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A short Basque song documented from the 16th century commemorates the death and burial, in Irun, of a French military commander. This article specifies the dates and circumstances of the historical episode in question and examines possible changes in the song's intended meaning as expressed in its several variants. The ultimate objective of this study is to relate the brief poetic fragment to coeval historical texts. Moreover, the complementary information provided by these historiographic sources (especially the chronicles of Esteban de Garibay) supplies the key that unlocks the song's true meaning. That meaning, it is argued here, can only be that of an ironic, defamatory epitaph.
