CONFERENCE – Nordic heritage in Aquitaine, Pompignac (Gironde) September 11, 2026

The Basques were reputed to be intrepid whalers and to have beaten Columbus in the New World. Now, these two particularities, they had in common with the men of the North. Pure coincidence, or had there been contact and transmission between the two peoples? It was in seeking to answer this question that I came to study the Nordic presence in Aquitaine.

During a previous conference given in the fall of 2025, we addressed the historical aspect. In it, we will return to the vestiges left by the men of the North in the traditions of Gascony and Aquitaine. Shipbuilding, maritime law and whaling are all part of a Nordic tradition. But it does not stop there: the inheritance law that produced the famous cadets of Gascony, the criminal law that knew the banishment, the house fire, the right of blood and a rallying cry comparable to the haro Norman, but also the "contractual" political traditions: the fors of Béarn and the fueros of Spain, the political assemblies that are apparently also part of a Nordic tradition. There are also artisanal traditions: half-timbered architecture, weaving, mills, woodworking. There is also toponymy, place names, and men. When the northern men were defeated, some had lived there for more than six generations. They had become Gascons and never left.