«Kalendrera», edo ortodoxia erreformistarekiko talka [«Kalendrera», or clash with the orthodoxy of the Reformation]

Abstract

Kalendrera, a short calendar by Joanes Leizarraga and published in La Rochelle in 1571 by the printer Pierre Hautin, contains a set of features which, despite its breavity, to a large extent distort the classic perception of orthodox Basque Calvinism, loyal to all the guidelines issued from Geneva. When nothing would seem to indicate that the incorruptible, unblemished translator of the Testamentu Berria would come out with anything but a typical, run-ofthe-mill Protestant calendar, Kalendrera makes it plain that in both the original idea and the sources and resources used for its design, Leizarraga could not forget his particular understanding of reformist faith or ignore the Basque reality around him. The unusual presence of Christian saints and martyrs in a reformist calendar, together with the absolute absence of Old Testament references and, let’s be clear, Jewish references, do nothing but highlight the peculiar sensibility of the Beraskoiztarra. Basing itself on a comparative analysis of the different sources which Leizarraga presumably used, this article proposes a new interpretation of the motivations behind Kalendrera.
a new interpretation of the motivations behind Kalendrera.