The Tribute of the Three Cows is a yearly ceremony that gathers together the people of the neighbouring Pyrenean valleys of the Barétous Valley (in Béarn, France) and the Roncal Valley (in Navarre, Spain). The ceremony takes place every 13 July on the summit of the Col de la Pierre St Martin near the site of the St. Martin's Stone, which traditionally demarcates the border between the towns of Roncal and Barétous. There, the people of Barétous hand over three cows to the people of Roncal, as a peace tribute that has been paid yearly since at least 1375.
The Tribute of the Three Cows is sometimes regarded as the oldest international treaty still enforced. Its exact origin is unknown, but documented evidence shows that it long predates the 1375 legal arbitration that established its current format. In fact, the war treaty after the invasion of Cimbri and Barétounais in 125 is thought to have been the start of this tribute.
Although it is traditionally referred to as a tribute, the payment of the three cows is a synallagmatic contract between equals. It was established through the mediation of a third party, the people of Ansó. The arbitration decision was issued in Ansó (Aragón, currently located in Spain) on 16 October 1375. Official records of its celebration date back to at least 1575. Records certifying its celebration before 1575 have not survived. The ceremony has since occurred almost every year, having been suspended only twice. The first suspension occurred in 1793 during the War of the Convention between France and Spain. The second suspension occurred in 1940 during the Nazi occupation of France. In both cases, the people of Barétous were prevented by regional authorities from attending the ceremony out of fear they would escape to Spain.
The ceremony attracts many tourists and is regarded as intangible cultural heritage by the government of Navarre.
Ceremony
The ceremony involves a group of representatives from Barétous and Roncal, typically the mayors of the towns and villages of Isaba, Uztárroz, Urzainqui, and Garde representing the valley of Roncal, and the mayors of Ance, Aramits, Arette, Féas, Issor, and Lanne-en-Barétous representing the valley of Barétous.
At about 10 o'clock in the morning of July 13, the representatives of Roncal — wearing their traditional garment consisting of a short black cloak, doublet, breeches, broad linen collar, and a hat — gather on the Spanish side of boundary marker no.262, which substitutes for the traditional St. Martin's Stone (lost since 1858). The boundary marker is at the summit of the Col de la Pierre St Martin, high. The representatives of Barétous, dressed in Sunday clothes and holding the tricolor French flag, approach the boundary marker from the French side. Traditionally, the mayor of Isaba would hold a pike against the Barétous representatives, and these would also be held at gunpoint by the rest of the representatives of Roncal; this custom was dropped in the late 19th century.
The mayor of Isaba, presiding over the ceremony, asks the Barétous representatives three times, in Spanish, whether they are willing, as in previous years, to pay the Tribute of the Three Cows of two years of age, of the same coat and with the same sort of horns, and without blemish or injury. Each time the Barétous representatives answer in Spanish, "Sí, señor" [Yes, sir].
Following this, one of the representatives of Barétous places his or her right hand on the boundary marker; a representative from Roncal follows by placing his or hers on top of it, and so on, until all representatives have placed their right hands on the boundary marker. The last one to place his hand is the mayor of Isaba, who then utters the following words:
All those witnessing the ceremony repeat the same words. The representatives of Roncal are then presented with the three cows, which are then examined by the veterinarian of Isaba, who must certify that the cows are healthy. Afterward, the cows are divided amongst the towns and villages of the valley of Roncal: two cows are given to the city of Isaba, whilst the other one is given in alternating fashion to the villages of Uztarroz, Urzainqui, and Garde.
Following that, the mayor of Isaba hands over a receipt to the representatives of Barétous, and proceeds to name four guards for the (the communal pastures established by the treaty) of Ernaz and Leja, who are then sworn over. He then asks any persons having any objections to step forward and declare them.
Once the ceremony is over, the minutes of the ceremony are readied by the secretary, and they are certified and signed by the representatives of Roncal and Barétous. Guests of honour usually sign the minutes as witnesses. Afterward, everyone gathers to share a communal meal where they eat stewed lamb.
Owing to the 1990s mad cow disease scandal, Spain and France banned mutual exports of non-quarantined cattle, so nowadays, the cows involved in the tribute are returned to Barétous after the ceremony, and the tribute is paid in money instead, amounting to the value of three cows.
History The valley of Roncal is the easternmost valley of the Navarrese Pyrenees, whilst the valley of Barétous is the first Pyrenean valley of Béarn. Historically, Roncal belonged to the kingdom of Navarre, which held territory both on the southern side of the Pyrenees (centred around Pamplona) and on the northern mountainside, including the provinces of Lower Navarre and Soule in modern France. The Béarn polity, albeit nominally under the sovereignty of the Duchy of Gascony (for a long time in the High Middle Ages under the control of the Kingdom of England), had acquired a de facto independent status, and was governed by the Viscounts of Béarn.
The Tribute of the Three Cows arises from boundary disputes over the high pastures of Navarre and Béarn. The origin of these disputes is unknown, but evidence of them can be found in documents dating back to the 13th century. The disputes were usually resolved by oral agreement, and sometimes via peace letters or the establishment of (communal grazing grounds).
In the 14th century, the count of Foix, Gaston Fébus, acquired control over Béarn, and in 1374 he refused to acknowledge the sovereignty of France or England over it. In the following decades, the kings of France and England tried successively and in vain to assert their sovereignty over Béarn, whilst the counts of Foix remained largely independent. At the same time, on the death of Joan I of Navarre in 1305, the kingdom of Navarre passed to her son Louis X of France, whereby the crowns of Navarre and France fell under a personal union of the French monarchy, the main threat to the counts of Foix and viscounts of Béarn. Thus, it was at a time when the relationship between Navarre and Béarn was deteriorating that the border dispute between Roncal and Barétous arose.
During the 14th century, the disputes over grazing grounds escalated. While some form of the compact was in place where cows were paid by Baretous to Roncal to maintain the peace, the fights and brawls amongst shepherds of the valleys became increasingly violent. The most notorious of these fights was the so-called Battle of Beotivar of 1321, in which the governor of Navarre and two merinos (military governors) intervened, resulting in the death of one of the merinos and twelve other people. A similar incident occurred in 1335, and 35 people died then.
These altercations led to the drafting of a memorial in 1350, during the reign of Charles IV of France (who had inherited the crown of Navarre as well), that enumerated border disputes throughout the kingdom of Navarre. The document explains that the quarrels arise mainly over the use of water sources in the mountain passes between Roncal and Barétous. A mention is made in it that both the Viscount of Béarn and the King had tried to settle the disputes peacefully:
In a second document dating 1361, the lieutenant of the merino of Sangüesa mentions the dispute and that the king of Navarre ought to assert his rightful claim over certain mountain passes that the people of Baretous were trying to take over:
In this case, Charles IV ordered the lieutenant to move troops to Isaba to ensure peace and that the mountain passes that were rightfully Navarrese remained so:
Throughout these years, several failed attempts at reconciliation were made, mediated by the Aragonese town of Ansó, and the bishops of Bayonne, Oloron, Pamplona, and Jaca.
Events of 1373
The conflict escalated further until 1373 when the legendary events leading to the arbitration of Ansó of 1375 took place.
The accounts say that in 1373 two shepherds, Pedro Karrika from Isaba and Pierre Sansoler from Arette, met with their flocks on the mountain Arlas, on what officially was the territory of the kingdom of Navarre. After an argument, they quarreled, and Karrika killed Sansoler. The cousin of Sansoler, Anginar Sansoler, gathered together a band of people from Barétous, and tried to track down Karrika. When they failed to find Karrika on the highlands, they descended towards Belagua in Roncal, where they found Karrika's wife, Antonia Garde, then pregnant. After asking her about the whereabouts of her husband, the band killed her. News of her death reached the town of Isaba, where Karrika and others formed an opposing group that set out to avenge her death. They arrived in Sansoler's house whilst the latter was celebrating the murder. The people of Isaba slaughtered everyone present except for Sansoler's wife and baby son, who were spared. Upon hearing of this killing, the people of Arette retaliated by ambushing Karrika and his band, who were then killed in a fight were a total of 25 people died. Legend has it that the people of Barétous were led by a terrifying cagot with four ears. However, Lucas Lopéz de Garde of Roncal managed to slay the cagot captain, and the rest of the group from Barétous fled the fight demoralised. News of the events reached the king of Navarre and the viscount of Béarn, who tried in vain to settle the dispute.
The dispute grew in strength until the so-called battle of Aguincea, were 53 Roncalese and 200 Baretouses died. In the end, the Barétous asked for a truce, and the Roncalese agreed for the dispute to be settled by arbitration in Ansó, a nearby town in the then independent kingdom of Aragon.
The arbitration of Ansó (1375) The town of Ansó examined the causes of the dispute and on 16 October 1375, issued an arbitration that stands to this day. In the preamble, the arbitration states that the mayor of Ansó, Sancho García and five other residents of Ansó (árbitros arbitradores and amigables componedores, "arbitrating judges" and "amicable mediators") have heard the arguments of the representatives of Roncal and Barétous with the respective permission of the king of Navarre, Charles IV, and the viscount Béarn, Gaston Fébus. The residents of the valley of Soule are also mentioned as arbiters in the dispute. Many hombres buenos ("good men", respected local men) from the interested parties and from other locations were also present.
They met from 28 July to 18 August at the church of Sant Per or Saint Peter. After hearing witnesses and examining documents, they were seated in the manner of judges, and their purpose was expressed as follows: