Zazpiak Bat is a

heraldic Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, rank and pedigree. Armory, the best-known branc ...

nickname for the Basque

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

which includes the arms of the seven Basque provinces, stressing their unity. It was designed by the historian Jean de Jaurgain in 1897 for the ''Congrès et Fêtes de la Tradition basque'' celebrated at

Saint-Jean-de-Luz Saint-Jean-de-Luz (; ,Donibane Lohitzune
Auñamendi Encyclopedia, Auñamendi Eu ...

Name

''Zazpiak Bat'' is a motto attributed to

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...

explorer Exploration is the process of exploring, an activity which has some Expectation (epistemic), expectation of Discovery (observation), discovery. Organised exploration is largely a human activity, but exploratory activity is common to most organis ...

Antoine-Thomson d'Abbadie in the late nineteenth century, from the

words ''zazpiak'' meaning 'the seven' and ''bat'' meaning 'one', translates as "the seven reone" and refers to the seven Basque Country traditional provinces. However, it was first cited in 1836 by a friend and collaborator of Antoine d'Abbadie's, the

Soule Soule (; Basque language, Basque: Zuberoa; Zuberoan/ Soule Basque: Xiberoa or Xiberua; ) is a former viscounty and France, French Provinces of France, province and part of the present-day Pyrénées-Atlantiques ''département in France, départ ...

tin

Agosti Xaho Augustin Chaho in French or Agosti Xaho in Basque was an important Romanticism, Romantic Basque language, Basque writer. He was born in Tardets (Atharratze in basque), Soule, French Basqueland on 10 October 1811 and died in Bayonne (Baiona in ...

(''Etudes grammaticales sur la langue euskarienne'', dedicated to the ''Zazpirak Bat''). The motto is based on a similar one fashioned by the

Enlightenment Enlightenment or enlighten may refer to: Age of Enlightenment * Age of Enlightenment, period in Western intellectual history from the late 17th to late 18th century, centered in France but also encompassing (alphabetically by country or culture): ...

society Real Sociedad Bascongada de Amigos del País in 1765, ''Irurac bat'', 'the three reone', after the provinces currently making up the

Basque Autonomous Community Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous com ...

), while a like variant was created too in the 19th century known as ''Laurak bat'' ('the four reone', after the four Basque peninsular provinces), a motto quoted and celebrated by the Provincial Government of Navarre in 1866.

History

The original Zazpiak Bat features a design of traditional arms of the Basque territories, namely Araba,

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 ...

, and

Bizkaia Biscay ( ; ; ), is a province of the Basque Autonomous Community, heir of the ancient Lordship of Biscay, lying on the south shore of the eponymous bay. The capital and largest city is Bilbao. Biscay is one of the most renowned and prosperou ...

(which form the

) plus Nafarroa; and the three that are part of the Pyrénées Atlantiques department (

Lapurdi Labourd (; ; ; ) is a former French province and part of the present-day Pyrénées Atlantiques ''département'' of Nouvelle-Aquitaine region. It is one of the traditional Basque provinces, and identified as one of the territorial component par ...

, Zuberoa and Baxe-Nafarroa). The coat of arms of the third traditional province,

Lower Navarre Lower Navarre (; Gascon/Bearnese: ''Navarra Baisha''; ; ) is a traditional region of the present-day French '' département'' of Pyrénées-Atlantiques. It corresponds to the northernmost ''region'' of the Kingdom of Navarre during the Middle A ...

is subsumed under the coat of arms of the

Kingdom of Navarre The Kingdom of Navarre ( ), originally the Kingdom of Pamplona, occupied lands on both sides of the western Pyrenees, with its northernmost areas originally reaching the Atlantic Ocean (Bay of Biscay), between present-day Spain and France. The me ...

, therefore represented by the latter. The modern design is based on the current simplified heraldry of these territories.

Laurak Bat

''Laurak Bat'', with the four Basque provinces of peninsular soil, was adopted as the

of the

Basque autonomous community Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous com ...

. The red background of the Navarrese insignia currently occupies the fourth quarter of the coat of arms of the Basque Country.

General references

References

{{reflist

External links

Website with various Basque flags and arms
Basque symbols Mottos Spanish coats of arms Coats of arms of country subdivisions Coats of arms with chains Coats of arms with crowns Coats of arms with swords Coats of arms with sceptres Coats of arms with trees Coats of arms with crosses Coats of arms with buildings Coats of arms with lions Coats of arms with fleurs de lis Coats of arms with animals Coats of arms with cannons Symbols introduced in 1897