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Proof of this is that there is still the
figure of the “Junta General
del Valle”, traditional entity
previous to the town halls, that carries
weight from the Middle Ages
and with their own by-laws.
They exist in Aezkoa, Salazar and Roncal,
valleys where the neighbours got from the
King of Navarra their own charters, called
“hidalguía colectiva”,
between XII-XIV centuries.
 It
is also outstanding the “almiradío”
of Navascues, whose origin is lost in the
Middle Ages. And the category of “Villa”,
that some villages got from the King of
Navarra, villages such as Roncal, Salazar,
Luzaide-Valcarlos, Auritz-Burguete, Lumbier/Irunberri,
etc.
 There
is a big difference in the history of villages
such as Irunberri/Lumbier,
with a good climate, accessibility, commerce,
communications centre,
settlement of different peoples (prehistoric,
Romans, Arabs) and the more inaccessible
villages of the north. Or the villages where
first passed the Roman Road Burdeos-Astorga
in the Ist century, and where later was
placed the Santiago Road, with the commerce,
culture and new ideologies from Europe;
from Donibane Garazi/San Juan de Pie de
Port, Luzaide/Valcarlos, the mythical Orreaga/Roncesvalles,
Valderro, Esteribar…
 In
Luzaide/Valcarlos (in the other side of
the Pyrenees), still in the XIXth century
was disputed the ecclesiastical Diocese
of Baiona and Iruñea/Pamplona. Larrasoaña
had a seat in Cortes in
the XIVth century.
 One
of the most famous historic milestones is
the Battle of Orreaga/Roncesvalles:
The 15th of August of the year 778, the
rearguard of Carlomagno´s
army, that came from a campaign in Zaragoza,
and after destroying the walls of Iruñea/Pamplona,
was attacked and defeated by the Vascones
in the gorges of Orreaga-Roncesvalles. This
event affected to the French nation because
it was the first defeat of Carlomagno´s
army and was related through all the Christendom
for centuries in the “Chanson
de Roland”. The name of Luzaide
(in Basque) took another name that came
from this striking event: “Carlos´
valley”, Valcarlos.
 The
Valleys of the basins (Artzibar/Arce, Longuida,
Urraules, Romanzado, Irunberri/Lumbier,
Unciti, Izagaondoa) with their cereal
fields, vines, very important time ago,
had a lot of domains, palaces
and castles because of
their location, bordering on Aragon. Nowadays
they are uninhabited because of the industry
of Iruñea/Pamplona.
Along the history there have been
important personalities. For example:
Gayarre or the Oliveto count from Roncal;
Esparza and Artieda from Salazar; Domingo
Elizondo and Antonio Aróstegui from
Aezkoa; Joaquín Larregla from Irunberri/Lumbier
or Esteban from Adoain.
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