Toponimia alavesa: apeo de Vitoria y su jurisdicción de 1481-1486

Abstract

El Apeo de Vitoria y su jurisdicción (1481-1486) without doubt stands as the most important juridical and administrative document to learn about the economy and society of the Alava Plains in the Early Middle Ages. Due to the great amount of data this document provides, we can claim it constitutes not only the oldest but the most accurate report on microtoponymy and onomastics in this territory. In this paper, we have collected all of the microtoponyms from the 42 villages and 3 depopulated areas enumerated in the long research carried out between 1481 and 1486. And overwhelming predominance of Basque words has been observed, wich constitutes prima facie evidence of the prevalence of the Basque language in the villages under the jurisdiction of the city of Vitoria, at least until the sixteenth century.