Although the first instances of coherent
Basque phrases and sentences go as far back as the
San Millán glosses of around 950, the large-scale damage done by periods of great instability and warfare, such as the clan wars of the
Middle Ages, the
Carlist Wars
The Carlist Wars () were a series of civil wars that took place in Spain during the 19th century. The contenders fought over claims to the throne, although some political differences also existed. Several times during the period from 1833 to 187 ...
and the
Spanish Civil War, led to the scarcity of written material predating the 16th century.
[Trask, L. ''The History of Basque'' Routledge 1997]
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
A standard language (also standard variety, standard dialect, and standard) is a language variety that has undergone substantial codification of grammar and usage, although occasionally the term refers to the entirety of a language that includes ...
, and the large scale introduction of Basque into the education system consequently increased literary activity. While much of the literature written in Basque remains targeted at the native audience, some works by Basque authors have been translated into other languages, such as Bernardo Atxaga, and 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 is a locality near Tolosa in the Gipuzkoa province of northern Spain, in the northeastern part of the autonomous community of the Basque Country. That province is bordered by the provinces of Biscay and Álava, the Autonomous Community of ...
'' that deals with the battle fought in 1321 and a group of verses known as ''The Burning of Mondragón'' from the time of the Basque Clan Wars.[
The earliest piece of prose written in Basque is a letter composed in 1537 by the Biscayan ]Juan de Zumárraga
Juan de Zumárraga, OFM (1468 – June 3, 1548) was a Spanish Basque Franciscan prelate and the first Bishop of Mexico. He was also the region's first inquisitor. He wrote ''Doctrina breve'', the first book published in the Western Hemispher ...
from Durango, the first bishop of Mexico.[Inxausti, J. ''Euskal Herria - The Country of the Basque Language'' Basque Government 1995]
Only a few years later in 1545, the first book known to have been put into print is published - a collection of poems fashioned by Bernard Etxepare
Bernard Etxepare (pronounced ) was a Basque writer of the 16th century, most famous for a collection of poems titled ''Linguæ Vasconum Primitiæ'' ("First Fruits of the Basque Language") he published in 1545, the first book to be published in the ...
, a priest from Lower Navarre in the Northern Basque Country
The French Basque Country, or Northern Basque Country ( eu, Iparralde (), french: Pays basque, es, País Vasco francés) is a region lying on the west of the French department of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques. Since 1 January 2017, it constitu ...
, 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 culture. His efforts were undoubtedly influenced by wider movements in Europe at the time that encouraged literary production in vernacular languages[ rather than Latin.
The next publication is a recently discovered pastoral play by Joan Perez de Lazarraga (1548?—1605) by the name of ''Silbero, Silbia, Doristeo and Sirena'' produced between 1564 and 1567 in Larrea, Alava, making it 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's New Testament translation into a standardised form of his Lapurdian dialect, promoted by Jeanne d'Albret, Queen of Navarre. He also wrote a small number of other religious works. Other similar books were to follow that aimed to covert the Basques to Protestantism.]
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, sometimes Bizkaian ( eu, Bizkaiera, es, Vizcaíno) is a dialect of the Basque language spoken mainly in Biscay, one of the provinces of the Basque Country of Spain.
It is named as ''Western'' in the Basque dialects' classification ...
dialect called ''Refranes y sentencias'' by an unknown author. However, by this time, the centre of Basque literary production had firmly established itself to the north of the Pyrenees, in Lower Navarre and the French provinces of Labourd
Labourd ( eu, Lapurdi; la, Lapurdum; Gascon: ''Labord'') is a former French province and part of the present-day Pyrénées Atlantiques ''département''. It is one of the traditional Basque provinces, and identified as one of the territorial c ...
and Soule, 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 than they are today.[
]
The 17th century
In amongst the trickle of smaller religious works the Counter Reformation movement, which in the Basque Country
Basque Country may refer to:
* Basque Country (autonomous community), as used in Spain ( es, País Vasco, link=no), also called , an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain (shown in pink on the map)
* French Basque Country o ...
had its centre in Sare Sare may refer to:
People
* Bakary Saré (born 1990), Burkinabé football player
* Clyde W. Sare (1936–2015), American politician and businessman
* Haig Sare (born 1982), Australian rugby union player
* Hamit Şare (born 1982), Turkish alpine sk ...
, Soule, produced one of the most notable works of the 17th century,[ This was a religious publication, called '' Gero'', the preachings of ]Pedro Agerre
Pedro Agerre, best known as ''Axular'', was one of the main Basque writers of the 17th century. His main work was ''Gero'' (''Later''), published in 1643, an ascetic book written with elaborate prose and composed following the traumatic period of ...
(better known as ''Axular'') but in literary form, published in 1643. Although he was born in Urdax in Navarre
Navarre (; es, Navarra ; eu, Nafarroa ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre ( es, Comunidad Foral de Navarra, links=no ; eu, Nafarroako Foru Komunitatea, links=no ), is a foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, ...
and working in Soule, he wrote in Lapurdian,[ which by then had established itself as the most prestigious form of Basque.
Other important works 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 (7 August 159214 January 1668) was a Basque lawyer, politician, historian and poet.
Born at Mauléon, he studied law at Bordeaux, where he took his degree in 1612. He practised first in his native town, and after his marriage t ...
, born 1592 in Mauléon, who was the first Basque layman 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. 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 and ]Biscayan
Biscayan, sometimes Bizkaian ( eu, Bizkaiera, es, Vizcaíno) is a dialect of the Basque language spoken mainly in Biscay, one of the provinces of the Basque Country of Spain.
It is named as ''Western'' in the Basque dialects' classification ...
enjoyed some status as literary dialects, Lapurdian was by far the most commonly used dialect of the 17th century.
The 20th century
Some referential figures of 20th century Basque literature are Telesforo Monzon Telesforo or Telésforo is a masculine given name derived from Telesphorus. It may refer to:
* Telesforo Castillejos (born 1947), Filipino politician and former provincial governor
* Telésforo Isaac (born 1929), retired Episcopal bishop in the Dom ...
, Salbatore Mitxelena, Gabriel Aresti
Gabriel Aresti Segurola (October 14, 1933 – June 5, 1975) was one of the most important writers and poets in Basque language in the 20th century.
He grew up in Bilbao, which was a Spanish-speaking environment. Although his father talked to ...
, Nikolas Ormaetxea
Nikolas Ormaetxea, also known as Orixe ( Orexa, Gipuzkoa
Gipuzkoa (, , ; es, Guipúzcoa ; french: Guipuscoa) is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the autonomous community of the Basque Country. Its capital city is Donostia-Sa ...
, Txillardegi
José Luis Álvarez Enparantza (27 September 1929 – 14 January 2012), better known by his pseudonym Txillardegi, was a Spanish linguist, politician, and writer. He was born and raised in the Basque Country, and although he did not learn the ...
(pen name of José Luis Álvarez Enparantza), Joxe Azurmendi, Ramon Saizarbitoria
Ramon Saizarbitoria (born 21 April 1944, in San Sebastián) is a contemporary Basque writer and sociologist.
Life
Ramon Saizarbitoria has a Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology from the University of Fribourg in Switzerland, and is director ...
, Bernardo Atxaga, or Joseba Sarrionandia. In addition, there are many Basque writers who have written in Spanish: Blas de Otero
Blas de Otero (15 March 191629 June 1979) was a Spanish people, Spanish poet, associated with the Social poetry movementDebicki, Andrew P''Spanish Poetry of the Twentieth Century: Modernity and Beyond'', p. 74.University Press of Kentucky, 1994. ...
, and Gabriel Celaya
Gabriel Celaya (full name: Rafael Gabriel Juan Múgica Celaya Leceta; March 18, 1911 in Hernani, Gipuzkoa – April 18, 1991 in Madrid) was a Spanish poet. Gabriel settled in Madrid and studied engineering, working for a time as a Manager ...
.
In the 20th century, the Spanish Civil War halted all Basque cultural and literary production for almost two decades. The most-affected domain was that of language and the creation of texts in Basque. The bulk of Basque writers died or escaped to exile, where they undertook some attempts to revitalize literature by writing books or launching magazines of limited circulation.
However, some works were not even published during that period. In the Southern Basque Country, during the 1950s, new generations undertook efforts to write a new type of literature along European lines, innovating both in content and form, despite being heavily conditioned by Francoist censorship.
Characteristics
The most typical traits of Basque literature during history have gradually shifted up to the present time. A number of consistent characteristics have been pinpointed, like the emphasis on folk, ethnological and mythological elements. Jon Kortazar underscores the "uncertainty between the epic sense and playfulness".
Publishing
Between 1545 and 1974, 4,000 books were published in the Basque language, whereas between 1974 and 1995 12,500 were published.[.] Modern Basque publishing began with the establishment of Elkar in 1972, a small publishing company based in Bayonne
Bayonne (; eu, Baiona ; oc, label= Gascon, Baiona ; es, Bayona) is a city in Southwestern France near the Spanish border. It is a commune and one of two subprefectures in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department, in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine re ...
in the French Basque country.[.] After the death of Franco
Franco may refer to:
Name
* Franco (name)
* Francisco Franco (1892–1975), Spanish general and dictator of Spain from 1939 to 1975
* Franco Luambo (1938–1989), Congolese musician, the "Grand Maître"
Prefix
* Franco, a prefix used when ...
, Elkar established a second publishing operation in San Sebastián
San Sebastian, officially known as Donostia–San Sebastián (names in both local languages: ''Donostia'' () and ''San Sebastián'' ()) is a city and Municipalities of Spain, municipality located in the Basque Country (autonomous community), B ...
in the Spanish Basque country.[ Although a number of other Basque publishing houses have been subsequently established, Elkar remains the largest.][
]
Notes
Further reading
* Azurmendi, Joxe: "Die Bedeutung der Sprache in Renaissance und Reformation und die Entstehung der baskischen Literatur im religiösen und politischen Konfliktgebiet zwischen Spanien und Frankreich" In: Wolfgang W. Moelleken (Herausgeber), Peter J. Weber (Herausgeber): ''Neue Forschungsarbeiten zur Kontaktlinguistik'', Bonn: Dümmler, 1997.
* Badiola Rentería, Prudencia, y López Sáinz, Josefina: La literatura en lengua vasca. Editorial Cincel, 1981. .
* López Gaseni, José Manuel: Historia de la literatura vasca. Acento Editorial, 2002. .
* 1 Euskara eta Literatura (Batxillergo)/ 2 Euskara eta Literatura (Batxillergo). Elkar /84-9783-214-0
* Axular Pedro Dagerre Azpilikueta -Gero- Egin Biblioteka (La Navarra)
* Juan Juaristi, Literatura Vasca, Madrid, Taurus, 1987
* J.M.Lekuona "Ahozko literaturaren historia" Euskal Herria. Vol 1, San Sebastián, Jakin, 1984.
* ''El fuero'' Privilegios, Franquezas y Libertas del M.N. y M.L. Señoría de Vizcaya, Bilbao, 1977.
* Del bertsolarismo silenciado (Silenced bertsolaritza) Larrañaga Odriozola, Carmen, Eusko Ikaskuntza.
*Gabilondo, Joseba. ''Before Babel: A History of Basque Literatures''. Barbaroak, 2016. Available online at: https://www.academia.edu/22934388/Before_Babel_A_History_of_Basque_Literatures_2016_open_access_book_
* Olaziregi, Mari Jose: ''Basque Literary History'', Reno, Center for Basque Studies/University of Nevada, 2012.
References
* Azurmendi, Joxe: "Die Bedeutung der Sprache in Renaissance und Reformation und die Entstehung der baskischen Literatur im religiösen und politischen Konfliktgebiet zwischen Spanien und Frankreich" In: Wolfgang W. Moelleken (Herausgeber), Peter J. Weber (Herausgeber): ''Neue Forschungsarbeiten zur Kontaktlinguistik'', Bonn: Dümmler, 1997.
* Available online a
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Basque Literature
Basque literature,
Basque culture
Basque language
Literature by ethnicity