studies on Byzantine and Judicial Sardinia, Sassari, 1985
• L. L. Brook, F. C. Casula, M. M. Costa, A. Oliva, R. Pavoni, M. Tangheroni, Medieval Genealogies of Sardinia, Rome, 1984
• Pasquale Tola, Codex Diplomaticus Sardiniae, Historiae Patriae Monumenta, Turin, 1861 (reprinted Rome, 1990)
• A. Saba, Montecassino and Medieval Sardinia. Historical Notes and the Sardinian-Cassinese Diplomatic Code, Montecassino-Sora, 1927
• Mauro Maxia, The Logudorese Possessions of the Thori in the Sources of the 11th-13th Centuries, in Proceedings of the National Conference "Judicial Civilization in Sardinia in the 11th-13th Centuries. Sources and Written Documents," Sassari-Usini 2001, Stampacolor, Sassari-Muros, 2002
• The Condaghe of San Pietro di Silki, ed. Giuliano Bonazzi, Rome, 1900 (reprinted in Sassari, 1979)
• The Condaghe of San Nicola di Trullas, edited by Paolo Merci, Rome, 1992
• The Condaghe of San Michele di Salvennor, edited by Virgilio Tetti, Rome, 1997Alessandro Soddu, Silvio De Santis, Monastic Lordships in Medieval Sardinia: The Camaldolese Priory of San Nicola di Trullas, in Annals of the Faculty of Letters and Philosophy of the University of Sassari, Vol. 1, 2009
• The Logudorese Chronicle (Libellus Iudicum Turritanorum)