Gregorio Arrue and his era - Yoana Iguaran

Short works in prose: we only knowd he made here of his collahoration with Bonaparte and Van Eys, as well as the commission he r eceived ffom the publisher Eusebio Lopez to prepare a dic tionaly of Aizkibelfor public ation.

Nevertheless, the main part of the article is dedicated to giving a v iew of the time in which Arrue lived, uhich was practically the uhole of the XIX century, an era of important changes throughout Europe and, consequentry, also in the Basque Country. In general terms the period was marked hy the end of the old regime and the beginning of modern times, with the decadence of aristoclacy, the rise of the middle classes and the appearance of the wolking classes. All these convulsions lead, among other things, to the Carlist wars, in which the Basque Counny was deeply involved, and which brought ahout the loss of its ancient rights.

As far as culture is concerned, the article highlights the cultural and literary boom which the Basque Counny experienced, especially in the second half of the century, together with the romantic ism and an inc ipient nationalist feeling which was emerging at that time. Mention is made here of the work of Augustin Chaho and Antoine d'Abbadie and thefloral games organised by the latter, which, initially in the French Basque Country, also began to be held on this side of the boundaly. As a consequence of these figures, a first generation of poets, and later of prose writers. A little later the Basque-orientated cultural atmosphere of Navarra, where the "Euskara Association" is especially noteworthy, with names such as Arturo Campion and Navarro Villoslada, among others.

Next, a short review is made of the authors of the era, highlighting how the change from predominantly or almost exclusively religious works in Basque literature to a greater abundance of works of a clearly literalyflavour, with the flourishing of poetry and the birth of the novel.

Finally, the article finishes with a short review of some opinions on Gregorio Arrue.