Berets: Country Trends--Spain


Figure 1.--.

The beret today is commonly associated with France, although it is now little worn there. It the beret was worn in Spain, especially the Basque country long before it was worn in France. The Romans, who called the beret a beretino, were the ones who invented the true beret. The Romans colonized the Iberia Peninsula and the Basque people adopted it for their own. It is properly called Beret Basque, ("boina" in Spanish and Basque). Though France loves a good beret, it is the Basque and Spanish who truly pioneered its popularity and usage.

I believe that berets were commonly worn by Spanish boys in the early 20th century, but we have little information at this time. The beret became associated with Republican forces in the Civl War (1937-39) and thus were probably discouraged after Franco's victory. The beret is most commonly worn by the Basques in the north of Spain. The Spanish have worn berets since Roman days. Why after the fall of the Roman Empire the beret persisted more in the Basque country than other areas of Europe is unknown. Intersting is the word evolution. Of course in Spanish and Basque the word is "boina". This is reminiscent of the Chinese word for it, "bao". It is probably a mispronunciation of "pilos"--the Greek word. But the Greeks also had a cap called the "birrus", which was red. The original pronunciation of beret is BERR-eht, with a rolled "r".







Christopher Wagner





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Created: March 17, 2001
Last edited: March 17, 2001