The Leonese are a Romance people and subgroup of Spaniards, native to León in Spain. The Leonese Kingdom was an independent kingdom in the Middle Ages until 1230 when it was joined to the Kingdom of Castile ; after the re-union with Castile in 1301 it remained a kingdom until 1833, but as part of a united Spain from 1479. In 1833 it was divided into three provinces. The languages of the Leonese people are Leonese and Castilian Spanish in Spain.
The Leonese language developed from Vulgar Latin. Leonese was the official language of the Leonese Kingdom in the Middle Ages. The first written text in Leonese was Nodicia de Kesos, and other old texts include Fueru de Llión, Fueru de Salamanca, Fueru Xulgu, Códice d'Alfonsu XI, Disputa d'Elena y María, and Llibru d'Alixandre Its precarious situation as a minority language has driven Leonese to near extinction; it is considered a seriously endangered language by UNESCO.
Leonese cuisine
Embutidos
Cecina from León: from beef. In Leonese, cecina means "meat that has been salted and dried by means of air, sun or smoke". Cecina de León is made of the hind legs of beef, salted, smoked and air-dried in the province of León in Northwestern Spain, and has PGI status.
Botillo: from pork. Traditionally made in the western Leonese regions. Botiellu, in Leonese language, is a dish of meat-stuffed pork intestine. It is a culinary specialty of El Bierzo, a county in the Spanish province of León and the region of Trás-os-Montes in Portugal where it is known as Botelo. This type of Embutido ou Enchido is a meat product made from different pieces left over from the butchering of a pig, including the ribs, tail, and bones with a little meat left on them. These are chopped; seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic, and other spices; stuffed in the cecum of the pig; and partly cured via smoking. It can also include the pig's tongue, shoulder blade, jaw, and backbone, but may never exceed 20% of the total volume. It is normally consumed cooked and covered with a sheet. Also has a PGI status.
Farinato
Wines
Bierzo: is in the west of the Province of León and covers about. The area consists of numerous small valleys in the mountainous part and of a wide, flat plain. The DO covers 23 municipalities.
Tierras de León: is in the southeast of the Province of León.
