Resurrección María de Azkue (5 August 1864 – 9 November 1951) was an influential Basque priest, musician, poet, writer, sailor and academic.

[citation needed] In 1904, Azkue left Bilbao to travel Europe for 5 years, with major stops in Tours, Brussels and Cologne, where he completed his musical studies.

He was one of the most important supporters of establishing the Euskaltzaindia, the Academy of the Basque Language, at the 1918 congress of Eusko Ikaskuntza in Oñati and was its first head from its birth in 1919 onwards.

[2] 1935 saw the publication of Euskaleŕiaren Yakintza, a 4 volume collection of traditional lore and a major push to develop the Gipuzkera Osatua project.

[citation needed] During the Spanish Civil War, Francisco Franco ordered the closure of the Euskaltzaindia but Azkue managed to avoid exile as he was both of an advanced age and not a prominent political figure.

Some of his most important works include: Between them, Euskaleŕiaren Yakintza and Cancionero constitute a major collection of Basque folklore, containing songs, poems, soties, children's games, tonguetwisters, customs, beliefs, folk remedies and over 2900 proverbs.