Basques-msg – 4/29/06
Basque culture, language, names, clothing.
NOTE: See also the files: France-msg, Spain-msg, fish-msg, languages-msg, Basques-bib.
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This file is a collection of various messages having a common theme that I have collected from my reading of the various computer networks. Some messages date back to 1989, some may be as recent as yesterday.
This file is part of a collection of files called Stefan's Florilegium. These files are available on the Internet at: http://www.florilegium.org
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Mark S. Harris AKA: THLord Stefan li Rous
Stefan at florilegium.org
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From: hrjones at uclink.berkeley.edu (Heather Rose Jones)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Proper Basque Name Help....
Date: 7 Nov 1996 18:58:23 GMT
Organization: University of California, Berkeley
cafe (reymomo at soho-stl.com) wrote:
: My lady is trying to come up with a Basque persona. So far, we've got
: plenty of family names, but very few proper names for women. Can anyone
: suggest sources/names?
I have a couple of book titles, but I'll warn you that the best sources
for Basque names (and other cultural information) are probably going to be
written in Spanish. There are several considerations to keep in mind. As
with any minority language, you will find that many Basque people in
period used given names borrowed from the majority culture (Spanish or
French, in this case), although possibly adapted to the sound-system of
the minority language. So she will have the choice between a given name of
Basque _linguistic_ origin, or a non-Basque-language name that was
habitually used in Basque culture.
The name books that I know of are as follows:
Michelena, Luis. "Apellidos Vascos" (San Sebastian: Editorial Txertoa,
1973. ISBN 84-7148-008-5
This is the only book that I actually have a copy of. It is in Spanish and
is organized by surname, however the text includes verbatim examples of
whole names (including given names) with dates attached -- the very best
sort of historic name source. I have not yet had time to go through it and
extract and organize the given names in a useful fashion. (There is also
the problem that it may be difficult to recognize the gender of
Basque-langauge names -- and most will be male, as usual.) The U.C.
Berkeley library has a copy of the book, if you have access to
inter-library loan. (Call No. CS 29940 B 37 M 521 1973)
The following book I know of only from bibliographic citation and have no
firm idea how useful it is for historic research.
Narbarte Iraola, N. "Diccionario etimologico de apellidos vascos" (San
Sebastian: Txertoa, 1989) -- this would be primarily surnames (apellidos)
Another useful place to look would be books on Basque history -- although
the names are certain to be "normalized" in some fashion (as well as being
primarily male).
Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn
From: skward at acs5.acs.ucalgary.ca (Shannon Krysta Ward)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Proper Basque Name Help....
Date: 8 Nov 1996 20:59:38 GMT
Organization: The University of Calgary
cafe (reymomo at soho-stl.com) wrote:
: My lady is trying to come up with a Basque persona. So far, we've got
: plenty of family names, but very few proper names for women. Can anyone
: suggest sources/names?
: Vicente
There is a book by Connie Lockhart Ellefsen called _The Melting Pot Book of Baby
Names_. It has a whole section on Basque names, both male and female. Of course there is no documentation for any of it, because it's a modern book, but it might serve as a jumping-off point. it seems to me that many Basque names, especially female names, are references to the Virgin Mary and local shrines thereof in the Basque language.
Hope this helps,
Pier Francesco da Montefiore
From: miaminix at westworld.com (Lorilynn Iversen)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Basque Names
Date: Sat, 23 Nov 1996 18:55:38 GMT
f339j at unb.CA (Daniel Flemming) wrote:
> (The Basque language actually predates Latin...)
>Loki
I'll say. According to Dr. L.L. Cavalli-Sforza's new book, genetic
evidence suggests that the Basque language might just be the only
surviving remnant of the language of the Neolithic inhabitants of the
region, popularly known as the Cro-Magnons! Would that qualify as
OOP? :)
-- Alexis,
who must admit to a certain amount of awe at the possibility
From: shire2308 at aol.com
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Basque Names
Date: 24 Nov 1996 14:11:11 GMT
Yes, Basque does predate Latin; in fact, if you ask some of my cousins in
Bilbao, they'll tell you it's the "original language of man".
It's origions are still being debated (it's been connected to everything
from Slavic to Pictish(!)....and some feel it is the origional language of
the Iberian people). It is NOT spanish (or french, for that matter).
Bring up "that" comparison around the wrong crowd in the wrong place and
you could get yourself killed!!
I am Basque (mundanely) but I don't speak a work of Euzkadi. My
grandparents did....and there is a saying amongst the Basques that "when
God is angry at the devil....he makes him learn Basque" (loose translation).
The language is not only difficult....it's difficult to pronounce (ex. the
term "Euzkadi" is prounounced "ooze-KAH-dah"....I love to see heralds
stumbling with that one).
But my own mundane name has been twisted many a time by well-meaning
teachers, receptionists, etc.., so I'm always patient.
(Basulto....."Ba-ba-Ba-suello!" or "ba-sa-luto!")
There is a Spanish/Basque dictionary (it's huge...it's like "those Basques
have a different word for everything.."). That will give you a general
idea of pronounciation. I'll try and find the one I've seen and let you
know where you can get it. I don't think Berlitz makes one, but you never
know.
In the meantime, good luck!,
Armand Rafael D'Euzkadi
Kingdom of the East
Royal Forest of Rusted Woodlands
From: Cynthia Virtue <cvirtue at well.com>
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Basque Names
Date: Mon, 02 Dec 1996 19:14:51 -0800
For those looking for sources on things Basque:
I have a book which has been on my "must read soon" shelf for a
regrettably long time, about the Basques. [My persona is nominally
Basque.] You may find it useful; here is the relevant information:
The Basques, by Roger Collins, Basil Blackwell Inc, of Cambridge Mass
(and Oxford), publisher. First published 1986. Covers history of the
Basque people from earliest times until the present, including modern
political struggles for independence. ISBN 0-631-17565-2
Also I recall a doctoral thesis which I found in photocopy form in my
college library, called "A Circle of Mountains." I do not recall the
author's name, but it was specifically about the French Basques, their
language and oral histories. I remember most strongly that the more or
less current way (modern, not medieval) of visualizing things for the
Basques is as circles or cycles (unlike westerners, who tend to see
things in straight line progressions.) Also, as might be expected,
their world view is/was shaped by the sheep with which they make their
existance; apparently they have in the past viewed the human gestation
cycle as being similar to making cheese; the woman has red milk, and the
man contributes white rennet, and the baby is "curdled" in the womb.
Fascinating... but I digress.
And of course there is the book (not the movie) The Return of Martin
Guerre, which is a popularized scholarly study about an odd case of
mistaken identity in 1540 or thereabouts. The copy I have is by Natalie
Zemon Davis via the Harvard University Press, and has a lot of
bibliographic information in the back, which may be useful.
If these sources have been covered already, I extend my apologies; I
have missed some postings due to the holiday lag-time.
---
Lady Cynthia du Pre Argent, Minister of Silly Hats, Crosston
Date: Fri, 10 Aug 2001 10:46:55 +1000
From: Aden Steinke <aden_steinke at uow.edu.au>
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Iberian Basque 1500's? (long)
Ester Mendes wrote:
> I ran a search on the international library database, OCLC. While I
> didn't find a huge number of items that dealt with the 16th century
> specifically, I did find some books dealing with wider time frames
> that may help you get started. Many of the books are out of print,
> but you may be able to get them via Interlibrary Loan at your local
> library. If you give your librarian the accession number, rather than
> the ISBN, the search will go much faster.
>
> If you look for any library books on the topic use the following
> keywords:
> Pais Vasco
> Pays Basque
[Senhora Ester Mendes bibliography on the Basques is in the Florilegium as
Basques-bib - Stefan]
The major historical entity in period for the Basques was the Kingdom of
Nafarroa/Navarre, and the main nautical state from which a large part of
the crews of Columbus and Magellan came was Bizkaia/Vizcaya. Despite being
linguistically and ethnically not related to the Spanish or French you can
find a lot just by looking at regional info in Spanish / French books.
> On a side note, it seems that a sizeable Basque community settled in
> Nevada and Idaho and the university presses from those states seem to
> have printed a hefty amount of Basque history.
The University of Nevada, Reno has a Center for Basque Studies (one of my
mothers cousins is there :) ) as a result of the large numbers of Basque
shepherds migrating to the US in the early 20c.
Aden
> Senhora Ester Mendes
> (Kirsti Thomas)
> celyn at drizzle.com
Date: Fri, 26 Aug 2005 17:41:21 -0400
From: Robin <rcmann4 at earthlink.net>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Basque Food
To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>
otsisto wrote:
> I do not believe that Basque and Catalan are the same thing.
> Lyse
They are not the same thing. I have not come across any period recipes
-- though that may be a language issue. Basque is not an Indo-European
language, and is completely unlike, French, Spanish, and Catalan.
Alan Davidson, in "The Penguin Companion to Food", mentions seafood and
mushrooms as being two significant items in Basque cuisine. Mark
Kurlansky, in "Cod: a biography of the fish that changed the world",
says that in the Middle Ages, Basque fishermen were catching, salting,
and selling large quantities of cod and whale.
--
Brighid ni Chiarain
Barony of Settmour Swamp, East Kingdom
Date: Fri, 26 Aug 2005 17:22:41 -0500
From: "Terry Decker" <t.d.decker at worldnet.att.net>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Basque Food
To: "Cooks within the SCA" <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>
Basque and Catalans are different in both location and language. Catalan is
a Romance language. Basque is not related to any major language and is
lumped into a group of unrelated languages including Japanese, Ainu,
Korean, Elamite, Etruscan, Merotic, Sumerian and Hurrian (according to the
quick ref). Catlan is spoken from Andorra East into Catalonia and
Roussillon (Fr.) and the Balearic Isles. Basque is spoken at the opposite
end of the Pyrennees, primarily in the provinces that make up Navarre and,
at one time, Gascony and Aquitane.
Bear
Date: Fri, 26 Aug 2005 15:36:53 -0700 (PDT)
From: Huette von Ahrens <ahrenshav at yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Basque Food
To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>
--- Robin <rcmann4 at earthlink.net> wrote:
> otsisto wrote:
>> I do not believe that Basque and Catalan are the same thing.
>> Lyse
>>
> They are not the same thing. I have not come across any period recipes
> -- though that may be a language issue. Basque is not an Indo-European
> language, and is completely unlike, French, Spanish, and Catalan.
Here is what the Encyclopedia Britannica says:
Basque remains an isolated language with no known linguistic
relatives. The hypothesis of the
German philologist Hugo Schuchardt (1842–1927), which once had wide
currency, posited an
intimate genetic connection between Basque and Iberian and the Hamito-
Semitic (Afro-Asiatic)
language group. This theory was superseded by attempts to establish a
more or less close link
between Basque and Caucasian, the language group indigenous to the
Caucasus region. A lack of
common linguistic characteristics between the Basque and Hamito-
Semitic languages makes
Schuchardt's hypothesis extremely dubious. There are, however, some
common features that
favour the relationship between Basque and Caucasian. Still, proof of
a genetic relationship
beyond reasonable doubt appears remote. Perhaps the most promising
theory involves the
comparison of Basque with the long-extinct Iberian, the language of
the ancient inscriptions of
eastern Spain and of the Mediterranean coast of France. But, despite
amazing phonological
coincidences, Basque has so far contributed next to nothing to the
understanding of the
now-readable Iberian texts. Therefore, it is possible that the
similarity may have resulted
from close contact between Basques and Iberians and not from a
genetic linguistic relationship.
Date: Fri, 26 Aug 2005 19:26:30 -0400
From: Johnna Holloway <johnna at sitka.engin.umich.edu>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Basque Food
To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>
Kurlansky is also the author of
The Basque History of the World : The Story of a Nation
You might also check that out.
Johnnae
Robin wrote:
> They are not the same thing. I have not come across any period
> recipes -- though that may be a language issue. Basque is not an
> Indo-European language, and is completely unlike, French, Spanish, and Catalan.
> Alan Davidson, in "The Penguin Companion to Food", mentions seafood
> and mushrooms as being two significant items in Basque cuisine. Mark
> Kurlansky, in "Cod: a biography of the fish that changed the world",
> says that in the Middle Ages, Basque fishermen were catching, salting,
> and selling large quantities of cod and whale.
Date: Fri, 26 Aug 2005 19:51:37 -0400
From: Johnna Holloway <johnna at sitka.engin.umich.edu>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Basque Food
To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>
Sorry if I confused things. I was on my way out the door
to go get Patrick from practice. Santich is the only thing in English
that comes to mind that might be close
to containing medieval fare that the Basque people might have eaten.
I did say it contained Catalan fare. Culinaria Spain doesn't contain
a good historical section on the cusine; it does for a number of
regions, but not this one. I checked Adamson
and some of the other stuff laying around and didn't find anything else.
In checking FirstSearch,
there are however at least 170 books catalogued under Cookery, Basque
so there might be something mentioned in one of those. 24 are listed as
being in English. The only book that comes through in an added keyword
search with the word history added is this one--
Traditional Basque cooking :
history and preparation / which is a University of Nevada Press.
UNV Press site says:
Traditional Basque Cooking: History and Preparation
Jose Maria Busca Isusi
Busca Isusi discusses the history of Basque food from prehistoric times
to the modern age—the kinds of food eaten, the cooking utensils
employed, and the methods of preparation used. These favorite Basque
recipes provide much information on this culture's unique cuisine as
well as specific instructions on how to prepare the food. more ...
<http://www.nvbooks.nevada.edu/t/traditional.html#more>
212 pages, line drawings, 1993
Paper, 0-87417-202-0
$21.95
Johnnae
Date: Sat, 27 Aug 2005 10:05:53 -0400
From: "Daniel Phelps" <phelpsd at gate.net>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Basque Food
To: "Cooks within the SCA" <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>
> Be interesting, to see the recipe in translation- perhaps to discover if
> this is an actual Basque recipe, or if it's a recipe perceived as being
> cooked the way the Basque folks cook things, as we have seen in other
> recipes. Personally, all things considered, I'd expect Basque recipes to be
> heavily reliant on lamb or mutton, perhaps goat, since sheep and goats would
> tend to be a more appropriate foodstuff for their lifestyles, than chickens
> would.
Hmmm... while they are now associated with sheepherding it is my
understanding that the Basques in period were also intrepid fishermen and
whalers. I seem to recall reading in national Geographic about a
per-Columbus(?) Basque whaling station being discovered on the Canadian
coast. That and that they fished the Grand Banks for cod first before being
chased off by other people with navies.
Perhaps some information regards food can be gleaned from a study of Henry
of Navarre who was the last king of that "basque" kingdom. He united it
with France or even his grandmother Margarette and her Heptameron as there
might be pertinent asides in it as well. I have read that modern Spanish
has a substantial number of 'basque" borrow words perhaps there are some
basques cooking roots that can be explored?
Daniel
Date: Sat, 27 Aug 2005 13:41:55 -0500
From: "otsisto" <otsisto at socket.net>
Subject: RE: [Sca-cooks] Basque Food
To: "Cooks within the SCA" <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>
The Basque that lived further inland were sheep and goat herders. They were
fairly good with horses. Pamplona (org. Iruna) was/is(?) Basque territory.
The racing of the bull is allegedly from a days of when Mithraism was introduced to the area.
It was believed by the Basque that the first people were Centaurs and
That the Basque were descendents of the Centaur or Zalzaval.
Lyse
Date: Sun, 28 Aug 2005 10:49:17 -0500
From: "Terry Decker" <t.d.decker at worldnet.att.net>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Basque Food
To: "Cooks within the SCA" <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>
The whaling station is 16th Century. There is evidence that the Basque
whalers may have reached Iceland by 1412 and possibly were in Labardor
before Columbus arrived in the New World. There is speculation that
Europeans have been fishing the Grand Banks since the late Neolithic, but
the evidence is a little stronger for the Bretons and some other European
fishermen fishing the Banks beginning about the 12th Century. To my
knowledge, none has been proven.
The speculation is the Basque began moving out into the Atlantic between the
12th and 15th Centuries due to intensified whaling and over harvesting in
the Bay of Biscay.
Bear
> Hmmm... while they are now associated with sheepherding it is my
> understanding that the Basques in period were also intrepid fishermen and
> whalers. I seem to recall reading in national Geographic about a
> per-Columbus(?) Basque whaling station being discovered on the Canadian
> coast. That and that they fished the Grand Banks for cod first before
> being chased off by other people with navies.
>
> Daniel
Date: Mon, 29 Aug 2005 16:32:30 -0500
From: "otsisto" <otsisto at socket.net>
Subject: RE: [Sca-cooks] Basque Food
To: "Cooks within the SCA" <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>
I have the book The Basque History of the World.
There is a comment about Basque being Apple Country and mentions apple
juice. Though it only gives 1600s as a date of the comment.
There is a saute' pigeon recipe that is dated 1920. Pigeons cooked in wine
were alleged to have been prepared by monks for pilgrims. And hunting wild
pigeon in near the pass of Ibaneta was regulated in 1590 Fuero of Navarra.
I understand that morningdoves are not on the no shot list. (just kinding)
Traditional Basque Cooking: History and Preparation, is one of the recipe
sources in the Basque history of the world book.
ABEBooks has it.
Lyse
Date: Sun, 4 Sep 2005 01:52:32 -0500
From: "otsisto" <otsisto at socket.net>
Subject: [Sca-cooks] Basque Food/piment d'espelette
To: "Cooks within the SCA" <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>
I have "The Basque Kitchen" by Gerald Hirigoyen. It mentions a spice called
piment d'espelette. He says that you can substitute sweet paprika or mild
chili powder but it won't be quite the same. Piment D'Espelette is a French
Basque spice common, of coarse, in Espelette.
http://www.fiery-foods.com/dave/espelette1.html
Excerpt:
Early History
When Columbus brought chile peppers to Europe from the Caribbean after his
second voyage in 1493, they were first grown in monastery gardens in Spain
and Portugal as curiosities. But soon the word got out that the pungent pods
were a reasonable and cheap substitute for black pepper, which was so
expensive that it had been used as currency in some countries. So the best
thing about chilies–in addition to their heat and flavor–was that they did
not have to be imported from India; anyone could grow them as annuals in
temperate climates.
Carried by Spanish and Portuguese explorers, numerous varieties of chilies
quickly spread throughout the Mediterranean region and Africa, and the rest
of the Eastern Hemisphere, where they permanently spiced up world cuisines
such as those of India, Southeast Asia, and China. However, there were some
famous national cuisines that were not conquered by chilies; Italians, for
example, utilized chilies only sparingly. The peperoncinis, for example, are
used in antipasto, crushed red chilies are a topping for Neapolitan pizzas,
and hot red chili powder as an ingredient in some pasta sauces. But no one
region in Italy celebrates chilies. In France, however, chilies were
established as a tradition in just one region the Nive Valley in the
southwest, and especially in the village of Espelette to the south. It is
believed that chilies were introduced into the Nive Valley by Gonzalo
Percaztegi in 1523, the same year that corn first made its appearance there.
At first it was thought to be related to black pepper and was even called
"long black American pepper," and it wasnÕt until the 17th century that it
was placed in its own genus.
Lyse
Date: Sun, 4 Sep 2005 09:08:02 -0500
From: "Terry Decker" <t.d.decker at worldnet.att.net>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Basque Food/piment d'espelette
To: "Cooks within the SCA" <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>
I would take this article with a grain of salt.
Chili peppers were found on Columbus's first voyage and are first described
in the journal entry for Tuesday 15 January. The author may be confusing
this with the tale that Queen Isabella was treated with medicine made from
peppers brought back on the second voyage or is referencing inaccurate
secondary sources.
IIRC, Grewe speculates on the spread of peppers in Spain, but I have
encountered no primary evidence of where and why they were grown.
Personally, I speculate peppers were grown for the kitchen and the pharmacy
rather than as curiosities, for Columbus states, "There is also much chili,
which is their pepper, of a kind more valuable than [black] pepper, and none
of the people eat without it, for they find it very healthful."
Leonard Fuchs, in his 1545 Herbal, identifies these peppers as "Capiscon
rubeum & nigrum: Roter and brauner Calecutischer Pfeffer, Capsicum oblongis:
Langer Indianischer Pfeffer, and Capsicon latum: Breyter Indianishcer
Pfeffer." Setting aside Fuchs's error of identifying the peppers with the
Indian subcontinent, it is fairly obvious that capsicum peppers were placed
in their own genus during their first (known) scientific description rather
than in the 17th Century as the author describes.
In my opinion, the most accurate statements in the article are probably
those about Gonzalo Percaztegi, but I would like to know the author's
sources so that I could verify the information.
Bear
Date: Wed, 7 Sep 2005 10:17:23 -0500
From: "otsisto" <otsisto at socket.net>
Subject: RE: [Sca-cooks] RE: Basque Food
To: "Cooks within the SCA" <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>
Traditional Basque cooking by Jose' Maria Busca Isusi.
P.32 In the Basque Country, and principally on our farms, we find ourselves
midway between the two methods(which is on page 31), which is not a virtue
in this instance. These lines are offered as a piece of advice to the reader
unfamiliar with the rice paellas served in our country homes which consist
of gummy mixtures of grains of rice and more or less flavorful pieces of
meat and fowl.
Earlier in the book he gives the impression that the paella is a Spanish
dish (from Valencia) that is transformed to Basque taste. It is a casserole
of sorts.
This book has a tiny bit of history of Spanish Basque foods with itty bitty
amounts of references and conclusion to the references.
-----Original Message-----
(snip)
Anyway off to the point of the intent of my message today, Basque food.
Anyone know for sure whether Paella is Basque or Spanish? I know its
development has fallen to the Spanish cousine.
I have made several and they are really great crowd feeders. But I am trying
to find actual documentable period recipes for them. I also realize they
may have flown under the umbrella as they were primarily a peasant
food for farm hands.
Cealian Of Moray
Date: Wed, 7 Sep 2005 14:35:54 -0500
From: "otsisto" <otsisto at socket.net>
Subject: RE: [Sca-cooks] RE: Basque Food
To: "Cooks within the SCA" <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>
There is also "The Basque Kitchen" by Gerald Hirigoyen. But it is modern
recipes, many his renditions. Though both books have what I consider an ewww
factor recipes. Chiptrones en su tinta (Squid in it's own ink) and Txipiroia
Beren Saltsan (stuffed squid in ink sauce). The latter has a picture, the
sauce looks like a cross between plum sauce and an oil slick. I can't
begin to describe the stuffed squid. :P
(TWGoS)The TBC book reminded me that I had come across information that
Millet was the main grain as wheat was hard to grow in the area.
Also, before a certain type of oak died out in the area, acorns were another
flour source. (side note: you can get a starch from acorns)
Chestnuts was interchangeable or mixed with millet.
<the end>