The Moon Worshippers (33 page)

He had to get home and move his family into the mountains. Charlemagne was coming, and this time there was no stopping him. It was just a matter of time before Spain would be under his heel. He had to get home and move his family to safety. He had to get home! The thought burned into his mind, and spurred him on. There was no time to lose. He had to get home and quickly! If the Moors were at the end of the pass, he would have to divert and this would add days to his journey. Better to be safe, better to reach home than not at all. He would go to Auritz in the mountains, just north of Roncesvalles and then to Agarreta. His plan made, he set forth.

At midday he reached the end of the pass. The day had been blind with the mist, but the sun had burned it away and it had turned into a cold, crisp day. Visibility was good and from his position above the pass he could see far into the valley, into which the pass opened. In the distance he could see mounted men. The Moors, it would appear, had some sort of interest around Roncesvalles and his choice of taking to the heights had been the right one. Their presence meant that he had to go to Auritz, not only for food but for protection as well. Inaki reached Auritz the following evening. It was no more than a collection of small stone huts, but its position in the mountains could be easily defended by a small number of men. To reach it you had to climb up a small narrow path that clung to the side of the mountain. It led to a high plateau and the village. Few knew of its existence or its whereabouts. There he was welcomed, spent the night and exchanged news. What the men of Auritz had to say around the fire that evening, was grim and terrible. Barcelona had been besieged for two years and starved into submission and taken. Many had died. What was worse, the Moors had taken advantage of Charlemagne’s sacking of Pamplona and it was now in their hands. Unusually for this time of year, the land was now full of armed bands and horsemen, who were attacking villages, pillaging, raping the women and butchering the men. This explained the group he had run into in the pass. It occurred to Inaki that the Franks would soon be preparing again to come and exploit the situation. The whole of the Basque nation was again on high alert, especially Navarra. As soon as the snows cleared the men of Auritz would move north with their families and flocks, deep into the Pyrenees. They urged Inaki to wait and travel with them, but he feared for his own family and the next morning he decided to make for Agarreta. It would only be five day journey from there to his home, barring bad weather or any more incidents. Once at Agarreta, he would be firmly in Basque territory and relatively safe. With this thought, his mood lifted and he set off for Agarreta with Aize at his side.

Unbeknown to him at that point, his journey home, which would normally take another five days, would in fact take him five years. But therein is another tale and one which would make the name of Inaki Etxebarria into a living Basque legend.

Author’s Notes

The Emperor Charlemagne was one of the greatest military leaders of the Middle Ages. His reign lasted from 742 to 814. Over that period he led his Frankish armies to victory over numerous people, at the end of which he controlled most of central and western Europe. In that time he became the most powerful monarch in early medieval Europe. In 801 Charlemagne launched his attack on southern Spain. This attack would be successful and he conquered and extended his dominions towards northeastern Spain. Ludovic continued his father’s war in Spain and in 811 added the Muslim city of Tortosa to the Frankish crown. In 813 Charlemagne named Ludovic, his only surviving son, his successor and personally crowned him.

After conquering, most of western and central Europe over a period of thirty years, Charlemagne created a political and cultural life that had disappeared with the fall of the Roman Empire. He built schools, libraries and created an administration system that rivalled the Romans. He encouraged the writing of books and the monastic life. His court was filled with scholars, extraordinary for a man who could hardly read or write. His merciless retaliation against rebels earned him the name of ‘Charles the Hammer’ amongst his enemies. Many Saxons were put to the sword in the Saxon campaigns. Einhard became Charlemagne’s biographer and some fifty years later wrote an account of the battle of Roncesvalles, which through the years was elaborated and added to by other unknown authors and monks, until it became an epic legend that grew over the centuries. At the time of the battle of Roncesvalles, Charlemagne was thirty-seven years of age. In the poem he is depicted as an old man with white hair and a beard.

The Prophet Muhammad founded the Muslim religion in 622 AD. This new faith of Islam inspired the Moors to embark on a series of astounding conquests. From 633 to 643 they conquered Egypt, Syria and Persia. It was even more remarkable because they were not all one race, but a group of tribes, bounded by a common faith. The caliphs were their religious leaders and direct descendants of Muhammad. The Muslim domination of Spain began in 711AD with the invasion of the Iberian peninsular by the North African tribes, collectively known as the Moors. They came as supporters of one of the Visigoth families vying for the crown. In 712 the Moors, led by Tariq Ibn Ziyad, invaded Spain in force and conquered most of the country. The Muslims, who had come as allies, became and stayed as conquerors, banishing the Visigoths and replacing them with their own noble houses. Their tribal make-up prevented one ruler emerging and so Spain was divided into a series of principalities and alliances. At one time there were over thirty of these states. Quarrels and wars were common amongst the Muslims, but Spain was itself divided and so no real opposition existed against them. In 732 the Christian Franks fought a battle against the Muslims at Poitiers in France. The battle lasted for a week. In the end the Moorish leader was killed and the Moors defeated. This battle signified the end of the Moorish advance into Europe. Islam had been halted and later would be pushed back into Africa. In 751 the Moors defeated a Chinese army at the battle of the Talas River. Amongst the prisoners taken that day were papermakers. Thus the art of papermaking spread throughout the Muslim world. In science, literature, medicine and war, they had no equal. Their influence was to last 600 years in Spain.

Benedict, who established a famous monastery at Monte Cassino, founded the Benedictines in the first part of the sixth century. It is rumoured that he lived in a cave with only a raven for company. In 515 he wrote a set of rules that were to become the guidelines for all medieval monks. Each day the monks devoted four to eight hours to religious functions, depending on the religious calendar, and a period of seven hours to sleep. They had a duty, laid down by Benedict, to study medicine and heal the sick. They collected medical texts and copied books. Several of their numbers were destined to occupy the papal throne. Others became archbishops. Included in these was a long line of Archbishops of Canterbury. By 1354 the order had provided several saints, twenty-four Popes, 200 cardinals and 7,000 archbishops. The Benedictine dressed in a habit. This consisted of a tunic and scapular, a full gown and a hood to cover the head. Black was the prevailing colour and so they became known as the Black Monks. At their height in the fourteenth century the Order had 37,000 monks. They had many powerful friends and supporters, amongst them several kings and queens.

The Basques were fully Christianised by the end of the eighth century, becoming devoted Roman Catholics. However, even in their religion they maintained a fierce independence. They prevented the domination of their Church by the French or Spanish ecclesiastical authorities and produced some notable religious figures and Orders, namely, the Jesuit Order whose founders were St. Ignatius of Loyola and the missionary St. Francis Xavier, another Jesuit.

They repelled all invaders throughout the Middle Ages and maintained their independence until 1370. When they agreed, under certain conditions, to become part of the kingdom of Castile. Even then they kept their laws and customs. Throughout the ages, to the present day, the Basques have enjoyed long periods of independence, coupled with short periods of conflict and subjugation. Their indomitable spirit and love of freedom has remained unchanged. They were the first nation to introduce and enjoy the Right of Habeas Corpus.

Their language and antecedents still remain clouded and disputed by scholars. After the Civil War of 1936-1939, the dictator Franco subjected the Basques to seventy years of untold miseries. The Basque language was banned. Anyone caught speaking it in public faced jail. Arrests were arbitrary. Many disappeared. Throughout history the Basques have guarded their independence with vigour. In the present day the fight for an autonomous Basque region has now been continuous for three decades and in 1979 the Spanish government granted limited autonomy.

Many Basques have, willingly, accepted this limited autonomy; some not at all. Their history may still be under dispute, but no one can be under any illusion as to their love of individual freedom and their country. Since the end of the Spanish Civil War, this has resulted in seventy years of guerrilla warfare and some spectacular assassinations of army generals and other military personnel. Lightly armed and operating in small cells, ETA was a thorn in the central Spanish government’s side for many years. On the 20th October 2011, Euskadi ta Askatasuna, (ETA) declared a permanent cessation of the armed conflict. Thankfully, this is the end of their guerrilla war. However, Basque nationalism will always be an issue in Spanish politics. Their unique ethnic identity and language will always make it so. Since the dawn of history, some Basques have persisted in their wish to be totally independent. To this day, they remain an enigma.