Roslyn M. Frank The remarkable role of women in 16th century French Basque law codes
The Remarkable Role of Women in 16th Century French Basque Law
Codes
This file consists of three lightly revised versions of papers published originally in 1977, along with
responses to them by Rachel Bard, Tacoma Community College, Jon Bilbao, University of Nevada,
Reno, and Eugene Goyheneche, Université de Pau (France), respectively. The text includes an
Appendix with a transcription of the “Doléances du sexes de st. Jean de luz et cibour au roi”, dating
from 1789 and which originally appeared in print in 1922.
Paper # 1. The role of the Basque woman and Etxeko-andrea: “The mistress of the house”. Proceedings
of the Western Society for French History, Vol. IV, 14-21. Santa Barbara, California, 1977.
Paper # 2. Inheritance, marriage and dowry rights in the Navarrese and French Basque law codes,
Proceedings of the Western Society for French History, Vol. IV, 22-31. Santa Barbara, California;
Paper #3. Women's rights and the 'Doléances du Sexe de St. Jean de Luz et Cibour au Roi', Proceedings
of the Western Society for French History, Vol. IV, 32-39. Santa Barbara, California.
The Role of the Basque Woman as Etxeko-Andrea: “The Mistress of the
House”
Roslyn M. Frank and Shelley Lowenberg
Department of Spanish and Portuguese
University of Iowa
In the first paper of this three-part presentation entitled "Research on the Role of
Women in French Basque Culture," we shall limit ourselves to describing the role of the
Basque woman as it was portrayed by the law codes of the three Basque provinces of
Labourd, Basse-Navarre and Soule.1 Although we shall be utilizing the French text of
these codes in this presentation, in all cases where the original Bearnaise texts were
available, the French translations were checked for accuracy against the originals. In
addition to examining the codes themselves, we also consulted numerous commentaries
on French Basque law, as well as studies dedicated to the law codes of the other Basque
Provinces in Spain, i.e., Alaba, Guipuzcoa, Vizcaya and Navarre. Whenever possible the
original versions of the Spanish Basque law codes were also consulted.
The examination of the Spanish Basque law codes frequently clarified the meaning
of sections of the French Basque codes that, because of their wording, were enigmatic.
Often the compilers of the codes simply assumed a certain level of awareness of local
usages and customs. They therefore felt no necessity to spell out in detail many of the
practices commonly followed by the populace. In most instances the obscure passages
1
The English language conventions used for the spelling of the seven Basque provinces and other place
names in the 1976 edition of the papers have been retained in this version. However, it should be noted that
today the spelling of the seven Basque provinces making up Euskal Herria would be represented as
follows: Labourd – Lapurdi; Low Navarre –Nafarroa Beherea; Soule – Ziberoa; Alaba – Araba; Gipuzcoa –
Gipuzkoa; Vizcaya – Bizkaia.
1
Roslyn M. Frank The remarkable role of women in 16th century French Basque law codes
became clarified once we gained an understanding of the larger context referred to by the
specific article in the code. This clarification was frequently achieved only after cross-
referencing passages dealing with the same legal point. In some cases, an obscure
passage in one code could be clarified through the use of a parenthetical or explanatory
clause found in another code. This type of cross-referencing was particularly necessary in
the case of legal terms related to uniquely Basque concepts not found in the law codes of
other parts of Europe.
Another complication arose because of the multiple translations the Basque codes
have suffered. Originally transmitted orally in the Basque tongue, these laws and
concepts had to be adjusted to the necessities of another language and culture, that of
Bearnaise. When the French Basque codes were finally written down, a translation of the
Basque into the Bearnaise patois was accomplished by bilingual speakers. The latter were
prone to include Basque words and entire phrases as if they were Bearnaise. Naturally, in
this area, Bearnaise was already a somewhat pidgin mixture of Basque and French.
Therefore, knowledge of Basque was indispensable for the interpretation of the codes.
An additional difficulty arose when words having very specific meanings in Basque
collided phonologically with Bearnaise or French words having a different meaning.
Only by using the original Spanish, Navarrese and Bearnaise translations of all the
Basque law codes, along with knowledge of the Basque language, were we able to locate
passages referring to the same legal point, where the same Basque term or phrase was
rendered in several different manners. In this way we were able to better decipher the
precise meaning intended by the compilers. Needless to say, this linguistic battle caused
us no small amount of frustration. However, our frustration, constantly having to be on
guard for Basque expression neatly hidden in the Bearnaise texts, is one that has been
shared by many others. Even Henri III of Navarre, IV of France, complained in 1551 that
the codes had to be revised because some of the articles were in a language non
intelligible.2
In order to comprehend the role of the woman in French Basque society, one must
first consider her position as etxeko-andrea "Mistress of the House”.3 The particular
significance of this position can best be understood by analyzing the rights and duties of
the female as they are portrayed by the French Basque law codes themselves. In these
codes one discovers that the importance of the role played by the Basque woman as
etxeko-andrea is directly linked to the importance of the house itself, the etxe-ondo,4 as it
is called in Basque, an expression closely analogous to the French maison souche and the
German Stammhaus.5 The fundamental concept that permeates all aspects of Basque law
is the absolute necessity of the preservation of the etxe-ondo. This central idea constitutes
2
Maurice Morère, "Quelques aspects de la condition de la femme dans les Fors pyrénéens, "Bulletin de la
Société des Sciences, Lettres et Arts de Pau, II, 4e série (1967), 79.
3
The expression etxeko-andrea is really composed of four parts, etxe-ko-andre-a: -a "the"; andre "lady,
mistress"; -ko "belonging to"; and etxe "house."
4
Here etxe "house" is modified by the suffix -ondo "root, trunk."
5
Louis Etcheberry, "Les coutumes successorales du Pays Basque au XIX siècle" in La Tradition au Pays
Basque (Paris, 1899), 181.
2
Roslyn M. Frank The remarkable role of women in 16th century French Basque law codes
the very basis of Basque law.6 All Basque foral institutions are ultimately formulated
with this one principle in mind: the perpetuation of the etxe-ondo from generation to
generation in order to insure the stability and integrity of the house.7
In the Basque country the traditional juridical concepts that have inspired the laws
governing succession reflect this obsessive concern with the preservation of the etxe-
ondo. In order to insure the integral transmission of the house with its immovable and
movable goods, the rules of succession followed a pattern of strict primogeniture, without
distinction between the sexes.8 The eldest child, male or female, was the natural heir. An
individual always belonged to two lineages, but to only one etxe. The real keeper of the
lands and goods, however, was not the individual inheritor but rather his or her lineage,
azkasi. Thus, in the case of a family where the first born was a daughter, it was she who
was recognized as the andregaia, the future inheritor.9 When she assumed the full
responsibilities and privileges of her inheritance, she became the etxeko-andrea.
However, it must be noted that in her capacity as inheritor, any given etxeko-andrea was
only the momentary historical expression of the permanent rights and duties of the
particular etxe-ondo.
In the present paper we shall limit our discussion exclusively to an examination of
those articles dealing with the laws governing succession as they were recorded in the
codes of Labourd (1514), Basse-Navarre (1608) and Soule (1520).10 For our analysis of
the position of the woman as inheritor in Labourd law, the revised code of 1514 will be
used. In this code, under Title XII, "Des successions des décédés sans testament," one
finds that the rule of primogeniture in its strictest form is observed in all non-noble
families. Art. III states: "Dans les biens ruraux avitins, le premier enfant de loyal mariage
succède a ses père et mère, soit fils ou fille”. In non-noble homes where multiple
marriages have taken place, the eldest child of the first marriage always has precedence
over the eldest children of the successive marriages.11
Of the twenty-two articles included in this section, only four of them make any
mention of the rules governing noble succession. Art. I indicates that in noble homes the
eldest male had precedence over the elder female child. Art. I deals only with succession
ab intestat: "Dans le maison et héritages nobles, à celui que est décédé sans faire
6
As noted above, the research for this study was carried out in the 1970s. Since that time a great deal of
valuable research has been published on the role of women in the Pyrenean region, focusing the central
structural role played by the etxe-ondo or Stammhaus. The following work is particularly recommended:
Josetxu Martínez Montoya, “La lógica doméstica y la lógica comunitaria en la sociedad tradicional
pirenaica,” Zainak. Cuadernos de Antropología-Etnografía: Mendia, Gizartea eta Kultura = Montaña,
Sociedad y Cultura = Montagne, Société et Culture (1998) 17: 155-180. Available online at:
http://hedatuz.euskomedia.org/2109/2101/17155180.pdf and also: Isaure Gratacos, Femmes pyrénéennes ;
Une statut social exceptionnel en Europe. (Toulouse: Privat, 2003).
7
Francisco Quijada Salinas, Derecho Civil de Navarra, I (Pamplona: Editorial Aranzadi, 1971), 268.
8
Jacques Poumarède, Les Successions dans le Sud-ouest de la France au Moyen Age (Paris: Presses
Universitaires de France, 1972), 328-329.
9
José Miguel de Barandiarán, Obras completas, III (Bilbao: La Gran Enciclopedia Basca, 1973), 481-489.
10
The source of the codes cited here is Pierre Haristoy, Recherches historiques sur la Pays Basque, II
(Bayonne: E. Lasserre, 1883), 379-559.
11
Ibid, 469.
3
Roslyn M. Frank The remarkable role of women in 16th century French Basque law codes
testament, laissant plusieurs enfants, succède le premier enfant mâle, s'il n'y a enfants que
d'un mariage." However, in the next article (Art. II), the privilege of masculinity is
rejected in favor of the rule of primogeniture: "Mais s'il y a enfants de divers mariages, et
du premier n'y a que filles, la fille aînée du premier mariage succède et exclut tous les
enfants des autres mariages, posé qu'il y en ait de mâles."12 Thus one sees that even
among the nobility of Labourd, the system was not one that totally excluded the female.
It is also noteworthy that in Art.V, which also deals with cases of succession among the
nobility, the male descendant is only préféré over the female descendant. Here, as was
the case of succession ab intestat, the article includes a clause limiting this preference
only to cases in which there was male issue in the first marriage.13
Although one sees that among the nobility in some cases the eldest son had
preference over his elder sister, this fact should not lead one to generalizations
concerning the standard practice of the populace. This is especially true of Labourd
where the nobility represented only a tiny fraction of the total population. For example, in
1789 when the Labourd Biltzar, i.e., assembly, met in the church of Ustaritz to elect
deputies to the States General, the nobility was represented by a mere fifteen
individuals.14 It should also be remembered that prior to 1789 the nobility had no voice in
the political affairs of Labourd and had absolutely no voting rights. As Iturbide has
repeatedly observed, the members of the Labourd nobility in essence had no privileges.
Perhaps the only factors distinguishing them from the rest of the population were that
they held an honorary title, were allowed a special seat in the church and had the
prerogative of presenting the parish priest. Beyond these minimal dispensations, they
differed from the non-nobles only in that their land holdings were somewhat larger and
that they were not voting members of the community.15
In Title XII, Art. XIV of the Labourd code one finds a reference that might be
construed as showing some preference to the male over the female. The article concerns a
situation where the parents are in disagreement as to who their child should marry. After
stating that the child should always follow the advice of that parent from whom the child
is to inherit the most goods, it states that if he or she is to inherit equally from both, "en
ce cas c'est assez que l'enfant se marie selon la volonté de'icelui ascendant qui est mâle,
pourvu qu'il ne soit homme hors de bon sens, car en icelui cas faudrait qu'il suivit le
vouloir de la femelle”.16 No indication is given as to how the child is to determine
whether his or her male ascendant is hors de bon sens. Certainly if the woman
vehemently disapproved of the child's selection of a marital partner, in the wife's opinion
her husband's approval, in itself, would have demonstrated the person’s lack of good
sense.
12
Ibid.
13
Ibid.
14
José de Aritzimuño, La democracia en Euzkadi (Buenos Aires: Editorial Vasca Ekin, 1942), 183.
15
P. Iturbide, "Le Bilçar d'Ustaritz au Pays de Labourd," Revue internationale des études basques, I, 1
(1907), 74-75. In Labourd neither the nobility nor the clergy had any voice in the political process, Ibid.,
78. The aforementioned article by Iturbide can be downloaded from Eusko-Media at:
http://www.euskomedia.org/PDFAnlt/riev/01074083.pdf.
16
Haristoy, 471. This same advice is given in the code of Soule, Rubrique XXVII, Art. XXX, ibid., 430.
4
Roslyn M. Frank The remarkable role of women in 16th century French Basque law codes
In summary, the articles of the Labourd code of 1514 reveal a situation in which the
female had equal rights to the male in all non-noble successions. The rule of strict
primogeniture without sexual distinction was operative in all houses except those of the
small Labourd noble class. Even in the case of noble successions, the rule of male
primogeniture was not one that completely excluded the female from inheriting. In the
instance of multiple marriages, where there were no sons born of the first marriage, the
rule of male preference was rejected in favor of giving preference to the first-born. Here
the first-born female of the first marriage took precedence over the first-born male child
of the second marriage.
In the Fors of Basse-Navarre one finds that the rules governing succession dictate
that the first-born, male or female, is to inherit. There is no mention that this custom was
not to be applied also to the nobility.17 Under the section "Du père et du fils" (Rubrique
XXIV), for example, Art.VIII and Art. XI clearly refer to the primogenitor in terms that
show the title as applying only to the first-born: "Les fils et filles, héritiers et héritières...:
(Art. VIII) and "Le premier (lo prumé) fils ou fille, héritier ou héritière..." (Art. XI).18 In
the section entitled "Des mariages" (Rubrique XXV, Art. XVI), the duties of the female
primogenitor are carefully separated from those of a female cadette. The article discusses
the responsibilities of the female primogenitor towards her ex-spouse: "Si le mariage est
dissous par faute du mari, il sera tenu d'entretenir la femme de vie et d'aliments; et si la
faute est à la femme et qu'elle soit l'héritière, elle sera tenu d'entretenir son mari de son
héritage, si d'ailleurs il n'a de quoi s'entretenir."19
In the section of the code of Basse-Navarre entitled "Des testaments et successions"
(Rubrique XXVII), none of the articles specifically state that the first born child was to be
the inheritor. However, one does encounter the employment of the terms le primogénit,
l'héritier and le primogénit héritier in a number of the articles that describe the rights and
duties of the eldest child. It is therefore tacitly understood that the rules governing
succession dictated that the first born was to inherit. Evidently, the compilers of the code
felt no necessity to clarify the term le primogénit although the addition of an explanatory
clause such as "soit fils ou fille”.20 It is obvious from the analysis of the texts of the
sections "Du père et du fils": and "Des mariages" that the term l'héritier also included the
eldest female.
In the aforementioned section "Des testaments et successions: of the Basse-Navarre
code, one discovers a rather unusual entry under Art. III. This article states: "Mais s'il y a
des enfants de divers mariages, et que du premier il n'y ait que des filles, la première du
premier mariage succède et hérite, et les autres après, en observant l'ordre de
primogéniture et en excluant tous les enfants des autres mariages, tant mâles que
femelles."21 At first glance this article seems to serve as a clarification of the order of
succession in the case of multiple marriages by giving preference to the first-born of the
17
Ibid. 529ff.
18
Ibid. 526.
19
Ibid. 531.
20
Ibid. 533-539.
21
Ibid. 534.
5
Roslyn M. Frank The remarkable role of women in 16th century French Basque law codes
first marriage. If the first-born of the first marriage is dead, the inheritance is to pass to
the next eldest child of the first marriage.
Nevertheless, this article is quite curious because of the use of the term filles. Since
in the Basse-Navarre code there was no male preference in primogeniture, it is strange
that the article refers specifically to an instance where in the first marriage there were
only female children born. One would assume that in a code with full equality between
the sexes, there would be no need to specify a situation where only female children had
been born. Rather the article should have simply read: "Mais s'il y a des enfants de divers
mariages, le primogénit du premier mariage, soit fils ou fille, succède et hérite, et les
autres après, en observant l'ordre de primogéniture et en excluant tous les enfants des
autres mariages." Therefore, the inclusion of this article with its very specific reference to
the daughters seems quite out of place in the Basse-Navarre code.
Poumarède has offered an interesting solution to this apparent anomaly in the code.
He points out that the aforementioned Art. III of the section on testaments and
successions found in the code of Basse-Navarre is an exact duplicate of Art. II of the
section "Des Testaments et Successions" of the code of Labourd. However, in the code of
Labourd, this article was in fact a clarification of Art. I which dealt with the rules of
succession ab intestat among the nobility. In Labourd this clarification was necessary
because in noble succession the first-born male had preference over his elder sister. In the
code of Basse-Navarre such a clarification was unnecessary. Poumarède comments that
Art. III of the code of Basse-Navarre is only one of the many examples that can be cited
where the compilers of the code were content to include laws from the neighboring
regions without carefully examining their appropriateness and internal consistency.22
Within the group of French Basque laws, that of Soule has particular significance.
This law code seems to reveal a system of rules governing succession that have evolved
further towards primogeniture with male preference.23 This may be explained by the fact
that historically this area was more influenced by feudalism and consequently, by
canonical law. This influence can be seen in the political structure of the country that
afforded the nobles a voice.24
In the Souletin code of 1520, the Rubrique XXVII, "Des successions, des héritages et
aussi des décédés san testament", begins with an article prescribing male primogeniture
for all cases of succession ab intestat except those of the maisons pastères.25 The second
22
Poumèrede 297-298.
23
Ibid. 301.
24
Philippe Veyrin, Les Basques (Artaud: Grenoble, 1955), 156-157.
25
Haristoy, 426. "Dans les maisons et héritages nobles, dans les maisons féodales qui ne sont pas 'pastères,'
dans les maisons franches non nobles ni féodales qui proviennent de papoage, au décédé ab intestat ou non
(testat ou intestat), ou en quelle manière qu'elle soit, succède le premier enfant mâle..." The exact meaning
of the term pastère, found also in the expression maisons pastères ou ruraux (Rubrique XXVII, Art. XIX),
is not entirely understood. According to J. de Bela, Commentaire sur la coutume de Soule, T. XXXIV, art.
3 (Biblio. Nat. N.A.F. 10161) and cited by Poumarède, 300, the maisons pastères were "tenues en
villenage, à cause des vils et bas courages qu'avaient ceux qui, les prenant, les soumirent au payement
ordinaire et extraordinaire de plusieurs et divers droits et devoirs que ne payent les maîtres des autres
maisons de ce pays, comme sont pommage (cidre), péage, avoine, brebis, agneaux, poulains et autres chose
plus à plein spécifiquement déclarées dans le livre terrier du roi." According to J. B. Mourot, Traité des
6
Roslyn M. Frank The remarkable role of women in 16th century French Basque law codes
article contains the same restrictive clause as was found in the codes of Labourd and
Basse-Navarre: the eldest female of the first marriage inherits in default of male issue.
The articles that follow, however, are of great importance. Articles III through XVIII
reveal some 130 exceptions to the prescribed rule of male preference. In these articles the
houses and parishes are listed by name in which the rule of male primogeniture does not
apply and the eldest child, female or male is to inherit.26 Of the fifteen parishes listed
where the older law of strict primogeniture was universally applicable, ten were located
in the canton of Tardets, Soule Souverain or Haute-soule, and five were located in the
Messagerie des Arbailles. It is interesting that none of the exceptions referred to houses
located in Basse-Soule.27
After this long list of exceptions, Art. XIX states: "Dans les maisons et héritages
quon appelle 'pastères' or ruraux, le premier enfant de loyal mariage succède a son père et
mère, soit fils ou fille."28 Art. XXI then again takes up the problem of succession in non-
rural houses. Again it clearly states that the male is only preferred over the female. It
successions, 217 (Biblioteque Municipale de Pau, Ms. no 16), cited by Poumarède, op. cit., "ces redevances
sont payée au roi ou aux seigneurs particuliers, non comme un fief dû par quelque maison ou cadet que font
paître dans certains quartiers des hautes montagnes." Both of the above interpretations are quite late and are
based on the supposed etymological relationship between pastères and pastu or pastura, i.e., pasture land.
However, V. Lespy and P. Raymond, Dictionnaire Béarnais ancien et modern, I (Genève: Slatkine
Reprints, 1970), 129-130, suggest that such a linguistic relationship may be only apparent. Even
Poumarède, ibid., recognizes the inconsistency: "L'existence de ces maisons pastères contredit l'opinion
traditionnelle selon laquelle, en Soule, les maisons non nobles ne sont soumises qu-aux obligations
résultant d'un bail a cens, voir M. Nussy-Saint- Saëns, Le pays de Soule (Bordeaux, 1955), 27." Lespy and
Raymond relate the expression pastères to the Spanish: "pechero, roturier; pechar, payer tribut, un impôt;
en parlant d'un vassal, d'une personne qui n'est pas noble; pechería, condition, état de celui qui n'était pas
noble. The houses classified as being pastères may be a typical example of the evolution of the borda, a
shepherd's dwelling, into a regular etxe-ondo after a designated number of generations of a family have
inhabited the dwelling. These bordak were frequently where a new household made up of two cadets was
established. Such a marriage, i.e., of two non-primogenitors, would not have initially been recognized as an
etxe-ondo with full legal rights.
26
One comes to the conclusion that each individual house had its own successorial regime, a fact that has
constantly recalled the Basque proverb collected by Oihenart: Erriak bere legea, etxeak bere ardura, "To
each country its law, to each house its custom." Cf. A. Fougères, Les droits de famille et les successions au
pays basque et en Béarn, Thèse droit (Paris, 1938), 349; Nussy-Saint Säens, Le pays de Soule (Bordeaux,
1955), 71.
27
Poumarède, 301. In the sixteenth century Soule was divided administratively into three districts or
Messageries: Soule-Souverain or Haute-Soule, the Messagerie des Arbailles, and the Basse-Soule or
Barhoue. The ten parishes situated in Haute-Soule are: Alçay, Alos, Abense, Cihigue, Etchebar, Haux,
Laguingue, Atherey, Urdaix, Sorholus; the five others are found in the Messagerie des Arbailles: Aussuruc,
Barcoys, Menditte, Ossas and Gotein. In the case of the parishes of Sante-Engrâce, Haux, Abense, Tardets,
Alos and Sorholus all the non-rural families except six gave preference to the first-born, female or male.
The aforementioned administrative division excluded Mauleon, which had its own organization, and the six
bourgs royaux of Barcus (Barcoys), Montory, Tardets, Haux, Sainte-Engrâce and Larrau. Of the latter only
Montory is listed as giving exclusive preference to the male over the female. In the parish of Larrauns
(Larrau) only one family is listed as following male primogeniture.
28
Haristoy, 428.
7
Roslyn M. Frank The remarkable role of women in 16th century French Basque law codes
does not overtly state, as was the case of Art. I, that the eldest male inherits.29 This slight
shift in meaning that occurs between Articles I and XXI may be accounted for by the fact
that at least 130 houses openly dissented, rejecting the prescribed rule of strict male
primogeniture. By saying that the male child is merely preferred over the female in non-
rural areas, the law does not exclude the possibility that parents may prefer not to
comply. To an individual not versed in the subtleties of the wording of Basque law codes,
such a shift in meaning may appear to be fortuitous. However, one need only remember
the famous Pase Foral, "se obedece [se acata], pero no se cumple," that was invoked for
centuries by the Basques against encroachments by the powers of Church and State.30
In the Souletin code from the sixteenth century, the use of the word prefer, as well as
the list of exceptions, appears to indicate a considerable amount of resistance to the
imposition of the rule of male primogeniture. In this respect, it is significant that a
decision rendered in the fifteenth century at the appellate court of Dax, stated: "Note que
es la costume en la terre de Soule que quent augun payes es mort, que son prumer enfant,
sie filhs o filhas" is to inherit. The court of Dax was the appellate court for sentences
rendered by the court of Licharre, the regular court of jurisdiction for Soule. Here we see
that in the sentence rendered by the appellate court the rule of strict primogeniture was
considered to be the law of the land.31 Thus it would seem that in the fifteenth century the
law of Soule was identical to that of Basse-Navarre: the rule of strict primogeniture was
universally applicable. The Souletin code of 1520 with its careful phraseology and many
exceptions, therefore, represents the first stage of the movement towards male preference.
In summary, the codes of the French Basque region reflect a system of laws
governing succession in which there was total equality between the sexes. Exceptions to
this norm were found only among the tiny noble class of Labourd and to a limited extent
among some of the non-rural houses of Soule. In the latter case, as we have indicated,
this deviation from the form of strict primogeniture appears to be a recent legal
innovation. All of the deviations from the rule of sexual equality point to the fact that in
the older indigenous Basque system no preference was given to the male over the female.
Up until the eve of the French Revolution the Basque woman as etxeko-andrea was truly
"The Mistress of the House," hereditary guardian and head of the etxe-ondo.
29
Ibid., "Toutefois, dans les maisons nobles et autres qui no sont pas pastères, le male descendant du
premier habile prédécédé est préféré, s'ils sont de même mariage; autrement la fille est préférée comme ci-
dessus."
30
Robert Herrera, "Contribution to Democracy of the Basque People," unpublished M.A. Thesis, Colombia
University, 1945, 35-36: "A law passed on June 2, 1452, by the Assemblies of Bizcaya provides: 'that if
any person obtained a written order from the King violating the law of the 'Fueros' that this order be obeyed
but not executed, and the said person be imprisoned and fined the sum of two hundred maravedies,
furthermore, that if said person was to bring another letter or order from the King, he was to be put to death
by any citizen. As a reward the citizen will receive two thousand maravedies.'.. When the king took the
initiative and exceeded the authority vested in him by the Fueros, the Assemblies could apply the 'Pase
Foral,' making use of the traditional phrase, 'se obedece, pero no se cumple,' which means, your laws will
be obeyed but will not be executed." In essence, the Pase Foral was simply a subterfuge. The Basques
would resist the imposition of the law through all legal channels available, but if the law was still imposed,
they simply did not respect it. Naturally on the surface they would state that they were obeying the law,
however in reality, it simply was not enforced. Cf. Also J. de Ariztimuño, 94.
31
Poumarède, 301, citing F. Abbadie, Le livre noir, et les établissements de Dax (Bordeaux, 1902), 59.
8
Roslyn M. Frank The remarkable role of women in 16th century French Basque law codes
9
Roslyn M. Frank The remarkable role of women in 16th century French Basque law codes
Inheritance, Marriage and Dowry Rights in the Navarrese and French
Basque Law Codes
Roslyn M. Frank, Monique Laxalt and Nancy Vosburg
University of Iowa
The purpose of the second paper in this study is to provide a broad overview of the
evolution of the rights and responsibilities of the Basque woman as inheritor. For an
accurate understanding of the nature of these privileges and duties, it is necessary to
encompass in a general fashion the rules governing the organization of the Basque
family. These rules reveal an exceedingly complicated series of checks and balances
whose ultimate goal is again that of protecting the integrity of the house and insuring its
survival across the centuries.
The basis for our study was the French Basque law codes, the codes of Navarre, the
codes of Barèges and Lavedan, as well as the various legal commentaries dedicated to
these codes.32 In all cases where sufficient information was available, an attempt was
made to reconstruct the more primitive structures found in some of the codes, comparing
them to the more evolved structures. The procedures used in reconstructing the earlier
patterns were essentially the same as those employed to reconstruct the original patterns
governing inheritance in the French Basque region. For each legal point the various codes
were cross-referenced against each other. It should be noted that the antiquity of the code
had little bearing on the primitiveness of the laws included in it. Briefly summarized, the
salient factors governing the degree of evolution of the particular code correlated directly
with the degree of influence exercised on the particular region by the social, economic,
and religious norms of feudalism. Geographically the older systems were retained in the
highest areas, i.e., in the most remote mountain valleys of the Pyrenees. The
inaccessibility and, at times, impregnability of these areas, in addition to their relative
unattractiveness to feudalism, contributed to the retention of the older indigenous legal
norms. The lines of demarcation between the older and newer forms can also be drawn
along the vertical socioeconomic axis. The upper classes, i.e., the feudal nobility, tended
to adopt more rapidly the type of family organization common to much of the rest of
feudal Europe, whereas the lower free and rural classes continued to operate under the
older system.33
32
Perhaps the most complete study on the legal organization of the Basque family and most particularly the
role of the woman in it is found in the work of Jacques Poumarède, Les Successions dans le Sud-Ouest de
la France au Moyen Age (Paris: Presses Universitaires, 1972). The second half of the book dedicated to
"Le droit Pyrénéen" is one of the finest contemporary summaries of the basic problems created by the
presence of an indigenous legal sub-stratum in regions of the Pyrenees once inhabited by Basque-speaking
peoples. In this geographical area the survival of the indigenous legal norms, particularly as they affect the
laws of succession and the rights of women, provides a fertile ground for the reconstruction of legal
prehistory. In addition to Poumarède's excellent bibliography, the reader is referred to the basic
bibliographic reference work for Basque Studies, Jon Bilbao, Eusko-Bibliografia (San Sebastián: Editorial
Auñamendi, 1972).
33
Cf. René Metz, "Le statut de la femme en droit canonique médiéval," Recueils de la Société Jean Bodin,
XII (1962), 59-113. The role of canonical law in the suppression of the indigenous rights of women in the
10
Roslyn M. Frank The remarkable role of women in 16th century French Basque law codes
In order to simplify our discussion of the rights and duties of the Basque woman as
inheritor, we shall assume we are talking about a Basque family in which the eldest child
was a daughter. In the family the first child to marry was always the andregaia, the future
(female) inheritor, who had to choose as her mate a cadet. This choice is necessitated by
the structure of landed wealth and the rules of primogeniture. A male inheritor was
obliged to remain on the family property if he wished to inherit. The marriage between
two inheritors was also to be avoided, according to popular belief, because it was certain
to bring bad luck. This popular taboo was undoubtedly fostered by the concrete
socioeconomic factors intrinsic to the organization of Basque family life.34
In Navarrese law it is clear that the marriage was arranged mainly by the parents of
the two contracting partners. However, the daughter could reject two suitors before she
was obliged to "marry the third."35 The marriage itself was a civil contract drawn up
between the two families in the presence of witnesses.36 Before the marriage took place
Pyrenean region should not be underestimated. For example, in constructing their arguments against
women, it was commonplace for jurists and others to call upon the rhetorical power afforded by citing the
works of the recognized authorities of the time, e.g., magister dixit. In this type of discourse a recurrent
strategy was to bring into play the Pauline doctrine of the “natural” subordination of the female, the
Patristic writings as well as those of theologians such as St. Thomas Aquinas, e.g., Summa Theologica,
Question XCII, Art. I: “Whether the woman should have been made in the first production of things?
Objection I: For the Philosopher [Aristotle, Generation of Animals, II, 3] says that ‘the female is a
misbegotten male.’ But nothing misbegotten or defective should have been made in the first production of
things. Therefore, woman should not have been made at the first production.” The Scholastic theory of
woman’s ‘natural’ inferiority to man was used by more than one French jurist and witch hunter. For
example, the writings of Jean Bodin on the nature of the Republic (1576), i.e., on the relationship between
the ‘natural’ patriarchal family and the monarchy, must be complemented by a careful reading of his
Demonomania (1580) where his profoundly misogynist feelings are clearly articulated. The latter work,
written at the height of the European ‘witch-craze’, is laced with documental ‘proofs’ that the jurist draws
from religious authorities in order to substantiate woman’s inferiority and ‘natural subordination’. In the
case of Euskal Herria there is reason to believe that similar argumentation was used by religious and
secular authorities to deny women their traditional rights. For instance, there is this remarkable document
from Pamplona, dated 1640: “Deshace la dificultad tomada de Ulpiano que afirma que el varón prefectorio
tiene oficio y dignidad inferior a la consular y sin embargo es preferible a la mujer consular. De las misma
manera, el alcalde de Ezcurra, aunque tenga oficio y dignidad inferior a la de doña Ana María Azedo … es
preferible [él] por la prerrogativa del sexo, quia major dignitas est in sexu virili.” Cf. Antonio Pérez
Goyena, Ensayo de bibliografía en Pamplona hasta el año 1910 (Diputación foral de Navarre, 1947), 317.
However, the researcher should be careful in terms of assigning blame. While the authority of theological
doctrine could be called upon, it was not that doctrine which was the cause, but rather the citation of it.
Similarly, there were socio-economic factors that entered into the changing perception of the female of the
species which need to be taken into account, a topic too complex to be dealt with in a mere footnote. Also,
one needs to take into account the corrosive influence of the introduction of Roman law codes which had
greater influence on indigenous legal norms in some zones than in others.
34
M. Eugène Cordier, Le droit de famille aux Pyrénées: Barèges, Lavedan, Béarn et Pays Basque (Paris:
August Durand, 1859), 48-49.
35
Fuero General of Navarre (1237), lib. IV, tít. I, cap. II. The source for the Fuero General is Rachel
Rousch Bard, "The Medieval Fueros of Navarre," unpublished M.A. thesis, University of Washington,
1971. The Fuero General (in Spanish) is included as Appendix A, 118-335.
36
G. Mujica, Destellos de la historia vasca (San Sebastián, 1962), 185, 191-192. Until the reign of Sancho
The Wise (1150-1194) in Navarrese law marriage was simple civil contract that could be dissolved by the
mutual consent of the parties involved. From 1170 onward, dissolution was no longer permitted for
marriages celebrated a bendición, i.e., authorized by the Church. However, it was still allowed for all
11
Roslyn M. Frank The remarkable role of women in 16th century French Basque law codes
an inventory was to be made of all the movable and immovable goods pertaining to the
woman.37 In its more primitive form, this wealth included the lands and goods inherited
from her mother and father, as well as the accumulated profits of these lands and goods.
In the more evolved codes, her inheritance included only the ancestral lands and other
movable and immovable goods given her, excluding the accumulated profits. In the
marriage contract the goods designated as forming part of her dowry did not necessarily
include all the goods belonging to the female inheritor. She often had additional wealth
not directly committed to the dowry.38
At the same time the inventory of the bride's dowry was being made, the parents of
the husband-to-be were also listing and negotiating the goods he would contribute to the
newly formed corporation. His contribution was called arras and it usually consisted of
movables. In the earlier system a series of donations were made by the male to the female
prior to the marriage itself. When the marriage took place another donation was made to
the woman. These various donations later were combined into one unit. However, there is
still disagreement whether the pre-marital donations were to be considered a legitimate
part of the arras, i.e., the donation given at the time the marriage was celebrated.39
The amount of the arras or dower of the male seems to have varied considerably
from class to class and from one geographical region to another. In some instances the
amount of the dower was in direct proportion to the amount of the total wealth of the
woman's dowry. Although there is no clear indication of the exact percentage prescribed
in the earlier periods, it is evident that the amounts paid must have been significant. This
is demonstrated by an edict passed in Pamplona in 1580: "Also it has been proven by
experience that frequently excessive amounts are given in arras to women; and because
of it many houses and estates are brought to ruin. ...from now on one cannot give in arras
to women more than the eighth part of what they (the women) bring..."40
After the amount of the arras had been determined and agreed upon, the marriage
could take place. Once consummated, the arras became the exclusive property of the
marriages performed a yuras, i.e., as civil contracts. Cf. José Alonso, Recopilación y comentarios de los
fueros y leyes del antiguo Reino de Navarra, I (Pamplona: Ediciones Aranzadi, 1964), 121-127; Fuero
General, lib. IV, tít. I, cap. VII.
37
Francisco Salinas Quijada, "Las arras en el Derecho Foral navarro, Príncipe de Viana, II, V (1940-41),
56.
38
Mujica, 184.
39
Salinas Quijada, 56: "Las arras deben hacerse por escrito, y además, en escritura pública. Así parece
ingerirse de la Ley I, del Título III del Libro III de la Novísima Recopilación de Navarra, que exige la
descripción de modo expreso y exacto y detallado de los que pertenezcan a cada uno de los contrayentes."
Cf. also ibid., 48-52; Mujica, 181-185; Alonso, 140-153.
40
In the Fuero General of Navarre (1237), lib. III, tít. II, ley I, it states: "Si ningún infanzon prende muiller
infanzona, según el Fuero debe dar a eilla tres heredades por sus arras si las hobier confermes, et fidores
para las creaturas serán en una..." The vagueness of this passage is obvious as well as the indefinite nature
of the value of tres heredades. The Novísima Recopilación de Navarra (1628), lib. III, tít. XI, ley II,
includes the edict passed by the Cortes in Pamplona (1580): "Tambien se ha visto por experiencia, que
suele haver mucho excesso en el ofrecer de las arras a las mugeres; y por causa de ello, se vienen a destruir
muchas casas y haciendas. Suplicamos a Vuestra Magestad, para remedio de ello ordene, que de aquí
adelante no se pueda dar de arras a las mugeres más de la octava parte de el dote, que ellas trahen; y que no
se pueda renunciar esta Ley, ni la renunciación valga, ni tenga efecto alguno." Cf. Salinas Quijada, 53-54.
12
Roslyn M. Frank The remarkable role of women in 16th century French Basque law codes
woman, as was her dowry. It should be remembered that the real recipient of the dowry
and the arras was the etxe-ondo. The individual woman was only the keeper and
guardian of these goods. Once married, the husband ceased to have control over his
arras. Without his wife's explicit consent he could not sell or otherwise alienate the arras
or the dowry. Nor could he use the arras or dowry as collateral or to pay his personal
debts. This prohibition even extended to cases where the parents of the male were in need
of food. He was still obligated to obtain his wife's permission. Even in this extreme case
his wife could legally deny him access to the arras.41
Although in the rural mountainous regions the dower brought by the male often
consisted of nothing more than a pair of oxen and a few agricultural implements,42 among
the upper classes the prodigality of the arras given to the woman was indeed impressive.
For instance, Sancho el Mayor, King of Navarre (1004-1035), gave his wife-to-be the
kingdom of Aragon.43 Since the arras given by the husband became the property of the
female, donations of this nature served to greatly enhance the prestige and effective
power of Basque women both in the Middle Ages and later.
At the time the marriage was consummated, the male moved into his wife's home
and assumed her name, i.e., the name of the etxe-ondo. The children of their union also
carried the maternal surname. This practice of the adoption by the male and the off-spring
of the wife's house name survived into the twentieth century, although naturally in
modern times the official registers recorded the patronymic surname of the husband and
the children.44
41
Salinas Quijada, 49: "Que las arras en el sentido de estas leyes (las navarras) que es el corriente, son las
donaciones hechas por el esposo a la esposa, que ésta adquiere, una vez celebrado el matrimonio, y que han
de entregársele juntamente con la dote a su disolución " The Fuero General, lib. III, tít. XII, cap XIV,
states: "Empero si fuere casado, no puede vender las arras de su muyller a menos de ortorgamiento." This
same restriction is found in the codes of Soule, Basse-Navarre and Labourd. The Fuero General, lib. II, tít.
IV, cap. VI, also prohibits the arras from alienation by the husband even when his parents are old, invalid
and in need of food.
42
Philippe Veyrin, Les Basques de Labord, de Soule, et de Basse-Navarre. Leur histoire et leurs traditions
(Grenoble: Arthaud, (1955), 261-265; Jaureguiberry, "Un mariage en Haute-Soule," Gure Herria, XIV,
(1934), 162-169, 260-266; Pierre Lhande, Autour d'in foyer basque (Paris, 1908).
43
Mujica, 181.
44
Cordier, 50; José Miguel de Barandiarán, "Bosquejo etnográfico de Sara," in Obras completas, V
(Bilbao: La Gran Enciclopedia Vasca, 1973), 666-67; Pierre Lhande, Le Pays Basque à vol d'oiseau (Paris,
1931), 66-67. Since the mother's name was passed on to the children as well as to her husband, there was
no break in the continuity of the house's name. The practice of calling people exclusively by the name of
the etxe-ondo greatly complicates the reconstruction of family histories, since any male mentioned could be
the outsider (adventice) and not the true inheritor, even though he carried the house's name. Only after the
patronymic was imposed as the only legally valid last name, could one distinguish the identity of the father.
In spite of the official regulations, among the Basques, common practice dictated that the man and the
children would take his wife's name, if he lived uxorilocally. According to Louis Etcheberry, Monographie
de la commune de Saint-Jean le Vieux (Ligugé, 1898), n.p., cited by Lhande, 66-67: "Dans les vieux
registres du XVIIe siècle, on ne voit apparaître que le nom des maisons .… Au cours même de ce siècle,
rien n'était plus commun que de désigner les gens exclusivement par le nom de leur maison. Il a fallu les
livrets militaires et les appels militaires et les appels militaires pour révéler à une foule de jeunes gens leur
nom patronymique que gisait cache dans les actes civils et notariés, mais n'était pas d'un usage courant."
13
Roslyn M. Frank The remarkable role of women in 16th century French Basque law codes
Under the dotal regime found in the Basque country, only the male cadet possessing
sufficient wealth could contract a marriage. When no arras were provided, there could be
no marriage. Nevertheless, there existed a number of alternatives for the impoverished
male. In order to survive and begin to accumulate assets to be used as arras, the young
cadet often contracted himself out as the esku-lan (work hand) of a neighboring farm
where he took up residence. After a number of years of hard work and diligence, his
merits often caught the attention of the andregaia and her parents. After due deliberation
the parents and the andregaia would make their intentions known to the young man and
his family. If all were in agreement, the male cadet could terminate his work contract as a
farm hand to become the administrator of the house and the husband of the andregaia. In
this case, his savings from his job could be used as arras. Another alternative available to
the poor male cadet was that of impressing the andregaia with his devotion to her as well
as with his talents as an industrious worker. She, in turn, could, in her role as the future
etxeko-andrea, make him various gifts. These then could be returned to the woman as
arras at the time the marriage was celebrated.45
If the couple found that they were incompatible, the marriage could be dissolved.
This was accomplished through the intervention of three relatives from the wife's side
and three from the husband's. After hearing the grievances, the relatives could offer a
solution. However, if the solution was not acceptable, the marriage contract was
terminated. Nevertheless, in Navarrese law, if children had been born, the husband still
could not demand the return of the arras. These stayed in the power of the woman.46 In
the case of dissolution without issue, according to the more primitive codes such as that
of Barége, the husband married to an inheritor was left with nothing, for his arras was
considered to have been absorbed because of the costs incurred by his wife in feeding,
lodging and clothing him during the course of the marriage.47 In a later form the husband
was awarded one-half of the acquired wealth, i.e., one-half of the profits accrued on the
property belonging to the etxe-ondo. This latter type division of acquired goods was also
45
Alonso, 142-143.
46
Salinas Quijada, 49.
47
Cordier, 50-51. "Dans cette manière de voir, toute conforme à la tradition de Barèges, le mari de
l'héritière ne jouait auprès de sa femme qu'un rôle très-secondaire, et ce rôle, accepté par les mœurs, lui
était, au fond, imposé par le loi. Venu chez elle, avec sa légitime, une petite somme d'argent, il ne disposait
pas même de ce très-mince avoir. Cette légitime ou dot était remise à sa femme ou bien à ses parents, qui
en donnaient quittance a l'héritier de la maison de l'époux. Elle demeurait sans doute hypothéquée sur tous
les bien de le maison de l'épouse pour le retour éventuel, en case de dissolution dur mariage sans enfants;
mais, en attendant, ce capital, apporte par l'époux, se trouvait absorbé, distrait, sans fruits pour lui, et l'on
considérait qu'il était assez indemnisé pour être logé, nourri et vêtu chez sa femme sans bourse délier."
Cordier's source is the Ancienne coutume de Barèges, art. 11, 19, 10, in Coutumes anciennes et nouvelles
de Barèges, de pays du Lavedan et autres lieux dépendant de la province de Bigorre (Bagnères, 1837).
Clearly, in Barèges the laws governing succession—according to the code compiled in 1670—followed the
strictest rules of primogeniture where both the propres and the acquêts were inherited by the eldest child:
“Le premier-né du mariage, soit mâle ou femelle, est héritier de toute sorte de biens, de quelle nature qu’ils
soient, de souche et avitins (lisez: acquêts et propres), c’est-à-dire sans aucune différence, possédés par les
pères et mères, aïeuls et aïeules, ou autres en ligne supérieure et ascendante,” Art. I of the code of Barèges,
cited by Cordier, 27. Cf. also Poumarède, 293. In the case of the death of the inheritor, the surviving
spouse, where there is no issue, is entitled only to his/her légitime, i.e., dower/dowry, with no rights over
any of the acquêts. Cf. Cordier, 52.
14
Roslyn M. Frank The remarkable role of women in 16th century French Basque law codes
only viable when there had been no children born of the union.48 In the case of
dissolution of marriage with issue, the woman obtained one-half of the profits and
usufruct over her husband's half. These goods were designated in part as being the dower
and dowry of the younger children of the union.49 According to an even more modern
version, the aforementioned situation of dissolution without issue allowed the husband
even greater rights. In the code of Soule (1520) the husband could demand half of the
acquired goods and the return of his arras.50
The husband could also be separated from the goods of the house while he was still
married. In order to understand this type of legal separation, one must analyze in detail
the precise role played by the husband. His role consisted of being the administrator of
the wife's goods, i.e., the goods of the house. Although in this capacity he could not sell
or otherwise alienate the dotal goods, i.e., the dowry and arras, without his wife's
consent, he was charged with the task of increasing the wealth of the house through
proper management and hard work. Here his responsibilities included caring for the
investments and seeing that the rents due the house were paid. He had to protect the etxe-
ondo against any attempt to usurp its wealth, whether by force or through trickery. He
could not undertake any action nor engage in any contract that would jeopardize the
initial investment. His power over the dowry and arras only extended to protecting and
increasing them. He in no sense had absolute power over them, for any action that
involved their alienation had to be approved by his wife. These actions only could be
undertaken to increase the wealth. The real possessor of the dotal goods continued to be
the woman.51
In order to protect the wife's investment and consequently that of the etxe-ondo, the
wife had a tacit mortgage over all of her husband's personal goods.52 In the most
primitive form, this mortgage extended to the wealth possessed by her husband's family,
48
Alonso, 153.
49
G. Desdevises du Dézert, "De la condition de la femme mariée en Navarre d'après le fuero general (XIVe
et XVe siècles)," Euskal-Erria, XXIV (1891), 326-335, 366-372, 402-414. Ibid., 404: "La veuve noble non
remariée reprenait ses biens propres; ses arras et la moitié des acquêts lui étaient devolus, elle jouissait en
outre d'un droit d'usufruit général sur tous les biens de son mari. Ce droit, appelé fealdat, est une des
institutions les plus originales et les plus louables du droit navarrais." Desdevises uses the term "widow"
here, but in the early codes when they speak of the termination of the marriage, this also seems to include
termination by dissolution. In light of the primitiveness of the code of Barèges, it would appear that the
right of fealdat was also applicable to cases of dissolution where the woman was the inheritor. Cf. Cordier,
49-56, for a discussion of the rather subordinate role played by the male cadet married to a female
inheritor.
50
Pierre Haristoy, Recherches historiques sur la Pays Basque, II (Bayonne: E. Lasserre, 1883), 421-422.
Code of Soule, Rubrique XXIV, Art. XVIII: "Item là où il y a des biens acquis par le propriétaire et
adventice, tous deus ensemble par leur industrie et diligence durant leur mariage, en cas de dissolution de
mariage sans héritiers issus d'iceux; ou s'il y a enfants, mais s'ils sont décédés: en ce cas si l'adventice est
mâle, il recouvre sa dot et la moitie desdits biens acquis durant ledit mariage."
51
Alonso, 144-153. Although the husband of an inheritor could not alienate the house's goods without his
wife's consent, in the more primitive codes this restriction was not applicable to the female inheritor. Cf.
Cordier, 51: "L'héritière, au contraire, avait toute liberté d'aliéner, de consentir toutes sortes de contrats,
d'ester en jugement pour demander ou défendre, sans l'autorisation de son mari."
52
Alonso, 143-144.
15
Roslyn M. Frank The remarkable role of women in 16th century French Basque law codes
back to his mother or father, depending on who was the inheritor, and even to his
grandparents if his parents were dead.53 The following example will demonstrate the way
the goods of the etxe-ondo were protected. If the wife brought a flock of a hundred sheep
as part of her dowry and the husband through mis-management or neglect, reduced the
flock's number to fifty, he personally was responsible for this reduction of her wealth. He
could replenish the flock through carefully raising the lambs so that the original number
was regained. However, if the marriage was terminated before the flock again reached
one hundred, he or his family had to replace the missing sheep.54
If it occurred that he was lazy, a drunkard or a gambler, or simply a poor
administrator, his actions could threaten the integrity of the house. In this situation, the
wife could declare him incompetent and replace him with a more able individual. In order
for the woman to bring suit against her husband for incompetency, she did not need to
provide a "complete and exact proof,"55 rather she needed only to provide a list of the
debts incurred by him against the property in such amounts that the capital itself was
threatened by insolvency. She could give proof of his profligate activities and general
misconduct as well as solicit the opinion generally held of him by the other members of
the local community. In addition she could show evidence his personal reduced wealth
was such that he himself could not offset the debts incurred against the household wealth.
Her case was brought before the competent judges from the local community. In this way
the husband could be permanently enjoined from administering the estate. He was
separated from the goods without a formal termination of the marriage. Nevertheless, in
the case of the husband who mended his ways and demonstrated clear evidence of no
longer being incompetent, it appears the wife could reconsider and re-appoint him as
administrator.56 It is somewhat questionable whether the woman was still obligated to
provide him with lodging and goods while he was disenfranchised.
In the family described here the younger brothers and sisters of the etxeko-andrea
remained working on the farm until the inheritor married. They could then freely ask for
their "legitimate" portion of the inheritance. Once they received this portion and left
home, they had no right to ask for further portions when the inheritance was later divided.
The reasoning behind the denial of further inheritance rights is based on the loss of
earnings by the house because of the absence of the child. In the future, profits accrued
from the house might increase its wealth, but the absent child had no right to claim any
part of these profits since he/she had done nothing to earn them. However, the absent
child seems to have been allowed to buy his/her way back into the family unit after a
period of absence. In order to do so the child had to pay the house, i.e., his/her parents or
brother or sister depending on who was the inheritor, a sum equal to that amount the child
would have contributed to the good of the house had he/she stayed on the farm.57
53
Cf. also Paul Viollet, Histoire du droit civil français (Paris, 1905), 778.
54
Alonso, 180.
55
Ibid., 165.
56
Ibid., 164-166.
57
Poumarède, 315-327.
16
Roslyn M. Frank The remarkable role of women in 16th century French Basque law codes
The rules governing the determination of the "legitimate" portion due the younger
children are undoubtedly one of the vaguest and most confusing areas of Basque law. In
some codes it appears the arras brought by the husband or father were to be used to
endow the female cadettes, i.e., the sisters of the wife and her younger female children.
Thus, in the model family, the arras of the etxeko-andrea's husband could have been
used to endow the younger sisters of even the etxeko-andrea's mother, provided that the
inheritance had passed to the etxeko-andrea through the female line. In this version, the
arras would have been held in usufruct by the etxe-ondo. When one of the children chose
to leave the farmstead, her portion would be determined.58 Nevertheless, this
interpretation breaks down in two ways. First, since the arras clearly became the property
of the etxeko-andrea, they, therefore, were transmitted by inheritance to her eldest child.
This contradiction can perhaps be resolved by assuming a division done by the inheritor
according to her own discretion.59 The second problematic area concerns the male cadets.
If their father's or brother-in-law's arras were to be used to endow the younger females,
where did the male cadet obtain his arras?
In the most primitive codes, the amount due the younger children, both male and
female, seems to be totally arbitrary. The inheritor could endow them well or leave them
with nothing, declaring them disobedient.60 The small amounts due the younger children
appear to have served as an incentive to remain on the farm where they were guaranteed a
stable and relatively comfortable existence. In the more evolved codes the rights of the
younger children increase and the rights of the house decrease. Here the children have an
absolute right to a division of all the acquired profits of the etxe-ondo.61 Earlier, as was
indicated, the profits were transmitted integrally with the ancestral lands and goods to the
new inheritor. The evolution of the codes in reference to this point show a definite
transition from a situation where the propres and acquêts were inalienable from
generation to generation to one where in each generation the etxe-ondo could be depleted
of its profits, leaving it reduced to only it original lands and goods.
Since money was obviously a rarity in an agricultural economy, the younger child's
portion was usually concrete movable items, household and farm implements, animals
and grain. In times of financial hardship, the self-sufficient farm household frequently
could not afford even the most minimal reduction of its livestock and other goods. It
should be kept in mind that when a child left home, the house's stability was affected in
two ways. First, it suffered the loss of the portion pertaining to the child as his/her
inheritance. Secondly, the etxe-ondo's overall productivity was reduced by the loss of a
worker. For this reason, under the above circumstances the cadets often chose to remain
on the lands, postponing indefinitely their marriage or career plans. In doing this the
58
Alonso, 144-153.
59
This same type of dotal regime is mentioned by Strabo, III, 4, 28; or 165. Speaking of northern Spain, he
says it was the husband who brought the dowry to his wife, the daughters inherited and they provided their
brothers with wives, i.e., they endowed their brothers so that they could marry. All of which, according to
this Greek historian, created a barbaric ginecocracia. Cf. Caro Baroja, "Los pueblos matriarcales de la
España antigua, según los textos," in Los pueblos del norte (San Sebastián: Txertoa, 1973), 35-94. Cf. also
Poumarède's final chapter "Le problème des origines," 328-334.
60
Poumarède, Ibid.
61
Ibid.
17
Roslyn M. Frank The remarkable role of women in 16th century French Basque law codes
children preferred a personal sacrifice rather than jeopardizing the well-being of the
house. Not only was this type of postponement common, it was expected and even
demanded. Only the most ungrateful son or daughter would insist on have his/her
"legitimate" portion under circumstances that could bring ruin to the house.62
Perhaps one of the most significant roles of the female was that of being the religious
representative or spokesperson of the family unit. Her position conferred upon her the
titles of buruzain and begirale, two expressions that reflect her function as keeper and
guardian of the family.63 In this capacity she was the official representative of the etxe-
ondo at all religious functions held in the parish Church where she sat at the yar-leku, or
seat, on top of the family sepulchral stone.64 Each etxe-ondo had its own yar-leku located
62
Veyrin, 254-257.
63
The expression buruzain is composed of buru "head" and zain "guardian”. In this instance the first
element of the compound, namely, buru, refers to an abstract notion of “self” or more specifically in this
case, to the “collective self”. In other words, the buru-zain can be construed as the guardian of the “house”
or the guardian of whatever entity comprises the social collective in question. Other variations of the term
are buruzagi, buruzai and buruzari. According to Veyrin, ibid,, 156: "Dans chaque paroisse, les
propriétaires de plusieurs maisons franches étaient tenus traditionnellement de remplir, à tour de rôle, la
charge héréditaire de fermance vezaliére (en basque zainko [sic]), sorte de representant servant de caution a
la communauté et d'intermédiaire oblige vis-à-vis de l'administration centrale du Pays [de Soulle]." Cf.
Haristoy, 382, Rubrique II, Art. VI and Gil Reicher, "Quelques mots sur the femme en Pays Basque," Gure
Herria, XXXII (1960), 126: "On vit, en Soule, des femmes être magistrats si elles étaient héritières d'une
maison ayant héréditairement fonction judiciare." For a discussion of the term begirale, "guardian," based
on the Basque root begi, "eye," cf. Dominque Dufau, "La Basquaise et les traditions," Gure Herria XXVLI
(1936), 56-66.
64
The expression yar-leku derives from jarri "to sit, to place oneself" and leku "place." Cf. Luis Pedro Peña
Santiago, "Ritos funerarios de Elosúa,” Anuario de Eusko-Folklore, XXII (1967-68), 179-187;
Barandiarán, "De la vida tradicional vasca," in Obras completas, III, 483-485. According to Barandiaran,
485: “La etxekoandre [sic] es el jefe indiscutible del exte místico. Esto y su consiguiente importancia en los
actos religiosos del hogar y su preeminente situación en el culto de antepasados han contribuido sin duda a
que la mujer gozara entre los vascos de particular dignidad y respeto.” The profound veneration of the
woman as head of the etxe místico is demonstrated, too, in the Charte de Bigorre (1097) of Davezac-
Macaya, Essais historiques sur le Bigorre, I, 192 and ff., cited by Cordier 72: “Dans le article 9 [of the
Charte de Bigorre]: Paix soit gardée en tout temps aux prêtres, moines, dames, et généralement à leur suite.
Si quelque’un se réfugie auprès d’une dame, ou’il ait sûreté de sa personne, en réparant le dommage qu’il a
fait.’ Ainsi, dans la Bigorre, les femmes d’une certaine condition emportaient avec elles ce précieux droit
d’asile, qui, aux termes de l’article 7, résidait seulement dans quelques monastères.” Cf. also G. Bascle de
Lagrèze, Histoire du droit dans les Pyrénées (Paris: 1868), 67. For an instance on the Spanish side of the
border of the application of this “law of asylum” afforded to others by the physical presence of a woman in
the same way that a person could seek asylum in certain religious sites, e.g., monasteries, hermitages and
churches, cf. S. Griswold Morely, Spanish Ballads (New York, 1946), 113-114 and Angel del Río and
Amelia del Rio, Antología de la literatura espoñola (New York, 1967), 14-15. The original source for this
example of the application of the law, cf. th epic poem “Cantar de los Infantes de Lara’ which dates from
the 10th to the 12th century. The epic was included in the Crónica general of Alfonso X, the Wise (1252-
1284) of Castile and deals with events that occurred at the end of the 10th century, i.e, some hundred years
before the Charte of Bigorre. In the case of the Spanish epic poem Los Siete Infantes de Lara, one finds
evidence that the law was not universally respected, as demonstrated by the negative comments concerning
the actions of a male character who attempts to seek asylum ‘under the skirts’ of Doña Lambra. Cf. Roslyn
M. Frank and Joseph Szertics, "Doña Lambra y el conflicto familiar en la leyenda de los Siete Infantes de
Lara," Confluencia, 5, Num. 2, (Spring 1990): 19-26. The latter article is currently available online:
http://uiowa.academia.edu/RoslynMFrank/Papers/445570/Dona_Lambra_y_el_conflicto_familiar_en_la_le
yenda_de_los_Siete_Infantes_de_Lara. Moreover, the possible significance of this legal status of asylum
18
Roslyn M. Frank The remarkable role of women in 16th century French Basque law codes
in the floor of the Church. This was considered an integral part of the holdings of the
house and was transmitted from generation to generation along with the ancestral lands
and goods of the etxe-ondo itself. The guardianship of the yar-leku, along with the rights
and duties pertaining to it, belonged to the etxeko-andrea. It was at this sepulchral stone
that the woman received the argi-olatak, offerings of bread and candles, from the other
etxeko-andreak, the mistresses of the other houses in the parish.65
In addition to serving as the official spokesperson of the family unit at religious
functions, the woman in her capacity as inheritor also acted as the political representative
of the etxe-ondo at the local assemblies of the auzo, also called kapitala or parrokia.66
Traditionally the political and religious organization of the Basque country was based on
the family itself. The head or buruzain of each su or fire, i.e., the house, was the political
spokesperson of the family unit. The local assembly was composed of the buruzainak, the
individual heads of the households comprising the parrokia or auzo.67
should not be underestimated, most particularly because it flies in the face of the grand narrative of
Western history which portrays a centuries-long struggle of women battling to achieve equal status with the
opposite sex. That narrative has no place for law codes that attribute to women equal status and/or that
assigned to women the same status as other locii whose ‘space’ was judged to be inviolate by secular
authorities. Stated differently, these locations set off space that was ‘sacred’ and which therefore afforded
legal protection for those who sought shelter there.
65
Cf. Bonifacio de Echegaray, "Significación jurídica de algunos ritos funerarios del País Vasco," Revue
internationale des Ètudes basques, XVI (1925), 94-118, 184-222.
66
Ramon de Berraondo, "La mujer en Vasconia," Euskalerriaren Alde, Año XI, Num 209 (1921), 162. One
of the frequently cited texts confirming the active participation of women in local assemblies is the
Cartulaire de Saint-Savin de Lavedan, f. 47. Bascle de Lagrèze, Histoire du droit dans les Pyrénées (Paris,
1867), 69, gives the following summary of one such assembly: "Dans un bail à fief, consenti par l'abbé de
Saint-Savin en 1316, nous voyons que les voisins et voisines de Cauterets (bésis et bésies de Cautarés)
furent assemblés sous le porche le l'église pour savoir s'ils voulaient accepter de l'abbé un autre
emplacement pour la ville et le bourg, moyennant certaines redevances féodales. 'Les susdits voisins et
voisines, porte l'acte, ensemble et individuellement, présents et consentant, n'étant ni trompés, ni séduits, ni
entraînés par d'artificieuses promesses, ni violentés par la force, mais de leur plein gré et volonté, en toute
connaissance de cause, ont déclaré donner leur approbation unanime, excepté Gailhardine de Fréchou: tots
exceptat la dite Gailhardine del Frexo [citing Cartulaire de Saint-Savin, f. 47]. C'est ainsi que dans les
montagnes de las Bigorre s'exerçait, dans sa plus large extension. le suffrage universel, et que la femme
jouissait des droits qu'elle ne possède plus aujourd'hui." The author also treats this event in his Mongraphie
de Saint-Savin de Lavedan (Paris, 1850), cf. chapter VI and p. 113, while similar information on the rule of
universal suffrage and Gailhardine de Fréchou’s actions can be found in Gustave Bascle de Lagrèze, La
Navarre française (Paris: H. Champion, 1882), 100-101.
67
J. de Urkina, La democracia en Euzkadi: Ensayo histórico y jurídico (Donostia, 1935), 84-98.
Determining way in which the house vote was traditionally delegated in these assemblies gives rise to
certain complications, not the least of which rests in the fact that the law codes for this region were not
recorded in Basque, but rather in Latin or one of the Romance languages spoken in the zone, e.g.,
Navarrese, Bearnaise, Gascon, etc. The specific pitfall of these translations lies in the fact that Basque is a
language without grammatical gender while Romance languages require that the speaker mark the gender
of individual and in the case of a mixed group, composed of men and women, the masculine gender marker
must be used. At the same time, we have terms such as buruzaina or buruzaingoa, ‘guardian of the
community, keeper of the head’, a compound composed of buru ‘head, self’ and zain ‘guardian’. Basque
being a language with gender markers, there is no indication of the gender of those who fulfill thd position.
In contrast, in French similar concepts would be translated in the masculine as les chefs or les têtes which,
in turn, could imply that those participating werer only men. An example of this confusion can be found in
the following excerpt from the Fuero General of Navarre (1237) where the term cabezalero is used,
19
Roslyn M. Frank The remarkable role of women in 16th century French Basque law codes
Due to the predominantly rural nature of Basque society, in many areas the so-called
parrokia or local assembly was often made up of from 5 to 20 houses, scattered across
the wooded mountain slopes.68 The assembly met to decide all matters of local
importance, often combining the political meeting with a religious or festive
celebration.69 The heads of the houses were elected, often by lottery, to serve in the
various capacities needed for local governance, as judges and as representatives to the
larger valley-wide assemblies composed of a number of the scattered parrokiak.70 The
evidently as the counterpart of buruzain / buruzaingo (also rendered at times as buruzai and buruzagi) to
refer to those who were qualified to carry out certain duties, including the duty of standing in judgment of
others. Since the masculine plural of cabezaleros is found repeatedly in the text, a reader who expects those
in question to be males, would assume that this was the case. However, at certain junctures the authors of
the text make it clear that this reading is incorrect by explicitly defining the opaque term. For example, in
lib. III, cap. VII, entitled “En que casos puede fidalgo estinar fuera de su heredat, et don’t, et a quales deven
ser cabezaleros”, we discover this sentence: “… et pueden ser cabezaleros todo ombre bueno, et buenas
mugeres, et el capeyllano, et deven valer testigos de VII aynnos arriba.” This clarification of the code
obviously shows that women could serve as cabezaleras ‘heads’ (fem.) and exercise the same rights and
privileges as their male counterparts. Unfortunately, commentators of such codes often fail to recognize
that the compilers of the legal document had carefully specified that the term cabezaleros was to be
understood to include members of the female sex. As was pointed out in the first paper of this seminar,
“The Role of the Basque Woman as Etxekoandrea: ‘The Mistress of the House,’” in the case of the code of
Basse-Navarre, Rubrique XXVII, “Des testaments et successions,” never defines the terms le primogénit,
l’héritier and le primogénit héritier as including the woman. Yet it is obvious from other sections of the
Basse-Navarre code that this was the case. In short, the examples from the Fuero General and the code of
Basse-Navarre only underscore the necessity for historians to read all sections of a given legal text, as well
as background materials before coming to a conclusion. Too often there has been a tendency to cite isolated
passages, taken out of their legal and larger socio-cultural context or simply to quote secondary references
to prove that women were excluded. In conclusion, if the law code is not examined in its full extension, the
structures imposed by the linguistic male dominance of the gender system of the Romance languages can
obscure the original meanings intended by the compilers of the documents who were in all likelihood
bilingual.
In his discussion of the etymology of the Romance terms for ‘witch, a woman endowed with special
powers, hag’ (Cast. bruja, Port. bruxa, Cat. bruixa, Arag. broxa, Gasc. broucho and Central Pyrenees
brüša, brucho, broucho) Joan Corominas does not mention the Basque compounds buruzai and buruzagi.
Rather he states: “palabra común a los tres romances hispánicos y a los dialectos gascones y
languedocianos, de origen desconocido, seguramente prerromano.” Cf. Corominas, Diccionario crítico
etimológico de la lengua castellana, Vol. 2 (Madrid: Gredos, 1954), 679-681. On the other hand, let us
assume, momentarily, that the pre-Roman source of the Romance terms was, indeed, a term that referred
originally to indigenous ‘leaders’. It would follow, then, that the new arrivals, that is, the non-Basque-
speaking outsiders, came to view these members of the indigenous community as both powerful and
dangerous. This, in turn, could explain the development of a term that portrayed these ‘leaders’ in a
negative light and, in the process, even assigned special powers to them. Moreover, such an approach to the
etymology of the Romance terms would have an interesting corollary: even though the ‘leaders’ in question
may well have been represented by members of both sexes, it must have been the female ‘leaders’ who
dominated in some fashion, either statistically or in some other way, that is, the women stood out from the
perspective of the outsiders, the non-Basque-speakers who came in contact with them and ended up
adopting the Basque expression to refer them.
68
William A. Douglass, Muerte en Murélaga (Barcelona, 1973), 27-28; Barandiarán, "Los establecimientos
humanos en el pireneo vasco," in Obras completas, V, 363-387.
69
Julio Caro Baroja, Ritos y mitos equívocos (Madrid: Ediciones Istmo, 1974), 387-388.
70
Veyrin, 148-156; J. B. Daranatz, "Les elections municipales à Saint-Jean-de-Luz, à Ustaritz et à Macaye
du XVI siècle à la révolution." Gure Herria, VI (1922), 305-317.
20
Roslyn M. Frank The remarkable role of women in 16th century French Basque law codes
head of the local assembly or hauz-apheza, who was a type of mayor, elected by the
heads, represented the local unit at the larger assembly.71
It appears that local assemblies as well as the valley-wide assemblies were originally
held in the open air, e.g., in a clearing in the woods, often around an oak tree, since the
oak tree held significant symbolic value for the Basques.72 There under the oak, the heads
of family would congregate. At times there was a physical structural linkage between
location where the political representatives would sit and a circular configuration of
stones seats’, as is the case of Gerediaga. The open air meetings, such as those held at the
circle of stones at Gerediaga, came to be celebrated in other locations, such as the grave-
yard adjoining the Church, to the portal of the parish Church or to private residences. In
the local level assemblies the entire community often attended, listening to the judgments
rendered by the buruzainak and watching justice being carried out,73 whereas in the the
valley-wide assemblies of the merindades or bailarak, such as that of Durango, two
designated representatives from each “república” were authorized to have seats. Thus, in
the case of Gerediaga there was a circle of 28 stones, two stones for each of the 14
“repúblicas” making up the valley-wide judicial-political units.
At the local or auzo level, each household had its own stone—its yarleku—marked in
the floor of the Church so that the stone itself functioned as the visible physical
counterpart of the authority invested in each etxe-ondo. In other words, in times past it
appears the households would hold their meetings under an oak tree and/or more
specifically next to stones, each of which stood for one of the etxe-ondo of th auzoa.74 In
the local assemblies the entire community often attended, listening to the judgments
rendered by the buruzainak and watching justice being carried out. The valley-wide
assemblies appear to have been attended by large numbers of people in addition to the
authorized political representatives.
Funch-Brentano gives a detailed description of such an open-air local assembly on
the French side of the border where both men and woman participated. He also discusses
the custom of meeting in the graveyard adjacent to the church or in the church portico.75
The primitive nature of the political organization is commented upon by Iturbide: “La
tenue des assemblées capitulaires avait quelque chose de primitif et de champêtre, qui
ramène l’esprit aux époques lointaines des maals germaniques et des champs de mai
mérovingiens. Elles délibéraient en plein air, le dimanche, à l’issue de la messe. Elles se
réunissaient, parfois sous le porche de l’église, mais plus souvent dans le cimetière qui
l’environnait, ou bien sur un place ou dans un carrefour qui, dans nos villages, s’appelle
71
Veyrin, 155; Caro Baroja, 376. The term hauz-apheza, also hauz-apaiza and auz-apeza, is translated into
French as sieur Abbé. The ecclesiastical terminology used here probably reflects the common practice of
the institution of abbés laics. Cf. Haristoy, 412ff.
72
For a discussion of the role of ‘swearing trees’ and political assemblies, cf. Caro Baroja, “Sobre el árbol
de Guernica y otros árboles con significado jurídico y político” in Ritos y mitos equívocos, 353-391.
73
Ibid., 360-364. "Sólo después de jurar 'so el árbol' se es señor; solo legislando 'so el árbol' se hace ley;
sólo convocado 'so el árbol' un hombre puede ser acusado y condenado o absuelto de mando legal," 360.
74
Ibid., 353-391.
75
Cf. Frantz Funch-Brentano, L’ancien régime (Paris: 1926), 80-81.
21
Roslyn M. Frank The remarkable role of women in 16th century French Basque law codes
encore aujourd’hui chapitalia ou capitalecou [sic].”76 Also, according to Iturbide, “Le
Bilçar [d’Ustaritz] ne se tenait pas en plein air, comme les assemblées capitulaires de
paroisses. Il se réunissait dans le château de Lamothe, qui “etait le siège du baillage de
Labourd, et qui est devenu aujourd’hui la mairie d’Ustaritz.”77
Then there is the following exalted description of the Bilçar, that is, Biltzar in
Basque, found in Duvoisin78 and also cited by Iturbide. In reality it is a description of the
local assemblée capitulaire of Ustaritz which was held in the oak woods of Haïtze, a site
still referred to as kapital-harria and in French as la pierre du Chapitre. Duvoisin’s
description of the proceedings is as follows:
Près de ce château (de Haïtze) ou voit encore l’antique bois de chênes oú se
réunissaient jadis les étaits de Labourd. Cette réunion s’appelait en langue basque
bilçar, ou assemblées des anciens. L’étymologie du mot bilçar est exactement la
même que celle du mot latin senatus… C’est au bois de Haïtze que se rendaient
les propriétaires, les chefs de famille pour régler les affaires administratives de
toutes les communes du Labourd. Là, débout, adossés à des arbres séculaires,
appuyés sur leurs bâtons de néflier, ils discutaient, ils délibéraient en toute liberté;
ils rendaient des décisions qui ont fait, plus d’une fois, plier la volonté des rois de
France et de Navarre, en vertu des privilèges du Pays. Deux blocs de roche
servaient de sièges au président et au secrétaire. Un autre bloc dont la surface
avait été grossièrement polie, était la table sur laquelle s’inscrivaient les
délibérations et les arrêtes pris par l’assemblée. L’origine du bilçar se perd dans la
nuit des temps. On la croit antérieure à cette opinion c’est que les prêtres s’en
trouvaient exclus, bien qui le pays fût profondément religieux. Sans doute qu’on
n’avait pas crus devoir toucher à la constitution primitive (du pays) qui réglait
l’administration des affaires publiques.79
In short, in times past, the evidence suggests that the local assemblies would meet under
the oak tree and/or around a circle of stone seats placed in the ground for that purpose.80
In her capacity of head of the house the woman traditionally had the right and
obligation to represent the etxe-ondo and to sit in the appointed place at the local
assembly. In the Spanish Basque provinces women were active at all levels of
government, including serving as procuradores, i.e., delegates to the General
Assemblies,81 the Spanish Basque equivalent to the Labourdin Bilzar held at Ustaritz, in
the woods of Haïtze.82
76
Iturbide, 76.
77
Iturbide, 79.
78
C. Duvoisin, Cambo et ses alentours (Bayonne, 1858), 113.
79
For other descriptions of the woods of Ustaritz, cf. Joseph A. Chaho, Biarritz entre les Pyrénées et
l’Océan: Itinéraire pittoresque, II (Bayonne, 1855), 241-242; Etienne Jouy, “L’ermite en province” in
Œuvres complètes, VIII (Paris, 1823), 142-144.
80
Caro Baroja, 353-391.
81
Roberto Herrera, "Contribution to Democracy of the Basque People," unpublished M.A. thesis, Columbia
University, 1945, 28.
82
Caro Baroja, 375.
22
Roslyn M. Frank The remarkable role of women in 16th century French Basque law codes
Although there is evidence women also participated in the local mountain assemblies
on the French side of the Pyrenees, by the sixteenth century, according to Iturbide,
women were excluded from participating in the local assemblies of Labourd. He states
that they had to delegate their house vote to their husbands, eldest sons or husbands of
their eldest daughters. Other than Iturbide's undocumented statement, at present no other
legislation has been found specifically excluding women from direct participation in the
local rural assemblies of the French Basque area.83 Rather one finds that even in the case
of a woman who was not an inheritor, her husband could choose to delegate his vote to
her.84 This delegation of the house vote was important to a people whose main
occupations, fishing and transhumant husbandry, often took the males of the family away
from home for prolonged periods. For instance, in the costal areas the Basque sailors
aboard the fishing fleets were absent for periods of up to one year or more. 85 In the
interior, the transhumant pastoral activities were organized in such a way that the flocks
left the first of May and did not return until the beginning of November. The prolonged
absences of the males of the family made it imperative that the woman take charge of the
house and its interests.86
Although the occupational exigencies of the Basque economy contributed to the
active participation of women to local affairs, a number of secondary factors were also
present. In regions such as Lavedan, even the younger sons who married female cadettes
took up residence uxorilocally, adopting their wife's name.87 Another element that
increased the number of women heads of households was the practice of renunciation on
the part of the first born male. In times of need, it was not unusual for the brother to
83
Iturbide, 75-76. Although Iturbide was working with archival documents from the region, he does not
cite the source for the following statement nor the time period for which is was applicable: “Chaque
communauté était administrée par une assemblée qui s’appelait en basque capitala [sic], et en français
l’assemblée capitulaire. Elle était composée, non pas de tous les habitants de la paroisse, mais seulement de
ceux qui étaient etcheco-yaunak [etxeko-jaunak, i.e. of ‘lords/masters of the house’], c’est-à-dire
propriétaires d’une maison et de leurs héritiers. Les femmes propriétaires étaient représentées par leurs
maris, leurs fils aînés, ou les maris de leurs filles aînés.” This passage clearly indicates the political role of
the female inheritors, specifying in detail the way in which their votes were to be cast at the assemblies.
Passages such as this one, however, raise the following questions. First, was the fact that women inheritors
did not cast their own house vote in person a recent phenomenon, one that resulted from centuries of
pressures against equal representation for women, that is, against what Poumarède refers to as the
indigenous legal norms of the Pyrenean region. It should be noted that in other regions of the Pyrenees,
namely, non-Basque speaking ones, these pressures had led to the elimination of female primogeniture
many centuries earlier (cf. Poumarède).
84
Herrera, 20.
85
Rodney Gallop, A Book of the Basques (University of Nevada Press: Reno, 1970), 268-281; William A.
Douglass and Jon Bilbao Amerikanuak: Basques in the New World (University of Nevada Press; Reno,
1975), 51-60, especially 54 ff.
86
Barandiarán, "Vida pastoril vasca: Albergues veraniegos. Trashumancia intrapirenaica," in Obras
completas, V, 389-398.
87
Cordier, 50. In the code of Lavedan compiled in 1704 one also finds the rule of strict primogeniture
without distinction between the sexes. Cf. Coutumes de Barèges et du Pays de Lavedan (Bagnères, 1827).
Attestation du sénéchal de Bigorre sur les usages ou coutumes non écrites des pays du Lavedan...., art. 1:
"Que les aînés soient mâles ou femelles indifféremment, sont par un fidéicommis perpétuel les héritiers des
maisons, dont ils descendent et des biens de souche ou avitins, à l'exclusion de tous les autres frères et
soeurs cadets..." Cited in Poumarède, 293.
23
Roslyn M. Frank The remarkable role of women in 16th century French Basque law codes
renounce his inheritance in favor of his eldest sister. This was done for the sake of the
etxe-ondo, for it was believed the sister had a better chance of marrying a rich cadet
whose arras would increase the wealth of the house. Since the young male cadet could
leave home, he often went to seek his fortune and his future arras in the south of Spain,
France or even America. Upon his return to the village, he was a prize catch for a family
whose young daughter was to be inheritor.88
In conclusion, the organization of the Basque family provided the woman, in her role
as inheritor with a wide range of rights and responsibilities. In the domestic sphere she
was granted control over the lands and goods pertaining to the etxe-ondo and was charged
with the duty of maintaining the integrity of the house. In the religious sphere she had the
responsibility and honor of representing the house at religious functions and sitting at the
yar-leku. Politically she had the right and duty to sit in the local assembly and cast her
house's vote there.89 The power and influence she exercised in the home and outside it
were the direct result of the laws of primogeniture that continued to include her as a
legitimate inheritor of the etxe-ondo. Within the framework of traditional Basque law, in
total contradiction to the laws of feudal Europe, women were granted total equality to
men.90 For this reason it may not be solely by chance that the French Basque Bernard
88
Veyrin, 257; Kathrine Fedden, The Basque Country (Boston, 1921), 19.
89
Bascle de Lagrèze, 68: "La femme avait comme l'homme de droit de voisinages (jus civitatis). Les
chartes de nos vallées constatent que les voisines (bésies) étaient convoquées aussi bien que les voisins
(bésis) aux assemblés de la vésiau; elles y avaient voix délibérative et participaient à l'administration des
affaires locales." Ibid., 68: "La loi salique ne fût pas admise dans le Pyrénées, et tous les fiefs du Midi
furent des fiefs féminins. Le comté de Bigorre a souvent appartenu aux femmes. On peut citer, en 1080,
Béatrix Ire; en 1138, Béatrix II; en 1187, Stéphanie; en 1199, Pétronille, que épousa successivement cinq
maris et dont la succession fût longtemps disputée par quatre prétendants. Les reines de Navarre, les dames
souveraines du Béarn, les Marguerite de Valois, les Catherine, les Jeanne d'Albret, sont trop connues dans
l'histoire pour que nous ayons à rappeler la part qu'elles on prise a l'administration de leurs États." Cordier,
72, in his discussion of women in the political process refers to the classical source of Plutarch, De virtute
mulier, 246: "L'histoire ancienne nous offre, pour les Pyrénées orientales, un trait de mœurs publiques que
rentre davantage dans nous vues. Deux cent dix-huit ans avant notre ère, Annibal, campé auprès d'Illiberri,
ville de nom incontestablement basque (Illi being iri "town" and berri "new"), conclut avec les indigènes
un traité dont voici l'une de clauses: 'Les plaintes de ceux-ci contre les Carthaginois seront portée soit
devant Annibal, soit devant ses lieutenants en Espagne; mais les réclamations des Carthaginois contre les
indigènes seront jugées sans appel par les femmes de ces derniers.' Il se pourrait que la remarque faite a ce
propos par M. Amédée Thierry (Histoire des Gaulois, 3e ed. (Paris, 1845), t. I, 238) fût fondée. 'Cette
coutume, dit-il, de soumettre a l'arbitrage des femmes les plus importantes décisions politiques, particulière
aux Aquitains et aux Ligures, prenait sa source dans la condescendance respectueuse dont la civilisation
ibérienne entourait ce sexe." Cordier, 71, adds the following interesting commentary: “De la famille si nous
passons dans l’État, nous recueillerons quelques indices du rôle ancien que les femmes paraissent y avoir
joué. Nous n’avons pas à relever, sous ce rapport, les droits que leur sexe acquit à la succession des
royaumes, comtés et autres fiefs, distribués sur les deux versants de la chaîne des Pyrénées. Comme l’a
écrit [André] Favyn [Histoire de Navarre Paris, 1612, 105], les royaumes de Navarre, Oviédo et Léon que
de Navarre et Aragon.” It should also be recalled that Doña María Díaz de Haro was señora de Vizcaya
“Mistress of Biscay” in different epochs of her life, a position of maximum political leadership that is better
appreciated in its masculine counterpart: “Lord of Biscay”. Cf. Manuel María Apalategui (O.F.M.Cap.)“La
mujer vasca en la literatura,” Boletín del Instituto americano de Estudios Vascos (Buenos Aires, 1969),
Año XX, Vol. XX, Num. 78, 97.
90
The present study, published originally in 1977, forms part of a more encompassing investigation of
Basque women and Basque culture. The following four papers deal with related topics might be of interest
to the reader. They are available for download at: http://uiowa.academia.edu/RoslynMFrank : “Singing
24
Roslyn M. Frank The remarkable role of women in 16th century French Basque law codes
d'Echepare, author of the first book written in Basque (1545), has been called "a fervent
feminist," for the first book in the Basque tongue was written in praise of women.91
duels and social solidarity: The case of the Basque Charivari” in William A. Douglass (ed.), Essays in
Basque Social Anthropology and History (Reno: Basque Program Occasional Papers Series, No. 4, 1989),
43-80; “A diachronic analysis of the religious role of the woman in Euskal Herria: The serora and her
helpers”, an English language translation of the original Basque-language publication called "Euskal
Herriko emakumeen eginkizun erlijiosoaren inguruko azterketa diakronikoa: Serora eta bere laguntzaileak"
in Miguel Angel Barcenilla, et al. (eds.), Hacia un feminismo propio (Donostia: Basandere Argitaletxea,
2001), 65-103; “La serora vasca: documentos y archivos” (in prep.); “Herb-workers and Heretics: The
Beguines” (in prep.). And then this paper which is also available online: “Shifting identities: A comparative
study of Basque and Western cultural conceptualizations. Cahiers of the Association for French Language
Studies (2005) 11 (2): 1-54: http://www.afls.net/cahiers/11.2/frank.pdf.
91
Luis Villasante Cortabitarte, Historia de la literatura vasca (Bilbao: Sendo, 1961), 50-55.
25
Roslyn M. Frank The remarkable role of women in 16th century French Basque law codes
WOMEN'S RIGHTS AND THE "DOLEANCES DU SEXE
DE ST JEAN DE LUZ ET CIBOUR AU ROI"
Susan Skoglund Ayers*
University of Iowa
*My thanks to Roslyn M. Frank for serving as co-researcher on this project.
On the 8th of August, 1788, the French monarchy, confronted with insurmountable
social, economic and political problems, growing dissent in all classes of society, and the
specter of popular uprising, announced the first convocation of the Estates General since
1614 for May 1st, 1789. Shortly thereafter, the king invited French citizens to make
known their grievances and wishes.92 Censorship lapsed, and the electoral campaigns
began amidst a flurry of pamphlets, brochures and treatises.
The election of the deputies from each of the three orders was accompanied by the
drafting of the cahiers de doléances, by which peasants, bourgeois, nobles, and clergy
could state their grievances, desires, and recommendations to the king. The general
cahier of the bailliage resumed the grievances and desires expressed in the preliminary
cahiers written on the level of the parishes and towns or villages, which in turn reflected
the sentiments expressed in the cahiers of the corporations and quarters of the towns.
Of the 60,000 cahiers written, the preliminary cahiers were particularly susceptible to
loss through fire and neglect. According to Beatrice Fry Hyslop, today only about one-
third of the electoral districts of 1789 have relatively complete collections of parish
cahiers. Moreover, the preliminary cahiers of those districts with relatively complete
collections are still quite inaccessible, for although "nearly all the general cahiers have
now been reprinted," research involving the preliminary cahiers requires travel to the
numerous departmental archives to find the original manuscripts.93
The objective and subjective value of both the general and preliminary cahiers has
been a matter of unceasing controversy. "Objective value means the utility of a cahier as
a source of facts and conditions, while subjective value means the use of cahiers as a
gauge of the state of mind of the electorate."94 It is generally agreed that the preliminary
cahiers have a greater objective value than the general ones in that they described the
local conditions and institutions in greater detail than the general ones. In the general
cahiers, on the other hand, the subjective value outweighs the objective value because
"they were more concerned with general principles ... national reform and a new
regime."95 Recognition of the greater objective value of the preliminary cahiers is of
92
Albert Soboul, Précis d'histoire de la Révolution française (Paris: Editions sociales, 1975), 100-101.
93
Beatrice Fry Hyslop, The General Cahiers of 1789 (New York: Columbia University Press, 1936), 42-
44.
94
Ibid., 44.
95
Ibid., 45.
26
Roslyn M. Frank The remarkable role of women in 16th century French Basque law codes
prime importance to this study, which examines particular demands and accusations as a
reflection of the position occupied by a specific group of people.
A number of the preliminary cahiers preserved were written by what one might today
term "special interest groups," apart from the corporations, revealing radically different
points of view. The often-neglected cahiers of one of these groups represented an already
vociferous and militant element of the revolutionary masses, and half of the French
nation, the women. Most of the cahiers written by women not only depicted the miserable
situation of their sex in 1789 but also offered specific proposals for amelioration and
rectification. They lamented the inadequacy of education for women and demanded
economic emancipation, political rights and the abolition of male privileges. In addition,
they demanded abolition of male primogeniture:
Réunissez-vous … citoyennes des provinces régies par des coutumes injustes
et aussi ridicules ... réclamez, sollititez l'abolition d'une loi qui vous réduit à la
misère dès que vous venez au monde, pour transporter à l'aîné de vos frères,
presque toute la fortune de vos pères, et qui vous prive absolument de toutes les
successions possibles de vox familles lorsque vous avez des frères.
C'est cette coutume inique qui a fait dire qu'un père pouvait marier sa fille
pour un chapeau de roses. C'est elle encore qui est cause de la mésintelligence qui
existe dans les familles; le frère aîné, riche en proportion de ses soeurs, s'en
éloigne ou par orgueil, ou par intérêt; il craint d'être humilié, ou qu'elles lui soient
à charge.96
In effect, one of the most frequently reiterated demands expressed in the literature
circulating throughout the country and in the cahiers was abolition of the droit d'aînesse.
This demand was voiced not only by many women, but also by members of the third
estate and even by some members of the nobility. Throughout most of France the right of
male primogeniture, which rested upon the testamentary freedom of the parents, provided
only the eldest son, as inheritor, with legal and economic rights and privileges. The male
cadets and female offspring were thus often relegated to the subaltern position of
impoverished "slaves" in their own houses. This was one of the reasons, at least in a
number of families, that a male and female child without sufficient dower or dowry to
marry was obliged to join a religious order. The institution which permitted the
perpetuation of this deplorable situation, the droit d'aînesse, was therefore a prime target
of attack.
The French Basque area was subject to a modified version of the same institution
with decidedly different consequences. There the droit d'aînesse was applied without
distinction of sex. Preference was often given to the eldest daughter who became the new
etxeko-andrea. The droit d'aînesse, which divested so many women of all legal and
economic rights and privileges in part of France, when applied without distinction of sex,
endowed the French Basque women with the same rights and privileges. By advocating
the abolition of male primogeniture, the disenfranchised French women differed
96
"Cahier des doléances et réclamations des femmes par Mme B*** B***," cited in Jeanne Bouvier, Les
femmes pendant la Révolution (Paris: Editions Eugène Figuière, 1931), 272. This work provides a thorough
study of the role of women played during the revolution and an extensive list of cahiers written by women,
the complete texts of which are given in the index.
27
Roslyn M. Frank The remarkable role of women in 16th century French Basque law codes
significantly from the Basque women, who had a vested interest in the continuation of the
droit d'aînesse sans distinction de sexe operative in the French Basque area.
On the eve of the French Revolution, the Basque women found themselves in a
singular position. As etxeko-andreak they were justifiably apprehensive of measures the
monarchy might take in order to placate an increasingly hostile nation, especially
abolition of the droit d'aînesse. Abolition of this right would not only negate the ancient
law codes, but also precipitate the disintegration of the family, the integrity and stability
of the etxe-ondo, and consequently, the position of esteem and power occupied by French
Basque women.
As early as July 1789, the Abbé Emmanuel-Joseph Sieyes voiced the general opinion
of legislators concerning female suffrage: "Women, at least as things now stand, children,
foreigners, in short those who contribute nothing to the public establishment, should have
no direct influence on the government."97 His remarks were supported by the traditional
role women in much of France had passively assumed in the legal process: "L'admission
des femmes aux Etats-Généraux est, s'écriera-t-on, une prétention d'un ridicule
inconcevable: jamais les femmes n'ont été admises dans les conseils des rois ou des
républiques."98 Women themselves recognized and admitted the regrettable insouciance
of their sex with regard to their role in society and the important processes of the nation:
"Pardon, ô mon sexe! si j'ai cru légitime le joug sous lequel nous vivons depuis tant de
siècles; j'étais persuadée de ton incapacité et de ta faiblesse; je ne te croyais capable dans
la classe inférieure ou indigente que de filer, coudre, et vaquer aux soins économiques du
ménage.99
In contrast, French Basque women, who traditionally had played an active role in
every sphere of society, including the legislative process, were neither non-contributing
to the public establishment as the Abbé Sieyes had claimed, nor were they willing to
assume the passive role relegated to most women of France. Their protests and position
in 1798 are related in the "Doléances du sexe de st jean de luz et cibour au roi," a
preliminary cahier. The original manuscript of the "Doléances” was found among the
Haraneder family papers.100 It bore the inscription "pour Mademoiselle Haraneder" and
was probably entrusted to her by the women of those two towns in the hopes that her
brother, Pierre Nicolas D'Haraneder, Vicomte de Macaye, would make known their
protests, if not to the king, at least to the members of his own order. The Vicomte de
Macaye represented the nobility from the bailliage of Ustaritz at the Estates General. It
appears that their petition went unnoticed, however. The texts of the three general cahiers
(one from each of the three orders) of Ustaritz refer neither to the women nor to their
appeal.101 The "Doléances" do not figure in the official inventory of the few printed
97
Cited by Jane Abray in "Feminism in the French Revolution," American Historical Review, Vol 50, no. 1
(Feb, 1975), 54.
98
Bouvier, 268.
99
Ibid., 266.
100
In 1922 the manuscript was in the possession of Pierre Dop, Saint-Jean-de-Luz.
101
The complex French text of the Ustaritz cahier is found in Hyslop, 429-440.
28
Roslyn M. Frank The remarkable role of women in 16th century French Basque law codes
preliminary cahiers.102 Hyslop states that "preliminary cahiers could exert little influence
except in oral discussion among the members of an assembly which composed it. Unless
texts were printed there was little chance that they would become known outside of the
bailliage.103 No reference to the existence of the "Doléances" is made until 1922, at
which time a copy of it appeared in the journal Gure Herria (VI, pp. 317-327). Even after
that date the cahier went relatively unnoticed except for an occasional mention in passing
by scholars such as Rodney Gallop who in his work A Book of the Basques originally
published in 1930, dedicates one paragraph to the issue. After a cursory summation of the
"Doléances," Gallop ends his commentary, saying: "They then would slay the hydra of
'monstrous celibacy.' All confirmed bachelors would be declared unfit to occupy any
responsible position, and their possessions would be confiscated to provide dowries for
such spinsters as were less favored by nature. Perhaps on the whole it is just as well that
Louis did not grant this petition."104 The "Doléances du sexe de st jean de luz et cibour au
roi" deserves to be recognized for its great objective value alone. The position of the
women it portrays is not one of the disenfranchised, powerless, and victimized segment
of society, but rather that of a cohesive and articulate community.
In their opening remarks the women citizens of Saint-Jean-de-Luz and Cibourre
accuse the monarch of trying to "consommer leur néant politique"105 by excluding them
from the august assembly of the Estates General. They question how any assembly can
legitimately call itself representative when over half of the nation's populace is not
represented. Moreover, how can decisions made by that assembly be legally binding on
those who are not represented, when the decisions are made without their knowledge and
consent? Another accusation follows: the monarchy is trying to "annuler leurs titres civils
et politiques"106 and thus their role as active policy-makers in the local assemblies.
They systematically refute the reasons by which women might legitimately be
excluded from the Estates General. With regard to their lack of aptitude for the affairs of
state, the French Basque women point out "que votre ministre ouvre les annales de nos
ancêtres, il verra que jadis dans nos gaules, nos princes, nos chefs nos magistrats ne
prenaient aucune délibération importante soit pour la paix, soit pour la guerre, qu'ils ne
formaient aucun project essentiel, qu'ils ne l'exécutaient point sans avoir préalablement
102
Hyslop introduces the section dedicated to the cahiers of “The Third Estate of the Baillage d’Ustaritz”
stating that the original of the procès-verbal and the cahier was destroyed in a fire at the archives at
Bayonne (cf. Armand Brette, Recueil de documents rélatifs à la convocation des États Généraux de 1789,
Paris, 1894-1915, Vol. IV, 385-386). She adds that the “only known public text is the reprinted text in the
Municipal Archives at Bayonne. The present text is copied from a rare example of the reprinted text
acquired by the author, by the kind assistance of the archivist of Bayonne, M. Detchepare. The reprint was
published by P. Cazals: printer, Bayonne, in 1874. It consists of 39 pages, in 80, with cover. The French
text of this cahier appears on the lefthand pages, and the Basque on the right”. Cf. Hyslop, 429-430. The
title of the reprint published by P. Cazals in 1874 is Cahier des voeux et instructions des Basques-François
pour leurs deputes aux Etats-generoux de 1789. While the document was drafted in French and Basque,
only the French text is included in Hyslop (Ibid., 420-431). Nonetheless, a copy of the 1874 work forms
part of the holdings of the Basque Library at the University of Nevada, Reno.
103
Ibid., 43.
104
Rodney Gallop, A Book of the Basques (Reno: University of Nevada Press, 1970), 66-67.
105
Gure Herria 6 (1922): 318.
106
Ibid., 319.
29
Roslyn M. Frank The remarkable role of women in 16th century French Basque law codes
consulté notre sexe. ils nous reconnaissaient donc capables des grandes affaires, les
hommes d'alors..."107 The requirement of land ownership had traditionally excluded
women from active participation in legal assemblies throughout most of France. The
Basque women gently reminded the king that, as inheritors, they could not be excluded
for this reason since among the Basques "ce titre [de possesseur] est commun aux deux
sexes."108
They proceed to give reasons why women might be better suited than men to attend
to the affairs of State, citing specific examples within Basque culture as proof of their
contention. In their discussion they particularly emphasize the traditional role played by
Basque women as etxeko-andreak: "Nous avons des mères de famille parfaitement
stylées au gouvernement d'un ménage, source première, quoiqu'éloignée, de l'aisance
nationale, parfaitement entendues à la régie de vastes possessions territoriales,
parfaitement exercées à la conduite de plusieurs branches de commerce ...."109
According to the "Doléances," Basque women, unlike the majority of French
women, held "titres civils et politiques," as well as "titres de possesseurs"; were well-
versed in the "régie de vastes possessions territoriales" and "parfaitement exercées à la
conduite de plusieurs branches de commerce." Despite their position of wealth and
power, however, Basque women had no influence over the decision made in Paris on the
7th of March, 1793, which jeopardized their position and affected them so greatly. On
this date the Convention abolished liberty of testament upon which rested the droit
d'aînesse sans distinction de sexe, and prescribed equal division of property among
children.
Eugéne Cordier in Le Droit de famille aux Pyrénées (1859) says that this ruling was
the reproduction of an older maxim of Paris custom dating from 1510: "Les enfants
viennent également à la succession de leur parent mort. --Ne peuvent aucunement les
parents les avantager l'un plus que l'autre."110 F. Le Play states that this was a purely
political move on the part of the Convention: "Selon les promoteurs de cette dure
contrainte, la liberté testamentaire était incompatible avec l'esprit de la révolution. Les
pères usaient du droit de tester, pour perpétuer dans leur famille des sentiments hostiles
au nouveau régime. A ce point de vue, il fallait, donc, pour affermir la révolution,
détruire l'autorité que les pères puisaient dans le testament."111 There existed yet another
political motive perhaps even more important than the first, which, although rarely
mentioned, was precisely summarized a few years later by Napoleon in a letter to King
Joseph:
Mon frère, je veux avoir à Paris cent fortunes, toutes s'étant élevées avec le
trône et restant seules considérables; puisque ce ne sont que des fidéicommis, et
que ce qui ne sera pas elles, par l'effet du Code civil, va se disséminer.
107
Ibid., 320.
108
Ibid., 322.
109
Ibid., 323.
110
Eugène Cordier, Le Droit de famille aux Pyrénées: Barèges, Lavedan, Bearn et Pays Basque (Paris:
August Duran, 1859), 27.
111
Pierre Guillaume Frédéric Le Play, Organisation de la famille (Paris: Tequi, 1871), 75.
30
Roslyn M. Frank The remarkable role of women in 16th century French Basque law codes
Etablissez la code civil à Naples; tout ce qui ne vous est pas attaché va se
détruire alors en peu d'années, et ce que vous voulez conserver se consolidera.
Voilà le grand avantage du Code civil ... il consolide votre puissance, puisque, par
lui, tout ce qui n'est pas fidéicommis tombe, et qu'il ne reste plus de grandes
maisons que celles que vous érigez en fiefs. C'est ce qui m'a fait prêcher un Code
civil, et m'a porté à l'établir.112
Whatever the reasons for the promulgation of the law, however, its effect on the
maison-souche was just as destructive. The plight of the héritière was lamented in song
such as "Les Coutumes de Lavedan."
Gran desplasé en Lebéda, There is a great sorrow in Lavedan
La coustume qué s’a'ba cambia. The law is going to be changed.
Si lou bourrèou dé Paü If only the hangman from Pau
Labè hèt hè lou saü Had made the first person who
Ou quaüque mala brume Spoke of changing the law
Qu'abousse poudut estouffa Swing from the gallows,
Lou prémé qui parla Or would that a thick fog
D'arrèhé la coustume! Had choked him!
En Dabantaygue caou ana You have to go to Davantygue
En t'aous né béyé désoula. To see how people are grieving
there
Tout qu'ey en plous, Everyone is in tears
En nas bounes maysous, In the virtuous houses
Soustout las ayrétères, Especially the female inheritors,
Dé s'béyé rétira Who see the right to govern
Lous drets dé mestréya: Being snatched away from them:
Ah! las bounes estalières Oh! the noble housewives
En Batsurguère qu'an rasou; In Batsurguere the women are
taking the upper hand;
Cadue qu'a hèt sa proubisiou; Each one has stocked ahead;
Creinté de maou tens Fearing bad times
Ou dé cambiamens, Or changes
Qu'an boulut per abance They wanted to flout the
Hè despièt aou Rey King and his entire law
Et à toute sa ley, Beforehand,
Et da proufit en France. And help populate France.
Gardères, Luquèt et Sèrou, Garderes, Luquet and Serou,
Soun en gràne désoulaciou. Are in great sorrow.
Tout qu'ey doulous In all the houses
Per toutes las maysous, Everyone is in mourning,
Sustout las ayrétères, Especially the female inheritors.
Maou-dit sié lou Rey Damned be the King
112
Ibid., 78-79.
31
Roslyn M. Frank The remarkable role of women in 16th century French Basque law codes
Qui n'a hèt la ley Who made the law
Countre las ayrétères! Against female inheritors!113
For years French Basque families merely ignored or circumvented the law with the
full knowledge and consent of local officials, who, if not in the same situation
themselves, still recognized the implications of such a law and sympathized with their
plight. The families continued to practice primogeniture without distinction of sex with
the unanimous consent of the other children⎯cadets and cadettes. According to Pierre
Lhande, "les vieux paysans s'industrient par mille moyens à tourner la loi et à réunir,
quand même, le domaine intact sur la tête de l'héritier, quittes à doter par ailleurs les
autres enfants. Ils y réussissent presque toujours, grâce à l'appui du clergé, à la tolérance
des officiers publics, qui sont souvent originaires du pays; grâce surtout à l'entente de
tous les membres de la famille sur ce qui touche au soin et à la conservation de la
demeure ancestrale."114
As years passed, however, the close bond of affection and duty which united the
children to the house began to weaken and more and more cadets succumbed to the
alluring financial benefits provided by the new law. Either following the example of
others, or genuinely convinced that they were being denied their just due, they began to
demand an equal share of the inheritance. In this event there were two possible outcomes.
Either the house was liquidated at the time of the division of the inheritance to provide
each child with his or her equal share, in which case the etxe-ondo was irrevocably lost,
or the parents managed to maintain the house by buying back from the cadets their part of
the inheritance to the profit of the heiress. Families had recourse to several possible
sources of funds for this purpose:
1) money realized from the sale of wine, animals, and other products was often given
to the heiress on the day of her marriage "à titre de gages" for services rendered to the
household from the time when she became of use;
2) the financé brought a dower which was incorporated into the wealth of the house;
3) gifts representing relatives in other countries often arrived at the time of the
marriage;
4) a brother or sister entering a monastery or a convent relinquished his or her share
of the inheritance to the house; and
5) servants who grew up in the family with no other relatives in the old world
contributed part of their savings. If these sources were not sufficient to cover the cost of
buying back the cadet's portion, the rest of the money required, quite large sums in many
cases, was borrowed. Thus the etxe-ondo was maintained, but often, only temporarily.
113
Translation by Susan S. Ayres. Cordier states that this song, "due a un certain Abbé Ducos, ancien curé
de Loubajac, village compris dans la coutume," anticipates the actual promulgation of the abolition of
testamentary freedom. The reduction of the heiress' rights had been a gradual process in many areas. In
Lavedan, for example, steps were taken little by little to limit their power. The process culminated in the
law of the 7th of March 1793. This song, however, best exemplifies the situation of the women inheritors.
Cordier clarifies the song thus: "Les filles aînées, craignant de se trouver sans fortune, et par suite sans
époux, se sont vouées à des amours illégitimes. Si elles s'étaient hâtées de se marier, elles se seraient
assurées les avantages de l'ancien droit," in Cordier, 114.
114
Pierre Llande, Autour d'un foyer basque (Paris: Nouvelle Librairie Nationale, 1931), 29.
32
Roslyn M. Frank The remarkable role of women in 16th century French Basque law codes
Several years or even decades later, if the heiress could not repay the debts incurred
in order to buy back the cadet's part, the house was sold.
Pierre Lhande cites a number of examples illustrating both of these outcomes: "La
maison-souche 'Etchahounia', sise au village de Parcus, en Soule, ...fut vendue le 17 mars
1888 à la suite d'un procès intenté par les cadets, qui ont voulu à tout prix qu'on fît droit à
leurs exigences," and "La maison-souche 'Etcheberria', de Barcus encore, quartier
Ollanki, s'est vendu il y a environ huit ans, la jeune héritière n'ayant pu couvrir les
emprunts fait pour doter les cadets sans morceler le domaine."115
Although many houses fell prey to the new law, others managed to successfully
circumvent the law until it was relaxed, and the stability of the house was maintained. For
this reason, the woman in French Basque culture, in her capacity as inheritor, continues
to play, even today, an extremely important role.
115
Ibid., 23-24.
33
Roslyn M. Frank The remarkable role of women in 16th century French Basque law codes
Session 4-A: Research on the Role of Women in French Basque Culture
Commentaries on Paper Series on “The Role of the Women in French Basque Culture”
Comments ⎯ Rachel Bard, Tacoma Community College
These papers present a vivid picture of the importance of the Basque woman, charged
with trusteeship and augmentation of the family property. They indicate that the laws that
apply to her as inheritor and mistress of the household are precise and inclusive, and are
based on the realities of a society where men were often absent with the flocks or fishing.
Since the topic at hand is the role of the woman in Basque society, a question might
arise (granted, a question somewhat outside the scope of these papers) as to the woman
who is not an etxeko-andrea, or mistress of the house. Not all Basque women could be
prime inheritors. Did the laws take care of the others, too? Yes, they did; but as has been
pointed out, there are great variations in the provisions for inheritance by younger sisters
and brothers, and much depended on the whim of the exteko-andrea, especially in more
primitive codes. The customs and laws that encouraged younger children to stay home
and work on the family farm rather than take their inheritance and leave were in accord
with the hard facts of a community where man- and woman-power were prime assets,
absolutely essential to keep the land productive.
The prolific French historian Georges Desdevises du Dèzert became very interested
in this matter of how law regarded Basque women, specifically how they faired under the
Fuero General of Navarre, and wrote his thesis on the subject in 1888. A little later he
focused on the Fuero General.116 His findings, and some searching by this commentator
is that monumental code of laws [the Fuero General] indicates that the document’s
compilers were almost as concerned with the common-law wife and her offspring as with
the legitimate mistress of the house. They had no leniency for the ‘other woman,’
however, and severely penalized adultery. Desdevises du Dèzert found that the Fuero
tolerates natural union between free persons and carefully defines the rights of
illegitimate children. In short, the punctiliously delineated safeguards of the rights of the
female inheritor in the Basque law codes, as enumerated by the three papers are
paralleled by almost as conscientious provisions for women who enter into less legal
partnerships.
Specifically, what is there in the Fuero General to illustrate this care for women
involved in irregular unions? First, the Fuero does not devote even one chapter to
concubinage [i.e. living together or cohabiting without the authority of marriage] as such,
but as we know it was tolerated by customary, if not ecclesiastic, law in medieval
Navarra and the Fuero frequently refers to the concubines or barragana.117
116
Georges Desdevise du Dèzert, Unions irregulières en Navarra sous le régime du Fuero General (Caen:
Henri Delesques, 1892).
117
Where the Fuero General refers to a concubine or barragana (from the Arabic), it is possible that what
is meant is simply a wife less noble than her husband, according to José Yanguas y Miranda, Diccionario
34
Roslyn M. Frank The remarkable role of women in 16th century French Basque law codes
The Fuero does set forth, very carefully, the rights of natural children born of an
alliance with a concubine. For example, one whole section spells out how a hidalgo must
leave his property to his children, whether the issue of a legal marriage or of
concubinage. If he has property in addition to that at the disposal of his wife, he must
leave to each of his natural children at least a vecindad (a house with certain specified
adjoining lands).118 This testament by the man, incidentally, is not really at variance with
the codes cited by the above papers providing for women’s disposal of property. This
example actually supports the statement in one of the papers that the higher up the class
structure one moves, the more the family organization resembles that of feudal Europe.
The Fuero, always deeply concerned with taxes, is explicit about the taxpaying
exemptions or duties of women in irregular unions. Suppose an infanzón (member of the
noble class) is living with a villana, or peasant woman, to whom he may or may not be
married. If she has not paid taxes, that is, if she has not inherited taxable property and if
the infanzón’s lord claims that since the woman is the daughter of his villano, whom he
can tax, therefore she should pay him a tax, then the infanzón can defend her. He can
claim her exempt, whether as his wife or as his manceba soldada (paid concubine).
The Fuero further states that the children of such a union between an infanzon and a
villana are to be considered as infanzones like their father. But there is a double standard
here: if the situation is reversed and the noblewoman has children by a villano, there are
considered villanos for the rest of their lives.119 Again, when a noblewoman lives with a
man of inferior rank and the lord orders her to pay taxes, she cannot be forced to pay if
the couple swears that they are not married. However, if they have children who live on
this lord’s lands these children must pay him taxes, being considered his villanos.120
Finally, there is a nice little example of the evolution of the codes, perhaps an
illustration of European feudal customs on the ancient Basque practices. Charles the
Noble of Navarre, one of the nation’s most French-oriented kings, in 1418 promulgated a
number of amendments to the Fuero, one of which treated the taxability of concubines of
clerics. Desdevises du Dèzert says that these women had long claimed all the immunities
of their partners. Charles decided to correct the matter and add a little something to the
royal treasury. He ordered that amigas of the clerics to pay all the taxes they owed on
their inherited property and on property held jointly with their amigos. Though the new
law was hard on them financially it did at least partly legitimate their position.
Another question raised by these papers on the role of the woman in French Basque
culture is that of the degree of agreement of he cited law codes with actual custom
throughout the Basque country. We did see some exceptions to law in the Labourd
practices. We also know that in Vizcaya, that the heir might not be the firstborn, so
primogeniture as a requirement for inheritance is not the universal rule throughout the
de los fueros y leyes de Navarra (Pamplona: Biblioteca del Derecho Foral, 1964), 88, n. 65. However, the
Fuero often makes a clear distinction between children of matrimonio and those of barragana.
118
Fuero General de Navarra (Pamplona: Biblioteca del Derecho Foral, 1964), lib. III, tít. XX, cap. I.
119
Ibid., lib. III, tít. VIII, cap. IV.
120
Ibid., lib. III, tít. VIII, cap. III.
35
Roslyn M. Frank The remarkable role of women in 16th century French Basque law codes
Basque Country as might be assumed from what we have learned about the
predominately French Basque codes.121
A related question has to do with the influence of the codes on each other and how
influence was transmitted. We have seen that there were wide variations in some of the
most minute details⎯it would take a lawyer-detective to trace the reasons and
relationships. In a broader sense, it would be enlightening to learn more about the family
trees of the various French Basque codes and the possible influence of the Spanish
Basque codes (many of which were codified earlier) on the French ones. For example,
did the Fors of Basse-Navarre, cited by the first paper, draw heavily on the Fuero
General of Navarre? One might think so, since the two nations were not separated until
the 16th century and Basse-Navarre’s parliamentary body was modeled on that of
Navarre. And we know the Basse-Navarre estates met to draw up a written code of laws
in 1608, but it was rejected by Henri IV, who ordered his own code. Did any of the
philosophy or wordage of the Fuero filter through all of these impediments into the Fors
of Basse-Navarre? A positive answer would be one more manifestation of the durability
of the common heritage of all the Basque peoples.
Comments ⎯ Jon Bilbao, University of Nevada, Reno
My comments are not directed towards the specific points which have been treated here,
but rather, I deal with more general aspects. The Basque country of today is formed of
seven provinces, three in France and four in Spain. Each of these seven provinces, three
in France and four in Spain, made public (i.e., printed) their laws in the 16th century
under pressures of the kings of France and Spain, who really wanted to know the exact
nature of the legal rights of their Basque subjects. Thus customary Basque laws were first
written down within the framework of the legal conceptions of the 16th century. These
were not laws for the Basques to govern themselves⎯since previously they had managed
without recorded legal codes⎯but in reality were redacted to enable the monarchs to
know how far they could go in dealing with their Basque subjects.
In the 16th century, two of the seven provinces, Navarra in Spain and Basse-Navarre
in France, formed the Kingdom of Navarre. The other three Basque provinces in Spain
(Alava, Vizcaya and Gipuzcoa) were under the King of Spain. The two Basque provinces
were printed (1514 and 1520, respectively), they had been under French sovereignty for
only a little over 60 years. Before 1451, these two provinces had been for many centuries
under the King of England.
In relation to what might be called the history of law in these seven provinces, we
have to consider that during the Roman administration (a period of about 400 years,
roughly 100 B.C. to 400 A.D.) there were only two Roman cities in the Basque country,
both south of the Pyrenees and both called in Basque, Iruña. One is near Vitoria in Alava
and the other is what is today Pamplona. There are no remains of Roman military bases,
Roman villas, etc., so the Basques in the mountains probably paid their tribute or taxes to
the Romans and were otherwise left to their own devices.
121
William A. Douglass, “Rural Exodus in Two Spanish Basque Villages: A Cultural Explanation,”
American Anthropologist 73 (1971): 1106-1107.
36
Roslyn M. Frank The remarkable role of women in 16th century French Basque law codes
During the Germanic invasions of Western Europe, Franks and Visigoths were
unable to establish any kind of permanent rule in Basque territory. When the Arab
invasion of Spain took place in 711 the Visogothic king of Spain was trying to conquer
Pamplona. The Arabs also did not try to invade at all suitable for the type of agriculture
practices by the Arabs. Thus after the removal of the Roman administration around 400
A.D., the Basques enjoyed a period of complete independence which culminated in the
creation of the Kingdom of Navarre in 824, a kingdom which is the only one in Western
Europe which is not Germanic in origin⎯a fact seldom considered by scholars.
We can conclude, then, that the direct influence of Roman and Gothic law in Basque
society was minimal. From the moment that the Kingdom of Navarre was formed in 824
until the conquest of Spanish Navarre in 1512, the seven provinces were sometimes
united, but most of the time followed their own interests. Whether they were under
Spanish, English or French kings, they maintained their own freedom. So we have to
think that the historical events of each province might have had some influence on its
laws. Also, in the 16th century, at the time the Basque Fueros or Fors were written and
printed, they might have incorporated some general conceptions about law which have
little to do with Basque local traditions. The first grammarians of the Basque language
took as their model the grammar of Latin, violating the uniqueness of the former by
forcing it into the frame of the latter. The lawyers of the 16th century could well have
done something similar in rendering centuries of Basque traditional practices in the legal
language of the day.
What we need, then, is to do with Basque law what modern linguists are doing with
the Basque language: try to find a proper framework for research. Doubtless, just as we
find loanwords in the Basque language, we will find in Basque law borrowed legal
concepts. To separate what is intrinsically Basque from what may have been the result of
outside influence should be the first step, and the papers represented here represent a
move in that direction.
Comments ⎯ by Eugene Goyheneche, Université de Pau (France):
Studies of Basque custom, as has already been noted, show the need for critical editions
of the law and customs, as well as comparative studies of the separate law codes. Often,
Basque judicial terms were loosely translated by the jurists. A careful review of the
notarized acts would be very useful, for hitherto unknown Basque expression would be
found there.
The manner in which the etxeko-andere had to support her cadet husband when the
marriage was dissolved because of a fault on the woman’s part, establishes, in a very
eloquent fashion, the equality of the sexes, in contrast to Roman or Germanic law in
which it is always the wife who is protected.
In the 16th century the case of Marie d’Uturbia is illustrative: the heiress of Uturbia,
she married Jean de Monreal, by whom she had two children. After J. de Monreal left
with Louis XI, Marie married Rodrigo de Alzate and had several children by him. The
two marriages took place in the Church of Urrugne. Marie d’Uturbia was openly
bigamous. She planned to leave her property to the children of her second marriage, thus
acting as the etxeko-andere. J. de Monreal attacked this decision by invoking the nullity
37
Roslyn M. Frank The remarkable role of women in 16th century French Basque law codes
of the second marriage. Exacerbated, Marie d’Uturbia burned Uturbia and fled to
Gipuzcoa. The case between the two branches lasted several generations and ended in the
marriage of descendants of the two families.
The permanence of the house name clearly shows the importance of the house. In
present day land registers most of the house names already existed in the Middle Ages,
although the structures themselves have been destroyed and rebuilt several times. Earlier,
in the discussion that followed my speech [called ‘Medieval French Basque Economic
and Political Institutions’ and given earlier at the same conference] I lamented that a
massive emigration had weakened the French Basque country. At least I should say that it
is thanks to this exodus that we may hear exchanges of such value as those which have
been presented here.
Comments ⎯ by Eugene Goyheneche, Université de Pau (France) [Original in
French]:
Les travaux sur la coutume basque font sentir comme il a été déjà dit la nécessité
d'éditions critiques des fors et coutumes, ainsi que d'études comparées des divers fors.
Souvent des expressions juridiques basques ont été plus ou moins bien traduites par les
juristes. Un dépouillement des actes notariés serait très utile: on y rencontrerait des
expressions basques encore inconnues.
La disposition selon laquelle l'etxeko andere doit entretenir son mari cadet si le
mariage a été dissous par sa faute à elle établit de façon très éloquente l'égalité des sexes,
contrairement aux droits romain ou germanique pour qui c'est toujours la femme qui est
protégée.
Le cas de Marie d'Urtubia au XVe S. est éloquent: héritière d'Urtubia, elle épouse
Jean de Monreal, en a deux enfants; J. de Monreal étant parti avec Louis XI, roi de
France, Marie épouse Rodrigo de Alzate et en a plusieurs enfants. Les deux mariages ont
lieu dans l'église d'Urrugne. Marie d'Urtubia est ouvertement bigame. Elle prétend laisser
ses biens aux enfants de son second mariage, agissant ainsi en etxeko andere. J. de
Monreal attaque cette décision en invoquant la nullité du deuxième mariage. Exaspée,
Marie d'Urtubia brûle Urtubia et s'enfuit en Guipúzcoa. Le procès entre les deux branches
dure plusieurs générations et se termine par le mariage de descendants des deux branches.
La permanence du nom de la maison montre bien que c'est la maison qui importe. On
retrouve dans le cadastre actuel la plupart des noms de maisons qui existaient déjà au
Moyen Age, alors que les bâtiments ont été plusieurs fois détruits et reconstruits. J'ai
déploré tout à l’heure dans la discussion qui a suivi ma conférence, qu'une émigration
trop massive ait affaibli le Pays Basque Français. Du moins je dois dire que c'est grâce à
cette diaspora que l'on peut entendre ici des communications de la valeur de celles que
nous venons d'entendre.
Appendix
The following is the full text of the Doléances just as it first appeared in Gure Herria
(1922), pp. 317-327. For citation purposes the page numbers are indicated in the text.
38
Roslyn M. Frank The remarkable role of women in 16th century French Basque law codes
Punctuation, capitalization and accents were kept as they appear in the 1922 print version
of the manuscript.
Doléances du sexes de st. Jean de luz et cibour au roi
L’original, dont il est donné ci-dessous une copie, a été recueilli dans des papiers
provenant de la famille de Haraneder, branches des vicomtes de Macaye.
Il se compose de quatre feuilles réunies en cahier, avec une première formant
couverture et portant sur l’un des coins l’inscription suivante : « pour Mademoiselle
Harandeder ».
Il est à remarquer que le baillage du Labourd avait, comme député de la noblesse à
l’Assemblée nationale de 1789, Pierre-Nicolas de Haradener, vicomte de Macaye.
Sire
Permittez aux plus respectueuses et aux plus fidèles de vos sujettes de porter au pied
de votre trone les justes doleances sur la formation des états généraux que sa majesté
vient de convoquer.
Cette formation est vraiment flètrissante pour la dignité de notre sexe. Pourrions
nous garder le silence sur une injure si grave sans achever de nous deshonorer nous
même quoi !! sire, votre majesté declare à la face de l’europe vouloir assembler la nation
entière, et elle nous oublie dans la convocation ! cet oubli dedaigneux ne vient point de
votre cœur, il est trop bon, ni de votre raison, elle est trop eclairée, ni de votre volontée,
elle est trop droite ; c’est l’œuvre malignement reflechie d’un ministre partial qui n’a
cherché a nous exclure de cette auguste assemblee que pour consommer notre néant
politique.
Ne nous compte t’il donc pour rien dans l’état ? ou ne nous croit il pas assez
affectionnées au bien de l’état ou nous regarde t’il comme incapables de traiter des
affaires de l’etat ? qu’il reponde !
Compter pour rien quatorze millions d’ames, ce serait indubitablement la preuve de
l’imperitie la plus complette en fait de calcul, comm’en fait de legislation cependant c’est
ici la faute insultante dans laquelle tombe à notre égard ce prétendu grand homme que
l’on se plaït à proner comme le plus habile des calculateurs politiques oui, sire, nous
formons dans votre empire une population au moins de quatorze millions ; si votre
majesté en doutait, qu’elle assemble les deux sexes ; qu’elle les sépare ensuite en deux
corps similaires ! elle verra par elle-même de quel coté sera le plus grand nombre.
Ce fait causé et constaté, nous demandons si une assemblée nationale de laquelle est
injustement proscrite la classe [end p. 318] la plus multipliée, peut être raisonnablement
denommée la assemblée representative de cette même nation, si elle a cette universalité
morale, cette legalité suffisante pour sanctionner des lois, si ces lois prononcées à l’inscu
et contre le gré de ces quatorze millions d’âmes rejettées pourroient lier ces dernières si
celles ci ne sont pas en droit de se plaindre de l’omission injurieuse que l’on fait de leurs
personnes dans une affaire qui les interesse autant, en un mot si elles ne sont pas fondees
39
Roslyn M. Frank The remarkable role of women in 16th century French Basque law codes
a demander a être entendues ? la raison et la justice ont d’avance repondu a cette
question.
Representer a votre majesté, pour annuller nos titres civils et politiques, que nous ne
sommes point assez affectionnées au bien de son service, ce serait en imposer
indignement a votre réligion. sire, si votre ministre avait été capable de vous tenir un
pareil langage, nous demandons vengeance contre lui…ah ! nous accuser, nous la portion
la plus aimante et la plus sensible de votre roïaume, d’etre toutes de glace pour les
interets de votre personne adorable a cette idee seule nos têtes séchauffent, nos cœurs se
soulevent d’indignation, et nos mains brûlent d’étouffer l’indigne calomniateur.
Mettes a l’epreuve notre amour, sire ; vous verres si les sacrifices les plus chers
arrêteront la vivacité de notre sexe sans doute nous sommes bien attachées a nos
brasselets, a nos bijoux, a nos pompons, a nos colliers, a nos pendants a tous le objets
brillants des modes impérieuses, nous y tenons plus que le haut clergé ne tient à ses
immunités, la noblesse a ses prerogatives, la magistrature a ses privileges, le financier a
son or, que votre majesté parle ! soudain a son ordre nous nous en depouillerons toutes
sans contestation, sans reclamation, sans protestation, sans regret des cœurs comme les
notres ne savant rien refuser a leur souverain ; ils ne savent autre chose que lui obéir,
l’aimer le chérir, l’adorer et c’est pour eux la plus délicieuse de toutes les voluptés. [end
p. 319]
Attaquer pour motif d’exclusion notre incapacite préjugee pour les affaires d’état, ce
serait un autre pretexte aussi peu recevable, d’abord nous défions notre ministre de nous
citer un empire uniquement composé d’hommes sans aucune femmes, géré par eux seuls
dans toutes les branches de son administration, et qui aïe subsiste avec cette organisation
seulement l’espace d’une année ; et nous avec toute l’histoire, nous lui en produirons un
toute formé de femmes sans aucun homme, gouverné par elles seules avec honneur, avec
gloire, avec toute la sagesse désirée pendant des siecles entiers, ce fait unique refute
d’une maniere invincible l’opinion mal honnête et défavorable a notre capacite pour les
affaires. Rome naquit, il est vrai sans le ministere des femmes ; mais sans les Sabines,
que serait devenu Rome ? elle eut disparu de dessus la surface de la terre presque aussitôt
après sa naissance.
En outre que votre ministre ouvre les annales de nos ancêtres, il verra que jadis dans
nos gaules, nos princes, nos chefs nos magistrats ne prenoient aucune delibération
importante soit pour la paix, soit pour la guerre, qu’ils ne formaient aucun projet
essentiel, qu’ils ne l’exécutaient points sans avoir préalablement consulté notre sexe. ils
nous reconnaissaient donc capables des grandes affaires, les hommes d’alors ; ils
rendaient donc hommage a nos talens, ils etaient donc plus justes que les hommes
d’aujourd’hui ; pourquoi cela ? parce qu’ils étaient moins superbes et moins tyraniques,
nous étions a leurs yeux autant de déesses, mais des déesses d’un autre genre que les
déesses de nos jours.
Ces heureux tems ne sont plus, ils sont ecoulés, ces siècles si glorieux pour nous,
aussi qu’en est il resulté ? une multitude de’abus destructifs, une foule de malheurs
déplorables, le despotisme enfin avec toutes ses fureurs, ce monstre ne pouvoit naïtre que
d’un tête masculine.
40
Roslyn M. Frank The remarkable role of women in 16th century French Basque law codes
Quel bonheur pour la France, si la révolution qui s’élabore ramenait ces beaux
siecles sur son horison ! le patrio- [end p. 320] tisme renaitraît les vertus dans les ames
françaises, associées a la législation, rendues a notre liberté primitive, nous deviendrions
autant de heroïnes, et nous donnerions une nouvelle race de héros à la patrie, prononcés
un seul mot ; sire, a votre voix reviendront ces ages fortunés.
A la verité, il faut en convenir, nous n’avons point en général pour le moment les
lumieres requises pour redresser un mauvais gouvernement ; et pout en créer un bon.
mais il es un commencement à toutes choses. L’époque est favorable ; l’amour de la
liberté échauffe nos ames, le desir si naturel d’améliorer notre sort nous consume, la
noble passion de la gloire parle a nos cœurs, la force de l’exemple que nous donnent les
hommes nous anime ; saisisses donc, sire, l’occasion presente, et n ecoutes point ces
laches courtisans qui, après nous avoir vante nous mêmes a nous mêmes vont vous dire
bassement que nous sommes inhabiles a acquérir les connaissances nécessaires a la
representation dans les états.
Si ces conniassances nous manquent actuellement, ce n’est certainement point à la
nature que nous sommes redevables de ce défaut ; elle n’a pas été plus marâtre pour nous
que pour nos despotes ; sans vanité elle nous a départi autant de génie, autant de
jugement, autant de tête qu’à eux. A cote des grands personnages brillent avec eclat nos
Blanches de castille ; notre Elisabeth d’Angleterre nos Marie de Hongrie d’immortelle
mémoire, et l’impératrice actuelle de toutes les Russies, cette souveraine admiration de
l’europe entiere et la terreur du stupide croissant. Ce ne peut donc être qu’au despotisme
masculin que nous devons cette ignorance universelle dans laquelle on tient tous nos
talens ensevelis ; ce ne puet être qu’a cette tyrannie voluptueuse des hommes qui ont fait
de nous presqu’autant d’automates assez plaisans pour les divertir et les amuser. Et c’est
ainsi que l’homme a dégradé son semblable, et il n’en rougit pas !... vous seul, sire, oui,
vous [end p. 321] seul êtes digne de reparer cet outrage fait a la nature, a la moitié du
genre humain.
Au reste nous voïons appeler par vos ordres, aux assemblées de parroisse, aux
assemblées de bailliage, et de senechatissêes, des laboureurs, des païsans, des rustres qui
certainement sont moins instruits que nous ne le sommes la plupart—quel conseil utile
peuvent donner ces representants ignobles que nous ne puissons pas donner nous-
mêmes ? pourquoi donc la loi qui par essence doit être impartiale, aux yeux de laquelle il
ne doit point y avoir d’acception de personnes, les convoque t’elle de preference a nous ?
ce n’est pas a raison de leurs lumieres, puisqu’ils sont dans l’impuissance d’en fournir, ce
n’est pas non plus a raison de leur titre de possesseurs, puisque ce titre est-commun aux
deux sexes. C’est donc parce qu’ils sont hommes qu’on les appelle au conseil de la
nation ; et nous on nous en exclut, parce que nous ne le sommes pas. quelle indigne
partialité ? est ce donc une tache ignominieuse d’être né femme ? sera-t-il dit qui sous un
regne si éclairé nous aions a rougir de notre sexe ? assurément si le bon sens et l’équité
president aux états œcuméniques des français, ils abrogeront une loi odieuse qui met un
distance presque infinie entre des êtres si étroitement rapprochés par la nature et la
religion
De plus voici une de ces verités incontestables et lumineuses sur laquelle nous
défions toute la France d’elever le moindre doute raisonnable. il paraît evidemment
d’apres les declarations emanées de votre conseil que les états generaux vont être une
41
Roslyn M. Frank The remarkable role of women in 16th century French Basque law codes
assemblée vraiment œconomique. Il est certain de toute certitude que l’œconomie
publique, pour avoir une consistance solide, doit être moulée sur les principes de
l’œconomie domestique ; et il est clair que quiconque entend le mieux celle-ci, est le plus
capable déclairer celle la ; or je demande actuellement lequel des deux sexes est le plus
familiarisé avec les opérations et les regles de l’œconomie particulière ? la [end p. 322]
réponse est donnee ; partout les faits déposent en notre faveurs.
Oui, nous comptons dans notre classe beaucoup d’œconomistes et encore plus
d’œconomes ; nos parties adverses ne l’ignorent point ; très souvent ils en ont fait l’utile
expérience ; s’ils étaient justes ils lavoueraient franchement. qui sait même de si parmi
ceux qui suffrageront aux états generaux quelques uns y apporteront d’autres lumières
que celles de leurs épouses, ou de leurs servantes maitresses ?
Nous avons des mères de famille parfaitement stylées au gouvernement d’un
ménage, source premiere, quoiqu’éloignée, de l’aisance nationale. parfaitement entendues
à la regie de vastes possessions territoriales, parfaitement exercées à la conduite de
plusieurs branches de commerce ; elles seraient a même de communiquer d’amples
instructions sur ce triple objet ; et l’on ne voudrait pas les entendre ? ah ! ce serait
visiblement fuir la lumière en affectant un violent désir de la connaïtre. la verité sur nos
levres ferait elle donc peur aux hommes ? y perdrait elle de son prix et de son amabilité ?
D’ailleurs nous avons a proposer quantité d’objets avantageux dont positivement
ne s’occuperaient que les membres appellés a l’assemblée génerale, objets qui cependant
tendent tous à la regeneration entière de l’empire.
10 Nous avons a solliciter la reforme de l’education frivole que l’on nous donne.
n’est-il pas criant que l’on ne cultive en nous que nous que nos facultés corporelles,
comme si nous n’étions que matière, comme si nous n’avions pas d’ame ? n’est il pas
honteux que l’on se borne a nous apprendre a composer notre maintien, a symmétriser
nos gestes, a cadencer nos pas, a danser avec grace, a chanter avec mélodie, comme si
l’on ne volait en nous que des marionnettes et des linottes a tête légere ? n’est il pas
humiliant que les œuvres manuelles, telles que la couture, la broderie, le tricotage, soient
les seules chose dont [end p. 323] on occupe notre precieuse jeunesse, tandis que nous
pourrions faire autant et même plus de progrès que les hommes dans les sciences et les
arts nobles, surtout dans ceux qui ressortent du gout et de l’imagination, témoins, les
Desnoulières, les Duchatelet, les du Bocage etc. ; pour arreter a jamais le cours de ces
abus, nous avons a proposer des ecoles, des colleges, des universités a établir, ou nous
soïons admises pour y recevoir les instructions nécessaires au développement entier de
nos facultés intellectuelles, afin que nous puissions concourir, autant qu’il sera en nous, a
l’œuvre immortelle du bonheur général.
20 Nous avons a dénoncer aux états un autre abus qui excitera toujours les
reclamatons de tout être qui sent et dont la propagation si l’on n’y prend garde, inutilisera
peu à peu les sources les plus fécondes de la population, nous voulons parler de ce célibat
monstrueux qui ne cherche que des plaisirs sons peine, qui multiplie les crimes, qui
desseche les ames, perpetue légoïsme, corrompt les mœurs, porte le deshonneur avec le
trouble dans le sein des familles, même les plus honnêtes, il gagne insensiblement nos
villes, nos campagnes, nos provinces. Qu’en resulte t’il ? sire, il en resulte que de toutes
les filles qui naissent dans votre roïaume a peine s’en etablit il la moitié, et que les
délaissées n’ont que des vœux ardents, mais stériles, a fair pour la multiplication des
42
Roslyn M. Frank The remarkable role of women in 16th century French Basque law codes
forces de l’état, car ce n’est point à elles qu’il faut attribuer ce fleau destructeur de la
société.
Ce vice si opposé aux vues de la nature ainsi qu’a celles d’une sage constitution
meriterait toute l attention des legislateurs. combien de fois ne les a t on pas sollicité au
nom cher de la patrie d’arrêter au plutôt un désordre aussi dangereux ? et cependant quel
remede y ont il apporté ? aucun, parce qu’ils sont juges et parties.
Il en est pourtant de tres salutaires ; le plus efficace, ce serait de noter d’infamie tous
ces célibataires de gout, de les declarer inhabiles les charges, des les exhére [end p. 324]
der, d’adjuger leurs heredités aux filles sans biens, ou trop peu favorisées de la fortune,
de les en doter en un mot.
Mais une sage precaution a prendre serait de ne les investir de ces dotes qua
proportion qu’elles trouveraient des établissements et ces dotes dervraient étre
proportionnées : 10 a leur naissance, une fille de condition serait privilegiee ; 20 a leur
age, trente ans par exemple, obtiendraient une dot considerable, parce que le tems presse ;
30 aux avantages de leur corps, les disgraciées de la nature seraient abondamment
pourvues, et la beaute et les graces tiendraient lieu de supplement legitimaire ; l’amour
murmurerait de ce reglement ; mais la loi n’a pas les yeux de l’amour, une loi pareille à
l’exécution de laquelle on veillerait attentivement vivifierait la population, et les bonnes
mœurs y gagneraient prodigieusement.
Il est, sire, un infinitié d’autres abus de non moins grande importance, et dont le bien
de l’état exige une prompte suppression ; par exemple, ces assemblées anglomanes de
moderne création établies sous le nom de clubs, inconnues a nos meres, ou les jeux et les
plaisirs bien plus que les nouvelles du tems rassemblent regulièrement tous les jours la
jeunesse de nos villes assemblées antisociales qui ont eleves entr’eux et nous un mur de
separation, nous isolent, et nous reduisent la plupart au triste sort de la malheureuse fille
de Jephté.
Nous seules, sire, sentons les funestes inconvéniens de cette foule d’abus ; nous
seules par conséguent sommes capables de rendre sensible la nécessité pressante de les
supprimer, parce que nous seules en souffrons, et que l’eloquence de la souffrance est
plus pathétique, plus touchante, et plus lumineuse que l’éloquence de la froide raison. des
hommes chargés de plaider notre cause n’y mettraient pas cette chaleur, ce feu qui fait
eclorre la verité la persuade, et entraine en sa faveur la majorité des suffrages ; leur
interet, leurs préjugés, leurs passions, leurs préventions sexuelles, et peut être aussi leur
indifférence [end p. 325] s’y opposeraient. accordes nous donc, sire, la liberté de la
discuter nous même en presence de la nation assemblée. notre admission est d’autant plus
necessaire que, suivant les annonces publiques, on doit soumettre a son auguste tribunal
une question des plus delicates et des plus importantes pour notre existence civile.
Nous voulons parler de la question du divorce sur lequel la raison et la nature ne
permettent pas de prononcer sans notre participation et sans nous entendre, attendu que,
si le divorce passait en loi, nos legislateurs toujours tyranniques pourraient y annexer des
clauses toutes à notre charge auquelles il serait injuste de nous assujetir forcément.
Pour cet effet qu’il plaise a votre majesté d’ordonner la tenue de nos états
préparatoires aux états generaux, d’en déterminer l’organization, de régler les formes de
43
Roslyn M. Frank The remarkable role of women in 16th century French Basque law codes
nos élections, de fixer le nombre de nos representants, de nous prescrire les reglements
que nous devons suivre, et de nous adresser ensuitte les lettres convocatives.
Que votre majeste ne craigne point d’eprouver de notre part aucun de ces obstacles
que l’ambition, l’orgueil, le vil intéret de certaines classes d’hommes n’ont pas rougi
d’apporter a la sagesse de vos vues ! non, non, sire, nous n’avons ni droits chimériques,
ni coutumes abusives, ni franchises onéreuses, ni méfiances injurieuses, ni mauvaise
volonté a opposer à la bienfaisance et à la droiture de vos intentions ?
que vous nous convoquiez ou par senechausseés, ou par bailliages, ou d’une autre
manière, toute forme de convocation prescrite par vos ordres sera légitime à nos yeux.
que notre tiers état aie egalité de voix avec notre noblesse ou que notre noblesse aie deux
suffrages contre notre tiers état, nous nous soumettrons avec joie au reglement que vous
voudres nous tracer sur cet article ; en tout votre vœu sera le notre ; nous abandonnons
toutes ces pointilleries ridicules et scandaleuses à l’orgueil masculin.
Il n’est qu’une seule grace que nous osions demander [end p. 326] avec instance a
votre majesté ; c’est que nos opinions soient prises, non par ordre, mais par tête, parce
que, plus nous serons à opiner, mieux nos intérêts, seront a discutés et mieux ils seront
connus.
Les dispositions générales de nos esprits, comme votre majesté peut le voir, sont bien
peu concordantes avec celles de nos rivaux. c’est que leurs cœurs sont divisés, et que les
nôtres ne le sont pas, étant tous réunis par les sentiments profonds dont nous pénètrent
vos bontés paternelles. heureuses et mille fois heureuses, si par les exemples de notre
obéissance, et de notre respect, nous pouvions rappeler les ennemis aveugles de la félicité
publique a la soumission qu’ils doivent à votre autorité suprême !
Sire, il est de l’honneur de votre couronne d’accéder a notre demande ; car s’il est
glorieux pour un monarque de régner sur des hommes libres, il ne l’est pas moins pour lui
de regner sur des femmes élevées à la même dignité.
Nous somme avec la vénération la plus profonde.
De votre majesté
les très humbles et tres soumises sujettes citoïnnes de
S. jean de luz et Cibourre
44
![Spain [homosexuality in]](https://0.academia-photos.com/attachment_thumbnails/51939418/mini_magick20190124-6025-1rjuggl.png?1548320652)
![2013 - "Basque Dialects" (in Basque and Proto-Basque [= Mikroglottika 5], edited by M. Martínez-Areta, Peter Lang, 31-87)](https://0.academia-photos.com/attachment_thumbnails/33473174/mini_magick20190401-5889-3x36ou.png?1554170548)
