Sancho Garcés III de Pamplona
Apple growing has a long history in the Basque Country, in particular for use in making Basque cider. The earliest written records on cider making and drinking go back to the 11th and 12th century, the very first being a record of Sancho III of Navarre sending an envoy to the Monastery of Leire in 1014 who mentions apples and cider-making. The other is the circa 1134 diary of the pilgrim Aymeric Picaud included in the "Codex Calixtinus" who mentions the Basques being notable for growing apples and drinking cider. The 16th century inquisitor Pierre de Lancre also refers to the Basque Country as "the land of the apple".