Basque 1571 (EUSNLT)

Overview

This is the first book ever printed in the Basque language: the 1571 New Testament translation by Joanes Leizarraga (c. 1506-1601), titled Iesus Christ Gure Iaunaren Testamentu Berria (The New Testament of Jesus Christ our Lord). [1] Leizarraga, born in Beskoitze (Briscous) in the province of Lapurdi (Labourd), was originally a Catholic priest who converted to Calvinism in 1559, facing imprisonment for his beliefs. [1] [2] The translation was commissioned at the 1563 Synod of Pau of the Reformed Church of Navarre-Bearn, at the behest of Queen Jeanne d'Albret of Navarre, who had converted to Calvinism and financed the project. [1] Leizarraga completed the translation in approximately two to three years. [1] The work was printed in 1571 by Pierre Hautin in La Rochelle, alongside a Calvinist catechism (ABC edo Christinoaen Instructionea) and a liturgical calendar (Kalendrera). [2] Leizarraga faced the challenge of Basque dialect fragmentation, noting that "the manner of speaking almost changes from one house to the next." [1] Following Jeanne d'Albret's death in 1572 and the subsequent restoration of Catholicism, the translation was suppressed and not reprinted until the 19th century, when linguists recognized its historical and philological value. [1] It remains a foundational text for Basque language studies.

[1] [Basque Fact of the Week: The First Translation of the New Testament into Basque](https://buber.net/Basque/2021/12/26/basque-fact-of-the-week-the-first-translation-of-the-new-testament-into-basque/) - Buber's Basque Page, 2021. [2] [Joanes Leizarraga](https://eizie.eus/en/news/1193318872) - EIZIE Association.

Language and People

Basque (ISO 639-3: eus) is spoken by approximately 537,860 people in Andorra and France. [Glottolog: basq1248]

References