The land

Sustaining
us

Charles Rivera Olaskoaga

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 Prolog

Feudalism
In those turbulent
times of the Early Middle
Ages, before the coronation
of Alfonso VIII, king of Castile,
known as the "Victor of the
Battle of Navas de Tolosa" or
the "Noble", and Don Diego
López de Haro II, the Lordship
of Biscay was a bargaining chip
as it passed from one hand to
the other, from the Kingdom
of León to that of Navarre or
Castile, even though Alfonso
VIII had included the
independence of the Lordship
of Biscay in his will.

The first Basque

province that ceased to belong
to the Kingdom of Navarre
was Biscay, due to the pressure that King Alfonso VIII imposed on
King Sancho (The Wise) of Navarre in 1179, who was forced to cede
some of his territories to the Kingdom of Castile, among which was
the old Lordship of Biscay that recovered its "independence" when
the privileges of the Lordship were restored through its new Lord
Diego López de Haro II. Later on, in 1200, the County of Alava would
be annexed to the Kingdom of Castile after having been for 132 years
under the rule of the Kingdom of Navarre. That very year, Gipuzkoa,
which belonged to the Kingdom of Navarre, was also invaded and
annexed to the Crown of Castile.

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 This feudal era left the
old Lordship of Biscay in a tight
spot because the Nobles of this
territory were thirsty for blood
and revenge. Under the yoke of
such tyrants the lives of people
were worthless, especially those
of the commoners who worked
the lands of these lords in return
for living badly and struggling to
make ends meet after working
from dawn to dusk, and where
the lord on duty could claim the
right to bed whenever he
wanted. One of those singular
Feudal Lords who lived through
those dark times was Lope
García de Salazar y Muñatones
(The Chronicler) who left a
written record of what
happened during this dark part
of our history in his book "Las Bienandanzas y Fortunas" (The
Blessings and Fortunes), which he wrote while being kidnapped by his
sons, first in Muñatones Castle, Muskiz, and then in Salazar Tower,
Portugalete.

It was in this century when Heraldry and Cavalry emerged, a

body of strong warriors who put their swords and lives at the service
of their lords, swearing to defend the Catholic faith and the weak.
Thus, to become a knight several long, hard years of training were
necessary. Therefore, the child destined to be a knight was raised
until the early age of seven by his mother, at that age the child was
snatched from his mom’s skirt. During these first years of life, the

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proud mother of the would-be knight taught him what the words
"Courage" and "Righteousness" meant. Then, when the child turned
7 he was placed in the house of another lord or knight as a pageboy
to help with the household chores and be trained in the use of
weapons. At the age of fourteen, he became a squire and followed
his Lord to war, carrying his weapons and taking care of his warhorse.
After taking part in countless wars, and when aged 18-21, a solemn
ceremony was held in which the boy was knighted. The Knighthood
Ceremony started with a Night Vigil in the Chapel of the Castle,
fasting, praying and watching over his weapons. The following day,
the Knight wore a white vesture to symbolize purity, a red robe to
symbolize nobility, and his shoes and horse were also black to
symbolize Death. Dressed in such a way, he stood in silence at the
Chapel altar to hear Mass on his knees or standing, because those
Masses lasted ten hours. At the end of the ceremony, the Knight
swore an oath of allegiance to his lord saying that he would never
traffic with traitors, never give evil counsel to a lady, whether
married or not, treating her with great respect and defend her
against all; he would also observe fasts and abstinences and hear
Mass and make an offering in Church every day. Thereupon, another
knight presented the sword and the shield displaying the heraldic
blazon of his Lord and ‘dubbed’ the squire who pronounced a Knight
when the lord would say ‘I dub thee Sir Knight’. Then another knight,
lord or king, with his sword flat, would tap the squire three times on
his right shoulder, turning him into a Knight in the Name of God and
the Saints Michael and George, and it was only then when the new
Knight, with his right hand on the Bible, swore to fulfill all the
obligations of his new position. At the end of the ceremony, he was
given the lance, warhorse, and coat of arms, signs of identity not to
be confused with the enemies on the battlefield.

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 Heraldry, as such, has a war-like origin and sprang up
spontaneously in Europe in the second half of the 12th century. It is
believed that it was devised by the knights who marched to the
Crusades to distinguish themselves from one another, carrying their
lords' coat of arms drawn on the shields and horse blankets. These
coats of arms, which only males inherited, passed from one lineage
to another. From the onset of the 13th century, ladies and clergy
were also allowed to sport their coats of arms.

The use of such coats of arms was not an exclusive privilege

of the nobility, but also of ordinary people, the only difference was
that the nobility were allowed to place helmets, swords, crowns and
other symbols on their coats of arms, while ordinary people were not
allowed to use such ornaments. Illegitimate sons of Feudal Lords
could also use the coats of arms and ornaments of their lineage but
with the helmet facing left.

Like all movements, heraldry has been the victim of all kinds
of ideologies. In France, for example, in the 19th century, the art of
the coat of arms was persecuted and almost eradicated. In Spain, its
use was also persecuted during the Republic and many emblematic
towers, castles and monuments were destroyed.

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 The Science of Heraldry was restored at the beginning of the
19th century. It is currently used as a subsidiary science of history to
help people and culture to bring back their origins.

The first centuries of 'The Re-conquest' are called the Feudal

Period. These times were very hard and dangerous, so 'Free Men'
(Landowners) sought the protection of Feudal Lords to protect them,
their families and property; in exchange for such protection, 'Free
Men' had to surrender to Feudal Lords their lands, to receive them
again as a fiefdom.

Nobles and Great Lords lived in towers and fortifications such

as Muñatones Castle, Muskiz, where our story begins. During that
time nobles were organized in two enemy branches –the House of
Oñaz and the House of Gamboa– causing the ‘War of Banderizos’,
which is a modern-day term used for the 100-year period in which
these two Houses fought for supreme power in the Basque Country.

Another of these impregnable fortifications was the Chapel of

Gatelugatxe that was used as a tower when King Alfonso XI of Castile
attacked the Lord of Biscay Lope II (Cabeza Brava) in 1334, causing a
Civil War between both territories and making the Lord of Biscay flee
this rock that was besieged for over a month until the Castilian troops
withdrew.
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 These nobles wore heavy iron armor manufactured by the
many blacksmiths who populated the County of Encartaciones. The
power that some of these lords had was such that they even
confronted the King himself. When there were no wars or fights,
tournaments and jousts were often held by teams or individually as
part of important events and to keep warriors in good shape by
fighting with blunted weapons known as ‘weapons of peace’. Kings
and princes prided themselves on their martial ability and enjoyed
putting their prowess to the test at these events, resulting kings,
princes and knights seriously wounded or even killed in many
occasions.

In 1379, King Juan I of Castile became Lord of Biscay when he

inherited the province from his mother, integrating the Lordship of
Biscay into the Kingdom of Castile, which would later be called the
Kingdom of Spain, although Castile and Biscay remained
administratively separated. The independence of the Lordship of
Biscay was such that it retained its own identity, laws and courts, to
such an extent that Biscay had its own naval flag, a contracting office
and a consulate in Bruges, Belgium, and two customs offices on the
border with Castile, one in Balmaseda and the other one in the City
of Orduña.

Throughout history, the Lordship of Biscay has been in the

hands of the following lineages: the Haros, the Vela-Ladrón de
Artajona, the Burgundians, the Laras, the Trastámaras, the Crown of
Castile, and the Bourbons.

The story that begins in the Merindades (Counties) of the Old

Lordship of Biscay, as this vast expanse of Merino land is known, is
about love, misery, fights between lords and kingdoms, pirates,
Vikings, race and pride.