Editing Middlesbrough (section)

===Monks and lords===
Middlesbrough started as a [[Benedictine]] priory on the south bank of the [[River Tees]], its name possibly derived from it being midway between the holy sites of [[Durham, England|Durham]] and [[Whitby]]. The earliest recorded form of Middlesbrough's name is "Mydilsburgh". Some believe the name means 'middle fortress', since it was midway between the two religious houses of Durham and Whitby; others state that it is an [[Old English]]  personal name (''Midele'' or ''Myhailf'') combined with ''burgh'', meaning town.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ekwall |first=Eilert |author-link=Eilert Ekwall |title=The concise Oxford dictionary of English place-names |date=1960 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=0-19-869103-3 |edition=4 |location=Oxford |page=324}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Johnston |first=James Brown |title=The place-names of England and Wales |date=1915 |publisher=Murray |location=London |page=368 |oclc=1050761076}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Chrystal |first=Paul |title=The Place Names of Yorkshire; Cities, Towns, Villages, Rivers and Dales, some Pubs too, in Praise of Yorkshire Ales |date=2017 |publisher=Stenlake |isbn=9781840337532 |edition=1 |location=Catrine |page=58}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Smith |first=A.&nbsp;H. |title=The Place Names of the North Riding of Yorkshire |date=1979 |publisher=English Place Name Society |page=160 |oclc=19714705 |orig-date=1928}}</ref>

In 686 a monastic cell was consecrated by [[Cuthbert of Lindisfarne|St Cuthbert]] at the request of [[Hilda of Whitby|St Hilda]], Abbess of [[Whitby]]. The cell evolved into [[Middlesbrough Priory]]. The manor of Middlesburgh belonged to [[Whitby Abbey]] and [[Gisborough Priory]].<ref name="page">{{Cite web |last=Page |first=William |title=Parishes: Middlesborough [sic] Pages 268–273 A History of the County of York North Riding: Volume 2. Originally published by Victoria County History, London, 1923. |url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/yorks/north/vol2/pp268-273#h3-0005 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200713211026/https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/yorks/north/vol2/pp268-273#h3-0005 |archive-date=13 July 2020 |access-date=13 July 2020 |website=British History Online}}</ref> [[Robert de Brus, 1st Lord of Annandale|Robert Bruce, Lord of Cleveland and Annandale]], granted and confirmed, in 1119, the church of St. Hilda of Middleburg to Whitby.<ref name="auto5">{{Cite web |title=Welcome to Middlesbrough |url=http://www.middlesbroughuk.co.uk/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061006053142/http://www.middlesbroughuk.co.uk/ |archive-date=6 October 2006 |access-date=12 March 2011}}</ref> Up until its closure on the [[Dissolution of the Monasteries]] by [[Henry VIII of England|Henry VIII]] in 1537, the church was maintained by 12&nbsp;[[Benedictine]] monks, many of whom became vicars, or rectors, of various places in Cleveland.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Moorsom |first=Norman |title=Middlesbrough as it was |publisher=Hendon Publishing Co Ltd |year=1983}}</ref>

After settlement by the [[Anglo-Saxons|Angles]], the area became home to [[Viking]] settlers. Names of Viking origin (with the suffix {{lang|da|by}}, meaning ''village''<ref>{{Cite web |last=Harbeck |first=James |title=Why does Britain have such bizarre place names? |date=9 March 2016 |url=https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20160309-why-does-britain-have-such-bizarre-place-names |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210106194342/https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20160309-why-does-britain-have-such-bizarre-place-names |archive-date=6 January 2021 |access-date=16 December 2020 |publisher=BBC Culture}}</ref>) are abundant, for example [[Ormesby]], [[Stainsby, North Yorkshire|Stainsby]] and [[Tollesby]]. These were once separate villages named after [[Vikings]] called Orm, Steinn and Toll. They are now areas of Middlesbrough that were recorded in [[Domesday Book]], of 1086.