GIPSIES

gipsies, or gypsies, a wandering folk scattered through every european land, over the greater part of western asia and siberia; found also in egypt and the northern coast of africa, in america and even in australia. no correct estimate of their numbers outside of europe can be given, and even in europe the information derived from official statistics is often contradictory and unreliable. the only country in which the figures have been given correctly is hungary. in 1893 there were 274,940 in transleithania, of whom 243,432 were settled, 20,406 only partly settled and 8938 nomads. of these 91,603 spoke the gipsy language in 1890, but the rest had already been assimilated. next in numbers stands rumania, the number varying between 250,000 and 200,000 (1895). turkey in europe counted 117,000 (1903), of whom 51,000 were in bulgaria and eastern rumelia, 22,000 in the vilayet of adrianople and 2500 in the vilayet of kossovo. in asiatic turkey the estimates vary between 67,000 and 200,000. servia has 41,000; bosnia and herzegovina, 18,000; greece, 10,000; austria (cisleithania), 16,000, of whom 13,500 are in bohemia and moravia; germany, 2000; france, 2000 (5000?); basque provinces, 500 to 700; italy, 32,000; spain, 40,000; russia, 58,000; poland, 15,000; sweden and norway, 1500; denmark and holland, 5000; persia, 15,000; transcaucasia, 3000. the rest is mere guesswork. for africa, america and australia the numbers are estimated between 135,000 and 166,000. the estimate given by miklosich (1878) of 700,000 fairly agrees with the above statistics. no statistics are forthcoming for the number in the british isles. some estimate their number at 12,000. the gipsies are known principally by two names, which have been modified by the nations with whom they came in contact, but which can easily be traced to either the one or the other of these two distinct stems. the one group, embracing the majority of gipsies in europe, the compact masses living in the balkan peninsula, rumania and transylvania and extending also as far as germany and italy, are known by the name _atzigan_ or _atsigan_, which becomes in time tshingian (turkey and greece), tsigan (bulgarian, servian, rumanian), czigany (hungarian), zigeuner (germany), zingari (italian), and it is not unlikely that the english word tinker or tinkler (the latter no doubt due to a popular etymology connecting the gaudy gipsy with the tinkling coins or the metal wares which he carried on his back as a smith and tinker) may be a local transformation of the german _zigeuner_. the second name, partly known in the east, where the word, however, is used as an expression of contempt, whilst zigan is not felt by the gipsies as an insult, is _egyptian_; in england, gipsy; in some german documents of the 16th century _aegypter_; spanish _gitano_; modern greek _gyphtos_. they are also known by the parallel expressions _faraon_ (rumanian) and _pharao nephka_ (hungarian) or pharaoh's people, which are only variations connected with the egyptian origin. in france they are known as _bohemiens_, a word the importance of which will appear later. to the same category belong other names bestowed upon them, such as walachi, saraceni, agareni, nubiani, &c. they were also known by the name of tartars, given to them in germany, or as "heathen," _heydens_. all these latter must be considered as nicknames without thereby denoting their probable origin. the same may have now been the ease with the first name with which they appear in history, _atzigan_. much ingenuity has been displayed in attempts to explain the name, for it was felt that a true explanation might help to settle the question of their origin and the date of their arrival in europe. here again two extreme theories have been propounded, the one supported by bataillard, who connected them with the sigynnoi of herodotus and identified them with the komodromoi of the later byzantine writers, known already in the 6th century. others bring them to europe as late as the 14th century; and the name has also been explained by de goeje from the persian _chang_, a kind of harp or zither, or the persian _zang_, black, swarthy. rienzi (1832) and trumpp (1872) have connected the name with the changars of north-east india, but all have omitted to notice that the real form was atzigan or (more correct) atzingan and not tsigan. the best explanation remains that suggested by miklosich, who derives the word from the athinganoi, a name originally belonging to a peculiar heretical sect living in asia minor near phrygia and lycaonia, known also as the melki-zedekites. the members of this sect observed very strict rules of purity, as they were afraid to be defiled by the touch of other people whom they considered unclean. they therefore acquired the name of athinganoi (i.e. "touch-me-nots"). miklosich has collected seven passages where the byzantine historians of the 9th century describe the athinganoi as soothsayers, magicians and serpent-charmers. from these descriptions nothing definite can be proved as to the identity of the athinganoi with the gipsies, or the reason why this name was given to soothsayers, charmers, &c. but the inner history of the byzantine empire of that period may easily give a clue to it and explain how it came about that such a nickname was given to a new sect or to a new race which suddenly appeared in the greek empire at that period. in the history of the church we find them mentioned in one breath with the paulicians and other heretical sects which were transplanted in their tens of thousands from asia minor to the greek empire and settled especially in rumelia, near adrianople and philippopolis. the greeks called these heretical sects by all kinds of names, derived from ancient church traditions, and gave to each sect such names as first struck them, on the scantiest of imaginary similarities. one sect was called paulician, another melki-zedekite; so also these were called athinganoi, probably being considered the descendants of the outcast samer, who, according to ancient tradition, was a goldsmith and the maker of the golden calf in the desert. for this sin samer was banished and compelled to live apart from human beings and even to avoid their touch (athinganos: "touch-me-not"). travelling from east to west these heretical sects obtained different names in different countries, in accordance with the local traditions or to imaginary origins. the bogomils and patarenes became bulgarians in france, and so the gypsies bohemiens, a name which was also connected with the heretical sect of the bohemian brothers (_bohmische bruder_). curiously enough the kutzo-vlachs living in macedonia (q.v.) and rumelia are also known by the nickname tsintsari, a word that has not yet been explained. very likely it stands in close connexion with zingari, the name having been transferred from one people to the other without the justification of any common ethnical origin, except that the kutzo-vlachs, like the zingari, differed from their greek neighbours in race, as in language, habits and customs; while they probably followed similar pursuits to those of the zingari, as smiths, &c. as to the other name, egyptians, this is derived from a peculiar tale which the gipsies spread when appearing in the west of europe. they alleged that they had come from a country of their own called little egypt, either a confusion between little armenia and egypt or the peloponnesus. attention may be drawn to a remarkable passage in the syriac version of the apocryphal book of adam, known as the _cave of treasures_ and compiled probably in the 6th century: "and of the seed of canaan were as i said the aegyptians; and, lo, they were scattered all over the earth and served as slaves of slaves" (ed. bezold, german translation, p. 25). no reference to such a scattering and serfdom of the egyptians is mentioned anywhere else. this must have been a legend, current in asia minor, and hence probably transferred to the swarthy gipsies. a new explanation may now be ventured upon as to the name which the gipsies of europe give to themselves, which, it must be emphasized, is not known to the gipsies outside of europe. only those who starting from the ancient byzantine empire have travelled westwards and spread over europe, america and australia call themselves by the name of rom, the woman being romni and a stranger gazi. many etymologies have been suggested for the word rom. paspati derived it from the word droma (indian), and miklosich had identified it with doma or domba, a "low caste musician," rather an extraordinary name for a nation to call itself by. having no home and no country of their own and no political traditions and no literature, they would naturally try to identify themselves with the people in whose midst they lived, and would call themselves by the same name as other inhabitants of the greek empire, known also as the empire of new rom, or of the romaioi, romeliots, romanoi, as the byzantines used to call themselves before they assumed the prouder name of hellenes. the gipsies would therefore call themselves also rom, a much more natural name, more flattering to their vanity, and geographically and politically more correct than if they called themselves "low caste musicians." this greek origin of the name would explain why it is limited to the european gipsies, and why it is not found among that stock of gipsies which has migrated from asia minor southwards and taken a different route to reach egypt and north africa. _appearance in europe._--leaving aside the doubtful passages in the byzantine writers where the athinganoi are mentioned, the first appearance of gipsies in europe cannot be traced positively further back than the beginning of the 14th century. some have hitherto believed that a passage in what was erroneously called the rhymed version of genesis of vienna, but which turns out to be the work of a writer before the year 1122, and found only in the klagenfurt manuscript (edited by ditmar, 1862), referred to the gipsies. it runs as follows: gen. xiii. 15--"hagar had a son from whom were born the chaltsmide. when hagar had that child, she named it ismael, from whom the ismaelites descend who journey through the land, and we call them chaltsmide, may evil befall them! they sell only things with blemishes, and for whatever they sell they always ask more than its real value. they cheat the people to whom they sell. they have no home, no country, they are satisfied to live in tents, they wander over the country, they deceive the people, they cheat men but rob no one noisily." this reference to the chaltsmide (not goldsmiths, but very likely ironworkers, smiths) has wrongly been applied to the gipsies. for it is important to note that at least three centuries before historical evidence proves the immigration of the genuine gipsy, there had been wayfaring smiths, travelling from country to country, and practically paving the way for their successors, the gipsies, who not only took up their crafts but who probably have also assimilated a good proportion of these vagrants of the west of europe. the name given to the former, who probably were oriental or greek smiths and pedlars, was then transferred to the new-comers. the komodromoi mentioned by theophanes (758-818), who speaks under the date 554 of one hailing from italy, and by other byzantine writers, are no doubt the same as the chaltsmide of the german writer of the 12th century translated by ducange as _chaudroneurs_. we are on surer ground in the 14th century. hopf has proved the existence of gipsies in corfu before 1326. before 1346 the empress catherine de valois granted to the governor of corfu authority to reduce to vassalage certain vagrants who came from the mainland; and in 1386, under the venetians, they formed the feudum acindanorum, which lasted for many centuries. about 1378 the venetian governor of nauplia confirmed to the "acingani" of that colony the privileges granted by his predecessor to their leader john. it is even possible to identify the people described by friar simon in his _itinerarium_, who, speaking of his stay in crete in 1322, says: "we saw there a people outside the city who declare themselves to be of the race of ham and who worship according to the greek rite. they wander like a cursed people from place to place, not stopping at all or rarely in one place longer than thirty days; they live in tents like the arabs, a little oblong black tent." but their name is not mentioned, and although the similarity is great between these "children of ham" and the gipsies, the identification has only the value of an hypothesis. by the end of the 15th century they must have been settled for a sufficiently long time in the balkan peninsula and the countries north of the danube, such as transylvania and walachia, to have been reduced to the same state of serfdom as they evidently occupied in corfu in the second half of the 14th century. the voivode mircea i. of walachia confirms the grant made by his uncle vladislav voivode to the monastery of st anthony of voditsa as to forty families of "atsigane," for whom no taxes should be paid to the prince. they were considered crown property. the same gift is renewed in the year 1424 by the voivode dan, who repeats the very same words (i acigane, m, celiudi. da su slobodni ot vstkih rabot i dankov) (hajdau, _arhiva_, i. 20). at that time there must already have been in walachia settled gipsies treated as serfs, and migrating gipsies plying their trade as smiths, musicians, dancers, soothsayers, horse-dealers, &c., for we find the voivode alexander of moldavia granting these gipsies in the year 1478 "freedom of air and soil to wander about and free fire and iron for their smithy." but a certain portion, probably the largest, became serfs, who could be sold, exchanged, bartered and inherited. it may be mentioned here that in the 17th century a family when sold fetched forty hungarian florins, and in the 18th century the price was sometimes as high as 700 rumanian piastres, about l8, 10s. as late as 1845 an auction of 200 families of gipsies took place in bucharest, where they were sold in batches of no less than 5 families and offered at a "ducat" cheaper per head than elsewhere. the gipsies followed at least four distinct pursuits in rumania and transylvania, where they lived in large masses. a goodly proportion of them were tied to the soil; in consequence their position was different from that of the gipsies who had started westwards and who are nowhere found to have obtained a permanent abode for any length of time, or to have been treated, except for a very short period, with any consideration of humanity. their appearance in the west is first noted by chroniclers early in the 15th century. in 1414 they are said to have already arrived in hesse. this date is contested, but for 1417 the reports are unanimous of their appearance in germany. some count their number to have been as high as 1400, which of course is exaggeration. in 1418 they reached hamburg, 1419 augsburg, 1428 switzerland. in 1427 they had already entered france (provence). a troupe is said to have reached bologna in 1422, whence they are said to have gone to rome, on a pilgrimage alleged to have been undertaken for some act of apostasy. after this first immigration a second and larger one seems to have followed in its wake, led by zumbel. the gipsies spread over germany, italy and france between the years 1438 and 1512. about 1500 they must have reached england. on the 5th of july 1505 james iv. of scotland gave to "antonius gaginae," count of little egypt, letters of recommendation to the king of denmark; and special privileges were granted by james v. on the 15th of february 1540 to "oure louit johnne faw lord and erle of litill egypt," to whose son and successor he granted authority to hang and punish all egyptians within the realm (may 26, 1540). it is interesting to hear what the first writers who witnessed their appearance have to tell us; for ever since the gipsies have remained the same. albert krantzius (krantz), in his _saxonia_ (xi. 2), was the first to give a full description, which was afterwards repeated by munster in his _cosmographia_ (iii. 5). he says that in the year 1417 there appeared for the first time in germany a people uncouth, black, dirty, barbarous, called in italian "ciani," who indulge specially in thieving and cheating. they had among them a count and a few knights well dressed, others followed afoot. the women and children travelled in carts. they also carried with them letters of safe-conduct from the emperor sigismund and other princes, and they professed that they were engaged on a pilgrimage of expiation for some act of apostasy. the guilt of the gipsies varies in the different versions of the story, but all agree that the gipsies asserted that they came from their own country called "litill egypt," and they had to go to rome, to obtain pardon for that alleged sin of their forefathers. according to one account it was because they had not shown mercy to joseph and mary when they had sought refuge in egypt from the persecution of herod (_basel chronicle_). according to another, because they had forsaken the christian faith for a while (_rhaetia_, 1656), &c. but these were fables, no doubt connected with the legend of cartaphylus or the wandering jew. krantz's narrative continues as follows: this people have no country and travel through the land. they live like dogs and have no religion although they allow themselves to be baptized in the christian faith. they live without care and gather unto themselves also other vagrants, men and women. their old women practise fortune-telling, and whilst they are telling men of their future they pick their pockets. thus far krantz. it is curious that he should use the name by which these people were called in italy, "ciani." similarly crusius, the author of the _annales suevici_, knows their italian name _zigani_ and the french _bohemiens_. not one of these oldest writers mentions them as coppersmiths or farriers or musicians. the immunity which they enjoyed during their first appearance in western europe is due to the letter of safe-conduct of the emperor. as it is of extreme importance for the history of civilization as well as the history of the gipsies, it may find a place here. it is taken from the compilation of felix oefelius, _rerum boicarum scriptores_ (augsburg, 1763), ii. 15, who reproduces the "diarium sexennale" of "andreas presbyter," the contemporary of the first appearance of the gipsies in germany. "sigismundus dei gratia romanorum rex semper augustus, ac hungariae, bohemiae, dalmatiae, croatiae, &c. rex fidelibus nostris universis nobilibus, militibus, castellanis, officialibus, tributariis, civitatibus liberis, opidis et eorum iudicibus in regno et sub domino nostro constitutis ex existentibus salutem cum dilectione. fideles nostri adierunt in praesentiam personaliter ladislaus wayuoda ciganorum cum aliis ad ipsum spectantibus, nobis humilimas porrexerunt supplicationes, huc in sepus in nostra praesentia supplicationum precum cum instantia, ut ipsis gratia nostra uberiori providere dignaremur. unde nos illorum supplicatione illecti eisdem hanc libertatem duximus concedendam, qua re quandocunque idem ladislaus wayuoda et sua gens ad dicta nostra dominia videlicet civitates vel oppida pervenerint, ex tunc vestris fidelitatibus praesentibus firmiter committimus et mandamus ut eosdem ladislaum wayuodam et ciganos sibi subiectos omni sine impedimento ac perturbatione aliquali fovere ac conservare debeatis, immo ab omnibus impetitionibus seu offensionibus tueri velitis: si autem inter ipsos aliqua zizania seu perturbatio evenerit ex parte, quorumcunque ex tunc non vos nec aliquis alter vestrum, sed idem ladislaus wayuoda iudicandi et liberandi habeat facultatem. praesentes autem post earum lecturam semper reddi iubemus praesentanti. "datum in sepus dominica die ante festum st georgii martyris anno domini