Basque literature
Encyclopedia
Although the first instances of coherent Basque
Basque language
Basque is the ancestral language of the Basque people, who inhabit the Basque Country, a region spanning an area in northeastern Spain and southwestern France. It is spoken by 25.7% of Basques in all territories...

 phrases and sentences go as far back as the San Millán glosses dating back to about 950AD, the large-scale damage done by periods of great instability and warfare such as the clan wars of the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...

, the Carlist Wars
Carlist Wars
The Carlist Wars in Spain were the last major European civil wars in which contenders fought to establish their claim to a throne. Several times during the period from 1833 to 1876 the Carlists — followers of Infante Carlos and his descendants — rallied to the cry of "God, Country, and King" and...

 and the Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...

 have meant that very little written material predating the 16th century has survived.

The earliest surviving traces of Basque literary activity go back to the 16th century but significant production does not seem to have set in until the 17th century. Since the end of the Francoist period in Spain, the formation of a standard language
Batua
Standard Basque is a standardised version of the Basque language, developed by the Basque Language Academy in the late 1960s, which nowadays is the most widely and commonly spoken Basque-language version throughout the Basque Country...

 and the large scale introduction to Basque into the education system, literary activity has soared and while much of the literature written in Basque remains targeted at the native audience, some Basque authors that have been translated into other languages such as Bernardo Atxaga
Bernardo Atxaga
Bernardo Atxaga is a Basque writer and self-translator.-Biography:Atxaga was born in Asteasu, Gipuzkoa, Basque Country), in 1951. He received a diploma in economics from the University of Bilbao, and studied philosophy at the University of Barcelona...

 have achieved global recognition.

The 16th century

A few songs from the 16th century have survived, such as the Song of the Battle of Beotibar
Beotibar
Beotibar is a Spanish locality near Tolosa in the Gipuzkoa province of northern Spain, in the northeastern part of the autonomous community of the Basque Country...

that deals with the battle fought in 1321 and a group of verses known as The Burning of Mondragón
Mondragón
Arrasate or Mondragón - is a town and municipality in Gipuzkoa province, Basque Country, Spain...

from the time of the Basque Clan Wars.

The earliest piece of prose
Prose
Prose is the most typical form of written language, applying ordinary grammatical structure and natural flow of speech rather than rhythmic structure...

 writing in Basque is a letter written in 1537 by the Biscayan Juan de Zumárraga
Juan de Zumárraga
Juan de Zumárraga was a Spanish Basque Franciscan prelate and first bishop of Mexico.-Origins and arrival in New Spain:...

 from Durango, the first bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...

 of Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

.

Only a few years later in 1545, the first book known to have been put into print is published - a collection of poems by Bernard Etxepare
Bernard Etxepare
Bernard Etxepare was a Basque writer of the 16th century, most famous for a collection of poems titled Linguæ Vasconum Primitiæ he published in 1545, the first book to be published in the Basque language....

, a priest from Lower Navarre
Lower Navarre
Lower Navarre is a part of the present day Pyrénées Atlantiques département of France. Along with Navarre of Spain, it was once ruled by the Kings of Navarre. Lower Navarre was historically one of the kingdoms of Navarre. Its capital were Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port and Saint-Palais...

 in the Northern Basque Country
Northern Basque Country
The French Basque Country or Northern Basque Country situated within the western part of the French department of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques constitutes the north-eastern part of the Basque Country....

, by the title Linguæ Vasconum Primitiæ ("Beginnings of the Basque Language"). In this book, Etxepare expresses his hopes that the first publication of a book in Basque will serve to invigorate the language and the culture. His efforts were undoubtedly influenced by wider movements in Europe at the time that encouraged literary production in vernacular
Vernacular
A vernacular is the native language or native dialect of a specific population, as opposed to a language of wider communication that is not native to the population, such as a national language or lingua franca.- Etymology :The term is not a recent one...

 languages rather than Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...

.

Next is a recently discovered pastoral play by Joan Perez de Lazarraga
Joan Perez de Lazarraga
Joan Perez de Lazarraga, Lord of Larrea Tower was a Basque writer, who was born and died in Larrea, Álava.Lazarraga, the lord of Larrea, and a member of a family originating in Oñati. As a writer, he was one of the few Renaissance authors writing in Basque...

 (1548?—1605) by the name of Silbero, Silbia, Doristeo and Sirena that was produced between 1564 and 1567 in Larrea
Larrea
Larrea is a genus of flowering plants in the caltrop family, Zygophyllaceae. It contains five species of evergreen shrubs that are native to the Americas. The generic name honours Spanish scientist J.A. de Larrea. South American members of this genus are known as jarillas and are so closely related...

, Alava
Álava
Álava is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country, heir of the ancient Lord of Álava. Its capital city is Vitoria-Gasteiz which is also the capital of the autonomous community...

 and is the earliest surviving play in Basque. With 102 pages (some damaged) it is also the longest early text.

1571 saw the publication of Joanes Leizarraga
Joanes Leizarraga
Joanes Leizarraga was a 16th century Basque priest. He is most famous for being the first to attempt the standardisation of the Basque language and for the translation of religious works into Basque, in particular the first Basque translation of the New Testament.-Early years:Leizarraga was born...

's New Testament
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....

 translation into a standardised form of his Lapurdian
Lapurdian
Lapurdian or Labourdin is a dialect of the Basque language spoken in the Lapurdi region of the Basque Country in France...

 dialect. He also wrote a small number of other religious works.

The closing years of the 16th century see another publication, this time from the South, of a collection of proverbs written in the Biscayan
Biscayan
Biscayan, sometimes Bizkaian , is a dialect of the Basque language spoken mainly in Biscay, one of the provinces of the Basque Country of Spain....

 dialect called Refranes y sentencias by an unknown author. However, by this time, the centre of Basque literary production had firmly established itself in the Northern, French provinces of Lower Navarre
Lower Navarre
Lower Navarre is a part of the present day Pyrénées Atlantiques département of France. Along with Navarre of Spain, it was once ruled by the Kings of Navarre. Lower Navarre was historically one of the kingdoms of Navarre. Its capital were Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port and Saint-Palais...

, Labourd
Labourd
Labourd is a former French province and part of the present-day Pyrénées Atlantiques département. It is historically one of the seven provinces of the traditional Basque Country....

 and Soule
Soule
Soule is a former viscounty and French province and part of the present day Pyrénées-Atlantiques département...

 where it would remain for several centuries.

Although dialectal differences are clearly visible in these early texts, it is also clear that the differences in the 16th century were considerably smaller that they are today.

The 17th century

In amongst the trickle of smaller religious works the Counter Reformation movement, which in the Basque Country had its centre in Sare
Sare
Sare is a village in the traditional Basque province of Labourd, now a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in south-western France....

, Soule
Soule
Soule is a former viscounty and French province and part of the present day Pyrénées-Atlantiques département...

, produced one of the most notable works of the 17th century. This was a religious publication, the preachings of Pedro Agerre
Pedro Agerre
Pedro Agerre, best known as Axular, is one of the main Basque writers of the 17th century. His main work is Gero , published in 1643.-External links:*...

 (better known as Axular) but in literary form, published in 1643. Although he was born in Urdax in Navarre
Navarre
Navarre , officially the Chartered Community of Navarre is an autonomous community in northern Spain, bordering the Basque Country, La Rioja, and Aragon in Spain and Aquitaine in France...

 and working in Soule, he wrote in Lapurdian which by then had established itself as the most prestigious form of Basque.

Other important authors of this century were
  • Dotrina christiana by Estève Materre in 1617, also one of the earliest known learners of Basque
  • The works of Silvain Pouvreau, one of the earliest known learners of Basque. His works (some of which were published posthumously) include Giristinoaren Dotrina (Paris, 1656); Filotea (Paris, 1664); Gudu espirituala (Paris, 1665), Andre Dana Maria Privilegiatua (J. Vinson: 1892), Iesusen Imitacionea (1978, Hordago) and an unpublished but important dictionary.
  • Arnauld de Oihenart
    Arnauld de Oihenart
    Arnauld de Oihenart was a Basque historian and poet.Born at Mauléon, he studied law at Bordeaux, where he took his degree in 1612. He practised with Jeanne d'Erdoy, the heiress of a noble family of Saint-Palais, at the bar of the parlement of Navarre...

    , born 1592 in Mauléon
    Mauléon
    Mauléon is the name or part of the name of several communes in France:* Mauléon, in the Deux-Sèvres département* Mauléon-Licharre, in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques département...

    , who was the first Basque layman
    Layman
    A layperson or layman is a person who is not an expert in a given field of knowledge. The term originally meant a member of the laity, i.e. a non-clergymen, but over the centuries shifted in definition....

     to write in the language and who produced a large amount of poetry and an important collection of proverbs, the first of which was published in 1657 in Paris
    Paris
    Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

    . His style of writing is still regarded as one of the highest in the history of Basque literature
  • Liburuhauda Ixasoco nabigacionecoa, a book on marine navigation written by Martin de Hoyarzabal and translated by Piarres Detcheverry in 1677
  • A book on farming techniques by Mongongo Dessança in 1692


Although Gipuzkoan
Gipuzkoan
Gipuzkoan is a dialect of the Basque language spoken mainly in the province of Gipuzkoa in Basque Country but also in a small part of Navarre. It is a central dialect, spoken in the central and eastern part of Gipuzkoa...

 and Biscayan
Biscayan
Biscayan, sometimes Bizkaian , is a dialect of the Basque language spoken mainly in Biscay, one of the provinces of the Basque Country of Spain....

 enjoyed some status as literary dialects, Lapurdian was by far the most commonly used dialect of the 17th century.

The 20th Century

Some important figures of 20th century Basque literature are Telesforo Monzón
Telesforo Monzón
Telesforo de Monzón y Ortiz de Urruela was a writer, politician and nationalist Basque leader....

, Salbatore Mitxelena
Salbatore Mitxelena
Salbatore Mitxelena , was a friar and a writer in the Basque language.He was ordained as a friar in the Franciscan Order and fled the country during the Spanish Civil War. He was the author in 1949 of the first book in Basque written about the Civil War...

, Gabriel Aresti
Gabriel Aresti
Gabriel Aresti Segurola was one of the most important writers and poets in Basque language in the 20th century....

, Nikolas Ormaetxea
Nikolas Ormaetxea
Nikolas Ormaetxea, also known as Orixe , was a Basque language writer.- Saiakera :* Euskal literaturaren atze edo edesti laburra...

, Txillardegi
Txillardegi
José Luis Álvarez Emparanza or José Luis Álvarez Enparantza better known by his pseudonym Txillardegi, is a linguist, politician and Spanish writer in the Basque language...

 (the pen name of José Luis Álvarez Enparantza), Ramon Saizarbitoria, Bernardo Atxaga
Bernardo Atxaga
Bernardo Atxaga is a Basque writer and self-translator.-Biography:Atxaga was born in Asteasu, Gipuzkoa, Basque Country), in 1951. He received a diploma in economics from the University of Bilbao, and studied philosophy at the University of Barcelona...

, Unai Elorriaga López de Letona. In addition, there are many Basque writers who have written in Spanish: Blas de Otero, and Gabriel Celaya.
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