THE GYPSIES IN THE HISTORY OF ROMANIA

The Gypsies are in the spotlight in nowadays Romania, most of them experiencing serious economic difficulties. Their present condition is rooted in the historical past. Their inferior social status, their particular symbiosis with the majority of the population, their discrimination by the same majority, their distinct way of life can all be traced back to their long years of servitude.

THE COMING OF THE GYPSIES ON THE TERRITORY OF ROMANIA

1. The Migration of the Gypsies into Europe.

The migration of the Gypsies from India into Europe took place in successive waves, between the ninth and the fourteenth centuries. The most ancient record of their presence in the Byzantine Empire dates back to the late thirteenth century. In the early fourteenth century the Gypsies may have reached the Balkan Peninsula, and this is conventionally marked as the beginning of the European history of the Gypsies. In 1323 their presence was recorded in Crete, in the second half of the fourteenth century, in the Peloponnesus, in the western part of continental Greece, and in the Ionian Islands. In 1348 they were in Serbia; in 1362 at Ragusa (Dubrovnik); in 1378 in Bulgaria.

Once in the Balkan Peninsula, part of the Gypsies crossed the Danube into the Romanian lands. Others headed for Hungary, and further to the central and western European countries. In the early fifteenth century the Gypsies had already reached the countries that were part of the Roman-German Empire. In 1426-1419 a fairly large number of Gypsies were scattered throughout Europe, from Hungary to Germany and France.

In 1419 the first bodies of Gypsies were mentioned in nowadays France; in 1420, in the Netherlands; in 1422 in Italy. In the decades to follow, the Gypsies would reach as far as Spain, England and Scandinavia. In 1428 there were Gypsies in the Polish Kingdom; from there they spread into the Baltic countries. In 1501 the first Gypsies would reach the south of Russia.

2. The Earliest records on the Territory of Romania.

The earliest written information about the presence of the Gypsies on the territory of Romania dates to 1385. A deed issued by the voivode of Wallachia, Dan I, established the assets of the monastery of Tismana, among which 40 tents (families) of Gypsies. The presence of the Gypsies in Moldavia is record for the first time in 1428, when voivode Alexandru the Good donated 31 tents of Gypsies to the monastery of Bistrita.

The earliest record of the presence of the Gypsies in Transylvania relates to Ţara Făgăraşului. A deed issued somewhere between 1390 and 1406 by Mircea the Elder, the voivode of Wallachia, who also ruled over the region, was mentioning several Gypsies in the ownership of a local boyard.