Saubat de Arraidou et Maria de Hiriart 1743 Atalburu in Lower Navarre with a lauburu and founders' namesIesus Maria Ioseph hilçiaz orhoitg-ziten Io(a)nnes de Urtiaga, Martin d'Errecalde et Maria d'Errecalde, 1727 (the first half translating as "In memory of JMJ's death")
Atalburu (from Basque atari 'doorway' buru 'head') is the name given to the lintel above the main entrance of traditional Basque houses.
It was usual for each new house, particularly in the province of Lower Navarre, to engrave on these stones:
the year of construction,
the name of spouses,
religious symbols, as a cross,
other traditional motives, as a lauburu or simply its constitutive commas, doves symbol of fidelity, stylized plants symbol of prosperity, rosettes of laurel leaves, symbol of immortality or various others as sun, stars...
working tools
The text may have religious references, for example:
Au nom du Père et du Fils et du St Esprit m'a fait bâtir l'an 1806 ('In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Gost, (one) made me build in year 1806')...
Traditionally, all Basque houses have a name, but this was seldom written on the atalarri and more commonly found on the armarria. On modern houses, the house name is frequently engraved on a stele near the door. Once a house is named, the name is virtually never changed.
Abraxas is a word of mystic meaning in the system of the Gnostic Basilides, being there applied to the "Great Archon", the princeps of the 365 spheres. The word is found in Gnostic texts such as the Holy Book of the Great Invisible Spirit, and also appears in the Greek Magical Papyri. It was engraved on certain antique gemstones, called on that account Abraxas stones, which were used as amulets or charms. As the initial spelling on stones was Abrasax (Αβρασαξ), the spelling of Abraxas seen today probably originates in the confusion made between the Greek letters sigma (Σ) and xi (Ξ) in the Latin transliteration.
The Basques are a Southwestern European ethnic group, characterised by the Basque language, a common culture and shared genetic ancestry to the ancient Vascones and Aquitanians. Basques are indigenous to, and primarily inhabit, an area traditionally known as the Basque Country —a region that is located around the western end of the Pyrenees on the coast of the Bay of Biscay and straddles parts of north-central Spain and south-western France.
Biarritz is a city on the Bay of Biscay, on the Atlantic coast in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in the French Basque Country in southwestern France. It is located 35 kilometres (22 mi) from the border with Spain. It is a luxurious seaside tourist destination known for the Hôtel du Palais, its casinos in front of the sea, and its surfing culture.
The Celtic cross is a form of Christian cross featuring a nimbus or ring that emerged in Ireland, France and Great Britain in the Early Middle Ages. A type of ringed cross, it became widespread through its use in the stone high crosses erected across the islands, especially in regions evangelized by Irish missionaries, from the ninth through the 12th centuries.
The Basque Country is the name given to the home of the Basque people. The Basque Country is located in the western Pyrenees, straddling the border between France and Spain on the coast of the Bay of Biscay.
A Christogram is a monogram or combination of letters that forms an abbreviation for the name of Jesus Christ, traditionally used as a religious symbol within the Christian Church.
Ahetze is a village and a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in southwestern France. The commune is part of the urban area of Bayonne, and of the traditional Basque province of Labourd.
Ascain is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of south-western France.
The Bretons are an ethnic group native to Brittany, north-western France. They trace their heritage to groups of Brittonic speakers who emigrated from southwestern Great Britain, particularly Cornwall and Devon, mostly during the Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain. They migrated in waves from the 3rd to 9th century into Armorica, which was subsequently named Brittany after them.
The French Basque Country, or Northern Basque Country, is a region lying on the west of the French department of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques. Since 1 January 2017, it constitutes the Basque Municipal Community presided over by Jean-René Etchegaray.
The Brussels Cross or Drahmal Cross is an Anglo-Saxon cross-reliquary of the early 11th century, now in the treasury of the St. Michael and St. Gudula Cathedral, Brussels, that bears engraved images and an inscription in Old English.
Hilarri is the name given to disk-shaped funerary steles that are typical of the Basque Country.
Claude-Nicolas Ledoux was one of the earliest exponents of French Neoclassical architecture. He used his knowledge of architectural theory to design not only domestic architecture but also town planning; as a consequence of his visionary plan for the Ideal City of Chaux, he became known as a utopian. His greatest works were funded by the French monarchy and came to be perceived as symbols of the Ancien Régime rather than Utopia. The French Revolution hampered his career; much of his work was destroyed in the nineteenth century. In 1804, he published a collection of his designs under the title L'Architecture considérée sous le rapport de l'art, des mœurs et de la législation. In this book he took the opportunity of revising his earlier designs, making them more rigorously neoclassical and up to date. This revision has distorted an accurate assessment of his role in the evolution of Neoclassical architecture. His most ambitious work was the uncompleted Royal Saltworks at Arc-et-Senans, an idealistic and visionary town showing many examples of architecture parlante. Conversely his works and commissions also included the more mundane and everyday architecture such as approximately sixty elaborate tollgates around Paris in the Wall of the General Tax Farm.
Jean-Michel Moreau, also called Moreau le Jeune, was a French draughtsman, illustrator and engraver.
The makila is a traditional Basque walking stick, and is notable as both a practical tool and a cultural symbol of authority and strength.
The rue de Montmorency is a street in the historic Le Marais quarter of Paris, part of the city's 3rd arrondissement. It runs from the rue du Temple to the rue Saint-Martin.
Joanes Leizarraga (1506–1601) was a 16th-century Basque priest. He is most famous for being the first to attempt the standardisation of the Basque language and for the translation of religious works into Basque, in particular the first Basque translation of the New Testament.
A baserri is a traditional half-timbered or stone-built type of housebarn farmhouse found in the Basque Country in northern Spain and Southwestern France. The baserris, with their gently sloping roofs and entrance portals, are highly characteristic of the region and form a vital part in traditional Basque societal structures. They are also seen to have played an important role in protecting the Basque language in periods of persecution by providing the language with a very dispersed but substantial speaker base.
Gâteau Basque is a traditional dessert from the Northern Basque region of France, typically filled with black cherry jam or pastry cream. Gâteau Basque with cream is more typical in the Southern Basque region of Spain.
Jean-Charles Tardieu, also called "Tardieu-Cochin" was a successful French painter during the ages of Napoleon and of the Bourbon Restoration. His work was primarily historical, but also included landscapes, portraits and religious subjects.
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