Les communautés paroissiales en Iparralde sous l'Ancien Régime

Abstract

Basque society organised itself as from the family, symbolised by the house (etxe); houses were grouped in neighbourhoods. In each of them, the etxekojaunak met, in a council, on Sunday, after mass, in front of the church, to deliberate on all matters of relevance to the community. Decisions were taken by majorities, and each etxe has a voice, however important that household was. Those decisions were legally binfing for the neighbourhood. Every year, they would designate a Mayor and an agent for each quarter, who were in charge of executing the decisions taken by the etxeko-jaunak. In Iparralde, the municipal regime was, within the Old Regime, a direct democracy based on the houses or families represented by the etxeko-jaunak.