Beotibar is a locality near Tolosa in the

Gipuzkoa Gipuzkoa ( , ; ; ) is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the autonomous community of the Basque Country. Its capital city is Donostia-San Sebastián. Gipuzkoa shares borders with the French department of Pyrénées-Atlantiqu ...

province of northern

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, in the northeastern part of the

autonomous community The autonomous communities () are the first-level administrative divisions of Spain, created in accordance with the Spanish Constitution of 1978, with the aim of guaranteeing limited autonomy to the nationalities and regions that make up Sp ...

of the Basque Country. That province is bordered by the provinces of

Biscay Biscay ( ; ; ), is a province of the Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Autonomous Community, heir of the ancient Lordship of Biscay, lying on the south shore of the Bay of Biscay, eponymous bay. The capital and largest city is Bilb ...

and

Álava Álava () or Araba (), officially Araba/Álava, is a Provinces of Spain, province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Country, heir of the ancient Basque señoríos#Lords of Álava, Lordship ...

, the Autonomous Community of

Navarre Navarre ( ; ; ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre, is a landlocked foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, bordering the Basque Autonomous Community, La Rioja, and Aragon in Spain and New Aquitaine in France. ...

, the French department of

Pyrénées-Atlantiques Pyrénées-Atlantiques (; Gascon language, Gascon Occitan language, Occitan: ''Pirenèus Atlantics''; ) is a Departments of France, department located in the Regions of France, region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine in the southwest corner of metropolitan ...

, and the

Bay of Biscay The Bay of Biscay ( ) is a gulf of the northeast Atlantic Ocean located south of the Celtic Sea. It lies along the western coast of France from Point Penmarc'h to the Spanish border, and along the northern coast of Spain, extending westward ...

. Beotibar is renowned in Basque history as the site of the battle on 19 September 1321 in which Guipuzcoans defeated the Navarrese. Essentially, the battle was the result of the very complicated geopolitical forces at work in the Middle Ages that went into shaping what one day would become Spain. In 1016 boundaries had been drawn between Navarre and Castile; these boundaries made what would now be the Basque Country part of Navarre. This lasted until Guipuzcoa, Alava, and Vizcaya broke away from that kingdom amid a difficult political situation and became integrated into Castile under a treaty in 1200. The battle of Beotibar was fought to defeat attempts by the Navarrese to take back Guipuzcoa and reincorporate it. Part of the lore connected with the battle is the courage shown by the Loyola brothers, ancestors of

Ignatius of Loyola Ignatius of Loyola ( ; ; ; ; born Íñigo López de Oñaz y Loyola; – 31 July 1556), venerated as Saint Ignatius of Loyola, was a Basque Spaniard Catholic priest and theologian, who, with six companions, founded the religious order of the S ...

, founder of the

Society of Jesus The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rome. It was founded in 1540 ...

, known as the Jesuits. There exists a description of the battle of Beotibar by Juan Zaldibia in his book ''Suma de las cosas cantábricas y guipuzcoana'' as well as an old Basque song that recalls the victory.

External links

Song of the Battle of Beotibar
Populated places in Gipuzkoa History of Gipuzkoa {{Basque-geo-stub