BaserriA baserri (bas̺eri; Spanish: caserío vasco; French: maison basque) is a traditional half-timbered or stone-built type of housebarn farmhouse found in the Basque Country in northern Spain and Southwestern France. The baserris, with their gently sloping roofs and entrance portals, are highly characteristic of the region and form a vital part in traditional Basque societal structures. They are also seen to have played an important role in protecting the Basque language in periods of persecution by providing the language with a very dispersed but substantial speaker base.
OlentzeroOlentzero (olents̻eɾo, sometimes Olentzaro or Olantzaro) is a character in Basque Christmas tradition. According to Basque traditions, Olentzero comes to town late at night on the 24th of December to drop off presents for children. In some places he arrives later, for example in Ochagavía – Otsagabia on the 27th and in Ermua on the 31st. The name Olentzero appears in a number of variations: Onenzaro, Onentzaro, Olentzaro, Ononzaro, Orentzago and others.
RodericRoderic (also spelled Ruderic, Roderik, Roderich, or Roderick; Spanish and Rodrigo, لذريق; died 711) was the Visigothic king in Hispania between 710 and 711. He is well-known as "the last king of the Goths". He is actually an extremely obscure figure about whom little can be said with certainty. He was the last Goth to rule from Toledo, but not the last Gothic king, a distinction which belongs to Ardo. Roderic's election as king was disputed and he ruled only a part of Hispania with an opponent, Achila, ruling the rest.
Limpieza de sangre(limˈpjeθa ðe ˈsaŋɡɾe), also known as limpeza de sangue (lĩˈpezɐ ðɨ ˈsɐ̃ɡɨ, limˈpeθɐ ðɪ ˈsaŋɡɪ) or neteja de sang (nəˈtɛʒə ðə ˈsaŋ), literally "cleanliness of blood" and meaning "blood purity", was a racially discriminatory term used in the Spanish and Portuguese Empires during the early modern era to refer to those who were considered to be Old Christians by virtue of not having Muslim or Jewish ancestors. In both empires, the term played a major role in discrimination against suspected crypto-Jews or crypto-Muslims.
Battle of Roncevaux PassThe Battle of Roncevaux Pass (French and English spelling, Roncesvalles in Spanish, Orreaga in Basque) in 778 saw a large force of Basques ambush a part of Charlemagne's army in Roncevaux Pass, a high mountain pass in the Pyrenees on the present border between France and Spain, after his invasion of the Iberian Peninsula. The Basque attack was a retaliation for Charlemagne's destruction of the city walls of their capital, Pamplona. As the Franks retreated across the Pyrenees back to Francia, the rearguard of Frankish lords was cut off, stood its ground, and was wiped out.
