In English, there are many forms of word play from puns and palindromes to malapropisms and ideophones (past facts here and here). I never really thought about it, but makes sense that word play is a part of other languages, including Basque. And just like there are folks who make word games in English based […]
We are all familiar with the two big Basque saints – Saint Ignatius and Saint Francis Xavier. They feature prominently in Basque culture, serving as the patron saints of Basque provinces, several towns, and even festivals. However, they aren’t the only saints with a Basque connection. Saint Rictrudis is one example of a lesser known […]
In past Facts, I’ve touched on various aspects of the medieval history of the Basques, including the connection to the neighboring Muslim caliphate, the early rulers of Pamplona, and the Battles of Orreaga that set the stage for much of that history. It’s a complicated history, one that I don’t pretend to fully grasp. But […]
There are so many curious facts surrounding the history of witchcraft in the Basque Country. One is the Akelarre, or what would later be regarded as the Basque Black Sabbath. In reality, the Akelarre was probably just an innocent gathering of people, primarily women, who were healers and herbalists and the Akelarre was a time […]
My Basque newsfeed blew up with the news that scientists have discovered an oddly shaped storm on the southern pole of the planet of Saturn. Many different news outlets highlighted this discovery that was led by a scientist from the University of the Basque Country. The universe continues to surprise us. A full list of […]
Located in the Pyrenees, the names Orreaga, Errozabal, Ibañetako Mendatea have an important role in Basque history. Ibañetako Mendatea is the actual pass, Errozabal is the broader plains, and Orreaga is the village near the pass. All of these have been used to name multiple battles that happened at this chokepoint between the Iberian Peninsula […]
Last week I wrote about the Valley of Aran, which has historical and linguistic connections to the Basque Country. In the Valley of Aran, the local language is Occitan, which is related to Gascon, which has its own connections to Euskara. In fact, the words Gascon and Basque come from the same Latin root. A […]
Murals found on a wall in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
The Val d’Aran, or Valley of Aran, lies in the northwest corner of Catalunya. As such, it is a bit of an outlier. It is the only part of Catalunya that sits on the northern side of the Pyrenees. It has its own language, Aranese, that is co-official with Spanish and Catalan. The region also […]
The New Fueros of Bizkaia were approved in 1526 – 500 years ago this year. These fueros codified the customs and practices of the people of Bizkaia – it didn’t establish any new laws per se, but formalized those that already existed. Elixabete Piñol Olaeta looked back at how specifically women were mentioned in those […]