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Nabarralde | About Nabarra
The
First Basque Literary Movement
Castile invaded
Nabarre in 1512.
The occupation of northern Nabarra was both difficult and costly
and the army of Charles V retreated in 1530. Many
Nabarrase families sought refuge in Donibane Garazi in northern
Nabarra--and so did the Nabarrase monarchs.
Although the
Nabarrase monarchs called themselves "kings" of Nabarra, only
the rump of that kingdom remained in their hands since Castile
had conquered the larger portion to the south. 
The re-unification
of Nabarra was at the center of humanist thought in northern
Nabarra. This thought was developed by the Nabarrase refugee
families who had found asylum in northern Nabarra. The minister
of Labastide-Clairence, Joanes Leizarraga, rationalized the
defence and enlightenment of Basque identity around the project
of re-establishing the sovereignty and unity of Nabarra.
It is here
in northern Nabarra where a first literary movement expressing
Basque identity and for the recovery of Nabarra emerged under
the reign of Jeanne d'Albret (1555-1572), queen of Nabarra,
who devoted herself primarily to local administration and to
foster the Reformed faith.
The Calvinist
reform favoured the use of the Basque language for cultural
purposes. 
The first book in Basque, a collection of poems by Beñat
Etxepare, was published in 1545. The Basque version of the New
Testament, a project carried of a team led by Joanes Leizarraga,
was published in 1571. A priest from Sara, Pedro de Agerre "Axular,"
one of the major figures of the Literary School of Donibane-Sara,
is the author of Gero. Gero, published in 1643, is a literary
version of the writer's parish preaching. No similar developed
linguistic awareness is found until a century and a half later
in 1712 in the Basque provinces of Araba, Bizkaia, and Gipuzkoa
in Spain.
The small Basque
literary movement, promoted by the Calvinists, was halted by
the Counter-Reformation. Notwithstanding the failure to re-unite
Nabarra, the first linguistic awareness developed during this
period which favoured the Basque language and culture.
Photographs:
1. Donibane Garazi in northern Nabarra. 2.The Basque version
of the New Testament. Courtesy of Egin.
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