Basque Mythology
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Basque Mythology
The mythology of the ancient Basques largely did not survive the arrival of Christianity in the Basque Country between the 4th and 12th century AD. Most of what is known about elements of this original belief system is based on the analysis of legends, the study of place names and scant historical references to pagan rituals practised by the Basques. One main figure of this belief system was the female deity Mari. According to legends collected in the area of Ataun, the other main figure was her consort Sugaar. However, due to the scarcity of the material, it is difficult to say if this would have been the "central pair" of the Basque pantheon. Based on the attributes ascribed to these mythological creatures, this would be considered a chthonic religion as all its characters dwell on earth or below it, with the sky seen mostly as an empty corridor through which the divinities pass. Historical sources The main sources for information about non-Christian Basque beliefs are: ...
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Obiit
Obiits were an annual endowed service commemorating the dead. Feast days for patron saints were often reserved for endowed masses associated with the ''obiit'', sometimes in a chantry. Background The practice has its origin in the recitation of the names of living and dead Christians (part of the intercessory prayers of the Canon of the Mass). As these lists grew in length separate ceremonies became necessary. Though many ''obiit'' vigils were of the endowed sort, more modest collective ''obiit'' was available for parishioners who could not afford an endowment. Liturgy The liturgy used for ''obiit'' ceremonies with the Office and Mass for the Dead. It began with Vespers and Matins followed by Commendations. At dawn a series of psalms and prayers were read, then before the final Requiem Mass service, there might be a procession to the grave of the deceased. Food and drink Like most medieval social and community gatherings, shared food and drink were a feature of many ''obiit'' ...
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Routledge
Routledge () is a British multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanities, behavioural science, education, law, and social science. The company publishes approximately 1,800 journals and 5,000 new books each year and their backlist encompasses over 70,000 titles. Routledge is claimed to be the largest global academic publisher within humanities and social sciences. In 1998, Routledge became a subdivision and imprint of its former rival, Taylor & Francis Group (T&F), as a result of a £90-million acquisition deal from Cinven, a venture capital group which had purchased it two years previously for £25 million. Following the merger of Informa and T&F in 2004, Routledge became a publishing unit and major imprint within the Informa "academic publishing" division. Routledge is headquartered in the main T&F office in Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxfordshire and ...
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Battle Of Roncevaux Pass
The Battle of Roncevaux Pass ( French and English spelling, ''Roncesvalles'' in Spanish, ''Orreaga'' in Basque) in 778 saw a large force of Basques ambush a part of Charlemagne's army in Roncevaux Pass, a high mountain pass in the Pyrenees on the present border between France and Spain, after his invasion of the Iberian Peninsula. The Basque attack was a retaliation for Charlemagne's destruction of the city walls of their capital, Pamplona. As the Franks retreated across the Pyrenees back to Francia, the rearguard of Frankish lords was cut off, stood its ground, and was wiped out. Among those killed in the battle was Roland, a Frankish commander. His death elevated him and the paladins, the foremost warriors of Charlemagne's court, into legend, becoming the quintessential role model for knights and also greatly influencing the code of chivalry in the Middle Ages. There are numerous written works about the battle, some of which change and exaggerate events. The battle is recoun ...
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Mundaka
, population_note = , population_density_km2 = auto , blank_name_sec1 = Official language(s) , blank_info_sec1 = BasqueSpanish , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST = CEST , utc_offset_DST = +2 , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 48360 , area_code_type = Dialing code , area_code = , leader_title = Mayor , leader_name = Aitor Egurrola Mendiola , leader_party = EAJ-PNV , website = , footnotes = Mundaka ( es, Mundaca) is a town and municipality located in the province of Biscay, in the autonomous community of Basque Country, northern Spain. On the coast, Mundaka is internationally renowned for its surfing scene. Mundaka is accessible from Bilbao by EuskoTren on the E4 Urdaibai line. History Mundaka is known as one of the most important places of the Lordshi ...
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Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, the North Sea to the northeast and east, and the Irish Sea to the south. It also contains more than 790 islands, principally in the archipelagos of the Hebrides and the Northern Isles. Most of the population, including the capital Edinburgh, is concentrated in the Central Belt—the plain between the Scottish Highlands and the Southern Uplands—in the Scottish Lowlands. Scotland is divided into 32 administrative subdivisions or local authorities, known as council areas. Glasgow City is the largest council area in terms of population, with Highland being the largest in terms of area. Limited self-governing power, covering matters such as education, social services and roads and transportation, is devolved from the Scott ...
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Lord Of Biscay
The Lordship of Biscay ( es, Señorío de Vizcaya, Basque: ''Bizkaiko jaurerria'') was a region under feudal rule in the region of Biscay in the Iberian Peninsula between 1040 and 1876, ruled by a political figure known as the Lord of Biscay. One of the Basque ''señoríos'', it was a territory with its own political organization, with its own naval ensign, consulate in Bruges and customs offices in Balmaseda and Urduña, from the 11th Century until 1876, when the Juntas Generales were abolished. Since 1379, when John I of Castile became the Lord of Biscay, the lordship was integrated into the Crown of Castile, and eventually the Kingdom of Spain. Mythical foundation The first explicit reference to the foundation of the Biscayan lordship is in the ''Livro de Linhagens'', written between 1323 and 1344 by Pedro Afonso, Count of Barcelos. It is an entirely legendary account. The book narrates the arrival in Biscay of a man named Froom, a brother of the King of England, who h ...
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Jaun Zuria
Jaun Zuria (Basque for "the White Lord") is the mythical first Lord and founder of the Lordship of Biscay, who defeated the Leonese and Asturian troops in the also-mythical Battle of Padura, in which he chased off the invaders to the Malato Tree, establishing there the borders of Biscay. There are three accounts of its legend, one by the Portuguese count Pedro Barcelos and two by the chronicler Lope García de Salazar.Jaun Zuria entry
at the Auñamendi Entziklopedia (Spanish)
According to the legend, Jaun Zuria had been born from a Scottish or English princess who had been visited by the Basque deity in the village of

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Universidade De Coimbra
The University of Coimbra (UC; pt, Universidade de Coimbra, ) is a public research university in Coimbra, Portugal. First established in Lisbon in 1290, it went through a number of relocations until moving permanently to Coimbra in 1537. The university is among the oldest universities in continuous operation in the world, the oldest in Portugal, and played an influential role in the development of higher education in the Portuguese-speaking world. In 2013, UNESCO declared the university a World Heritage Site, noting its architecture, unique culture and traditions, and historical role. The contemporary university is organized into eight faculties, granting bachelor's (''licenciado''), master's (''mestre'') and doctorate (''doutor'') degrees in nearly all major fields. It lends its name to the Coimbra Group of European research universities founded in 1985, of which it was a founding member. Enrolling over 20,000 students, more than 15% of whom are international, it is one of ...
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Proto-Basque
Proto-Basque ( eu, aitzineuskara; es, protoeuskera, protovasco; french: proto-basque), or Pre-Basque, is the reconstructed predecessor of the Basque language before the Roman conquests in the Western Pyrenees. Background The first linguist who scientifically approached the question of the historical changes that Basque had undergone over the centuries was Koldo Mitxelena. His work on Proto-Basque focused mainly on between the 5th century BCE and the 1st century CE, just before and after initial contact with the Romans. The main method that he used was internal reconstruction since Basque has no known genetic relatives, preventing the use of the comparative method. By comparing variants of the same word in modern dialects and the changes that Latin loanwords had undergone, he deduced the ancestral forms and the rules for historical sound changes. His groundbreaking work, which culminated with the publication of his book ''Fonética histórica vasca'' (1961), was carried out mos ...
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Endovelicus
Endovelicus (Portuguese: ''Endouellicus'', ''Endovélico''; Spanish: ''Endovélico'', ''Enobólico'') is the best known of the pre-Roman Lusitanian and Celtiberian gods of the Iron Age. He was originally a chthonic god. He was the God/Lord of the Underworld and of health, prophecy and the earth, associated with vegetation and the afterlife. Later accepted by the Romans themselves, who assimilated it to Pluto or to Serapis and made him a relatively popular god. Endovelicus has a temple in São Miguel da Mota in Alentejo, Portugal, and there are numerous inscriptions and ''ex-votos'' dedicated to him in the Museu Etnológico de Lisboa (the Ethnological Museum of Lisbon); possible toponyms include Andévalo in Spain. The cult of Endovelicus prevailed until the 5th century, just when Christianity was spreading in the region. Etymology In the last two centuries of scholarship, several etymologies have been proposed to Endovelicus's name. In the 19th century, António da Visitação ...
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Mairu
Mairu (plural: mairuak), also called Maideak, Mairiak, Saindi Maidi (in Lower Navarre), Intxisu in the Bidasoa valley are creatures of Basque mythology. They were giants who built dolmens or harrespil. Like the dolmens, they are only found in mountains. They are often associated with lamia, though these are known in all the Basque Country. ''Mairu'' could mean "moor" in Basque.Mairu
{{webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141104134318/http://www1.euskadi.net/morris/resultado.asp , date=2014-11-04 in the Online Morris Basque-English dictionary. This term is used with the sense of 'non-Christian' to refer to former civilizations or ic monuments. The origin of the Mairu is thought to be as old as the "
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Enchanted Moura
The Enchanted moura or (enchanted female Mouros) is a supernatural being from the fairy tales of Portuguese and Galician folklore. Very beautiful and seductive, she lives under an imposed occult spell. Shapeshifters, the occupy liminal spaces and are builders with stone of formidable strength. Appearance The enchanted Moura often appears singing and using a golden comb on her beautiful long hair, the colour of gold or black as the night, promising to give treasures to whomsoever sets her free by breaking her spell. (In Galicia, though, they are more commonly redheads.) Enchantment According to José Leite de Vasconcelos, ''mouras encantadas'' are “''beings compelled by an occult power to live on a certain state of siege as if they were numb or asleep, insofar as a particular circumstance does not break their spell''”. According to ancient lore, they are the souls of young maidens who were left guarding the treasures that the males, '' mouros encantados'' (enchanted mour ...
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