The institutions of Navarre at this time were affected by French influences, but in the main resembled those of the rest of the peninsula both in form and in their evolution, except that they displayed a backwardness which was natural in a region so thinly populated. The feudal régime persisted, although some gains were made by the servile classes, the towns, and the kings. A corporate sense of society, as manifested in the importance of the family as a whole and in the associations of neighbors and citizens (especially marked in the rural districts), still existed. The Mudéjares and Jews were comparatively numerous, and their lot was the same as in other parts of the peninsula. The marriage _á yuras_ was sanctioned in Navarre longer than elsewhere, although at length it was banished. _Barraganía_ (much resorted to by churchmen) survived, and received a measure of acceptance. The customs of chivalry were greatly in vogue, and bull-fighting and ball-games[50] were very popular. Agriculture, with the aid of irrigation, and stock-raising were the principal occupations. In intellectual culture and the fine arts Navarre was rather a continuation of France than a part of Spain. The country was markedly backward in these respects, however, as evidenced by the ignorance of the clergy, compared with churchmen in other regions, and by the fact that the kings rarely had any books other than those of prayer. Although Basque was the national tongue, such books as were written usually appeared in Latin or in Castilian,--one more demonstration of the intellectual predominance of central Spain. French Gothic prevailed in architecture, sculpture, gold work, and painting. _The Basque provinces_ [Sidenote: Unique character of Basque institutions.] The three Basque provinces of Álava, Vizcaya, and Guipúzcoa have always been unique in their history and institutions, and are the subject of many popular legends more or less founded on fact, such as the one already discussed that the Basques have never been conquered, and another that they are all nobles. In this period they were becoming more and more Castilian in customs, but they still retained much that was indigenous. [Sidenote: The social and political system in Álava.]