The Basque History of the World: The Story of a Nation
Average customer rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
  • Reading in situ at the Guggenheim, Bilbao
  • fascinating subject, but only a so-so book
  • A Useful Introduction into the Basque Culture
  • An Amazing History of an Inspiring People
  • Recommended
The Basque History of the World: The Story of a Nation
Mark Kurlansky
Manufacturer: Penguin (Non-Classics)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0140298517

Amazon.com

The buzz about the Guggenheim Bilbão aside, the Basques seldom get good press--from the 12th-century Codex of Calixtus ("A Basque or Navarrese would do in a French man for a copper coin") to current news items about ETA, the Basque nationalist group. Mark Kurlansky, author of Cod, sets out to change all that in The Basque History of the World.

"The singular remarkable fact about the Basques is that they still exist," Kurlansky asserts. Without a defined country (other than Euskadi, otherwise known as "Basqueland"), with no known related ethnic groups, the Basques are an anomaly in Europe. What unites the Basques, above all, is their language--Euskera. According to ETA, "Euskera is the quintessence of Euskadi. So long as Euskera is alive, Euskadi will live." To help provide a complete picture of the Basques, Kurlansky looks at their political, economic, social, and even culinary history, from the valiant Basque underground in World War II to medieval whalers to modern makers of the gâteau Basque. The most affecting chapter focuses on Guernica, a small market town bombed by German planes for over three hours on April 26, 1937, and uses interviews with survivors to illustrate the horror of the attack.

Kurlansky is clearly enamored of the Basques, which leads him to see them in a uniformly positive light. That rosy outlook aside, The Basque History of the World is an excellent introduction to these romantic people. Are they the original Europeans? Kurlansky doesn't weigh in on the issue, preferring instead to honor the Basque request Garean gareana legez--let us be what we are. --Sunny Delaney

Book Description

Straddling a small corner of Spain and France in a land that is marked on no maps except their own, the Basques are a puzzling contradiction-they are Europe's oldest nation without ever having been a country. No one has ever been able to determine their origins, and even the Basques' language, Euskera-the most ancient in Europe-is related to none other on earth. For centuries, their influence has been felt in nearly every realm, from religion to sports to commerce. Even today, the Basques are enjoying what may be the most important cultural renaissance in their long existence.

Mark Kurlansky's passion for the Basque people and his exuberant eye for detail shine throughout this fascinating book. Like Cod, The Basque History of the World blends human stories with economic, political, literary, and culinary history into a rich and heroic tale.

Among the Basques' greatest accomplishments:

• Exploration-the first man to circumnavigate the globe, Juan Sebastián de Elcano, was a Basque and the Basques were the second Europeans, after the Vikings, in North America
• Gastronomy and agriculture-they were the first Europeans to eat corn and chili peppers and cultivate tobacco, and were among the first to use chocolate
• Religion-Ignatius Loyola, a Basque, founded the Jesuit religious order
• Business and politics-they introduced capitalism and modern commercial banking to southern Europe
• Recreation-they invented beach resorts, jai alai, and racing regattas, and were the first Europeans to play sports with balls

Customer Reviews:

4 out of 5 stars Reading in situ at the Guggenheim, Bilbao.......2007-05-25

This very readable book will greatly enhance a visit to the Guggenheim in Bilbao and touring in the surrounding area. The Basque region is geographically and culturally very different from the rest of Spain. Much of it's history is unknown to the ordinary traveller history buff. Kurlansky's book will be a pleasure to have along.

2 out of 5 stars fascinating subject, but only a so-so book.......2007-05-22

I have to admit to not finishing this book. The history of the Basque people is a fascinating tale, but this book was a dreadful slog. The writing style was too loose and chatty resulting in a narrative which was more of a jumble of anecdotes than a cohesive history. There is altogether too much space devoted to the Franco/WWII years. I did like the recipes and the food commentary. Historians often forget that food is an integral part of a national identity.

Perhaps this book improved at the end. However, as mentioned previously, I couldn't get through it.

3 out of 5 stars A Useful Introduction into the Basque Culture.......2007-05-08

I found this book particularly interesting because I am part Basque and Spanish. Prior to reading this book, I had been confused about the Basque culture. Where could this group of people have derived from given that their language has no direct relation to other European languages?

Were the Basques' related to the Celts? American Indians? Why is it that their language has similarities to Hebrew, Persian, Hungarian, or Finnish? Could they be related to the Roma people (incorrectly referred to as Gypsies)? Are they descendants from the hypothetical people of Atlantis? Are they perhaps Russian? or relate to those living in Georgia? Could they even be descendents from Asia? or one of the lost tribes of Israel?

After reading Kurlansky's book. I offer a far more simple explanation on the "mysterious origins" of the Basque people. Perhaps they always lived in the valleys between the Pyrenees Mountains and because of their isolation from other cultures, they maintained an unconquered language and culture despite not being recognized as an official nation.

Perhaps they descend from no one and perhaps they are not as complicated as pointed out by linguists, anthropologists, and historians. What Kurlansky's book brilliantly points out is that because the Basque People have never had their own officially recognized country, their history has been obscured, twisted, and distorted by other countries where their land has been.

Where the French established the notion of "witch hunts" and the spanish persecuted any who associated with Jews, the history books have inaccurately documented this culture who had not been outspoken about what their culture is or what their language is.

This book is a great introduction on the Basque Culture and explains their role in European history from the beginnings of Capitalism and as discoverers of the New World.

It seems that because the Basque's yielded their land to the Romans with free access to the land of the Gauls (France), their language and culture survived without being conquered by Romance language influences as what occurred in France and Spain.

Ironically, their loyalty to the Roman Empire, which gave birth to this culture's loyalty to the Roman Catholic Church, eventually led to their near demise by the Spanierds.

This book goes into these aspects of history. However, in between history lessons, Kurlansky tries to spin off history with Basque culinary ideas and link the two. I found that style a bit tiring and distracting. Making a history book and recipe book into one is not the most efficient manner in which to explain the Basque culture and as a result, makes the book unnecessarily complicated.

I enjoyed the first 70 pages which discusses the Basque's contribution in shipping, whaling, capitalism, and trade.

It's given me a tremendous insight on my own personality and my cultural roots.

5 out of 5 stars An Amazing History of an Inspiring People.......2007-03-14

Excellent, pleasant to read, informative, and inspirational. This book is an affectionate look into the history of the Basque people and their language, from their first settlement of Europe to the modern times. I would recommend reading this book to anyone concerned about the plight of indigenous peoples anywhere or with a curiosity about the Basque language, history, or culture.

4 out of 5 stars Recommended.......2006-07-26

Have you ever been to San Sebastian in Spain? Have you ever been to a Basque Restaurant in Bakersfield, California or any other place? Have you ever heard of The Basque People? Especially if your answer is "no" to the above, you can learn about these surprisingly enterprising people who live in The Pyranees Mountains. They have existed as a people and a culture since 200 BC and earlier. They existed during Roman times and they still exist. And they have a rich, active, history that matches the accomplishments of entire countries. They have been successful entrepreneures for two thousand years of recorded history! This book is worth reading. I promise!
Email:boland7214@aol.
Unfit for Marriage: Impotent Spouses on Trial in the Basque Region of Spain, 1650-1750 (The Basque Series)
Average customer rating: Not rated
    Unfit for Marriage: Impotent Spouses on Trial in the Basque Region of Spain, 1650-1750 (The Basque Series)
    Edward J. Behrend-martinez
    Manufacturer: University of Nevada Press
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    Binding: Hardcover

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    1. Social Theory, Roots and Branches: Readings Social Theory, Roots and Branches: Readings

    ASIN: 0874176999

    Book Description

    In early modern Europe the sacrament of matrimony represented a life-long commitment, and the Catholic Church accepted few grounds for the dissolution of an unhappy marriage. One of these was an unconsummated marriage owing to the sexual impotency of one of the partners. Even then, an annulment was granted only after a Church court had conducted a lengthy investigation of the case, soliciting testimony from numerous witnesses as well as from the aggrieved couple, and had subjected the allegedly impotent spouse (and sometimes both spouses) to an intimate physical examination.

    Historian Edward J. Behrend-Martínez studied the transcripts of eighty-three impotency trials conducted by the ecclesiastical court of the Spanish diocese of Calahorra in La Rioja--an area incorporating both Basque and Castilian populations and including urban and rural parishes. From these records, he produced a detailed account of private life and public sexuality in these early years of the modern era.

    The transcripts provide insights into the dynamics of daily marital life and the role that property, gender, and personal preference played in marriage. They also reveal information about medical knowledge at the time and about contemporary understanding of the physiology and psychology of sex. Unfit for Marriage is the first study in English to address the proceedings of a Spanish ecclesiastical court and is a vivid portrait of marriage and marital sex in early modern Europe. It is essential reading to anyone interested in social history, gender studies, canon law, legal history, sexuality, and the history of divorce in Western Europe.
    Lieutenant Nun: Memoir of a Basque Transvestite in the New World
    Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
    • Life's more fun as a man than a nun
    • A Different Conquistador
    Lieutenant Nun: Memoir of a Basque Transvestite in the New World
    Catalina De Erauso
    Manufacturer: Beacon Press
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    Binding: Hardcover

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    ASIN: 0807070726

    Amazon.com

    Marjorie Garber (Vested Interests: Cross-Dressing and Cultural Anxiety), provides a lively introduction to this picaresque autobiography of a 17th-century nun turned cross-dressing soldier. De Erauso's story itself is a swashbuckler's catalogue of sword fights, daring escapes, damsels in distress, and witty repartee. Even if only half of what de Erauso claims about herself is true, it's a life well worth remembering and an utterly wonderful read.

    Book Description

    One of the earliest known autobiographies by a woman, this is the extraordinary tale of Catalina de Erauso, who in 1599 escaped from a Basque convent dressed as a man and went on to live one of the most wildly fantastic lives of any woman in history. A soldier in the Spanish army, she traveled to Peru and Chile, became a gambler, and even mistakenly killed her own brother in a duel. During her lifetime she emerged as the adored folkloric hero of the Spanish-speaking world. This delightful translation of Catalina's own work introduces a new audience to her audacious escapades.

    Customer Reviews:

    4 out of 5 stars Life's more fun as a man than a nun.......2004-06-25

    Celebrated in Spanish legends and folklore as the marvelous Lieutenant Nun, Catalina de Erauso was born to a prosperous Basque family in 1585 and sent to a convent at age 4. Destined to become a nun, there she remained until age 15. Days before she was to take her final vows, she escaped, taking only needle, thread, scissors and a few coins.

    Despite her previously sheltered existence, de Erauso plunged into her new, wordly life as a man with unusual gusto, as described in her memoir, Lieutenant Nun.

    Written some 20 years after her flight, when she correctly deemed confession of her ruse and her still virginal state might save her from the rope or an even more ignominious fate, the memoir describes at breathtaking pace a life of soldiering, banditry and dueling in the wilds of Peru and Chile.

    While this slim volume is packed with action, there is little self-reflection or explanation. Transforming her convent undergarments to boy's clothing, she quickly obtains a position with a scholar, runs off when he apparently exhibits too much attention in the boy, and becomes a page at the king's Court.

    But when her father (who does not recognize her) appears at court, distraught over his daughter's disappearance, she slips away again. After two comfortable years as a page elsewhere, she quits, "for no more reason than it suited me," returns to her hometown, sees her mother in church (who also fails to recognize her) and leaves, drifting until she finds work as a cabin boy on her uncle's galleon.

    While convent education may have fitted her for work as a page, nothing had prepared her for shipboard life. "The work was new to me and I had a hard time at first," is all she has to say about that.

    Finding favor with her uncle, who knows her only as another Basque, she jumps ship in the New World, stealing 500 of his pesos and makes her way aboard merchant ships, beginning a pattern of prospering until some slight to her pride causes her to retaliate with knife or sword, necessitating flight or, if captured, jail time, church sanctuaries and scantily described negotiations among law officers, churchmen and the aggrieved parties.

    Needing money she signs on as a soldier, serves with an older brother she had never met, and endures "three years of misery" fighting Indians "with everything but discomfort in short supply" .

    Following a disastrous duel in which she kills her brother, de Erauso's career takes a downswing into banditry and the life of a gambler with brawling and knife fights involving several brushes with the gallows.

    Although wounded in battle and once "stripped" for the rack, de Erauso never explains how she conceals her gender. Her attitude seems entirely that of the colonial male. One murderous knife fight, for instance, is justified when "my companion, with plenty of people around to hear it, told me I lied like a cuckold."

    Her well-timed confession to a sympathetic bishop not only saved her from prosecution, but made her a celebrity. She was later granted dispensation by the Pope to live as a man and she finished her life as a merchant in Mexico.

    De Erauso's delivery is deadpan and devoid of introspection. There is no purple prose, quite the opposite. While the pace is headlong, it raises more questions than it answers. But Michelle Stepto's useful introduction fills in much of the essential historical and social background, yielding a fascinating portrait of a very peculiar adventurer's life in colonial Chile.

    5 out of 5 stars A Different Conquistador.......2000-07-31

    Catalina de Erauso grew up in a Basque convent, but spent most of her days as a soldier in the Spanish army in the mid-1600s. This brief autobiography is not a typical tale of military exploits. Although brawling constitutes much of the action, this is the story of a female transvestite. De Erauso dressed as a man to escape from her convent in 1599. Keeping up the disguise for reasons that included an attraction to "pretty faces," she traveled to the Americas in 1603 and fought in the conquest of Chile. When finally forced to reveal her true sex, de Erauso attained brief celebrity in the Baroque world. In 1624, the pope granted her permission to continue her life garbed in male attire. A forword and an excellent introduction by the translators places this fascinating story in historical context.
    A Time We Knew: Images of Yesterday in the Basque Homeland (Basque Series)
    Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
    • A snapshot of the oldest continuous civilization in Europe
    • "The time between dogs and wolves"
    A Time We Knew: Images of Yesterday in the Basque Homeland (Basque Series)

    Manufacturer: University of Nevada Press
    ProductGroup: Book
    Binding: Hardcover

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    1. The Basque Hotel (Basque Series) The Basque Hotel (Basque Series)

    ASIN: 0874171571

    Customer Reviews:

    4 out of 5 stars A snapshot of the oldest continuous civilization in Europe.......2006-07-28

    The Basque people are certainly an interesting race; it is believed that theirs is one of the oldest languages in Europe. Where they came from and how they ended up in northern Spain has been a point of contention between anthropologists for some time. They suffered terribly during the Spanish Civil War in the 1930's; the famous painting by Picasso represents some of the suffering in the Basque city of Guernica. The people of that city had the dubious distinction of being the first in history to have been the victims of the deliberate terror bombing of civilians. The Euskadi Ta Askatasuna or ETA has been engaged in a decade's long struggle to create an independent homeland for the Basque people out of the Basque areas in Spain and France.
    This book is a collection of photos taken in the Basque regions in Spain and France. It is a rugged, yet beautiful land; most of the buildings are very old. While there are some modern devices displayed in the pictures, the majority could have been taken decades ago and some perhaps over a century ago. People are meeting over drinks, coffee and traditional food. Some of the beautiful pictures of the villages in the valleys could have been taken at the turn of the century.
    When people appear in the photo, one thing is clear. The Basques are a very proud people, they have lived on and worked their land for centuries and will continue to do so. Rugged mountains and terrain breeds rugged, hardy people and that certainly describes the Basques. No small set of photographs with associated explanations in a book can truly describe any culture, especially one this old. However, it can both literally and figuratively give you a snapshot and that is done very well in this book.

    5 out of 5 stars "The time between dogs and wolves".......2001-05-12

    "A Time We Knew: Images of Yesterday in the Basque Homeland" is the product of a fascinating collaboration between photographer William Albert Allard and the dean of Basque-American literature, Robert Laxalt.

    In the fall of 1967, Allard spent two months in the Basque country of northeastern Spain and southwestern France, capturing with his camera the everyday life of the people who lived there. Although Allard spoke no Basque and was linked to the Basque country only through his Basque wife, his stunning photos evoke the tremendous power of the Basque landscape and people: the haunting flanks of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques at evening; the gloomy mountains of the northern coast of Spain just at the approach of a storm; a rough-hewn woman with a scythe at Behorleguy, on the frontier between youth and age, in whose face is reflected the painful past of the ancient Basque people. From a technical point-of-view, these incredible photographs are so good that they could truly be "images of yesterday": the color is brilliant. Alas, though, "yesterday" in the Basque country is no more. The years since 1967 have seen the heavy industrialization of both the French and Spanish sectors of the Basque homeland and the gradual passing of the ancient ways Allard captures here.

    Laxalt's contribution to this book is his prose vignettes, some of the best of his characteristically exquisite prose-poetry. A second-generation Basque-American whose father grew up in the French Basque country, Laxalt knows the region as well as probably anyone in the United States. While one cannot miss the heavy dose of romanticism in his prose ("Girls slender as reeds walking hand in hand down the lane, singing an ode to spring in soprano voices pure and light as air") and even pastoralism (exacerbated by the fact that the Basques are some of the world's greatest shepherds), it is obvious that Laxalt is a remarkable writer.

    A poetic look at "yesterday" in the Basque country. Get it on your shelf.
    Basques In The Philippines (Basque Series)
    Average customer rating: Not rated
      Basques In The Philippines (Basque Series)
      Marciano R. De Borja
      Manufacturer: University of Nevada Press
      ProductGroup: Book
      Binding: Hardcover

      PhilippinesPhilippines | Asia | History | Subjects | Books
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      ASIN: 0874175909

      Book Description

      The Basques, one of Spain's most distinct ethnic minorities, played a remarkably influential role in the creation and maintenance of Spain's vast colonial empire, including the Philippines. Basques were members of the Magellan expedition that discovered the Philippines in 1521, and a Basque-led expedition subsequently laid the foundation for Spain's conquest and pacification of the archipelago. Despite the small population of their native provinces, the Basques' unique skills as shipbuilders, navigators, businessmen, and scribes, their evangelical zeal, and their ethnic cohesion and work-oriented culture made them well suited to serve as explorers, colonial administrators, missionaries, settlers, merchants, and shippers in the trans-Pacific galleon trade between China, Manila, and Acapulco, Mexico. After the Wars of Independence deprived Spain of most of its American empire, many Basques settled in the Philippines, fleeing political persecution and increasingly limited opportunities in their homeland. Basque emigration from Spain to the Philippines continued through the first half of the twentieth century.

      Basques played prominent roles in the governance, defense, and cultivation of the Philippines until the end of Spanish sovereignty in 1898, and an active role in Filipino resistance to the Japanese occupation during World War II. They were leaders in the economic development of the hinterlands, as well as the advancement of industry, transportation, inter-island trade and shipping, and the establishment of Catholicism as a dominant national religion. Filipinos of Basque descent continue to contribute in significant ways to the culture and economy of the contemporary Philippines.

      This work breaks new ground with its study of the Basque diaspora in the Far East. It also addresses the long-unappreciated history of the Philippines as a vital part of the Spanish Empire, closely connected through trade and personal ties to the American colonies, and crucial to the European penetration of East Asia. Basques distinguished themselves in many areas of Filipino life, and their story, as told by Marciano de Borja, is rich in vivid characters and fascinating detail, while at the same time filling an important void in the scholarly literature about the Basque diaspora.
      The Land of My Fathers: A Son's Return to the Basque Country
      Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
      • "The language of the eyes"
      The Land of My Fathers: A Son's Return to the Basque Country
      Robert Laxalt , and Joyce Laxalt
      Manufacturer: University of Nevada Press
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      Binding: Hardcover

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      ASIN: 0874173388

      Book Description

      In 1960, renowned Nevada writer Robert Laxalt moved himself and his family to a small Basque village in the French Pyrenees. The son of Basque emigrants, Laxalt wanted to learn as much as he could about the ancient and mysterious people from which he was descended and about the country from which his parents came. Thanks to his Basque surname and a wide network of family connections, Laxalt was able to penetrate the traditional reserve of the Basques in a way that outsiders rarely can. In the process, he gained insight into the nature of the Basques and the isolated, beautiful mountain world where they have lived for uncounted centuries. Based on Laxalt's personal journals of this and a later sojourn in 1965, The Land of My Fathers is a moving record of a people and their homeland. Through Laxalt's perceptive eyes, and his wife Joyce's photographs, we observe the Basques' market days and festivals, join their dove hunts and harvests, share their humor and history, their deep sense of nationalism, their abiding pride in their culture and their homes, and discover the profound sources of the Basques' strength and their endurance as a people.

      Customer Reviews:

      5 out of 5 stars "The language of the eyes".......2001-06-03

      Nevada writer Robert Laxalt's "The Land of My Fathers" is a description of life in the French Basque Country in the 1960s. Laxalt -- the son of Basques who immigrated to Nevada about 1910 -- spent 1960-61 and 1965-66 getting to know his parents' ancient homeland. Making use of his family ties, he succeeded in breaching the "impenetrable wall of Basque reserve" (in Rodney Gallop's words) in a way only a few outsiders have been able to do.

      The book is not a straightforward narrative and Laxalt writes about much more than his own experiences. A collection of vignettes, histories, and folk-sayings, it is an exploration of the Basque character. We read about everything from "Basque troubadours" to the humanization of German soldiers stationed in the Basque lands during the occupation of the Pyrenees. Trying to capture the essence of this ancient people, Laxalt gives us glimpses of the "poetic truth" of the Basque land and Basque history, the emotional truth gleaned from "the language of the eyes." Of course the approach is not without its drawbacks, but for a book like this, "The Land of My Fathers" is remarkably free of immigrant-son's-come-home romanticism.

      In addition to Laxalt's vivid prose poetry, many of his vignettes are interesting as anthropological descriptions of life in the "Pays Basque". Here, we encounter aspects of Basque folklife such as pigeon-hunting, contraband, dancing, the unique brand of "shepherd justice", and the "bohèmes" (literally "Bohemians", they are a poorly-known group of shunned outsiders -- not unlike the Gypsies -- who have lived in the Basque country for years). A couple of these "ethnological vignettes", in fact, appeared in the August 1968 issue of "National Geographic".

      Although throughout one is struck by the Basques' indomitable ability to overcome adversity, unfortunately the beautiful culture described by Laxalt is rapidly slipping away -- if it has not, for the most part, slipped away already. The Spanish sector of the Basque lands has long been one of the most heavily industrialized in Europe and the French sector, although still largely rural, has seen the same kinds of cultural changes places all over the world have seen with the onslaught of globalization. Many things have changed for the better, and Laxalt certainly doesn't claim the past was perfect, yet it is difficult not to agree with him that "something of the romantic past has been lost." For all that, his many books are even more important, small safeguards against a rapidly deteriorating humanity.

      If there were ten stars, "The Land of My Fathers" deserves them.
      Portraits of Basques in the New World (Basque Series)
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        Portraits of Basques in the New World (Basque Series)

        Manufacturer: University of Nevada Press
        ProductGroup: Book
        Binding: Hardcover

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        Modern Basque History (Basque Textbooks Series)
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          Center for Basque Studies
          Manufacturer: Center For Basque Studies
          ProductGroup: Book
          Binding: Paperback

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          .
          On the Inconstancy of Witches: Pierre De Lancre's Tableau De L'inconstance Des Mauvais Anges Et Daaemons 1612 (Arizona Studies in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance)
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            On the Inconstancy of Witches: Pierre De Lancre's Tableau De L'inconstance Des Mauvais Anges Et Daaemons 1612 (Arizona Studies in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance)

            Manufacturer: Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance S
            ProductGroup: Book
            Binding: Hardcover

            GeneralGeneral | World | History | Subjects | Books
            RenaissanceRenaissance | World | History | Subjects | Books
            GeneralGeneral | France | Europe | History | Subjects | Books
            GeneralGeneral | Psychology & Counseling | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
            WitchcraftWitchcraft | Earth-Based Religions | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
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            ASIN: 086698352X

            Product Description

            The demonology Tableau de linconstance des mauvais anges et demons (1612) is an important text in the history of the early modern European witch persecutions (sixteenth and seventeenth centuries). It is a report of the authors four-month stay in the Labourd (Basque) region of France, which is situated in the extreme southwest corner bordering Spain and Navarre. De Lancre was there as a member of a royal commission empowered to cleanse the region of witches. This narrative is based on his own experiences and trial records now lost. This text contains one of the most detailed accounts of the witches Sabbath that survives. An ethnologist before his time, de Lancre gives an expert and meticulous account of the Basque people, their lives, their culture, and their alleged easy commerce with Satan and bad angels. The text was translated into German in a truncated version in 1630, but has never until now been rendered into English.
            A Book of the Basques (Basque Series)
            Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
            • Brilliant as a history
            • A classic destined to remain one
            • Overated
            A Book of the Basques (Basque Series)
            Rodney Gallop , and Marjorie Gallop
            Manufacturer: University of Nevada Press
            ProductGroup: Book
            Binding: Paperback

            GeneralGeneral | Europe | History | Subjects | Books
            SpainSpain | Europe | History | Subjects | Books
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            Social HistorySocial History | Historical Study | History | Subjects | Books
            PhysicalPhysical | Anthropology | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
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            1. The Basque History of the World: The Story of a Nation The Basque History of the World: The Story of a Nation

            ASIN: 0874173167

            Customer Reviews:

            5 out of 5 stars Brilliant as a history.......2003-12-26

            As mentioned by one of the other reviewers, Gallop's book does need to be taken more as a historical account than a contemporary glimpse into Basque culture, but this is clearly not something that should be held against his work. By the way, for a reviewer to accuse Gallop of being pompous because he assumed his readers knew French is ridiculous when you go on to so casually mention that you only know 4 languages yourself. talk about pompous. It wasn't what you, as a student of Spanish, were hoping for, but that is a statement about your needs and not about the work itself. Viewed in the proper context, this account is anything but a pompous, dreary account. It is an accurate and insightful glimpse into an entirely unique way of life that once existed. If it focuses on the French Basques, so be it.

            5 out of 5 stars A classic destined to remain one.......2001-07-01

            I usually don't review books that have already been reviewed, but I think the customer below severely misjudged this book.

            First of all, the reason why it doesn't go much beyond 1930 is because that's when it was published. British folklorist Rodney Gallop was a pioneer in the field of Basque anthropology and "A Book of the Basques" was one of the earliest (and remains one of the most readable) attempts to explain Basque culture to the English-speaking world.

            Gallop inclined heavily toward the French side of the Pyrénées for two reasons. First, that's where he did most of his research. Second, as he points out in the book, the French Basque Country -- at least up to the time he wrote -- had always been much less heavily industrialized than its Spanish counterpart, making it much more ideal for an anthropologist's study. The ancient traditions of the Basques survived more intact in France and, additionally, the French Basques were more culturally "introspective" than their Spanish cousins; that is, they never played as prominent a part in the national life of France as did the Spanish Basques in Spain and its empire. Consequently, they remained much closer to their "roots", so to speak.

            Unlike the reviewer below, I thought the book was extremely well written and a fantastic source of information on traditional Basque folklife. Gallop does quote a lot from French, but he wrote in a time when you weren't considered educated until you knew a little French, and a little Latin, too. (In other words, don't blame Gallop -- blame yourself!). The book is divided into chapters on such aspects of Basque folklife as language and literature, folksongs, folkdance, proverbs, Basque houses, superstition and witchcraft, fishermen and corsairs (!), decoration, and that great game, "pelote". Additionally, the author discusses some of the many theories regarding the mysterious origins of the Basques, which, admittedly, is of less interest today than it was in 1930 (the Golden Age of bogus racial theories!).

            Unfortunately, much of the book has to be shifted into the past tense today, since the traditional Basque folkways Gallop describes have grown more and more obsolete since he wrote. But as work of history, it's still a classic and is destined to remain one. A+

            2 out of 5 stars Overated.......2000-06-27

            Although Mr. Gallop's cultural knowledge of the Basque's (at least the French Basques) was very in depth, The narration is dreary, pompous, and one-sided. The author concentrated on the French Basques while neglecting the Spanish. Another unfortunate point is that it did not offer anything after 1930. I see that progress has been made over seventy years by the Spanish Basques and all they have had to endure. It wasn't until the latter chapters of this book that the reader becomes interested. This subject is very dear to me and after extensive study I would consider other sources to learn about the Basques. Agur.

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