The Basque señoríos were medieval hereditary land titles over an area called señorío ( Lordship ), recognized by a king to former basque chieftains in relation to the concept of manorialism in exchange for sworn allegiance. The Basque term is jaurerria (pronounced [xauˈɾeria]), means "lord's country" and usually relates to the señoríos of the Basque Country. Either term frequently refers to the most important of these, the Bizkaiko Jaurerria or Señorío de Vizcaya (Lordship of Biscay) as it is known in Spanish. Most other Basque jauerriak were much smaller, such as the Oñatiko Jaurerria (Señorío de Oñate).
This title conferred considerable powers into the hands of the Lord of Vizcaya which in other area were directly controlled by the king. A señor was the judicial and military high authority, was entitled to rule directly without referring to the king, had the power to appoint civil servants and was entitled to collect taxes.
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After the Sancho III of Navarre annexed Castile in 1029, the titles to the Lordship of Biscay were granted by the Kings of Navarre. This early "core" of Biscay consisted of:
To these were added the Enkarterri and the area around Durango (called Durangaldea in Basque, Duranguesado in Spanish) at a later date.
After the Kingdom of Navarre disintegrated during the 12th century and a big part of it was annexed by Castile, titles over lands were awarded to the nobility by the Kings of Castile. They continued to exist in various forms until 1876 when the Basque foral rights or fueros were abolished.
According to the 14th century historian Lope García de Salazar, there were five Lords prior to those known to us from the historical record:
The House of Haro was the most powerful family of Castile at that time and strongly supported the expansionist policies of Alfonso VI of Castile. As a reward, Íñigo López was named the first Lord of Biscay.
Since 1379, the title has been held by the kings of Castile and, after the unification of Spain, by the ruling monarch of Spain.
The Señorío de Guipúzcoa, as it is known in Spanish, was annexed by Alfonso VIII of Castile early on in 1200.
Álava was a señorío from about 1100 onwards when the titles to the Señorío de Álava were awarded by Queen Urraca of Castile, later by the Kings of Navarre before falling back to the Castilian crown. The last areas of the Señorío de Álava, as it is known in Spanish, were annexed by Alfonso XI of Castile in 1332.
Between 1149 and 1845 the Lords of Oñati all hailed from the Gebara (Guevara in Spanish) family. Their titles as Lords of Oñati were originally conferred by the Kings of Navarre and after the annexation of Gipuzkoa in 1201 by the Kings of Castile. The title was lost in 1845 when Oñati was incorporated into the province of Gipuzkoa. Some members of the Gebara family included: