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LINGUISTICS. 


JOUENAL    OF    THE 


GYPSY    LORE    SOCIETY. 


JOURNAL  OF  THE 

GYPSY    LORE 

SOCIETY 


VOLUME    I. 

{JUL  Y 188S— OCTOBER  1880) 


Sorciers,  batdeurs  oujilons, 
Eeete  immonde 
D\m  ancien  monde  ; 
Sorciers,  bateleurs  oujilous, 
Gain  hohemiens,  d^oit  venez-vous? 

Berakgek. 


EDINBURGH 

Printed  at  the  University  Piess  by  T.  and  A.  CONSTABLE 
for  the  Gypsy  Lore  Society 

1889 


0 


V 


OCT  3    1967 

;lJ^/7-V  OF  TO^^''^*^ 


.*>■ 


JOUENAL   OF    THE 

GYPSY    LORE 

SOCIETY. 


Vol.  I.  JULY  1888.  No.  1. 


P  E  E  F  A  C  E. 

"  Good  wine  needs  no  bush,"  and  our  Journal,  we  trust, 
will  thrive  without  self-commendation.  Still,  a  word  may 
well  be  said  as  to  its  aims.  These  are  to  o-ather  new 
materials,  to  rearrange  the  old,  and  to  formulate  results,  so 
as  little  by  little  to  approach  the  goal — the  final  solution  of 
the  Gypsy  problem.  It  has  already  been  solved,  but  in  so 
many  and  such  diverse  ways,  that  the  true  answer  still 
remains  a  matter  of  doubt,  if  indeed  the  true  answer  has 
ever  yet  been  given.  There  is  Grellmann's  old  theory,  by 
which  the  Gypsies  first  reached  Europe  in  1417,  Pariahs 
expelled  from  India  by  Tamerlane  less  than  ten  years  before. 
There  is  the  Behram  Gur  theory,  by  which,  about  430  A.D., 
the  Jat  ancestors  of  our  Gypsies  were  summoned  from 
India  to  Persia,  and  from  Persia  gradually  wandered  west- 
ward. And  there  is  the  Prehistoric  theory,  by  which  there 
have  been  Gypsies  in  Europe  for  more  than  two  thousand 
years,  by  which  Europe,  or  a  great  portion  of  Europe,  owes 
to  the  Gypsies  its  knowledge  of  metallurgy. 

These  are  but  three  out  of  many  theories,  besides  which 
there  are  a  number  of  minor  questions,  as,  When  did  the 
Gypsies  first  set  foot  in  England,  or  in  North  and  South 

VOL.  I. — NO.  I.  A 


PREFACE. 


America  ?  Then  there  are  the  language,  the  manners,  the 
folk-lore  of  the  Gypsies.  Much  as  has  been  written  on  these 
subjects,  as  much  remains  to  be  written,  if  we  are  ever  to 
decide  whether  Romany  is  an  early  or  a  late  descendant  of 
Sanskrit ;  whether  the  Gypsies  derived  their  metallurgical 
terms  from  Greek,  or  the  Greeks  theirs  from  Romany  ; 
whether  the  Gypsies  have  always  been  dwellers  in  tents  ; 
and  whether  they  got  their  arts,  music,  and  folk-tales  from 
the  Gaujios,  or  whether  the  Gaiijios  have  borrowed  from 
the  "  Egyptians." 

Already  we  have  promise  of  contributions  dealing  with 
the  Romany  dialects  of  Syria  and  Brazil,  with  the  Gypsies 
of  Persia  and  Central  Africa,  with  Gypsy  bibliography,  and 
with  eight  hitherto  unpublished  folk-tales,  which  were  col- 
lected from  London  Gyj^sies  by  the  late  Mr.  Campbell  of 
Islay.  Indeed,  our  sole  difficulty  seems  likely  to  be  want  of 
space.  But  if  from  a  hundred  we  can  increase  our  member- 
ship to  twice  or  three  times  that  number,  the  Journal  will 
be  proportionally  enlarged,  and  Gypsy  camp-meetings,  at 
different  centres,  might  hereafter  be  duly  organised.  Any- 
how, we  trust  to  preserve  much  information  that  might 
otherwise  perish.  It  is  now  seven  years  since  the  death  of 
Dr.  Kounavine,  a  Russian  physician  who  had  abandoned  his 
profession,  to  wander  for  thirty-five  years  among  the 
Gypsies  of  Eastern  Europe,  Asia,  and  Africa.  What  was 
the  value  of  his  vast  collections  we  can  only  conjecture  ;  for 
from  that  day  to  this  no  trace  of  them  has  come  to  light. 
They  perished  with  him  somewhere  in  Siberia.  Not  every 
one  may  be  a  Dr.  Kounavine,  but  there  lives  not  the 
Romany  Rye  that  has  iiot  something  new  to  impart  to  his 
fellow-students. 

The  Editors. 


TURKISH    GYPSIES. 


L— TUEKISH  GYPSIES. 


IN  a  small  village  near  Tchorlu,  between  Constantinople  and 
Adrianople,  called  Deghirmen  Kioy  (Village  of  the  Mill), 
encamped  in  18G6  a  party  of  wandering  Tchingliianes,  with  their 
bears.  They  had  all  Musulman  names,  and  M'ere  considered  Musul- 
mau  Bohemians. 

One  night  one  of  them,  called  Mustapha,  in  passing  a  river  with 
his  bear,  got  imbedded  in  the  mud  up  to  his  waist.  His  cries  were 
heard  by  some  workmen  at  a  neighbouring  farm,  but,  thinking  that 
highw^aymen  were  at  their  work,  they  left  the  poor  fellow  to  his  fate. 
In  the  morning  he  was  found  still  in  the  mud — dead. 

His  companions  went  to  the  Greek  priest  in  the  village  to  have 
him  buried,  but  the  priest,  knowing  that  up  to  that  day  he  had  been 
called  ]Mustapha,  was  unwilling  to  bury  him.  His  companions  had 
alleged  that  his  name  was  Theodore.  Finally  the  Turks,  finding  no 
vestige  of  circumcision,  gave  him  up  as  a  Christian,  and  he  was 
buried  according  to  the  rites  of  the  Christian  Church.  It  is  a  strik- 
ing example  of  their  indifference  to  religion. 

Near  Tchorlu,  seventy  miles  north-west  of  Constantinople,  is  a 
place  called  Tchinghiane  Serai  (The  Gypsies'  Palace).  It  was  given 
by  the  Turks  to  the  exiled  Khans  of  the  Crimea  towards  the  latter 
half  of  the  eighteenth  century.  Now  it  contains  a  great  many  Gypsy 
families,  who  probably  came  to  the  place  in  order  to  escape  the 
persecutions  of  Turks  and  Christians.  For  Serai,  see  the  valuable 
work  of  Baron  De  Tott,  Sur  Ics  Turcs  et  les  Tartares  (Maestrich,  1785), 
vol  i.  p.  194.     The  place  is  now  a  miserable  village. 

To  the  west  of  Tchorlu  is  a  large  place,  called  Hariupol.  The 
Turks  call  it  Hariampol  and  Herepoli.  A  great  many  Gypsies  live 
in  this  place.  They  breed  a  vast  number  of  buffaloes,  the  very  best 
in  Poumelia.  In  early  spring  they  leave  the  place  in  great  carts 
drawn  by  buffaloes,  and  travelling  in  the  moist  valleys  continue  their 
march  until  they  have  sold  all  their  animals.  Their  families  and 
culinary  implements  are  all  in  the  carts.  They  are  all  Musulmans, 
and  are  most  of  them  wealthy.  The  carts  are  generally  from  five  to 
ten  in  number.  In  autumn  they  return  to  their  winter  quarters  in 
Hariupol.     This  place  contains  G.50  families,  500  Turkish. 

Up  to  1874  the  Musulman  Gypsies  were  exempt  from  military 
service,  and,  like  the  Christians,  paid  to  the  Government  the  exemp- 
tion tax  called  bedel.     The  following  is  a  translation  of  a  paragraph  in 


TURKISH   GYPSIES. 


Government  report  of  8  Mouharem  1291  (21st  January  1874)  :  "  Up 
to  the  present  the  Government  has  neglected  to  raise  personally  con- 
scripts among  the  Muslim-gypty  (Musulman  Gypsies),  but  to  exempt 
these  men  from  military  service, which  is  due  from  all  Ottoman  subjects, 
is  a  breach  of  the  common  law.  The  Minister  of  War,  by  a  report  ap- 
proved by  the  Council  of  State,  and  by  the  Privy  Council,  has  proposed 
in  future  to  subject  the  Musulman  Gypsies  to  personal  military  service. 
His  Majesty  has  deigned  to  give  his  sanction  to  this  proposition. 
Consequently,  from  the  day  when  this  measure  is  put  in  operation, 
the  tax  called  Bedcli  asJccri,  paid  up  to  now  by  the  Musulman 
Gypsies,  will  cease."     This  is  an  important  event  in  the  history  of 

the  race. 

I  have  heard  of  a  Gypsy  in  Adrianople  who  offered  as  a  dowry 
with  his  daughter  20,000  francs  (£800).  He  offered  her  to  a  young 
Greek,  who  would  not  take  a  Gypsy  wife. 

In  a  village  some  forty  miles  from  Adrianople,  called  by  the 
Turks,  Kirk  Kilizze,  and  by  the  Greeks,  Saranta  Ekklesiai  (forty 
churches),  are  a  number  of  Gypsies,  wlio  make  sweetmeats  which  are 
sold  at  all  the  neighbouring  fairs. 

Nearly  all  the  musicians  of  Eoumelia  are  Gypsies.  They  have 
sweet  voices,  and  are  very  clever  players  on  the  violin. 

On  the  farms  they  are  employed  at  times  in  mowing  and  reaping  ; 
sometimes  they  plough,  but  they  are  generally  weak,  and  cannot 
stand  at  their  work  as  the  Bulgarians.  They  work  generally  on  the 
farms  as  basketmakers  and  ironmongers. 

The  Greeks  very  rarely  intermarry  with  Gypsies.  The  Gypsies 
never  send  their  children  to  school.  They  are  never  seen  at  church 
except  on  great  festival  days.  They  never  hunt,  nor  are  they  robbers. 
In  general  they  cannot  endure  fatigue  or  long  marches. 

A  number  of  people  have  assured  me,  that  in  the  cities  of  Sophia, 
Silistria,  Samakou,  Turnevo,  and  Eustchuk,  there  are  a  great  many 
public  women  of  pure  Gypsy  blood.  They  are  never  found  in  the 
villages,  where  public  women  are  not  tolerated. 

Christian  Gypsies  never  marry  into  Turkish  families,  as  such 
marriages  are  strictly  forbidden  by  the  Musulman  law. 

At  Kizanlik,  a  small  town  near  Adrianople,  they  employ  Gypsy 
women  as  servants  in  the  Ladies'  Baths. 

My  observations  on  the  Asiatic  Gypsies,  or  ratlier  on  the  Gypsies 
roaming  on  the  plains  of  Asia  Minor,  are  very  meagre. 

As  to  the  Eoumelian  Gypsies,  I  have  made  repeated  inquiries  in 
order  to  ascertain  whether  any  religious  rites  exist  among  them  which 


TUllKISII    GYPSIES.  5 

may  be  considered  as  of  pure  Gypsy  origin.  Their  marriages,  funerals, 
and  feasts  are  those  of  the  sect  to  which  they  belong,  or  profess  to 
belong.  One  particular  habit  I  may  mention.  When  they  place  the 
corpse  in  the  coffin,  they  put  the  arms  at  the  side  of  the  body  full 
length,  instead  of  crossing  them  on  the  breast,  as  the  Christians  are 
in  the  habit  of  doing. 

The  Gypsies  in  all  Eoumelia,  in  Macedonia,  and  in  Thessaly, 
celebrate  with  music  and  dancing  the  23d  of  April,  St.  George's  Day. 
The  custom  is  peculiar  to  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  country,  Chris- 
tians and  Turks. 

At  Volo,  in  Thessaly,  a  wandering  Gypsy  told  one  of  my  friends 
that  their  Gypsy  tribe  once  inhabited  the  central  parts  of  Asia,  and  in 
coming  to  these  countries  they  had  their  own  peculiar  language, 
which  had  been  corrupted  and  mixed  with  Turkish,  Greek,  and 
Bulgarian  words.  I  have  my  doubts  on  the  geographical  knowledge 
of  this  Gypsy.  He  probably  picked  up  an  idea  of  this  nature  from 
some  European  friends. 

I  have  received  sundry  observations  on  the  Gypsies  roaming  on 
the  vast  plains  of  Thessaly  and  Epirus  from  Dr.  Zulia,  an  excellent 
physician  at  Volo,  who  went  among  them  and  collected  a  great  many 
words.  Others  I  received  from  Dr.  Bugatchelo,  a  physician  in  Velizze, 
some  eighty  miles  to  the  north-west  of  Salonica.  The  place  is 
called  Velizze  in  Greek,  and  Kiupruli  in  Turkish.  A  third  col- 
lection was  sent  to  me  by  Dr.  Crispi  of  Bcllova,  west  of  Sophia,  in 
the  very  heart  of  Thrace. 

Nothing  new  or  of  sj)ecial  interest  has  been  added  to  the  words 
given  in  my  own  work  on  the  language,  but  it  is  extremely  important 
to  see  that  they  use  the  same  language,  though  there  is  so  little 
intercourse  between  them.  The  uniformity  of  the  language  spoken 
all  over  European  Turkey  is  remarkable. 

Alexander  G.  Paspati. 


II.— EARLY  ANNALS  OF  THE  GYPSIES  IN  ENGLAND. 

FOP  the  convenience  of  those  who  have  not  easy  access  to  "  The 
Papers  of  the  Manchester  Literary  Club,"  I  have  recast  a 
paper  written  by  me  for  that  Club  in  1880.  I  have  incorporated 
such  further  materials  as  have,  since  come  in  my  way,  and  hope  it 
may  induce  others  to  contribute  their  gleanings. 

The  date  of  the  first  appearance  of  Gypsies  in  England  is  unknown. 


6  EARLY   ANNALS   OF   THE   GYPSIES   IN    ENGLAND. 

From  the  fact  of  their  formerly  common  occupatiou  as  tinkers,  it  has 
been  conjectured  by  some  that  they  have  inhabited  these  islands  from 
prehistoric  ages.  "  Tinkler  "  and  "  Tinker,"  as  proper  names,  can  be 
traced  to  the  thirteenth  century  at  least ;  but  in  tliose  days  there 
seem  to  have  been  two  classes  of  tinkers,  the  one  sedentary,  and 
perhaps  equivalent  to  our  modern  ironmongers,  and  the  other  styled 
"  wandering  tinkers,"  who  were  the  itinerant  menders  of  our  pots  and 
pans. 

So  far  as  English  Gypsy  existence  is  concerned,  the  prehistoric 
period  extends  to  the  year  1505. 

Mons.  Bataillard  {Dc  f  Apparition  des  Bohdmicns  en  Europe,  Paris, 
1844,  p.  53)  has  suggested  that  Gypsies  may  have  come  over  to 
England  so  early  as  1440.  Certainly  the  party  which  visited  Paris  in 
August  1427  took  a  northward  direction  on  leaving,  and  as  the 
English  were  then  ruling  in  the  French  capital,  it  is  very  probable 
that  the  Gypsies  would  hear  of  these  more  northerly  happy  hunting- 
grounds,  and  feel  inclined  to  pay  them  a  visit  of  inspection. 

Mr.  Borrow  {Lavo-lil,  p.  212)  says  they  first  came  to  England 
"about  the  year  1480,"  which  is  just  half  a  century  before  the 
English  Parliament  began  a  series  of  repressive  efforts. 

Sir  George  M'Kenzie,  who  died  in  1691,  has  recorded  a  tradition 
that  between  1452  and  14G0  a  company  of  Saracens  or  Gypsies  from 
Ireland  infested  the  country  of  Galloway,  in  Scotland,  and  the  King 
promised  the  barony  of  Bombie  to  whomsoever  should  disperse  them 
and  bring  in  their  captain  dead  or  alive.  The  laird  of  Bombie's  son, 
a  Maclellan,  killed  the  captain,  and  took  his  head  on  a  sword  to  the 
king.  Thereafter  Maclellan  took  for  his  crest  a  Moor's  head,  and  for 
a  motto  "  Think  on  "  (Simson's  Hist,  of  the  Gypsies,  London,  1865,  p. 
99  ;  Crawford's  Peerage,  Edinburgh,  1716,  p.  238).  Mr.  Simson  adds  : 
"  In  the  reign  of  James  IL  [of  Scotland],  away  putting  of  soruers 
[forcible  obtruders],  fancied  fools,  vagabonds,  out-liers,  masterful 
beggars,  bairds  [strolling  rhymers],  and  such  like  runners  about,  is 
more  than  once  enforced  by  Acts  of  Parliament "  (Glendook's  Seots 
Acts  of  Parliament).  In  1449  an  Act,  c.  9,  was  passed  in  which 
"  overliers  and  masterful  beggars  "  are  described  as  going  about  the 
country  wath  "  horses,  hunds,  and  other  goods  "  (Marwick,  Sketch  of 
History  of  High  Constables  of  Edinburgh,  1865,  Edinburgh,  p.  35), 
a  fact  which  acquires  a  further  value  when  compared  with  the  state- 
ment of  Krantz,  that  on  the  Continent  the  first  Gypsies  ("  venaticos 
canes  pro  more  nobilitatis  alunt ")  kept  hunting-dogs  like  the  nobility. 

As  yet  no  positive  mention  of  Gypsies  in  England  earlier  than 


EARLY    ANNALS    OF   THE    GYPSIES    IN    ENGLAND.  7 

1505  has  been  discovered,  but  in  1492  the  Gypsies  were  expelled 
from  Spain,  which  would  drive  some  at  least  into  France,  if  not 
into  England,  while  in  1500  they  were  expelled  from  the  German 
Empire,  and  on  27th  July  1504  they  were  expelled  from  France 
(Bataillard,  Nouvclks  liecJierchcs,  Paris,  1849,  p.  38). 

The  first  undoubted  record  referring  to  Gypsies  in  Great  Britain 
is  : — "  1505,  Apr.  22.  Item  to  the  Egyptianis  be  the  Kingis  command, 
vij  lib." — (Pitcairn's  Criminal  Trials  of  Scotland,  Edinb.  1833,  iii.  691). 

A  few  months  later,  in  July  1505,  we  find  the  Scottish  King, 
James  iv.,  writing  to  the  King  of  Denmark  to  commend  Anthony 
Gagino,  a  lord  of  Little  Egypt,  who,  with  his  retinue,  had  a  few  months 
previously  reached  Scotland  during  a  pilgrimage  through  the  Chris- 
tian world,  undertaken  at  the  command  of  the  Apostolic  See  (Pitcairu, 
592;  Dyrlund,  Tatcrc  orj  Natmandsfolk,  Christiania,  1872,  p.  290). 
The  draft  of  this  curious  letter  is  preserved  in  Scotland  (Reg.  MS.) 
13  B  ii.),and  the  original  is  in  Denmark. 

In  1514,  at  an  inquest  respecting  the  death  of  Pdchard  Hunne  in 
the  Lollards'  Tower,  one  of  the  witnesses  mentioned  an  Egyptian 
woman  who  had  been  lodging  at  Lambeth,  but  had  gone  over  seas  a 
month  before,  and  who  could  tell  marvellous  things  by  looking  into 
one's  hand  {A  Dijalog  of  Syr  Thomas  More,  Knight,  bk.  iii.  ch.  xv. ; 
Bright's  Travels  in  Lower  Hungary,  London,  1818,  p.  538). 

Under  date  1517,  Edward  Hall,  in  his  Chronicles  (published  in 
1548),  describes  two  ladies  at  a  Court  mummery  as  having  their  heads 
rolled  in  a  kind  of  gauze,  and  tippers  "  like  the  Egyptians "  em- 
broidered with  gold;  and  under  date  1520,  he  says  that  at  a  state 
banquet  eight  ladies  came  in  attired  "like  to  the  Egyptians,"  very  richly. 

Between  1513  and  1523  some  "  Gypsions "  were  entertained  by 
the  Earl  of  Surrey  at  Tendring  Hall,  in  »Suffolk  (  Works  of  H.  Howard, 
Earl  of  Surrey,  ed.  ISTott,  London,  1815,  vol.  i.  Appendix,  p.  5). 

About  1517  Skelton  wrote  his  "  Elynoure  Eumminge,"  in  which 
occurs  her  description. 

"  Her  kirtell  Bristowe  red, 
With  clothes  upon  her  heade, 
That  they  way  a  sowe  of  leade, 
Wrythen  iu  a  wonder  wise 
After  the  Sarazin's  gise, 
With  a  whim-wham 
Knit  with  a  trim-tram 
Upon  her  brayne  panne, 
Liice  an  Egyptian 
Capped  about 
When  she  goeth  oute." 


8  EARLY   ANNALS   OF  THE   GYPSIES   IN   ENGLAND. 

In  October  1521  William  Cholmeley  gave  certain  "  Egyptions  " 
at  Thornbury  the  large  .sum  of  forty  shillings,  which  would  be 
equivalent  to  about  twenty  pounds  {Letters,  etc.,  Foreign  and  Domestic, 
Henry  viil.,  vol.  iii.  pt.  i.  p.  499  (4)  ). 

In  1522  the  churchwardens  of  Stratton,  in  Cornwall,  received 
twenty-pence  from  the  "  Egypcions  "  for  the  use  of  the  Church  House 
(Archceoloffia  xlvj.) 

In  1526  Skelton  published  his  Garland  of  Laurel,  of  which  line 
1455  reads  as  follows — 

"  By  Mary  Gipcy,  quod  scrips!  scrips!," 

the  allusion  being  to  Sancta  Maria  ^gyptiaca,  l)ut  showing  the  early 
abbreviation  of  "  Egyptian "  into  "  Gypsy,"  which  is  also  found  in 
Shakespere,  as  will  appear  later  on. 

Samuel  Eeid,  in  his  Art  of  Juggling  (1612,  signature  Bb),  assigns 
1528  as  the  year  when  the  Gypsies  invaded  England,  stating  that  it 
was  then  (in  1612)  about  an  hundred  years  ago,  about  the  twentieth 
year  of  King  Henry  the  Eighth,  when  the  "  Egyptians  "  collected  in  the 
south  of  England,  having  been  banished  from  their  own  country, 
and  excelled  in  quaint  tricks  and  devices.  They  spoke  the  right 
Egyptian  language,  and  got  much  by  palmistry  and  telling  of  fortunes, 
and  cheated  poor  country-girls  of  money,  silver  spoons,  and 'the  best 
of  their  apparel.  Their  leader  was  Giles  Hather,  whom  they  called 
King,  and  Kit  Calot  was  their  Queen.  They  rode  on  horseback  and 
in  stransje  attire. 

Thornbury  {Shakespere' s  England,  London,  1856,  i.  261)  says  their 
chief  in  Henry  viii.'s  time  was  Cock  Lorel,  and  then  came  Eatsee. 

Harrison,  in  his  Description  of  England.  (Book  ii.  chap,  x.),  which 
is  prefixed  to  Holinshed's  Chronicle  (London,  1587,  p.  183),  says  it  is 
not  yet  full  threescore  years  since  this  trade  began,  and  after  de- 
scribing various  sorts  of  cheats,  adds : — 

"  They  are  now  supposed,  of  one  sex  and  another,  to  amount  unto  above  ten 
thousand  persons  ;  as  I  have  heard  reported.  Moreover,  in  counterfeiting  the 
Egyptian  roges,  they  have  devised  a  language  among  themselves,  which  they  name 
Canting,  but  others  pedlars'  French,  a  speech  compact  thirty  yeares  since  of  Eng- 
lish, and  a  great  number  of  od  words  of  their  owne  devising,  without  all  order  or 
reason  ;  and  yet  such  is  it  as  none  but  themselves  are  able  to  understand.  The 
first  deviser  thereof  was  hanged  by  the  neck,  a  just  reward  no  doubt  for  his 
desertes,  and  a  common  end  to  ail  of  that  profession." 

In  1530,  a  quarter  of  a  century  after  their  expulsion  from  France, 
they  had  become  an  intolerable  nuisance  in  England ;  and  the  Act 


EAKLY   ANNALS   UF   THE   GYPSIES   IN    ENGLAND.  9 

concerniug  Egipcions  was  passed  in   1530  (22  Henry  vm.  cap.  10.) 

It  recites  that : — 

"Afore  this  tynie  dyverse  and  many  outlandysshe  [foreign]  People  callynge 
themselfes  Egyptians,  usyng  no  Craftc  nor  faicte  of  Mercbanndyce  had  conien  into 
this  Realme  and  gone  from  Sliire  to  Shire  and  Place  to  Place  in  greate  Company, 
and  used  greate  subtyll  and  crafty  meanes  to  deceyve  the  People,  beryng  them  in 
Hande  [persuading  them]  that  they  by  Palmestre  coulde  telle  INIenne  and  Womeus 
Fortunes  and  so  many  tymes  by  crafte  and  subtyltie  had  deceyved  the  People  of 
theyr  INIoney  and  also  had  comytted  many  and  haynous  Felonycs  and  Kobberies  to 
the  greate  Hurte  and  Deceyte  of  the  People  that  they  had  comyn  amonge." 

In  order  to  stop  further  ininiigratiou,  it  was  enacted  that : — 

"  From  hensforth  no  suche  Psone  be  suffred  to  come  within  this  the  Kynge's 
Realme." 

If  they  did,  they  were  to  forfeit  all  their  goods,  and  to  be  ordered  to 
quit  the  realm  within  fifteen  days,  and  to  be  imprisoned  in  default. 
Further,  if  "  any  such  straunger  "  thereafter  committed  any  murder, 
robbery,  or  other  felony,  and,  upon  being  arraigned,  he  pleaded  not 
guilty,  the  jury  was  to  be  "  alltogether  of  Englysshemen  "  instead  of 
half  Englishmen  and  half  foreigners  (medietatis  linguw),  which 
they  were  otherwise  entitled  to  claim  under  8  Henry  vi.  All 
Egyptians  then  in  England  w^ere  to  quit  it  within  sixteen  days  after 
the  Act  was  proclaimed,  or  to  be  imprisoned  and  to  forfeit  their 
goods ;  but  if  any  of  those  goods  were  claimed  as  stolen,  then  they 
were  upon  proper  proof  to  be  forthwith  restored  to  the  owner ;  and, 
as  an  inducement  to  execute  the  Act  zealously,  all  Justices  of  the 
Peace,  Sheriffs,  or  Escheators,  who  seized  the  goods  of  any  Egyptians, 
were  to  retain  half  of  them  as  their  own,  and  to  account  in  the  Court 
of  Exchequer  for  the  other  moiety,  and  they  were  not  to  pay  any 
fees  or  other  charges  upon  rendering  the  account.  This  Act  is  duly 
noticed  in  L' office  et  audorytc  des  Justices  de  Peas,  London,  1538, 

In  1530  the  "  Egyptianis  that  dansit  before  the  king  [James  v. 
of  Scotland]  in  Halyrudhous  "  received  forty  shillings  (Pitcairn,  iii., 
App.,  592). 

No  trace  exists  of  another  Act  of  Parliament  which  Mr.  Hoyland 
alleges  was  passed  in  1535  {Hist.  Survey,  p.  79).  He  states  that, 
after  a  recital  similar  to  that  of  the  Act  passed  in  1530,  it  was 
enacted  that  they  should  quit  the  realm  within  a  month,  or  be  pro- 
secuted as  thieves  and  rascals,  and  any  one  importing  them  was  to  be 
fined  £40.  It  is  probable  that  Mr.  Hoyland  has  made  a  mistake  in 
the  date,  and  meant  1555. 

In  1531  John  Popham  was  born  at  Huntworth  or  Wellington,  in 
Somersetshire.     He  afterwards  rose  to  be  Lord  Chief-Justice  of  Eng- 


10  EAKLY    ANNALS    OF    THE    GYPSIES   IN    ENGLAND. 

land,  and  tried  Guy  Fawkes.  While  still  a  child  he  was  stolen  by  a 
band  of  Gypsies,  and  "  for  some  months,"  according  to  Campbell 
{Lives  oj  the  Chief-Justices,  London,  1849,  vol.  i.  p.  209),  or  "for 
several  years,"  according  to  Eoberts  (Social  Ilistorij  of  S.  Goiinties, 
p.  259),  was  detained  by  them.  They  disfigured  him,  and  burnt  on 
his  left  arm  a  cabalistic  mark  ;  but  their  wandering  life  strengthened 
his  previously  weak  constitution. 

About  December  1536  "a  company  of  lewd  persons,  calling 
themselves  Gipcyans,"  were  convicted  of  "a  most  shamefull  and 
detestable  murder  commytted  amonges  them,"  but  received  the  king's 
pardon,  in  which  was  "  a  speciall  proviso,  inserted  by  their  owne 
consentes,  that,  onles  they  shuld  avoyde  this  his  grace's  realme  l)y  a 
certeyn  daye,  .  .  .  yt  shuld  be  lawful  to  all  his  graces  offycers  to 
hang  them  .  .  .  without  any  further  .  .  .  tryal." 

This  pardon  was  filed  in  Chancery ;  but  the  Gypsies,  having 
recovered  their  liberty,  were  in  no  hurry  to  leave  the  country. 
Thomas  Crumwell  (Lord  Privy  Seal)  wrote  on  December  5,  1537,  to 
'•'  my  lorde  of  Chestre,  president  of  the  Counsaile  of  the  Marches  of 
Wales,"  to 

"  Laye  diligent  espiall  throiigliowte  all  the  partes  there  aboutes  youe  and  the  shires 
next  adjoynyng  whether  any  of  the  sayd  personnes  calling  theniselfes  Egipcyans  or 
that  hathe  heretofore  called  theniselfes  Egipsyans  shall  fortune  to  enter  or  travayle 
in  the  same.  And  in  cace  youe  shall  here  or  knowe  of  any  suche,  be  they  men  or 
women,  that  ye  shall  compell  them  to  repair  to  the  nexte  porte  of  the  see  to  the 
place  where  they  shallbe  taken  and  eyther  wythout  delaye  uppon  the  first  wyaide 
that  may  conveye  them  into  any  parte  of  beyond  the  sees  to  take  shipping  and  to 
passe  to  outward  partyes,  or  if  they  shall  in  any  wise  breke  that  coniniaundement 
without  any  tract  to  see  them  executed  .  ,  .  without  siwring  uppon  any  commys- 
siou  licence  or  placarde  that  they  may  shewe  or  aledge  for  themselfes." 

In  1542,  twelve  years  after  the  first  Act  was  passed.  Dr.  Andrew 
Borde,  the  original  "  jNIerry  Andrew,"  published  Tlie  fyrst  hake  of  the 
introduction  of  Knowledge,  and  described  (ch.  38,  pp.  217,  218)  the 
Gypsies  of  those  days  as  "swarte  and  disgisyd  in  theyr  apparel  con- 
trary to  other  nacyons";  he  adds,  "They  be  lyght  fyngerd  and  vse 
pyking ;  they  have  little  maner  and  euyl  loggyng,  and  yet  they  be 
pleasnt  daunsers  .  .  .  there  money  is  brasse  and  golde  ...  If  there 
be  any  man  that  wyl  learn  parte  of  theyr  speche,  Euglyshe  and 
Egipt  speche  foloweth."  He  gives  thirteen  sentences  (Miklosich, 
Beitr.  zur  Kenntn.  der  zig-mund.,  Vienna,  1874,  i.  5). 

In  the  summer  of  1544  Eobert  Ap  Kice,  Esq.,  the  Sheriff  of 
Huntingdon,  caused  a  large  band  of  Gypsies,  owning  seventeen  horses, 
to  be  apprehended  under  the  Act  passed  in  1530.  They  were  tried  at 
a  special  assizes,  a  fact  which  probably  indicates  that  the  capture 


EAliLY   ANNALS   OF   THE   GYPSIES   IN    ENGLAND.  1  1 

was  one  of  uuiisiial  size  and  importance.  They  were  convicted  and 
sentenced  to  be  taken  in  the  custody  of  William  Wever  to  Calais,  the 
nearest  English  port  on  the  Continent.  A  ship  belonging  to  John 
Bowles  was  hired  by  the  Admiralty  for  the  purpose,  the  freight  being 
£6,  5s.,  and  the  cost  of  victualling  £2,  18s.  The  total  expense  was 
£36,  5s.  7d.,  but  was  reduced  by  the  sale  of  the  seventeen  horses  for 
live  shillings  each.  The  accounts  were  set  out  by  Mr.  Hoyland  ((>;?. 
cit.,  p.  81)  from  the  Book  of  Receipts  and  Payments  of  35  Henry  viii. 

About  Christmas  1544,  a  number  of  Gypsies,  who  had  been 
imprisoned  at  Boston,  in  Lincolnshire,  were  by  the  king's  command 
shipped  from  there  and  landed  in  Norway.  Sliortly  afterwards  four 
Gypsies  came  "  from  Lenn,  thinkinge  to  have  had  shippinge  here  at 
Bostone  as  their  company  had,"  but  '•'  the  Constables  of  the  same 
towne  immediatly  not  onely  sett  them  in  the  stockes  as  vagaboundes, 
but  also  serched  them  to  their  shertes,  but  nothing  cowde  be  found 
upon  them,  not  so  moche  as  wolde  paie  for  their  mete  and  drynke, 
nor  none  other  bagge  or  baggage  but  one  horse  not  worthe  iiij  s.,"  and 
"  here  beynge  no  shipping  for  them,  the  forseide  constables  of  Bostone 
did  avoyde  them  owte  of  the  towne  as  vagaboundes  towardes  the 
nexte  portes,  which  be  Hull  and  Xewcastell."  These  facts  are 
gathered  from  a  letter  of  Nicholas  Eobertson,  of  Boston,  to  Thomas, 
Earl  of  Essex,  Lord  Privy  Seal,  preserved  amongst  the  Kecords  of  the 
Kolls'  House  (AVright,  History  of  Ludloiv,  p.  390). 

On  January  21,  1545,  at  Hampton  Court,  a  passport  was  granted 
for  a  party  of  Gypsies  under  Phillipe  Lazer,  their  Governor,  to 
embark  at  London,  according  to  an  order  of  the  Admiralty  {Archmo- 
loyia,  xviii.,  127,  and  Proceedinys  of  the  Privy  Council,  folio  129  h). 

The  King  of  France,  in  1545,  entertained  the  notion  of  embodying 
four  thousand  Gypsies  as  pioneers  to  act  against  Boulogne,  then  held 
by  the  English  (Briglit,  07;.  cit.,  523).  This  is  mentioned  in  a  letter 
from  the  Council  of  Boulogne  to  the  Privy  Council  of  England,  under 
date  February  21,  1545,  preserved  in  the  State  Paper  Office,  French 
Correspondence,  vol.  vi.,  No.  7  7,  and  printed  in  Tlie  Works  of  Henry 
Howard,  Earl  of  Surrey  (2  vols.,  London,  1815),  vol.  i.  p.  209,  Letter 
XX.,  as  follows  : — 

"  It  may  like  your  good  Lordships  to  be  advertised  that  this  day  arrived  here  a 
spy  for  us  that  hath  been  long  upon  the  frontier  for  that  purpose." 

The  news  he  had  gathered  was — 

"That  their  army  shall  assemble  about  th'  end  of  March,  and  that  the  Rhinecroft 
shall  bring  out  of  Almain  twenty  four  ensigns  for  th'  renforce  of  th'  old  bands,  and 
six  thousand  Gascons  to  be  new  levied,  and  six  thousand  pioneers,  besides  four 


12  EARLY   ANNALS   OF   THE   GYPSIES   IN  ENGLAND. 

thousand  Egyptians  that  shall  serve  for  pioneers,  whom  it  is  thought  the  French 
King  minding  to  avoid  out  of  his  realm,  deterniineth  before  their  departure  to 
employ  this  year  in  that  kind  of  service,  and  that  by  their  help,  before  their  dis- 
patch he  hopeth  with  a  tumbling  trench  to  fill  the  dykes  of  this  town." 

On  December  5,  1545  (37  Henry  viii.),  a  Bill  was  introduced 
into  the  House  of  Lords  "pro  animadversione  in  Egyptios."  It  was 
read  on  December  7  and  10,  and  referred  to  the  Chief- Justice  of  the 
Common  Bench.  It  was  read  the  third  time  next  day,  and  then  sent 
to  the  Commons  under  the  title  "pro  expulsione  et  supphcio 
Egyptorum  "  (Journal  of  the  House  of  Lords,  vol.  i.  pp.  273a,  272b, 
273b,  274a).  The  printed  Journal  of  the  House  of  Commons  only 
begins  with  1547  (the  year  of  King  Henry's  death),  and,  as  the  Statute 
Book  does  not  include  this  edict,  it  probably  failed  to  pass  the 
Commons,  who,  in  the  first  year  of  Edward  vi.,  on  November  17  and 
23,  and  December  19,  1547,  revived  the  subject  by  a  Bill  "for  pun- 
ishing vagrants  and  Egyptians."  On  December  20,  it  was  taken  to 
the  Lords,  and  committed  to  the  Lord  Chancellor,  and  read  on  the 
following  day  {Journal  of  the  House  of  Commons,  vol.  i. ;  Journal  of 
the  House  of  Lords,  i.  310b,  211b);  but  this  Bill  likewise  proved 
abortive,  and  is  not  found  in  the  Statute  Book. 

In  1547  certain  garments  were  made  for  two  Egyptians  (Kempe, 
Loscley  MSS.,  London,  1836,  p.  77). 

On  January  19,  1549,  the  Justices  of  Durham  wrote  to  the  Earl 
of  Shrewsbury,  then  Lord  President  of  the  Council  in  the  North,  a 
letter  stating  that  "  John  Koland  oon  of  that  sorte  of  people  callinge 
themselffes  Egiptians  "  had  "  accused  "  Baptist  Favjc,  Amy  Faiue,  and 
George  Faive,  Egiptians,"  of  having  "  counterfeate  the  Iv3mgs  Ma*'*^^ 
Create  Scale," — that  the  accused  persons  had  been  apprehended,  and 
amongst  their  things  had  been  found  "  one  wryting  with  a  greate 
Seall  moche  like  to  the  Kings  Ma*^^^  greate  Seall,  which  we  bothe  by 
the  wrytinge  and  and  also  by  the  Seall  do  suppose  to  be  counterfeate 
and  feanyd."  They  sent  the  seal  for  examination,  and  informed  his 
Lordship  that  the  accused  persons,  with  great  execrations,  denied  all 
knowledge  of  the  seal,  and  alleged  that  Eoland  was  "  their  mortall 
enemy  and  haithe  oftentymes  accused  the  said  Baptist  before  this 
and  is  moche  in  his  debte,"  and  that  they  supposed  he  "  or  some  of 
his  complices  haithe  put  the  counterfeate  Seall  amongst  their  wry- 
tyngs"  (Brand  and  Ellis,  Popular  Antiqitities,  2  vols.  4to,  London, 
1813,  vol.  ii.  p.  438;  Lodge,  Ilhtstrations  of  British  History,  3  vols. 
4to,  London,  1791,  vol.  i.  p.  135). 

On  June  22,  1549,  the   young   king,  Edward  vi.,  writes  in  his 


EARLY   ANNALS   OF   THE    GYPSIES   IN    ENGLAND.  13 

jourual,  "There  was  a  privy  search  made  through  Sussex  for  all 
vagabonds,  gipsies,  conspirators,  prophesiers,  all  players,  and  such 
like"  {Blackwood's  Magazine,  vol.  i.  p.  45;  Burnet,  History  of  the 
Bcformation,  folio,  London,  1G81,  part  ii.  p.  16;  Cottonian  MSS,, 
British  Museum). 

On  the  20th,  21st,  and  30th  November,  and  1st  December,  1554 
(1  Philip  and  Mary;  Commons'  Journal,  vol.  i.),  a  Bill  was  before  the 
Commons  "for  making  the  coming  of  Egyptians  into  the  Realm  Felony!' 
It  was  taken  to  the  Lords  on  the  1st,  and  read  on  the  3d,  5th,  and 
10th  of  December  {Lords  Journal,  i.  472a,  472b,  473b,  474b),  and 
passed  as  "An  Act  against  certain  Persons  calling  themselves  Egy2')tians" 
(1  and  2  Philip  and  Mary,  cap.  4).  It  recites  the  Act  of  1530,  but 
omits  all  mention  of  Mr.  Hoyland's  Act  of  1535  {ante),  and  states 
that  "  divers  of  the  said  Company  and  such  other  like  Persons  had 
enterprised  to  come  over  again,  using  their  old  accustomed  devilish 
and  naughty  Practices  and  Devices  with  such  abominable  Living 
as  is  not  in  any  Christian  Ptealm  to  be  permitted,  named,  or 
known ;  and  that  they  were  not  duly  punished."  It  was  therefore 
enacted  that  after  31st  January  1555,  any  one  importing  Gypsies 
should  forfeit  forty  pounds;  that  any  Gypsy  so  imported  who  remained 
in  England  one  month  should  be  deemed  a  felon,  and  forfeit  his  life, 
lands,  and  goods,  being  also  deprived  of  the  privileges  of  a  mixed  jury, 
of  sanctuary,  and  of  "  benefit  of  clergy,"  that  is  to  say,  ability  to  read 
was  to  be  no  bar  to  the  proceedings.  All  Gypsies  then  in  England 
or  Wales  were  to  depart  within  twenty  days  after  proclamation  of 
the  Act,  and  any  who  stayed  longer  were  to  forfeit  their  goods,  half 
to  the  crown  and  half  to  the  person  who  should  seize  them.  If  they 
remained  forty  days  after  the  proclamation  the  punishment  was  the 
same  as  for  newly-imported  Gypsies  who  stayed  a  month. 

Erom  the  next  section  of  the  Act  it  would  appear  that  the  penal- 
ties had  been  evaded  by  obtaining  "  licenses,  letters,  or  passports" ; 
but  now,  after  1st  January  1555,  any  applicant  for  such  protection 
was  to  forfeit  forty  pounds,  and  all  such  licences  were  to  become  void. 

As  at  least  half  a  century  had  elapsed  since  the  immigration 
began,  and  many  of  the  Gypsies  must  have  been  born  in  England,  the 
seventh  section  excepts  from  these  pains  and  penalties  all  who  within 
twenty  days  after  proclamation  of  the  Act  should  "  leave  that  naughty 
idle  and  ungodly  Life  and  Company  and  be  placed  in  the  Service  of 
some  honest  and  able  inhabitant  or  honestly  exercise  himself  in  some 
lawful  Work  or  Occupation,"  but  only  so  long  as  such  good  behaviour 
lasted.     Children  under  thirteen  years  of  age  were  also  excepted,  and 


14  EARLY   ANNALS    OF  THE   GYPSIES   IN    ENGLAND. 

Gypsies  then  in  prison  were  allowed  to  quit  tlie  realm  in  fourteen 
days  after  their  release. 

Eeferring  to  this  Statute  of  Philip  and  Mary,  Samuel  Pad,  in  his 
Art  of  Juggling,  says  : — 

"  But  what  a  number  were  executed  presently  upon  this  Statute,  you  would 
wonder,  yet  notwithstanding  all  would  not  prevaile  ;  but  still  they  wandred,  as 
before  up  and  downe,  and  meeting  once  in  a  yeere  at  a  place  appointed  :  sometimes 
at  the  Devil's  A — e  in  Peak  in  Darbishire,  and  otherwhiles  at  Ketbrooke  by  Black- 
heath,  or  elsewhere,  as  they  agreed  still  at  their  meeting." 

But,  when  speaking  of  his  own  time,  1612,  he  says  : — 

"  These  fellowes  seeing  that  no  profit  comes  by  wandring,  but  hazard  of  their 
lives,  do  daily  decrease  and  breake  off  their  wonted  society,  and  betake  themselves 
many  of  them,  some  to  be  Pedlers,  some  Tinkers,  some  Juglers,  and  some  to  one 
kind  of  life  or  other." 

On  October  7,  1555,  the  Privy  Council  Register  of  Queen  Mary 
records  at  Greenwich  a  letter  to  the  Earl  of  Sussex  and  Sir  John 
Shelton,  Sheriff  of  Norfolk  and  Suffolk,  returning  again  to  them  the 
passports  and  licences  of  "  suche  as  name  themselves  Egiptians  of  w*^** 
company  they  had  some  in  prison  requiring  them  to  examyne  y^  truth 
of  their  pretended  Licenses,  and  being  eftsons  punished  according  to 
the  Statute  to  give  order  forthwith  for  their  transportacon  out  of  the 
Realm." 

On  January  27,  1555(-6),  the  same  Register  records  another  letter 
written  from  Greenwich  to  Mr.  SuUiarde,  Sheriff  of  the  Counties  of 
Norfolk  and  Suffolk  "  to  p'cede  with  5  or  6  of  th'  Egiptians  by  him 
apprehended,  and  to  see  the  rest  sent  out  of  the  Realme  with  charge 
not  to  returne  upon  pain  of  execution  of  the  laws  ag*  them.  He  is 
also  willed  to  p'cede  to  the  execution  of  3  by  him  stayed  and  to  stay 
no  more  after  condemnagon,  but  to  execute  them  according  to  the 
judgment.  He  is  also  advertised  that  the  Queues  Maty,  shall  be 
moved  for  staying  from  granting  any  pardon  to  Howlet  that  he 
writeth  for,  and  that  the  commission  of  Gaole  delivery  shall  be  shortly 
made  and  sent  to  them." 

On  February  14,  1558,  Joan,  the  daughter  of  an  Egyptian,  was 
baptized  at  Lyme  Regis,  in  Devonshire,  having  been  born  at  Char- 
mouth,  "the  quarters  theyre  being  fixed,"  in  accordance  with  the 
seventh  section  of  1  Philip  and  Mary"  (Roberts,  Social  Hist,  of 
Southern  Counties,  Lond.  1850,  p.  257). 

In  the  summer  of  1559  a  very  large  number  of  Gypsies  were 
apprehended  in  Dorsetshire,  and  committed  for  trial  at  the  Assizes 
under  the  Statutes  of  Henry  viil.  and  Philip  and  Mary.  The  authori- 
ties were  apparently  perplexed  by  the  number  and  the  wholesale 


EARLY   ANNALS   OF   THE   GYPSIES   IN    ENGLAND.  15 

slaughter  that  would  follow  a  conviction  in  case  the  laws  were  strictly 
enforced.  Lord  Mountjoy,  the  Lord-Lieutenant  of  the  county,  there- 
fore wrote  to  the  Privy  Council  for  instructions,  which  were  sent  to 
him  by  a  minute  in  Queen  Elizabeth's  name.  This  is  dated  "  the  last 
of  August  1559,"  and  states  that  "  in  our  late  dere  sistar's  tyme  some 
exaple  was  made  by  executio  of  some  of  the  lyke  which  yet  hath  not 
proffited  to  teare  theis  sort  of  people  as  was  met  beside  y«  horrible 
and  shamefull  lyffe  y*  they  doe  hant."  The  Queen  thought  it  "  very 
covenient  tliat  some  sliarpe  example  and  executio  shuld  be  made 
uppo  a  good  ndber  of  them" ;  therefore  no  favour  was  to  be  shown  to 
"  fellons  or  such  like  malefactors,"  to  old  offenders,  "  or  to  such  as 
have  fro  there  youth  of  long  tyme  hanted  this  lewd  lyfi'e  nor  to  such 
as  be  ye  p'ncipall  captens  and  ryngledars  of  the  copany ;"  but  "  y® 
childre  being  under  y<=  age  of  xvj*^  and  of  such  as  very  lately  have 
come  to  this  trade  of  lyfle  and  that  apper  to  have  bene  ignorat  of 
y*^  lawes  in  this  behalfe  provided  and  of  wome  having  childre  eth"" 
suckyng  uppo  them  or  being  otherwise  very  yong  so  as  w*out  their 
mothers  attendace  they  might  perish  or  otlier  wome  being  w*  child," 
were  left  to  the  discretion  of  Lord  Mountjoy  and  the  "  Justicees  of 
assisees  at  there  comig  thither,"  with  the  remark  that  "  we  thvnk  it 
very  c5veniet  that  tliey  be  c5veyed  owt  of  y*^  realme  an  in  lyke  casees 
hath  been  used." 

At  the  Dorchester  Assizes,  on  the  5th  of  September  1559,  these 
Gypsies  were  tried  and  were  acquitted  on  the  technical  grounds  that 
they  had  imported  themselves,  and  had  not  come  over  seas,  for  "  upon 
throughe  examinacon  "  they  alleged  "  that  in  Decembre  last  they  cam 
out  of  Skotland  into  England  by  Carlysle  w'^'^  ys  all  by  land,"  perhaps 
on  hearing  of  Queen  Elizabeth's  accession  to  the  throne,  November  1 7, 
1558.  The  "justicees  of  assisees  [serjeants]  Eychard  "Weston  and 
Rychard  Harpo'' "  however  directed  them  to  be  kept  in  custody  until 
the  Queen's  pleasure  was  known,  and  on  the  23d  of  September,  James 
Lord  Mountjoy  wrote  from  Canford,  explaining  that  he  had  "caused 
learned  counsayll  to  sett  in  hand  the  drawyng  of  their  endytement," 
but  they  and  also  "  the  Justyce  of  assyse  judged  they  not  to  be  w^^in 
the  daunger  of  felonye,  .  .  .  therefore  I  have  taken  order  that  they 
shalbe  dyspatched,  w*'^  as  convenyent  speede  as  may  be,  as  vagabonds, 
according  to  the  lawes,  to  the  places  wher  they  Vv'cre  borne"  (State 
Papers — Domestic — Elizabeth,  vol.  vi.  Nos.  31,  39,  50,  pp.  137,  138, 
139). 

It  is  highly  probable  that  this  same  band,  upon  leaving  Dorchester 
to  go  to  Scotland,  passed  through  Gloucestershire,  and  were,  on  the 


16  EAELY   ANNALS   OF   THE   GYPSIES   IN    ENGLAND. 

26th  of  October  1559,  reapprehended  at  Longhope,  in  that  county,  by- 
George  Jones,  the  county  escheator,  by  direction  of  William  Pytte, 
bailiff  of  the  borough  of  Blanford,  Dorsetshire,  acting  as  Lord  Mount- 
joy's  messenger  {State  Papers,  vol.  vi.  No.  20,  p.  141).  The 
escheator's  return  furnishes  their  names,  viz.  James  Kyncowe,  George 
Kyncowe,  Andrew  Christo,  Thomas  Grabriells,  Eobert  Johanny,  John 
Lallowe,  Christopher  Lawrence,  and  Richarde  Concow.  Their  ulti- 
mate fate  beyond  being  taken  to  Gloucester  Castle  is  not  mentioned, 
nor  is  the  cause  of  their  reapprehension ;  but  probably  in  Lord 
JNIountjoy's  opinion  they  were  not  fulfilling  their  promise  to  return 
to  Scotland. 

In  1559  the  churchwardens  of  Stratton,  in  Cornwall,  "receved 
of  Jewes  Jeptyons  for  the  church  howse  ijs.  vjd.,"  and  in  1560  they 
"  receuyd  of  J?e  Jepsyons  on  nyzth  yn  the  church  howsse  iiijd. 
{Arcliceolofjia,  xlvj.). 

In  1562  William  Bullein,  the  author  of  A  Book  of  Simples  and 
of  Surgery  forming  parte  of  his  Bidivarhe  of  Defence,  etc.  (1562, 
folio),  speaks  of  dog-leeches,  who  "  fall  to  palmistry  and  telling  of 
fortunes,  daily  deceiving  the  simple,  like  unto  the  swarms  of  Vaga- 
bonds, Egyj)tians,  and  some  that  call  themselves  Jews,  whose  eyes 
were  so  sharp  as  lynx  "  (Strype,  Annals  of  the  Beformation,  Oxford, 
1824,  vol.  ii.  part  ii.  ch.  xix.  p.  307;  Brand  and  Ellis,  Popular 
Antiquities,  p.  440). 

On  20th,  23d,  and  27th  February  1562,  we  again  find  the  Com- 
mons considering  a  Bill  "  for  the  punishment  of  vagabonds  called 
Egyptians  "  {Commons'  Journal,  vol.  i.).  It  was  before  the  Lords  on 
27th  February,  and  2d,  4th,  and  6th  March  {Lords'  Journal,  i,  596, 
597,  598,  599),  and  passed  as  "  An  Act  for  further  Punishment  of 
Vagabonds  calling  themselves  Egyptians "  (5  Elizabeth,  cap.  20). 
The  Earl  of  Arundel  alone  dissented  from  the  measure.  Under 
this  Act,  after  1st  May  1562,  any  person  who  for  a  month 
"  at  one  time  or  at  several  times  "  was  in  the  company  of  Gypsies, 
and  imitated  their  Apparel,  Speech,  or  other  Behaviour,  should,  as  a 
felon,  suffer  death  and  loss  of  lands  and  goods,  without  the  benefits 
of  a  jury  medietatis  lingum,  sanctuary,  or  "  clergy "  ;  but  children 
under  fourteen  were  excepted ;  and  Gypsies  then  in  prison  were, 
within  fourteen  days  from  their  release,  to  quit  England  and  Wales, 
or  put  themselves  to  some  honest  service,  or  exercise  some  lawful 
trade.  No  natural  born  subjects,  however,  were  to  be  compelled  to 
quit  England  or  Wales,  but  only  to  leave  their  naughty  ways  and  in 
future  to  labour  honestly. 


FARLY   ANNALS    OF   THE   GYPSIES   IN   ENGLAND.  17 

Wraxall  {History  of  France,  ii.  32),  referring  to  this  Act  of  1563, 
states  that  in  the  reign  of  Elizabeth  the  Gypsies  throughout  England 
were  supposed  to  exceed  ten  thousand. 

On  February  19,  1564,  William,  the  son  of  an  Egyptian,  was 
baptized  at  Lanchester  in  the  county  of  Durham  {Ghron.  Mircib., 
1841). 

On  December  29,  1565,  Sir  John  Throckmorton  wrote  to  his 
brother  Sir  Nicholas,  that  having  his  house  full  of  children,  and 
prospects  of  a  further  increase,  he  was  forced  to  wander  up  and 
down  "  like  an  Egyptian  "  in  other  men's  houses,  for  want  of  one  of 
his  own  {Calendar  of  State  Papers,  vol.  xii.  p.  574). 

On  March  30,  1567,  "  Eobartt,  ane  Egiptic,'  was  baptized  at 
Bedford,  and  on  April  26,  1567,  at  the  same  place,  "John,  ane 
Egiptn,"  was  baptized  (G-roome,  In  Gypsy  Tents,  Edinburgh,  1880). 

In  1567,  Thomas  Harman,  the  author  of  A  Caucat  or   Warcning 

for  commcn  cvrsetors  vvlgarcly  called    Vagahoncs,  when  speaking  of 

"  vagabones  or  lousey  leuterars,"  says  : — 

"  I  hope  their  synne  is  now  at  the  hyghest ;  and  that  as  short  and  as  spedy 
a  redresse  wylbe  for  these,  as  hath  bene  of  late  yeres  for  the  wretched,  wily, 
wandering  vagabonds  calling  and  naming  them  selves'Egiptians,  depely  dissembling 
and  long  hyding  and  couering  their  depe  decetfuU  practises, — feding  the  rude  com- 
mon people,  wholy  addicted  and  geuen  to  nouelties,  toyes,  and  new  inventions, — 
delyting  them  with  the  strangenes  of  the  attyre  of  their  heades,  and  practising 
pavilmistrie  to  such  as  would  know  their  fortunes  :  .  .  .  And  now  (thankes  bee  to 
god),  throughe  wholsome  lawes,  and  the  due  execution  thereof,  all  be  dispersed, 
banished,  and  the  memory  of  them  cleane  extynguished  ;  that  when  they  bee  once 
named  here  after,  our  Chyldren  wyll  muche  meruell  what  kynd  of  people  they 
were  {Early  English  Text  Society,  extra  series,  ix.  p.  23). 

Mr.  Harman  lived  at  Crayford,  near  Erith,  in  Kent. 

On  March  1,  1568,  the  Lords  of  the  Council  wrote  to  William 
More,  Esq.,  "  for  the  suppression  of  rogues,  vagabonds,  and  Egyp- 
tians "  in  Surrey,  who  were  to  be  "  corrected  sharply  and  restrained 
firmly  in  accordance  with  the  laws  of  the  Kealm  "  {Rist.  MSS.  Record 
Com.,  7th  Report,  p.  620). 

In  1569,  the  Privy  Council  caused  a  vigorous  effort  to  be  made 
by  the  authorities  in  every  county  to  capture,  punish,  and  send  to 
their  homes  all  vagrants,  including  Gypsies,  throughout  England. 
The  first  search  was  made  on  the  24th  of  March  ;  and  at  Higham 
Ferrars,  Northamptonshire,  the  following  "  sturdey  vacabownds  "  were 
taken  and  whypped,  and  sent  home  with  passports,  viz. : — 

"  Roger  Lane,  to  whom  a  three  weeks'  passport  was  given  to  go  to  Stafford. 
Robert  Bayly,  and  Alice  his  wife,  3  days  to  Gretton,  in  Rockingham  Forest. 
Edward  Ffyllcocks,  4  days  to  Newport,  Bucks. 
Elizabeth  Jurdayne,  2  days  to  Lowek,  Northpton. 

VOL.  L — NO.  I.  B 


18  EAELY   ANNALS   OF   THE   GYPSIES   IN   ENGLAND. 

John  Tomkyns,  three  weeks  to  Ludlow  in  Wales. 

Valentyne  Tyndale,  on  the  21st  of  June,  had  a  passport  to  go  to  *ye  back  streate  (!) 
in  ye  Cytie  of  London.'  " 

In  the  Hundred  of  ISTesse  of  Borougli,  in  the  same  county,  Anne 
Diickdale,  Jone  Hodgekyne,  and  Elizabeth  Lee,  were  similarly  treated 
{State  Pa-pcrs — Domestic — Elizcibeth,  vol.  li.  No.  11,  p.  334), 

Many  places  omitted  to  make  this  first  search  or  to  send  up  the 
returns,  so  in  June  the  Privy  Council  decreed  a  further  and  stricter 
search  "  to  apprehend  all  vagabonds  sturdy  beggars  commonly  called 
rogues  or  Egyptians,  and  also  all  idle  vagrant  persons  having  no 
master  nor  no  certainty  how  and  whereby  to  live ; "  and  a  similar 
search  was  to  be  made  every  month  until  November  or  longer,  as 
they  should  see  cause.  There  appear  to  have  been  fears  of  a  rising 
of  the  people,  and  warning  is  given  ''  that  all  tales,  news,  spreading 
of  unlawful  books,  should  be  stayed  and  sharply  punished."  The 
letters  on  this  subject  to  the  Lord-Lieutenant  of  the  North  and  to 
the  Sheriff  of  Yorkshire  are  to  be  found  in  Strype's  Annals  of  the 
Reformation  (vol.  i.  pt.  ii.  ch.  liii.  p.  295,  and  Appendix,  p.  554, 
No.  xliii.).  They  enjoined  "  a  strait  search  and  good  strong  watch  to 
be  begun  on  Sunday  at  night  about  9  of  the  clock  which  shalbe  the 
10th  of  July,"  and  "to  continue  the  same  al  that  night  until  four  of 
the  clock  in  the  afternoon  of  the  next  day." 

Baines  {History  of  Laneasliire,  ed.  1868,  ch.  xiii.  p.  169)  mentions 
this  search,  and  repeats  Strype's  statement  that  the  result  was  the 
apprehension  of  13,000  masterless  men. 

On  April  17,  1571,  a  Bill  was  drafted,  but  was  not  passed,  that 
"  priests  and  other  popisly  affected  "  lurking  "  in  serving  mens  or 
mariners  apparaile  or  otherwyse  dysguised,"  were  to  be  "  demed 
judged  and  punished  as  vachabounds  wandering  in  this  realme  called 
or  calling  theym  selves  Egiptians  "  {State  Papers — Domestic — Eliza- 
beth, vol.  Ixxvii.  No.  60,  p.  410). 

In  1577  the  Privy  Council  issued  an  order,  signed  by  the  Lord 
Chancellor  Sir  Nicolas  Bacon  and  others,  for  the  apprehension  of 
Kowland  Gabriel  [cf.  Thomas  Grabriells,  1559],  Katherine  Deago 
[Spanish,  Diego],  and  six  others,  who  were  tried  on  the  18th  of  April 
at  Aylesbury  for  feloniously  keeping  company  with  other  vagabonds 
vulgarly  called  and  calling  themselves  Egyptians,  and  counterfeiting, 
transferring,  and  altering  themselves  in  dress,  language,  and  be- 
haviour. They  were  found  guilty  and  hanged  {The  Annals  of 
England,  Oxford,  1856,  vol  ii.  p.  287). 

In  1578  Whetstone,  in  his  Promos  and  Cassandra,  i.  2,  6,  in  the 


EAELY   ANNALS   OF   THE    GYPSIES   IN    ENGLAND.  19 

stage  direction  for  the  scene,  says  :  "  Two  hucksters,  one  woman,  one 
like  a  Giptian,  the  rest  poore  rogues  " ;  and  the  scene  contains  the 
following  line — 

"  How  now,  Giptian  1  all  amort,  knave,  for  Avant  of  company." 

This  I  believe  to  be  the  first  dramatic  appearance  of  a  Gipsy  in 
Eno'land. 

On  April  2,  1581,  Margaret  Bannister,  daughter  of  AVilliam 
Bannister,  "  going  after  the  manner  of  roguish  ^Egyptians,"  was  bap- 
tized at  Loughborough,  in  Leicestershire  (Burns,  History  of  Parish 
Registers,  1829). 

In  1584  Eeginald  Scot,  younger  son  of  Sir  John  Scot,  of  Kent, 

published  a  quarto  volume,  called  The  Discouerie  of  Witchcraft,  which 

contained  such  "  damnable  opinions  "  concerning  his  beloved  witches, 

that  King  James  the  First  ordered  all  obtainable  copies  to  be  burnt. 

Scot  (Book  xi.  ch.  x.),  says — 

"  The  counterfeit  Egyptians,  which  were  indeed  cousening  vagabonds,  practising 
the  art  called  sortilegium,  had  no  small  credit  with  the  multitude  ;  howbeit  their 
diuinations  were,  as  was  their  fast  and  loose." 

And  a  few  lines  further  he  alludes  to  them  as  "these  /Egyptian 
couseners  "  ;  and  again  (Book  xiii.  ch.  xxix.),  he  says — 

"  The  J^gyptians  juggling,  witchcraft,  or  sortilegie  standeth  much  in  fast  or  loose, 
whereof  though  I  have  written  somewhat  generallie  alreadie,  yet  hauing  such 
opportunitie  I  will  here  show  some  of  their  particular  feats  ;  not  treating  of  their 
common  tricks,  which  is  so  tedious,  nor  of  their  fortune-telling,  which  is  so  impious, 
and  yet  both  of  them  mere  cousenages,"  etc. 

This  game  of  fast  and  loose  was  sometimes  called  pricking  the 
belt  or  girdle  or  garter,  "  in  which  a  leathern  belt  is  made  up  into  a 
number  of  intricate  folds  and  placed  edgewise  on  a  table.  One  of  the 
folds  is  made  to  resemble  the  middle  of  the  girdle,  so  that  whoever 
shall  thrust  a  skewer  into  it  would  think  he  held  it  fast  to  the  table, 
whereas,  when  he  has  so  done,  the  person  with  whom  he  plays  may 
take  hold  of  both  end-s  and  draw  it  away.  This  appears  to  have  been 
a  game  much  practised  by  the  Gypsies  in  the  time  of  Shakspere,  and 
is  still  in  vogue "  (Brand,  Popular  Antiqiuities,  by  Hazlitt,  London, 
1870,  ii.  325). 

Scot  (o/A  fit.,  Book  xiii.  ch.  xxix.)  describes  the  trick  of  "  fast  and 
loose  "  thus — 

"  Make  one  plain  loose  knot  with  two  corner  ends  of  a  liandkercher,  and  seem- 
ing to  draw  the  same  very  hard,  hold  fast  the  body  of  the  said  handkercher  (neer  to 
the  knot)  with  your  right  hand,  pulling  the  contrary  end  with  the  left  hand,  which 
is  the  corner  of  that  which  you  hold.  Then  close  up  handsomely  the  knot  which 
will  be  yet  somewhat  loose,  and  pull  the  handkercher  so  with  your  right  hand,  as 


20  EARLY   ANNALS    OF   THE    GYPSIES   IN   ENGLAND. 

the  left  hand  end  may  be  neer  to  the  knot ;  then  it  -will  seem  a  true  and  a  firm 
knot.  And  to  make  it  appear  more  assuredly  to  be  so  indeed,  let  a  stranger  pull  at 
the  end  which  you  hold  in  your  left  hand,  whilest  you  hold  fast  the  other  in  your 
right  hand  ;  and,  then  holding  the  knot  with  your  forefinger  and  thumb,  and  the 
nether  part  of  your  handkercher  with  your  other  fingers  as  you  hold  a  bridle  when 
you  would  with  one  hand  slip  up  the  knot  and  lengthen  your  reins.  This  done  turn 
your  handkercher  over  the  knot  with  the  left  hand,  in  doing  whereof  you  must 
sodainly  slip  out  the  end  or  corner,  putting  up  the  knot  of  your  handkercher  with 
your  forefinger  and  thumb  as  you  would  put  up  the  foresaid  knot  of  your  bridle. 
Then  deliver  the  same  (covered  and  wrapt  in  the  midst  of  your  handkercher)  to  one 
to  hold  fast,  and  so  after  some  words  used  and  wagers  layed,  take  the  handkercher 
and  shake  it,  and  it  will  be  loose." 

On  April  22, 1586,  the  Justices  at  the  Bury  St.  Edmunds  Sessions 
in  Suffolk  directed  the  building  of  a  house  of  correction,  as  "  yt 
appeareth  by  dayly  experience  that  the  number  of  idle  vagraunte 
loyteringe,  sturdy  roags,  masteries  men,  levvde  and  yll  disposed  per- 
sons are  exceedingly  encreased  and  multiplied,  committinge  many 
grevious  and  outeragious  disorders  and  offences,"  and  the  persons  to 
be  taken,  under  the  Poor  Laws  and  Vagrant  Acts  (14  Elizabeth,  cap. 
V. ;  18  Elizabeth,  cap.  iii.,  repealed  by  35  Elizabeth,  cap.  vii.),  included 
"all  idle  persons  goinge  aboute  usinge  subtiltie  and  unlawfull  games 
or  plaie,  all  such  as  faynt  themselves  to  have  knowledge  in  phisiog- 
nomye,  palmestrie,  or  otlier  abused  sciences,  all  tellers  of  destinies, 
deaths,  or  fortunes,  and  such  lyke  fantasticall  imaginations  "  {Harl, 
MSS.,  British  Museum,  No.  364 ;  Hoyland,  op.  cit,  83-86). 

In  1591,  Piobert  Hilton,  of  Denver,  in  Norfolk,  was  convicted  of 
felony  "  for  calliuge  himself  by  the  name  of  an  Egiptian,"  but  on 
December  22  he  was  specially  pardoned  {Calendar  of  State  Papers 
— Domestic — Elizabeth,  Docquets,  vol.  ccxl.  p.  146). 

On  August  8,  1592,  Simson,  Arington,  Fetherstone,  Fenwicke, 
and  Lanckaster  were  hanged  at  Durham  for  being  Egyptians  {Parish 
Register,  St.  Nicholas,  Durham;  Chron.  Mir  ah.  1841;  Burns,  Parw/i 
Registers;  Blaekiuood's  Magazine,  1817,  vol.  i.  618n.  ;  Eoberts,  >S'ocm/ 
History  of  Southern  Counties,  p.  259). 

Shakspere,  who  was  born  1564  and  died  1616,  mentions  Gypsies 
several  tunes  :  first  in  Romeo  and.  Jidiet  (1593),  IL,  iv.,  44,  thus — 

"  Laura,  to  his  lady,  was  but  a  kitchen  wench,     .     .     Cleoijatra,  a  gipsy." 

Next  in  ^s  You  Like  It  (1600),  v.,  iii.,  16,  where  the  two  pages  are  to 
sing — 

"  Both  in  a  tune,  like  two  gipsies  on  a  horse." 

Again  in   Othello  (1604),  in.,  iv.,  56,  speaking  of  the  all-important 
handkerchief,  Othello  says — 


EARLY   ANNALS   OF   THE   GYPSIES    IN   ENGLAND.  21 

"  That  handkerchief 
Did  an  Egyptian  to  my  mother  give  ; 
She  was  a  charmer,  and  could  almost  read 
The  thoughts  of  people  : 

•  «■••• 

She  dying  gave  it  me." 

And  finally,  in  Antony  and  Cleo'patra  (1606),  i.,  i.,  10,  Philo  says  of 
Antony — 

"  His  captain's  heart  is  become  the  bellows  and  the  fan  to  cool  a  gipsy's  lust.'' 

In  1594  William  Standley,  Francis  Brewerton,  and  John  Weeks, 
of  London,  yeomen,  were  sentenced  to  be  hanged  "  because  they  had 
consorted  for  a  month  with  Egyptians  "  {Middlesex  County  Records, 
vol.  i. ;  Athenceum,  September  11,  1886,  p.  330).  On  August  28, 
1594,  they  were  pardoned  "for  counterfeiting  themselves  Egyptians, 
contrarie  to  the  Statute  "  {Cal.  of  State  Pajjers — Domestic — Elizaheth, 
Docquets,  vol.  cclxii.  p.  551).  A  few  years  later,  Joan  Morgan  was 
sentenced  to  be  hanged  for  a  similar  offence  {Athenaeum,  September 
11,  1886,  p.  330). 

On  September  5,  1596,  Sir  Edward  Hext  (Sheriff  in  1607),  of 
Netherham,  in  Somersetshire,  Justice,  wrote  the  following  graphic 
letter  to  the  Lord  Treasurer : — 

"  Experience  teacheth  that  the  execution  of  that  godly  law  upon  that  wicked  sect 
of  rogues,  the  Egyptians,  had  clean  cut  them  off,  but  they,  seeing  the  liberties  of 
others,  do  begin  to  spring  up  again,  and  there  are  in  this  country  of  them,  but  upon 
the  peril  of  their  lives.  I  avow  it  they  were  never  so  dangerous  as  the  wandering 
soldiers  or  other  stout  rogues  of  England,  for  they  went  visibly  in  one  company  and 
were  not  above  thirty  or  forty  of  them  in  a  shire,  but  of  this  sort  ofAvandering 
idle  people  there  are  three  or  four  hundred  in  a  shire,  and  though  they  go  by  two 
or  three  in  a  company,  yet  all  or  the  most  part  of  a  shire  do  meet  either  at  fairs  or 
markets  or  in  some  alehouse,  once  a  week.  And  in  a  great  hay-house,  in  a  remote 
place,  there  did  resort  weekly  forty,  sometimes  sixty,  where  they  did  roast  all  kind 
of  good  meat.  The  inhabitants  being  wonderfully  grieved  by  their  rapines,  made 
complaint  at  our  last  Easter  sessions,  after  my  Lord  Chief  Justice's  departure,  pre- 
cepts were  made  to  the  tithings  adjoining  for  the  apprehending  of  them.  They 
made  answer,  they  were  so  strong  that  they  durst  not  adventure  of  them  ;  where- 
upon precepts  were  made  to  the  constables  of  the  shire  but  not  apprehended,  for 
they  have  intelligence  of  all  things  intended  against  them.  For  there  be  of  them 
that  will  be  present  at  every  Assize,  Sessions,  and  Assembly  of  Justices,  and  will 
so  clothe  themselves  for  that  time  as  any  should  deem  him  to  be  an  honest  husband- 
man, so  as  nothing  is  spoken,  done,  or  intended  to  be  done,  but  they  know  it,  I 
know  this  to  be  true  by  the  confession  of  some.  And  they  grow  the  more  danger- 
ous in  that  they  find  they  have  bred  that  fear  in  Justices  and  other  inferior  officers, 
that  no  man  dares  call  them  into  question.  And  at  a  late  sessions  a  tall  man,  a 
man  sturdy,  and  ancient  traveller,  was  committed  by  a  Justice  and  brought  to  the 
sessions,  and  had  judgment  to  be  whipped.  He,  present  at  the  bar,  in  the  fiice  and 
hearing  of  the  whole  bench,  swore  a  great  oath,  that  if  he  were  whipped  it  should  be 
the  dearest  whipping  to  some  that  ever  was.  It  strake  such  a  fear  in  him  that  com- 
mitted him,  as  he  prayed  he  might  be  deferred  until  the  Assizes,  where  he  was 


22  EAELY   ANNALS   OF   THE   GYPSIES   IN   ENGLAND. 

delivered  without  any  whipping  or  other  harm,  and  the  justice  glad  he  had  so  paci- 
fied his  wrath.  And  they  laugh  in  themselves  at  the  lenity  of  the  law,  and  the 
timorousness  of  the  executioners  of  it,"  etc.  etc.  (Strype,  Annals,  etc.,  vol.  iv.  p.  410). 

This  account  of  the  size  of  the  gangs  is  confirmed  by  a  letter, 
dated  November  21,  1596,  from  the  Privy  Council  to  the  Eecorder 
of  London,  Mr.  Topcliffe,  and  Sir  William  Skevington,  the  Lieutenant 
of  the  Tower,  and  inventor  of  the  torture  popularly  called  the 
Scavenger's  Daughter,  described  in  Tanner's  Socictas  Europcca,  p.  18. 
The  letter  states  that  "  of  late  certaine  lewd  persons  to  the  number  of 
eighty  gathered  together,  calling  themselves  Egipcians  and  wanderers 
through  divers  countyes  of  the  realme,"  and  were  "  stayed  in  North- 
amptonshire, whereupon  we  caused  some  of  tlie  ringleaders  of  them 
to  be  brought  up  hither,  and  have  committed  them  to  prison."  The 
Council  required  the  Eecorder  "  to  examine  the  said  lewd  persons 
upon  suche  artycles  and  informations  as  you  shall  receive  from  the 
Lord  Cheife  Justice  of  Her  Majesties  Benche ;  and  yf  you  shall  not 
be  hable  by  faire  meanes  to  bringe  them  to  reveale  their  lewd  be- 
havior, practyses,  and  ringleaders,  then  wee  thinke  it  meet  they  shall 
be  removed  to  Brydewell  and  there  be  put  to  the  manacles,  whereby 
they  may  be  constrained  to  utter  the  truth  in  those  matters  con- 
cerning their  lewd  behaviour  that  shall  be  fitt  to  be  demanded  of 
them"  {Privy  Council  Booh;  Jardine,  The  Use  of  Torture  in  the 
Criminal  Laiv  of  England  'previously  to  the  Commonvxalth,  London 
1837,  p.  41,  and  Appendix,  No.  43,  p.  99). 

The  well-known  Poor  Law  Act,  39  Elizabeth,  cap.  iv.,  which  was 
passed  in  1596,  contains,  in  the  second  section,  a  curious  catalogue  of 
persons  who  were  to  be  deemed  rogues  and  vagabonds,  including  "  all 
tynkers  wandering  abroade  .  .  .  and  all  such  p'sons,  not  being  Pellons, 
wandering  and  p'tending  themselves  to  be  Egipcyans  or  wandering  in 
the  Habite,  Eorme,  or  Attyre  of  counterfayte  Egipcians." 

These  are  all  the  Acts  which  were  specially  directed  against 
Gypsies,  and  they  remained  in  force,  though  not  enforced,  until 
repealed  in  1784  by  the  Act  23  George  iii.,  cap.  li. 

The  Vagrant  Act  (17  George  iL,  cap.  v.)  declared  that  "  all  persons 
pretending  to  be  Gypsies,  or  wandering  in  the  habit  and  form  of 
Egyptians,  or  pretending  to  have  skill  in  palmistry,  or  pretending  to 
tell  fortunes,"  were  to  be  dealt  with  as  rogues  and  vagabonds. 

In  1822  that  Act  was  repealed  by  3  George  iv.,  cap.  xL,  by  section 
3  of  which  "  all  persons  pretending  to  be  Gypsies  or  to  tell  fortunes, 
or  wandering  abroad  or  lodging  under  tents  or  in  carts  "  were  to  be 
deemed  rogues  and  vagabonds ;  and  by  3  George  iv.,  cap.  cxxvi.,  sec. 


EAKLY   ANNALS   OF   THE   GYPSIES   IN   ENGLAND.  23 

121,  any  Gypsy  encamping  on  the  side  of  a  turnpike  road  was  liable  to 
a  penalty  of  forty  shillings.  By  5  George  iv.,  cap.  Ixxxiii,  sec.  4,  any 
one  pretending  to  tell  fortunes  by  palmistry,  or  otherwise  to  deceive ; 
any  one  wandering  abroad  and  lodging  under  any  tent  or  in  any  cart, 
not  having  any  visible  means  of  subsistence,  and  not  giving  a  good 
account  of  himself,  is  liable  for  the  first  offence  to  three  months' 
imprisonment. 

Thus  the  fact  of  being  a  Gypsy  gradually  ceased  to  be  an  offence, 
and  the  only  Acts  which  now  expressly  mention  Gypsies  are  the  Act 
just  quoted  against  encamping  on  a  turnpike  road,  and  the  Highway 
Act,  1835  (3  and  4  William  iv.,  cap.  1.  sec.  72),  which  renders  any 
Gypsy  j)itcliing  a  tent  or  encamping  upon  a  highway  liable  to  be 
fined  forty  shillings. 

At  the  Devonshire  Lent  Assizes,  1598,  Charles,  Oliver,  and 
Bartholomew  Baptist  were  committed  for  "  wandering  like  Egyp- 
tians "  (Frasers  Magazine,  1877,  January,  etc.). 

On  January  30,  1602,  the  Constables  of  Eepton  in  Derbyshire 
"  gave  the  Gipsies  xxd.  to  avoyde  ye  towne  "  {Christian  World 
Magazine,  Dec.  1887). 

On  July  9,  1605,  at  Stokesley  Quarter  Sessions,  Yorkshire,  the 
constables  were  called  to  account  for  permitting  four  women 
"  vagrantes  more  Egyptianorum "  to  stay  in  their  vill  of  Sutton 
and  go  forth  unpunished,  although  previously  warned  by  the  chief 
constable  {North  Biding  Bee.  Soc.  vol.  i.  p.  11). 

On  October  4,  1605,  at  Eichmond  Quarter  Sessions,  Yorkshire, 
the  grand  jury  presented  Eobert  Metcalf  of  Borrowby  for  receiving 
into  his  dwelling-house  on  January  6th,  five  men  and  boys,  being 
Gypsies  (existentes  Egiptianos)  and  harbouring  them  for  four  days 
and  nights  together  to  the  great  terror  of  his  neighbours  {North 
Biding  Bee.  Soc.  vol.  i.  p.  21). 

In  1613  the  Earl  of  Huntingdon  had  to  send  forces  into  Leicester- 
shire to  compel  the  Egyptians  to  disband  {Cal.  of  State  Pajiers, 
vol.  Ixxii.). 

About  1621  Ben  Jonson  published  his  Masque  of  the  GT/psies 
Metam  orphosed. 

On  September  5,  1622,  Lord  Keeper  Williams  wrote  to  the 
Justices  of  Berkshire,  ordering  them  to  put  in  force  the  laws  for 
suppressing  vagrancy,  etc.,  against  the  "whole  troupe  of  rogues, 
beggars,  ^giptians  and  idle  persons  "  who  infested  the  county  {Hist. 
MSS.  Com.,  5th  Eeport,  p.  410). 

About  1630  was  published  a  ballad  called  "  The  Brave  English 
Jipsey  "  {Ballad  Societfs  Boxburghe  Ballads,  part  vii.  p.  329). 


24  EARLY   ANNALS   OF   THE   GYPSIES   IN   ENGLAND. 

In  1631  Margaret  rinch  was  born  at  Sutton  in  Kent,  and  lived 

to  be  109.     She  was  the  first  Queen  of  the  Gypsy  Colony  at  Lambeth. 

In  1635  the  constables  of  Leverton,  six  miles  north  of  Boston,  in 

Lincolnshire,  gave  eighteen  Gypsies  one  penny  each  (Thompson,  Hist. 

of  Boston,  Boston,  1856,  p.  574). 

In  October  1647,  the  inhabitants  of  Plumbland  in  Cumberland, 
complained  that  a  Mr.  Nicholson  had  broken  open  the  doors  of  their 
church  and  left  the  church  door  open,  "  whereby  the  church  tecame 
a  lodging-place  to  a  vagabond  people  going  under  the  name  of 
Egyptians,  and  was  in  danger  of  being  burnt  by  the  fires  made  in  it " 
{Hist.  MSS.  Com.,  6th  Report,  p.  215). 

In  1649,  at  Bransby,  in  the  North  Biding  of  Yorkshire,  "divers 
people  in  the  habitts  of  jipsey,"  were  apprehended,  "  Divers  of  them 
did  tell  fortunes,"  and  "  they  did  some  tyme  speak  iu  languages 
wich  none  who  were  by  could  understand."  Their  leader's  name  was 
Grey,  and  his  followers  were  Elizabeth  Grey,  Eichard  and  Barbara 
Smith,  and  Francis  and  Elizabeth  Parker.  They  owned  a  mare,  had 
several  children,  and  had  travelled  through  the  counties  of  Hereford, 
Stafford,  Salop,  Chester,  and  Lancaster,  on  their  way  to  Northumber- 
land (Surtces  Soc,  vol.  xl.). 

About  1650  Sir  Matthew  Hale  (1609-1676)  says,  in  his  Pleas  of 
the  Croivn  (1778,  i.  671):  "I  have  not  known  these  statutes  much 
put  in  execution,  only  about  twenty  years  since  at  the  Assizes  at 
Bury  [St.  Edmunds,  in  Suffolk]  about  thirteen  were  condemned  and 
executed  for  this  offence,  namely,  for  being  Gypsies. 

Thomas  Pennant,  in  his  History  of  Wliiteford  and  Holywell  (1796, 
p.  35)  records  a  tradition  that  a  similar  fate  overtook  eighteen  Welsh 
Gypsies  about  the  same  time. 

In  1657  a  Gypsy  king  named  Buckle  was  buried  (Moffatt's  Hist, 
of  Malmeslury,  Tetbury,  1805,  p.  71). 

Henry  Ellis  {Original  Letters  Illustrative  of  English  Hist.,  1st 
Series,  vol.  ii.  p.  100)  says,  "  Some  others  were  executed  at  Stafford  a 
short  time  after  the  Ptestoration  (1660)." 

On  August  11,  1668,  the  celebrated  diarist  Pepys  says:  "This 
afternoon,  my  wife  and  Mercer  and  Deb.  went  with  Pelling  to  see  the 
Gypsies  at  Lambeth  and  have  their  fortunes  told,  but  what  they  did 
I  did  not  enquire." 

In  1687  we  find  Heme  and  Boswell  in  use  as  Gypsy  names 
{BlackwoocV s  Magazine,  vol.  xcix.). 

H.  T.  Crofton. 


A   KOUMANIAN-GYPSY   FOLK-TALE.  25 

III.— A  KOUMANIAN-GYPSY  FOLK-TALE. 

THE  BAD  MOTHER. 

THIS  story  is  No.  4  of  the  fourteen  Pioumanian-Gypsy  folk-tales 
published  by  Dr.  Barbu  Constantinescu  in  his  Prohe  de  Liiiiba 
si  Ziteratura  Tsiganilor  din  Romania  (Bucharest,  1878),  in  the 
original  Eomany,  with  a  parallel  Eoumanian  translation.  Being 
ignorant  of  Pioumanian,  I  have  made  this  literal  translation  directly 
from  the  Eomany,  with  occasional  reference  to  a  Roumanian-German 
dictionary  for  such  borrowed  words  as  paloso,  "  sabre,"  and  odaia, 
"  chamber."  These  are  not  numerous.  The  story  is  one  of  the  best 
Gypsy  folk-tales  that  we  have,  and  is  also  one  of  the  best-known 
among  the  Gypsies  themselves.  Por  two  Romany  variants  of  it 
have  been  already  published — No.  5  in  Dr.  Priedrich  Miiller's 
Beitrdge  zur  Kenntniss  der  Bo7n-Sprache  (Vienna,  1869),  which  was 
got  from  a  Hungarian  Gypsy  soldier;  and  No.  11  in  Dr.  Pranz 
Miklosich's  Mdrclien  ^md  Liedcr  dcr  Zigeuncr  der  Buhoioina  (Vienna, 
1874).  These,  being  furnished  with  German  and  Latin  interlinear 
translations,  are  accessible  to  tlie  general  student  of  folk-tales. 
Miiller's  is  much  inferior  to  our  version,  from  which  it  differs 
widely;  Miklosich's  is  in  some  points  superior;  but  all  three  are 
clearly  derived  from  an  older,  more  perfect  original.  Such  an 
original  I  cannot  recognise  in  any  of  the  numerous  non-Gypsy 
variants— five  from  Greece  (Hahn,  i.  p.  176,  215  ;  ii.  234,  279,  283) ; 
one  from  the  Harz  (Ey,  154)  ;  one  from  Lithuania  (Schleicher,  54); 
two  from  Russia  (De  Gubernatis,  ^oo/.  MythA.  212;  Ralston,  235), 
and  one  from  Norway  (Dasent,  "The  Blue  Belt,"  178).  Hahn's 
variants  come  nearest  to  our  Gypsy  versions,  but  are  one  and  all 
decidedly  inferior. 

There  was  an  emperor.  He  had  been  married  ten  years,  but  had 
no  children.  And  God  granted  that  his  empress  conceived  and  bore  a 
son.  Now  that  lad  was  heroic ;  his  like  was  nowhere  found.  And 
the  father  lived  half  a  year  longer,  and  died.  Then  what  is  the  lad 
to  do  ?  He  took  [lit.  put  himself]  and  departed  in  quest  of  heroic 
achievements.  And  he  travelled  a  long  time,  and  took  no  heed,  and 
came  into  a  great  forest.  In  that  forest  there  was  a  certain  house, 
and   in   that  house   twelve  dragons.     Then   the  lad  went   straight 


26  A   EOUMANIAN-GYPSY  FOLK-TALE. 

there,  and  saw  that  there  was  no  one.  He  opened  the  door,  and 
went  in,  and  saw  a  sabre  on  a  nail,  and  took  it,  and  planted  himself 
behind  the  door,  and  waited  for  the  coming  of  the  dragons.  When 
they  came,  they  did  not  go  in  all  at  once,  but  went  in  one  by  one. 
The  lad  waited  with  the  sabre  in  his  hand,  and  as  each  one  went  in, 
he  cut  off  his  head,  and  flung  it  on  the  floor.  So  the  lad  killed  eleven 
dragons,  and  the  youngest  remained.  And  the  lad  went  out  to  him, 
and  took  and  fought  with  him,  and  fought  half  a  day.  And  the  lad 
vanquished  the  dragon,  and  took  him,  and  put  him  in  a  jar,  and 
fastened  him  well. 

And  the  lad  went  to  walk,  and  came  on  another  house,  where 
there  was  only  a  maiden.  And  when  he  saw  the  maiden,  how  did 
she  please  his  heart !  As  for  the  maiden,  the  lad  pleased  her  just 
as  well.  And  the  maiden  was  yet  more  heroic  than  the  lad.  And 
they  formed  a  strong  love  [ai  astardine  on  ch  drdgostea  zicrali]. 
And  the  lad  told  the  maiden  he  had  killed  eleven  dragons,  and  one 
he  had  left  alive,  and  put  it  in  a  jar.  The  maiden  said,  "  You  did 
ill  not  to  kill  it,  but  now  let  it  be."  And  the  lad  said  to  the  maiden, 
"  I  will  go  and  fetch  my  mother,  for  she  is  alone  at  home."  Then 
the  maiden  said,  "  Fetch  her,  but  you  will  regret  it  [kamS  Mis  t2i]. 
But  go  and  fetch  her,  and  dwell  with  her." 

So  the  lad  departed  to  fetch  his  mother.  He  took  his  mother, 
and  brought  her  into  the  house  of  the  dragons  whom  he  had  slain, 
and  he  said  to  his  mother,  "  Go  into  every  chamber,  only  into  this 
chamber  do  not  go."  His  mother  said,  "I  will  not  go,  darling." 
And  the  lad  departed  into  the  forest  to  hunt.  And  his  mother  went 
into  the  chamber  where  he  had  told  her  not  to  go.  And  when  she 
opened  the  door,  the  dragon  saw  her,  and  said  to  her,  "  Empress,  give 
me  a  little  water,  and  I  will  do  you  much  good."  She  went  and 
gave  him  water,  and  he  said  to  her,  "  Dost  love  me  ?  then  will  I 
take  thee,  and  thou  shalt  be  mine  empress."  "  I  love  thee,"  she  said. 
Then  the  dragon  said  to  her,  "What  will  you  do,  to  escape  from 
your  son,  that  we  may  be  left  to  ourselves.  Make  yourself  ill  [i.e. 
pretend  to  be  ill — Te  kerds  tu  nasfcdi — ^just  as  in  the  Anglo-Romany], 
and  say  you  have  seen  a  dream,  that  he  must  bring  you  a  suckling 
of  the  sow  in  the  other  world  ;  that  if  he  does  not  bring  it  you,  you 
will  die ;  but  if  he  bring  it  you,  say  that  you  will  recover."  Then 
she  went  into  the  house,  and  tied  up  her  head,  and  made  herself  ill. 
And  when  the  lad  came  home,  and  saw  her  with  her  head  tied  up, 
he  asked  her,  "  What 's  the  matter,  mother  ?  "     She  said,  "  I  am  ill. 


TEIE   BAD   MOTHER.  27 

darling.  I  shall  die.  But  I  saw  a  dream,  to  eat  a  suckling  from  the 
sow  in  the  other  world."  Then  the  lad  began  to  cry,  for  his  mother 
will  die.  And  he  took  and  departed.  Then  he  went  to  his  sweet- 
heart, and  told  her,  "  INIaiden,  my  mother  will  die.  And  she  has 
seen  a  dream,  that  I  must  bring  her  a  porker  from  the  other  world." 
The  maiden  said,  "  Go,  and  be  prudent.  [Gia  ai  'te  avds  gogheauer]. 
And  when  you  return,  come  to  me.  Take  my  horse  with  the  twelve 
wings,  and  mind  the  sow  doesn't  seize  you,  else  she  '11  eat  both  you 
and  the  horse."  So  the  lad  took  her  horse  and  departed.  He  arrived 
there ;  and  when  the  sun  was  midway  in  its  course,  he  went  to  the 
little  pigs,  and  took  one,  and  fled.  Then  the  sow  heard  him,  and 
after  him  she  came  to  seize  him  in  her  mouth.  And  at  the  very 
verge,  just  as  he  was  leaping  out,  the  sow  bit  off  half  his  horse's 
tail.  So  the  lad  went  to  the  maiden.  And  the  maiden  came  out, 
and  took  the  little  pig,  and  hid  it,  and  put  another  in  its  stead. 
Then  he  went  home  to  his  mother,  and  gave  her  the  little  pig,  and 
she  dressed  it  and  ate,  and  said  that  she  was  well. 

Three  or  four  days  later  she  made  herself  ill  again,  as  the  dragon 

had  shown  her.     When  the  lad  came,  he  asked  her,  "  What 's  the 

matter  now,  mother  ? "     "I  am  ill  again,  darling.     I  have  seen  a 

dream  that  you  must  bring  me  an  apple  from  the  golden  apple-tree 

in  the  other  world."     So  the  lad  took  and  departed  to  the  maiden  ; 

and  when  the  maiden  saw  him  so  troubled,  she  asked  him,  "  What 's 

the  matter,  lad  ? "     "  What 's  the  matter !   my  mother  is  ill  again. 

And  she  has  seen  a  dream  that  I  am  to  bring  her  an  apple  from 

the  apple-tree  in   the  other  world."     Then  the  maiden  knew   that 

his  mother  was  walking  to  eat  his  head  [i.e.  compassing  his  death 

— pMrdas  tc  lied  Usko  sord'] ;  and  she  said  to  the  lad,  "  Take  my  horse 

and  go,  but  be  careful  the  apple-tree  does  not  seize  you  there.    When 

you   return,  come  to   me."     And   the  lad  took  and   departed,  and 

came  to  the  verge  of  the  earth.     And  he  let  himself  in,  and  went  to 

the  apple-tree  at  midday  when  the  apples  were   resting.     And  he 

took  an  apple,  and  ran  away.     Then  the  leaves  perceived  it,  and 

began  to  rustle  [? — isijyiti],  and  the  apple-tree  took  itself  after  him  to 

lay  its  hand  on  him,  and  kill  him.     And  the  lad  came  out  from  the 

vemc,  and  arrived  in  our  world,  and  went  to  the  maiden.     Then 

the  maiden  took  the  apple,  stole  it  from  him,  and  hid  it,  and  put 

another  in  its  stead.     And  the  lad  stayed  a  little  longer  with  her, 

and  departed  to  his  mother.     Then  his  mother,  when  she  saw  him, 

asked   him,  "  Have   you  brought   it,  darling  ? "      "I  've  brought  it, 


28  A  ROUMANIAN-GYPSY   FOLK- TALE. 

mother."  So  she  took  the  apple,  and  ate,  aud  said  there  was  nothing 
more  the  matter  with  her. 

In  a  week's  time  the  dragon  told  her  to  make  herself  ill  again, 
and  to  ask  for  water  from  the  great  mountains.  So  she  made  herself 
ill.  When  the  lad  saw  her  ill,  he  began  to  weep,  and  said,  "  My 
mother  will  die.  God  !  she 's  always  ill  "  [mer^o  nasfaol].  Then  he 
went  to  her,  and  asked  her,  "  Wliat  's  the  matter,  mother  ? "  "I 
shall  die,  darling.  But  I  shall  recover  if  you  will  bring  me  water  from 
the  great  mountains.  Then  the  lad  tarried  no  longer.  He  went  to 
the  maiden,  and  said  to  her,  "  My  mother  is  ill  again.  And  she  has 
seen  a  dream  that  I  must  fetch  her  water  from  the  great  mountains." 
The  maiden  said,  "  Go,  lad,  but  I  fear  the  marshes  will  catch  you, 
and  the  mountains  there,  and  will  kill  you.  But  do  you  take  my 
horse  with  twenty-and-four  wings  ;  and,  when  you  get  there,  wait 
afar  off  till  midday,  for  at  midday  the  mountains  and  the  marshes 
set  themselves  at  table,  and  eat.  And  do  you  go  then  with  the 
pitcher,  and  draw  water  quickly  and  escape."  Then  the  lad  took 
the  pitcher,  and  departed  thither  to  the  mountains,  and  waited  till 
the  sun  had  reached  the  middle  of  his  course  [ai  hcslo  gi  hand  ailo  o 
kham  andd  masMr].  And  he  went  and  drew  water,  and  fled.  And 
the  marshes  and  the  mountains  saw  him,  and  took  themselves  after 
him :  and  they  could  not  catch  him.  And  the  lad  came  to  the 
maiden.  Then  the  maiden  went  and  took  the  pitcher  with  the 
water,  and  put  another  in  its  stead  without  his  knowing  it.  And 
the  lad  arose  and  went  home,  and  gave  water  to  his  mother,  and 
she  recovered. 

Then  the  lad  departed  into  the  forest  to  hunt.  His  mother  went 
to  the  dragon,  and  told  him,  "  He  has  brought  me  the  water.  What 
am  I  to  do  to  him  now  ? "  "  What  are  you  to  do  ?  Why,  take  and 
play  cards  with  him.  You  must  say,  '  For  a  wager,  as  I  used  to  play 
with  your  father.' "  So  the  lad  came  home,  and  found  his  mother 
merry  [vedsdo] :  it  pleased  him  well.  And  she  said  to  him  at  table, 
as  they  were  eating,  "  Darling,  when  your  father  was  living,  what  did 
we  do  ?  When  we  had  eaten  and  risen  up,  we  took  and  played  cards 
for  a  wager."  Then  the  lad,  "  If  you  like,  play  with  me,  mother."  So 
they  took  aud  played  cards,  and  his  mother  beat  him ;  and  she  took 
silken  cords,  and  bound  his  two  hands  so  tightly  that  the  cord  went 
into  his  hands.  And  the  lad  began  to  weep,  and  said  to  his  mother, 
"  Mother,  release  me  or  I  die."  She  said,  "  That  was  just  what  I  was 
wanting  to  do  to  you."     And  she  called  the  dragon,  "Come  forth, 


THE   BAD    MOTHER.  29 

dragon,  aud  come  and  kill  him."  Then  the  dragon  came  forth,  and 
took  him,  aud  cut  him  in  pieces,  aud  put  him  in  the  saddle-bags,  and 
placed  him  on  his  horse,  and  let  him  go,  and  said  to  the  horse,  "  Carry 
him,  horse,  dead  [thither],  whence  thou  didst  carry  him  alive."  And 
the  horse  hurried  to  the  lad's  sweetheart,  and  went  straight  to  lier 
there.  Then  when  the  maiden  saw  him,  she  began  to  weep.  And 
she  took  him,  and  put  piece  to  piece ;  when  one  was  missing,  she  cut 
the  porker,  aud  supplied  flesh  from  the  porker.  So  she  put  all  the 
pieces  of  him  in  their  place.  And  she  took  the  water,  and  poured  it  on 
him,  and  he  became  whole.  And  she  squeezed  the  apple  in  his  mouth, 
and  brouglit  him  to  life.  So  when  the  lad  arose,  he  went  home  to  his 
mother,  and  drove  a  stake  into  the  earth,  and  placed  both  her  and 
the  dragon  on  one  pyre  [? — rogojina\  And  he  set  it  alight,  and  they 
were  consumed.  Aud  he  departed  thence,  and  took  the  maiden,  and 
made  a  marriage,  aud  kept  up  the  marriage  three  months  day  and 
night ;  and  I  came  away  and  told  the  story. 

Feancis  Hixdes  Groome. 


IV.— STATISTICAL  ACCOUNT  OF  THE  GYPSIES  IN  THE 

GERMAN  EMPIEE. 

AS  I  had  last  year  the  intention  of  visiting  the  Gypsies  in  Germany, 
in  order  to  study  their  dialects — a  field  in  which  there  is  still 
(as  every  savant  knows)  a  great  deal  of  work  to  be  done — I  addressed 
myself  to  the  Imperial-Austrian  and  Eoyal-Huugarian  Embassy  in 
Berlin  for  information  concerning  the  number  and  location  of  the 
Gypsies  living  in  the  German  Empire.  This  high  authority  elicited 
from  the  Ptoyal  Prussian  Government  extensive  data  respecting  the 
Gypsy  colonies,  and  also,  though  in  a  less  degree,  respecting  the 
nomadic  tribes  of  Gypsies.  These  facts  regarding  the  present  condi- 
tion of  the  Gypsies,  not  only  in  Prussia,  but  throughout  the  whole 
Empire,  have  only  been  collected  during  recent  years,  and  they  can 
be  thoroughly  relied  upon.  To  these  data  I  think  I  ought  to  add  the 
observations  which  I  myself  had  the  opportunity  of  making  iu  the 
course  of  my  journey. 


30      STATISTICAL  ACCOUNT  OF  THE  GYPSIES  IN  THE  GERMAN  EMPIRE. 


Prussia. 

Residing  'permanently  in  Prussia. 


Provinces. 

Places. 

Families, 

Heads. 

1. 

Konigsberg,    . 

10 

24 

98 

2. 

Gumbinen, 

28 

69 

310 

3. 

Danzig,  . 

2 

6 

30 

4. 

Marienwerder, 

7 

26 

136 

5. 

Potsdam, 

3 

9 

38 

6. 

Frankfurt  a.  d.  0.,  . 

5 

10 

39 

7. 

Coeslin,  . 

3 

19 

68 

8. 

Bromberg, 

3 

13 

60 

9. 

Breslau,  . 

1 

2 

6 

10. 

Oppeln,  . 

2 

2 

7 

11. 

Merseburg, 

—  ? 

10 

28 

12. 

Erfurt,    ."       . 

1 

1 

8 

13. 

Schleswig, 

2 

5 

19 

14. 

Liineburg, 

1 

4 

9 

15. 

Minden, 

5 

15 

74 

16. 

Arnsberg, 

3 

24 

108 

17. 

Cassel,    . 

1 

1 

10 

18. 

Wiesbaden,     . 
Total, 

1 

1 

6 

241 

1054 

With  regard  to  the  wandering  Gypsies  there  is  no  authentic 
information.  As  far  as  I  can  gather  from  ncAvspapers,  private 
accounts,  and  experiences  gained  during  travels,  nomadic  tribes  of 
Gypsies  are  still  frequently  met  with  in  the  western  parts  of  Prussia 
(for  example,  in  Westphalia  and  Brandenburg) ;  in  the  northern 
parts  (as,  for  example,  Schleswig)  only  rarely.  With  regard  to  the 
residence  of  Gypsies  as  given  in  the  foregoing  table,  it  must  not  be 
assumed  that  they  remain  the  whole  year  in  the  place  officially 
assigned  to  them.  The  occupations  of  most  of  them  necessitate  their 
absenting  themselves  for  a  shorter  or  longer  period. 

Their  occupations  are,  according  to  official  information,  as 
follows : — 

The  chiefs  of  families  in  the  provinces  of  Konigsberg  and 
Gumbinen  are  mostly  without  a  fixed  occupation  and  livelihood : 
they  are  partly  horse-dealers,  but  rarely  follow  any  other  distinct 
calling.  In  the  provinces  of  Danzig,  Marienwerder,  Potsdam, 
Frankfurt,  Coeslin,  Bromberg,  Breslau,  Oppeln,  Merseburg,  Erfurt, 
the  Gypsies  are  mostly  musicians  and  puppet  showmen ;  while 
in  Prankfurt  and  Coeslin  they  have  shooting-galleries.  In  the 
other  provinces  they  mostly  lead  a  wandering  life.  Eegarding 
the  condition  of  the  Gypsy  colonies  in  Prussia,  I  can  only  speak 


STATISTICAL  ACCOUNT  OF  THE  GYPSIES  IN  THE  GERMAN  EMPIRE.      31 

to  what  I  have  witnessed  myself ; — and  this  refers  to  the  colonies 
in  Klein-Ptekeitschcn  (Prov.  Gumbinen),  Berleburg,  and  Sasmanns- 
hausen  (Prov.  Arnsberg).  In  the  first-named  place  I  found  very 
few  Gypsies,  the  greater  number  having  gone  to  the  fair  of  Tilsit. 

The  place  itself  consists  of  small  houses  scattered  about  the  sandy 
plain.  The  cottages,  such  as  they  were,  in  which  I  found  the  Gypsies 
located,  were  more  like  caves.  The  people  did  not  live  exclusively  by 
themselves,  for  there  were  also  a  few  German  men  and  women 
among  them.  All  gave  one  the  impression  of  the  greatest  squalor 
and  neglect ;  their  appearance  was  mean,  and  quarrels  were  frequent. 
When  I  left  them  I  could  hear  for  a  long  time  after  the  noise  of  their 
wrangling ;  the  sober  ones  probably  fighting  with  the  drunk  ones 
over  the  money  received  from  me. 

The  German  spoken  by  them  is  like  that  of  the  country  people  in 
the  neighbourhood,  a  low  German  dialect.  Their  own  language  they 
speak  very  fluently,  and  with  comparative  purity,  i 

In  Berleburg  I  have  been  told  that  the  Gypsies  dwell  at  the  end 
of  the  little  town.  I  did  not  visit  them,  as  in  questioning  the 
Gypsy  children  in  the  school  there  I  gained  the  conviction  that  the 
Gypsies  of  that  colony  no  longer  spoke  their  language.  They  are 
entirely  Germanised,  and  only  use  some  Ptomany  words  in  intercourse 
with  their  wandering  comrades. 

In  Sasmannshausen  the  Gypsy  colony  offered  a  wholly  different 
picture  from  that  in  Klein-Ptekeitschen.  Entirely  separated  from 
those  who  were  not  Gypsies,  they  live  in  small  clean  cottages.  They 
are  industrious  workmen,  on  the  railroads,  and  equally  active  when- 
ever a  livelihood  offers  itself.  They  are  not  easily  induced  to  leave 
the  place ;  they  send  tlieir  children  to  school ;  and,  on  the  whole, 
they  give  one  the  impression  of  kind  and  peaceful  people.  The  Ger- 
man population  does  not  object  to  mix  with  them.  This  colony  was 
founded  bv  a  Prince  Wittgenstein,  and  belonos  to  the  few  where  the 
intention  of  the  founders  has  been  successful.  The  children  do  not 
speak  their  mother  tongue  at  all ;  -  the  younger  adults  under- 
stand it  only  tolerably,  but  one  old  Gypsy  woman  still  knows  it 
perfectly.  They  said  that  they  could  only  imperfectly  make  them- 
selves understood  in  the  language  of  their  people  with  their  wander- 
ing comrades.  "  Sie  utzen  uns  weil  wir  nichts  mehr  konne  "  ("  They 
laugh  at  us  for  not  knowing  any  more  "),  said  a  Gypsy  woman  to  me. 

1  I  have  given  a  sketcli  of  the  same  in  the  xviii.  vol.  of  the  Zeitschrift  far  Vulkcr- Psycho - 
logie  und  Sprachioissenschaft,  pp.  82-93. 

^  The  results  of  my  observatioas  will  appear  in  the  above-mentioned  periodical  in  the 
course  of  the  year. 


32     STATISTICAL  ACCOUNT  OF  THE  GYPSIES  IN  THE  GEEMAN  EMPIRE. 

What  particularly  struck  me  was  that  when  the  people  spoke  German 
they  used  the  Swabian  accent,  which  is  not  a  peculiarity  of  the 
dialect  of  the  German  population  of  this  part. 

Bavakia. — As  far  as  known,  there  are  no  Gypsy  colonies  here. 
The  police  authorities  have  the  strictest  orders  not  to  permit  Gypsy 
bands  to  enter  Bavaria,  or,  if  found,  to  send  them  away. 

Saxony. — By  the  last  census  there  were  no  Gypsies  found  here. 
Foreign  Gypsies  are  by  official  orders  interdicted  from  entering  the 
country ;  licences  to  travel  are  never  granted  to  them,  and  should 
any  enter  they  are  expelled. 

Baden. — In  two  communities  in  the  province  of  Eberbach  small 
colonies  of  Gypsies  are  found.  In  the  year  1882  the  colonies 
amounted  to  24  persons,  but  they  are  diminishing.  They  are  trades- 
men, pedlars,  and  musicians;  they  wander  incessantly  into  the 
neighbouring  countries,  so  that  they  very  seldom  appear  in  their  own 
community.  Numerous  bands  of  Gypsies  wander  about  the  country, 
but  as  the  police  orders  have  lately  been  much  stricter,  they  are 
not  so  frequent  as  formerly. 

Oldenburg. — Here  there  are  neither  Gypsy  colonies,  nor  any 
regular  migrations  of  Gypsies. 

The  same  is  also  the  case  in  Hesse  and  Mecklenburg-Schwerin. 

Saxe-Weimar. — There  were  formerly  two  resident  Gypsy  families 
in  the  townships  of  Ilmenau  and  Langsfeld,  but  their  descendants 
have  become  entirely  Germanised.  Periodic  migrations  of  Gypsies 
do  not  appear  to  occur. 

Mecklenburg-Strelitz. — No  colonies.  During  recent  decades 
few  Gypsies  on  their  migrations  have  passed  through  the  country. 

Brunswick. — At  a  Commission  of  Inquiry  in  1886  there  were 
altogether  found  85  Gypsies,  of  whom,  however,  only  17  w^ere  subjects 
of  Brunswick,  the  remainder  not  even  belonging  to  Germany.  Only 
two  families  are  settled,  and  these  in  two  different  districts.  These 
two  families  now  number  11  persons,  who  gain  their  living  mostly  by 
wandering  about.  Large  bands  of  wandering  Gypsies  appear  during 
the  season  of  fairs,  from  July  to  December,  in  the  larger  towns ;  but 
this  also  may  come  to  an  end,  as  lately  severe  orders  have  been 
passed  against  wandering  Gypsies. 

Meiningen,  Altenburg,  and  Saxe-Cobourg-Gotha. — There  are 
no  colonies ;  wandering  bands  sometimes  pass  through. 

Anhalt. — Gypsies  are  prohibited  from  entering  the  country. 


ILLUSTRATIONS  OF  SOUTH-AUSTPJAN-KOMANKS.  33 

SCHWAEZBURa  -  SONDERSHAUSEN,      SciIWARZBURi;  -  liUDOLSTADT. — 

Migrations  of  Gypsies  are  at  present  frequent. 

Waldeck. — There  were  formerly  small  colonies :  the  descendants 
of  those  Gypsies  live  in  extremely  small  numbers,  separately.  In 
August,  large  bands  of  wandering  Gypsies  come  to  the  fair  of  Arolsen. 

Eeuss  jungere  Linie,  Schaumburg-Lippe,  Lippe. — Wandering 
Gypsies  rarely  set  foot  in  these  countries. 

Bremen. — In  the  town  of  Bremen  no  Gypsies  have  been  seen  for 
several  years.  In  the  country  they  appear  sometimes;  but  now, 
however,  more  rarelv. 

Hamburg. — Only  passing  bands  show  themselves  whilst  crossing 
the  State. 

Alsace-Lorraine. — Owing  to  the  strict  vigilance  of  the  authori- 
ties, wandering  bands  of  Gypsies  are  seldom  seen.  Yet  there  are  in 
this  province,  as  investigations  in  1885  showed,  eleven  families  of 
resident  Gypsies,  consisting  of  53  persons.  Besides  these,  there  are 
also  seventy-six  families,  who,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  women, 
are  not  of  the  race  of  Gypsies.  These  people  belong  to  nine  town- 
ships, and  number  332  souls.  In  Chateau-Salins  they  live  united, 
and  form  a  small  colony  of  47  persons.  It  is  only  in  winter  that 
they  are  found  all  living  together  in  this  dwelling.^ 

Rudolf  von  Sowa. 


v.— ILLUSTRATIONS  OF  SOUTH-AUSTRIAN-EOMANES. 

I.  Scene  from  Othello  (Act  in.  Scene  4). 

OTHELLO — DESDEMONA. 

0th.  I  have  a  salt  and  sullen  rheum  0th.  Mande  hi  jek  sorelo  tshil  ke  me 

offends  me  ;  lend  me  thy  handkerchief.  dukela  ;  pash  mande  tro  nakt'skeri. 

Des.  Here,  my  lord.  Des.  Aki,  mro  rai. 

0th.  That  which  I  gave  you.  0th.  Akowa  me  tut  dijum. 

De.?.  I  have  it  not  about  me.  Des.  Me  na  hiles  manse. 

0th.  Not?  0th.  Nane? 

Des.  No  indeed,  my  lord.  Des.  Nane,  harodev(51,  mro  rai. 

0th.  That  is  a  fault :  that  handker-  0th.    Kowa    hi     midshto  :      Ak6wa 

1  Puchmajer  also  mentions,  in  the  preface  to  his  Rmnani  Cib  (Prague,  1821),  that  in 
Bohemia  there  are  people  not  Gypsies,  called  Parne  (Whites).  These  liave  joined  the  Gypsies, 
who,  in  distinction  to  them,  call  themselves  Kale  (Blacks) ;  they  marry  into  Gypsy  families, 
and  share  their  wandering  way  of  life.  Here  in  Moravia,  and  in  Hungarian  Sl.avonia,  this  is 
not,  so  far  as  I  know,  the  case,  nor  are  these  designations  in  use. 

VOL.  L — NO.  L  C 


34 


ILLUSTRATIONS   OF   SOUTH- AUSTRIAN -ROMANES. 


chief  did  an  Egyptian  ^  to  my  mother 
give ;  she  was  a  charmer,  and  could 
ahnost  read  the  thoughts  of  people  ;  she 
told  her,  while  she  kept  it,  'twould 
make  her  amiable,  and  subdue  my 
father  entirely  to  her  love  ;  but  if  she 
lost  it,  or  made  a  gift  of  it,  my  father's 
eye  should  hold  her  loathly,  and  his 
spirit  should  hunt  after  new  fancies  : 
she,  dying,  gave  it  me  ;  and  bid  me, 
when  my  fate  would  have  me  wive,  to 
give  it  her.  I  did  so  :  and  take  heed 
oft,  make  it  a  darling  like  your  precious 
eye  ;  to  lose  or  give  't  away,  were  such 
perdition,  as  nothing  else  could  match. 


Des.  Is  it  possible  ? 

0th.  'Tis  true  ;  there 's  magic  in  the 
web  of  it ;  a  sibyl,  that  had  number'd 
in  the  world  the  sun  to  make  two 
hundred  compasses,  in  her  prophetic 
fury  sew'd  the  work  :  the  worms  were 
hallow'd  that  did  breed  the  silk  ;  and  it 
was  dyed  in  mummy,  which  the  skilful 
conserv'd  of  maidens'  hearts. 


Des.  Indeed  !  is 't  true  ? 

0th.  Most  veritable  ;  therefore  look 
to 't  well. 

Des.  Then  would  to  heaven  that  I 
had  never  seen  it. 


nakeskeri  jeki  Eumni  ^  dejas  nirahi  deja; 
jol  his  jeki  tshowajahni,  te  shasti  jol 
priservaf  o  manusheskeri  rikerpen  ;  jol 
pendjas  glan  la  tshin  job  rikerles,  jol 
veles  hako  tshiro  kamel  pash  mro  dad 
te-kokeres  rani  leskero  dsi ;  aiiwa  ganna 
jol  naschjed  les,  te  jol  deles  an  o  dawa- 
pen,  dala  mro  dad  dikkeles  jol  ssar 
prassapen ;  te  job  rodjas  pal  newo  Kama- 
pen  ;  di  job  hil  les  merapengre,  job 
dijas  mander,  te  pendjas,  ganna  o  gowa 
man  deles  jeki  pireni,  te  deles  later  an  o 
dawapen :  aduj  nianghe  gherdum  :  le 
tut  garda,  rackel  les  pash  tudder  ssir  o 
guntsh,  har  tiri  guntshi  jak  ;  te  nash- 
jevaf,  gh^rles  mekles,  te  dawa  les  pre 
vaver  v^les  jek  dosh,  perdal  har  hako 
dosh. 

Des.  Aromali  ? 

0th.  But  tshashepen  ;  jek  tshowa- 
hanopen  atshela  andri  o  leskero  tann  ; 
jeki  turkopaskeri,  ke  dikias  o  kam  te 
gh(5raf  duivarshel  perdo  pes  trom  trujal 
0  berz  ano  lakri  glanduno  rakerpengheri 
diviopen  sidjum  agowa :  o  pareskoro 
ghernii  jol  has  tshohodo,  i  shukeraker- 
pengheri  rani  gatterdjas  len  ano,  tarni 
raneskeri,  gheradum  mulendero  dsi, 
ssarde  o  hadawaskeri  manushi. 

Des.  Arouiiili !  tshatshenes  ? 

0th.  But  tshatshepen  :  doleske  dik  o 
glan  tut,  de  te  rakkel  les  tshatsh(j. 

Des.  Dave,  o  boUoijpen  kameles  ke 
me  ne  les  kekwar  dikiom. 

II.  Psalm  CL. 

4.  Sharen  tume  les  sar  o  tambuk  te 
kelliippen  :  sharen  tume  les  sar  o  zerda- 
pangheri  te  kangripashemaskeri. 

5.  Sharen  tume  les  ap  o  krisko  godli 
tambuk  :  sharen  tume  les  ap  o  krisko 
godlidir  tambuk. 

6.  Gai,  hako  gowa  ke  lader  hi  o  tucho 
share  u  Eai.     Sharen  tume  u  Eai. 


J.  PiNCHERLE. 


1.  Sharen  tume  u  Eai.  Sharen  tume 
u  Eai  an  u  leste  schwendo  ker  :  sharen 
tume  les  an  o  buchloppenleskeri  sor. 

2.  Sharen  tumen  les  pre  leskero 
sorelo  gherappen  :  sharen  tume  pre 
leskero  but  baroppen. 

3.  Sharen  tume  les  sar  i  godli  o 
sapiengheskeri  portamaskeri  :  sharen 
tume  les  sar  o  gatsheni  te  zerdapangheri 
pashemaskeri. 

Note.— It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  remind  English  readers  that  the  spelling  of  tlie 
above  is  based  upon  the  principles  of  German  orthoepy, 

1  Mr.  Pincherle  remarks:  "I  deliberately  interpret  and  accordiugly  translate  'an 
Egyptian  '  as  'a  Gypsy  woman'  (Rumni)."  And  it  is  very  evident  that  Shakespeare  was 
liere  speaking  of  a  Gypsy,  whom  he  designated  by  the  full  form  of  the  word,  very  generally 
used  in  his  day.  Again,  "the  Egyptian  thief"  of  Twelfth  Night  (v.  1)  is  almost  certainly 
a  "Gypsy  thief"  ;  and  the  casual  reference  here  made  throws  an  interesting  side-light  on 
the  ways  of  English  Gypsies  in  the  sixteenth  century.  In  Antony  and  Uleopatra  (iv.  10), 
Shakespeare  uses  "  Gypsy  "  as  synonymous  with  "Egyptian,"  although  there  introduced  as 
an  equivoque. 


THE   GYPSIES   OF   CATALONIA.  35 

VI.— THE  GYPSIES  OF  CATALONIA. 

IN  writing  about  the  Gypsies  of  the  Pyreiiean  countries,^  the  late 
Dr.  Victor  dc  Eochas  distinguishes  between  those  inhabiting 
the  Basque  Provinces  and  their  congeners  in  Catalonia.  He  draws 
the  line  of  demarcation  from  north  to  south,  across  the  Pyrenees, 
and  not  along  them,  as  one  would  be  apt  to  expect.  The  Gypsy  of 
Mauleon,  French  by  nationality,  finds  his  brother  in  Biscaya  or 
Navarre :  the  French  Gypsy  of  Eoussillon  is  at  home  in  Barcelona — 
not  Bayonne.  Though  serving  in  the  French  army,  and  voting  and 
paying  taxes  as  Frenchmen,  the  French  Gypsies  of  the  western  and 
eastern  Pyrenees  look  southward  into  Spain,  not  across  to  each  other, 
for  their  fellow-countrymen.  "  The  speech  of  the  Gypsies  of  the 
Basses-Pyrenc'es,"  says  De  Eochas,  "  is  Basque ;  the  most  of  the 
women  speaking  no  other  language,  and  so  it  is  also  with  those 
middle-aged  men  who  have  not  learned  French,  either  in  the  army  or 
in  prison."  "  Oia-  Gypsies  [he  is  speaking  now  as  a  Eoussillonnais] 
are  the  brothers  of  those  of  Catalonia,  from  whom  they  have  only 
been  separated  by  the  conquest  of  Eoussillon  and  La  Cerdagne,  under 
Louis  XIII.  Their  usual  language  is  Catalan,  still  the  popular  speech 
of  the  department  of  the  Pyrdnees-Orientales.^  They  are  exactly  like 
the  Gypsies  of  the  Fuerta  San-Antonio,  at  Barcelona  and  Lerida." 
Indeed,  the  Gypsies  of  French-Catalonia  are  even  yet  spoken  of  as 
"  Gitanos  "  by  their  non-Gypsy  neighbours,  who  are  still  practically 
Catalans,  although  it  is  more  than  two  centuries  since  the  Treaty  of 
the  Pyrenees  brought  their  province  within  the  limits  of  France.  In 
this  historical  fact,  that  Eoussillon  was  once  a  part  of  Catalonia,  lies 
the  explanation  of  the  identity,  in  blood  and  dialect,  of  the  Eoussillon 
Gypsies  with  those  of  modern  Catalonia.  And  probably  a  similar 
reason  accounts  for  the  Basque  nationality  of  the  Gypsies  on  either 
side  of  the  Western  Pyrenees.  However,  it  is  not  with  them  but  with 
the  Catalan  family  that  we  have  here  to  do.^ 

Dr.  De  Eochas  puts  "  Les  Gitanos  du  Eoussillon  et  d'Espagne  "  at 
the  head  of  his  chapter,  but  it  is  apparent  that  his  experiences  in  this 
respect  do  not  take  in  any  part  of  Spain  outside  of  Catalonia.     On 

1  Les  Parias  de  France  et  d'Espagne,  Paris,  1876,  pp.  215-30G. 

2  This  department  answers  precisely  to  the  old  province  of  Roussillon,  together  with  the 
French  portion  of  Cerdafia. 

3  Although  De  Pvochas  {op.  cit.,  p.  '253)  speaks  slightingly  of  tlie  Basque  dialect  of 
Romanes,  it  nevertheless  forms  quite  as  interesting  a  study  as  that  of  Catalonia,  to  judge 
from  the  list  of  words  given  by  Michel  and  Baudriniont.  Many  of  these  words  are  identical 
with  those  used  by  the  Catalan  Gypsies.  Occasionally,  the  two  dialects  differ  in  an  interest- 
ing way. 


36  THE   GYPSIES    OF   CATALONIA. 

the  other  hand,  his  Catalan  Gypsies  are  not  restricted  on  the  north 
ta  the  limits  of  that  small  corner  of  Catalonia  now  known  as  the 
French  department  of  the  PyrSn^cs-Oricntalcs.  For  they  are  found, 
he  tells  us,  in  Narbonne,  Beziers,  and  Valence,  to  the  north-east ;  and 
again,  on  the  north-west,  in  Toulouse  and  Bordeaux :  "  all  in  com- 
munication with  each  other,  all — with  some  honourable  exceptions — 
unanimous  in  taking  advantage  of  the  open  dealing  of  those  they  do 
business  with,  or  of  the  credulity  of  ignorant  minds."  Why  this 
should  be  so — why  the  Gypsies  of  Toulouse,  for  example,  should 
speak  Catalan  instead  of  Languedocienne,  and  should  even  receive 
visits  from  their  kinsmen  in  north-eastern  Spain — is  not  very  clear. 
Perhaps  it  is  that  their  connection  dates  back  to  the  time  when 
Catalonia  was  a  country,  not  a  province,  and  when  its  influence 
reached  even  beyond  its  most  northern  limits.  That  those  Toulouse 
Gypsies  have,  at  one  time  or  another,  moved  into  France  from  the 
Eastern  Pyrenees,  is  at  any  rate  evident  from  their  speech. 

As  regards  the  earliest  mention  of  Gypsies  in  Spain,  M.  Bataillard,^ 
while  admitting  the  possibility,  and  even  the  probability,  of  previous 
arrivals,  goes  on  to  say  that  "  the  first  object  of  historical  research 
ought  to  be  the  immigration  of  Gypsies  into  the  Peninsula  during  the 
fifteenth  century ;  because  ...  it  is  almost  certain  that  the  bulk  of 
the  Peninsular  Gypsies  are  descended  from  the  immigrants  of  that 
century."  "  It  would  be  important,  in  any  case,"  he  remarks,  a  little 
later,  "  to  collect  all  the  documents  that  may  yet  remain  relating  to 
the  first  appearance  of  Gypsies  in  Spain.  For  my  part,  I  only  know 
of  one  such,  and  it  has  already  been  cited  by  me  in  my  memoir  of 
1844.^  It  records  the  arrival  in  Barcelona,  on  11th  July  1447,  of 
a  '  multitude  of  Egyptians '  [multitud  de  Egipcios],  who,  says  the 
chronicler,  spread  themselves  from  thence  over  Spain."  Eeferring  to 
this  event,  Dr.  De  Eochas  says  that,  on  the  date  just  mentioned, 
"  there  entered  into  Barcelona  a  troop  [of  Gypsies]  commanded  by 
chiefs,  who  assumed  the  titles  of  duke  and  count,  and  who  practised 
the  same  impostures  as  in  France,  whence  they  probably  came." 
There  seems  no  good  reason  for  assuming  that  they  did  enter  Spain 
from  France;  because  not  only  were  they  spoken  of  in  1447  as 
Egyptians ;  and  again,  in  a  Castilian  edict  of  1499  as  "Egyptians  and 
foreign  tinkers "  [Egiptia7ios  y  calderos  extrangeros],  but,  thirteen  years 
later,  they  have  no  less  than  three  different  nationalities  assigned  to 
them,  not  one  of  which  is  the  French, 

1  Les  Gitanos  lU Espagne,  etc.,  Lisbon,  1884. 

-  De  V  Ajipnrition  dcs  Boheinims  en  Europe,  Paris,  1844. 


THE    CIYJ'SIKS   OF    CATALONIA.  37 

Like  the  I'ecord  of  1447,  this  last  reference  relates  distinctly  to 
Catcdonian  Gypsies ;  for  it  is  in  the  "  Constitution  of  Catalonia  "  that 
they  are  next  mentioned — and  in  the  year  1512.  Here  they  are 
spoken  of  as  "  Bohemians  and  fools  [.so^^s]/  styled  Bohemians,  Greeks, 
and  Egyptians."  Only  the  last  of  these  names  is  used  at  the  present 
day  in  the  Peninsula :  being  Egi-pcioaxi  or  J^gyptoac,  among  the 
Basques,  and  Gitano  in  other  parts  of  Spain  and  in  French  Catalonia. 
"  Bohemian,"  apparently,  is  now  restricted  to  France :  and  "  Greek  " 
is  nowhere  a  modern  equivalent  of  "  Gypsy."  Yet  some  of  those 
Catalonian  Gypsies  of  1512  may  well  have  come  from  Greece. 
Borrow  tells  us  {Tltc  Ziticali,  1841,  ii.  110-11),  in  the  words  of  a 
sixteenth  century  Spaniard,  that  "a  learned  person,  in  the  year  1540," 
spoke  to  certain  Spanish  Gypsies  "  in  the  vulgar  Greek,  such  as  is 
used  at  present  in  the  Morea  and  Archipelago,"  and,  adds  this  Spanish 
writer,  "some  understood  it,  others  did  not."  "  The  fact  is  remarkable, 
but  not  very  surprising,"  comments  M.  Bataillard  {Les  Gitanos,  p.  19, 
note),  since  there  were,  among  those  of  1512,  "some  Gypsies  who 
alleged  they  were  Greeks,  and  who  without  doubt  came  from  Greece, 
or  some  neighbouring  country."  And  he  also  refers  to  the  fact  that 
Professor  Miklosicli  has  found  "Greek,  Slav,  and  Ptoumauian" 
elements  in  the  Pyrenean- Gypsy  dialects. 

Whatever  their  history  since  1512,  the  Catalonian  Gyj^sies  are 
to-day  in  a  comparatively  flourishing  condition.  Their  physical 
appearance  betokens  good  nourishment  and  an  easy  life,  while  several 
of  them  are  strikingly  handsome.  "  I  have  never  met  a  single  de- 
formed Gypsy,"  says  De  Eochas ;  "  whether  it  is  that  the  race  pro- 
duces none,  or  because  the  sickly  and  feeble  succumb  in  infancy  to 
the  rigour  of  a  life  that  serves  to  harden  those  of  good  constitutions. 
In  fact,  the  good  health  of  the  Gypsies  is  proverbial ;  their  robust 
constitutions  withstand  all  excesses  and  exposure.  If  there  is  no 
race  which  produces  more  children,  there  is  certainly  none  which 
retains  a  greater  number  of  old  people.^  They  are  well  set-up,  and 
above  the  average  size,  with  very  brown  skins,  usually  of  the  colour 
of  leather,  but  sometimes  deeper — never  that  of  a  negro :  sometimes 
also  of  a  clear  bistre,  and  even  white,  doubtless  owing  to  intermixture. 
But  their  features  are  never  those  of  the  negro,  nor  have  they  his 

1  In  Scotland  the  earlier  statutes  associate  with  Gypsies  "sncli  as  make  themselves 
fools,"  "  fancied  fools,"  and  "  professed  pleasants."  In  other  European  countries,  also,  they 
have  been  known  as  mountebanks  and  jugglers.  It  is  evident  tliat  those  quasi-Bohemian 
sots  of  Catalonia  were  also,  like  their  compeers  elsewhere,  professional  "clowns,"  and 
"  merry-andrews." 

'-  These  statements  form  a  curious  contrast  to  Dr.  Paspati's  remarks  on  tlie  Turkish 
Gypsies,  ante,  p.  3. 


38  THE    GYPSIES   OF   CATALONIA. 

crisp  hair.  Eatlier  do  lliey  resemble  the  yellow  race,  by  reason  of 
their  big  cheek-bones,  their  narrow  foreheads,  and  their  long,  coarse, 
jet-black  hair.  One  is  inclined  to  suspect  an  admixture  of  Dravidian 
blood.  This,  however,  is  not  the  prevailing  type.  The  most  of  them 
are  not  easily  distinguished  from  the  natives  except  by  their  com- 
plexion. But  the  observer  can  recognise  them  by  other  less  striking 
though  equally  characteristic  traits  :  by  tlie  brilliancy  of  their  black, 
searching  eyes,  the  beauty  of  their  teeth,  the  symmetry  of  their 
figures."  Dr.  De  Eochas  had,  of  course,  an  intimate  knowledge  of 
the  Eoussillon  Gypsies ;  but  a  casual  acquaintanceship  with  the 
same  people  leads  me  to  remark  that  I  have  the  memory  of  eyes  of  a 
fine  hazel  (such  as  I  have  seen  in  some  English  and  Greek  Gypsies), 
instead  of  the  deep  black  he  speaks  of ;  and  further,  that  the  Mon- 
golian type  was  never  suggested  to  me  by  a  Catalonian  Gypsy, 
although  it  was  by  one  of  a  company  of  Hungarian  "  Tzigane " 
musicians.  Otherwise,  my  impressions  are  of  some  very  swarthy 
faces ;  others  of  a  rich  clear  brown — clear  enough  to  show  tlie  blood 
mantling  in  the  cheeks ;  while  the  complexion  of  others  was  of  a 
delicate  sallow.  One  of  tliis  last  type,  a  young  fellow  of  nineteen 
or  twenty,  was  exceedingly  handsome,  and  with  certainly  most 
exquisite  teeth.  His  own  brother,  a  man  of  about  thirty,  had  the 
good-natured,  well-fed,  comely  appearance  so  often  seen  among 
the  people  of  that  region,  Gypsy  and  Gentile.  He  was  of  the 
brown-skinned  type,  and  both  brothers  bore  witness  to  the  fore- 
going statements  as  to  the  physical  advantages,  and  also  as  to  the 
fecundity  of  the  race,  since  they  belonged  to  a  family  of  nine,  and 
their  father  was  one  of  ten. 

So  recently  as  1832  the  costume  of  the  Catalonian  Gypsies,  as 
described  by  the  author  of  the  Historia  dc  los  Gitdnos^  was  of  the 
same  picturesque  style  as  that  of  the  more  southern  Gitanos  as 
portrayed  by  Burgess  and  other  modern  artists.  But  De  Eochas, 
writing  in  1876,  pictures  them  to  us  thus:  "The  costume  of  the 
Eoussillon  Gypsy  men  invariably  consists  of  a  loose  blouse  of  coarse 
blue  cloth,  falling  to  the  knees,  an  otter-skin  cap  or  a  felt  hat."  To 
this  may  be  added  the  equally  invariable  and  prosaic  trousers,  while 
their  feet  are  usually  shod  with  the  espardenas  of  the  province.  De 
Eochas  adds  that  "the  women  wear  the  costume  of  the  people,  but 
particularly  affect  red."  From  personal  experience  I  can  add  the 
memory  of  a  young  Gypsy  girl  in  a  country  town,  who  wore  a 
gown  of  a  very  gorgeous  appearance,  with  broad  stripes  of  faded 

1  Borrow's  Zincali,  1841,  vol.  i.  pp.  311,  312. 


TllK   GYI'.SIKS   OF   CATALONIA.  39 

pink,  ulternated  with  white,  running  perpendicukirly  through  it. 
Also  of  two  others  in  Perpignan,  of  a  much  more  sedate  and  re- 
spectable order,  whose  dresses  were  of  a  flowered  print  pattern, 
though  quiet  in  tone.  De  Eochas  further  says  that  well-to-do 
Gypsies,  though  dressed  like  other  citizens,  still  show  their  inborn 
taste  for  gay  colours.  On  the  whole,  however,  it  may  be  said  that 
the  Gypsies  of  Catalonia  are  attired  so  much  in  the  same  fashion 
as  the  Gaiijoes,  that  what  attracts  the  eye  to  them  is,  in  ninety- 
nine  cases  out  of  a  hundred,  not  any  peculiarity  in  the  shape  or 
colour  of  their  dress,  but  tlie  unmistakable  hue  of  their  tawny  faces. 

These  Catalan  Gypsies  are  very  thoroughbred,  and  seldom  marry 
outside  their  caste.  But,  like  their  brethren  everywhere,  they  are 
forgetting  their  mother  tongue.  Unless  when  speaking  to  the  old 
people,  their  language  is  Catalan.  (Frequently,  of  course,  in  speaking 
with  non-Gypsies,  they  employ  Castilian  or  French,  according  to  the 
side  of  the  Pyrenees  to  which  they  belong.)  At  fairs,  or  in  any 
horse-dealing  or  other  business  matter,  they  will  introduce  much 
Eomanes  into  their  talk,  so  that  the  gadje  present  may  not  under- 
stand them.  But  the  reason  that  a  middle-aged  Eoussillon  Gypsy 
gave  me  for  the  neglect  of  their  own  tongue  was  simply  that  the 
younger  members  did  not  know  enough  of  it  for  a  continuous  con- 
versation. They  speak  of  their  language  as  Kalo,  but  of  course  they 
also  use  the  ordinary  term,  which  I  have  heard  them  pronounce 
variously  Edmani,  Bumani,  Bomands,  Boimmhs,  and  Bumanditch. 
Bom,  or  Buvi,  of  course  signifies  a  Gypsy:  otherwise  Bomanishel, 
Bomnishel,  or  Bomnitchel :  also  Kalo  ^  and  Chavo.  But  although  Rom 
is  here,  as  everywhere,  equivalent  to  "  Gypsy  "  (and  to  "  husband  "), 
yet  here,  as  Dr.  Paspati  tells  us  is  the  case  in  Turkey,  the  word  is 
sometimes  inaccurately  applied  to  others.  One  young  Catalan  Gypsy, 
who,  however,  possessed  only  a  fragmentary  knowledge  of  the 
language,  assured  me  that  "  a  man  "  was  either  rom  or  cjadjo,  indiffer- 
ently ;  and  another  enthusiastically  informed  me  that  a  certain  man 
(not  a  bit  of  a  Gypsy,  but  a  most  accomplished  scamp)  was  a  latcho 
rom,  meaning  thereby  a  hravc  homme.  So  that  when  De  Rochas 
defined  Bom  as  also  signifying  "  man,"  he  had  doubtless  been 
influenced  by  similar  experiences ;  although  he  elsewhere  restricts  it 
to  its  proper  signification  of  "  Gypsy  "  and  "  husband."  But  probably 
one  might  say  of  the  Catalonian  Eomane,  as  Dr.  Paspati  says  of  their 
Ijrethren   in   Turkey,   that  although  they   sometimes   "  extend   the 

1  Besides  being  employed   as  above,  and  iu  the  ordinary  way  as  the  adjective  "black," 
Kal6  also  denotes  "cotfee." 


40  THE    GYPSIES   OF   CATALONIA, 

designation  of  rom  to  strangers,"  yet  "  the  primitive  signification  of 
word  is  retained  with  a  remarkable  tenacity." 

The  Gypsy  population  of  Eoussillon  is  estimated  at  about  300 
persons,  says  De  Rochas,  while  the  Beziers  colony  numbers  about 
100,  and  that  of  Toulouse  sixty.  In  Narbonue  there  are  only  two  or 
three  families.  Thus,  including  those  of  Bordeaux  and  Valence 
(whose  numbers  he  does  not  give,  but  who  are  not  likely  numerous), 
we  may  assume  the  total  number  of  Catalan  Gypsies  living  north  of 
the  Pyrenees  to  be  500  or  600.  Although  the  modern  province  of 
Catalonia,  lying  wholly  in  Spain,  has  always  constituted  nearly  the 
whole  of  "  Catalonia,"  De  Eochas  says  nothing  as  to  the  size  of  its 
Gypsy  population.  The  reason  of  this  is  no  doubt  that  his  experience 
were  chiefly  of  French  Catalonia.  Nor  can  the  present  writer  say 
anything  noteworthy  about  those  of  Spanish  Catalonia,  since  he  only 
saw  a  few  of  them  in  the  town  of  Gerona,  and  occasional  stragglers 
on  the  French  side  of  the  borders. 

Like  Paspati,  De  Ptochas  divides  his  Ptoussillon  Gypsies  into  two 
classes — Sedentary  and  Nomadic  ;  "  those  who  have  a  fixed  domicile 
m  towns,  and  those  who  go  about  in  waggons,  with  their  families, 
from  village  to  village  and  from  fair  to  fair."  The  former,  he  says, 
are  the  most  numerous.  In  spite,  however,  of  this  division  into  two 
separate  groups,  he  states  in  another  place,  when  speaking  of  the 
Toulouse  colony,  that  "  like  their  brothers  of  Pioussillon,  they  frequent 
all  the  fairs  within  a  radius  of  fifty  leagues" ;  while  the  few  families 
in  Beziers  "  are  still  half-nomadic."  These  statements  are  not  quite 
consistent.  But  the  fact  seems  to  be  that  no  such  line  of  demarca- 
tion can  be  drawn.  If  we  except  the  families  of  wealthy  educated 
Gypsies  (of  which  there  are  examples  in  Perpignan,  Beziers,  Toulouse, 
and  Lerida),  and  also  those  who  are  unfit  to  travel  by  reason  of  age 
or  infirmity,  it  may  be  affirmed  with  some  certainty  that  all  those 
town-dwellers  lead  the  nomadic  life,  in  some  cases  without  a  break, 
during  the  greater  part  of  the  year.  And  that,  on  the  other  hand, 
the  most — if  not  all — of  them  are  house-dwellers  during  the  incle- 
ment  weather  of  winter.  Indeed,  the  non-Gypsy  nomads  would 
appear  to  be  more  incessantly  nomadic  than  the  Gypsies.  During  a 
winter  residence  of  some  seven  weeks  in  a  French  Catalonian  village, 
I  saw  many  nomads — knife-grinders,  tinkers,  etc. — but  only  two 
Gypsy  families ;  and  these,  although  travelling  separately,  were 
closely  related,  and  occupied  together  the  same  house,  situated  in  the 
little  town  of  Le  Boulou.  There  they  hibernated,  and  only  emerged 
at  intervals  for  a  brief  waggon-trip,  on  the  chance  of  getting  some- 


THE   GYPSIES   OF   CATALONIA.  41 

tliiug  to  do.  Indeed  some  members  of  the  Toulouse  colony  (a 
delightfully  cordial  group)  plainly  told  me  that  they  only  spend  the 
winter  months  in  town,  during  which  time  their  waggons  have  been 
placed  in  winter- quarters  ;  but  as  soon  as  the  weather  allows  of  it 
out  come  the  waggons,  and  away  they  go  along  the  roads,  to  villages, 
farms,  and  fairs.  This  wandering  life  they  greatly  prefer.  But  to 
lead  it  in  winter  is  impossible.  For  one  thing,  the  law  only  allows 
them  twenty-four  hours  in  one  place,  as  nomads,  and  this — irksome 
enough  in  tine  weather — is  more  than  irksome  during  severe  cold. 
Moreover,  they  can  get  little  enough  work  in  the  towns  during  winter, 
without  attempting  the  country.  The  chief  occupation  of  these  Catalan 
Gypsies  is  clipping  liorses,  mules,  etc.,  and  this  they  are  not  required 
to  do  in  winter.  Thus  there  is  every  inducement  for  them  to  spend 
the  winter  months  in  the  towns,  where,  being  then  house-dwellers, 
they  may  live  in  one  place  as  long  as  they  like. 

In  the  above  paragraph  a  passing  reference  has  been  made  to  the 
nomadic  knife-grinders,  tinkers,  etc.,  of  Catalonia,  in  contradistinction 
to  Gypsies.  It  is  a  curious  thing  that  these  occupations,  so  much 
identified  wdth  Gypsies  in  other  countries,  should  here  be  apparently 
quite  dissociated  from  them.  Metal-working,  De  Kochas  tells  us,  is 
almost  quite  a  lost  art  among  the  French  Gitanos,  and  is  in  decadence 
even  in  Spain,  although  it  was  not  so  in  former  times.  Several  of 
those  people  whom  I  saw  in  Roussillon  were  clearly  not  Gypsies  ; 
and  when  I  told  the  Gitanos  that  our  English  Gypsies  often  followed 
these  callings,  they  were  surprised  and  slightly  amused.  The  almost 
exclusive  occupation  of  the  Catalan  Gypsy  is  that  of  clipping  and 
trimming  horses,  combined  often  with  horse-dealing. 

It  is  as  horse-dealers  that  certain  Gitanos  have  attained  to  wealth 
— a  wealth  sufficient  to  give  a  college  education  to  their  sons  and*  to 
bring  up  their  daughters  as  ladies — and  even  the  poorest  Gitano  is  a 
horse-dealer  when  he  has  the  chance.  But  the  profession  of  csqiiila- 
d6r,  tondeur  (or,  in  Spanish  Itomanes),  rminrahador ,  is  their  main- 
stay, "  horses,  mules,  donkeys  or  dogs,  they  are  ready  for  all."  ^  The 
humblest  little  tilted  cart  carries  in  it  the  large,  heavy,  but  finely- 
adjusted  shears,  and  the  still  more  delicate  instrument  for  close  work 
round  pastern  and  fetlock.  In  the  towns,  such  as  Toulouse  and 
Perpignan  (presumably  also  those  of  Catalonia  proper),  the  Gypsies, 

1  However,  when  De  Rochas,  whom  I  have  quoted,  goes  on  to  saj^,  "  What  is  there  that 
the  Gitano  would  not  clip  ?  He  would  try  to  shave  an  egg,"  he  makes  rather  a  wide  state- 
ment. When  I  asked  one  of  them,  who  bad  just  been  showing  me  his  instruments  with 
evident  pride,  whether  he  was  in  the  habit  of  shearing  sheep,  he  rejnidiated  the  idea  with 
astonishment,  and  with  some  slight  indignation. 


42  THE   GYPSIES   OF   CATALONIA. 

cluster  daily,  and  with  great  regularity,  at  well-known  corners,  where 
they  may  be  found — unless  they  have  been  secured  for  some  piece  of 
work — any  time  between  eight  and  five  o'clock,  excluding  an  hour  or 
two  for  their  midday  meal.  Those,  of  course,  who  by  successful 
trafficking  in  horse-flesh  rise  to  become  capitalists  do  not  work  as 
csquiladorcs,  although  these  are  themselves  horse-dealers  when  they 
get  a  chance.  In  addition  to  this  twofold  occupation,  however,  there 
are  others  which  they  follow.  Sometimes,  says  De  Eochas,  they  are 
"  mountebanks,  chiromancers,  mesmerists,^  and  clairvoyants,"  palmis- 
try and  clairvoyance  being  specially  managed  by  the  women.  He 
qualifies  this  remark  hj  further  stating  that  although  fortune-telling 
still  flourishes  in  Spain,  it  is  no  longer  permitted  in  Erench-Catalonia, 
though  slyly  prosecuted  in  the  booths  at  fairs.  He  says  nothing  about 
begging ;  but  one  of  them,  in  descanting  upon  the  delights  of  their 
open-air  life  in  summer,  remarked  to  me  that  one  had  nothing  to  do 
but  idle  about,  as  one's  wife  and  children  got  by  begging  all  one 
wanted.  To  these  pleasing  accomplishments  the  Gitanas  add  those  of 
pilfering,-  and  of  selling  contraband  goods.  "  They  also  sell  dresses, 
shawls,  and  neckerchiefs."  "  Some  young  girls  sing,  accompanying 
themselves  on  the  guitar.  This  gift  of  music  and  love  of  the  guitar 
(remarks  De  Eochas)  forms  yet  another  feature  distinguishing  the 
Eoussillon  Gypsies  from  the  other  natives." 

Besides   these   various   forms   of   industry,  roulette  engages  the 
attention  of  the  men  to  a  considerable  extent,  and  probably  pocket- 

1  The  statement  that  mesmerism  is  still  practised  by  Catalonian  Gypsies  is  very  interesting. 
Under  the  name  of  glamour,  the  mesmeric  power  was  formerly  associated  with  the  Gypsies 
in  Scotland.  "  Glamour  "  is  defined  liy  Sir  Walter  Scott  as  the  "  power  of  imposing  on  the 
eyesight  of  the  spectators,  so  that  the  appearance  of  an  object  shall  be  totally  difl'erent  from 
the  reality."  And,  in  explanation  of  a  reference  to  "  the  gypsies'  glamour'd  gang,"  in  one  of 
his  ballads,  he  remarks:  "Besides  the  prophetic  powers  ascribed  to  the  Gypsies  in  most 
European  countries,  the  Scottish  peasants  believe  them  possessed  of  the  power  of  throwing 
upon  bystanders  a  spell  to  fascinate  their  eyes  and  cause  them  to  see  the  thing  that  is  not. 
Thus,  in  the  old  ballad  of  '  Johnnie  Faa,'  the  elopement  of  the  Countess  of  Cassillis  with  a 
Gipsy  leader  is  imputed  to  fascination — 

'  Sae  .soon  as  they  saw  her  weel-faur'd  face, 
They  cast  the  glamour  o'er  her. '  " 
And  he  relates  an  incident,  told  to  him  a  long  time  previously,  in  which  "  a  Gypsy  exercised 
his  glamour  over  a  number  of  people  at  Haddington."  He  further  remarks  :  "The  jongleurs 
were  also  great  professors  of  this  mystery,  which  has  in  some  degree  descended,  with  their 
name,  on  the  modern  jugglers."  (See  note  2  M.  to  The  Lay;  also  pp.  277-8  of  The  Min- 
strelsy, Murray's  reprint,  1869. ) 

Not  only  have  British  Gy^jsies  been  accused  of  "jugglery,"  but  the  Scotch  Act  of  Parlia- 
ment of  1579  was  directed  against  "the  idle  people  calling  themselves  Egyjitians,  or  any 
other  that  fancy  themselves  to  have  knowledge  of  prophecy,  charming,  or  other  abused 
sciences."  It  is  tolerably  clear  that  all  this  class  of  words— now  obsolete,  except  in  a  poeti- 
cal sense — such  as  "glamour,"  "enchantment,"  "spellbound,"  "a  magic  spell,"  "to  be- 
witch," "  to  charm  " — were  used  to  indicate  the  mesmeric  intluence  ;  as  far  back  as  Merlin's 
famous  "charm  of  woven  paces  and  of  waving  hands." 

"  This  is  stated  by  De  Kochas,  and  it  had  been  previously  stated  by  a  writer  of  the  year 
18C2  in  describing  the  same  Gypsy  family.     (See  Simsou's  History,  p.  87.) 


THE    GYJ'SIKS    OF    CATALONIA.  43 

picking  is  iiul  unkiiowu  among  tliem.  This  1  realised  IVoiu  some 
almost  reverential  references  to  Englisli  pickpockets  as  "  very  adroit," 
"  ires  forts"  etc.  (which  were  intended  as  indirect  compliments  to  their 
English  auditor, — for  what  Komani  EaY  has  not  experienced  tliat  a 
knowledge  of  Eomanes  infers  an  intimate  acquaintance  with  "  the 
seamy  side  "  ?).  This,  and  the  roulette-table,  as  well  as  other  Gypsy 
proclivities,  naturally  makes  them  the  prey  of  the  ofticers  of  the  law. 
"  Do  you  like  the  gendarmes  ?  "  I  asked  of  one  of  the  shadiest  of  them 
all.  "  In  flic  river"  was  his  grim  response.  However,  it  is  but  fair 
to  add  that  a  country  Gypsy  whom  I  sounded  on  this  subject  repudi- 
ated any  feeling  of  dislike  to  the  gendarmes,  remarking  that  if  one 
didn't  "  do  anything  "  one  had  no  cause  to  fear  or  dislike  them.  He 
had  a  very  frank,  honest  face,  this  young  Gypsy,  and  very  likely 
stuck  closely  to  his  legitimate  business  of  horse-trimming  and  horse- 
dealing.  Nevertheless,  Gypsy  ideas  of  right  and  wrong  are  radically 
different,  in  some  respects,  from  those  recognised  by  the  laws  of 
Europe. 

And  yet  it  is  a  mistake  to  suppose  that  the  Gypsies  of  Spain,  or 
indeed  of  Europe,  do  not  share  the  religious  beliefs  common  to  Europe. 
In  the  seventeenth-century  tale  of  Alonso,  quoted  by  Borrow,  we  read 
of  Gypsies  praying  to  the  saints  {The  Zincali,  1841,  pp.  93-4).  From 
these  very  Catalonian  Gitauos  M.  Bataillard  has  received  two  Chris- 
tian legends  (referred  to  on  pp.  1  GO,  170  of  //i  Gypsy  Tents).  And,  in 
Dr.  De  Eochas'  account  one  reads  how  sacredly  they  observe  All- 
Hallowtide  and  Christmas,  at  which  latter  time  friends  and  relations 
separated  all  the  year  gather  together  to  renew  their  friendship  and 
to  renounce  all  enmity.  Mention  is  made,  indeed,  of  one  Gypsy  who 
came  from  Barcelona  to  Perpignan  at  Christmas-time  for  no  other 
reason  than  to  be  reconciled  to  his  brother.  These  things  testify,  says 
De  Eochas,  to  the  existence  of  "  religious  sentiments  that  one  would 
not  have  expected  to  find  among  people  too  often  described  as  living 
without  either  faith  or  law." 

"  The  Catalan  peasant,  superstitious  and  rude,  detests  the  Gitano, 
and  believes  him  capable  of  bewitching  and  poisoning  his  live-stock. 
This  latter  imputation  (continues  De  Eochas)  is  not  as  trifling  as 
the  other — at  least  not  as  regards  the  past — for  the  Spanish  Gypsies 
had  a  name  for  the  poison  they  administered  to  animals,  which  they 
called  drao}  Some  years  ago  a  peasant  belonging  to  the  neighbour- 
hood of  Perpignan  stabbed  a  Gypsy  to  death  on  the  mere  suspicion 
that  he  had  poisoned  his  pig."     However  little  that  particular  Gypsy 

1  This  word  (variously  inflected)  is  of  course  well  known  to  otlier  European  Gypsies. 


44  THE   GYPSIES    OF   CATALONIA. 

had  deserved  his  puiiisliment,  it  is  not  improbable  that  the  practice 
— known  in  England  also — has  not  been  wholly  forgotten  in  Cata- 
lonia. At  any  rate  I  found  that  a  reference  to  haUtcho-drao  elicited 
an  interchange  of  looks,  and  the  laughing  remark  that  "  he  knows 
all  about  it."  Whether  or  not  they  still  find  opportunities  to  dine 
off  pork  thus  procured  (for  the  poison  is  completely  washed  out 
before  cooking),  the  Catalonian  Gypsies,  like  others  of  their  race, 
know  how  to  appreciate  baked  hedgehog.  Curiously  enough,  they 
do  not  seem  to  have  a  Itomani  name  for  it,  and  the  hotchiivitchi 
of  our  Eomane  proved  meaningless  in  their  ears.  And  although 
snails  are  cooked  in  France  by  the  (jndje,  yet  some  Gitanos  whom 
I  interrogated  assured  me  they  never  use  them  as  food.  As  for  the 
word  I  got  for  "  snail "  on  this  occasion,  it  was  obviously  not  Eomanes. 
The  man  who  offered  me  this  word  was  a  somewhat  dangerous 
guide.  He  was  unquestionably  a  most  fluent  speaker  of  Eomanes; 
but  he  was  too  clever.  He  not  only,  like  his  brother-Gypsies,  could 
speak  Catalan  and  French  (or  Spanish,  when  they  are  Spanish- 
Catalans),  but  he  also  knew  Hungarian  and  Italian.  He  had 
travelled  much,  and  in  his  travels  he  had  gained  a  certain  amount 
of  education  and  polish,  which  raised  him  immensely  above  even 
his  own  brother,  and  which  caused  him  to  be  regarded  as  a  perfect 
savant  by  all  his  friends,  as  indeed  he  was.  He  could — and  did 
— discourse  with  easy  fluency  upon  "  vagabondage,"  "  the  nomadic 
races,"  and  "la  vie  de  Boheme,"  like  any  philosopher.  (And  yet 
a  more  thorough  knave  one  could  hardly  meet :  his  special  weak- 
ness is  roulette,  and  with  prison  interiors  he  is  quite  familiar.) 
One  result,  then,  of  all  his  experiences  is  that,  while  really  a 
master  of  Eomanes,  he  has  added  to  his  vocabulary  various 
words  that  are  not  genuine.  This  appeared  when  he  told  me  that 
the  Eomani  word  for  a  "  snail "  is  shnik,  and  again  when  he  in- 
sisted, in  the  teeth  of  his  friends  (who  protested  humbly),  that 
pdilali  is  not  the  proper  word  for  "  brandy "  (though  that  is  the 
real  Catalan-Eomanes),  but  that  it  ought  to  be  called  hrantuina. 
And  shnoofa,  he  said,  was  Eomanes  for  "  tobacco."^  That  he  had 
picked  up  these  German  words  {schnecke,  hranntiuein,  and  schnupf) 
from  some  of  his  foreign  friends  is  quite  evident.  He  was  ignorant 
of  the  language  to  which  they  really  belonged,  and  hearing  them 
used  by  Eomane  he  had  assumed  they  were  Eomanes. 

1  I  afterwards  obtained  the  true  word,  pronounced  variously  sAbalo  and  shuvalo,  with 
which  compare  touvalo  (Smart  and  Croftou,  p.  185),  fchuvdlo  (Jesina,  p.  96),  and  fguvdlo 
(Wlislocki,  p.  124). 


TIIR    GYPSIES    OF   CATALONIA.  45 

One  has  always  to  guard  against  similar  errors.  I  have  had 
s'Amhr^ro  and  tamhien  given  to  me  as  Romanes  by  French-Catalan 
Gypsies,  who,  themselves  unacquainted  with  Castilian,  had  heard 
their  trans-Pyrenean  kindred  use  these  words ;  and  so  convinced 
were  they  that  they  were  right,  that  on  each  occasion  (for  time, 
place,  and  people  were  different)  it  was  necessary  to  appeal  for 
support  to  Spanish  Gitanos  standing  by.  Probably  there  are  several 
such  errors  in  this  dialect  of  the  language.  It  is  probable  that 
De  Rochas  himself  has  taken  a  Catalan  word  as  Romanes  when 
he  includes  do  (signifying  "  of "  or  "  of  the ")  in  his  vocabulary. 
Certainly  Catalan  Gypsies  are  constantly  using  the  word — 
as  in  findro  do  fjra%  (a  horse's  hoof),  dai  do  cjaf  (the  mayor  of  a 
town) ;  but  then,  on  the  other  hand,  the  word  occurs  in  Catalan, 
and  moreover  the  construction  has  not  the  Romani  cachet. 

The  French-Gitano  use  of  dcii,  as  in  the  preceding  paragraph, 
is  worthy  of  remark.  As  elsewhere,  daJi  is  in  Catalonia  the  Romani 
for  "mother."  But  not  only  do  the  French  Gitanos  make  it  do 
duty  for  mere,  but  it  stands  for  maire  as  well,  from  the  assonance 
of  these  two  words.  That  the  Gypsies  of  the  French-Basque  country 
have  the  same  usage  may  be  seen  from  Baudrimont's  "  baro  daya'' 
witli  the  meaning  of  "  magistrate."  ^ 

And  the  word  fjrcCi,  introduced  above,  is  also  worth  referring  to 
in  its  Catalonian  aspect.  In  England  it  is  the  singular  of  "  horse  " 
(in  the  plural  grciia).  According  to  De  Rochas,  "  horse  "  is  grast  or 
gras  in  the  singular,  and  grasts  in  the  plural.  The  form  grm 
is  not  mentioned  by  him.  But  although  I  found  that  the  usual 
singular  form  is  grass,  grast,  grash,  or  grasht,  yet  I  once  heard  y^' 
gra/l,  and  it  seemed  invariable  that  one  ought  to  say  vArildtcM  - 
graJi  for  "  several  horses."  Dr.  Paspati  says  that  grdi,  as  a  singular 
noun,  is  known  to  the  Sedentary  division  of  the  Turkish  Gypsies, 
but  that  their  almost  invariable  word  is  grast,  gras,  or  gra.  The 
Nomads  use  only  grdi. 

To  refer  more  particularly  to  the  noteworthy  features  of  the 
Catalan  dialect  is  not  within  the  limits  of  this  paper.  But  it  may 
be  remarked  that  the  guttural  sounds — decaying  in  England,  where 
they  are  often  represented  by  k,  h,  and  sh — are  found  here  in  their 
full  viiTour.  David  MacRitchie. 


c 


1  Conversely,  both  Micliel  aud  Baudrimont  liave  raja  fov  "mere"  (although  the  latter 
has  also  da'ia).  In  these  instances  the  word  asked  for  must  have  been  "  mere,"  which 
the  Gypsy  interrogated  had  heard  as  "  maire." 

2  Pastor  JeSina's  vocabulary  is  the  only  one  in  which  I  find  this  word  (there  sjielt 
varekeci).     It  is  cognate  with  vdreko  or  vdreso  (any),  vdrekdy  (somewhere),  etc. 


46 


ADDITIONS   TO   GYPSY-ENGLISH   VOCABULARY. 


VII.— ADDITIONS  TO  GYrSY-ENGLISH  VOCABULARY. 

(The  words  in  parentheses  are  roots  or  other  fonns  given  in  Smart  &  Crofton's 
Dialed  of  the  English  Gypsies,  London,  1875.) 


Abba,  n.,  Haste. 

Bau/i;/ier(jva,  v.,  I  boast  {kh  guttural). 

Baufc/ier^ssa,  You  boast. 

BauWiert'la  peski.  He  boasts. 

BaiU/iado,  part.,  Boasted. 
Baurodirus     {for     baurodairest),     adj.. 

Greatest  (bauro). 
Bazengi-o,  n.,  Shepherd  (barsengri). 
Bengales,    -j 

Binges,       (  adv.,  Wichcdly  (beng). 
Bengenes,   ) 

Bignonius,  n.,  Beginning  (begin-omus). 
Bisto,  adv.,  Well  (misto). 
Booinova,  v.,  /  boast  (bo6ino). 
Bo6tsering,  part.,  Working  (bo6tsi). 
Biinnek,  n..  Grasp,  hold  (bdnnek). 

Chalavar,  v.,  To  bother,  vex. 

Cham,  v..  Stop,  halt. 

Charer,  v..  To  stir. 

Charvoli,  ^    ^^_     pL,    Frievds,     mates, 

Chavoli,     V    5,.o(;j^„  (chooali,  choobali). 

Chowali,  J 

Choovelo,  adj..  Poor  (chooveno). 

Choromus,  n..  Thievery  (chor). 

Choro,  adj..  Heavy. 

Ddbus,  n.,  A  blow.  Related  to  English 
slang  dab,  and  Paspati's  dap,  tap, 
tav. 

Didas,  He  gave  (del). 

Deshing,  part.,  Praying. 

Dikdova,  I  saw.  As  if  dik-ed-ova,  I 
\o6k-ed  (dik). 

Diksomengri,  Watchmen  (dik). 

Do6ikani,  \  ^'^J"  ^'''''^  ^^''^'^- 
Do.sh,  n..  Wrong  (doosh). 
Draber,    v..    To    physic,    poison,   drug 
(drab). 

Drabado,  part.,  Poisoned. 

Eiavela,   Understanding,  lit.  He  -under- 
stands (see  Heiiivova). 
E4zeno-k6shters,     )  n.    pi.,  clothes-pegs 


First  Cglal). 


Glano  yek,      ) 

Glaleno  yek,  ji 

Glalenghi  chainis.  Previously  ('glay). 

Godlieskro,  n..  Bell  (godli). 

Gresta,  n..  Marc. 


Eezenghi  koshters,  )      (e^zaw) 


J 


Haure,    n.    pi,    Pennies  ;    lit..    Coppers 

(haiiro). 
Heiiivova,  v.  I  understand  (eiavela). 
Heiiidom,  I  understood. 
Heiiiwela,  He  understands. 
Hetar6va,  )  ^.^  j-  ^^^^^  ^^ -^ 
Hetav6va,  ) 

Hetavela,  He  hits. 
Hillarus,  n.,  A  hill. 
Hinova,  v.,  Latin  cacabo  (hinder). 
Hodaw,  interj.,  Never  mind. 
Hoiiiv,  v..  To  vex  (hoino). 
Ho/Jitamangro,  n..  Toad  (hofc^ter). 
H61ava,  n.,  Stocking  (hoolavers). 
Holovaari,  n.  pi.  Stockings. 
H6njer,  v..  To  scratch  (hondj). 
Horov,   v.,    To   scratch.     Pott  ii.    1G7, 
charuvav. 

Horovova,  I  scratch. 

Horovela,  He  scratches. 

Horov,  n.,  A  scratch. 

Horodd,  part..  Scratched. 

Horod6m,  I  scratched. 

Jalomus,  n..  Walk  (jal). 
Jinaser,  v.,  to  know  (jin). 

0  rei  kek  jinasered.  The  gentleman 
did  not  knoiv. 
Jinomus,  n..  Knowledge  (jin). 
Jivomus,  n.,  Life  (jiv). 

Kairikeni,  n.  Housekeeper  (kair). 
K^limus,  n..  Business  (ker). 
Karrotaari,  n.  pi..  Carrots. 
Kater,     prep..    From  ;    Pasp.,     Katar 
From. 

Kater  yek  kair  kater  Avaver,  From 
one  house  to  another. 
K^keno,  adj.,  None. 
Kinasar  l(fsti,  Biiy  it  (kin). 


ADDITIONS   TO    fiYI'SY-ENOLTSH   VOCABULARY 


47 


Kitchenieskro,  n.,  TiiMkeeper  (Kitchenia). 
Kli'sinomengro,  n.,  Lock  (Klisin). 
Koonya,  n.   pi.,    Knees ;    Piisp.,    Kiini 

Elhow. 
Ko6ser,  v.,  To  clean  (Kosher). 
Koosh,  11.  and  v.,  Falsehood,  to  tell  lies  ; 

Pasp.,  Kushipe. 
Kooshlo,  adj.,  Soft.     Miklosich  vi.   28, 

k6slo,  Smooth. 
Kx'itcheno,  adj.,  Noble. 
Kutcheno,  ii.,  Hedgcstake. 

Ladj6va,  v.,  I  ant  ashamed  (ladj). 
Ladjadi'),  part.,  Ashamed. 
Ladjer  !  For  shame  /  shoching  / 
Law,  pron.,  Her.     Pasp.  la. 

Kouide  yon  law.  They  loved  her. 
Li,  pron.,  She.     Pott  i.  242. 

Nanei  poori  si-li,  haw  ]  She  is  not 

old,  is  she  ? 
Wafedi  rakli  sas  li,  She  v:as  a  bad 
girl. 
Lubnes,  adv.,  Lihc  a  harlot  (lubni). 
Lunderenghi     Rumani-chals,    London 
Gypsies. 

Massomongri,  n.,  Frying-pan  (raas). 

Meera,  n.  pi.  Miles  (rae^a). 

Memo,    My.       English    mine,    Germ. 

mein. 
Minaw,   interj.      Koordom   duva  gairo 

mishto,  minaw,  I  heat  that  man 

well,  did  I  not?     (Mi-naw,  lit. 

me  not). 
M611ako 
Mulliko 
Moovli,  n..  Candle  (miimbli). 

,  ,  ,' ,         [  n.,  Constable  (uio6shkero). 
ISIuskro    i      '  ^ 

M^itS  I  "•'  "^^"^  (mo(itsi). 

Norodo,  negat.,  No. 

'  Too   kedas   les.'    '  Norodo '  ;   You 
did  it.    No,  not  I. 

Okaw,  n.  pi..  Eyes  (yok). 

p'allova  }  P""^!'-'  ^•^'*"''  ^''^^'"'^  (P^'iU'O- 

Piindomus,  n.,  Sheepfold  (pander). 

Passer,  v..  To  trust,  borrow  (pazer). 

Peer  "| 

p        >  n..  Stomach  (per). 

Peker,  v.,  To  cook  (pek). 
Penesko-rom,  Brother-in-law  (pen). 


adj.,  False. 


P6ndi     }  Themselves. 
Penghi  ) 

Pes,  Himself.     Pasp.  Pes. 
Piromengro,  n..  Pedestrian  (piro). 
Podas,  n.  pi.,  Stairs  (po6rdas). 
Podas  chokha,  Slippers,  shoes. 
Pookeromus,  n.,  Story  (po6ker). 
Poorenki  ora,  Secondhand  watch  (pooro). 
Pdorokones,  adv.,   In   the  old  manner 

(poor). 
Pootcher,  v.,  To  ask  (pootch). 
Porder,  v..  To  fill  (pordo). 

Pordadom,  I  filled. 
Posh   ko6roko,    Wednesday,   lit.    HaJf- 

tveeh  ;  cf.  Germ.  Mittwoch. 
P6sher,  v..  To  halve,  share,  divide  (posh). 
Pre-omus,  n..  Height  ('pre). 

Randjer,  v..  To  scratch.     Pasp.  Khand- 

jiovava  ;  Liebich,  randewawa. 

Ranshko,  adj.,  Carroty,  red. 

Eatcher,  v.,  To  bleed  (ratt). 

Raunikani       -\ 

Raiinienikani  \  adj.,  Lady-like  (rauni). 

Rauuieski        ) 

Ridder,  v.,  To  carry,  bear  (ri'gher). 

Ri'dder,  v.,  To  wi:ar  (rood,  riv). 

Rivopen    j        ^„    ,      ,  • 
-r,,  }  n.,  Clothes  (riv). 

Rivomus   \     '  ^ 

Roomus    or    Roomes,    adv.,    Gypsily 

(Romanes). 

Rodom,  T  cried    \   /.  ,,\ 

Rode,  They  cried  J 

Ruzles,  adv.,  Strongly  (ro6zlo). 

Sa,  conj.,  If  (sar). 

Salimusti  k6va,  A  joke  (sal). 

Sastere,  n.  pL,  Irons,  fetters  (saster). 

Shikeri,  adj.,  Bad,  spjiteful. 

Shim,  adj..  Small,  inferior. 

Shoonomus  ) 

Shoonopen  ) 

Sid,  adj..  Quick  (sig). 

Sig-sig,  Very  quick  (sig). 

Sigly,  adv..  Immediately  (sig). 

Sis,  Was  (sas). 

Smeltini,  n..  Cream  (smentini). 

So61omus,  n.,  Oath  (soloholomus). 

Sofjter,  v.,  To  sleep  (sooti). 

Spdngo,  n..  Match  (spingher). 

Stanyengro        ^   n.,    Stableman,    groom 

Stanyaniengro  )  (stanya). 

Staromeskries,  n.  pi..  Prisoners  (stardo, 

staiiri,  sterimus).    . 
Stdva,  n..  Prison. 


n.,  Neius  (shoon). 


48  ADDITIONS   TO    GYPSY-ENGLISH    VOCABULARY. 

Stor,    v.,    To    feel.      Stor(Jva,    I   feel  ;  Tilomeskro,  ii.,  Pofkook  (til). 

Stordum,  I  felt.  Tinkatiri,  n.  pi.,  Tinkers. 

St6renghi,  Fourth  (stor).  Trlneno,  adj.,  Third  (Trin). 
Stor,  v.,  To  arrest  (staiiri).     Pasp.  asta- 

rava.  Vart,  v.,  To  watch  (varter). 
Tardader,  Longer  (tarder). 

Tarderim^ngro,  n.,  Examiner  (tarder).  Yi')ger,  v.,  To  fire  (a  gun),  (yog). 
Tasserm^ngro,  n.,  Frying-pan  (tatter). 

Tatchomus,  n.,  Truth  (tdtcho).  Zimnier,  v.,  To  pawn  (sframer). 
Thinkasessa,  You  think. 
TfUer,  v.,  To  hold  (til).  H.  T.  Crofton. 


VIIL— EEVIEW  OF  THE  AECHDUKE  JOSEF'S  "  CZIGANY 

NYELVATAN." 

IT  may  well  be  a  legitimate  source  of  pride  to  all  who  belong  to 
the  Gypsy  Lore  Society  that  contemporary  with  it  there  ap- 
peared a  work  by  our  fellow-member  the  Archduke  Josef  of  Austro- 
Hungary  on  the  subject  of  the  Eomany  race  and  their  language, 
which  is  of  such  marked  excellence  that  it  cannot  fail  to  be  read 
with  deep  interest  by  every  philologist  or  student  of  anthropology. 
For,  as  its  author  was  one  of  the  first  half-dozen  who  formed  the 
Association,  the  appearance  of  such  a  work  at  such  a  time  may  be 
regarded  as  a  curious  coincidence — perhaps,  as  "  Gypsies,"  we  may 
be  allowed  to  consider  it  as  a  happy  omen. 

This  work,  Czigdny  Nyelvatan,  or  "  The  Gypsy  Language,"  is  the 
result  of  many  years'  personal  experience  among  the  wanderers,  as 
well  as  of  very  extensive  study  of  the  "  large  literature  "  of  "  Eoman- 
ology."  Hungary  is,  par  Eminence,  the  land  of  Gypsies,  and  the 
Archduke  is  of  all  men  the  one  best  qualified  to  investigate  them, 
being  not  only  passionately  aficionado  to  the  race,  but,  as  a  matter 
of  course,  invested  with  that  authority  which  is  nowhere  so  loved 
and  respected,  when  kindly  exerted,  as  in  the  country  of  the 
Magyar. 

That  the  Archduke  is  practically  regarded  as  a  living  storehouse 
of  Gypsy  lore,  appears  from  an  assurance  in  the  Pester  Lloyd  that 
when  a  Eom  in  Hungary  is  asked  some  question  as  to  his  race  which 
he  cannot  answer,  he  replies,  "  We  don't  understand  that  now—  only 
the  Archduke  can  answer  that."  On  the  same  authority  we  are  told 
that  he  employs  Gypsies  extensively  on  his  estates,  and,  what  no  one 


EEVIEW    OF   THE    ARCHDUKE   JOSEF's   "  CZIGANY    NYELVATAN."        49 

will  doubt  who  knows  how  to  get  on  with  such  folk,  finds  them 
trustworthy  and  profitable. 

It  is  remarkable,  but  we  have  the  best  authority  for  the  state- 
ment, that  the  Archduke,  not  being  aware  that  scholars  had  preceded 
him  in  the  discovery,  after  having  studied  for  some  time  several 
Indian  tongues,  observed  witli  some  astonishment  that  Romany  had 
a  marked  likeness  to  Hindustani.  This  was  when  he  was  quite 
young.  Since  that  time  his  reading  has  extended,  as  the  book  before 
me  indicates,  to  a  thorough  knowledge  of  almost  the  entire  literature 
of  the  subject.  The  work  in  question  embraces  a  valuable  grammar 
and  vocabularies  of  the  Hungarian  Gypsy  dialects,  compared  with 
ten  or  twelve  Indian  tongues.  With  this  it  gives  a  mass  of  historical 
information,  and  a  critical  bibliography  which  will  be  fully  appre- 
ciated, not  only  by  the  Eomany  Eye,  but  by  every  librarian.  That 
the  erudition  displayed  in  the  work  should  be  extensive,  or  even  w^ell 
condensed  and  harmonised,  is  not  so  remarkable  when  we  know  that 
the  author  has  the  largest  special  library  on  his  subject  in  the  world, 
with  learned  professors  to  act  as  secretaries.  But  \vith  all  this  there 
is  evident  on  every  page  the  oculus  magistri,  while  the  genial  freshness 
and  sagacity  of  what  is  manifestly  original  in  the  book  show  that 
its  writer  was  the  right  man  in  the  right  place  for  his  work.  In  one 
thing  only  is  it  to  a  certain  degree  wanting — the  account  of  English 
and  American  Gypsy  literature, — several  books  of  comparative  im- 
portance not  being  mentioned.  But  as  French  and  German  versions 
of  the  Czigdny  Nydvatan  are  to  appear,  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  this 
omission  "will  be  corrected  in  them. 

It  is  a  great  merit  in  the  Eomany  grammar  given  in  this  work 
that  it  is  extremely  clear  and  practical,  giving  few  rules  but  many 
examples.  We  see  in  it  throughout  the  hand  of  the  true  philological 
artist  or  scholar,  and  nowhere  the  weakness  of  the  amateur.  It  will 
be  welcome  news  to  the  Eomany-lorists  that  the  author  is  now 
engaged  on  a  Gypsy  Dictionary,  which,  with  its  copious  illustrations, 
will  extend  to  1000  folio  pages.  Chakles  G.  Leland. 


VOL.  I. — NO.  I.  D 


50  NOTES   AND    QUERIES. 


NOTES  AND  QUERIES. 
I. 

I.   EoMANI-CHAL. 

1.  Does  Edmani  signify  Roumauian? 

2.  What  does  dial  mean  ? 

3.  In  what  countries  is  the  term  used  by  Gypsies  ? 

II.    -ASAR. 

As  a  cryptic  ending  this  is  often  used  by  English  Gypsies. 

1.  Is  it  the   same  as  -isAr,  which  is  so  frequently  added  to  gaujo  words  by 

Danubian  Gypsies  to  form  verbs  ? 

2.  Is  it  merely  cryptic,  or  what  is  its  force  ? 

III.    -AMUS,  -IMUS,  -OMUS. 

As  a  substantival  cryptic  ending  this  is  very  commonly  used  by  English 
Gypsies.  It  is  also  with  them  interchangeable  with  -apen,  -ip6n,  -open.  It  seems 
common  also  with  Danubian  Gypsies.  Is  it  a  relic  of  -isrmis,  or  what  is  its 
etymology  ? 

H.  T.  Crofton. 


2. 

Dtnamitters. 

In  "  A  Charter  of  Edward  the  Third  confirming  and  enlarging  the  Privileges  of 
St.  Giles  Fair,  Winchester,  a.d.  1349,"  edited  by  Dean  Kitchin  (London  1886), 
occurs  this  passage :  "  And  the  Justiciaries  and  the  Treasurer  of  the  Bishop  of 
Wolvesey  for  the  time  being,  and  the  Clerk  of  the  Pleas,  shall  yearly  receive  four 
basons  and  ewers,  by  way  of  fee  (as  they  have  received  them  of  old  time)  from 
those  traders  from  foreign  parts,  called  '  Dynamitters,'  who  sell  brazen  vessels  in 
the  Fair  {de  illis  Mercatoribus  Alienigcnis  vocatis  Mercatoribus  Dynamitters  qui 
vasa  amea  in  feria  prcedida  vendunt)."  On  which  passage  the  learned  Dean  has 
the  following  note  :  "  These  foreigners  were  sellers,  we  are  told,  of  brazen  vessels 
of  all  kinds.  The  word  may  be  connected  with  Dinant  near  Namur,  where  there 
was  a  great  manufacture  of  Dinanderie,  i.e.  metal-work  (chiefly  in  copper).  A 
friend  suggests  JJinant-batteurs  as  the  origin.  Batteur  was  the  proper  title  of 
these  workers  in  metal.  See  Commines  ii.  i.,  '  une  marchandise  de  ces  ceuvres  de 
cuivre,  qu'on  appelle  Dinanderie,  qui  sont  en  effet  pots  et  pesles.' "  Students  of 
M.  Bataillard's  treatises  will  at  once  recognise  the  possible  significance  of  both 
passage  and  note.  F.  H.  Groome. 


3. 

Dr.  Solf  on  the  German  Gypsies. 

"Dr.  Solf  has  communicated  to  the  Orientalische  Gesellschaft  of  Berlin  an 
interesting  paper  upon  the  peculiar  organisation  of  the  Gypsies  in  Germany,  which 
contains  many  facts  hitherto  unknown  to  the  general  public.  It  appears  that  the 
Gypsies  wandering  through  Germany  are  organised  into  three  distinct  '  tribes  ' — 


NOTES   AND    QUERIES.  51 

those  of  Old  Prussia,  New  Prussia,  and  Hanover.^  In  one  or  other  of  these  tribes 
each  Gypsy  is  enrolled.  Each  tribe  has  its  own  banner  and  symbol.  That  of  the 
Old  Prussian  tribe  is  a  fir-tree  upon  a  black  and  white  ground  ;  that  of  the  New 
Prussian  tribe  a  birch-tree  upon  a  green  and  white  ground  ;  that  of  the  Hanoverian 
tribe  is  a  mulberry-tree  upon  a  gold,  blue,  and  white  ground.  A  '  captain '  pre- 
sides over  each  tribe.  He  is  elected  for  seven  years.  His  powers  are  both  regal 
and  sacerdotal.  He  marries,  divoi'ces,  excommunicates  and  reconciles  those  who 
have  forfeited  honours  and  privileges.  He  is  also  the  keeper  of  the  official  seal, 
upon  which  a  hedgehog  is  engraved— a  beast  held  as  sacred  by  all  the  Gypsies.  At 
great  festivals  of  the  tribe  the  captain  always  wears  a  crown — a  three-cornered  hat, 
ornamented  with  silver  tassels— and  a  ribbon  round  his  arm  with  the  colours  of  the 
tribe.  Nearly  all  the  marriages  are  celebrated  on  Whitsunday.  Great  care  is 
taken  at  present  to  avoid  marriages  between  the  degrees  prohibited  by  the  German 
law,  although  they  are  otherwise  allowable  by  Gypsy  custom  and  tradition.  Adultery 
is  exceedingly  rare,  and  is  ])unished  with  severity.  The  offending  woman  has  her 
nose  cut,  and  the  man  is  shot  in  the  knee  or  the  elbow.  The  German  Gypsies  have 
a  peculiar  shyness  of  Protestantism.  The  children  are  baptized,  and  handsome 
presents  are  always  expected  from  the  god-parents.  If  a  child  is  born  while  they 
are  lodging  near  a  village,  they  usually  take  him  to  the  parish  church  for  baptism. 
They  wear  no  mourning  at  a  death.  Dr.  Solf  describes  the  Gypsy  as  '  full  of  piety.' 
The  favourite  colour,  both  with  men  and  women,  is  green,  which  they  regard  as  the 
colour  oi  honour."— Belfast  Morning  Neivs,  24th  May  1888. 


Gtpsies  in  Turkestan. 


"  A  writer  in  a  recent  number  of  the  Bussische  Revue  on  the  Syr  Darya  region, 
states  that  among  the  inhabitants  are  two  tribes  of  Gypsies,  the  Masang  and  Ljuli. 
When  and  how  they  got  into  Central  Asia  is  unknown,  but  it  is  believed  that  the 
Masang  migrated  from  Turkey  and  the  Ljuli  from  India.  Both  tribes  speak 
Turkish  and  Persian,  and  are  Mohammedans.  The  Masang  are  small  traders  and 
pedlars,  wandering  from  town  to  town,  and  settlement  to  settlement,  while  the 
Ljuli  lead  a  half-nomad  life,  living  in  winter  in  the  settlements  of  other  races,  and 
in  summer  moving  in  the  cultivated  oases,  with  their  possessions,  from  place  to 
place.  The  children  beg,  dance,  sing,  and  perform  acrobatic  feats  ;  the  women  tell 
fortunes,  treat  sickness,  and  are  given  to  small  rogueries.  The  whole  of  the  Gypsies 
scattered  over  the  region  can  scarcely  number  more  than  500  or  600  families." — 
Belfast  News  Letter,  21st  May,  1888. 

That  these  Ljuli,  Luli,  or  Luri  have  inhabited  the  Syr  Darya  region  for  many 
generations,  we  know  from  an  Arab  writer  (cited  by  Professor  De  Goeje),  who 
states  that  they  were  there  "  during  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries."  The 
Luli,  or  Luri,  first  appear  in  history  in  the  fifth  century  of  the  Christian  era,  at 
which  time  a  certain  Indian  king  sent  to  the  Persian  monarch,  Behram  Gur,  as 
many  as  12,000  minstrels,  male  and  female,  of  the  race  of  the  Luri.  This  we  are 
told  by  Firdusi,  in  his  Shah-Nama.  At  the  present  day  the  Persian  Gypsies  are 
known  as  Luri  or  Lidi,  and  are  regarded  as  the  descendants  of  those  immigrants 

1  Simson,  in  his  History  (p.  80),  quotes  a  similar  statement  made  by  Dr.  Wiessenburch,  in  tlic  year 
1727,  who  "  notices  that  in  Hungary  (?)  the  gangs  assumed  their  names  from  the  countries  whicli  tliey 
chiefly  traversed,  as  the  band  of  Upper  Saxony,  of  Brandenburg,  and  so  fortli.  Tliey  resented  to 
extremity  any  attempt  on  tlie  part  of  other  Gypsies  to  intrude  on  their  province."  This  quite  accords 
with  the  accounts  given  by  Simson  and  otliers  with  regard  to  the  Gypsies  of  Scotland  at  that  period  ; 
and  we  read  how  "Will  Marshall,"  the  celebrated  chief  of  the  Galloway  Gypsies,  when  attempting  to 
extend  liis  territory  on  the  north-west,  in  the  year  1712,  was  defeated  by  the  tinkers  of  Ai-gyle  or  Dum- 
barton, after  a  tough  battle,  in  which  several  lives  were  lost. 


52  NOTES   AND    QUERIES. 

of  the  fifth  century.  The  Lull  of  the  Syr  Darya  region,  ilierefore,  are  clearly 
descended  from  those  of  the  same  name  inhabiting  that  district  in  the  sixteentli 
century,  who  presumably  were  an  oifshoot  from  the  main  body  in  Persia. 


5- 

A  Scottish  John  Bunyan. 

That  John  Bunyan  was  a  Gypsy  has  never  been  clearly  proved,  but  there  is 
no  doubt  that  he  was  a  tinker  (which  is  often  the  same  thing).  And  the  recently 
published  warrant  for  his  arrest,  which  describes  him  as  "  one  John  Bunnyon  of 
ye  said  Towne  [Bedford],  Tynlcer"  seems  to  indicate  plainly  that  he  was  by  occu- 
pation a  tinker  at  the  very  period  when  he  was  engaged  in  preaching  at  Non- 
conformist conventicles.  A  precisely  similar  case  in  Scotland,  and  in  the  same 
century,  is  alluded  to  by  Sir  Walter  Scott.  In  The  Heart  of  Midlothian  (ch. 
xlvii.),  old  David  Deans,  reverting  to  the  Covenanting  wortliies  of  the  seventeenth 
century,  maintained  "  that  many  devout  ministers  and  professors  in  times  past  had 
enjoyed  downright  revelation,  like  the  blessed  Peden,  and  Lundie,  and  Cameron, 
and  Eenwick,  and  John  Caird,  the  tinkler,  wha  entered  into  the  secrets."  In  this 
instance  the  preacher  was  not  only  admittedly  a  "  tinkler  "  (the  Scotch  term  still 
applied  to  the  nomadic  caste),  but  his  surname  proves  him  to  have  come  of  a  race 
of  tinklers.  For  "  caird  "  (being  the  Gaelic  cca7-d,  an  artificer),  is,  or  was,  an  every- 
day Scotch  equivalent  for  "  tinker  "  (which  itself  is  the  Cornish  "  tin-keard  ").  In 
course  of  time  it  attached  to  certain  families  as  a  surname,  like  Smith,  Weaver, 
and  a  host  of  other  names  derived  from  special  callings.  In  Scott's  song,  "  Donald 
Caird 's  come  again,"  we  see  it  in  a  state  of  transition  ;  for  although  this  particular 
Donald  receives  the  name  as  a  surname,  yet,  as  he  was  an  undoubted  caird,  the 
word  may  also  be  regarded  as  a  nickname,  signifying  "  Tinker  Donald."  In  the 
above  case,  however,  this  Covenanting  tinker  had  evidently  inherited  "  Caird "  as 
a  surname,  otherwise  the  addition  of  "  the  tinkler "  would  not  have  been  re- 
quired. 

Is  there  anything  further  known  regarding  this  man, — and  what  is  the  source 
whence  Scott  drew  his  information  1  D.  MacRitchie. 


"  Egypt  "  as  a  European  Place-name. 

We  know  that  as  early  as  the  fifteenth  century  the  term  "  Egyptian "  (now 
represented  by  the  English  "  Gypsy,"  the  Modern  Greek  "  Gyphtos,"  and  the 
Spanish  "Gitano")  was  applied  to  the  Romane  in  various  countries  of  Europe. 
These  people  themselves  also  styled  their  leaders  by  such  titles  as  Lord  and  Earl 
of  Egypt,  or  of  Little  Egypt.  In  addition  to  this,  there  is  some  reason  to  believe 
that  certain  localities  distinguished  as  favourite  Gypsy  haunts  received  the  name 
of  "  Egypt "  on  that  account. 

Only  two  instances  of  this  place-name  have  come  under  my  notice.  But  if 
these  "  Egypts  "  have  been  so  named  because  they  were  well-known  Gypsy  resorts, 
then  it  is  not  unlikely  that  other  European  examples  may  be  found. 

Both  of  the  places  referred  to  are  situated  in  Scotland.  One  of  them  forms  a 
part  of  the  southern  outskirts  of  Edinburgh,  and  is  thus  referred  to  by  the  late 
James  Grant  in  his  description  of  the  "District  of  the  Burghmuir  "  (Old  and  New 


NOTES    AND    QUERIES.  53 

Edinburgh,  vol,  iii.  ch.  iv.)  :  "At  the  foot  of  Morningside  the  Powburn  takes 
the  singular  name  of  the  Jordan  as  it  flows  through  a  farm  named  Egypt,  and 
other  Scriptural  names  abound  close  by,  such  as  Hebron  Bank,  Caanan  Lodge,  and 
Caanan  Lane.  By  some  the  origin  of  these  names  has  been  attributed  to  Puritan 
times,  by  others  to  Gypsies,  when  the  southern  side  of  the  Muir  was  open  and 
unenclosed." 

Now  it  is  almost  quite  certain  that  of  all  these  "  Scriptural  names  "  that  of 
"  Egypt  "  is  the  only  one  that  has  been  attached  to  this  locality  for  more  than  two 
centuries,  because  whereas  the  farm  of  Egypt  was  so  known  in  the  title-deeds 
of  the  estate  on  which  it  stood  as  far  back  as  a  charter  of  the  year  1652,  the 
"  Hebron  Banks "  are  comparatively  modern  residences,  certainly  not  of  earlier 
date  than  the  Georgian  era,  and  probably  all  built  within  this  century.  That  they 
were  so  named  after  the  manner  of  Scott's  Quaker,  who  transformed  into  "  Mount 
Sharon "  the  "  Sharing  Knowe "  of  more  profane  associations,  is  quite  likely  ; 
but  it  may  be  safely  affirmed  that  in  the  year  1652,  when  the  farm  bore  the  re- 
cognised designation  of  "  Egypt,"  there  was  not  a  single  street  or  villa  on  the 
adjoining  portion  of  the  Biu-gh  Muir,  then  probably  an  "  open  and  unenclosed  " 
common.  Indeed  we  have  quite  a  modern  illustration  of  how  the  pre-existing 
name  of  "  Egypt "  might  suggest  a  host  of  similar  names  in  later  times,  for 
within  the  last  few  years  the  farm  has  been  cut  up  into  suburban  streets  and 
villas,  and  over  the  site  of  the  farmhouse  itself  runs  the  brand-new  "  Nile  Grove." 

Of  course  when  a  place  is  designated  "Egypt"  in  a  title-deed  of  1652  the 
presumption  is  that  it  had  been  so  known  for  a  considerable  time  before  that  date. 
Lawyers  do  not  readily  accept  a  recent  name — not  to  say  a  nickname — as  the 
correct  designation  of  lands  or  heritages.  But,  in  the  absence  of  earlier  documen- 
tary evidence,  we  cannot  take  for  granted  that  the  name  goes  further  back  than 
the  seventeenth  century. 

In  this  connection  it  is  interesting  to  remember  the  quotation  in  Mr.  Groome's 
In  Gypsy  Tents  (p.  106)  as  to  "how  about  1623  Sir  William  Sinclair  'delivered 
ane  Egyptian  from  the  gibbet  in  the  Burrow  Moore  [Burgh  Muir],  ready  to  be 
strangled,  returning  from  Edinburgh  to  Roslin,  upon  which  accoumpt  the  whole 
body  of  gypsies  were,  of  old,  accustomed  to  gather  in  the  stanks  of  Roslin  every 
year,  where  they  acted  severall  plays,  dureing  the  moneths  of  May  and  June.' " 
But  as  many  Scotch  "  Egyptians  "  were  at  that  period  condemned  to  the  galloAvs, 
and  as  a  certain  part  of  the  Burghmuir  was  then  "  the  Tyburn  of  Edinburgh,"  it 
cannot  be  assumed  that  this  Gypsy  of  the  year  1623  was  inevitably  one  of  those 
associated  with  this  "  Egypt." 

Still  more  doubtful,  but  worth  noting,  is  the  reference  made  in  an  Edinburgh 
trial  of  the  year  1586^  to  a  certain  Scotch  lad  who,  "when  about  eight  years  of 
age,  was  taken  away  by  ane  Egyptian  into  Egypt,  ,  .  .  where  he  remained  twelve 
years,  and  then  came  home."  But  if  the  southern  side  of  the  Burgh  Muir  was 
called  "  Egypt"  in  1586,  as  it  was  in  1652,  this  may  only  mean  that  this  boy  was 
kidnapped  by  some  passing  Gypsy,  and  that — like  tlie  contemporary  "  Scholar 
Gypsy  "  of  Oxford — he  had  lived  among  these  people  for  several  years. 

Apart  from  such  surmises,  it  seems  tolerably  clear  that  of  these  two  traditions 
the  correct  one  is  that  which  alleges  that  this  particular  place  received  the  name 
of  "Egypt"  because  of  its  association  with  those  "Egyptians"  whom  we  now  call 
"  Gypsies." 

The  other  Scottish  locality  bearing  the  same  name  is  situated  in  the  parish  of 
Farnell,  in  Forfarshire.  It  also  is  a  farm.  But  whether  any  local  tradition  con- 
nects this  "  Egypt "  with  Gypsies,  I  do  not  know. 

Are  there,  then,  any  other  European  "  Egypts  "  besides  these  two  in  Scotland  1 
Many  instances  could  of  course  be  furnished  of  places  whose  names  announce 

1  Quoted  by  Scott  in  Intniduction  to  the  "  Tale  of  Tamlaiie." 


54  NOTES   AND    QUERIES. 

them  as  the  haunts  of  Gypsies,  Tinkers,  etc.  But  the  pui'2:)ose  of  this  note  is  to 
learn  whether  there  are  other  examples  of  places  called  Egypt  in  any  of  the 
countries  of  Europe  ;  and  if  so,  whether  they  are  associated  with  Gypsies. 

D.  MacRitchie. 


7. 

A  Correction. 


Two  entries  of^the  year  1492,  in  the  Accounts  of  the  Lord  Iligh  Treasurer  of 
Scotland,  have  been  quoted  as  possibly  bearing  reference  to  Gypsies,  both  by  Mr. 
Groome  in  his  article  in  the  Encyclopcedia  Britannica,  and  also  by  Mr.  Crofton 
in  his  first  essay  on  the  early  annals  of  the  English  Gypsies.  These  entries  refer 
to  a  King  of  "Rowmais  "  or  "  Rowmanis,"  whose  messenger,  bearing  letters  to  and 
from  James  IV.  of  Scotland,  was  in  that  country  during  the  month  of  July  1492. 
It  has  been  clearly  shown  l)y  Dr.  Tliomas  Dickson,  in  his  Preface  to  these 
Accounts  (vol.  i.,  Edinburgh,  1877,  ])p.  cxii-cxxvi),  that  the  personage  here 
referred  to  was  Maximilian,  King  of  the  llonutns,  with  whom  the  King  of  Scotland 
was  then  in  close  alliance,  chiefly  for  tlie  purpose  of  checkmating  Henry  VII.  of 
England  by  favouring  the  cause  of  Perkin  Warbeck.  Maximilian  had  been  elected 
King  of  the  Romans  in  1486,  and  that  was  his  most  important  title  in  1492, 
although  in  the  very  next  year  he  succeeded  to  the  German  empire  through  the 
death  of  his  father.  It  is  quite  evident  from  Dr.  Dickson's  citations  that  this  was 
the  King  of  "  Rowmanis "  (as  the  Scotch  spelling  has  it,  or  "  Rowmais  "  in  the 
contracted  form)  who  thus  figures  in  these  Accounts  ;  and  Mr.  Crofton  has  conse- 
quently omitted  him  from  his  revised  "  Annals,"  now  published  in  this  number  of 
the  Society's  Journal. 


8. 

An  Ancient  Funeral  Rite. 


"  The  death  of  the  Gypsy  Walter  Cooper  removes  a  well-known  figure  from  the 
pedestrian  crowd  usually  accompanying  a  meet  of  the  Queen's  Staghounds.  Cooper 
is  a  frequent  Gypsy  name,  and  the  clan,  not  too  favourably  known  to  the  country 
gentry,  numbers  several  families.  The  body  was  removed  last  week  from  the 
encampment  on  Datchet  Common  to  the  churchyard,  being  drawn  on  a  car  by  a 
favourite  mare.  The  animal  was  afterwards  sacrificed  to  his  manes.  Fanciful 
Orientalists  may  perhaps  be  able  to  trace  here  a  survival  of  the  ancient  Aryan 
offering  of  the  horse,  of  which  there  is  frequent  mention  in  the  ancient  Sanscrit 
books."— IForZfZ,  June  6,  1888. 


9. 

The  Lowbets. 

In  an  article  headed  "  The  Native  Races  of  Gambia,"  in  the  Archccological 
Review  (March  1887,  p.  15),  the  seventh  principal  tribe  is  that  of  the  Lowbeys, 
whose  name  has  some  resemblance,  perhaps  accidental,  to  that  of  Luri,  or  Lull, 
borne  by  the  Gypsies  in  Persia,  etc. 

The  description  given  is  as  follows  : — 

"  This  race  may  be  described  as  the  Gypsies  of  North-West  Africa.  It  is  almost 
mpossible  to  get  any  certain  information  in  regard  to  their  history.     They  wander 


NOTES  AND  QUERIES.  55 

about  from  place  to  place,  and  none  whom  I  have  questioned  have  been  able  to  tell 
me  the  part  of  Africa  whence  they  originally  came.  I  am  informed  (not  by  a 
Lowbey)  that  there  is  a  tradition  which  assigns  to  them  the  land  of  Midian  as  their 
original  country,  and  that  they  were  cursed  by  Jethro  for  stealing  cattle,  and 
doomed  to  a  wandering  life.  I  am  inclined,  however,  to  regard  this  story  as  a 
modern  invention,  seeing  that  I  have  not  yet  discovered  a  Lowbey  who  ever  heard 
of  Jethro,  Moses,  or  of  the  land  of  Midian. 

"  They  are  a  decidedly  handsome  race,  bearing  a  stronger  resemblance  to  the 
Foulahs  than  to  any  other  people,  though,  as  a  rule,  darker  in  colour.  In  all 
probability  they  were  descended  from  the  Foulahs,  but,  if  so,  it  is  curious  that 
they  should  have  completely  changed  their  mode  of  life,  the  Foulahs  being  a 
pastoral  and  agricultural  people,  while  the  Lowbeys  almost  exclusively  confine 
themselves  to  the  making  of  the  various  wooden  utensils  in  use  by  natives  generally. 

"  They  settle  temporarily  with  any  tribe,  but  never  intermarry  with  another  race, 
thus  preserving  the  type  of  feature  whicli  obviously  separates  them  from  their 
human  surroundings. 

"  In  religion  most  of  them  are  pagans,  though  a  few  jjrofess  the  Mohammedan 
faith.  They  have  no  laws  of  their  own,  but  are  guided  by  those  of  the  people 
amongst  whom  they  are  for  the  time  being  located.  In  case  of  war  happening  they 
very  sensibly  remove  at  once  into  a  district  where  there  is  peace.  Their  language 
appears  to  be  allied  to  the  Foulah  tongue,  but  they  usually  speak  the  language  of 
the  tribe  with  whom  they  are  staying.  The  Foulahs  are  a  well-known  African 
race,  and  many  travellers  have  noted  their  unusual  lightness  of  complexion." 


The  next  number  of  the  Journal  will  contain  a  notice  of  the  Gypsy  articles 
in  the  Ethnologische  Mitleilungcn  axis  Ungarn,  edited  by  Professor  Anthon 
Herrmann. 


NOTICE. — All  Contributions  must  be  legibly  ivritten  on  one  side  onhj  of  the2Mpcr; 
viust  bear  the  sender'' s  name  and  address,  though  not  necessarily  for  2}ublica- 
tion;  and  must  be  sent  to  David  MacEitchie,  Esq.,  4  Archibald  Place, 
Edinburgh.  A  list  of  members,  icith  addresses,  ivill  hereafter  be  opened,  for 
purposes  of  inter-correspondence. 


JOUENAL    OF    THE 


GYPSY   LORE 


SOCIETY. 


Vol.  I.  OCTOBEE  1888.  No.  2. 


I.— THE  DIALECT  OF  THE  GYPSIES  OF  BEAZIL. 

BY  chance  I  became  possessor  of  two  works  lately  published  in 
Eio  de  Janeiro,  which  furnished  me  with  materials  of  the 
dialect  in  question.  Their  author  is  the  prolific  Brazilian  writer 
Mello  Moraes ;  they  have  been  published  by  B.  L.  Garcier,  and  bear 

»  »  > 

the  titles :  Cancioneiro  dos  Cigctnos,  poesia  pop^Uar  dos  Ciganos  da 
Cidade  Nova,  1885  ;  Os  Ciganos  no  Brazil,  contrihuigdo  cthnographica, 
1886.  The  author  gives  in  the  first-mentioned  work  a  Portuguese 
translation  of  a  great  number  of  Gypsy  songs,  and  five  stanzas  in  the 
original  tongue  ;  in  the  latter  an  historical  and  statistical  sketch,  a 
number  of  translated  songs,  and  a  short  glossary,  which  contains  253 
vocables  of  the  Brazil-Gypsy  dialect. 

My  object  being  only  to  search  into  the  linguistic  materials,  of 
which  the  author  gives  but  a  scanty  supply,  I  will,  first  of  all, 
examine  his  vocabidary  with  the  view  of  pointing  out  the  etymology 
of  the  Brazihan-Gypsy  words ;  but  in  doing  so  I  will  confine  my 
examination  to  such  words  the  etymology  of  which  I  can  state 
decidedly,  for  they  will  afford  sufficient  and  certain  materials  on 
which  to  base  a  disquisition  on  the  concordance  between  the  Brazil- 
Gypsy  and  other  dialects. 

VOL.  L — NO.  11.  E 


58 


THE   DIALECT   OF   THE    GYPSIES    OF   BRAZIL. 


Vocabulary. 

(A.)  The  Original  set  of  Words  which  this  Dialect  has  in  common 

with  the  older  Dialects. 


Acans,  eyes  ;    Gr.  yaka  ;    Sp.    aguias  ; 

Basq.  aca. 
Acdva,  this  ;  Gr.  akavd ;  from  the  same 

base    are    formed    Sp.    acoi,   acallo, 

acalan  :    Basq.    aca   (cf.  Ascoli  Zig. 

156). 
A'gui,  fire,  sun  ;  Gr.  yag  ;   Sp.  yague  ; 

Basq.  yac,  -a. 
Anal,  name  ;  Gr.  nav,  naf ;    Sp.  nao, 

asnao. 
Arachai,  priest ;  Gr.  rashdi  ;  Sp.  ara- 

jai,  erajai. 
Aranin,  hidy  ;  Gr.  rdnni  ;  Sp.  erani. 
Arens,  eggs  ;    Gr.  vando,  vanro,  arno, 

egg ;  Sp.  anro. 
Aron,  meal  ;  Gr.  vanro,  varo  ;  Sp.  roi. 
Aruvinhar,  to  weep  ;   Gr.  rovava,   ru- 

vava  ;  Sp.  orabar,  orobiar. 
Assanar,   to   laugh  ;     Gr.    asdva ;    Sp. 

asaselar. 
Avinhar,   to   come  ;    Gr.    avava ;     Sp. 

avillar,  abillar,  abillelar. 

Bales,  hairs  ;  Gr.  bal,  hair  ;  Sp.  bal  ; 
Basq.  balla,  hairs. 

Balivaz,  lard  :  the  elements  of  this  word 
are  balo,  hog  ;  and  mas,  meat,  which 
both  occur  in  Gr.,  whilst  the  compo- 
site itself  is  wanting  ;  but  the  Em. 
uses  balimas,  balevas,  halavas  ;  Sp. 
baleba  ;  Basq.  balebas,  balabas,  -a. 

Baque,  fate  ;  Gr.  bakht  ;  Sp.  baji. 

Bar,  much  :  the  true  meaning  may  be 
"large"  ;  Gr.,  Sp.,  Basq.  baro. 

Bengue,  devil ;  Gr.  beng ;  Sp.  bengue, 
Basq.  bee,  -a. 

Boque,  hunger ;  Gr.  bok  ;  Sp.  boqui, 
boque. 

Bravaldo,  rich  ;  Gr.  baravald,  barvalo  ; 
Sp.  balbalo. 

Brichindin,TSi,xa;  Gr.  hrishin,  brishindo; 
Sp.  brijinda  ;  Basq.  birzindo. 

Bid,  posteriors  ;  Gr.  'vid,  bul ;  Sj).  bul. 

Buzecas,  spurs;  Gr. wanting;  Fi.m.buzexa; 
Sp.  espusifia  (cf.  Pott  D.  Zig.  ii.  429). 

Cabin,  hod;  Gr.  khabc  ;  Sp. jVi^/^'^j^l 
Cabipe,    falsehood ;    Gr.    khokhamnibe, 
khokhaimbe ;  Sp.  jonjauipen. 


Cachucon,  deaf;  Gr.  kashuko,  kasuko;  Sp. 
cajuco. 

Caiar,  to  eat ;  Gr.  khdva  ;  Sp.  jalar  ; 
Basq.  galitia. 

Caiardin,  a  black  woman  ;  see  the  fol- 
lowing. 

Caiardon,  a  black  man  ;  Gr.  kaliardo, 
kaliardi  ;  /.  participle  of  kaliarava  ; 
Sp.  gallardo. 

Calin,  gypsy  woman  (cf.  colon). 

CcUon,  gypsy  man — i.e.  "a  black"  ;  Gr. 
kald  (m.),  kali  (f.) ;  Basq.  talu,  -a  (m.). 

Cambclin,  pregnant  ;  Gr.  kabni,  kamni ; 
Sp.  cambri. 

Camelar,  to  wLsh,  to  love  ;  Gr.  kamdma ; 
Sp.  camelar,  camblar  ;  Basq.  acaba  (1) 

Candelar,  to  stink  ;  Gr.  kdndava  ;  from 
khan,  kan  and  dava  the  verb  is  want- 
ing in  the  Sp.-G.  dictionaries  :  (cf. 
Miklosich,  M.  W.  vii.  78). 

Cangrina,  gaol.  The  word  may  be  re- 
ferred to  the  Gr.  kanghcri,  church  ; 
Sp.  cangari,  cangri,  the  notion  of  a 
solid  edifice  only  having  been  retained. 

Casnin,  hen  ;  Gr.  kahni,  kaghni ;  Sp. 
cahi,  cahai  ;  Basq.  kani. 

Caximbra,  inn  ;  Sp.  cachima ;  Eng. 
kitchima. 

Oiavo,  cousin  (cf.  chavon). 

Chavina,  girl ;  has  been  lately  formed 
from  chavon.  The  Gr.  word  is  chdi, 
chei  ;  the  Sp.  chabi,  chavi,  chai. 

Chavon,  boy,  son  ;  Gr.  chavo,  chav  ;  Sp. 
chabo,  chabal ;  Basq.  chabo. 

Chibe,  tongue  ;  Gr.  chip,  chib  ;  Sp.  chipe. 

Chidar,  to  throw ;  Gr.  chidava,  from 
chiv  +  dava  ;  Sp.  chibandar  formed 
from  chib  (f.  chibar,  chibelar)  +  dar. 

Chor,  thief ;  Gr.  chor ;  Sp.  choraro, 
chorui  ;  Basq.  shor,  -a. 

Choripen,  theft ;  Gr.  choribe ;  Sp. 
choripen. 

Ghidon,  thick,  fat ;  Gr.  tulo  ;  Sp.  chulld. 

Chundar,  to  hear  ;  Gr.  shunava ;  Sp. 
chunar. 

Churdar,  to  rob ;  Gr.  chorava ;  Sp. 
chorar  :  I  suppose  that  the  word  ought 
to  be  spelled  chordar  (cf.  above,  chor, 
choripen)  ;  the  difference  of  the  mean- 


THE   DIALECT   OF   THE    GYPSIES   OF   BRAZIL. 


59 


ing  separates  it  from    churdav,   "  to 

throw,"  occurring   in  the    Bohem.-G. 

dialect. 
Churiii,  knife  ;    Gr.  churi,  chori  ;    Sp. 

chtiri  ;  Basq.  churi,  chutri. 
Cliuxans,    breast  ;     Gr.    chuchya ;    Sp. 

chuckai  ;  Basq.  tichia. 
Crivdo,    godfather ;    Gr.   kirivo,   kirvo, 

kivro  ;  Sp.  quiribo. 
Crivin,     godmother ;    Gr.    kirvi ;     Sp. 

qiiiribi. 
Cucdles,  bones  ;  Gr.  kohhala  ;  Sp.  cocaU. 
Cucanin,  liar   (f.) ;    Gr.  kokhavni,  kho- 

khamni  ;  Sp.,  of.  the  verb  jojabar. 

Dabans,     dashes  ;     Gr.,     cf.     tapdava, 

tavdava,  I  strike ;    Em.   dab ;   in  the 

Sp.-G.  dictionaries    the  word  is   not 

found. 
Dai,   mother ;    Gr.    dai,  dei,   tai  ;   Sp. 

dai  ;  Basq.  dai,  -a,  rai,  -a. 
Danes,   teeth  ;    Gr.    dand,   tooth  ;    Sp. 

dans,  dani. 
DaranOn,   fearful  ;     Gr.    darano  ;    Sp. 

daraiioi. 
Despandinhar,   to   open;    cf.   Gr.  ^:)a/i- 

dava,  I  bind  ;  Sp.  despandar,  despan- 

delar,  to  unbind. 
Diclon,  kerchief  ;  Gr.,  Sp.  dildo. 
Diclunes,  shawl  :  seems  to  be  the  plural 

of  the  former. 
Dinhar,  to  give  ;  Gr.  dava,  ptcp.  di7io  ; 

Sp.  difiar,  dinelar  ;  Basq.  deantsia. 
Dinilon,   stupid  ;    Gr.    dinilo,   dilino  ; 

Sp.  dinelo,  dililo  ;  Basq.  dihilo. 
Diquinhar,  to  see  ;  Gr.  dikava,  dikhava ; 

Sp.  dicar,  dirabelar. 
Dirachin,   M.    translates    it    by  noife, 

"  night "  ;  but  it  must  be  taken  as  an 

adverb,    "  this   night " — a    composite 

consisting  of  a  demonstrative  element 

cf.  Hng.,  Bhm.  ada,  wanting  in  Gr., 

and   rachin,   night  ;    Gr.  rat,  night ; 

aratti,  this  night,  rather   than    "by 

night "  ;    Sp.    rachi,   night  ;     arachi, 

night  by  night ;  Basq.  latsi. 
Dron,  way  ;  Gr.  drom  ;  Sp.  drun. 
Duvel,  God ;  Gr.  devel ;  Sp.  debel ;  Basq. 

d^lbel. 
DuvUa,   the    Mother   of    God  ;    lately 

formed  from  the  form    . 

Estade,  hat ;  Gr.  stadik ;  Sp.  estache. 


Estardar,  to  catch ;   Gr.  asfarava ;   Sp. 

estardar,  estardclar,  to  incarcerate. 
Estardipen,  gaol,  or  rather  imjirisonment ; 

Gr.  astaribe,  catching;  Sp.  estaribd, 

estaripd;  Basq.  ostariben. 
Estardon,    prisoner;   Gr.    astardo;    Sp. 

estardo.     The   Gr.  word  is  the   par- 
ticiple of  astarava,  but  the  Br.  and  Sp. 

are  not  formed  from  estardar,  but  as 

already  formed  words  taken  over  from 

an  older  form  of  the  lanjfuacre. 
Gade,  shirt;   Gr.  gad;  Sp.  gate;   Basq. 

gate,  gat,  -a. 
Gajao,  non-Gyi)sy  man;    Gr.  gajo;  Sp. 

gacho ;  Basq.  o-,  gasho. 
Gajin,  non-Gypsy  women ;  Gr.  gaji;  Sp. 

gachi,  cachi;  Basq.  e-,  gashi. 
Garadar,   to  hide;   Gr.  geravava;   Sp. 

garabar,  garabelar. 
Grai,  horse;  Gr.  grast,  gra,  grai;  Sp. 

grasto,  gra ;  in  Basq.  there  are  krashni, 

-a,  mare ;  and  brastano,  rider,  derived 

from  a  noun  krasht  or  h-ast. 
Gruvinin,  cow ;  Gr.  guruvni,  gurumni ; 

Sp.  gurni. 
Guiadar,   to   sing;    Gr.   gildbava;    Sp. 

guillabar,  guiabar;  Basq.  kiliaotsia. 
Gidpcn,  M.  doce,  "sweet,"  but  the  word 

means   "sweetness,"  the  ?t  in  guipen 

is  supposed   to   be   pronounced;   Gr. 

gudlijye;  in  Sp.  is  found  only  gulo, 

sweet. 
Guldo,  sugar,  i.e.  "sweet";  Gr.  gudlo; 

guglo;  Sp.  gulo,  gule. 
Cruru,  bull;  Gr.  guruv  ;  Sp.  gorui  grui; 

Basq.  gurrOg  guru,  -a^  kari,  -a. 

Jalar,  to  go;  Gr,  Java;  Sp.  chalar; 
Baudrimont  gives  sigo-shade  =  courir, 
which  seems  to  mean  "they  ran  fast." 

Jandon,  a  wise  man;  Sp.  chande,  from 
the  follo\ving. 

Janellar,  to  know ;  Gr,  ja^iava ;  Sp. 
chanar,  chanelar. 

Jungalipen,  ugliness ;  in  Gr,  Paspati 
(p.  229)  writes  djungdliovava,  voy. 
zungdlovava,  but  the  latter  is  not 
found  in  his  dictionary ;  Hng.  jungalo  ; 
'Bih.ui.  jungdlo.  In  the  Sp.-G.  diction- 
aries I  could  not  find  the  correspond- 
ing word. 

Juquer,  dog;  Gr.  jukel,  'Jiukcl;  Sp. 
chuquel ;  Basq.  xakel,  shukel. 


.'  Guru,  -a,  is  supposed  to  mean  "bull,"  not  "cow,"  as  Baudrunont  writes. 


60 


THE   DIALECT   OF   THE   GYPSIES    OF    BRAZIL. 


Juvacando,  magician  ;  Gr.  cJioveTchano, 
phautom  ;  Sp.  wanting  in  the  diction- 
aries. 

Juvacanin,  witch  ;  Gr.  chovehhani, 
phantom  ;  Sp.  chuacani,  chuanjafd  ; 
Basq.  choacani  ;  witch,  not  "  magi- 
cian," as  Baudrimont  states. 

Juvinhar,  to  stay  ;  Gr.  jivava,  to  live. 
In  Spanish  the  verb  is  wanting  ;  cf. 
chibiben,  life.  I  do  not  hesitate  to 
class  juvinhar  and  jivava  together,  for 
the  labial  v  could  cause  the  vowel  i  to 
be  changed  into  u. 

Kambulin,  sweetheart  (cf.  camhulon). 
Kirai,  cheese  ;  Gr.  keral  ;    Sp.  quird  ; 

Basq.  kial,  -a. 
Kralis,   king,   wanting  in   Gr.  ;    comes 

from  the  Slavonian  krali.     This  word 

occurs   in  the    most    of    the    Gypsy 

dialects  ;  thus,  Sp.  crally. 
Krangrin,  church  (cf.  cangrina). 

Lachin,  good  (f.),  the  fem.  of  the  follow- 
ing. 

Lachon,  god  (m.)  ;  Gr.  lacho  (m.),  lachi 
(f.) ;  Sp.  lacho  ;  Basq.  lasho. 

Lacrin,  girl ;  Gr.  rakli  ;  Sp.  lacroi, 

Lacron,  boy  ;  cf.  the  following. 

Lacitrron,  boy  ;  Gr.  raklo  ;  Sp.  lacro. 

Lajavo,  ashamed  (?) — IM.  explains  it  as 
vergonha,  "  shame  "  ;  Gr.  lajavo  ;  cf. 
Sp.  lacha,  laya,  shame. 

Lindre,  sleep,  slumber =Gr.  lindr;  want- 
ing in  all  other  dialects  except  the 
Eom.,  Hng.,  and  Bhm. 

Lon,  salt ;  Gr.,  Sp.,  Basq'.  Ion. 

Lubinin,  whore  ;  Gr.  luhni,  lumni ;  Sp. 
lumi,  lumica  ;  Basq.  hmi,  -a. 

Machon  )  fish  ;  Gr.  macho  ;  Sp.  macho  ; 

Maxon,    ]  Basq.  onasho. 

Maaguinhar,   to   beg ;    Gr.   mangava ; 

Sp.  mangar,  mangelar. 
Mardador,  murderer  :  a  late  formation 

from  a  verb  mardar,  which  is  to  be 

referred  to  the  Gr.  marava,  to  beat ; 

Sp.  m,arar,  to  kill. 
Marrao,    bread ;    (^r.    manro,    marno, 

maro  ;  Sp.  manro  ;  Basq.  mandro. 
Maton,  drunken  ;  Gr.  matto  ;  Sp.,  Basq. 

mato. 
Maz,  meal  ;  Gr.  mas  ;  Sp.  maas  ;  Basq. 

mag,  -a. 


Mensa,  I,  being  the  instrumental  cause 
of  me.  Cf.  Gr.  mdnja,  by  me  ;  the 
Sp.  uses  the  prepositional  and  accusar 
tive  cases  for  the  nom.  viz.  menda, 
man. 

Merindin,  funeral  (?)  is  to  be  referred  to 
the  root  mer  ;  cf.  below. 

Migeque,  bad,  angry ;  wanting  in 
Gr.  ;  Bhm.  mizhex ;  Germ,  mijax  ; 
Scand.  iiiigak  (cf.  Pott  D.  Zig.  ii, 
459). 

Merinhar,  to  die  ;  Gr.  merava  ;  Sp. 
merar. 

Missaia,  table  ;  Gr.  mesali,  handker- 
chief ;  Sp.  mensalle  ;  even  in  Hng. 
this  word  means  "  table." 

Mistoes,  very  well,  rather  well  ;  Gr. 
mishto,  misto  ;  Sp.  misto  ;  the  Br. 
word  looks  as  an  adverb. 

Mor,  wine  ;  Gr.  mol ;  the  word  is  want- 
ing in  Sp.  ;  Miklosich  M.  W.  viii.  17, 
compares  Sp.  molar,  mole,  amolelar, 
molancia. 

Mxd,  face  ;  Gr.  mui,  face,  mouth ;  Sp. 
mui  ;  Basq.  muil. 

Midadar,  to  kill ;  is  apparently  a  new 
formation,  the  base  of  which  is  mulon, 
q.v. 

Midon,  dead ;  Gr.  mxdo,  molo ;  Sp. 
mido. 

Mutrinhar,  to  make^  water ;  Gr.  mu- 
trava ;  Sp.  mv,trar. 


Nabasnao,  cock ;  Gr.  bashno,  basno  ;  Sp. 
basno  ;  in  Brazil  basndo  is  said  to 
mean  "cup"  or  "saucer,"  perhaps  by 
an  error  of  the  compiler. 

Nachaddo,  poor,  lost  ;  not  formed  from 
the  verb  nachadar,  but  the  Br.  equi- 
valent for  the  Gr.  nashavdo  ;  Bhm. 
nashado,  which  for  their  part  are  par- 
ticijiles  of  nashavava. 

Nachadar,  to  become  poor,  to  be  lost ; 
so  explains  M.,  but  probably  the  verb 
is  transitive, and  means  '"to  lose";  Gr. 
7iashavava ;  Sp.  nachabar,  nachabelar, 
to  lose. 

Nachinhar,  to  fly ;  Gr.  nashava ;  Sp. 
nachar,  nacliarar,  io  dejjart. 

Nagualao,  sick,  ill ;  Gr.  nasvalo,  nas- 
falo ;  Sp.  nasalo. 

Naki,    I  nose  ;    Gr.    nak ;    Sp.    naqui, 

Naque,  J      nacri. 


THE   DIALECT   OF   THE   GYPSIES    OF   BRAZIL. 


Gl 


Paxivalin, 

Pachivalin, 


i 


Paguerdar,  to  break  ;  Gr.  imngava,  but 
Bohm.  2>cffcrav ;  Germ,  pagerava;  in 
Sp.  the  verb  is  not  found. 

Panin,  water ;  Gr.  ^^aui ;  Sp.  pani, 
pani  ;  Basq.  jjani. 

Papiris,  paper  ;  Boliem.  papiris,  from 
the  German  Papier. 

Parnon,  white  ;  Gr.  parno. 

Parrudar,  to  change ;  Gr.  paruvava, 
Bohem.  parudav  ;  Sp.  purnibar,  far- 
ugar. 

^  miss,  young  lady,  that  is 
lionourable(f.);  Rm.  2>a- 
t'ivalo,  honest  ;  Sp. 
pachibalo  (m.)  from  the 
Gr.  verb  pakjava  ;  Sp. 
pachibar. 

Pelens,  testicles  ;  Gr.,  Sp.  ^^e^e. 

Pendar,  to  say,  to  explain ;  Gr.  penava  ; 
Sp.  penar,  penelar. 

Perin,  pot ;  Gr.  piri ;  Sp.  pirri,  pirria. 

Perrengues,  feet,  M. ;  but  the  true  mean- 
ing of  that  word  may  be  "  trousers," 
a  derivative  from  the  unknown  Br. 
equivalent  of  the  Gr.,  Sp.  pindo,  pinro. 

Piai;  to  drink  ;  Gr.  piava  ;  Sp.  piyar. 

Pla,  brother  ;  Gr.  pral,  plal ;  Sp.  j^/a^ 

Puron,  old ;  Gr.  pi6ro,  phuro ;  Sp.,  Basq. 
puro. 

Puz,  earth  ;  Gr.  phiiv  ;  Sp.  pu. 

Querdar,   to    make ;    Gr.   kerava ;    Sp. 

qucrai;  querdar. 
Quiligin,   key ;    Gr.  Midi,  kilidi ;    Sp. 

wanting. 
Quiraz,  cheese  ;  cf.  kirai. 

Baty,  blood  ;  Gr.  ratt ;  Sp.  aratc,  rati  ; 
Basq.  lat,  -a. 


Requerdar,    to    speak  ;    Gr.    vakerava, 

vrakerava ;  Sp.  araquerar. 
Requerdipen,  eloquence  ;  Gr.  vrakeribe, 

word. 
Roc,  spoon  ;  Gr.  roy  ;  Sp.  rolli,  roin. 
Ron,  man  ;  Gr.  rom  ;  Sp.  rom,  ro. 
Runin,  woman  ;  Gr.  romni  ;  Sp.  roini. 

Sastre,  iron  ;  Gr.  shastir,  sastir ;  Sp.  sa ; 

Basq.  sast,  -a. 
Sillas,   powers ;    wanting   in  Gr.  ;    Sp. 

sila  ;  from  the  Slavonian  sila. 
Stmacai,  gold  ;  Gr.  sovnakai,  somnakai  ; 

Sp.  sonacai,  socanai. 
Suvinhar,  to  sleep  ;    Gr,  sovava  ;    Sp. 

sobar,  sohelar  ;  Basq.  soaotsia. 

Tirdques,    shoes  ;     Gr.     triak  ;    Germ. 

tirax  ;  Sj).  tirajai  ;  Basq.  tiak. 
Trup,  body  ;  Em.    trupo  ;    Sp.    trupo  ; 

from  the  Slavonian  trupii. 
Tunsa,  thou  ;  cf.  mensa  ;  Gr.  tu  ;    Sp. 

tu7i,  tu,  tut,  tucue. 

Urai,  sir,  king  ;    Gr.   rai  ;    Sp.  eray, 

elay  ;  Basq.  lay,  -a. 
Urdar,  to  clothe  ;  Gr.  uriava  ;    Sp.  not 

found  in  the  dictionaries. 

Vdzes,  hands,   fingers  ;    Gr.    vait ;    Sp. 
bast ;  Basq.  bast,  -a. 

Xaron,  dish,  bowl  ;  Gr.   charo,  plate  ; 

Sp.  wanting. 
Xinorron,   little,  small  ;    Gr.    tiknoro  ; 

chinorre,  tizuino,  tcino. 
Xores,  beard  ;  Gr.  chor,  jor  ;   Sp.  chon} 
Xuti,  milk  ;  Gr.  tud  ;    Sp.  chuti,  sut  ; 

Basq.  sut,  -a. 


(B.)  The  words  which  the  Brazilian  dialect  has  in  common  with  the 
Spanish  dialect  alone  are  not  very  numerous ;  it  will  be  sufficient 
to  give  a  few  instances  of  them  : — 

Br.  bata,  mother  ;  Sp.  bata.  Br.  busnon,  black  ;  cf.  Sp.  busno,  wild. 

Br.  bato,  father  ;  Sp.  bato.  Br.  cascando,  poor  ;  Sp.  carcafii. 

Br.  buchardon,  shooting,  clap  ;  cf.  Sp.     Br.  chinon,  ofiicer  ;   Sp.  chiiiobaro  =  Gr. 
bucharar,  to  throw,  to  shoot.  baro,  governor. 

The  Basque  equivalents  adjoined  in  the  list  (A)  will  show  clearly, 
I  think,  that  there  is  no  nearer  connection  between  the  Portuguese 


1  chor?  cf.  chorcro,  barber;  all  the  Sp.-G.  dictiouaries  write  chon,  not  chor. 


62  THE   DIALECT   OF   THE   GYPSIES    OF   BEAZIL. 

(Brazilian)  and  the  Basque-Gypsy  dialect  than  between  this  and 
that  of  the  Spanish  Gypsies.  Looking  on  that  as  a  settled  thing, 
I  shall  go  on  to  point  out  the  pecuharities  in  phonology  and  forma- 
tion of  themes  which  are  common  to  the  Spanish  and  the  Brazilian 
Gypsy  dialects  (leaving  aside  the  Basque),  and  which  distinguish 
them  from  all  others;  and  those  which,  belonging  only  to  one  of 
the  two  dialects,  separate  them  from  each  other. 

Phonology. 
Moraes,  in  writing  the  Gypsy  words,  avails  himself  of  the  Portu- 
guese alphabet,  to  which  he  adds  h,  and  the  y,  h,  and  /  of  which  he 
uses  nowhere.  Even  the  Spanish  Gypsiologists  apply  the  orthography 
of  their  vernacular  to  the  Eomany.  I  cannot  decide  if  the  Spanish 
and  Portuguese  alphabets  are  quite  fit  to  express  the  very  sound  of 
the  Gypsy  words,  but  I  suppose  that  they  are,  because  the  pronuncia- 
tion of  almost  all  the  Gypsy  dialects  follows  rather  accurately  that  of 
the  vernacular  of  the  country  they  are  spoken  in.  Whether  there  is 
a  difference  in  the  pronunciation  of  Moraes'  cli  and  x,  of  his  c  and  Ic, 
k  and  qu,  I  am  not  able  to  decide.  I  have  therefore  thought  it  best 
to  retain  in  writing  the  manner  of  spelling  adopted  by  him. 

The  Accent. 
Moraes  marks  out  the  accent  only  in  a  few  words,  viz.  acdva, 
hal'dnas,  caMn,  cacUns,  chorip6n,  chucd,  cucdles,  ddnes,  estdde,  gdde, 
guipdn,  jungcdip6n,  peldns,  ijiugas,  tii'dques,  vdzes,  and  the  numerous 
adjectives  in  on,  in ;  all  which  instances  prove  that  the  rules  of 
accentuation  are  generally  the  same  as  in  Portuguese.  In  the  Spanish 
dialect  the  original  Gypsy  nouns,  even  if  they  end  in  vowels,  bear  the 
accent  on  the  last  syllable ;  in  the  Brazilian  dialect  there  are  very  few 
nouns  which  end  in  a  vowel,  except  such  as  affix  an  inorganic  e,  viz. 
bdqve,  chibe,  gdde,  hengue,  etc. 

CONCOEDANCES   OF   THE   VoWELS. 

Like  the  Spanish  dialect,  the  Brazilian  is  fond  of  prefixing  a  vowel 
to  words  whose  first  consonant  is  r.  In  the  selection  of  the  vowel 
which  precedes  that  consonant,  the  two  dialects  do  not  agree  with 
one  another ;  the  Spanish  using  always  a  or  e,  the  Brazilian  a  and 
sometimes  u.     Thus  : — 

Br.  Sp.  Gr. 

arachai  arachai,  crachai  rasha% 

aranin  ,  erafd  ranni 

urai  erai  fai 


THE   DIALECT   OF   THE    GYPSIES    OF   BRAZIL.  63 

Sometimes  one  of  the  dialects  has  no  prefixed  vowel,  where  the 
other  has :  thus : — 


Br. 

Sp. 

Gr. 

anal 

7iao 

nav 

requerdas 

araqucrar 

As  a  general  rule,  in  the  Spanish  and  the  Brazilian  dialects,  e  is 
prefixed  to  words  commencing  with  st,  according  to  the  custom  of  the 
Spanish  and  the  Portuguese  languages ;  thus  : — 

Br.  Sp.  Gr. 

estade  cstache  stadiJc 

estardar  estardar  astarava  -^ 

estardipe  estaribel  astaribe 

estardon  estardo  astardo 

The  Br.  dialect  substitutes  the  older  i,  o  still  retained  in  the  Sp.  by 
e,  u :  thus : — 

Br.  Sp.  Gr. 

perin  piri  piri 

perrengucs  pinro  pinro 

churdar  chorar  chorava 

cucanin  jojabar  Jchokhavno 

r%min  romi  romni 

a  peculiarity  resulting  from  the  dull  pronunciation  of  i,  o  in  Portu- 
guese, in  unaccented  syllables. 

The  labial  v  is  of  great  influence  to  the  preceding  vowel,  which 
becomes  in  many  instances  u  ;  thus  : — 

Br.  Sp.  Gr. 

duvel  debel  devel  ^ 

aruvinhar  orabar  rovava 

juvmhar  hib  jivava 

sunacai  sonacai  sovnacai 

That  influence  is  sensible  even  in  the  Spanish  dialect  in  such 
instances  as  cliuanjani,  chuacani ;  Br.  juvacanin ;  but  Gr.  chovekhani. 

There  are  no  prominent  peculiarities  in  the  vocalism  which  might 
distinguish  the  Brazilian  and  Spanish  dialects  from  the  whole  set  of 
the  others. 

Concordances  of  the  Consonants. 

As  in  the  Spanish  dialect,  there  are  no  aspirates  in  the  Brazilian — 
at  least  these  are  not  expressed  in  writing,  and  it  is  very  probable 
that  they  have  disappeared  in  these  as  in  so  many  other  dialects. 
Even  the  Greek  dialect  seldom  retains  the  original  aspirate,  while  in 

1  The  a  of  the  first  syllable  being  prefixed. 

2  Even  in  the  Basque  antl  English  Gj-psy   dialects,  the   form    of  this  word  is   dubel, 
douhelle  ;  duvel. 


64 


THE   DIALECT   OF   THE    GYPSIES    OF   BRAZIL. 


the  Hng.  the  aspirates  freely  interchange  with  the  tenues.  The  only 
Bhm.  dialect  is  rather  consequent  in  discerning  the  two  series  of  con- 
sonants, and  therefore  we  must  refer  to  it  concerning  the  late  tenues 
of  the  Sp.  and  Br.  dialects,  thus  : — 


Br. 

Sp. 

Gr. 

Bhm. 

candelar 

kandava 

Jchandav 

paguerdar 

• .. 

pagerav 

phagerav 

panguinhar 

2)andar 

pandava 

phandav 

jjendar 

penar 

pcnava 

plienav 

puron 

puro 

puro,  phuro 

phuro 

puz 

pu 

phuv 

phuv^ 

Even  the  sound  x,  common  to  the  older  Gypsy  dialects,  though 
non-original,  is  absent  from  the  Br.  dialect ;  whilst  the  Sp.,  in  con- 
formity with  the  Spanish  language  itself,  retains  it  in  all  instances. 
The  Br.  dialect,  as  a  rule,  substitutes  Jc,  c,  qu,  thus  : — 


cf.  Sp. 

Gr. 

jojabar 

khokhavni 

jallipen 

khahe 

jonjmiipen 

khokhamnihe 

baji 

bakht 

Br. 
cucanin 
caben 
cabipe 
baqiie 


and  so  on.  Where  the  Spanish  dialect  hasj  (x)  instead  of  the  old  sh, 
the  Brazilian  retains  the  latter  : — Br.  cacliucoii ;  Sp.  cajuco ;  Gr. 
hashuko. 

G.  seems  to  have  been  substituted  for  d  in  Br.  panguinhar,  to 
bind  ;  Sp.  pandar  ;  Gr,  pandava  (we  might  have  ex-pected pa^idinhar). 

The  consonant  ch  corresponds  generally  with  Spanish  ch,  whether 
this  be  original  or  peculiar  only  to  the  Spanish  dialect,  thus  : — 


Br. 

chuxans 
chundar 
arachai 
chulon 


Sp. 
chuchai 
chunar 
arachai 
chullo 


Gr. 

chuchia 
shunava 
rashai 
tulo 


Br.  ch  corresponds  with  Sp.  /,  Gr.  sh,  in  Br.  cachucon ;  Sp.  cajuco ; 
Gr.  hashuTco. 

The  consonant  x  corresponds  with  the  Sp.  ch  in  every  case  : — 


Br. 

Sp. 

Gr. 

xoiron 

CO 

charo 

xdres 

chon 

chor 

xinorron 

chinorre 

tiknoro 

xuti 

chuti 

tud 

paxivalin 

pachibali 

Rm. 


pat'ivali 
1  The  Sanscritic  equivalents  being  gandha,  bhanj,  bandh,  b/ian,  vriddha,  hhUmi. 


THE    DIALECT    OF    THE    GYPSIES    OF    BRAZIL. 


65 


The  consonant/ stands  in  lieu  of  an  original  j  (<:?/),  the  Spanish 
equi^•alent  of  which  is  cli : — 


Br. 

jalar 

janellar 

gajao 


Sp. 
chalar 
ckanelar 
gacho 


Gr. 

Java 

janava 

gO'jo 


The  consonant  nh  occurs  very  seldom ;  Ih  is  never  written. 

The  original  d  is  often  retained  where  the  Spanish  dialect  has 


changed  it  to  t  or  ch 

Br. 

gade 
estade 


Sp. 
gate 
estache 


Gr. 

gad 
stadik 


The  consonaiit  n  is  in  some  instances  the  substitute  of  an  orioiual 
(and  Sp.)  m.     Thus  : — 

Gr. 

rom 
romni 


Br. 

Sp. 

ron 

rom, 

runin 

romi 

In  one  instance  the 

m, 

even  in 

this  change  : — 

Br. 

Sp. 

dron 

drun 

Gr. 
drom 


Often  the  Br.  n  corresponds  with  Sp.  n. 


Br. 
juvacanin 
aranin 
casnin 
daranon 
halunas 


Sp. 
chuacani 
erani 
card 
daranoi 
balune 


Gr. 
chocehhani 
ranni 
Tcahni 
darano 
(wanting) 


Z  and  r  in  both  dialects  interchange  sometimes  with  one  another 
thus : — 


Br. 
cambelin 
juquer 
fiior 
bravaldo 


Sp.  _ 
cambri 
chuquel 
mol 
balbalo 


Gr, 
kamli 
jukel 
mol 
barvalo 


and  with  I,  r,  of  the  older  dialects  : — 


Br. 

pla. 

lacron 

lacri 


Sp. 

flal. 
lacro 
lacroi 


Gr. 

pral. 
ralilo 
rakli 


66  THE   DIALECT    OF    THE    GYPSIES    OF   BRAZIL. 

The  softened  Ih  {V)  is  never  met  with,  and  the  Sp.  //,  represented 
merely  by  /,  where  it  has  not  altogether  disappeared,  thus  : — 


Br. 

Sp. 

Gr. 

Slavon. 

kralis 

crally 

krali 

chulon 

chullo 

tulo 

missaia 

mensalle 

mesali 

guiaclar 

guiUabar 

gildbava 

guipen 

(?) 

gudlipen 

In  some  instances  the  Spanish  dialect  has  //,  where  it  is  absent  in 
the  older  dialects,  and  even  in  the  Brazilian,  thus  : — 

Br.  Sp.  Gr. 

roe  rolli  roij 

Peculiar  to  the  Brazilian  dialect   is  the  final  /  in  anal,  name; 
Sp.  nao  ;  Gr.  nav. 

The  z,  occurring  only  in   a   few  words,   is  mostly  a  mere   com- 
pendium scriphcrae  for  s  ;  thus,  in  halivaz  and  maz  (cf.  the  list  A). 

The  final  z  in  puz,  earth  ;  Sp.  pu  ;  Gr.  p)huv ;  and  in  quiraz,  cheese  ; 
Sp.  quira  ;  Gr.  keral,  is  peculiar  to  the  Brazilian  dialect. 

In  the  labial  class  there  is  a  change  between  h  and  v  to  be  observed, 
the  1)  prevailing  in  the  Spanish,  the  v  in  the  Brazilian  dialect,  thus : — 


Br. 

Sp. 

Gr. 

Rm. 

vazes 

bast 

vast 

faxivalin 

pachibali 

•  •  • 

pat'ivali 

halivaz 

baleba 

•  •• 

balevas 

barvaldo 

balbalo 

barvalo 

crivdo 

quiribo 

kirivo 

duvel 

dehel 

devel 

This  difference  in  pronunciation  is  the  same  as  that  which  is 
found  even  between  the  Spanish  and  the  Portuguese  vernaculars. 


On  the  whole,  the  Brazilian  dialect  has  retained  the  original 
vowels  and  consonants  in  some  instances,  where  the  Spanish  dialect 
has  omitted,  confused,  or  blended  them  together :  such  instances  are  : — 

Gr. 

guruvni 

guruv 

chovekhani 

luhni 

nasfalo 

varo 

In  a  few  others  the  Spanish  has  the  more  original  form ;  thus  it 


Br. 

Sp.  _ 

guruvinin 

gurni 

guru 

juvacanin 

lubinin 

grui 

chuacani 

lumi 

naqualdo 

nasalo 

aron 

roi 

THE   DIALECT   OF   THE   GYPSIES    OF   BKAZIL. 


6; 


has  retained  the  group  nr,  while  not  only  the  Brazilian  but  most  of 
the  other  dialects  have  it  chanired  to  r,  thus  : — 


Br. 

arcns  (pi.) 
perrengues 


Sp. 
anro 
pinro 


Gr. 

vanro 
pinro 


The  Other  dialects  affording  :  Em.  aro,  ponro,  piro  ;  Hng.  yaro,pindro, 
pro ;  Bhm.  yarro,  piro ;  Germ,  yarro,  plro  ;  Pol.  Euss.  yarzho,  piro,  etc. 


Formation  of  Themes. 

The  old  themes  of  nouns  formed  in  o  masc,  t  iem.,  still  preserved 
in  the  Spanish,  have  undergone  a  change  in  the  Brazilian  dialect, 
where  they  either — 

( 1 )  lost  their  final  vowel,  as  : — 


Br. 
bar 
trup 
naque,  naki 


Sp. 
baro 
trupo 
naqui 


Gr. 
baro 

nak 


Slavon. 
iriqm 


or  (2)  added  an  n  to  the  vowel  of  the  theme,  as — 


Br. 
chulon 
daranon 
cachucon 
colon 
aranin 
cambelin 
lubinin 
perin 


Sp. 

chullo 
daranoi 
cajuco 
calo 
eraiii 
cambri 
lumi 
pirria 


Gr. 
tula 
darano 
kashuko 
calo 
ranni 
kamni 
lubni 
firi 


or  (3)  the  o  changed  into  the  nasal  cto,  as — 


Br.                                             Sp.  Gr. 

na^ualdo.                                nasalo  nasfalo 

crivdo                                      quiribo  kirivo 

barvaldo                                  balbalo  barvalo 

gajdo                                        gacho  gajo 

A  few  feminine  nouns  have  added  the  Portuguese  theme  suffix  a, 
as — 

Br.                                          Sp.  Gr. 

cangrina                                 cangri  kangeri 

chavina                                  chabi  chai 
duvela,  from  the  masc.  duvel 

A  number  of  themes,  which  in  the  older  dialects  end  in   a  con- 
sonant, in  the  Brazilian,  as  in  the  Spanish,  end  in  e,  thus — 


Br. 

boque 
baque 
chibe 


Sp. 
boque 
baji 
chipe 


Gr. 

bok 

bakht 

chib 


68 


THE    DIALECT    OF    THE    GYPSIES    OF    BRAZIL. 


In  the   formation   of   verbal   themes   the   Brazilian  dialect  dis- 
plays its  special  characteristics  ;  they  are  for  the  most  part  formed 
by  the  suffix  inh,  which  in  the  older  dialects  is  almost  exclusively 
joined  to  roots  borrowed  from  European  languages  (cf.  Miklosich  M. 
W.  X.  1179  f.).     Examples  of  these  are  : — 


Br. 

Sp. 

Gr. 

manguinhar 

mangar 

mangava 

mutrinhar 

mutrar 

rmitrava 

aruvinhar 

orabar 

rovava 

nachinhar 

nachar 

nashava 

despandinhar 

despandar 

pandava 

diquinJiar 

dicar 

dihhava 

dinhar 

dinar 

dava 

merinhar 

merar 

merava 

(2)  In  I  or  cl,  as  in 

the  Spanish  dialect 

Jm 

Br. 

Sp. 

Gr. 

caiar,  instead  of  calhar         jalar 

khava 

camelar 

camblar 

hamama 

jalar 

chalar 

m 

Java 

janellar 

chanelar 

janava 

(3)  Composites  with  da.      These  are 

more  numerous  than  in 

other  dialect,  thus : 

Br. 

Sp. 

Gr. 

Bbm. 

chidar 

chibar 

chidava 

cJiivav 

chundar 

chunar 

shunava 

shunav 

churdar 

chorar 

chorava 

chdrav 

estardar 

estardar 

astarava 

astarav 

garadar 

garabar 

geravava 

garuvav 

guiadar 

guillabar 

giliavava 

giVavav 

paguerdar 

(?) 

... 

2Mgerav 

parrudar 

purrubar 

paruvava 

parudav 

requerdar 

araquerar 

vakerava 

vaTcerav 

and  so  on.  Such  forms  as  estardon,  etc.,  are  not  participles  formed 
from  estardar,  etc.,  for  they  would  be  estardino,  etc.  ;  but  older  parti- 
ciples formed  from  the  simple  verbs,  and  taken  over  into  the  new 
form  of  the  dialect. 

Specimens  and  Observations  on  Grammar. 

As  specimens  of  the  Brazilian-Gypsy  language,  Moraes  supplies  a 
few  verses,  with  their  translation,  viz. : — 


n. 


De  menQa  dae  te  jalaste 
deste  gdu  tao  cacliardin  ! 
manguella  ao  duvel  por  menga 
que  simo  tao  nachadin. 


Quaiido,  6  diie,  tn  merinhaste 
menga  tambem  merinhon, 
em  tanto  nachadipem 
de  menga  tudo  jalou. 


THE   DIALECT   OF   THE   GYPSIES   OF   BEAZIL. 


69 


III. 


IV. 


0  bcito,  tu  merinhaste 
tao  chinurrao  eu  fiquei ! 
inanguella  ao  duvel  pov  raen§a, 
que  por  tu§a  eu  mauguinliei ! 


Quem  se  ciniar  nachadon 
nao  requerde  cime  dar 
que  0  ron  quidon  requerdando 
dinhao  dabans  a  mardar. 


V. 


Te  camellava  runin 
simando  bar  nachadon 
&6  o  teu  babanijaen 
me  querdava  bravalon.^ 


From  these  specimens  it  is  evident  that  the  Brazilian  dialect,  like 
the  Spanish,  having  lost  the  original  declension  and  conjugation,  uses 
instead  of  it  that  of  the  vernacular.  Whilst  the  Spanish  dialect  has 
retained  the  old  possessive  pronouns,  viz.  : — minrio,  my ;  tiro,  thy  ; 
desquero,  his  (cf.  Gr.  leskero),  etc.,  that  of  Brazil  uses  de  menga,  of 
me ;  thus  : — de  menga  dde,  my  mother  (i.)  ;  de  menga  tudo,  all  what  is 
mine  (ii.) ;  and  the  Portuguese  possessive  pronoun,  instead  of  the 
Gypsy,  occurs  in  o  teu  hcibaniijcn,  thy  beauty  (v.).  The  Gypsy  per- 
sonal pronouns  are  in  many  instances  (in  these  examples)  supplanted 
by  the  Portuguese  words,  thus  : — te  jalastc,  tibi  iisti  [cf.  in  the  Slovak- 
Gypsy  sub-dialect  me  mange  phirava,  ego  mihi  ibo,  and  ja  tuke, 
i  tibi]  (i.) ;  quando  6  dae  tu  merinhaste,  when  thou  diedst,  0  mother 
(ii.) ;  0  lato,  tu  merinhaste,  0  father,  thou  diedst  (iii.) ;  tao  chinurrao 
eu  fiquei,  so  wretched  I  remained  (ill.)  ;  te  camellava  runin,  a  woman 
loved  thee  (v.)  ;  o  teu  l)abani2:)hi  me  querdava  hravaUn,  thy  beauty 
may  make  me  happy  (v.),  etc.  Instances  of  verbal  forms  are — 
jalaste,  thou  wentst  (i.) ;  manguella,  pray !  (i.)  ;  simo  [Moraes  trans- 
lates it  by  fiquei,  "  I  remained."  I  am  in  doubt  about  the  meaning  of 
that  word]  (i.)  ;  merinhaste,  thou  diedst  (ii.)  ;  merinho2i,  I  died  (ii.)  ; 
jalou,  I  went  (?)  (ii.)  ;  manguinhei,  I  prayed  (iii.)  ;  and  so  on.  These 
few  instances  will  sufficiently  prove  what  I  said  above  about  the 
manner  of  conjugating. 

J  The  following  is  the  translation  of  these  verses  :  The  first  two,  in  which  a  daughter  is 
addressing  her  departed  mother,  may  be  Englished  thus  :  "  My  mother,  thou  hast  gone  from 
the  world  mournful  !  Pray  to  God  for  me,  who  remain  without  a  protector.  When  thou 
diedst,  0  mother,  I  too  died, — into  such  a  forlorn  condition  have  I  wholly  gone."  The  third 
verse,  of  a  similar  nature,  is  spoken  by  a  son  to  his  departed  father  :  "  O  father,  thou  diedst ; 
I  was  left  such  a  little  child.  Pray  to  God  for  me,  for  I  have  prayed  for  thee."  The  fourth 
verse  goes  thus — "He  who  does  not  admit  his  ill-fortxme  fears  that  the  unlucky  man,  when 
he  has  admitted  his  bad  luck,  will  be  Jseaten  to  death  "  (or,  according  to  a  freer  translation 
given  by  Moraes,  "will  be  regarded  as  beaten  for  ever").  The  last  verse  is  tliis:  "I 
desired  thee,  0  woman,  although  T  myself  am  ugly.  (  know  thy  beaxity  wr.uLl  make  me 
liappy." 


70  the  dialect  of  teie  gypsies  of  brazil. 

Eesults. 
The  Gypsy  dialect  of  Brazil  has  a  near  connection  with  that  ot 
Sjmin,  as  is  demonstrated  by  the  following  peculiarities  which  they 
have  in  common : — 

(a)  They  possess  a  set  of  vocables  neither  belonging  to  the  other 
Gypsy  dialects,  nor  borrowed,  as  far  as  I  can  decide,  from  the 
Spanish  or  Portuguese  vernaculars. 

(h)  They  are  without  aspirate  consonants. 

(c)  They  agree  with  one  another  in  forming  verbal  themes  in  I 
and  el. 

(d)  They  are  both  destitute  of  the  original  declensions  of  nouns 
and  verbs. 

The  Brazilian  and  the  Spanish  Gypsy  dialects  differ  from  one 
another  in  the  following  points  : — 

(a)  The  set  of  sounds  is  different  in  each  of  them,  and  the  pro- 
nunciation not  less  different  than  that  of  the  Portuguese  and  the 
Spanish  languages  themselves. 

(&)  The  Brazilian  dialect  has  in  many  cases  preserved  the  more 
original  forms  of  words,  whilst  the  Spanish  dialect  affords  more 
corrupted  ones. 

(c)  The  dialect  of  Brazil  shows  a  preference  for  forming  verbal 
themes  in  inh  or  by  composition  with  da,  so  that  the  themes  formed 
in  this  manner  have  nearly  displaced  all  others.  • 

As  all  the  points  of  agreement  between  the  Brazilian  and  Spanish 
forms  of  Gypsy  speech  do  not  seem  to  be  so  important  as  to  neces- 
sitate us  to  declare  that  one  of  them  must  be  a  sub-dialect  of  the 
other,  they  both  are  on  the  same  degree  of  decay.  They  are  spoken 
in  countries,  the  vernaculars  of  which  are  offsprings  of  one  and  the 
same  language,  and  have  therefore  influenced  the  speech  of  the 
Gypsies  in  almost  the  same  manner ;  the  usual  frequent  intercourse 
of  the  Gypsies  of  neighbouring  countries  could  bring  their  dialects 
nearer  to  one  another,  and  so  on.  On  the  other  hand,  the  differences 
of  the  Brazilian  and  the  Spanish  Gypsy  forms  of  speech,  particularly 
those  points  of  difference  which  I  mentioned  above  (sub  b),  are  suffi- 
cient to  justify  us  in  claiming  for  the  language  of  the  Brazilian 
Gypsies  the  rank  of  an  independent  dialect. 

EUDOLF  VON  SOWA. 


pOMS,   JATS,   AND   THE   ORIGIN    OF   THE   GYPSIES.  71 

II.— POMS,  JATS,  AND  THE  OEIGIN  OF  THE  GYPSIES. 

[Extracted  from  the  Indian  Antiquary,  1886-87.] 


M^ 


"E.  LELAND  has  made  a  happy  suggestion  that  the  original 
Gypsies  may  have  been  Doms  of  India.^  He  points  out  that 
Romany  is  ahnost  letter  for  letter  the  same  as  Domani,  the  plural  of 
Dom.^  Domani  is  the  plural  form  in  the  Bhoj'purt  dialect  of  the 
Bihari  language.  It  was  originally  a  genitive  plural;  so  that 
Romany-Eye,  "  a  Gypsy  gentleman,"  may  be  well  compared  with  the 
Bhoj'puri  Domani  rdy  (Skr.  Domdndm  o'djd),  "  a  king  of  the  Doms." 
The  Bhoj'puri-speaking  Doms  are  a  famous  race,  and  they  have  many 
points  of  resemblance  with  the  Gypsies  of  Europe.  Thus,  they  are 
darker  in  complexion  than  the  surrounding  Biharis;  are  great  thieves; 
live  by  hunting,  dancing,  and  telling  fortunes ;  their  women  have  a 
reputation  for  making  love-philtres  and  medicines  to  procure  abor- 
tion ;  they  keep  fowls  (which  no  orthodox  Hindu  will  do),  and  are 
said  to  eat  carrion.     They  are  also  great  musicians  and  horsemen. 

Mr.  Fleet  has  drawn  my  attention  to  a  South-Indian  inscription 
given  in  the  Ind.  Arit.  vol.  xi.  p.  9  ff.,  in  line  50  of  which  a  certain 
Domma  is  mentioned.  On  p.  10  of  the  same  volume,  Mr.  Fleet  says, 
with  reference  to  him,  "  In  connection  with  him  (Eudradeva),  the  first 
record  in  this  inscription  is  that  he  subdued  a  certain  Domma,  whose 
strength  evidently  lay  in  his  cavalry.  No  clue  is  given  as  to  who 
Domma  was  ;  but  as  doma,  domha,  or  dama,  is  the  name  of  '  a 
despised  mixed  caste,'  he  may  have  been  the  leader  of  some  abori- 
ginal tribe,  which  had  not  then  lost  all  its  power."  If  this  conjecture 
is  true,  it  would  show  that  the  Doms  extended  over  the  greater  part 
of  India,  and  in  some  places  possessed  considerable  power. 

But  the  resemblance  of  the  Bhoj'puri  and  Gypsy  dialects  is  not 
confined  to  a  similarity  of  name.  The  Gypsy  grammar  is  closely 
connected  with  Bhoj'piiri,  or  with  its  original  Apabhrariisa  Magadhi 
Prakrit,  thus : — 

Bhoj'puri.  Magadhi  Prakrit. 

Dom 

Dom  Domassa  or  ^ 

Domas      >  ^ 
Doman  Domaunam  J 

Domani 
kala 

1  See  The  Gypsies,  Boston,  1882,  pp.  333-335.  Also  The  Original  Gypsies  and  their 
Language,  Vienna,  1888. 

2  This  resemblance  is  not  apparent  to  non-Orientalists,  but  the  symbols  d  and  r  expressed 
originally  the  same  sound. — [Ed.] 


Nom. 
Obi.  Si7ig. 

Gypsy. 
Rom 
Romes 

Obi.  Pirn: 

Romen 

Nom. 

kalo,  '  black 

72 


pOMS,   JATS,    AND   THE   ORIGIN   OF   THE   GYPSIES. 


Gypsy. 

Bhoj'pdri. 

Obi 

kale 

kale 

Genitive  termina- 

tion of  Nouns 

and  Pronouns 

koro 

kar 

3rd  sing,  pres. 

lela,  '  he  takes ' 

lela 

2rd  sing  2^cist 

lelas,  '  he  was  taking ' 

lelas 

1st  sing.  fut. 

jav,  '  I  will  go ' 

jab  (or  jaba) 

Past  part. 

gelo,  '  gone ' 

gel  (or  gela) 

1st  sing.  fut. 

kama  kerava,  'I  will  do' 

karab  (or  karaba) 

Infinitive 

kerava,  '  to  do ' 

karab  (or  karaba) 

These  examples  might  be  continued  at  great  length,  but  the  above 
is  sufficient  to  show  the  close  grammatical  connection  between  the  two 
languages.  The  vocabularies  possess  even  more  numerous  points  of 
resemblance,  which  will  be  evident  to  any  one  comparing  the  two. 
The  following  mongrel  half-Gypsy,  half-English  rhyme,  taken  from 
Borrow,  will  show  the  extraordinary  similarity  of  the  two  voca- 
bularies : — 


Gypsy, 
English, 
Blwfpuri,    . 

The  Rye 
squire 
ray 

he  mores 
hunts 
mare 

adrey     the  wesh 

within            wood 

andal             bes'  {Pers.  besh) 

Gypsy, 
English, 
Bhofpuri,    . 

The  kaun-engro             and 
ear-fellow  (hare) 
kan-wala 

chiriclo 

bird 

chirain 

Gypsy, 
English, 
Blwfpuri,    . 

You  sovs  with 
sleep 
soe 

leste 
him 

'drey 

within 

andal 

the  wesh 
wood 
bes' 

Gypsy, 
English, 
BhofpUiri,    . 

And  rigs  for 
carries 

leste 
him 

the 

gono 

sack  (game-bag) 

gon 

Gypsy, 
English, 
Bhofpuri,    . 

Oprey 

Above 
upari 

the  rukh 

tree 

rukh 

adrey 

within 

andal 

the  wesh 
wood 
bes' 

Gypsy, 
English, 
BhofpUri,    . 

.  Are 

chiriclo 
male- bird 
chirain 

• 

and 

chiricli 

female-bird 

chirain 

• 

Gypsy, 
English, 
Bhofpuri,    . 

.  Tuley 
.  Below 
.  Tale 

the  rukh 
tree 
rukh 

adrey 

within 

andal 

the  wesh 
wood 
bes' 

Gypsy, 
English, 
BhofpUri,    . 

.  Are 

pireno 

lover 

piyara 

and 

pireni 

lady-love 

piyari 

The  termination  of  abstract  nouns  in  ])en  will  at  once  suggest  the 
Indian  Gaudian  pan,  which  comes  from  the  Skr.  tva  or  (Vaidik)  tvan, 


pOMS,    JATS,    AND    THE   ORIGIN    OF   THE    GYPSIES.  73 

through  the  Apabhraihsa  Prakrit  -pixtna  {Hemachandra,  iv.  437). 
The  Gypsy  sign  of  the  comparative  is  dcr,  Skr.  tara,  which  can 
become  dara  in  Magadhi  Prakrit  {Hem.  iv.  302).  On  the  verb  a 
whole  series  of  articles  might  be  written.  It  will  be  sufficient  to 
point  out  here  identities  like  the  following:  Skr.  sW^ds/^i,  Mag.  Pr, 
sunasi,  Bihari  sunas,  Gypsy  shiXncs,  "  thou  hearest ; "  Turkish  Gypsy 
jdld,  English  Gypsy /ft/a,  V>i\\»xi  j did,  "he  goes." 

This  last  is  in  both  Gypsy  and  Bihari  a  compound  tense,  and  the 
identity  is  specially  remarkable.  The  compound  is  in  India  peculiar 
to  Bihari,  and  is  only  used  in  Bhoj'piiri  or  the  Dialed  sjwkcn  hy 
Magaliiyd  JDoiiis,  and  in  no  other  dialect. 

The  pronouns  give  rise  to  many  suggestive  considerations.  The 
word  for  "  I "  is  me,  the  Bihari  men.  But  the  plural  men  or  mendi  is 
still  more  interesting.  A  reference  to  the  Turkish  Gypsy  shows  that 
this  was  originally  iXmcn  or  dmendi.  Amen  is  the  Bihari  liaman  or 
hamani,  "  we,"  but  how  are  we  to  account  for  the  form  dmendi  ?  Here 
again  Bhoj'puri  alone  gives  us  the  clue.  Hamcin  or  hamani  is  really 
an  old  genitive  plural,  the  Pnxkrit  amhdna  "  of  us,"  and  means 
"  (many)  of  us,"  hence  simply  "  we."  In  time,  however,  the  original 
meaning  became  forgotten,  and  the  word  was  considered  a  pure 
nominative  plural.  But  the  genius  of  the  Bihari  language,  differing 
from  that  of  the  more  Western  Gaudians,  seemed  to  demand  that  the 
nominative  plural  of  nouns  should  be  in  a  genitive  form,  and  so  the 
Bhoj'puri  dialect,  when  the  fact  became  forgotten  that  hamani  was 
really  a  genitive,  tacked  on  to  it  ngain  M,  the  sign  of  the  genitive, 
making  hamanikd,  which  again  means  "  (many)  of  us,"  "  we."  This 
is  a  peculiarity  of  the  Bhoj'puri  dialect  alone,  and  does  not  occur  in 
the  otlier  dialects.  Now  let  us  take  the  Gypsy  amendi  or  mendi. 
We  have  seen  that  the  element  amen  is  really  a  genitive.  I  believe 
that  di  is  also  the  sign  of  the  genitive  plural  from  the  Mag.  Pr.  kadd 
(Skr.  hritas),  just  as  the  to  in  esto  is  homkata  (Apabhrams'a,  nom. 
sing.  katu). 

The  Jat  theory  of  the  origin  of  the  Gypsies  may  be  stated  as 
follows  : — According  to  the  Shdh-Ndma,  the  Persian  monarch  Bahram 
Gaur  received  in  the  fifth  century  from  an  Indian  king  12,000 
musicians  who  were  known  as  Luris,  and  according  to  the  Majmu 
aiCt-Tawdrihh,  the  Luris  or  Lulis  {i.e.  Gypsies)  of  modern  Persia  are 
descendants  of  these.  The  historian  Hamza  Isfahani,  who  wrote  half 
a  century  before  Ferdiisi,  the  author  of  the  Shdh  Ndma,  however,  calls 
these  imported  musicians  Zutts,  and  the  Arabic  Dictionary  Al  QdmlXs 
has  the  following  entry:  "  Zutt,  arabicised  from  Jatt,  .a  people  of 
VOL.  I, — NO.  II.  F 


74  pOMS,   JATS,   AND   THE    ORIGIN   OF   THE   GYPSIES. 

Indian  origin."  Another  lexicon,  the  MuliU,  gives  the  same  informa- 
tion, and  adds  that  they  are  the  people  called  Nawar  in  Syria,  and 
that  they  are  musicians  and  dancers.  Zott,  as  the  author  writes  it,  is 
also  a  term  of  contempt.  "  You  Zotti  "  is  a  term  of  abuse.  Again, 
according  to  Istakri  and  Ibn  Haukal,  Arabic  geographers  of  the  tenth 
century,  the  fatherland  of  these  people  was  the  marshy  lands  of  the 
Indus  between  Al-Mansura  and  Makran. 

In  the  course  of  years  numbers  of  Zotts  settled  in  Persia, 
especially  in  the  regions  of  the  Lower  Tigris,  where  in  820  a.d.  they 
had  become  a  great  body  of  robbers  and  pirates.  Various  attempts 
were  made  to  subdue  them,  which  was  not  effected  till  834 ;  after 
which  they  were  conveyed  away  to  Ainzarba,  on  the  northern  frontier 
of  Syria,  In  855,  according  to  Tdbari,  the  Byzantines  attacked 
Ainzarba,  and  carried  off  the  Zott  prisoners  with  them  to  their  own 
country.  In  this  way  we  have  the  entry  of  the  Gypsies  into  Europe 
accounted  for. 

Now,  though  it  is  possible  that  the  Gypsies  of  Europe  are 
descended  from  these  Zotts  who  were  imported  into  the  Greek 
Empire,  and  that  they  are  the  same  as  the  Lurts  or  Persian  Gypsies, 
there  appear  to  me  to  be  two  most  important  flaws  in  the  chain  by 
which  it  is  attempted  to  connect  Gypsies  with  the  Jats  (or  Jatts,  as 
they  are  always  called  there)  of  Sindh. 

First,  there  is  the  point  of  language. 

It  is  admitted  by  the  advocates  of  the  Jat  theory  that  there  is  "  a 
great  unlikeness  between  Eomani  and  Jataki "  (the  Jat  dialect),  but 
they  argue  that "  language  does  not  form  an  infallible  test  of  pedigree. 
There  are  several  Gypsy  populations  by  w^hom  the  language  of  the 
Eomani  has  been  forgotten ;  and  everywhere  the  tendency  among 
Gypsies  of  the  present  day  is  to  relinquish  their  ancestral  speech  " 
(MacPtitchie,  Gypsies  of  India,  p.  82). 

To  this  the  answer  is  not  far  to  seek.  h\  the  first  place,  though 
the  language  test  may  not  be  infallible,  it  is  a  very  powerful  one,  and 
throws  much  doubt  on  any  theory  to  which  it  gives  an  unfavourable 
reaction.  The  Gypsies  of  the  present  day  undoubtedly  speak  an 
Indian  language,  and  that  language  is  not,  in  any  way,  nearly  con- 
nected with  Jataki,  so  that  if  we  adopt  the  theory  quoted  above,  we 
must  also  adopt  the  utterly  impossible  assumption  that  the  Jats  left 
India  speaking  Jataki,  and  in  the  course  of  their  wanderings  over 
Asia  and  Europe,  while  they  were  being  or  had  been  scattered  into 
a  number  of  independent  tribes,  gave  up  their  own  language,  and 
exchanged  it,  not  for  the  languages  of  their  new  homes,  but  all  of 


JJOMS,    JATS,    AND   THE   ORIGIN    OF   THE    GYPSIES.  75 

them  for  one  certain  definite  language  of  India  which  they  had  left 
centuries  before. 

We  have  not  only  to  assume  this,  but  that  clans  scattered  over 
Western  Asia,  and  perhaps  over  Europe,  all  fortuitously  agreed  to 
adopt  the  same  Indian  language,  though  all  communication  between 
them  was  barred. 

But,  even  admitting  that  the  test  of  language  when  considered 
alone  is  not  in  this  case  infallible,  it  becomes  so  if  we  consider  the 
circumstances  which  attended  the  importation  from  India  of  these 
12,000  Zotts  or  Lviris.  Ferdusi  says  distinctly  that  they  were  12,000 
musicians  of  both  sexes,  and  the  author  of  the  MiVdt  adds  that  they 
were  dancers,  and  contemptible.  I  am  at  a  loss  to  understand  how  so 
large  a  number  of  degraded  persons  could  be  found  amongst  those 
from  whom  were  descended  the  brave  defenders  of  Bharatpur.  With 
all  due  deference  to  the  authors  of  the  Arabic  Dictionary  above 
referred  to,  it  is  impossible  that  these  people  can  have  been  Jats. 

The  Jats  are  one  of  the  highest  castes  of  India.  They  claim  to 
be,  after  the  Efyputs,  one  of  the  purest  tribes  of  Kshattriyas  (Monier 
V(i\\\dim?i, Hinduism,^.  161),  and  any  one  with  the  smallest  acquaint- 
ance with  the  Indian  caste  system  can  understand  that  a  huge  band 
of  professional  singers  and  dancers,  men  and  women,  could  never 
have  come  from  a  Kshattriya  tribe. 

In  spite,  therefore,  of  the  authority  of  Pott,  of  Trumpp,  and  of 
De  Goeje,  I  am  unable  to  accept  the  theory  that  the  descent  of  the 
Gypsies  from  the  Jats  is  proved,  even  if  we  admit  that  the  former 
are  descended  from  the  Zotts  or  Luris  of  Arabic  and  Persian  writers. 

I  am  informed  by  Captain  E.  C.  Temple  that  throughout  India 
the  Jats  or  Jatts  number  five  and  a  half  millions,  but  there  are  Jats 
and  Jats,  at  any  rate  in  the  Paiijab,  and  the  Jatt  of  the  Lower  Indus, 
Sindh,  and  the  Derajat  district  differs  as  widely  as  can  well  be 
imagined  from  the  Jat  of  Bharatpur,  and  the  Jatt  of  the  ruling  Sikh 
families  of  the  Panjab.  In  the  latter  cases  he  is  a  fine  specimen  of 
humanity,  but  in  the  former  exactly  the  reverse.  All  along  the 
Indus  "  Jatt "  is  a  term  of  contempt,  and  implies  roughly,  any  agri- 
cultural Muhammedan  tribe  which  is  not  of  the  Locally  superior  sort 
— i.e.  which  is  not  Sayyid,  Baloch,  Pathan,  or  Quresh.  This  remark 
applies  more  or  less  also  to  the  Salt  Eange  District,  the  Lower  Chiiiab 
and  Jhelam,  and  to  Sindh  itself  Ibbetson's  Etlinogra'pliy  of  the  Panjdh, 
§§  420  to  -i-iO,  is  the  best  contribution  to  the  subject ;  compare  also 
O'Brien's  Settlement  Re][jort  of  the  3Inzc(Jfarf/arh  District.  Captain 
Temple  tliinks  the  above  use  of  the  term  Jatt  may  possibly  account 


76  pOMf^,    JATS,    AND    THE    ORIGIN    OF    THE    GYPSIES. 

for  the  spread  westwards  of  such  a  term  as  Zutts,  to  signify  an 
inferior  class  of  foreis^ners,  thousjli  it  would  arsjue  nothing  as  to  their 
real  racial  origin. 

I  have  already  stated  my  opinion  that  the  language  test  points  to 
an  Indian  tribe  speaking  a  dialect  derived  from  ]\Iagadhi,  and  not 
from  Sauraseni  Prakrit,  and  that,  therefore,  it  is  in  Eastern  Hindustan 
that  we  must  look  for  their  ancestors.  I  have  further  pointed  out 
the  extreme  probability  of  the  criminal  tribe  known  as  the  Magahiya 
Poms  (who,  by  the  way,  are  great  musicians,  singers,  and  dancers), 
being  descended  from  the  same  stock  as  the  Gypsies.  I  may  note 
here  a  word  quoted  by  ]\Tr.  MacEitchie  from  Mr.  Leland,  which  lends 
a  singular  confirmation  to  the  theory.  It  is  the  Gypsy  term  for 
bread,  which  is  mdnro  or  raanro.  This  is  usually  connected  either  with 
the  Gaudian  mdiir,  rice  gruel,  or  with  maiirud,  the  millet  (Meusine 
coracana).  Neither  of  these  agrees  with  the  idea  of  bread,  but  in  the 
jNIagahi  dialect  of  Bihari  spoken  south  of  the  Ganges,  in  the  native 
land  of  these  ]\Iagahiya  Doms,  there  is  a  peculiar  word  mandd  or 
mdrird,  which  means  wheat  (the  change  from  mandd  to  mdnrd  is 
quite  regular),  whence  the  transition  to  the  Gypsy  mdnro,  bread,  is 
eminentlv  natural.  G.  A.  GRiErvSOX. 


III.— THE  CASCAPtEOTS  OP  CIBOUEE. 
(Communicated  to  the  Editoes  by  the  Eey,  Wentworth  Webstek.) 

I  CAN  add  very  little  to  the  information  on  the  Gypsies  in  the 
Pays  Basque  given  by  MM.  Pr.  Michel,  Cenac-Moncaut,  Baud- 
rimont,  and  De  Eochas.  The  following  remarks  are  of  value  only 
as  independent  confirmatory  evidence  of  the  same  facts. 

On  November  24,  1870,  I  had  a  long  conversation  with  M.  and 
Mde.  Darramboure,  former  Mayor  of  Ciboure,  a  suburb  of  St.  Jean 
de  Luz,  on  the  subject  of  the  Cascarrotac,  the  mingled  Basque  and 
Gypsy  population.  The  notes  which  I  made  at  the  time,  writing 
down  in  English  tlie  Prencli  of  M.  and  Mde.  Darramboure,  are  as 
follows.  I  may  add  that  jM.  Darramboure  was  then  upwards  of 
eighty,  but  with  all  his  mental  faculties  fully  alive.  Mde.  Darram- 
boure was  slightly  younger  ;  both  are  long  since  dead : — 

The  archives  of  the  Mairie  of  Ciboure  date  only  from  1763,  con- 
sequently they  give  no  information  respecting  the  arrival  and  estab- 
lishment of  the  Cascarrotac  at  Ciboure,     ^I.  Darramboure  supposes 


THE   CASCAKROTS    OF   CIBOUKE.  77 

them  to  have  come  from  Spain,  and  about  two  hundred  years  ago. 
The  priests  formerly  marked  in  the  registers,  in  tlie  margin,  baptism 
or  marriage  of  a  Cascarrot,  or  Bohemian,  but  do  so  no  longer.  The 
population  of  Ciboure  confounded  them  with  the  Agots  (the  Basque 
equivalent  of  Cagots),  though  the  Agots  were  fair,  and  the  Cascarrots 
dark.  In  the  youth  of  I\I.  and  Mde.  Darramboure  they  still  preserved 
some  words  of  their  own  language  (Debla,  the  sun  ;  mamhrim,  bread  ; 
harraha,  meat ;  ^;it?'o,  old  man ;  bramhal,  tempest,  were  remembered 
by  Mde.  Darramboure) ;  now  they  have  almost  entirely  lost  it.  The 
Hungarian  Gypsies,  who  passed  througli  St.  Jean  de  Luz  in  1868  and 
1870,  and  the  Cascarrots  could  not  understand  each  other.^ 

They  were  once  far  more  numerous  at  Ciboure  than  at  present, 
and  inhabited  the  whole  quartier  of  Bordegain.  Some  of  the  men  are 
horse-dealers,  others  make  baskets  and  weave,  but  many  are  fisher- 
men and  sailors ;  they  fish  more  with  the  line  than  the  others,  and 
from  the  shore.  They  are  courageous,  and  more  industrious  than  the 
Basques.  They  intermarried  first  with  the  Spaniards,  and  afterwards 
with  the  Basques  of  the  neighbourhood,  and  are  now  quite  mixed 
with  them.  Occasionally  in  the  mixed  marriages  the  pure  Gypsy  type 
occurs  in  individuals,  even  where  the  Basque  parent  is  fair.  They 
used  to  live  without  religion ;  if  they  had  any  of  their  own  at  their 
first  arrival,  iliey  had  forgotten  it ;  bat  little  by  little  they  have 
become  Catholics,  and  are  now  more  fond  of  the  services  than  the 
other  Basques.  No  missionary,  or  other  person,  is  known  as  their 
convcrtisseur.  When  the  Basques  buried  in  their  churches  (as  they 
did  before  the  Ee volution),  the  Cascarrots  were  always  buried  outside; 
at  present  both  are  buried  together  in  the  cemeteries. 

Thus  far  ]\I.  Darramboure. 

I  have  heard  since,  on  good  authority,  that  the  late  aged  cure 
of  Ciboure  once  had  representations  made  to  him  by  the  Vicar- 
General,  on  the  part  of  a  new  Bishop  of  Bayonne,  instigated  by  some 
pious  ladies,  summer  visitants  to  Ciboure,  who  were  sliocked  by  the 
freedom  of  manner  and  the  gay  dressing  of  this  part  of  his  congrega- 
tion at  church,  and  at  their  fondness  for  dancing,  etc.  The  old  cure 
listened  without  saying  a  word  till  the  discourse  was  ended,  then  he 

1  The  late  Dr.  De  'Roclias  (wbo,  it  may  be  mentioned,  was  personally  acquainted  with  Mr. 
Webster,  and  who  looked  over  the  notes  now  published),  admits  that  the  Cascarrots  have 
still  enough  of  their  original  language  to  prove  their  right  to  call  themselves  the  descendants 
of  "  Romanichels."  His  account  was  published  in  1876.  But  he  points  out  that,  of  the  35'J 
"Basque-Gypsy"  words  collected  by  M.  Baudriniont  in  1S5S,  partly  from  his  own  experience 
and  partly  from  the  lists  of  Michel  and  others,  a  consideralde  number  are  repetitions,  while 
others  are  clearly  Basque,  Spanish,  Fi'ench,  and  slang.  Nevertheless,  most  of  the  words  are 
genuine  Romani. — Ed. 


78  THE   CASCARROTS   OF   CIBOURE. 

spoke  deliberately  to  this  effect :  "  1  know  my  people  well ;  I  go  round 
among  tliem.  These  girls  often  marry  well.  I  see  their  rooms  are 
kept  neater  and  cleaner  than  the  others  ;  they  are  furnished  with 
more  taste,  and  have  nice  flowers  in  them.  My  visits  are  welcome. 
They  make  their  husbands  happy,  and  glad  to  stay  at  home,  and  not 
go  to  the  cabarets  (public-houses) ;  and  as  long  as  I  see  they  make 
their  husbands  and  homes  happy,  I  will  not  speak  to  them  about  their 
dress  and  dancing."  The  cure  was  not  in  very  good  odour  at  the 
Eveche,  afterwards,  but  no  more  representations  were  made  to  him. 

My  own  observations  on  the  above  are,  that  the  passage  of  the 
Hungarian  Gypsies,  or  Gypsies  from  Eastern  Europe,  alluded  to  by 
M.  Darramboure  in  1868-70,  is  a  recurring  fact  every  two  or  three 
years.  I  left  St.  Jean  de  Luz  in  1881,  but  for  some  time  before  that 
I  had  been  ill,  and  a  band  may  easily  have  passed  without  my  being 
aware  of  it;  but  there  were  at  least  two  other  bands  between  1870 
and  1880,  one — I  believe,  in  1872.  Their  route  seems  to  be,  as  far  as 
I  have  been  able  to  trace  it,  vid  Paris,  Bordeaux,  Bayonne,  St.  Jean 
de  Luz,  Hendaye,  through  Spain  quite  to  the  south,  and  returning  by 
the  eastern  extremity  of  the  Pyrenees,  by  Barcelona  and  Perpignan. 
M.  de  Eochas  appears  to  have  met  one  of  these  bands  at  Perpignan, 
in  July  1875  (cf.  Les  Farias  de  France  et  d'Espagne,  par  V.  de  Kochas, 
p.  259  ;  Hachette,  Paris,  1876).  These  bands  follow  always  the 
same  route,  and  encamp  on  the  same  spots.  When  at  St.  Jean  de 
Luz  they  make  an  apparently  useless  visit  to  Ascaiu,  a  village  about 
five  miles  off  their  road,  returning  to  St.  Jean  de  Luz.  They  are 
evidently  well  off,  with  good  carts,  wagons,  horses,  and  utensils ; 
many  of  them  wear  silver  ear-rings  and  ornaments.  Their  trade, 
mending  the  copper  vessels  in  the  neighbourhood,  seems  to  me  to  be 
a  mere  pretence ;  it  cannot  pay  the  expenses  of  the  journey.  What 
is  the  reason  of  this  migration  ?  Once  I  was  standing  with  a  Basque 
fisherman,  watching  their  arrival,  when  the  chief  of  the  band  ad- 
dressed him  in  Basque,  and  the  conversation  went  on  between  them 
in  that  language.  When  it  had  ceased,  I  asked  the  fisherman,  whom 
I  knew  well,  how  the  man  spoke  Basque.  The  reply  was  curt : — 
"  He  speaks  it  as  well  as  I  do."  Afterwards  I  tried  to  draw  out  the 
Gypsy,  but  he  evaded  my  questions.  "  We  pick  up  languages  along 
the  road.  He  had  never  been  in  the  neighbourhood  before,"  etc. 
These  I  believe  to  have  been  falsehoods.  I  must,  however,  add,  that 
I  have  known  Basque  scholars  learn  Magyar,  and  Hungarians  Basque, 
with  unusual  facility.  Still  the  question  remains  :  "  What  is  the 
object  of  these  journeys  ? " — a  question  for  your  Society  to  answer. 


THE  CASCARROTS  OF  CIBOURE.  79 

The  testimony  of  M.  and  Mde.  Darramboure,  and  of  the  late  cure 
of  Cibonre,  all  three  Basques,  to  the  good  qualities  of  the  Cascarrots 
seems  to  me  to  be  of  great  importance.  No  people  surpass  the 
Basques  in  pride  of  race,  and  they  would  certainly  not  attribute 
superior  qualities  to  another  people  unless  they  really  possessed 
them.  I  have  heard  from  others  that  the  Cascarrots  first  introduced 
line-fishing  at  St.  Jean  de  Luz  and  Ciboure.  I  have  also  personally 
remarked  cases  of  the  atavism  mentioned  ;  one  was  very  striking ;  in 
another  case  the  Gypsy  type  appeared  in  one  only  of  a  family,  not  a 
trace  of  it  appearing  in  the  others.  The  lower  class  of  the  Cascarrot 
women  are  slovenly  and  dirty  in  their  dress  and  person  ordinarily ; 
but  show  a  sense  of  colour  and  taste  on  fete-days,  etc. :  they  are 
exceedingly  voluble,  use  much  gesture,  sing  at  the  top  of  their  voices, 
and  are  more  fond  of  the  Spanish  fandango  than  of  the  Basque 
dances.  I  never  saw  a  man  pass  a  more  unpleasant  quarter  of  an 
hour  than  a  Madrid  footman,  or  upper  servant,  did  in  a  third-class 
railway  carriage  between  St.  Jean  de  Luz  and  Bayonne.  Several 
Cascarrot  women  and  girls  had  come  in  at  St.  Jean  de  Luz  with  their 
fish.  As  usual,  they  were  talking  loudly,  singing,  gesticulating,  all  in 
high  spirits,  when  the  Spaniard  remarked  in  Spanish  (evidently  think- 
ing that  he  would  not  be  understood  by  them)  to  his  neighbour, 
"  What  savages  they  are ! "  The  women  and  girls  flew  on  him  at 
once,  clambering  over  the  seats,  gesticulating  wildly,  shaking  their 
fists  in  his  face,  screaming  out  a  torrent  of  abuse  and  cutting  wit 
against  him,  and  his  nation,  and  all  his  belongings,  in  four  languages, 
Basque,  French,  Spanish,  and  Gascoun,  often  jumbling  two  or  more 
in  the  same  sentence,  defiant  of  grammar  of  any  kind,  all  shouting  at 
once,  and  without  any  intermission,  till  we  arrived  at  Bayonne.  The 
man  at  first  thought  he  would  be  thrown  out  of  the  carriage  ;  but  the 
spectators  knew  that  the  women  would  not  really  touch  him,  and 
they  laughed  till  they  could  laugh  no  longer.  These  Cascarrots  and 
the  Basque  fisherwomen,  before  the  railway  from  Bayonne  was  made, 
used  to  show  wonderful  speed  and  endurance  in  carrying  their  fish 
on  their  heads  to  sell  at  Bayonne.  Bare-footed  and  bare-legged,  with 
petticoats  girt  up,  they  went  along  with  a  kind  of  dancing  run,^  and 

1  This  peculiar  "  dancing  run  "  recalls  the  following  statements  by  M.  Michel  (Le  Pays 
Basqiw,  Paris  1857,  pp.  138-9,  note  :  "  In  Basque,  the  word  Cascarrotac  denotes,  strictly 
speaking,  a  class  of  mountebanks,  or,  at  any  rate,  of  young  people  who,  in  fetes,  triumphal 
processions,  and  escorts  of  honour,  are  chosen  to  lead  the  way,  dancing  as  they  go.  .  .  . 
When  the  Orleanist  princes  returned  from  Spain,  their  can'iage  was  preceded  by  Cascarrots, 
who  leaped  and  danced  all  the  road  from  Saint  Jean  de  Luz  to  Bayonne.  In  1660,  when 
Louis  XIV.,  coming  to  his  wedding,  arrived  at  the  first  of  these  towns,  a  band  of  Crascabilaire 
dancers,  placing  themselves  in  front  of  the  king's  horses,  danced  to  the  sound  of  small,  round 


80  THE    CASCAllUOTS   OF    ClBOUltE. 

covered  the  "rouud  at  an  extraordinary  rate.  Biarritz  is  nine  miles 
from  St.  Jean  de  Luz  by  the  most  direct  road,  and  few  short  cuts  can 
be  made :  in  a  wager  between  Englishmen  some  twenty  years  ago,  a 
Cascarrot  woman  delivered  at  Biarritz  a  written  message  a  few 
minutes  within  the  hour  after  starting  from  St.  Jean  de  Luz.  The 
woman  was  not  aware  of  the  bet ;  but  was  told  only  that  it  was  a 
most  urgent  case,  and  that  she  must  go  as  fast  as  possible.  I  do  not 
know  that  the  Cascarrots  much  excelled  the  Basques  in  this ;  the 
latter  are  wonderful  walkers ;  but  they  certainly  were  not  inferior. 
It  is  allowed  by  all  that  they  are  now  more  zealous  in  keeping  up 
traditionary  religious  customs,  such  as  those  of  Christmas,  Epiphany, 
Corpus  Christi,  St.  John's  Day,  etc.,  than  the  Basques  themselves. 

bells  and  dnims,  and  performed  the  national  dance.  .  .  .  Lastly,  in  1701,  during  the  fetes 
occasioned  by  the  visit  of  Philip  v.  to  Bayonne,  great  praise  was  given — according  to  the 
municipal  records  cited  by  Beylac  (Xouvelle  Chroniqiie  de  Bayonne,  p.  193) — to  a  troop  of 
Basque  dancers,  who,  wearing  a  number  of  little  bells  and  accompanied  by  the  tambourine, 
performed  marvels,  dancing  and  capering  in  an  extraordinary  manner." 

A  parallel  instance  to  these  is  that  of  the  English  jester  and  mountebank  Kemp,  who,  in 
the  year  1599,  danced  a  morris  from  London  to  Norwich,  a  feat  which  it  took  him  nine  days 
to  accomi)lish.  Kemp  styled  himself  "  head-master  of  Morrice-dauncers/'  and,  in  the  wood- 
cut prefaced  to  his  J\'ine  Bates  Wonder  (London,  1600  ;  reproduced  by  the  Camden  Society, 
London,  1840),  one  sees  that  he  wore  the  dress  and  bells  of  the  Morris-dancer.  Moreover, 
that  woodcut  shows  that  "Thomas  Slye  my  Taberer,"  who  accompanied  him,  played  upon 
the  small,  one-handed  drum,  or  tambour,  and  with  the  other  hand  manipulated  the  flageolet, 
exactly  in  the  fashion  of  the  Jiujlars  in  the  Eastern  Pyrenees  at  the  present  day,  which  is 
akin  to  the  Basque  fashion  (although  the  "  tambour  "  of  the  latter  people  is  a  six-stringed 
instrument ;  not  a  small  drum,  as  in  the  other  two  instances).  What  Kemp  danceil  was,  of 
course,  the  Morisco  or  Morris-dance  ;  and  it  is  clear  that  this  was  the  dance  of  the  Cascarrots. 
Indeed,  the  Morris-dance  is  understood  to  have  come  to  England  from  Spain,  and  to  be  so 
named  because  it  was  a  dance  of  Mvors,  a  term  once  applied  to  any  dark-skinned  people ; 
and,  indeed,  applied  to  Gyjisies  of  the  fifteenth  century  by  a  Scottisli  writer. 

Though  Kemp  is  not  stated  to  have  been  dark-skinned,  either  l:>y  nature  or  by  art,  we 
learn  through  Douce  {Illustrations  of  Shakesjxare,  vol.  ii.  pp.  434  et  seq  ,  London,  1807) 
"that  the  Morris-dancers  usually  blackened  their  faces  with  soot,  that  they  might  the  better 
l)ass  for  Moors."  Also  that  a  sixteenth-century  Frenchman,  in  describing  the  "  uncori-upted 
Morris-dance,"  "relates  that  in  his  youthful  days  it  was  the  custom  in  good  societies  for  a 
boy  to  come  into  the  hall,  when  supj)er  was  finished,  with  his  face  blackened,  his  forehead 
bound  with  wliite  or  yellow  taffeta,  and  bells  tied  to  his  legs.  He  then  proceeded  to  dance 
the  Morisco,  the  whole  length  of  the  hall,  backwards  and  forwards,  to  the  great  amusement 
of  the  company."  From  which  evidence  it  is  clear  that  the  "uncorrupted  '^iovr'is-dnncers  " 
were  people  of  a  swarthy  comiDlexion. 

Douce  gives  several  fifteenth-century  references  to  this  dance.  One  of  these  states  that 
"  at  a  splendid  feast  given  by  Gaston  de  Foix  at  Vendome  in  1458,  '  foure  yong  laddes  and  a 
damosell  attired  like  savages  daunced  (by  good  direction)  an  excellent  Morisco,  before  the 
assembly.'"  He  adds  that  "Coquillart,  a  French  poet,  who  wrote  about  1470,  says  that  the 
Swiss  danced  the  Morisco  to  the  beat  of  the  drum."  He  also  quotes  these  lines  from  Shake- 
speare (2nd  Pt.  KiH(/  Henry  Sixth,  in.  1)  :  — 

" .         .        .        I  have  seen  him 
Caper  upright  like  a  wild  Morisco, 
Shaking  the  bloody  darts,  as  he  his  bells." 

All  these  extracts  tend  to  show  that  the  original  dance  of  the  Cascarrots  was  the  Morris, 
or  Moorish  dance  ;  so  called  by  other  Europeans  because  it  was  the  peculiar  dance  of  a  dark- 
skinned  people.  Of  course,  the  "  dancing  run  "  of  the  modern  Cascan-ot  fishwomen  must  be 
something  less  ornate  and  much  more  practical  than  that  for  which  their  forefathers  were 
distinguished. — Ed. 


THE   CASCAKKOTS   OF   GIBOURE.  81 

The  neighbourhood  of  St.  Jean  de  Luz  has  been  the  scene  of  more 
than  one  epidemic  of  witchcraft,  and  I  have  heard  many  tales  of 
witches ;  but  in  none  do  the  Cascarrots  figure.  Two  of  the  tales  of 
my  Basque  Legends  (Griffith  and  Farran,  1879)  were  obtained  from  the 
Cascarrots ;  i.e.  Laurentine  Kopena,  a  beggar  woman,  after  she  had 
exhausted  her  own  budget,  went  at  my  request  and  learned  these 
tales  from  the  Cascarrots;  i\\Qj  2irQ  Ass -sJdn  (pp.  158-61),  and  the 
one  alluded  to  on  pp.  191-2  ;  both  have  evidently  passed  through  the 
French.  One  of  tlie  richest  of  the  Cascarrots  at  Ciboure,  since  dead, 
was  popularly  called  the  King  of  the  Cascarrots.  I  knew  him  by 
sight,  but  I  doubt  if  lie  possessed  any  real  authority  whatever; 
hospitable  to  the  rest  he  certainly  was.  His  property  has  since  been 
sold,  and  I  ha^'e  not  heard  of  any  successor  to  the  pseudo-title.  As 
to  the  etymology  or  signification  of  the  word  Cascarrotac,  I  can  give 
no  explanation.  Dr.  Guilbeau,  Mayor  of  St.  Jean  de  Luz,  himself  a 
Basc|ue,  makes  it  equivalent  to  Cast'  Agotac,  meaning,  I  suppose,  the 
Cagot-caste  or  race ;  but  I  should  consider  this  doubtful.^ 

There  is  a  strange  story,  which  I  have  often  been  assured  is 
founded  on  fact,  but  of  which  I  have  not  been  able  to  procure  an 
original  authentic  narrative,  alluded  to  by  Dr.  de  Eoclias  (p.  251),  and 
of  which  a  distorted  literary  version  is  given  in  tales  iii.  and  iv.  of  the 
anonymous  Bomancero  du  Bays  Basque  (Paris,  1859),  written  really 
by  Fr.  Michel.  It  deals  with  a  case  of  seduction,  and  a  Gypsy,  chief 
of  a  band  of  smugglers,  who  afterwards  turned  hermit ;  but  the  facts 
are  very  obscure.  The  hillside  at  the  foot  of  which  the  railway  now 
runs  on  both  sides  of  the  Biarritz  station,  above  the  small  lakes 
Brindos  and  Mouriscot,  has  been  pointed  out  formerly  to  me  as  a 
favourite  camping-ground  of  Bohemiens,  and  the  scene  of  many  con- 
flicts, with  stones  put  up  to  mark  the  spots  where  victims  had  been 
murdered.  I  have  also  found  orders  at  the  end  of  the  last  century 
and  beginning  of  this  for  the  expulsion  of  these  Bohemiens  thence. 
During  the  first  Carlist  war  Gypsies  are  said  to  have  attacked  the 
Carlist  contrabandistas  who  were  conveying  treasure  over  the  frontier ; 
"mil  they  were  easily  repulsed.  In  general,  they  are  accused  rather  of 
petty  pilfering  than  of  open  robbery  with  violence.  Like  Dr.  de 
Eochas,  I  have  heard  wonder  expressed  by  the  peasants  as  to  where 
the  real  Gypsies  used  to  bury  their  dead. 

In  the  Mascarades,  still  represented  at  Tardetz  in  La  Soule,  during 

'  M.  Bataillard,  in  his  letter  Sur  les  Origines  des  Bohemiens,  Paris,  1875  (p.  7,  note  2), 
asks,  with  reference  to  this  name,  "  Onght  we  to  see  in  it  a  memory  oi  Kaskar,  that  town 
and  province  of  earlier  Asia  where  the  deported  Zotts  made  a  long  stay  (see  De  Goeje, 
pp.  8-11  and  13)?    The  thing  is  possible  ;  but  I  do  not  go  so  far  as  to  assert  it." — Ed. 


82  THE   CASCARROTS   OF   CIBOURE. 

the  Carnival,  among  the  animal  and  character  dances,  the  Bouhame- 
jaounac,  the  king  of  the  Gypsies,  and  his  company,  are  represented. 
An  excellent  account  of  this  Mascarade  is  given  by  Augustin  Chaho, 
a  learned  Basque,  a  native  of  Tardetz,  in  vol.  ii.  of  his  Biarritz,  entre 
les  Pyrenees  et  V Ocean  (Bayonne,  n.d. ;  1850-60  ?).  The  king  carries  a 
wooden  sword,  marked  with  charred  stripes,  and  they  have  a  tradi- 
tional song,  air,  and  dance  to  themselves.  A  wooden  sword  appears 
also  at  the  opposite  extremity  of  the  Basque  territory,  though  without 
any  connection  with  the  Gypsies.  This  singular  ceremony  is  observed 
at  Vitoria  (Alava)  at  the  election  of  a  new  Sindico,  or  Mayor.  "  After 
he  has  taken  the  oath  in  the  same  way  as  the  other  municipal 
councillors,  he  takes  another  very  solemn  one  outside  the  Church  of 
St.  Michael,  on  the  spot  where  the  cutlass  of  Vitoria  {d  machete 
Vitoriano)  is  kept.  In  a  little  hollow  in  the  wall  at  the  back  of  the 
church  there  is  a  wooden  knife  (cuchillo  de  madera),  before  which  he 
takes  a  fresh  oath  in  presence  of  the  whole  population,  and  of  the 
newly  elected  municipal  councillors.  The  oath  contains  the  formula 
that  his  head  should  be  cut  off  with  a  knife,  similar  to  the  cutlass,  if 
he  did  not  fulfil  his  obligations ;  and  after  he  had  taken  it,  the  pro- 
curador,  preceded  by  his  servants,  kissed  the  cutlass  to  the  sound  of 
drums  and  trumpets.  When  this  singular  ceremony  was  ended,  the 
Secretary  of  the  municipality  stood  up  and  read  with  a  loud  voice 
the  powers  which  the  city  granted  to  the  Sindico  for  the  defence  of 
its  rights  and  privileges."  (Historia  dc  la  Legislacion  de  Espaiia,  by 
the  Marquis  de  Montesa  and  Cayetano  Maurique,  vol.  ii.  p.  522  ; 
Madrid,  1868).  Prof.  J.  Ehys,  in  his  Celtic  Britain,  p.  258 
(S.  P.  C.  K.,  1882),  speaks  of  a  national  devotion  of  the  Irish  to  the 
sword,  which  weapon  they  regarded  as  inspired  and  capable,  among 
other  things,  of  giving  the  lie  to  the  perjurer. 

Perhaps  this  is  wide  of  my  subject,  but  your  Society  may  possibly 
like  to  investigate  the  question  whether  there  is  any  connection 
between  this  cultc  of  the  sword  among  these  three  peoples. 

The  Gypsies  have  also  amalgamated  with  the  Basques  at  St. 
Palais  (Basses  Pyrenees),  and,  I  believe,  near  Bilbao ;  but  I  have  no 
information  to  give  of  these  from  personal  inquiry. 

[In  a  subsequent  letter,  Mr.  Webster  makes  the  following 
remarks  with  regard  to  Cascarrot  and  Basque  dances  :— 

"  The  subject  of  Dances  in  the  Pays  Basque  and  in  Las  Provincias 
Vascongadas  is  a  very  important  one.  .  .  •  The  chief  and  all  the  most 
characteristic  of  the  Basque  dances  are  danced  by  meii  only.    Among 


THE    CASCARROTS    OF    CIBOUKE.  83 


the  Cascarrots,  it  is  the  women  and  girls  who  dance  more  than 
the  men,  either  among  themselves  or  with  the  men.  This,  I  think, 
marks  a  real  distinction.  In  very  few  of  the  old  Basque  dances  did 
the  women  join :  most  were  for  men  alone.  In  modern  dances 
learned  from  French  or  Spaniards  both  sexes  join ;  but  I  have  never 
seen,  away  from  the  influence  of  towns,  any  Basque  girl,  or  girls, 
dance  the  Fandango  in  public,  as  the  Cascarrot  girls  are  fond  of 
doing. 

"The  dance  before  I'liilip  v.  in  1701  (referred  to  in  preceding 
foot-note,  p.  80)  was  probably  the  Pampcrruque,  the  official  dance  of 
Bayonne,  which  was  danced  as  a  kind  of  serenade  before  distin- 
guished persons  passing  through  Bayonne.  There  is  a  very  odd  and 
distorted  account  of  it  in  Madame  d'Aulnoy's  Memoirs."  (From  which 
statement  we  may  suggest  that  possibly  the  official  dance  of  Bayonne 
was  identical  with  that  known  elsewhere  as  the  Morisco.  The  little 
bells,  which  accompanied  the  dances  of  1660  and  1701,  are  specially 
characteristic  of  the  Morisco,  or  Morris-dance.) 

Mr.  AYebster  also  adds  these  observations : — 

"  I  can  never  form  the  least  explanation  to  myself  why  the 
Gypsies  coalesce  with  the  Basques  rather  than  with  other  races,  such 
as  Spaniards  and  Gascons;  hut  the  fact  is  so.  .  .  . 

"It  is,  I  think,  only  in  the  8vo  editions  of  Cenac-Moncaut's 
Histoire des Pyr6n4es,  etc.  (4  vols.,  Paris,  Amyot,  1853-55),  that  you  will 
find  the  vocabulary  and  songs  of  the  Cascarrots  of  Ciboure.  These 
are  omitted  (and  much  else)  in  the  subsequent  12mo  editions  of  the 
work,  .  .  .  There  is  somewhere  in  the  Bulletin  of  the  Socidtd  Raw.ond 
(Bagneres  de  Bigorre)  a  paper  on  the  Gypsies  of  the  Basses  and 
Hautes  Pyrenees  by  the  late  M.  E.  Frossard,  Pasteur.  He  deals 
chiefly  with  the  moral  side  of  the  question ;  but  he  knew  the  Pyrenees 
and  the  country  well." 

It  is  from  M.  Cenac-Moncaut's  book  that  M.  Michel  has  taken 
several  of  the  words  in  his  Basque-Gypsy  list;  and  the  former 
lumself  announces  that  he  is  indebted  for  his  words  and  soncrs  "  to 
the  patient  researches  of  M.  Sansberro,  who  obtained  them  from  the 
Cascarrotac  of  Ciboure,  a  people  of  Gypsy  origin,  now  blended  with 
the  rest  of  the  Basque  population."  Besides  those  words  which  he 
procured  from  C^nac-Moncaut,  Michel  had  copied  the  list  given  in 
"  Le  Moyen  Age  et  la  Renaissance,  sect,  des  Moeurs  et  usages  de  la  vie 
civile,  chap.  BoMmiens^  Tnendiants,  gueux,  cours  des  miracles,  fob  x." 
None  of  Michel's  words  appear  to  have  been  collected  by  himself. 


84  THE    CASCAKROTS    OF   CIBOURE. 

Baudrimont,  agaiu  ( Vocabulaire  de  la  Langue  dcs  BoMmiens 
habitant  Usjiays  hasques  frangais,  Bordeaux,  1862),  has  added  Micliel's 
list  to  his  own,  thus  obtaining  many  of  his  words  at  fourth-hand  ;  hut 
tlie  greater  part  of  his  list  was  made  up  by  himself  from  Gypsies  at 
Saint-Palais. 

These  writers,  with,  of  course,  De  Eochas,  seem  to  be  the  only 
ones  who  have  specially  studied  the  Basque  Gypsies.  Mr.  Webster's 
notes,  taken  incidentally  while  following  up  another  subject,  are 
quite  independent  of  any  of  these,  fi.nd  they,  thus  form  an  interesting 
and  instructive  addition  to  the  literature  of  this  branch  of  Gypsy 
study. — Ed.]. 


IV.  -TWO  GYPSY  FOLK-TALES. 

1. — Tale  of  a  Foolish  Brother  and  of  a  Wonderful  Bush. 

[This  is  one  of  a  collection  of  Polish-Gypsy  Tales  and  Songs  made 
by  our  distinguished  fellow-member.  Professor  Kopernicki.  Unfor- 
tunately, this  collection  has  had  to  await  a  publisher  for  many  years, 
though  we  trust  to  see  it  issued  in  book-form  this  winter.  This 
particular  tale  was  dictated  to  Dr.  Kopernicki  by  "  a  very  intelligent 

V 

Gypsy,  named  John  Coron  (pronounced  Tclioron,  i.e.  in  Gypsy,  tliief  or 
2)auper),  then  immured  in  the  prison  of  Cracow."-  -Ed.] 

THEEE  was  once  a  poor  peasant  who  had  three  sons  ;  two  of  them 
wise  and  one  foolish.  One  day  the  king  gave  a  feast,  to  which 
everybody  was  invited,  rich  and  poor.  These  two  wise  brothers  set 
out  for  the  feast  like  the  rest,  leaving  the  poor  fool  at  home,  crouching 
over  his  stove.^  He  tliereupon  besought  his  mother  to  allow  him  to 
go  after  his  brothers.  But  the  mother  answered,  "  Fool  that  thou  art ! 
thy  brothers  go  thither  to  tell  tales,^  whilst  thou,  thou  knowest  nothing; 
what  then  couldst  thou  tell  ?  "  Still  the  fool  continues  to  pray  his 
mother  to  let  him  go,  but  she  still  refuses,  "  Very  well !  if  thou  wilt 
not  let  me  go  there,  with  the  help  of  God  ^  I  shall  know  what  to  do." 

1  Every  peasant's  cottage  in  Poland  is  heated  by  an  oven  for  baking  bread.  On  the  flat- 
roofed  arch  of  this  oven,  which  acts  as  a  stove,  the  old,  sick,  and  infirm  members  of  the 
family  place  themselves  for  warmth. — I.  K. 

"  It  may  be  noted  that  this  tacit  recognition  of  these  two  brothers  as  professional  tale- 
tellers is  more  suggestive  of  Iheir  being  Gypsies  than  ordinary  "  peasants. " — Ed. 

3  With  the  help  of  God  (or  oj  the  good  God),  a  phi  ase  frequently  occurring  in  our  Gypsy's 
narrative,  is  borrowed  from  the  popular  speech  of  Poland. — I.  K. 


•fwo  avrsY  folk-tales.  s5 

Well,  one  day  the  king  contrived  a  certain  tower;  he  then  placed  liis 
daughter  on  the  second  story,  and  issued  a  proclamation  that  whoever 
should  kiss  his  davighter  there  should  have  her  in  marriage.  Well, 
various  princes  and  nobles  hastened  to  the  place  .  .  .  not  one 
of  them  could  reach  her.  The  king  then  decreed  that  the  peasants 
were  to  come.  This  order  reached  the  house  where  dwelt  the  peasant 
who  had  three  sons,  two  wise  and  one  foolish.  The  two  wise  brothers 
arose  and  set  out.  The  fool  feigned  to  go  in  search  of  water,  but 
he  went  to  a  bush  and  struck  it  three  times  with  a  stick.  Where- 
upon a  fairy  appeared,  who  demanded,  "  What  wouldst  thou  1"  "  1 
Avish  to  have  a  horse  of  silver,  garments  of  silver,  and  a  sum  of 
money,"  After  he  had  received  all  these  things,  he  set  out  on  his 
way.  Whom  should  he  happen  to  overtake  on  the  road  but  his  two 
wise  brothers  !  "  Whither  are  you  going  ?  "  he  asked  of  them.  "  We 
are  going  to  a  king's  palace — he  who  has  contrived  this  tower — upon 
the  second  story  of  which  he  has  placed  his  daughter,  and  he  has 
proclaimed  that  whoever  should  kiss  her  there  shall  become  her 
husband."  The  fool  oot  down  from  his  horse,  cut  himself  a  cudgel, 
and  began  to  beat  his  two  brothers ;  and  finally  he  gave  them  each 
three  ducats.  The  two  brothers  did  not  recognise  him,  and  so  he 
went  on  by  himself,  unknown.  When  he  had  come  to  the  king's 
palace  all  the  great  lords  looked  with  admiration  at  this  prince, 
mounted  on  a  silver  steed,  and  clad  in  garments  of  silver.  He  leaji^t 
up  with  a  great  spring  towards  the  princess,  and  almost  attained  near 
enough  to  kiss  her.  He  fell  back  again,  and  then,  with  the  help  of 
the  good  God,  he  took  his  departure.  These  noblemen  then  asked  of 
each  other :  "  What  is  the  meaning  of  this  ?  He  had  scarcely  arrived 
when  he  nearly  succeeded  in  kissing  the  princess."  The  fool  then 
returned  home,  and  went  to  the  bush,  and  struck  it  thrice.  The 
fairy  again  appeared,  and  asked  of  him  :  "  What  is  thy  will  ? "  He 
commanded  her  to  hide  his  horse  and  his  clothes.  He  took  his 
buckets  filled  with  water  and  went  back  into  the  house.  "  Where 
hast  thou  been  ? "  asked  his  mother  of  him.  "  Mother,  I  have  been 
outside,  and  I  stripped  myself,  and  (pardon  me  for  saying  so)  I  have 
been  hunting  lice  in  my  shirt."  "  That  is  well ! "  said  his  mother,  and 
she  gave  him  some  food.  On  the  return  of  the  two  wise  brothers, 
their  mother  desired  them  to  tell  her  what  they  had  seen.  "  Mother, 
we  saw  there  a  prince  mounted  on  a  silver  steed,  and  himself  clad  in 
silver.  He  had  overtaken  us  by  the  way,  and  asked  of  us  whither 
we  were  going.  We  told  him  the  truth :  that  we  were  going  to  the 
palace  of  the  king  wlio  had  contrived  this  tower,  on  tlie  second  story 


86  TWO   GYPSY   FOLK-TALES. 

of  which  he  had  placed  his  daughter,  decreeing  that  whosoever  should 
attain  near  enough  to  give  her  a  kiss  should  marry  her.  The  prince 
dismounted,  cut  himself  a  cudgel,  and  gave  us  a  sound  beating,  and 
then  gave  us  each  three  ducats."  The  mother  was  very  well  pleased 
to  get  this  money ;  for  she  was  poor,  and  she  could  now  buy  herself 
something  to  eat. 

Next  day  these  two  brothers  again  set  out.  The  mother  cried  to 
her  foolish  son  :  "  Go  and  fetch  me  some  water."  He  went  out  to  get 
the  water,  laid  down  his  pails  beside  the  well,  and  went  to  the  bush  ; 
he  struck  it  thrice,  and  the  fairy  appeared  to  him.  "  What  is  thy 
will  ? "  "I  wish  to  have  a  horse  of  gold,  and  golden  garments."  The 
fairy  brought  him  a  horse  of  gold,  golden  garments,  and  a  sum  of 
money.  Off  he  set,  and  once  more  he  overtook  his  brothers  on  the 
road.  This  time  he  did  not  dismount,  but  holdincr  a  cudgel  in  his 
hand,  he  charged  upon  his  brothers,  beat  them  severely,  and  gave 
them  ten  ducats  apiece.  He  then  betook  himself  to  the  king.  The 
nobles  gazed  admiringly  on  him,  seated  on  his  horse  of  gold,  himself 
attired  in  a  golden  garb.  With  a  single  bound  he  reached  the  second 
story,  and  gave  the  princess  a  kiss.  Well,  they  wished  to  detain 
him,  but  he  sprang  away,  and  fled  like  the  wind,  with  the  help  of  the 
good  God.  He  came  back  to  his  bush,  out  of  which  the  fairy  issued, 
and  asked  of  him,  "  What  wilt  thou  ? "  "  Hide  my  horse  and  my 
clothes."  He  dressed  himself  in  his  wretched  clothes,  and  went  into 
the  house  again,  "  Where  hast  thou  been  ? "  asked  his  mother.  "  I 
have  been  sitting  in  the  sun,  and  (excuse  me  for  saying  it)  I  have 
been  hunting  lice  in  my  shirt."  She  answered  nothing,  but  gave 
him  some  food.  He  went  and  squatted  down  behind  the  stove  in 
idiot  fashion.  The  two  wise  brothers  arrived.  Their  mother  saw  how 
severely  they  had  been  beaten,  and  she  asked  of  them,  "  AVlio  has 
maltreated  you  so  terribly  ? "  "  It  was  that  prince,  mother."  "  And 
why  have  you  not  laid  a  complaint  against  him  before  the  king  ? " 
"  But  he  gave  us  ten  ducats  apiece."  ''  I  will  not  send  you  any  more 
to  the  king,"  said  the  mother  to  them.  "  ]\Iother,  they  have  posted 
sentinels  all  over  the  town  in  order  to  arrest  him  [the  "  prince  "J ;  for 
he  has  already  kissed  the  king's  daughter,  after  doing  which  he  took  to 
Hight.  Then  the  sentinels  were  posted.  We  are  certain  to  catch  this 
prince."  The  fool  then  said  to  them :  "  How  will  you  be  able  to  seize 
him,  since  he  evidently  knows  several  tricks  %  "  "  Thou  art  a  fool," 
said  the  two  wise  brothers  to  him ;  "  we  are  bound  to  capture  him." 
"  Capture  away,  with  the  help  of  the  good  God,"  replied  the  fool. 

Three  davs  later  the  two  wise  brothers  set  out,  leaving  the  fool 


TWO   GYPSY   FOLK-TALKS.  87 

cowering  behind  the  stove.  "  Go  and  fetch  some  wood,"  called  his 
mother  to  him.  He  roused  himself  and  went,  with  the  good  God.  He 
came  to  the  bush,  and  struck  it  three  times.  The  fairy  issued  out  of 
it  and  asked,  "  What  dost  thou  demand  ? "  "I  demand  a  horse  of 
diamonds,  garments  of  diamonds,  and  some  money."  He  arrayed 
himself  and  set  out ;  he  overtook  his  two  brothers,  but  this  time  he 
did  not  beat  them,  only  he  gave  them  each  twenty  ducats.  He 
reached  the  king's  city,  and  the  nobles  tried  to  seize  him.  He  sprang 
up  on  to  the  second  story,  and,  for  the  second  time,  he  kissed  the 
princess,  who  gave  him  her  gold  ring.  Well,  they  wished  to  take  him, 
but  he  said  to  them,  "  If  you  had  all  the  wit  in  the  world  you  could 
not  catch  me."  But  they  were  determined  to  seize  him.  He  fled  away 
like  the  wind.  He  came  to  the  bush  ;  he  struck  it  thrice ;  the  fairy 
issued  from  it  and  came  to  him,  and  took  his  horse  and  his  clothes. 
He  gathered  some  wood,  and  returned  to  the  house ;  his  mother  is 
pleased  with  him  and  says,  "  There,  now !  that  is  how  thou  shouldst 
always  behave !  "  and  she  gave  him  something  to  eat.  He  went  and 
crouched  behind  the  stove.  His  two  brothers  arrived  ;  the  mother 
questioned  them.  ..."  Mother,"  they  answered,  "  this  prince  could 
not  be  taken."  "  And  has  he  not  given  you  a  beating  1 "  "  No, 
mother ;  on  the  contrary,  he  gave  us  each  twenty  ducats  more." 
"  To-morrow,"  said  the  mother,  "  you  shall  not  go  there  again."  And 
the  two  brothers  answered,  "  No,  we  will  go  there  no  more."  Aha  ! 
so  much  the  better. 

This  king  gave  yet  another  feast,  and  he  decreed  "  that  all  the 
princes,  as  many  as  there  shall  be  of  them,  shall  come  to  my  palace 
so  that  my  daughter  may  identify  her  husband  among  them." 
This  feast  lasted  four  days,  but  the  husband  of  the  princess  was  not 
there.  What  did  this  king  do  ?  He  ordained  a  third  feast  for 
beggars  and  poor  country-folk,  and  he  decreed,  "  that  every  one 
should  come,  be  he  blind  or  halt,  let  him  not  be  ashamed,  but 
come."  This  feast  lasted  for  a  week,  but  the  husband  of  the  princess 
was  not  there.  What  then  did  the  king  do  ?  He  sent  his  servants 
with  the  order  to  go  from  house  to  house,  and  to  bring  to  him  the 
man  upon  whom  should  be  found  the  princess's  ring  ;  "  Be  he  blind 
or  halt,  let  him  be  brought  to  me,"  said  the  king. 

Well,  the  servants  went  from  house  to  house  for  a  week,  and  all 
who  were  found  in  each  house  they  called  together,  in  order  to  make 
the  search.  At  last  they  came  to  this  same  house  in  which  dwelt 
the  fool.  As  soon  as  the  fool  saw  them  he  went  and  lay  down  upon 
the  stove.     In  came  the  king's  servants,  gathered  the  people  of  the 


88  TWO    GYPSY   iOLK-TALES. 

house  together,  and  asked  of  the  fool,  "What  art  thou  doing  there?" 
"  What  does  that  matter  to  you  ?  "  replied  the  fool.  Aud  his  mother 
said  to  them,  "  Sirs,  he  is  a  fool."  "  ISTo  matter,"  said  they,  "  fool  or 
blind  man,  we  gather  together  all  whom  we  see,  for  so  the  king  has 
commanded  us."  They  make  the  fool  come  down  from  the  stove ; 
they  look  ;  the  gold  ring  is  on  his  finger  !  "  So,  then,  it  is  thou  who 
art  so  clever  ?  "  "  It  is  I."  He  made  ready,  and  set  out  with  them. 
He  had  nothing  upon  him,  this  fool,  but  a  iniserable  shirt  and  a 
cloak  all  tattered  and  torn.  He  came  to  the  king,  to  whom  the 
servants  said,  "  Sire,  we  bring  him  to  you."  "  Is  this  really  he  ? " 
"  He  himself."  They  show  the  ring.  "  Well  1  this  is  he."  The  king 
commanded  that  sumptuous  garments  be  made  for  him  as  quickly  as 
possible.  In  these  clothes  he  presented  a  very  good  appearance. 
The  king  is  well  pleased  ;  the  wedding  comes  off,  and  they  live 
happily,  with  the  help  of  the  good  God. 

Some  time  after,  another  king  declared  war  against  this  one : 
"  Since  thou  hast  not  given  thy  daughter  in  marriage  to  my  son,  I 
will  make  war  against  thee."  But  this  king^  had  two  sons.  The 
fool  also  made  preparations,  and  went  to  the  war.  His  two  brothers- 
in-law  went  in  advance, — the  fool  set  out  after  them.  He  took  a 
short  cut,  and,  having  placed  himself  on  their  line  of  march,  he  sat 
down  on  the  margin  of  a  pond  and  amused  himself  by  hunting 
frogs.  These  two  wise  brothers-in-law  came  up.  "  Just  look  at 
him  ;  see  what  he  is  doing !  he  is  not  thinking  of  the  war,  but  only 
amusing  himself  in  hunting  frogs."  These  two  brothers  went  on, 
and  this  fool  mounted  his  horse,  and  went  to  his  bush  :  he  struck  it 
thrice,  and  the  fairy  appeared  before  him.  "  AYhat  demandest 
thou  ?  "  "I  demand  a  magnificent  horse  and  a  sabre,  with  which 
I  may  be  able  to  exterminate  the  entire  army ;  and  some  of  the  most 
beautiful  clothes."  He  speedily  dressed  himself,  he  girded  on  this 
sabre,  he  mounted  his  horse,  and  set  forth  with  the  help  of  God. 
Having  overtaken  these  two  brothers-in-law  by  the  way,  he  asked  of 
them,  "  Whither  are  you  bound  ?  "  "  We  are  going  to  the  war."  "  So 
am  I ;  let  us  all  three  go  together."  He  arrived  at  the  field  of  battle  ; 
he  cut  all  his  enemies  into  pieces,  not  a  single  one  of  them  escaped. 
He  returned  home,  this  fool,  with  his  horse  and  all  the  rest ;  he  hid 
his  horse  and  his  sabre  and  all  the  rest,  so  that  nobody  would  know 
anything  of  them.  These  two  brothers  arrived  after  the  fool  had 
returned.  The  king  asked  of  them :  "  Were  you  at  the  war,  my 
childi^en  ? "     "  Yes,  father,  we  were  there,  but  thy  son-in-law  was 

1  The  one  challenged. — I.K. 


TWO    GYPSY    FOLK-TALES.  89 

not  there."  "  And  what  was  he  about  ?  "  "  He  !  he  was  amusino' 
himself  hunting  frogs  ;  but  a  prince  came  and  cut  the  whole  army 
in  pieces  ;  not  a  single  man  of  them  has  escaped,"  Then  the  king 
reproached  his  daughter  thus  :  "  What,  then,  hast  thou  done  in  marry- 
ing a  husband  who  amuses  himself  in  catching  frogs  ? "  "  Is  the 
fault  mine,  father  ?  Even  as  God  has  given  him  to  me,  so  will  I 
keep  him."  On  the  following  day  these  two  sons  of  the  king  did 
not  go  to  the  war,  but  the  king  himself  went  there  with  his  son-in- 
law.  But  the  fool  mounted  his  horse  the  quickest  and  set  out  first ; 
the  king  came  after,  not  knowing  where  his  son-in-law  had  gone. 
The  king  arrived  at  the  war,  and  he  saw  that  his  son-in-law  had 
already  cut  into  pieces  the  whole  of  the  enemy's  army.  And  in  con- 
sequence of  this  the  other  king  said  to  this  one  that  henceforth  he 
would  no  more  war  against  him.  They  shook  hands  with  each 
other,  these  two  kings.  The  fool  was  wounded  in  his  great  toe.  His 
father-in-law  saw  this,  he  tore  his  own  handkerchief  and  dressed  the 
wounded  foot ;  and  this  handkerchief  was  marked  with  the  king's 
name.  The  fool  got  home  the  quickest,  before  his  father-in-law ;  he 
pulled  off  his  boots  and  lay  down  to  sleep,  for  his  foot  pained  him. 
The  king  came  home,  and  his  sons  asked  him,  "Father,  was  our 
brother-in-law  at  the  war  ? "  "  No,  I  have  not  seen  him  at  all ;  he 
was  not  there  ;  but  a  prince  was  there  who  has  exterminated  the 
whole  army.  Then  this  king  and  I  shook  hands  in  token  that  never 
more  should  there  be  war  between  us."  Then  his  daughter  said, 
"  My  husband  has  my  father's  handkerchief  round  his  foot,"  The 
king  bounded  forth,  he  looked  at  the  handkerchief :  it  is  his !  it  bears 
his  name  !  "  So,  then,  it  is  thou  who  art  so  clever  ?  "  "  Yes,  father, 
it  is  I,"  The  king  is  very  joyful,  so  are  his  sons  and  the  queen,  and 
the  wife  of  this  fool — all  are  filled  with  joy. 

Well,  they  made  the  wedding  over  again,  and  they  lived  together 
with  the  help  of  the  good,  golden  God, 

ISIDOKE   KOPERNICKL 


2, — The  Peincess  and  the  Fokester's  Son, 

THE  following  story  has  been  kindly  communicated  to  me  by  our 
esteemed   colleague.  Dr.  Eudolf  von  Sowa,     "  I  obtained   the 
original,"  he  says  in  a  letter,  "from  a  Gypsy  serving  as  a  soldier  at 
Briiun,      It  offers   some  marked  peculiarities  characteristic  of  the 
Moravian  variety  of  the  Bohemian-Gypsy  dialect.     That  dialect  is 
vol.  I. — no.  il  g 


90  TWO    GYPSY    FOLK-TALES. 

well  known  by  P.  Jesiua's  Romani  Chih  (3rd  ed.  1886),  but  in  the 
Moravian  variety  no  texts  have  been  hitherto  published.  My 
German  translation  follows  the  original  as  closely  as  possible,  but 
there  are  several  stumbling-blocks.  In  some  passages  I  did  not  catch 
the  speaker's  words  correctly,  and  I  had  no  chance  of  revising  my 
version  with  his  assistance ;  for  some  days  after  I  made  his  acquaint- 
ance my  Gypsy  was  arrested  for  an  abominable  crime."  To  which  I 
need  only  add  that  in  no  collection,  Gypsy  or  non-Gypsy,  have  I 
hitherto  met  with  this  story.  It  offei-s,  however,  some  striking 
analogies  with  the  Welsh-Gypsy  story  of  "  An  Old  King  and  his  Three 
Sons  in  England,"  which  I  got  from  John  Eoberts,  the  Harper  {In 
Chjpsy  Tents,  Edinb.  1880,  pp.  299-317).  That  story  is  itself  identical 
with,  though  much  superior  to,  "  The  Accursed  Garden,"  on  p.  304 
of  Vernaleken's  In  the  Land  of  Marvels:  Folk-talcs  from  Austria 
and  Bohemia  (Lond.  1884). 

Somewhere  or  other  there  lived  a  forester.  He  ill-used  his 
wife  and  his  children,  and  often  got  drunk.  Then  the  mother  said, 
"  ]My  children,  the  father  is  always  beating  us,  so  we  '11  get  our  things 
together  and  leave  him.  We  will  wander  out  into  the  world,  whither 
our  eyes  lead  us."  They  took  their  things,  and  followed  the  road 
through  a  great  forest.  They  journeyed  two  days  and  two  nights 
without  reaching  any  place  ;  so  the  eldest  son  said  to  his  mother, 
"  Mother,  dear,  night  has  come  on  us,  let  us  sleep  here."  "  My 
children,"  said  the  mother,  "  pluck  moss,  make  a  resting-place,  and 
we  will  lie  down  here  to  sleep."  The  elder  son  said  to  his  brother, 
"  Go  for  wood."  They  made  a  fire,  and  seated  themselves  by  it. 
Then  said  the  elder  son  to  his  brother,  "  Now,  you  must  keep  watch, 
for  there  are  wild  beasts  about,  so  that  we  be  not  devoured.  Do  you 
sleep  first ;  then  you  '11  get  up,  I  lie  down  to  sleep,  then  you  will 
watch  again."  So  the  younger  brother  lay  down  near  his  mother  to 
sleep ;  the  elder  kept  watch  with  his  gun.  Then  he  thought  within 
himself,  and  said,  "  Great  God,  wherever  are  we  in  these  great  forests  ? 
Surely  we  soon  must  perish !  "  He  climbed  up  a  high  tree,  and 
looked  all  around,  till  a  light  flashed  in  his  eyes.  When  he  saw  the 
light,  he  took  his  hat  from  his  head,  and  let  it  drop.^  Then  he 
climbed  down,  and  looked  to  see  if  his  mother  was  all  right  [?].  From 
the  spot  where  his  hat  lay  he  walked  straight  forward  for  a  good  dis- 

1  This  at  first  puzzleil  me,  but  the  sequel  shows  that  he  threw  his  liat  in  the  diiection  of 
the  light,  so  that  when  he  had  descended,  and  could  no  longer  discern  the  light,  he  might 
know  by  the  hat  in  wliat  direction  to  find  it.  In  no  other  folk-tale  have  I  come  across  this 
expedient. 


TWO    GYPSY    FOLK -TALES.  91 

tance,  a  whole  half-hour.  Then  he  observed  a  fire.  Who  was  there 
but  four-and-twenty  robbers,  cooking  and  drinking?  He  went  througli 
the  wood,  keeping  out  of  their  sight,  and  loaded  his  gun ;  and,  just  as 
one  of  them  was  taking  a  drink  of  wine,  he  shot  the  jug  right  from 
his  lips,  so  that  only  the  handle  was  left  in  his  hand.  And  his  gun 
was  so  constructed  that  it  made  no  report.  Then  the  robber  said  to 
his  comrade,  "  Comrade,  why  won't  you  let  nie  alone,  but  knock  the 
jug  out  of  my  mouth  ?  "  "  You  fool,  I  never  touched  you."  He  took 
a  pull  out  of  another  jug,  and  tlie  lad  loaded  again.  He  sat  on  a  tree, 
and  again  shot  the  jug, — shot  it  away  from  his  mouth,  so  that  the 
handle  remained  in  his  hand.  Then  the  first  robber  said,  "  Will  you 
leave  me  alone,  else  I  '11  pay  you  out  with  this  knife."  But  his 
comrade  stepped  up  to  him,  looking  just  like  a  fool ;  at  last  he  said, 
"  My  good  fellow,  I  am  not  touching  you.  See,  it  is  twice  that  has 
happened ;  may  be  it  is  some  one  in  the  forest.  Take  your  gun,  and 
let 's  go  and  look  if  there  is  not  some  one  there."  They  went  and 
they  hunted,  searched  every  tree,  and  found  him,  the  forester's  son, 
sitting  on  a  tree,  on  the  highest  point.  They  said  to  him,  "  You 
gnome  [zemsJco  chrdikona,  Czech  zemsky  ccrtik,  "earth -devil"],  come 
down.  If  you  won't,  we'll  shoot  at  you  till  you  fall  down  from  the 
tree."  But  he  would  not  come.  Again  they  ordered  him.  What 
was  the  poor  fellow  to  do?  He  had  to  come.  When  he  was  down, 
they  each  seized  him  by  an  arm,  and  he  thought  to  himself,  "  Things 
look  bad  with  me.  I  shall  never  see  my  mother  and  brother  again. 
They  '11  either  kill  me,  or  tie  me  up  to  a  tree."  They  brought  him  to 
the  fire,  and  asked  him,  "  What  are  you  ?  are  you  a  craftsman  ?  " 
"  I  am  one  of  your  trade."  "  If  you  are  of  our  trade,  eat,  drink,  and 
smoke  as  much  as  your  heart  desires."  When  he  had  eaten  and 
drunken,  they  said,  "  Since  you  are  such  a  clever  chap,  and  such  a 
good  shot,  there  is  a  castle  with  a  princess  in  it,  whom  we  went  after, 
but  could  not  come  at  her  nohow,  this  princess.  May  be,  as  you  are 
so  smart  [feshakos;  Austrian /<?sc/i],  there's  a  big  dog  yonder  that 
made  us  run  [?],  but  as  you  are  such  a  good  shot,  and  your  gun 
makes  no  report,  you  '11  kill  this  dog,  and  then  we  "11  make  you  our 
captain."  Then  they  broke  up  camp,  took  something  to  eat  and  to 
drink,  and  came  to  the  castle.  When  they  reached  the  castle  the 
dog  made  a  great  noise.  They  lifted  him  up,  the  forester's  son ;  lie 
aimed  his  gun,  and,  as  the  dog  sprang  at  him,  he  fired  and  hit  him. 
The  dog  made  ten  more  paces,  and  fell  to  the  earth.  As  he  fell  the 
lad  said  to  the  robbers,  "  Comrades,  the  dog  is  dead."  "  Brave  fellow," 
said  they,  "  now  you  shall  be  our  captain,  for  killing  the  dog;  but  one 


92  TWO   GYPSY   FOLK-TALES. 

thing  more  you  must  do.  We  will  make  a  hole  for  you  in  the  wall. 
When  we  have  done  that,  then — you  are  so  slender — you  will  creep 
through  the  hole."  They  made  the  hole,  and  he  crept  through  it. 
Then  the  robbers  said  to  him,  "  Here  you,  you  have  to  go  up  a  flight 
of  steps,  and  at  the  fourth  flight  you  will  come  to  a  door.  There  is 
one  door,  two  doors,  three  doors."  So  through  each  door  he  passed ; 
then  he  passed  through  the  third,  there  were  a  quantity  of  swords. 
He  saw  they  were  very  fine  swords,  and  took  one  of  them.  Then  he 
went  to  the  fourth  door,  opened  it  slowly  ;  it  did  not  stop  him,  for  the 
keys  were  there.  Through  the  keyhole  he  saw  a  bed.  Then  he 
opened  it,  and  went  in.  There  he  saw  a  princess  lying,  quite  naked, 
but  covered  with  a  white  ...[?].  At  her  feet  stood  a  table,  on 
which  lay  a  pair  of  golden  scissors. 

["  Then  follows,"  says  Dr.  von  Sowa,  "  a  passage  which  contains 
many  strange  words  to  me,  many  corrupted,  etc.,  therefore  I  give  it 
in  the  original : — '  Has  odoi  sovnakaskere  (golden)  bolde,  ehas  prazki 
(Czech,  '  clasps '),  he  has  odoi  dui  angrust'a  (and  there  were  two  rings 
there),  has  lakero  laf  chingel  (chindo)  andra  angrusti,  le  (?)  akakana 
prala  (?),  te  dikhel  har  has  joi  auka  sovlas  (sees  her  sleeping  thus). 
Phend'as  peske  (he  thought),  Ach  baro  devel  (0  great  god),  te  sht'i 
tuha  sovaf  (?  what  if  I  lie  with  her).  No  peske  phenda's,  Ker  mro 
devel,  har  kames  (do,  my  God,  as  thou  wilt).  Akakana  lie'as  ada 
chifiibnangere  (he  took  the  scissors),  har  has  oda  sokora  lacluirdi, 
chind'as  (cut)  ale  soflichkos  (looks  like,  but  is  not,  a  Czech  word),  har 
has  lakri  minch  auka  dui.  Akakana  dinas  prek  oda  postela  yek  cheroi 
(leg),  pale  h-aver  shchastne.  Akorat  laha  sut'as  (lay  with  her)  kai 
nashti  pes  ani  zbudinlas  (she  could  not  awake).  Akakana  shchastne 
la  kabnard'as,  no  akana  peske  so  has  odova  savoro  lelas  ola  vyetsi 
(Czech,  '  things ')  kaithar  lake  ala  flekos  peske  lelas  oda  yek  angrust 
h-akakana  oda  yek  pantofios '  (took  to  himself  one  of  the  rings  and 
one  of  the  slippers)."  The  meaning,  however,  is  pretty  clear,  and 
the  sequel  makes  it  much  clearer.] 

Then  he  went  out,  taking  the  sword  with  him,  and  shutting  the 
door.  As  he  passed  through  the  fourth  door  he  said  to  himself,  "  I 
must  open  it  carefully,  so  as  not  to  waken  her  mother  and  father." 
He  got  out  safely,  then  he  went  through  the  courtyard  to  the  robbers. 
When  he  reached  the  hole  he  said  to  them,  "  My  dear  men,  I  know 
where  she  is.  Come,  we'll  soon  have  the  princess,  but  you  must 
creep  through  the  hole  one  after  the  other."     Then  he  drew  his 


TWO    GYPSY    FOLK-TALES.  93 

sword,  and  as  oue  came  tlirough  after  the  other,  he  seized  him  by  the 
head,  cut  off  his  head,  and  cast  him  aside.  When  he  had  done  so  to 
the  twenty-fourth,  he  cast  away  the  sword,  and  returned  by  tlie  way 
that  he  had  come  to  his  mother,  where  they  had  slept.  (He  had 
thought  never  again  to  see  his  mother  and  his  brother.)  When  he 
came  to  his  mother,  he  said,  "  Mother,  how  do  you  find  yourself  ?  you 
must  be  sleepy."  His  mother  asked  him,  "  My  dear  son,  how  have 
you  managed  to  do  with  so  little  sleep  ?"  His  younger  brother 
said,  "  Why  didn't  you  wake  me  up  ? "  "  You  were  so  sleepy, 
I  let  you  sleep."  Then  they  made  a  fire,  ate  and  drank,  and 
wandered  on  again  through  the  forest.  They  arrived  in  a  town, 
and  sought  employment.  The  mother  said  to  her  eldest  son, 
"  My  sou,  we  will  stay  at  least  a  year  here."  She  fortunately  got 
a  place  at  a  big  house  as  cook,  and  the  two  lads  went  as  servants  to 
an  innkeeper.  When  they  had  been  a  year  there,  the  mother  said 
to  her  two  sons,  "  Just  see  how  well  off  we  were  at  home,  and  here 
we  have  to  work,  and  I  an  old  body.  You  are  young  folk,  and  can 
stick  to  it,  but  I  am  old,  and  can't  stand  it  any  longer.  The  father 
ill-used  us ;  still,  let  us  return  home,  if  the  Lord  God  gives  us  health 
and  strength  to  do  so.  So  they  made  ready,  the  landlord  paid  them 
their  wages,  and  they  set  out.  They  went  by  the  very  way  that  he 
had  gone  to  the  castle  and  killed  the  twenty-four  robbers. 

But  how  had  they  got  on  there  since  the  year  when  he  did  that 
to  her  ?  The  princess  had  borne  a  child,  but  she  knew  not  who  was  the 
father.  She  had  a  tavern  built  not  far  from  the  castle,  and  said  to  her 
mother,  "  Mother,  dear,  see  what  has  befallen  me,  and  how  I  now  am. 
But  I  know  not  who  the  child  is  by.  You  have  let  me  have  the 
tavern  built.  Whoever  comes  there  I  will  entertain  gratis,  and  ask 
him  what  he  has  learned  in  the  world — whether  he  has  any  story  to 
tell  me,  or  whether  he  has  had  any  strange  experiences.  Perhaps 
the  man  will  turn  up  by  whom  I  had  the  child." 

As  luck  would  have  it,  the  two  brothers  came  through  the  village 
where  the  tavern  was.  There  was  a  large  signboard,  on  which  was 
written,  "  Every  man  may  eat  and  drink  to  his  heart's  desire,  and 
smoke,  only  he  must  relate  his  experiences  that  he  has  gone  through 
in  the  world."  The  elder  lad  said  to  his  brother,  "  Brother  dear, 
where  are  we  ?  I  don't  know  myself."  ]3ut  he  knew  right  well  whom 
the  tavern  belonged  to.  They  halted.  Then  he  looked  at  the  notice, 
and  said  to  his  mother,  "  See,  mother,  dear,  see  what  that  is.  See 
there  is  written  that  the  victuals  and  drink  are  gratis."  "  Let  us  go 
in,  my  sou ;  we  are  very  hungry  anyhow.     Sure,  we  '11  find  something 


94  TWO    GYPSY   FOLK-TALES. 

to  tell  her,  if  only  she  '11  give  us  to  eat  and  to  drink."     They  went 
into  the  tavern.      Straightway  the  hostess  greeted  them,  and  said, 
"  Good  day,  where  do  you  come  from  ? "     "  We  come  from  a  town  out 
yonder.     We  have  heen  working  there  ;  now  we  want  to  return  home, 
where  my  husband  is."     She  said,  "  Good !  what  might  you  drink, 
what  will  you  eat  ?     I  will  give  you  just  what  you  want."     "  Ah,  my 
God ! "  said  she,  "  kind  lady,  if  you  would  be  so  good  as  to  give  us 
something.     We  know  that  you  are  a  kind  lady."     So  she  said  to  her 
women-servants,  "  Bring  wine  here,  bring  beer  here,  bring  food  here, 
and  for  the  two  men  living  something  to  smoke."    When  they  brought 
it,  they  ate  and   drank,      "  Now,"  said   the  princess — the  seeming 
hostess — (but  they  knew  not  that  she  was  a  princess ;  only  the  elder 
son  knew  it) — "  oh  !  if  you  only  would  tell  me  something  ?     Come, 
you,  old  wife,  what  have  you  seen  in  your  time  ?  "     "  Why,  my  good 
lady,  I  have  gone  through  plenty.     When  I  was  at  home,  my  man 
drank   much,  ran  through  my  money.     When   he  got  drunk,  he'd 
come  home,  scold  and  knock  me  about,  smash  everything  that  came 
to  hand,  and  as  for  his  children,  he  couldn't  bear  the  sight  of  them. 
He  scolded  and  knocked  them  about  till  they  didn't  know  where  they 
were.     At  last  I  said  to  my  children,  '  My  children,  since  I  can't  get 
on  with  my  man,  and  he  uses  us  so  badly,  let  us  take  our  few  things, 
and  go  off  into  the  world.' "     The  hostess  listened,  brought  the  old 
wife  a  mug  of  beer,  and  gave  it  her.     When  she  had  drunk,  the 
hostess  said,  "  Speak  on."     "  AVell,  we  set  off,  and  journeyed  through 
the  great  forests,  where  we  must  go  on  and  on,  two  whole  days,  with- 
out ever  lighting  on  village  or  town.     Never  a  peasant  was  to  be 
seen,  and  night,"  she   said,  "  came  upon  us,  when  we  could  go  no 
further,  and  I  was  so  weak  that  I  could  not  take  another  step. 
There,  poor  soul,  I  had  to  bide,  lying  in  the  great  forest  under  a  great 
tree.     It  rained  [a  loxuna  here]  that  we  might  not  get  wet.     Forth- 
with I  gathered  wood,  made  a  big  fire,  plucked  moss,  and  made  a 
resting-place  for  us.     It  was  dark,  and  my  sons  said,  '  We  must  mind 
and  not  be  eaten  by  wild   beasts.'     And  my  elder  son  said  to  his 
brother,  '  I  will  think  what  must  be  done.     You  have  also  a  couple  of 
guns,  if  anything  attacks  us  you  will  shoot.'     But  he  said  to  his  elder 
brother,  '  Do  you,  my  brother,  sleep  first,  and  when  you  have  had  your 
sleep  out,  then  you  will  watch  again.' "     [There  is  some  confusion 
here  ;  and  from  this  point  the  son,  not  the  mother,  seems  to  become 
the  narrator.]     "  As  they  all  slept,  under  that  great  tree,  then  he 
thought  to  himself,  '  I  will  sling  my  gun  round  my  neck  and  climb  a 
tree.'     He  climbed  a  tree,  reached  its  top,  for  he  wondered  whether  he 


TWO    fiYPSY   FOLK-TALES.  95 


might  not  see  something — a  village  or  a  town  or  a  light.  As  it  was,  he 
saw  a  light.  He  took  the  hat  from  his  head,  and  threw  it  in  the 
direction  of  the  light."  Then  she  said,  "  Ah !  hostess,  believe  him 
not.  Mark  you,  that  is  not  true,"  said  his  mother.  But  she  went 
and  brought  them  beer,  and  said,  "Tell  on."  And  he  said,  "I 
climbed  down  from  the  tree  to  loolv  where  my  hat  was."  "  Ah ! 
believe  him  not,  hostess,  believe  him  not ;  mark  you,  that  is  not  true." 
"  Nay,  let  him  go  on  with  his  story.  What  was  there  ?  "  "  Twenty- 
four  robbers.  There  was  a  bright  light  that  dazzled  my  eyes.  Not 
far  from  them  was  a  tree."  ["  At  this  point,"  says  Dr.  von  Sowa, 
"  the  story-teller  forgot  that  the  son  is  the  narrator,  so  resumed  the 
third  person,  repeating  his  former  words  almost  verhati7ii : — '  Chak 
gel'as  upre,  akakana  nabiyind'as  peskri  phurdini.  Har  yek  pielas  pal 
lenge  atar  leskro  mui  odova  phagl'as,'  etc.,  till  he  came  to  the  passage 
where  the  robbers  send  the  boy  into  the  castle.  It  ends  with  :  '  He 
odoi  savoro  viskumineha  (Czech,  '  spy  out '),  he  pale  amenge  aveha 
te  phenel  te  hi  (?)  manush  soven.'  "  The  story  goes  on.]  Then  said  the 
old  mother  to  the  hostess,  "  Believe  him  not,  believe  him  not,  for  that 
is  not  true  that  he  tells  you."  "  Let  him  proceed.  What  have  you 
then  done  ?"  the  hostess  asked  him.  "  I  have  done  nothinry."  "  You 
must  have  done  something."  "  Well  then,  I  have  lain  with  you.  I 
have  taken  away  the  ring.  I  have  taken  away  half  a  golden  cloth. 
A  slipper  have  I  taken  from  you — that  I  carried  off.  But  I 
took  me  a  sword,  and  went  out,  shut  the  door  behind  me.  Then  I 
went  to  where  the  robbers  were,  called  to  them  to  step  througli  the 
hole  one  after  another.  As  they  came  through  the  hole,  I  cut  off 
each  one's  head,  and  flung  him  aside."  Then  the  hostess  saw  that  it 
was  true.  "  Then  you  will  be  my  man."  And  he  drew  the  things  out, 
and  showed  them  to  her.  And  they  straightway  embraced  and  kissed 
one  another.  And  she  went  into  the  little  room,  fetched  the  boy. 
"See,  that  is  your  child  ;  I  am  your  wife."  Forthwith  she  bids  them 
harness  two  horses  to  the  carriage ;  they  drove  to  the  castle.  When 
they  reached  it,  she  said  to  her  father,  "  Father,  dear,  see,  I  have  soon 
found  my  husband."  Forthwith  they  made  a  feast,  invited  everybody. 
Forthwith  the  banns  were  proclaimed,  and  they  were  married.  The 
floor  there  was  made  of  paper,  and  I  came  away  hither. 

Fkancis  HiNDES  Groome. 


96 


ORTHOGRAPHY   AND   ACCENT. 


v.— ORTHOGRAPHY  AND  ACCENT. 

IT  appears  very  advisable  that  as  far  as  possible  some  system  of 
orthography  should  be  adopted  by  the  Society.  The  want  of  a 
system,  when  engaged  on  the  Dialect  of  the  Enrjlish  Gypsies  (1875),  led 
to  a  modification  of  Mr.  Ellis's  glossic.  Since  then  several  Orientalists 
have  pointed  out  that  ^.  l.li  such  an  Oriental  language  as  Romany  it 
would  be  convenient  to  assimilate  the  orthography  more  closely  to 
that  adopted  for  transliterating  Sanskrit,  Hindustani,  etc.,  known  as 
the  "  Jonesian,"  thus 


Jonesiau. 
e 

a 

A 

a 

e 

i 

e 

ai 

i 

6 

6 

yu 

a 

u 

u 

oi 

au 


Glossic. 

Examjile. 

ai 

bait ;  French  e 

a 

gnat 

aa 

baa 

au,  aw 

caul,  caw 

e  final 

as  ai  in  bait ;  French  c 

1  final,  ee 

beet ;  French  i 

e 

net 

ei 

height 

i 

knit 

6 

coal 

0 

doll 

eu 

feud 

u 

nut 

00  (short) 

foot 

00  (long) 

cool 

oi 

foil 

ou 

foul  ;  Germ,  faul 

g 

always  hard,  as  in  m 

ch 

as  in  church 

sh 

as  in  shirt 

J 

as  in  judge 

kh 

for  the  iiuttural 

Phonology  is  a  study  in  itself,  for  which  only  those  with  fine 
musical  ears  are  really  suited.  I  am  personally  unable  to  say  that 
the  English  or  Welsh  Gypsies  have  more  than  one  guttural.  They 
have  a  very  liquid  o,  which  is  almost  a  u,  in  the  past  tense,  e.g.pendom, 
"I  said."  This  exact  sound  is  in  use  amongst  the  Turkish  Tchiughianes. 
It  is  difficult  for  an  inexpert  phonologist  to  give  the  pronunciation  of 
the  ending  which  is  conveniently  averaged  by  -ova,  but  which  in  the 
Turkish  Romany  (and  in  most,  if  not  all,  the  Continental  dialects)  is 
written  -ava,  e.g.  Pcndva,  "  I  say  "  :  Paspati,  'penciva.  English  is  such  a 
notoriously  ill-spelt  language  that  it  is  highly  requisite  for  the  Society 
to  agree  upon  a  system,  and  the  foregoing  is  thrown  out  as  a  sugges- 
tion with  the  hope  that,  while  simple  in  itself,  it  will  make  it  easier 


THE   GENITIVE   IN    GYPSY.  97 

for  our  friends  on  the  Continent  and  in  India  to  handle  the  materials 
which  our  Journal  is  intended  to  garner. 

Hardly  less  important  is  the  accent.  In  the  pure  dialect  this  is 
almost  invariably  on  the  last  syllable  if  the  word  ends  with  a  vowel, 
and  otherwise  is  on  the  first  syllable  of  the  inflection.  In  the  corrupt, 
or  "  posh  and  posh,"  dialect,  the  English  system  of  accent  is  preferred. 
•The  pronunciation  varies  amongst  the  English  Gypsies  so  widely,  and 
the  speakers  are  so  totally  unconscious  of  the  suliject,  that  I  have 
known  a  Gypsy  puzzled  by  the  word  kister,  "  to  ride,"  because  he  had 
been  accustomed  to  the  form  kcstcr.  The  words  were  as  entirely 
different  to  him  as  the  words  hlisfer  and  Muster.  It  is  well  to  record 
all  forms,  H.  T.  Ckofton. 


VI.— THE   GENITIVE   IN   GYPSY 

Extracted  from  The  Indian  Antiquary,  1887.] 

THE  form  of  the  genitive  is  most  interesting.     It  is  in  the  singular 
cskro,   in   the   plural    engro.      These   have   varieties   such    as 
mesJcro,  vicngro  ;  omeskro,  oiiungro. 

These  genitive  forms,  as  in  the  other  Gaudian  languages,  were 
originally  adjectives. 

The  termination  is  really  kro  or  gro,  the  es  and  en  being  respec- 
tively the  singular  and  plural  oblique  terminations  of  the  nouns, 
es-kro,  en-kro  (altered  to  gro  for  euphony).  This  any  student  of 
Prakrit  will  at  once  be  able  to  trace  to  its  Maoadhi  Prakrit  forms. 

O 

Kro,  as  seen  from  other  Gypsy  dialects,  is  a  contraction  from  koro  which 
is  the  same  as  the  Bihari  genitive  termination  kar(a).  Kera  is  tlie 
direct  descendant  of  the  Prakrit  adjectival  suffix  kera,  which  implies 
possession,  e.g.  (Apabhraiiis'a  Prakrit  in  Hemachandra,  iv.  422)  jasu 
kererii  humkclradaem  muhahiirh  j^adamti  srnidiih,  "  on  account  of 
whose  roaring  the  grass  falls  from  the  mouths  (of  the  deer)."  Here 
the  first  three  words  are  literally  in  Sanskrit  gasga  krifxna  hurh- 
kdrSna,  in  which  yasya  kritena  is  pleonastic  for  simple  yasya.  Now 
here  two  thing  are  to  be  noted,  {a)  that  kera  is  used  adjectivally,  and 
{!))  that  the  noun  to  which  it  is  pleonastically  attached  is  in  the 
genitive  case.  Witli  these  two  facts,  compare  in  Gypsy  {a)  that 
these  nouns  in  kro  or  gro  form  nouns  denoting  an  agent  or  possessor, 
the  termination  o  being  masculine  and  i  (kri,  grl)  feminine  or  neuter. 


98  THE   GENITIVE   IN   GYPSY. 

and  (b)  that  the  oblique  bases  es  and  en  are  originally  geuitives 
singular  and  plural  respectively.  Us  corresponds  to  the  Magadhi 
Prakrit  gen.  sing,  term  as's'a  (Hem.  iv.  299),  and  en  to  the  gen.  pi, 
term  dnam  or  anha  of  the  same  dialect  (Hem.  iv.  300,  and  Lassen, 
271,  cf.  Hem.  iii.  123).  Taking  gaveshro,  or  gavengro,  a  policeman, 
as  typical  examples,  and  tracing  back  to  Sanskrit,  we  get  (1) grdmasya 
hrita ;  ]\Iag.  Piak.  gdmas's'a  hera ;  Apabhraiiis'a  Prakrit  gdiivas's'a 
hera  Qlhw.  iv\  397)  ;  Turkish  Gypsy  ^rtycs-^'oro  ;  Engl.  Gypsy  ^av6,s- 
kro;  (2)  Skr.  grdmdndm  Jcriia ;  Mag.  Pr.  gdmanlm  kera;'^  Turkish 
G,  gdven-goro  ;  Engl.  G.  gavengro. 

We  are  now  in  a  position  to  consider  the  other  terminations  given 
above,  viz.  (o)meskro,  {o)mengro.     Examples — 

Sastermeskro,  blacksmith,  from  sastcr,  iron. 
Yogomcskro,  gun,  „     >/og,  fire. 

Tattermengro,  frying-pan,     „     tatter,  to  heat. 
Chinomcngro,  hatchet,  „     chin,  to  cut. 

The  terminations  kro  and  gro  have  been  already  disposed  of.  It 
remains  to  consider  the  form  (o)mes  and  (o)mcn.  In  the  form  mes 
and  men  it  will  appear  that  the  o  has  only  dropped  out  in  obedience 
to  the  laws  of  euphony ;  just  as  in  the  Bihari  language  the  form 
sastrawd  has  become  sastrvxl,  a  weapon. 

It  remains  therefore  to  consider  the  fuller  forms  07nes  and 
omen. 

These  correspond  to  what  in  Bihari  grammar  are  called  "  long 
forms,"  which  are  formed  by  adding  the  syllable  'wd  or  yd  to  any 
noun.  Thus  sastr,  or  long-form  sastrwd,  a  weapon  ;  dgi  or  agiyde,  fire. 
In  Bihari  a  different  termination  is  used  for  adjectives,  so  that  the 
long  forms  of  tattd,  hot,  and  chhinn,  cut,  are  tatakkd  and  chhinakkd ; 
but  the  Gypsy  apparently  retains  the  lo  for  adjectives  also,  so  that 
we  may  substitute,  for  the  sake  of  comparison,  supposititious  Bihari 
words,  taViva,  a  thing  heated,  and  chhinn'wa,  a  thing  cut.  Now 
in  Prakrit  (Hem.  iv.  397)  ni  can  be  changed  to  v  preceded  by 
anunasika,  and  though  Hemachandra  does  not  state  the  converse  rule 
that  V  can  become  m,  it  does  so  in  Bihari.  In  vulgar  Maithili,  as 
spoken  by  women,  this  long-form  termination  \vd  is  commonly  pro- 
nounced \vdn  or  'md.  Examples  will  be  found  on  p.  20  of  Grierson's 
Maithil  Chrestomathy,  where  we  find  agannid  for  anganivd,  a  court- 

^  Hem.  iii.    123  confines  this  form  to  numerals,  but  is  regularly  formed  from 
fjdniavnam. 


THK   GENITIVE   IN    GYPSY.  99 

yard,  hisaran'nid  for  Msaran'ivd,  forgotten ;  and  again  p.  22,  where  we 
find  asanan'md  for  asanan'wd,  bathing. 

In  Gypsy,  therefore,  sdstcrvies  is  the  genitive  singular  of  the  long 
form  of  sdstcr ;  yogdmes  the  same  of  yorj;  and  tattcrmen,  gen.  pi.  of  the 
long  form  of  tatter  (?  tattci),  and  chinomen  the  same  of  chin. 

The  long-form  termination  'wd  or  'md  is  a  relic  of  the  Sanskrit 
l)leonastic  termination  ka,  which  was  very  common  in  Prfikrit,  in 
which,  as  the  /.■  came  between  two  vowels,  it  was  elided.  In  the 
modern  Gaudians  a  lo  or  y  was  then  inserted  to  till  the  hiatus.  Thus, 
Skr.  s'astra  or  s'astralca,  a  weapon  ;  ]Mag.  Prcik.  s'astra{k)a,  gen.  sing. 
s'astra-ass'a  kera,  Engl.  Cx.  sastermeskro. 

]\[ag.  Prak.  gen.  sing,  s'astra-dha  (Hem.  iv.  299)  kcra,  Bihari 
sastr'ivd  hir,  or  vulgar  sasti'md  kar.  To  take  another  example,  Skr. 
tapta{ka)  heated,  Mag.  Pralc.  gen.  pi.  tatta-anlm  kcra,  Engl.  G.  tattcr- 
mengro,  Bihaii  tattaioanh  kar,  or  vulgar  tattamanh  kar. 

Besides  eskro,  etc.,  there  are  in  the  Engl.  G.  dialect,  the  termina- 
tions esko  and  esto  in  common  use  both  as  gen.  sing,  and  as  adjectival 
terminations. 

Of  these  the  ko  in  csko  is  again  the  Skr.  krlta,  of  which  another 
Prakrit  f(H'm  is  kia  which  becomes  ko  in  Gypsy  and  ka  in  Bihari, 
through  an  intermediate  form  kya. 

The  to  of  csto  is  not  so  clear.  I  believe  it  is  from  the  same  krita, 
which  can  again  in  Pnlkrit  become  kata  (Hem.  iv.  323).  Thus  take 
the  Gypsy  mucsto  (e.g.  mUcsto  kova,  a  looking-glass).  This  would  be 
Skr.  iiiukhasya  krita,  Magahi  Prakrit  muJias'-sa  kata.  If  these  two 
were  pronounced  as  one,  thus  muhas's'akata,  the  k  would  be  liable  to 
elision  as  falling  between  two  vowels,  so  that  we  should  get  miihas's'a- 
ata,  which  might  become  in  Gypsy  mucsto.  This  derivation,  which 
would  be  otherwise  rather  hazardous,  fits  in  with  a  similar  explana- 
tion of  the  Gypsy  dative  termination  estc,  of  wliicli  the  te  would 
represent,  if  this  theory  is  correct,  the  Skr.  krite,  a  word  often  used  to 
signify  "  for,"  the  original  of  the  Bihari  dative  sutiix  kcchun  or  keii, 
through  the  Prakrit  kate  and  the  Apabhramsa  Pnikrit  kaahurii  or 
kaahiiii  (Hem.  iv.  340,  347  ;  Kramadis'warn,  as  quoted  in  Lassen, 
26).  G.  A.  Gkiersox. 


100     ORIGINAL  POPULAK  MELODIES  OF  TRANSYLVANIAN  TENT-GYPSIES. 


VII.— OEIGINAL    POPULAK    MELODIES    OF    THE 
TEANSYLVANIAN  TENT-GYPSIES. 

(From  the  Ethnologische  Mitteihmgen  aus  Ungarn^  Part  I.) 


Lexto.     1.  Mezoseg. 


'^^^^^^^^^fmm 


^^^:^^¥^^^^^^^^m^m 


Largo.     2.  Mezoseij. 


^^^^^^^^M^Mt^^^^ 


£E^ 


i — t — ^ ^«. 


t*iii3=l^=iii£ii^EiiS^^^^ 


-§- 


Andantino.    3.  Mezomj, 


?zl!5  iz_^£bzSE^zp=f  Tf-i 


z=?=i 


=Fit^ 


2?oco  ?7V. 


SfJilii^^ilSliliLlsii 


tft 


■¥-^-^- 


r^i^i^S^lpl:iisi"^^ii 


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Allegro.     4.  MezOneij. 


t--q: 


--Vt  — 


12^=::: 


EE^^JEF^^^S^^J^ 


t=t: 


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ORIGINAL  POPULAR  MELODIES  OF  TRANSYLVANIAN  TENT-GYPSIES.       101 


^-^  Largo.     5.  M.-Vdxdrhcly. 

^- n  -^-^— --T-* • 


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1  mo  2  do 

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Allegro.     6.   T'om. 


Cox  MOTO.     7.  Burzenland. 


fj  .0.  .0.       m    9  .0.  .0.  .0.        9    m    ^. 


1  mo 


■Irlo 


-•-■  •    -•-       •     •     •-    •        -•  •  -•-  -•-  -• 


MoDERATo.     8.  Burzenland. 


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E!iiz«iir* 


t*_z/^^j_i^ 


PiprS^ 


mzti 


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Allegretto.     9.  Bihar. 


t±:\rA 


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AxDANTiNO.    10.  Mezos^g. 


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T: 


tempo  rubato. 


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102  AXGLO-EOMANY   GLEANINGS. 

VIII.— ANGLO-EOMANY   GLEANINGS. 

ETYMOLOGICON  Univeksale;  or,  Universal  Etymological 
Dictionary.  On  a  new  plan.  In  which  it  is  shown  that 
consonants  are  alone  to  be  regarded  in  discovering  the  affinities  of 
words,  and  that  tlie  vowels  are  to  be  wholly  rejected  ;  that  languages 
contain  the  same  fundamental  idea ;  and  that  they  are  derived  from 
the  EAETH,  and  tlie  operations,  accidents,  and  properties  belonging 
to  it.  With  illustrations  drawn  from  various  languages  :  The  Teutonic 
Dialects,  English,  Gothic,  Saxon,  German,  Danish,  etc. — Greek,  Latin, 
French,  Italian,  Spanish. — The  Celtic  Dialects,  Gaelic,  Irish,  Welsh, 
Bretagne,  etc. — The  dialects  of  the  Sclavonic,  Russian,  etc. — The 
Eastern  Languages,  Hebrew,  Arabic,  Persian,  Sanscrit,  Gipsey,  Coptic, 
etc."  By  the  Eev.  Walter  Whiter,  M.A.,  Eector  of  Hardingham,  in 
the  county  of  Norfolk,  and  late  Fellow  of  Clare  Hall,  Cambridge.  3 
vols.,  1822-25. 

The  penultimate  word  in  this  wonderful  title  attracted  my  atten- 
tion to  this  no  less  wonderful  work.  Its  contents  have  not  wholly 
disappointed  my  expectations,  for  Mr.  Whiter  himself,  or  an  informant 
(?  George  Borrow),  had  clearly  some  knowledge  of  Eomany,  gained 
independently  and  not  from  books.  This  the  following  extracts  will 
show  : — 

Vol.  i.  p.  128.  "Gipsey  oUo,  'eight.'" 

P.  222.— "Gipsey  yek,  'one.'" 

P.  312. — "In  Gipsey  sc  is  'is,'  which  an.swers  to  the  Hindostan 
ta,  etc. ;  and  still  more  agrees  in  form  M'ith  the  Celtic  terms  si,  so,  etc. 
In  Gipsey,  likewise,  so — sa  means  '  how,'  '  what ' ;  &.s  So  se  Roman/. 
'  Wliat  is  it  in  Gipsey  ? '  >S'a  shan  Ria,  Sa  slian  Raunda,  '  How  do 
you  do,  sir  ? '  '  How  do  you  do,  madam  ? '  The  Ria  and  Raun4a 
belong  to  Rex  and  Regina  (Lat.),  Re  (Ital.),  Roi,  Reine  (Fr.),  Rajah 
(Hindoo),  etc.  The  slum  I  conceive  to  be  a  compound  of  slia,  a 
variety  of  sc,  to  denote  the  participle  '  being,'  and  an,  which  may  be 
called  the  verb,  corresponding  with  the  Hindostan  liona,  '  to  be.' " 

P.  320. — "  The  Gipsey  is  acknowledged  to  be  a  Hindostan 
dialect,  or  a  dialect  of  the  Sanscrit ;  and  the  resemblance  of  the  Latin 
to  the  Sanscrit  has  afforded  a  subject  of  great  astonishment.  '  It  will 
perhaps  be  discovered  by  some  future  inquirer,'  as  I  have  ventured  to 
suggest,  '  that  from  a  horde  of  vagrant  Gijyscys  once  issued  that  band 
of  sturdy  robbers,  the  companions  of  Eomulus  and  of  Eemus,  who  laid 
the  foundations  of  the  Eternal  City  on  the  banks  of  the  Tibur.'  We 
now  see  that  the  Italian  verb  of  being,  so,  se,  and  the  Gipsey  se,  coincide 


ANGLO-KOMANY   GLEANINGS.  103 

with  each  other.  It  is  curious,  likewise,  that  some  sliould  have 
observed  the  resemblance  between  the  cloak  or  blanket,  thrown  over 
the  shoulders  of  the  Gipseys,  and  the  Roman  Toga.  I  was  not  aware 
that  this  resemblance  had  been  noticed,  when  I  ventured  on  the  above 
conjecture.  ]\Iartinius,  under  the  article  Cingarus,  has  the  following 
passage  : — '  Brodseus,  lib.  8,  Miscellan.  cap.  1 7,  ait  ipsam  Romanam 
Togam  eandem  pene  cum  ea  fuisse,  qua,  quos  Galli  Bohemos,  Itali 
Cingaros  nominant,  amiciuntur.'  This  is,  I  think,  exceedingly  im- 
pressive and  singular.  The  mode  in  which  the  Gipseys  wear  tlie 
cloak  or  blanket,  which  is  thrown  over  their  shoulders,  is  certainly 
unlike  any  other  mode  of  wearing  a  similar  covering;  and  the 
Eomans,  we  all  know,  were  so  marked  and  distinguished  from  every 
other  people  by  the  dress  of  their  Toga  or  cloak,  that  they  were  called 
the  Gens  Togata: — 

'  Romanos  rerum  dominos,  Gentemque  Togatam.'  " 

P.  339.  "  Gipsey  sa,  so,  Id,  '  how,'  '  what,'  '  where.' " 

P.  508.  "  Gipsey  efta,  '  seven.'  " 

Vol.  ii.  p.  850.  "  Gipsey  yog,  '  fire.'  " 

P.  1004.  "  In  the  Gipsey  dialect,  Ri  and  Rauneoxo.  titles  of  respect 
for  a  '  gentleman  '  and  '  lady,'  '  sir  '  and  '  madam.'  " 

P.  1223.  "We  cannot  but  observe  that  the  name  of  the  sreat 
nation,  the  PiOM«?is, — PtOMANi,  belongs  to  our  element  PiM,  and 
PiOMANi  is  the  name  by  which  the  Gipseys  distinguish  their  own 
tribe.  This  is  certainly  a  very  curious  coincidence  ;  and  I  must 
leave  the  reader  to  his  own  reflections  respecting  the  cause  of  its 
existence,  on  which  I  have  ventured  to  offer  a  suggestion  on  a  former 
occasion  (p.  320)."  Both  this  passage  and  that  are  curiously 
sus^estive  of  George  Borrow. 

Yol.  iii.  p.  32.  "  In  Gipsey  Pctal-engro  is  a  '  farrier,'  and  Grc  sko 
Petallcs  is  a  '  horse-shoe.'  The  term  Engro  means  '  in,' '  engaged  in,' 
'concerned  in,'  and  is  added  to  substantives  for  the  purpose  of 
expressing  the  occupation  of  a  person,  as  Cacave-Engro,  a  '  tinker,'  i.r. 
a  person  employed  in  kettles,  etc.,  etc.  The  term  Grc  or  Gri  is  a 
'  horse,'  and  sko  is  the  post  positive  article  denoting  '  of.'  " 

P.  47.  "  In  the  dialect  of  the  Gipseys  Facial  means  '  after';  Bcsli, 
'down';  Beside  so  kam,  'the  sun  is  set,'  or  doim ;  Besh  telsc,  'sit 
down ' ;  Okhis  scammin,  Besh  Poshe  mandee,  '  There's  a  chair,  sit  doivn 
by  me ' ;  where  we  see  in  hesh  and  poshe  the  element  used  in  different 
forms  to  express  congenial  ideas  expressed  by  the  verb  and  adverb, 
'  sit '  and  '  down.'  Let  us  likewise  note  in  okhis  and  scammin  the 
Greek  ekei  and  the  Latin  scamnvm.     In  Gipsey  vassave  means  'liase' 


104  ANGLO-KOMANY   GLEANINGS. 

or  '  bad,'  as  vassave  chib,  a  '  bad  tongue  '  or  '  bad-spoken  person,'  and  I 
have  already  observed  that  in  Sanscrit  vasa  deva  is  '  the  Goddess  of 
the  Earth/  where  we  are  brought  to  the  spot  from  which  all  these 
terms  are  derived." 

That  I  have  unearthed  the  whole  stock  of  Mr,  Whiter's  Eomani 
words  I  will  not  positively  assert ;  but,  at  least,  I  have  collected 
twenty-six,  which  I  here  arrange  in  their  proper  order : — Besh,  sit 
(p.  part,  beshtc);  chib,  tongue;  efia,  seven;  gre  or  gri,  horse  (adj. 
gresho);  cacave-engro,  tinker;  kam,  sun;  ki,  where;  mandee,  me;  o, 
the;  oMis,  there  (rather  ohhi  se,  here  is);  okto,  eight;  padal,  after 
(across);  petalles,  horse-shoe  (accus.) ;  petal-engro,  farrier;  poshe,  near; 
ra%in4,  lady  (voc.  raunia);  W,  gentleman  (voc.  ria)\  Eomani,  Gypsy 
(adv.  Romand);  sa,  so,  how  (sar);  shan,  art;  se,  is;  scammin,  chair ; 
so,  what;  telse,  down  (?  misprint  for  telae);  vassave,  bad;  yeJc,  one; 
yog,  fire.  The  general  correctness  of  these  words  and  forms  is 
remarkable.  Indeed,  Mr.  Whiter  could  clearly,  had  he  so  chosen, 
have  given  us  a  valuable  Eomani  vocabulary. 

Oriental  Fragments  (Lond.  1834),  by  the  author  of  The  Hindu  Pan- 
theon {i.e.  Major  Moor,  of  Bealings,  in  Suffolk),  is  a  work  almost  odder 
than  Mr.  Whiter's.    The  following  passages  deal  with  the  Gypsies  : — 

P.  141.  "Our  magnificent  Coronation  pa/^,  which  appears  to  be 
also  called  dalmatica — {Dalmatia,  the  region  of  Gypsies  ?) — spread  as 
above  described  over  a  ridge-pole,  would  form  the  body  or  sides,  all 
except  the  upright  ends,  of  an  Indian  or  Gypsy  p)all.  What  do 
Gypsies  call  their  palls  ?  I  expect,  in  my  next  discourse  with  those 
curious  people,  to  find  that  pall  is  also  their  name," 

Pp.  347-351.  "The  Gypsies  (gyptsT)  are  similarly  seen  all  over 
India  as  all  over  England — and  nearly  all  over  the  intervening 
regions. .  .  .  Nor  can  any  two  races  of  men  be  much  more  unlike,  bating 
itinerancy,  than  the  Vanjari  and  the  wandering  Zingari  of  India. 
The  latter  word,  as  Zingar,  means  a  '  saddler.'  All  leather- workers  in 
India  are  base.  In  the  Mahratta  countries  saddle  and  bridle  makers 
must,  with  such  an  equestrian  erratic  people,  have  been  much 
employed,  and  of  necessity  also  wanderers.  I  have  forgotten  the 
appellations  by  which  these  wanderers  are  called  in  different  parts  of 
India.  Wherever  I  have  been,  I  have,  I  think,  seen  gangs  of  them, 
four  or  five  or  more  in  number,  of  males — women  and  children  to 
correspond — and  have  ever  been  reminded  by  them  of  the  Gypsies  of 
England.  Here  they  are  mostly  tinkers ;  in  India  cobblers.  .  .  . 
Some  years  ago,  I  recollect,  among  other  things,  asking  a  black-eyed, 


REVIEWS.  105 

black-haired,  black-skinned,  white-toothed,  handsome  Gipsy  woman, 
what  she  called  tliis  ?  showing  her  a  knife.  '  CJmry,'  she  said ; 
exactly  as  half  the  inhabitants  of  the  great  Indian  range  would  have 
answered — from  Indus  to  the  Brahmaputra.  I  have  forgotten  the 
rest  of  our  colloquy.  (I  received  the  same  answer  to  the  same  ques- 
tion, from  a  like  person,  within  a  week  of  my  writing  this  note — May 
1833)." 

This  I  may  cap  with  an  experience  of  my  own.  Some  years  ago 
I  was  in  a  railway  carriage  with  a  sergeant  and  a  private,  who  were 
bringing  back  a  deserter.  The  private's  pipe  had  got  choked,  and 
"  Lend  us  your  churi"  he  said  to  the  sergeant.  "Gypsies,"  I  thought; 
but  no,  they  had  simply  lately  returned  from  India,  where  they  had 
picked  up  the  word.  Whence,  by  the  by,  did  Scott  get  cliury,  the 
only  true  Eomany  word  in  all  his  works?  It  occurs,  not  in  Gvy 
Mannering,  but  in  the  Heart  of  Midlothian  and  the  Fortunes  of  Nigel. 

Feancis  Hindes  Groome. 


EEVIEWS. 

Uthnologische  Mitteilungcn  a^is  Ungarn :  Zeitschrift  fUr  die  Volks- 
kunde  der  Beioohncr  JJngarns  nnd  seiner  JSfehenldnder.  Redigicrt 
tend  heraiisgegehen  von  Prof.  Dr.  Anton  Herrmann.  Budapest, 
1887,  1888.  (Ethnological  Contributions  from  Hungary  :  A 
Journal  of  Ethnology  for  Hungary  and  adjacent  countries. 
Edited  and  published  by  Prof.  Dr.  Anton  Herrmann.  Budapest : 
1887,  1888.)  Containing  several  articles  relative  to  Gypsies, 
with  Gypsy  Melodies. 

Gypsy  lore  is  a  sister  of  Folk-lore,  and  both  are  daughters  of  Eth- 
nology.  The  Austrian  Empire,  and  especially  Hungary,  abounds  far 
more  than  any  other  country  in  Europe  in  varied,  strange,  and  attrac- 
tive races  of  people,  including  several  branches  of  the  best  type  of  the 
Eomany ;  and  therefore  it  is  not  remarkable  that  the  Ethnolocjische 
Mitteilungcn  avs  Ungarn,  or  Ethnological  Contributions  from  Hungary, 
as  it  is  remarkably  well  edited,  should  contain  much  that  would  deeply 
interest  all  our  readers.  This  will  appear  from  the  following  partial 
list  of  its  contents.  Firstly,  an  excellent  introduction  by  the  pub- 
lisher, Dr.  Anton  Herrmann.  "  General  Characteristics  of  Magyar 
VOL  I. — NO.  II.  H 


106  KEVIEWS. 

Folk-Lore,"  by  Dr.  L.  Katona,  a  paper  on  the  comparative  examination 
of  German,  Hungarian,  and  Gypsy  popular  songs,  showing  that  many 
have  appeared  through  the  ages  in  a  great  variety  of  versions.    "  Miir- 
chenhort,"  an  article  in  which  it  is  pointed  out  that  the  folk-tale  has 
in  all  ages  been  in  a  way  a  gospel  of  consolation  and  hope  to  the  poor, 
and  which  is   illustrated,  or  rather  connected,  with   a  comparison 
between  Hungarian  Gypsy  Tales  and  those  of  the  Algonkin  Indians 
of  America.     This  is  followed  by  "  The  Moon  in  Hungarian  Popular 
Beliefs,"  and  a  paper  "  On  the  Origin  of  the  Eoumanian  Language,"  by 
Ladislaus  E^thy,  a  tongue  whose  likeness  to  Latin  is  very  much 
exaggerated  by  the  modern  "  Eoumans."     "  It  cannot,"  observes  the 
critic,  "  be  classed  among  the  later  Latin  tongues,  but  rather  ranks  by 
comparison  with  the  Negro-French  of  the  Isle  of  France,"  tliat  is  to 
say,  as  a  Latin  "  Pidgin."     Next  we  have  a  full  review  of  "  Finnish 
Legends,"  translated  by  Emmy  Schreck,  a  subject  deserving  careful 
study,  as  it  presents  innumerable  points  of  resemblance  to  the  tradi- 
tions of  the  Eskimo  and  Eed  Indians  already  mentioned.     This  is 
followed  by  a  critique  of  collections  of  Euthenian  or  Hungarian- 
Eussian  popular  songs,  and  (in  two  parts)  an  extremely  interesting 
paper  on  "Magic  Formulas  and  Incantations  of  the  Transylvanian 
and  South  Hungarian  Gypsies,"  by  Dr.  Heinrich  v.  Wlislocki,  who  is 
probably  more  practically  familiar  with  Gypsy  life  and  language  in 
every  form  than  any  scholar  who  ever  lived.     This  series  of  articles 
has  also  been  published  in  book  form,  and  I  am  now  engaged  in  trans- 
lating it  into  English,  with  additions  drawn  from  other  sources.    It  is 
probable   that   many  of   these   formulas   are   very   ancient.     About 
eio'hteen  months  ago  I  learned  from  a  uirl  in  Florence  two  mao-ic 
"  conjurations,"  which  are  to  be  effectively  found  in  the  old  Assyrian 
spells  of  Lenormant.     Very  interesting  indeed  are  the  copious  "  Speci- 
mens of  Popular  Ballads  in  German,  Magyar,  Eoumanian,  Wendish, 
Euthenian,  Slovak,    Servian,   Bosnian,   and   other   languages,"  with 
German  versions.      Among   these  are  two  in  the  singular  Spanish 
dialect  spoken  by  Scj^hardim  Jews  in  Hungary,  which  are  in  the  style 
of  the  songs  of  Gil  Vincente.     Dr.  Herrmann,  who  fortunately  under- 
stands music,  gives  the  score  of  a  number  of  Transylvanian  Gypsy 
airs.     It  is  not  generally  known  that  there  are  many  melodies  which 
Hungarian  and  Eussian  Gypsies  will  on  no  account  play  before  a 
"  Gajo."     "  Sveta  Nedjelica  "  (Holy  Sunday)  is  the  partial  translation 
into  German  of  a  very  interesting  Bosnian  poem.    Allied  to  it  is  "  The 
Song  of  Gusinje,"  a  Bosnian  Mahometan  epic,  which  illustrates  the 
incredible  variety  and  richness  of  the  folk-lore  of  Hungary.     Prof. 


HEVIKWS.  107 

Paul  Huiilalvy  contributes  a  paper  "  On  the  Hungarian  Fisheries,"  in 
-which  the  etymology  of  a  number  of  words  peculiar  to  fishermen  and 
hunters  is  given.  We  have  from  Dr.  Karl  Papay  a  communication  on 
the  inhabitants  of  the  Hungarian  Isle  of  Csepel,  in  the  Danube,  which 
is  believed  to  contain  an  immense  hoard  of  prehistoric  relics  in  graves, 
which  have  been  as  yet  very  little  explored.  Some  new  and  curious 
narrations  are  given  in  "  Contributions  on  Vampyrism  in  Servia,"  by 
Ludwig  von  Thalloczy.  "  Hungarian  Popular  Tales,"  by  Job  Sebesi, 
will  interest  any  reader.  In  "  Ungarischer  Aberglauben  "  and  "  Piou- 
manian  Exorcisms  against  the  Evil  Eye,"  we  have  relics  of  the  old 
Shamanism  ah'eady  represented  by  the  Gypsy  spells.  Yet  again  we 
find  many  pages  devoted  to  Austrian  popular  songs  in  many  tongues — 
a  rich  field,  when  it  is  remembered  that  there  are  fourteen  languages 
peculiar  to  the  country,  if  we  include  Hungary.  The  editorial  and 
critical  contributions  to  the  Ethnologischc  Mitteilungcn  are  copious  and 
creditable.  The  work  is  a  folio  pamphlet  of  123  pages,  appearing 
every  month,  with  the  exception  of  July  and  August,  which  are 
devoted  by  the  editor  to  personal  researches  among  Gypsies,  Croats, 
and  all  the  people  which  supply  him  with  subjects.  The  cost  of  each 
number  is  two  marks,  that  of  the  first  five,  five  marks,  or  five  shillings. 
Address — Prof.  Dr.  Anton  Herrmann,  Budapest,  I.,  Attila-utcza  49. 
To  conclude,  I  can  say  most  sincerely  that  I  know  of  no  work  in 
which  there  is  in  a  corresponding  amount  of  "  letter-press,"  so  much 
to  deeply  interest  the  ethnologist  and  folk-lorist,  or  the  Eomany  Eye 
and  lover  of  literary  cicriosce  in  prose  or  verse. 

Charles  G.  Leland. 


Even  although  the  IldrchenJiort,  above  referred  to,  had  no  bearing 
upon  our  special  subject,  it  would  still  merit  a  fuller  notice  in  this 
Journal;  since  it  comes  from  the  hand  of  a  Gypsy  brother — no  other, 
indeed,  than  our  Sherengro  himself.  But  it  does  actually  deal, 
although  not  exclusively,  witli  one  feature  of  Gypsyism.  And,  more- 
over, it  brings  to  light  a  new  and  most  interesting  question,  which 
(it  is  needless  to  say)  here  receives  a  broad,  comprehensive,  and 
original  treatment. 

Mr.  Leland  begins  by  reminding  us  that  the  serious  study  of 
what  educated  men,  back  to  remote  ages,  have  regarded  as  merely 
silly  tales,  "  vulgar  "  beliefs,  and  gross  superstition — that  which  is  now 
known  under  the  general  title  of  Folk-Lore — is  a  study  peculiar  to 
this  century,  almost  to  this  generation.     Even  we,  lie  adds,  are  not 


108  ERVIEWS. 

in  a  position  to  realise  and  understand,  so  well  as  our  descendants 
shall  do,  the  important  part  that  Folk-Lore— or,  more  precisely,  the 
YoYk- Talc— \ms  played  in  directing  the  actions  of  men. 

The  Folk-Tale  he  divides  into  two  grand  classifications;  under 

its  primary  aspect  as  a  matter  of  genuine,  unquestioning  belief ;  and 

again,  as  it  appears  when  it  has  sunk  into  the  position  of  a  mere 

nursery-tale,   told   for    amusement,   and   tacitly   regarded    as   quite 

unworthy  of  serious  consideration.     The  folk-tales  of  such  countries 

as  Germany,  Britain,  France,  and  Scandinavia  have,  he  points  out, 

lono-  a<TO  fallen  into  the  second  of  these  divisions.     But  there  is  one 

European  people  that  still  implicitly  accepts  its  legends  as  real  and 

true,  and  that  is  the  Gypsy  race — more  definitely  the  Gypsies  of 

Hunf  ary.     These  tales,  or  the  ethics  which  they  inculcate,  constitute 

the  Hungarian  Gypsy's  religion.     He  may  call  himself  a  Christian, 

but  Christianity  is  only  his  holiday  garb  :  the  actual  religion  which 

is  his  everyday  attire,  and  which  influences  him  in  all  the  actions  of 

his  life,  is  to  be  found  in  the  legendary  lore  of  his  race.     No  matter 

how  incredible  or  impossible  their  statements  may  seem  to  modern 

Europeans,  to  him  they  are  deep-seated  articles  of  belief.     And  what 

they  mainly  teach  him  is  to  console  himself  for  present  suffering  by 

the  expectation  of  "  a  good  time  coming."     This  is  what  Mr.  Leland 

finds,  he  tells  us,  to  be    the  germ   of   the  primitive  folk-tale — the 

Gospel  of  consolation  ;  and  consolation  which,  as  much  as  that  of 

Christianity,  is  offered  to  the  poorest  and  meanest.     In  the  folk-tale 

it  is  not  the  rich  and  strong  who  are  esteemed  :  the  hero  is  nearly 

always  poor  and  unfriended — a  helpless  orphan,  a  poor  man,  the 

youngest  brother  or  the  weakest  child,  a  deformed  hunchback — it  is 

to  such  as  these  that  success  and  happiness  come  at  last. 

Although  this  exaltation  of  the  still  despised  "  children's  stories  " 
is  novel  to  most  of  us,  the  theme  is  well  worthy  of  consideration. 
For  a  man's  religion  is  only  that  which  he  says  it  is,  when  it  happens 
that  the  professed  belief  actuates  his  daily  life.  It  is  not  the 
Christianity  which  the  Hungarian  Gypsy  professes  that  comforts  him 
in  distress  (although  no  doubt  that  could  do  so  too),  but  the  memory 
of  many  an  ancient  legend  that  showed  him  how  the  gods  took  pity 
upon  the  friendless  and  unhappy.  It  is  the  application  to  his  own 
case  of  the  moral  conveyed  in  these  stories,  that  brings  him  comfort. 
This  idea  quite  coincides  with  the  suggestion  made  by  a  recent 
writer  that  the  "  moral "  appended  to  the  tales  of  J^^sop  indicates  that 
these  drew  their  origin,  very  remotely,  perhaps,  from  some  book  of 
Buddhist  teaching.     Assuming  this  theory  to  be  correct,  we  have 


REVIEWS.  109 

thus  in  "^sop's  Fables  "  a  distinct  counterpart  to  those  Hungarian- 
Gypsy  tales  :  both  representing  a  genuine  faith,  although  in  each 
case  the  source  of  their  inspiration  has  been  lost,  and  each  is  viewed 
by  indifferent  moderns  as  nothing  better  than  a  collection  of  nursery 
tales.  Nor,  indeed,  is  it  only  by  means  of  either  of  these  collections 
that  religion  has  been  taught.  Mr.  Leland  has  said  that  the  religion 
of  the  Gypsy  folk-tale  is  like  that  of  Christianitj^,  in  that  it  offers 
comfort  to  the  poor  and  outcast.  But  is  this  the  only  point  of 
resemblance  ?  Surely  no  religion  was  ever  expounded  more  fully 
through  tlie  medium  of  stories  than  Christianity  itself.  Whether 
these  were  themselves  Jewish  folk-tales  which  had  lon^  been  current, 
or  whether  they  were  originated  by  the  Teacher  Himself,  they  were 
the  favourite  and  forcible  exponents  of  the  Christian  religion. 

One  other  instructive  feature  the  Mdrchenhort  presents.  While 
keeping  in  view  the  traditions  of  the  Hungarian  Gypsies,  Mr.  Leland 
places  quite  as  prominently  those  of  another,  and  in  some  respects  a 
similar  race.  The  folk-tales  of  the  Algonquin  Indians  of  North 
America  are,  he  finds,  on  precisely  the  same  level  as  those  of  the 
Gypsies.  That  is  to  say,  they  still  constitute  a  religion,  and  are 
firmly  believed  in  by  the  Algonquins  themselves,  to  whom  they 
present  the  same  Gospel  of  comfort  in  distress. 

But,  while  this  forms  their  connection  with  the  main  argument  of 
the  Metre] icnhort,  every  reader  of  Mr.  Leland's  Algonquin  Legends  of 
New  Engletnd  ^  is  aware  of  the  fact  which  he  again  enforces  in  this 
essay,  that  the  Algonquin  mythology  bears  a  most  unmistakable 
likeness  to  that  of  ancient  Scandinavia.  Thor,  Loki,  the  fairies  and 
the  dwarfs,  figure  again  and  again,  though  in  altered  guise,  in  those 
Transatlantic  tales.  How  this  has  happened,  Ave  need  not  discuss 
here.  But  again  the  Hungarian  Gypsies  come  into  prominence  :  for 
they  too  have  a  mass  of  beliefs  which,  if  not  exactly  those  of  Scan- 
dinavia, are  at  least  those  of  medieeval  Europe,  and  vividly  recall  the 
incidents  of  the  Nibelungen  Lied.  Here  we  stand  upon  much  firmer 
ground  than  we  should,  were  we  to  speculate  upon  the  way  in  which 
the  tales  of  Thor  and  Loki  probably  found  their  way  across  the 
Atlantic.  For  not  only  do  the  Transylvanian  Gypsies  of  to-day  pos- 
sess tales  which  suggest  the  Nibelungen  Lied,  but  that  TAcd  itself  is 
said   by  some  to  have  been  composed  by  a  Transylvanian  Gypsy.- 

1  London,  1884. 

-  Kingsley,  in  his  Saint's  Tragedy,  speaks  of  Klingsor,  one  of  the  reputed  authors  of  the 
Nibelungen  Lied,  as  "  a  Zingar  wizard,"  and  states  that  he  was  a  famous  astrologer,  fortune- 
teller, and  necromancer,  inhabiting  Siebenbiirgen  during  the  thirteenth  century.  Kingsley 
draws  his  facts  from  Dietrich  the  Thuringian. 


110  REVIEWS. 

And  certainly  the  caste  which  possesses  such  inherited  beliefs  in  this 
century  presents  itself  as  the  most  probable  source  of  a  thirteenth- 
century  epic,  composed  of  such  materials,  and  assigned  to  the  same 
locality.  Unless  it  can  be  proved  that  there  were  no  Gypsies  in 
Transylvania  during  the  thirteenth  century. 

Of  the  rich  store  of  Transylvanian-Gypsy  lore  which  Drs.  Von 
Wlislocki  and  Herrmann  have  garnered  for  us  in  the  Ethnologische 
Mitteilungen  aus  Ungarn,  we  can  only  give  an  imperfect  sketch  in 
these  pages.  Everything  they  give  is  fresh  from  the  Gypsies  them- 
selves, the  result  of  long  and  careful  observation  while  dwelling  among 
them.  Unquestionably  the  most  interesting  of  all  these  communica- 
tions is  Von  Wlislocki's  pregnant  article  on  the  South-Hungarian 
Gypsy  Spells.  These  spells  are  employed  in  curing  and  in  warding 
off  disease,  whether  of  men  or  animals,  in  counteracting  the  Evil  Eye 
and  all  baneful  influences,  and  in  recovering  lost  property,  or  discover- 
ing hidden  treasure.  The  power  to  employ  such  charms  is  chiefly 
vested  in  the  female  Gypsies,  though  not  in  all  of  them.  To  be  a  true 
witch  {cohdlyi),  otherwise  a  "good"  or  "wise"  woman  {lace  romni  or 
gule  romni),  by  right  of  birth,  one  must  be  the  seventh  of  an  uninter- 
rupted series  of  girls.  Such  a  girl  is  a  born  witch,  though  her  super- 
natural powers  require  cultivation,  and  she  is  eagerly  sought  after  in 
marriage  by  the  young  men  of  her  tribe.  The  ninth  boy  of  an  un- 
interrupted series  of  boys  has  also  similar  powers.^  But  it  is  with 
the  "  wise  women  "  that  the  superior  knowledge  and  skill  chiefly  rests. 
And  as,  mingled  with  many  ancient  rites,  there  is  a  certain  amount  of 
everyday  medical  learning  discernible  in  their  charms,  it  is  easily 
understood  how  those  "  wise  women  "  are  not  only  looked  up  to  with 
great  respect  by  their  fellow-Gypsies,  but  also  by  the  neighbouring 
country  people,  to  whom  they  sell,  at  very  high  prices,  various 
miraculous  salves  against  fever  and  other  sicknesses. 

Those  women  who  have  learned  their  magic  lore  direct  from  the 
unseen  powers  of  Earth  and  Water  are  regarded  as  the  greatest 
witches  of  all.  And  as  these  powers  are  addressed  in  many  of  their 
formulas,  they  may  here  be  briefly  referred  to. 

They  consist  mainly  of  the  water-spirits,  or  kelpies,  the  gnomes, 
or  kobolds,  and  the  "  good  fairies,"  all  of  whom  were  once  firmly  be- 
lieved in  by  other  European  peoples.  There  is  also  the  Slayer  of 
Flesh  (Ildshurddlo,  or  more  correctly  MdsJimurdcUo),  who  exactly  cor- 
responds with  the  giants  of  the  "  Jack  the  Giant-Killer  "  order.     He 

1  Three,  seven,  and  nine  are  magic  numbers  among  these  people  ;  the  last  probably  because 
it  is  three  tintes  three.  The  first  two  numbers,  as  well  as  the  seventh -daughter  idea,  are 
regarded  as  "  lucky  "  by  other  races. 


REVIFAVS.  1  ]  1 

lurks  in  desert  places,  on  the  outlook  for  men  and  Ijeasts,  whose  flesh 
(especially  the  former  variety)  he  highly  esteems.  Yet  he  is  so  stupid 
and  gullible  that  he  is  often  outwitted  by  men,  who  thus  gain  from 
him  his  hoarded  treasures.  And  he  lias  this  good  point,  that  his  huge 
strength  is  always  at  the  service  of  the  man  who  may  have  helped 
him  when  in  dilficulty. 

But  the  Mdshurddlo  is  apparently  seldom  prayed  to  :  only  once, 
indeed,  in  these  examples — in  a  spell  against  fever.  The  other 
"  supernaturals"  figure  much  more  frequently.  Of  tliem,  the  good 
fairies,  or  Urmcn,  seem  always  favourable  to  man.  And  they  are 
the  kindly  protectors  of  the  brutes  also.  So  that  the  Gypsies,  when 
they  see  their  children  tormenting  an  animal,  make  them  desist  by 
calling  out  to  them,  "  Urmc  tide  nd  hied  somndkicne  pgdhd/j .'"  ("The 
good  fairies  will  not  give  you  any  golden  apples.")  However,  although 
the  Urmcn  are  so  favourably  disposed  towards  man  and  beast,  the 
gnomes  and  kelpies  appear  almost  invariably  as  their  dreaded  foes. 
In  illustration  of  this,  take  the  following  charm  to  keep  away  evil 
from  an  unbaptized  child.  (For  here,  as  in  many  other  places,  it  is 
believed  that  until  a  child  is  baptized  it  is  not  safe  against  the  powers 
of  evil.)  These  Hungarian  Gypsies,  therefore,  take  the  precaution  of 
lighting  a  fire  before  the  tent  of  the  "  childing  mother,"  and  this  fire 
is  not  suffered  to  go  out  until  the  ceremony  of  baptism  has  taken 
place.  The  women,  who  light  and  feed  the  fire,  croon,  as  they  do  so, 
the  followincr  chant — 


o 


Burn  ye,  bum  ye  fast,  0  Fire  ! 

And  guard  the  babe  from  wrathful  ire 

Of  earthy  Gnome  and  Water-Sprite, 

Whom  with  thy  dark  smoke  banish  quite  ! 

Kindly  Fairies,  hither  fare, 

And  let  the  babe  good-fortune  share, 

Let  luck  attend  hiui  ever  here, 

Throughout  his  life  be  luck  aye  near  ! 

Twigs  and  branches  now  in  store, 


And  still  of  branches  many  more,  ^    ^" 
Give  we  to  thy  flame,  O  Fire  ! 
Burn  ye,  burn  ye,  fast  and  high, 
Hear  the  little  baby  cry  ! 

Again,  it  is  the  female-gnome,  the  "  earth-woman,"  who  is  accused 
of  secretly  suckling  a  baby  when  it  refuses  its  own  mother's  milk. 
And  bitter  are  the  curses  {^'Sickness  devour  thy  body"  "Let  thy  milk 
become  Jire,"  "  May  thou  burn-  in  the  earth ")  directed  against  her  in 
the  incantation  that  helps  to  restore  the  baby  to  the  breast.  So,  too, 
in  such  complaints  as  tliose  of  the  eye,  or  bleeding  at.  the  nose,  the 


1 1 2  REVIEWS. 

sickness  is  not  only  conjured  out  of  the  patient,  but  given  for  ever  to 
the  o-nome.  Similarly,  a  spell  against  fever  transfers  it  into  the 
water  {" I  am  no  friend  to  thee"):  by  which  the  water-spirit,  or 
kelpie,  is  to  be  understood. 

Yet,  on  the  other  hand,  the  abhorred  water-being  is  sometimes 
propitiated.  As  when  a  mother,  to  charm  away  convulsive  crying  in 
her  child,  goes  through  the  prescribed  ceremonial  in  all  its  details, 
of  which  the  last  is  this  appeal,  as  she  casts  a  red  thread  into  the 
stream,  "Take  this  thread,  0  Water-Spirit,  and  take  with  it  the 
crying  of  my  child  1  If  it  gets  well,  I  will  bring  thee  apples  and 
eggs ! "  The  Kelpie  again  appears  in  a  friendly  character  when  a 
man,  in  order  to  recover  a  stolen  horse,  takes  his  infant  to  a  stream, 
and,  bending  over  the  water,  asks  the  invisible  genius  to  indicate,  by 
means  of  the  baby's  hand,  the  direction  in  which  the  horse  has  been 
taken.  In  these  two  instances,  we  seem  to  have  a  survival  of  the 
worship  of  water  and  the  watery  powers,  once  common  throughout 
Europe. 

It  is  the  belief  of  these  Gypsies  that  all  sicknesses  are  caused  by 
demoniacal  possession.  And  these  evil  spirits  must  not  only  be 
conjured  out  of  one's  body,  but  into  something  else :  it  may  be  a  hole 
specially  made  in  a  tree  (afterwards  carefully  plugged),  or  it  may  be 
water,  earth,  or  the  powers  dwelling  therein.  Some  of  the  formulas 
are  curiously  complicated.  That  against  disease  of  the  eyes  first 
conjures  the  sickness  out  of  the  eyes  into  the  water,  then  out  of  the 
water  and  into  the  saffron,  from  thence  into  the  earth,  and  then  out  of 
the  earth  into  the  earth-man — "  TIie7r  is  thy  home,  thither  fjo  thou  and 
feast  /"     This,  too,  is  undoubtedly  an  ancient  belief. 

"  The  nearest  running  water  "  plays  an  important  part  in  many  of 
these  magic  rites.  And  Dr.  Von  Wlislocki  states  that  even  yet  no 
tent-dwelling  Gypsy  (of  this  family)  will  cross  a  bridge  without 
spitting  thrice  over  the  parapet.  (For  expectoration  itself  has  some 
mystic  meaning.)  In  addition  to  water,  fire,  and  earth,  there  are 
many  other  important  accessories  to  these  charms,  such  as  trees  and 
plants  of  various  kinds,  black  dogs,  black  hens,  frogs,  birds,  red  and 
white  wool,  and  so  forth. 

But,  happily,  he  who  wants  to  acquaint  himself  more  particularly 
with  these  Zauber-  und  Bespreehungsformeln  der  transsilvanischen  tind 
siXdimgarischen  Zigeuner  can  now  obtain  the  little  book  with  very 
little  trouble  and  expense. 

The  Gypsy  airs  taken  down  by  Dr.  Herrmann,  we  are  enabled  by 
his  courtesy  to  reproduce  in  the  present  number  of  our  Journal. 


REVIEWS.  113 

Two  tales  {The  Squirrel  and  the  Fish,  and  Who  Loves  Met),  as 
M'ell  as  a  tragic  ballad  of  Anrush  and  liitJcui,  and  a  love-song 
(Ushci  lele,  mrc  galamha  !) — all  Eomani — are  also  included  among 
these  very  interesting  "  Contributions  fvuui  Hungary." 

DaVJD  ]\lAClilTCllIE. 


Mk.  Gkoome'6  TiiEouY  OF  Tin:  JDiEEUbiON  OF  Folk-Tale.s 

BY    xMEA^d    OF   THE   GyPSIES. 

The  question  of  the  diffusion  of  Folk-tales  is  one  only  less  interest- 
ing, and  hardly  less  difficult  than  that  of  their  origin;  and  indeed  it  can 
scarcely  be  said  that  the  materials  for  its  solution  are  yet  in  the  pos- 
session of  the  student,  despite  the  wealth  of  collections  from  all  parts 
of  the  world  which  have  issued  from  the  press  in  such  profusion  during 
the  last  decade.  JNIuch  more  might  already  have  been  done  had  the 
editors  of  these  always  had  a  scientific  grasp  of  the  conditions  of  the 
problem.  But  unfortunately  the  really  important  and  trustworthy 
collections  are  still  so  few  that  we  have  almost  exhausted  their 
number  when  we  have  enumerated  the  names  of  Grimm,  Von  Hahn, 
Campbell,  Asbjornsen,  Ealston,  Calloway,  Gill,  Pitre,  Crane,  Krauss, 
Sebillot,  Luzel,  Leland,  Temple,  and  Cosquin.  Many  editors  also  have 
started  with  some  scholar's  preconceived  theory,  and  instead  of  first 
finding  their  facts,  and  then  deducing  a  theory  to  account  for  these, 
have  contented  themselves  with  casting  about  to  find  facts  to  bolster 
up  a  theory  already  made.  It  is  unnecessary  here  to  do  more  than 
allude  to  the  theory  that  folk-tales  are  the  detritus  of  old  Aryan 
myths,  as  it  held  possession  of  the  field  almost  till  yesterday,  and 
indeed  is  not  yet  by  any  means  generally  discredited.  It  was 
consecrated  by  the  august  support  of  Grimm,  and  has  been  elo- 
quently elucidated  by  Von  Halm,  Max  ]\Iiiller,  and  Dasent,  and  witli 
much  more  zeal  than  discretion  by  Sir  George  Cox  and  De  Guber- 
natis.  The  next  contribution  of  first  importance  to  the  question 
was  the  masterly  introduction  of  Benfey,  to  his  translation  of  the 
Pantchatantra  (1859).  This  great  scholar's  contention  was  that 
the  popular  tales  of  Europe  were  imported  from  India,  and  diffused 
chiefly  through  literary  channels,  such  as  translations  of  Eastern 
story-books  and  the  like.  Mr.  Clouston  and  M.  Cosquin  follow 
Benfey  with  greater  or  less  modifications.  M.  Cosquin  argues  that 
if  the  Aryan  race,  before  its  dispersion,  preserved  the  myths  only 
in  their  earliest  germinal  form,  after  the  separate  branches  had  lost 


114  REVIEWS. 

touch  of  one  another,  it  would  have  been  impossible  that  the  final 
form  of  the  myths — the  household  tales  as  we  possess  them  now — 
would  have  so  closely  resembled  each  other  as  they  do  ;  and  that  there- 
fore most  of  the  folk-tales  have  spread  all  round  the  world  from 
people  to  people  by  way  of  borrowing,  and  that  their  ultimate  source 
is  India — not  in  prehistoric  times,  but  within  the  period  of  actual 
history,  Benfey  contended  that  the  essential  ideas  forming  the 
basis  of  our  folk-tales  were  mainly  features  of  Indian  origin;  and 
Cosquin  supplements  by  arguing  that  their  formative  ideas  were 
carried  westwards  wdthin  the  historical  period.  Mr.  Lang  has  weak- 
ened this  position  considerably  by  bringing  forward  from  widely 
scattered  savage  races,  awkward  analogies  and  startling  identities 
apparently  inconsistent  with  so  comparatively  narrow  and  recent  an 
origin,  and  apparently  would  make  the  spontaneous  generation  of  simi- 
lar ideas  and  incidents,  under  the  same  physical  conditions,  and  at 
parallel  levels  in  culture,  a  much  more  important  factor  in  the  manu- 
facture of  folk-tales.  Here  the  question  at  issue  may  be  narrowed  to 
that  of  what  constitutes  the  essential  elements  in  such  a  story.  No 
doubt  the  ideas  and  situations  are  afloat  everywhere  wherever  men 
exist  at  the  same  stage  of  culture,  but  how  far  are  independent  parallel 
or  identical  combinations  possible  ?  That  which  makes  a  story,  pro- 
perly speaking,  is  not  the  ideas  which  enter  into  it,  such  as  speaking 
beasts,  transformations,  objects  of  magic,  and  the  like,  for  these  might 
easily  be  generated  in  parallel  sets,  but  rather  the  combination  of  the 
same,  which  is  usually  a  thing  completely  arbitrary.  When  we  find 
among  the  Iroquois  or  the  Zulus,  a  certain  story  where  adventures 
succeed  each  other  or  combine,  in  the  same  manner,  as  in  a  certain 
other  European  story,  we  can  confidently  afiirm  of  that  story,  that 
there  has  not  been  generation  at  an  independent  time  and  manner 
among  the  Zulus  or  the  Iroquois  and  among  the  Europeans,  but  that 
there  has  been  transmission  by  some  means  or  other.  The  point 
of  departure  of  that  transmission  M.  Cosquin  seeks  to  point  out 
historically  in  India.  We  know  already  of  diverse  currents  which 
have  carried  into  all  directions  several  written  collections,  and  it 
seems  as  easy  to  suppose  that  oral  Indian  stories  should  also  have 
followed  different  routes,  eastwards  to  Indo-China,  northwards 
to  Tibet  and  Tartary,  westwards  to  the  Persians,  thence  to  the 
neighbouring  peoples,  and  at  last  to  Europe.  It  is  admitted  by 
all  that  such  borrowing  has  occurred;  the  only  questions  being  as 
to  the  extent  and  the  medium  employed,  and  how  far  it  is  possible 
to  believe  that  parallel  combinations  might  be  constructed  through 


IIEVIEWS.  1 1 5 

the  identical  working  of  the  human  imagination.  Mr.  Lang  admits 
readily  that  the  process  of  borrowing  has  also  gone  on,  and  that 
stories  once  invented  may  have  been  carried  on  through  the  mists 
of  the  past  by  such  social  accidents  as  the  pilgrimage  of  hardy  mer- 
chants across  land  and  sea,  the  seizure  and  sale  of  slaves,  and  marriage 
by  capture. 

At  this  point  comes  the  latest  contributor  to  the  question 
with  a  pregnant  suggestion  that  tlie  Gypsies,  in  their  restless  and 
incessant  wauJorings,  may  have  had  a  large  share  in  the  diffusion  of 
these  stories.  This  striking  and  original  theory  has  been  put  forth  by 
Mr.  Francis  H.  Groome  in  an  article  in  The  National  Reviev-  for  July 
of  this  year.  jSIr.  Groome  dwells  on  the  ubiquity  of  the  Gypsy  race, 
on  their  continual  journeyings,  on  the  fact  that  in  earlier  ages  they 
were  welcomed  everywhere  by  kings  and  nobles,  that  their  earliest 
appearance  in  European  countries  gives  ample  time  for  the  diffusion 
of  many  stories,  and  further  that  many  of  jMr.  Lang's  survivals  of  dead 
savagery  are  still  living  realities  in  Gypsy  tents.  Again,  he  points  out 
many  things  appearing  as  integral  elements  in  the  development  of 
the  action  in  some  widely-spread  folk-tales,  such  as  the  existence  of 
priests  and  churches,  portraits,  playing-cards,  letters,  and  the  like, 
as  proving  that  not  only  the  story-elements,  but  the  combinations 
of  these  have  really  been  transmitted  together,  and  that  within 
such  comparatively  recent  historical  periods  as  fit  well  with  the 
theory  of  transmission  by  Gypsies.  Moreover  many  stories  actu- 
ally collected  at  the  present  time  from  Gypsies  in  Europe  are 
more  perfect  in  literary  form  and  detail  than  parallel  stories 
among  non-Gypsy  races,  and  this  is  merely  what  might  have  been 
expected  if  the  Gypsies  were  originally  a  professional  story-telling 
race.  Mr.  Groome  tells  us  that  as  yet  only  127  Gypsy  stories 
have  been  printed  by  Friedrich  jMuller,  Paspati,  Miklosich,  Constan- 
tinescu.  Von  Wlislocki,  and  himself,  and  it  must  be  admitted  that  the 
case  he  makes  out  from  such  comparatively  scanty  materials  is  strong 
indeed.  His  theory  is  very  plausible,  fits  well  with  many  of  the  facts, 
and  explains  what  must  have  prevailed  to  a  large  extent.  It  is  an 
attempt  to  fling  a  bridge  across  a  hitherto  almost  unbridged  gulf,  and 
the  only  question  now  to  be  considered  is  whether  the  structure  will 
bear  the  weight  that  must  be  put  upon  it.  If  an  Indian  origin  is  not 
claimed  for  all  our  folk-tales,  Mr.  Groome's  contention  may  be  taken 
as  already  proved ;  but  we  must  not  forget  the  claims  of  Egypt  as  the 
cradle  of  much  early  human  culture,  and  Benfey  tells  us  that  metem- 
psychosis— an  elemental  idea  in  folk-tales — was  itself  carried  to  the 


116  REVIEWS. 

Ganges  from  the  Nile.  Sir  Eichard  Burton  attributes  the  origination 
of  all  art  and  culture  to  Egypt,  but  even  this  is  by  no  means  incon- 
sistent with  Mr.  Groome's  theory,  for  ideas  may  have  been  carried 
thence  to  India,  which  there  ripened  into  fruit,  and  were,  scores  of 
generations  after,  re-carried  to  the  West.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that 
storiologists  will  work  out  this  subject,  and  discover  not  only  what 
stories  belong  to  the  Gypsies,  or  have  been  transmitted  by  them,  but 
also  what  internal  evidences  of  Gypsy  origin  there  are  in  the  stories 
in  non-Gypsy  collections.  Meantime  folk-lorists  have  to  thank  Mr. 
Groome  for  a  most  suggestive  and  interesting,  as  well  as  new  and 
plausible  answer  to  the  old  Sphinx-like  riddle  of  the  diffusion  of 
nursery-tales.  Thomas  Davidson. 


Our  Gypsy  Eecoed. 


In  addition  to  the  articles  in  Ethnologischc  Mitteilungen  cms 
Ungarn,  more  fully  referred  to  in  the  preceding  pages,  we  have  to 
notice  several  other  recent  contributions  to  Gypsy  Lore.  Dr.  von 
Sowa  favours  us  with  the  following  memorandum  which  he  has  made 
of  the  Gypsy  publications  coming  under  his  notice  during  the  past 
year : — 

"  I  have  collected  the  following  titles  of  treatises  on  the  Gypsies, 
published  during  the  past  year: — (1)  John  Avery,  "  Origin  of  the 
Gypsies"  {American  Antiquarian  and  Oriental  Journal,  ix.  192); 
(2)  E.  Gerard,  "  Tmusylvanian  Peoples"  {Contemporary  Bevieu; 
41,  327-46);  (3)  G.  A.  Grierson,  "Arabic  and  Persian  Eeferences  to 
Gypsies"  {Indian  Antic[uary,  xvi.  257-58);  (4)  " The  Transylvanian 
Tziganes"  {JBlaclacood's  Magazine,  May  1887);  (5)  "Les  Tziganes 
chez  les  Slaves  Meridionaux"  {Revue  Internat.,  Sept.,  Oct.  1887); 
(6)  H.  V.  Wlislocki,  "  Volkslieder  der  transsilv.  Zigeuner"  {Magazin 
fur  die  Lit.  des  In-  und  Auslandes,  1887,  131  f.)  ;  (7)  v.  Wl.  "  Volks- 
lieder der  transs,  Zig."  {Zcitschr.  d.  d.  morg.  Gcs.  xli.  347-50)  ;  (8)  v. 
Wl.  "Beitriige  zu  Benfey's  Pantschatantra "  {ih.  xlii.  113  ff.) ;  (9)  v. 
Wl.  "  Die  Stam-  u.  Eamilienverhaltnisse  der  transs.  Zeltzigeuner " 
{Globus,  liii.  183-89);  (10)  v.  Wl.  "  Gebrauche  der  transs.  Zelt- 
zigeuner, etc."  {ih.  li.  249  ff.,  267  ff.)  ;  (11)  v.  Wl.  "Die  Eagnar- 
Lodbrokssage  in  Siebenblirgen  "  {Germania,  xx.  362  ff.) ;  (12)  v.  Wl. 
"Die  Mausethurmsage  in  Siebenblirgen"  {ih.  xx.  432-42);  (13)  v. 
Wl.  "Von  den  drei  Frauen "  {ih.  xx.   442-51);  (14)  v.  Wl.  "  Zur 


REVIEWS.  117 

vergleiclieiiJen  Yolkslyrik,"  etc.  (Zeitsch.  fur.  vgl.  Literaturgeseh.  i. 
245-54);  (15)  v.  Wl.  "  Zur  Volkskimde  der  transs.  Zig.,  Hamburg, 
1887,"  40  pages;  (16)  W.  Crooke,  "Notes  on  the  Gipsy  Tribes  of  the 
N.W.  Provinces  and  Oudh"  {Indian  Antiq.  xvii.  68-75) ;  (17)  "Eine 
Zigeiinerkonigin  "  (Gartenlaube  1887,  147);  (18)  A  new  edition  of 
BoRROw's  Zinccdi,  and  (19)  of  Jesina's  Romani  Cih.  [Jesina  is  pub- 
lishing a  work  now  :  Slovnik  cesko-cikdnsky  a  cik.  c.  (Tchek-Gypsy  and 
G.-Tch.  Dictionary)]. 

The  Bevue  des  Traditions  Popidaires,  of  July,  contains  (p.  386)  the 
words  of  a  Russian  popular  song,  "  Anastasia,  Open  the  Door  "  ;  and 
the  remark  is  added  that  "  this  song  is  sung  to  a  very  lively  air,  and 
chiefly  by  the  Gypsies."  However,  we  cannot  assume  from  this  that 
either  the  words  or  the  music  are  of  Gypsy  origin ;  though  this  may 
be  the  case.  In  the  August  number  of  the  same  journal,  M.  Eugene 
Hins  gives  two  more  of  his  Christian  Legends  of  the  Ukraine ;  one  of 
which,  "  God,  St.  Peter,  and  the  Gypsy  "  relates,  as  its  title  indicates, 
the  experiences  of  a  certain  "  Tsygane."  A  foot-note  informs  us  that 
Gypsies,  Jews,  and  Muscovites  are  the  favourite  objects  of  ridicule  in 
the  popular  tales  of  Little  Ptussia.  Yet  the  Gypsy  of  this  story  comes 
well  out  of  all  his  adventures. 

Vol.  IV.  of  Knjptadia  (Heilbronn :  Henninger  Gebrlider,  1888) 
begins  with  a  Polish-Gypsy  story  of  "  A  Foolish  Young  Woman  " ; 
translated  into  French  from  the  Piomani  original.  Without  contain- 
ing anything  worthy  of  remark,  or  distinctive  of  Gypsy  life  and 
manners,  it  abounds  in  the  coarse  humour  that  formerly  characterised 
the  "  chap-book  "  literature  of  this  country. 

An  article  on  "  Gypsy  Charms,"  contributed  by  Mr.  Leland  to  the 
>S^^.  James  s  Gazette  of  2d  August,  is  reproduced  among  our  "  Notes 
and  Queries."  It  will  be  observed  that  we  are  promised  an  amplifi- 
cation of  this  subject  from  the  same  pen,  based  upon  Dr.  von 
Wlislocki's  little  book.  We  have  also  the  pleasure  of  announcing 
that  Mr.  Leland  is  engaged  on  a  collection  of  Hungarian  and  other 
Gypsy  Tales,  or  Gypsy  Legends  of  Many  Lands. 

Contemporaneously  with  the  autumn  number  of  our  Journal 
appears  a  work  by  another  fellow-member,  Signore  Adriano  Colocci, 
entitled  Gli  Zingari  (The  Gypsies).  But  we  shall  not  have  an 
opportunity  of  referring  particularly  to  it  until  our  next  number. 


lis  NOTES    AiND    (.^UKlllll.S. 

NOTES  AND  QUEEIES. 

I. 

Beng. 

Is  it  not  possible  that  the  Avorcl  Beng  in  Gypsy  had  once  two  meanings,  "frog" 
as  well  as  "devil,"  of  which  the  former  has  disappeared  ? 

The  Bihari  (and  Hindustani)  for  "frog"  is  beng  or  beng.  This  is  derived  from 
the  Skr.  vyahga,  "  having  deformed  limbs,"  and  not  from  bhcka,  as  most  diction- 
aries make  out.  The  Gypsy  word  is  evidently  derived  from  the  same  word  as  is 
shown  by  the  Hungarian  Gypsy  byeng,  "devil"  (jNIiklosich,  vii.  10).  Curiously  enough, 
in  some  Gypsy  dialects  we  find  the  word  beng  bearing  the  meaning  of  "  dragon." 
Thus,  according  to  Miklosich,  in  a  Beitrag  zur  rothvellischen  Grammatik,  we  see 
beng  given  as  the  German  Gypsy  for  "  drache,  tcufel."  Again  in  Spanish  Gypsy 
benge  means  "  dragon,"  and  benguchi,  "  basilisk,"  but  bengi,  "  devil."  The  meanings 
of  both  ''frog"  and  "devil"  can  well  come  from  vyanga — indeed  the  first  meaning 
is  given  in  the  Skr.  dictionaries. 

The  idea  of  the  devil  having  deformed  limbs  is  very  old.  It  will  be  sufficient 
here  to  allude  to  the  fable  of  the  Diable  Boiteux.  Paspati,  though  he  goes  wrong 
in  the  derivation  (connecting  panlca,  bheha,  and  bmg)  hits  on  the  same  idea  as  that 
to  which  I  have  come  independently. 

Talking  of  the  Gypsies,  he  says  (Tchinghiancs,  p.  169)  :  "The  devil  (6td/3oXof, 
shaitdn  of  the  Musalmans)  was  unknown  to  them  ;  but  by  means  of  the  Christian 
pictures  (representing  St.  George  on  horseback  overcoming  the  devil  in  the  form  of 
a  dragon)  the  devil  became  familiar  to  them  in  the  form  of  a  big  frog.  These 
pictures,  so  common  everywhere,  and  painted  by  clumsy  artists,  have  perhaps  more 
than  anything  else  contributed  towards  likening  in  their  imaginations  the  devil  to 
a  dragon  or  frog."  G.  A.  Grierson. 


o^ 


2. 

Gypsy  Charms. 

Heine  has  with  pleasant  plausibility  traced  the  origin  of  one  kind  of  fairy  lore 
to  the  associations  and  feelings  which  we  form  for  familiar  objects.  A  coin,  a  pen- 
knife, a  pebble,  it  seems,  which  has  long  been  carried  in  the  pocket  or  worn  by  any 
one,  becomes  imbued  with  his  or  her  personality.  If  it  could  speak,  we  should  ex- 
pect to  hear  from  it  an  echo  of  the  familiar  voice  of  the  wearer ;  as  happened, 
indeed,  in  Thuringia  in  the  year  1562,  when  a  fair  maid,  Adelhait  von  Helbach, 
was  carried  into  captivity  by  certain  ill-mannered  persons.  "  Now  her  friends, 
pursuing,  knew  not  whither  to  go,  when  they  heard  her  voice,  albeit  very  small  and 
feeble,  calling  to  them  ;  and,  seeking,  they  found  in  the  bush  by  the  road  a  silver 
image  of  the  Virgin,  which  she  had  worn  :  and  this  image  told  them  which  road  to 
take.  Following  the  direction,  they  recovered  her ;  the  Eaubritter  who  bore  her 
away  being  broken  on  the  wheel,  and  the  image  hung  up  for  the  glory  of  the  Virgin, 
who  had  spoken  by  it,  in  the  Church  of  our  Lady  of  Kalbrunn."  Again,  these 
objects  have  such  strange  ways  of  remaining  with  one  that  we  end  by  suspecting 
that  they  have  a  will  of  their  own.  With  certain  persons  these  small  familiar 
friends  become  at  last  fetishes,  which  bring  luck,  giving  to  those  who  firmly  believe 
in  them  great  comfort  and  endurance  in  adversity. 

Continental  Gypsies  are  notable  believers  in  aundets.  Being  in  a  camp  of  very 
wild  Cigany  in  Hungary  somewhat  less  than  two  years  ago,  I  asked  them  what  they 
wore  for  baU,  or  luck  ;  whereupon  they  all  produced  small  sea-shells,  which  I  was 
assured  were  potent  against  ordinary  misfortunes.  But  for  a  babe  which  was  really 
ill  they  had  provided  an  "appreciable"  dose  in  the  form  of  three  Maria  Theresa 


NOTES  AND  QURHIES.  1 1 9 

silver  dollars,  which  were  hung  rouud  its  neck,  hut  hidden  under  its  clothes.  And 
I  may  here  remark  that  all  through  many  lands,  even  into  the  heart  of  Africa,  tliis 
particular  dollar  is  held  in  high  esteem  for  magical  purposes.  From  one  to  another 
the  notion  has  been  transferred,  and  travellers  and  traders  are  often  puzzled  to 
know  why  the  savages  will  have  no  coin  save  this.  From  Russia  to  the  Cape  it  is 
the  same  story,  and  one  to  be  specially  studied  by  those  ethnologists  who  do  not 
believe  in  transmission,  and  hold  that  myths  and  legends  are  of  local  growth,  and 
accounted  for  by  similar  local  conditions. 

The  Gypsies  were  very  desirous  to  know  what  my  charm  was.  Fortunately  I 
had  in  my  purse  a  very  fine  fossil  shark's  tooth,  which  I  had  purchased  in  Whitby, 
and  this  was  greatly  admired  by  the  learned  of  the  tribe.  ISIindful  of  good  example, 
I  obtained  for  myself  specimens  of  the  mystic  shells,  foreseeing  that  they  would 
answer  as  passes  and  signs  among  the  fraternity  in  Germany  and  elsewhere.  Which 
indeed  came  to  pass  a  few  days  ago  in  the  town  of  Homburg,  when  looking  from  my 
window  in  the  Schwedenpfad  I  saw  two  very  honest-looking  Gypsies  go  by.  Walk- 
ing forth,  I  joined  them,  and  led  them  into  a  garden,  where  over  beer  and  cigars  we 
discussed  "  the  affairs  of  Egypt."  These  Eomanys  were  from  the  Tyrol,  and  had 
the  frank  bold  manner  of  the  mountain-men  blended  with  the  natural  politeness 
of  the  better  class  of  Gypsy.  I  had  taken  with  me  in  my  pocket,  foreseeing  its  use, 
a  small  bag  or  purse,  containing  an  assortment  of  objects  such  as  would  have 
puzzled  anybody  except  a  Red  Indian,  a  negro,  or  any  believer  in  medaoUn  or 
Voodoo,  or  my  new  acquaintance  ;  and  after  a  conversation  on  dtirkepen  (in 
Anglo-Gypsy,  dulJitrin),  or  fortune-telling,  I  asked  the  men  what  they  were.  They 
wished  to  see  my  amulets  first.  So  I  produced  the  shells  ;  which  were  at  once 
recognised  and  greatly  admired,  especially  one,  which  is  something  of  a  curiosity, 
since  in  its  natural  markings  is  the  word  NAV  very  plainly  inscribed  :  Nar,  in 
Gypsy,  meaning  "  the  name."  The  elder  Gypsy  said  he  had  no  charm ;  he  had 
long  been  seeking  a  good  one,  but  had  not  as  yet  met  with  the  correct  article.  And 
then  he  begged  me — gracious  powers,  how  he  did  beg  I — to  bestow  on  him  one  of 
my  shells.     I  resolved  to  do  so — but  at  another  time. 

The  younger  Gypsy,  who  was  a  -j^iascke-paskero,  a  musician,  and  had  with  him  a 
rare  old  violin  in  a  wonderfully  carved  wooden  case  at  least  two  centuries  old,  was 
"  all  right "  on  the  fetish  question.  He  had  his  shell,  sewn  up  in  a  black  leather  bag, 
which  he  wore  by  a  cord  round  his  neck.  Then  I  exhibited  my  small  museum. 
Every  object  in  it  was  carefully  and  seriously  examined.  My  shark's  tooth  was 
declared  to  be  a  very  good  fetish,  a  black  pebble  almost  equal  to  the  shell,  and  an 
American  Indian  arrow-head  of  quartz  passed  muster  as  of  possible  though  some- 
what doubtful  virtue.  But  an  English  sixpence  with  a  hole  in  it  was  rejected  as  a 
very  petty  and  contemj)tible  object.  I  offered  it  in  vain  as  a  present  to  my  friends  : 
they  would  not  accept  it.  Neither  did  they  want  money  :  my  dross  might  perish 
with  me.  It  was  the  shell — the  precious  beautiful  little  shell  on  which  the  Romany 
in  search  of  a  fetish  had  set  his  heart ;  the  shell  which  would  bring  him  luck,  and 
cause  him  to  be  envied,  and  ensure  him  admiration  in  the  tents  of  the  wanderers 
from  Paris  to  Constantinople.  He  admitted  that  it  was  the  very  shell  of  shells — a 
baro  sereskeri  skarkuni,  or  fan)ous  sea-snail.  I  believe  the  Gyjisies  would  have 
eiven  me  their  fine  old  Stainer  violin,  and  the  carved  case  for  it.  Failins  to  get 
the  shell,  he  implored  me  to  give  him  the  black  pebble.  I  resolved  to  give  him 
b  )th  in  free  gift  the  next  time  we  met,  or  as  a  parting  souvenir.  Alas  for  the 
Romany  chal  I — we  never  met  again.  The  police  allow  no  Gypsies  in  Homburg, 
and  so  they  had  to  move  on.  I  sought  them  that  night  and  I  sought  them  next 
day  ;  but  they  were  over  the  hills  and  far  away.  But  I  have  no  doubt  that  the 
fame  of  the  shell  on  which  Nature  has  written  the  Name — the  very  logos  of  magic 
itself — will  spread  ere  the  summer  be  past  even  to  the  Carpathians.  Something 
tells  me  that  it  is  not  played  out  yet,  and  that  I  shall  hear  anon  something  regarding 
it. — St.  James's  Garxtte,  August  2,  1888.  Cuaules  G.  Leland. 


120  NOTES   AKD    QUEPJES. 

3. 

DZEKA. 

What  is  the  origin  of  the  Gypsy  word  dzeka,  which  signifies  satisfaction,  plea- 
sure, delight  ?  Quite  unknown  elsewhere,  it  is  met  with  in  several  of  the  tales  of 
the  Polish  Gypsies. — Ex.  :  Oda  leske  x>re  dzeka  felds  —  that  fell  in  agreement  with 
him  {i.e.  that  pleased  or  delighted  him).  I.  Koperxicki. 


4. 

"  People  of  Turkey." 

Who  wrote  this  book,  and  what  is  the  legend  (recorded  at  pp.  158-168)  taken 
from  the  lips  of  a  Gypsy  regarding  their  origin  ?  H.  T.  Croftox. 


5. 

Gtpsy  Statistics. 
These  few  notes,  culled  from  various  sources,  may  serve  as  a  postscript  to 
Professor  von  Sowa's  invaluable  article  on  Statistics  of  the  German  Gypsies. 
According  to  Behm  und  Wagners  Bevolkcrung  der  Erde  (vii.,  Gotha,  1882),  Persia 
in  1881  had  4G00  families  of  Baluchis  and  Gypsies  ;  52,000  families  of  Bachtiaris 
and  Luris — a  somewhat  unsatisfactory  classification.  The  Almanack  de  Gotha  for 
1888  gives  :— Roumania,  200,000  Gypsies  in  1876  ;  Servia,  "29,020  se  servent  de 
la  langue  bohemienne,"  in  1884  ;  Bulgaria,  37,600  in  1881  ;  Eastern  Eoumelia, 
27,190  on  13th  January  1885  ;  and  Hungan.^,  79,393  on  31st  December  1880. 
Where  and  from  whom  may  we  look  for  articles  on  the  Gypsies  of  Great  Britain 
and  America  like  those  of  Dr.  von  Sowa  ?  F.  H.  Groomp:. 


6. 

Superstitions. 
In  reviewing  Andrew  Lang's  Custom  and  Myth  (London,  1885),  in  the  AtliOKcum 
of  21st  Feb.  1885  (p.  246),  Mr.  Theodore  Watts  says  :  — "  Eomani  customs  and 
traditions  he  has  ignored  altogether,  though  assuredly  something  may  be  learnt 
from  the  Romanis.  A  Roniani  girl,  for  instance,  will  tell  you  that  the  dark-blue 
punctured  rosettes  at  the  corners  of  her  mouth,  ornamental  as  she  considers  them  to 
be,  have  something  to  do  with  luck  as  well  as  ornament.  .  .  .  Tattooed  on  the 
breast  of  the  South  Papuan  woman  we  find  the  same  cross  (or  Sanscrit  trisula), 
which  the  Romanis  believe  to  be  the  most  powerful  of  all  symbols — so  powerful  that 
the  rainbow  will  fade  from  the  sky  '  at  the  very  sight  of  it.' " 


We  have  the  pleasure  of  announcing  that  ]\I.  Paul  Bataillard  will  commence,  in 
our  Januarj'  Number,  the  reproduction — in  an  amended  form — of  his  valuable 
treatise  Dc  V a2:)iMrition  et  de  la  dispersion  des  Bohemiens  en  Euroj)e,  originally  pub- 
lished in  1844.  

Our  next  number  will  also  contain  a  list  of  the  Society's  members,  with  their 
addresses. 

NOTICE. — All  Contributions  must  he  legibly  icritten  on  one  side  only  of  the  paper; 
must  hear  the  sender's  name  and  address,  though  not  necessarily  for  jnihlica- 
tion;  and  must  be  sent  to  David  MacRitchie,  Esq.,  4  Archibald  Place, 
Edinburgh. 


JOUENAL    OF    THE 


GYPSY    LORE 


SOCIETY. 


Vol.  I.  JANUAKY  1889.  No.  3 


I.— A  LETTER  FROM  HUNGARY. 

Budapest,  Nov.  5,  1888. 

HERE  am  I  indeed  iu  Gypsy  Land — when  I  was  at  home  I  was 
in  no  better  place  to  make  studies  for  our  readers.  But  I 
shall  refrain  from  being  "deep,"  though  I  have  been  in  profound 
conferences  with  Professor  Herrmann,  who  is,  as  Romany  Rye,  nemini 
secundus ;  unless  it  be  to  our  illustrious  colleague  the  Archduke  and 
the  Romany  scholars  Thewrewk  and  Wlislocki.  Owing  to  the  vast 
wealth  of  material  and  the  example  set  by  his  Imperial-Royal 
Highness,  Gypsyology  is  here  in  great  honour,  and  I  have  realised 
by  very  pleasant  experience  that,  as  member  and  representative  of 
our  Society,  I  am  not  without  honour. 

My  first  experience  was  at  Vienna,  where  on  the  second  day  after 
arrival  I  visited  the  Cszardas  Cafe  in  the  Prater,  where  a  Gypsy 
band  always  plays  of  evenings.  It  was  two  years  since  I  had  been 
there,  and  I  supposed  that  I  must  be  among  the  forgotten.  But 
adv.ro — far  from  it.  When  the  head  waiter  entered  he  cried  aloud, 
"  Pane  Leland ! "  [I  always  suspected  that  man  of  Croatism  or 
Moravianism  or  Bohemian  or  Pan-Slavonic  heresy  of  some  kind,  and 
pan6  proved  it.]     He  was  accompanied  by  a  Romany  who  burst  into 

VOL.  I. — NO.  III.  I 


122  A   LETTER   FROM    HUNGARY. 

a  fervid  torrent  of  Cingani  welcome — in  a  minute  I  was  seated  at  a 
table  with  fourteen  more  of  his  kind  ;  where  they  came  from,  unless 
they  rose  from  the  ground,  I  could  not  imagine — every  man  supplied 
with  a  half  litre  of  beer,  and  all  beaming  with  bliss,  at  the  arrival  of 
the  Romano  rai.  Eemember  me — I  should  think  so  !  There  sat  by 
me  a  good-natured,  well-dressed  Eom,  who,  being  the  leader  of 
another  band,  was  present  as  a  visitor.  He  hummed  two  English 
airs.  "  Do  you  remember  them  ? "  he  asked  ;  "  two  years  ago  you 
sang  them  to  me."  I  had  done  so  only  once,  and  his  band  had 
played  them  immediately,  and  manct  alta  mente.  But  this  being  "  wax 
to  receive  and  marble  to  retain  "  is  characteristic  of  the  Hungarian 
Gypsy.  A  few  days  ago,  a  Romany  leader  of  an  orchestra  came  to  a 
bookseller  in  a  small  town  in  Hungary,  and  said :  "  You  have  just 
received  the  score  of  an  opera  from  Vienna — how  much  does  it  cost  ? " 
"  Twenty-four  florins."  The  Gypsy  looked  grave.  "  That  is  a  great 
deal  of  money,  and  my  men  may  not  care  to  play  it  after  all.  Will 
you  allow  me  to  bring  them  here  to  examine  it."  The  bookseller 
consented,  the  Gypsies  came,  and  the  leader,  as  the  only  one  who 
could  read  music,  played  it.  "  No,  they  did'nt  like  it — it  would  not 
do."  That  evening  the  bookseller  attended  the  Gypsy  concert,  and 
heard  the  entire  opera  given  with  accuracy  and  feeling.  Like  the 
Children  of  the  Mist  with  cattle,  the  Gypsies  have  a  far  more 
economical  and  speedy  method  of  getting  their  music  than  by 
paying  for  it.^ 

I  arrived  in  Budapest  at  nearly  ten  o'clock,  and  went  to  a  hotel. 
The  waiter,  who  was  very  polite,  suggested  that  if  I  would  go  into 
the  dining-room  I  would  find  something  which  would  be  new  to  me 
— something  characteristic  and  interesting.  "  It  is  a  Gypsy  band," 
he  said ;  "  strangers  should  always  hear  one."  I  quite  agreed  with 
him,  and  he  escorted  me  to  the  lighted  hall,  and  led  me  up  to  the 
pdshopaskeri — and  lo  !  there  was  a  cry  of  Latcho  divvus,  rya  !  from  the 
entire  band — for  there  was  one  man  whom  I  had  known  in  Liszt's 
selected  band  in  Paris  in  1878,  and  one  again  in  Philadelphia,  and 
two  in  England,  and  all  the  rest  somewhere.  And  they  played  for 
me  the  Chiriclo'i  ghiloi  or  "  Bird's  song  " — which  is  never  given  twice 

1  That  this  wonderful  gift  is  characteristic  of  the  Hungarian  Gypsy  is  known  to  every  one 
who  has  listened  to  a  Zigani  orchestra.  But  it  was  also  characteristic  of  Euglisli  Gypsies 
within  this  century.  We  have  heard  an  Oxfordshire  villager,  in  describing  a  band  of  Gypsies 
who  frequented  his  neighbourhood  fifty  years  ago,  state  that  every  man  of  them  was  a 
"deadly  fine  fiddler,"  and  that  they  invariably  played  without  the  written  score.  Their 
leader,  a  certain  Jasper  Smith,  styled  "the  King  of  the  Fiddlers,"  spoke  with  the  greatest 
contempt  of  "them  tadpoles,"  as  he  quaintly  designated  the  crotchets  and  minims  which  are 
a  sine  qua  nnn  to  most  modern  musicians. — [Ed,] 


A   LETTER    FROM   HUNGARY.  123 

alike,  yet  is  always  so  wonderful  and  wild  and  sweet.  Eeal  (xypsy 
music  is  to  those  who  have  once  learned  to  love  it,  like  opium  or 
haschisb,  deeply  fascinating,  strangely  exciting,  and  more  suggestive 
of  magic  than  any  other  influence.  But  as  all  fruit  to  be  enjoyed  in 
perfection  must  be  eaten  in  the  land  where  it  grows,  so  Gypsy  music 
never  seems  to  be  the  same  in  London  as  in  Austria  or  Hungary. 

Gypsy  Lore,  owing  to  the  abundance  of  material  and  the  influence 
of  the  Archduke  Joseph,  is  taking  a  very  prominent  place  in 
Hungary.  There  is  no  country  in  Europe  in  which  folk-lore  is  so 
much  of  a  living  thing  as  here,  where  there  are  people  to  the  manner 
born  who  speak,  here  or  there,  fourteen  languages,  and  have  in  all  of 
them  fairy  tales,  spells,  and  charms  in  which  they  really  believe. 
Therefore,  the  newly  formed  or  forming  Hungarian  Folk-Lore  Society 
founded  by  our  friend  and  fellow-member  Professor  Anton  Herrmann, 
will  be  on  a  scale  hitherto  "  unliked."  There  will  be  a  Madyar 
committee,  as  also  German,  Bohemian,  Croat,  Wallach,  Armenian, 
Spanish,  Serb,  and  last,  not  least,  a  Romany  sub- division,  of  which  the 
Archduke  Joseph — as  he  is  the  man  most  learned  of  all  living  in 
Gypsy  dialects, — will  be  the  leader.  An  organ  already  exists  in  the 
Ethnologische  Mittdlungcn,  edited  by  Professor  Herrmann,  which,  as  I 
have  already  stated,  is  really,  as  regards  great  variety  and  richness  of 
material  and  scholarly  criticism,  perhaps  the  best  publication  of  the 
kind  in  Europe.  As  representative  of  our  Gypsy  Lore  Society  I  was 
received,  I  am  happy  to  say,  with  special  kindness.  A  reception 
was  given  me  by  the  Ethnological  Society,  at  which  the  venerable 
Hunfalvy,  the  accomplished  Pulsky,  with  Professors  Hampel  and 
Thewrewk,  and  indeed  all  the  learned  of  Budapest,  were  present, 
and  at  which  Professor  Herrmann  delivered  a  discourse  chiefly  on  our 
Society,  in  which  he  gave  seriatim  an  account  of  every  article  which 
has  been  published  in  the  Gypsy  Lore  Journal. 

I  must  do  the  learned  men  of  Hungary  the  justice  to  state  that 
they  feel  and  understand  more  than  any  whom  I  have  ever  met,  the 
real  importance  and  value  of  Folk-Lore,  of  which  Gypsy  Lore  is  a 
daughter.     Now  as  Schiller  has  said  of  poetry. 

To  some  she  is  a  goddess  great, 

To  some  a  milch-cow  of  the  field , 
Their  science  is  to  calculate 

How  many  quarts  she  '11  yield  ; 

so  there  are  people  to  whom  Folk-Lore  is  a  science,  or  the  last  great 
branch  of  History,  or  the  light  which  shows  us  its  innermost  life, 
While  to  others  it  is  only  a  fleeting  fancy  for  literary  or- popular  brie- 


124  A   LETTER   FROM   HUNGARY. 

a-brac  and  odd  trifles.  But  in  Hungary  an  earnest  pursuit  of  it  may 
be  of  national  and  political  value,  for  here  it  cannot  fail  not  only  to 
interest  every  man  of  any  intelligence  in  the  characteristics  of  his 
race,  but  to  cause  a  mutual  rapprochement  or  union  between  the 
writers  of  different  races.  Can  we  not  see  for  ourselves  how  much 
good  literary  and  social  and  scientific  congresses  are  doing  every  year 
in  making  men  acquainted  with  one  another,  in  establishing  personal 
friendships  and  correspondence  ?  And  because  the  more  ignorant 
mass  of  the  public  sees  or  knows  nothing  of  all  this,  and  of  the 
immense  benefit  which  a  country  derives  from  thus  benefiting  its 
scholars  and  thinkers,  they  cry  out  that  these  meetings  are  of  no 
practical  use.  So  I  have  heard  it  asserted  fifty  times  that  the  Socia 
Science  and  similar  congresses  were  "  failures  " ;  but  I  do  not  believe 
that  any  assembly  in  which  intellectual  men  became  mutually  and 
extensively  acquainted  was  ever  held  which  was  not  a  success.  And 
as  Folk-Lore  is  perhaps  more  generally  interesting  than  any  other 
branch  of  learning,  it  may  be  destined  in  the  future  to  exert  far 
higher  social  influences  than  any  as  yet  dreamed  of.  And  it  is  some- 
thing in  our  own  Gypsy  Lore  Society  that  it  has  united  men  of  many 
lands,  and  made  us  better  acquainted ;  and  I  have  realised  with 
a  pleasure  which  I  can  hardly  express  liow  well  the  works  of 
my  colleagues  are  known  here,  and  how  welcome  they  themselves 
would  be. 

I  am  promised  from  several  sources  valuable  contributions  to  my 
work  on  Gypsy  sorcery,  charms,  spells,  and  fortune-telling. 

Professor  Herrmann  has  made  what  may  be  considered  as  the  only 
collection  ever  gathered  of  real  Gypsy  airs  and  songs,  and  these  we 
propose  to  edit  and  jointly  publish,  his  version  to  be  in  German  and 
mine  in  English.  For,  be  it  noted,  it  is  not  every  air  which  is  sold 
by  booksellers  as  Zingaro  and  Zigeuner  and  Gypsy  which  is  anything 
of  the  kind.  I  have  been  assured  by  Gypsies  many  and  many  a 
time  that  they  do  not  and  will  not  under  any  consideration  play 
or  sing  for  the  gaji  or  gorgios  what  they  play  or  sing  for  me.  A 
Hungarian  gentleman  who  has  been  all  his  life  devoted  to  Eomany 
music  had  never  so  much  as  heard  of  some  of  their  best  loved  heart 
and  home  melodies.  And  of  these  latter  Professor  Herrmann  has 
made  a  noble  collection.     And  so  latchi  'rati  ! 

Charles  G.  Leland. 


NOTES    ON   THE   DIALECT   OF   THE   BOSNIAN    GYPSIES.  12  a 


II.— NOTES  ON  THE  DIALECT  OF  THE  BOSNIAN  GYPSIES. 

OF  all  the  dialects  of  the  Gypsy  language,  which,  it  is  well  known, 
yields  so  easily  under  the  modifying  influences  of  every  local 
tongue,  the  dialect  of  the  Servian  Gypsies  is  certainly  the  least 
known.  The  only  materials  regarding  it  were  published  by  Prof. 
Fr.  Miklosich  {tlb.  die  Mnndarten  und  Wanderungen  der  Zigeuner, 
vi.  pp.  22-56).  They  consist  of  three  small  vocabularies,  collected 
by  H.  Novakovich  and  others  in  Servia,  and  by  Lukarich  and  Prof. 
Fr.  Miiller  in  Syrmia ;  the  latter  interlaced  with  a  certain  number  of 
very  brief  phrases. 

T  hope,  therefore,  that  my  present  notes  upon  the  language  of  the 
Bosnian  Gypsies  may  not  form  a  superfluous  contribution  to  this 
matter.  They  are  drawn  from  the  materials  kindly  offered  to  me  by 
the  distinguished  ethnologist  Dr.  Fr.  I.  Krauss,  which  were  collected 
by  himself  at  Dervent  (N.-E.  of  Bosnia),  from  the  Gypsies  settled 
there  in  a  distinct  "  Gypsy-suburb  "  (cigaiiska  moJiala). 

They  consist  partly  of  several  separate  words  for  the  vocabulary, 
but  chiefly  of  a  series  of  translated  Servian  phrases,  purposely  con- 
structed by  Dr.  Krauss,  as  examples  of  grammatical  forms  of  the 
Gypsy  language,  unknown  to  him  before. 

Though  gathered  very  hastily  in  some  few  hours  of  his  occasional 
residence  among  Gypsies,  these  specimens,  noted  by  an  accomplished 
linguist  as  carefully  and  exactly  as  possible,  have  proved  valuable 
enough  to  enable  me  to  extract  from  them  some  characteristic  out- 
lines, which  I  venture  to  publish  here  as  some  slight  supplementary 
information  for  Gypsy -students. 

In  the  Gypsy  texts  which  I  am  about  to  give,  I  shall  keep  the 
phonetic  Croatian  transcription  of  Dr.  Krauss,  as  being  nearest  to 
Miklosich's  orthography,  which  ought  to  be  universally  adopted  for 
every  Gypsy  dialect. 

(«)  Phonetic. 

Very  few  valuable  observations  can  be  made  upon  the  phonetic 
^peculiarities  of  this  dialect  from  its  written  examples  only. 

1.  The  principal  is  the  adopted  Servian  mute  semi- vowel  (^  (b) 
instead  of  e  and  i  of  other  Gypsy-dialects ;  viz.  hrs  (  =  hers), 
year  ;  'prno  (  =  'pirno  or  pinro),  foot ;  crde  (  =  cirde),  draw,  etc. 


126  NOTES   ON    THE   DIALECT   OF   THE   BOSNIAN    GYPSIES. 

The  same  has  been  noted  also  in  Syrmia  and  Servia  by  all 
previous  observers  (see  Miklosich,  op.  cit.),  in  the  words — 
lr§n  (  =  hruin),  rain  ;  ckno  {  =  cikno),  small;  mnro  {  =  viinro), 
mine,  etc. 

2.  Another  phonetic  peculiarity,  proper,  as  it  seems,  to  every 
Gypsy  dialect,  is  the  frequent  avoiding  of  the  hiatus  by  the 
elision  of  one  of  two  concurring  vowels ;  viz.  pekav  kas 
( =pe  'kav,  i.e.  pe  akav),  upon  this  tree. 

.3.  The  terminal  vowel  o  sounds  sometimes  as  u,  as  among  the 
Polish  Gypsies  ;  e.g.  andu  gav  (  =  ando  or  and'  o  (jav),  in  the 
village. 

4.  As  to  the  consonants,  some  of  them  are  now  and  then  omitted 

from  the  middle  or  from  the  end  of  words ;  viz. — cao  ( =  cavo), 
child;  jw7ia//  ( =jj/waZ/),  brother ;  romi  {  =  romni),\y\ie;  kas 
( =  kast),  tree  ;  ame  (  =  amen),  we  ;  tumc  ( =  tumen),  you,  etc. 
And,  on  the  contrary,  euphonic  consonants  are  added  some- 
times, as  mrno  {  =  iruro),  mine;  manglal  {  =  anglal),  at  first. 

5.  Lastly,  we  meet  with  hard  consonants  changed  into  soft  ones 

of  the  same  order  and  vice  versd;  viz.  nib  (  =  rup),  silver; 
bud  (  =  but),  much;  rad  {  =  rat),  night;  zulolo  {  =  zuralo  or 
zoralo),  strong.  -ST  is  also  changed  into  c  or  6  in  the  words 
vaterdan  (  =  vakerdan  or  vakcrden),  they  talk  ;  icr  (  =  klicr), 
house ;  ^  and  the  aspirate  ph  is  changed  into  h,  ex.  Iiabaj 
{=phabaj),  apple. 


(&)  Morphology. 

1.  The  articles — sing.  m.   o,  fem.  i,  and  plur.  c  are  used  more 

rarely  than  in  other  Gypsy  dialects. 

2.  The  mode  of  declining  the  substantives  by  cases  and  numbers, 

as  may  have  been  perceived  from  the  few  examples  we  have 
cited,  does  not  particularly  diverge  from  the  general  rules. 

3.  The  pronouns  of  the  Bosnian-Gypsy,  as  our  examples  prove, 

are,  in  an  extraordinary  degree,  confused  and  erroneous. 
This  is  undoubtedly  owing  to  the  innate  flightiness  and  want 
of  reflection  proper  to  the  Gypsy  mind  in  general.  In  fact, 
the  Gypsy  scarcely  discerns  the  very  meaning  of  the  person 
expressed  in  a  Polish,  Servian,  German,  or  other  phrase ;  and, 
taking  very  often  the  3d  person  for  the  2d  or  1st,  he  trans- 

1  This  tendency  has  been  noted  by  Fr.  Miiller  in  Syrmia  in  the  words:   cer  (—kher)- 
huci  {—hukhi],  labour,  celel  (—khelel),  to  dance,  derel  {—kerel),  to  work. 


XOTKS    ON   THE   DIALECT    OK   TIIK    BOSNIAN    GYPSIES,  127 

lates  it  so  in  Gypsy.  Tlierefore  the  personal  pronouns  in 
the  Bosnian-Gypsy  dialect,  as  noted  by  Dr.  Krauss,  are — 

sing. — 1.  me  ;  2.  tu  and  te  ;  3.  vov  or  vo  and  me  ! 

plur. — 1.  ame  or  me  ;  2.  tume  or  tu  ;  hime  or  vov  and  awie  ! 

and  possessive  pronouns  are : 

sing. — 1.  mr/io  ( =  7?M-o) ;  2.  ciro{  =  tiro)  ;  3.  ciro  (for /cs^-ero '). 
plur. — 1.  amaro  ;  2.  tumaro  ;  3.  j;a?e  tumaro  (for  lengero). 

Besides  this,  the  dative  of  the  possessive  pronoun  mrno 
{  =  mro)  is  often  irregular,  as — mu,  ma,  and  me;  viz.,  vov 
dij'a  ( =  diuia)  he  mu  ujake  hcibaj,  he  gave  to  my  uncle  an 
apple ;  ma  ( =  mre)  dades6i,  to  my  father ;  one  caorendr. 
(  =  Hire  cavorerende),  to  my  little  children. 

4.  The  comparison  of  the  adjectives  among  the  Bosnian  Gypsies, 
as  seen  from  the  examples  purposely  constructed  by  Dr. 
Krauss,  is  not  formed  with  the  terminal  eder,  as  in  many 
other  Gypsy  dialects,  but  with  the  Italian  and  Eoumanian 
mai  (more),  having  a  double-accented  for  the  comparative, 
and  long  a  for  the  superlative;  viz. — phuro,  old  ;  maj phuro, 
older  ;  mdj  plvuro,  the  oldest ;  haw,  great ;  maj  haro,  greater  ; 
mdj  haro,  the  greatest;  lacho  {  =  laco),  good;  maj  la6ho 
(instead  oifeder),  better,  etc. 

.").  Of  the  numerals  two  only — 40  (sardnda)  and  50  {pinga=][)enda) 
are  uncommon ;  all  the  others  offer  but  few  and  slight  devia- 
tions from  the  general  rule  ;  viz. : — 

1.  jek.  12.  desuduj. 

2.  duj.  18.  desochto. 

3.  trin.  19.  deSunja. 

4.  star.  20.  bis. 

5.  fandz.  30.  tranda. 

6.  .so.  40.  saranda. 

7.  efta.  50.  pinga. 

8.  ochti?  60.  sovardes. 

9.  inju.  70.  eftavardeS. 

10.  des.  80.  ochtovardes. 

11.  desujek.  90.  njavardes.  1884.  miljaoehtoso,ochtovardcstajMar. 

JV.i>. — The  absolutely  false  denominations  of  the  numbers  300-600  (and  of  800 
in  the  last  example)  came  e\'idently  from  the  habitual  inattention  of  the  Gypsy 
interrogated.  Being  already  wearied  with  tlie  prolonged  and  abstract  numeration, 
— after  the  number  106,  sel  taj  so,  he  kept  these  two  last  words  in  his  mind  and 
applied  them  improperly  again :  taj  instead  of  var  (times)  and  -so  (six)  instead 
of  sel  (hundred). 

1  Leskero  is  met  sometimes  in  a  modified  form:  lece  or  lehce;  viz.,  me  dikimlece  dade 
{=me  dikVom  leskere  dades)  I  saw  his  fatlier;  tu  bacardan  lehce  daha  {  —  tu  bakerd'as 
leskere  dafut)  thou  talkedst  with  his  mother.  '-  cA  as  in  German. 


100. 

sel. 

101. 

sel  ta  jek. 

105. 

.sella  pcinda. 

106. 

sella  i  so. 

200. 

duj  so. 

300. 

trin  taj  .so. 

400. 

star  taj  so. 

500. 

pandz  taj  so. 

600. 

So  taj  .so. 

1000. 

m'ilja. 

128 


NOTES   ON   THE   DIALECT    OF   THE    BOSNIAN    GYPSIES. 


6.  With  regard  to  the  verbal  forms  very  few  hints  are  found  in 
Dr.  Krauss's  notes.  The  conjugation  of  the  verb  to  he,  given 
in  the  present  tense  only,  is  extremely  variable : — 


sing. — 1.  me  sem  and  som. 

2.  tu  sen  (for  sal). 

3.  vo  e  and  vo  hi. 


plur. — 1.  me  sem. 

2.  turtle  sen. 

3.  tume  sen  (for  von  hin). 


The  same  irregularity  exists,  it  appears,  with  the  personal 
terminations  of  all  other  conjugated  verbs ;  viz.  tu  vaierdan 
(for  va6erdal),  tu  a§undan  (for  asiind'al),  etc. 

7.  The  most  remarkable  and  important  peculiarity  of  the  conju- 

gation in  this  dialect  is  the  exclusively  Servian  form  of  the 
future  tense,  which  these  Gypsies  have  adopted.  Instead  of 
their  own  future  terminations  (1.  ava;  2.  eha\  3.  e/a,  etc.), 
the  Bosnian  Gypsies  employ  an  equivalent  for  the  Servian 
auxiliary  ocu,  tu  (I  will),  and  put  their  Gypsy  kamav — 
abbreviated  ka — as  prefix  to  the  verb  in  every  person  of  the 
future  tense,  viz.  : — 

me  kadobisara  (for  dobisarava)  pismo,  I  will  get  a  letter. 

tu  kacumide{  =  ctimideha)  ceja,  Thou  wilt  kiss  a  girl. 

vo  kacincl  {  =  cinela)  vordona,  He  will  buy  a  cart. 

ame  ka  lehce  osvetima  {  =  amen  leske  osvetimaha),  We  will  revenge  him. 

tume  kacere  ( =  tumen  cerena),  You  will  work. 

vov  kabicinel  e  graste  (for  e  gras),  They  will  sell  the  horse. 

8.  And  likewise,  the  perfect  tense  is  sometimes  formed  with  the 

Servian  prefix  vi,  added  to  its  regular  form.  Ex.  vioMlj^m 
vipilje'm.     We  have  eaten  and  drunk  everything. 

In  order  to  explain  the  preceding  notes  more  fully,  I  now  reproduce 
the  exact  materials  from  which  they  were  compiled.  These  I  shall 
arrange  as  follows : — vocabulary,  examples  of  grammar,  separate 
phrases,  and  some  other  specimens  of  the  Gypsy  language.  The 
Gypsy  texts,  although  sometimes  incorrect  and  obscure,  are  repro- 
duced exactly,  with  necessary  explanations  and  corrections  added  in 
parentheses.  The  English  versions,  frequently  at  variance  with  the 
Gypsy  text,  are  literally  translated  from  the  Servian. 


cereil,  star. 

e  curi,  knife. 

jag  a,  iire. 

kas,  tree,  wood. 

ublak  (Slav.),  heaven. 

paj,  water. 

patra,  leaves. 


pori,  handle. 

rom,  man. 

romt:,  wife. 

Rahum  (Turk),  God. 

tover,  axe. 

thud,  milk. 

vac'ar,  to  speak. 


NOTES    ON    THE    DIALECT    OF   THE    BOSNIAN    GYPSIES. 


129 


He    praises    himself    because   he   is  a 

better  hero  than  thou. 
He  is  a  better  tradesman. 
I  am  stronger  than  thou. 

We  were  the  most  splashed. 
Wine  is  dearer  than  brandy. 

Who  is  stronger,  this  is  right. 

(Gypsy  version  :  who  is  .stronger,  need 

not  seek  the  power  of  right.) 
God  is  the  strongest. 

I  am  Peter's  son. 
Thou  art  Peter's  daughter. 
He  is  Francis'  brother. 
We  are  Luke's  nephews. 
You  are  good  men. 
They  are  good  hosts. 

I  am  going  home. 

Thou  goest  into  the  garden. 

He  goes  on  the  place. 

We  go  to  the  field. 

You  go  to  the  village. 

They  go  to  the  mountain. 

I  have  seen  the  water. 

Thou  hast  heard  the  call. 

He  broke  his  leg  last  year. 

Of  the   banquet   we   have    eaten    and 

drunk. 
You  have  fought  together  then. 
Those  men  have  driven  you  then. 

I  am  the  first  in  the  range. 

We  were  before  the  Court  of  Justice 

with  your  neighbours. 
On  that  tree  are  many  green  leaves. 
I  did  not  drink  three  years'  black  (red) 

wine. 
I  offered  to  my  father  a  knife. 

My  father  died  three  years  ago. 

After  the  great  rain   the  grass  grows 
greater. 


Vo    hvalipe    (  =  hvali^  j^^es),   Icaj  tutar 

maj  laco  ( =feder)  junako. 
Vov  maj  laco  trgovco. 
Me  se  maj  ( =  me  scm  maj)  zidolo  tumenda 

( =  tumcndar). 
Me  najgore  cindziljem. 
0  vino  hi  maj  skupo  rac'ijatar  (  =  rak- 

hiatar). 
Ko  hima  maj  zuralo  {  =  ko  hi  maj  zxLralo), 

tana  rodul  ( =  fe  na  rodel)  sile  pravo. 

Oddel  (  =  0    Del,    i.e.    devel    hin)   maj 

zuralo. 
Me  som  Pctrcko  cao. 
Tu  sen  e  Petreci  cej  ( =  caj). 
Vo  e  Franjoko  phall. 
Me  {=ame)  scm  e  Lvkjre  pastorkuje.^ 
Tu  mesen  {=ht.me  sen)  lace  manus. 
Til  mesen  lace  gaz'dujra  (=gazdora). 

Me  dzav  cere  {  =  khere). 

Me  dzav  ande  basc'ave  (  =  ba.sc'a). 

Vov  dzal  po  pijaco. 

Von  dzal  andu  vial. 

Tu  me  {  =  turiie)  dzan  andu  gar. 

Tu  me  dian  andu  brdo. 

Me  dikljem  {  =  dikl'om)  o  paj. 
Tu  asundrin  {  =  a.sund'al)  e  vik;i. 
Tu  me  phage 71  oprno  (  =  o  pinro). 
Me  po  pijeri^  \\xaljem,  vipiljem. 

Tu  me  ( =  t'ume)  marden  tu  mc. 

Tu  mengo  {  =  tumenge)  sveto  tradija. 

Me  som  prvo  ando  redo. 

Me    pravdisailjem    tumarem    (tumare) 

koinsijanca. 
Pekav  {pe  akav)  kas  budpatra  zeleni. 
Me^il  {=me  na)  piljem  trin  brs  o  halo 

vino. 
Me  ma  dadesci  {  =  mre  dadeske)  poklo- 

nisardem  ecuri  {  =  e6uri). 
Mo  {=mro)  dado  mulja  pedes  {=pe  des) 

brs  manglal  ( =  anglal). 
Manglal    ecer    (  =  o    kher)   bajrilja    (?) 

velik  ki§a  ( =  baro  brisind)  rasti  baricar 


{=bareder)  trava.* 

1  The  words  in  italic  are  adaptations  from  the  Servian. 

-  Corrupted  Servian  pastorf-ad.        '  '^  Corrupted  Servian  pir. 

■•  This  Gypsy  version  is  rendered  verj-  intricate  by  tlie  arbitrary  addition  of  the  words : 
manglal  e  rer  (before  the  house)  and  by  the  unintelligible  word  hajrilja  instead  of  pale 
(after).     The  correct  Gypsy  translation  should  be  :  "Pal  o  baro  biisind  rasti  baruhr  cur." 


130  NOTKS    ON    THE    DIALECT    OF    THE    BOSNIAN    GYPSIES. 

Tlie  sun  shone  beautiful.  Ohham  (  =  o  Uham)  sukardji  djivisailja 

lehce.^ 
The  moon  shines  as  silver.  Ocon  ( =  o  con)  osvani  sar  rub. 

The  thunder  after  thunder  stroke.  Sa  (?)  gromo  pala  gromeste  paro. 

I   need   to   carry   some   bread   for    my      Trobuj  tecinav  {  =  te  cinav)  aro  mccdo 
children.  vorendji  {=me  cavorcnde)  sexan  {  =  tc 

xan)  bokhale.^ 
At  midnight  are  plenty  of  stars.  Opasirad   ( =  pas   e  rat)  perdudell   ( = 

pherdo  full  +  dell  ?)  cerea. 
It  will  rain,  the  apes  are  leaping.  Avella    brSun,  celenna  {  =  kele)i)  e  ma- 

garc7?KX.  (?)  (  =  magarci). 
He  whose  leg  aches  may  not  set  out  in      Kadukall    {  =  kaj    dukhal)   o   prno,   ta 

the  road.  nadjal  {  =  te  na  dzal)  po  drom. 

Who  is  guilty,  may  be  silent.  Ko  hi  darano,  nek  suti. 

Make  as  it  was  ordered.  Vcinisar  sold  (•=ucini  sar  so  hi)  zapo- 

vedime. 
Do  not  strike,  I  have  headache.  Namar  {  =  na  mar),  dukall  ma  {=man) 

osoro  ( =  0  Hero). 
Drive  wood  from  the  forest.  Crde  androvus  {  =  andro  vuP)  ekas  (  =  e 

kast). 
Where  it  smokes,  there  is  fire.  Go  te  kahi  tu  go  te  vijag.* 

That  is  the  stick,  five  spans  long.  Gote  (?)  rovli  pandz  pedljira. 

Who  is  timid,  may  not  excite  the  dogs.       Ko  daral,  ta  narodel  ( =  te  na  rodel) " 

ducelen  {  =  dzukelen  or  dzuklen). 

One  man  knows    something,   all    men      Jek  insano  saranel  djanel  sal).''' 
know  all. 

A  Gypsy  Congratulation. 

God  may  give  health  to  my  Lord  !  Odel  ( =  o  devel)  sastipe  me  gospodine  ta 

(te)  dell  I 

God    (may    give    him)    five    thousand  Odel  pan  {=pandzX)  mil^e  galhe ;    Me 

ducats;   to  his  children  health  may  laori    {=cavore7ide)    sastipe     tetherel 

He  make  !  {  =  te  kerel). 

May  he  white-haired  beget  grandsons  1  Tetherel    unuko    ^ra?-?io6aZi .'     tetherel  ! 

may  have   children  born  from  chil-  caorell  {  =  cavoren)   caorenda!  {  —  ca- 

dren !  vorende). 

A  Defectivk  Fragment  or  a  Song, 

That  is  good.  Godovahi  {  =  odova  hin)  laco. 

(?)  Insano  (11) 

He  rose  for  the  work.  Ustilja  pala  o  rado  {  =  bukhi). 

May  give  God.  Te  delle  {  =  te  del)  odell  (  =  o  devel). 

May  give.  Te  delle. 

Gifts  of  fortune  luay  he  have  !  Dunjaluko  {turk  1)  te  avelle!  {=  te  avel). 

1  Likewise  added  arbitrary  the  word  le7ice  (to  him). 

2  The  Gypsy  version,  thoroughly  altered,  means:  "I  need  to  buy  some  flour  for  my 
children,  they  may  eat,  hungry." 

3  Version  incorrect :  ant^j-o  r  its' signifies  "into  the  forest." 

•4  Thoroughly  unintelligible  version ;  it  should  be  :   "  Kaj  hin  thuv,  odoj  hin  the  jag." 
5  Frequent  Gypsy  ''  cfid  pro  quo  "  :  rodel  signifies  "  seeks,"  Servian  trazi,  used  Instead  of 
drazi  (Serv.)  i.e.  "  excites." 
"  Absolutely  unintelligible. 


TKANSYLVANIAN    GYPSY    SONGS.  131 


A  Begging  Speech. 


Bijandija   mandzi   {  =  mange)   raoro  ;    pijanda  {  =  bijandu)   mrli   {  =  mri)   romni 

reora  ( =  cajora)  lakona  Zlata.     Ineka  Jcaiulz  Icathindi  bokhali  padselja  nella 

kathide  kandz. 

In  its  second   part  absolutely  unintelligible,  this  appeal  should    mean  :    "  A 

child  is  born  unto  me.     My  wife  bore  a  child,  named  Zlata.     But  she  has  nothini; 

in  the  world.     She  is  hungry." 

rsiUORK  KOPEKNICKI. 


III.— TEANSYLVANIAN  GYPSY  SONGS. 

[The  following  are  three  of  the  songs  whose  airs  are  given  in  the 
specimens  of  "  Original  Popular  Melodies  of  the  Trausylvanian  Tent- 
Gypsies,"  reproduced  in  our  October  number.  They  have  been 
supplied  to  us,  along  with  a  German  translation,  by  Professor 
Herrmann ;  and  the  English  words  now  given  form  a  tolerably 
literal  rendering  of  the  original.] 

I. 

Sung  to  Melody  No.  4.     Text  and  melody  supplied  by  Wallachian  Gypsies  at 
Marosviisarhely  by  Alb.  Geigei",  and  revised  by  Dr.  Herrmann. 

Maru,  Devla,  kas  kames,  jaj  I  Strike  whom  thou  wilt,  0  God.     Alas  ! 

Ke  man  destul  ^  phabares,  man,  Enough  thy  fires  have  scorched  me. 

Maru,  Devla,  koke  bar,  jaj  !  Strike  down,  0  God,  this  hedge — for,  all  ! 

Kai  nast'i  ^  chut'ilom  pordal.  It  cannot  else  surmounted  be. 

II. 

Sung  to  Melody  No.  8.  From  Anica  Ourar,  a  Wallachian  Gypsy  girl  of  twenty, 
imprisoned  at  Brasso  (Kronstadt),  in  1886.  The  words  written  by  Dr.  Herr- 
mann, and  the  melody  noted  by  his  companion,  the  musician  Zoltan  Heltay. 

"  De  man  mol  la  durul'asa,  "  Come,  bring  a  jar  of  wine  to  me, 

Ke  me  dau  tut  la  brad'asa  ^  ! "  Or  I  '11  the  cudgel  deal  to  thee  ! " 

Sakade  pend'e  roma.  So  ever  have  the  Gypsies  said, 

Ke  has  lenge  but  zulta  ;  When  money  they  in  plenty  had  ; 

Kerel  les  la  corimasa,  'Twas  made  by  them  in  penury, 

Tai  pijel  la  barimasa.  In  lofty  pride  'twas  drunk  away. 

III. 

Sung  to  Melody  No.  9.  From  a  Gypsy  girl,  Maria  Prikulic,  in  the  service  of  Herr 
Herbst,  Cseszora.  She  is  able  to  read  and  write,  and  is  sister  to  the  first  violin 
in  Belenyes  (Bihar),  her  native  place.  The  text  revised  by  Dr.  Herrmann  ;  the 
air  noted  doAvn  by  Z,  Heltay. 

Kel'e  1  caje  romani  0  the  many  Gypsy  maids 

Sa  has  mange  pirani,  Who  have  been  my  lovers  true, 

Ke  gend'eDde,^  ke  len  lau,  They  believed  that  I  'd  them  wed  ; 

Da  1  me  oda  na  kerau.  That 's  just  what  I  did  not  do. 

Ke  vod'i  man  para^  riiu,!  For  my  heart  it  pains  me  sore, 

Kaua  ekha  ca  -  dikhau  ;  If  but  one  I  chance  to  see  ; 

Ke  e  caje  romani  Like  a  slim  and  slender  flower 

Sar  o  sale  ^  lulud'i.  Is  each  gentle  Romani. 

'  Borrowed  from  the  Roumanian.  2  Borrowed  from  the  ]Magyar.   ' 


132  GYPSYING   BY    THK    ADKIATIC. 


IV.— GYPSYING  BY  THE  ADKIATIC. 

AS  the  ordinary  educated  European  does  not  gain  an  acquaintance- 
ship with  the  ways  and  the  language  of  the  Eomane  without 
stepping  out  of  the  smooth,  macadamised  road  that  Conventionality 
loves,  it  seems  to  me  that  every  Eoman  Eai  must  naturally  be 
interested  even  in  learning  the  most  trifling  details  referring  to 
the  manner  of  a  brother's  "  conversion."  It  is  under  this  belief 
that  I  offer  these  few  notes  bearing  upon  my  own  experiences. 
And  I  shall  begin  by  relating  the  circumstances  which  led  me 
at  length  to  learn  the  Gypsies'  tongue. 

In  the  year  1863,  as  I  was  walking  along  a  side  street  leading 
into  one  of  the  squares  of  Trieste,  I  observed  a  Gypsy  woman,  of 
Hagar-like  aspect,  and  with  a  little  baby  clinging  to  her  shoulders, 
who  was  being  hooted  at  and  abused  by  a  number  of  noisy  rowdies. 
At  the  sight  of  this  I  interfered,  and  succeeded  in  shaming  them  into 
leaving  the  woman  in  peace ;  who,  thus  freed  from  her  persecutors, 
seated  herself  upon  a  neighbouring  door-step,  and  relieved  her  injured 
feelings  by  a  flood  of  tears.  At  this,  I  approached  her,  soothed  her 
as  best  I  could,  adding  a  pecuniary  trifle  to  help  her,  and  finally  I 
asked  her  (continuing  to  speak  in  Italian),  "  What  is  your  name  ? " 
"  Maria,"  she  replied,  laying  the  accent  upon  the  first  syllable  of  the 
word.  Then,  as  nothing  else  remained  to  be  done,  except  to  say 
farewell,  I  asked  her,  "  How  do  you  say  Addio  in  your  language  ?  " 
Whereupon,  with  an  air  that  seemed  expressive  (to  my  puzzled  eyes) 
of  annoyance  or  anger,  she  arose,  and  with  a  haussement  of  her  baby- 
burthened  shoulders,  muttering  the  word  D4vdl,  she  made  abruptly 

oir. 

To  my  untutored  ears  it  seemed  that  such  passing  kindness  as  I 
had  shown  the  woman  had  only  resulted  in  my  being  consigned  to 
the  devil  (for  I  concluded  that  BSvel  was  no  other  than  Diavolo),  and 
consequently  my  indignation  against  her  rudeness  and  ingratitude 
was  great.  And  all  that  day  I  felt  the  sting  of  such  treatment 
received  from  one  of  those  whom  I  had  till  then  regarded  as  the  very 
refuse  of  mankind.  However,  this  feeling  of  irritation  seemed  only 
to  result  in  the  desire  to  learn  more  precisely  what  the  woman  meant; 
and  thus  I  was  driven  to  obtain  further  knowledge  from  books.  The 
very  next  day  I  repaired  to  a  German  bookseller's,  and  from  him  I 
demanded  some  work  on  the  Gypsies.  He  had  none  on  hand  at  the 
time,  but  he  gave  me  a  catalogue,  and  out  of  this  I  selected  Pott's 


GYPSYING   BY   THE    ADRIATIC.  133 

two  large  volumes,  whicli  soon  afterwards  the  post  brought  to  me 
from  Leipsic.  It  was  not  until  after  some  time  and  trouble  that  I 
found  out,  among  the  intricacies  of  that  precious  but  ill-arranged 
vocabulary,  the  magic  word  D6vel,  the  cause  of  my  soul's  torment. 
When  I  learned,  as  I  then  did,  that  it  meant  exactly  the  reverse  of 
what  I  had  thought,  poor  Maria  rose  in  my  estimation  with  a  bound. 
And  from  that  time  I  took  such  a  liking  to  her  language  that  I  began 
to  practise  it  myself,  and  even  that  very  year  came  out  as  an  incipient 
Gypsy-author.  Maria  herself  figures  in  my  Viaggio  Sentimentale,  in 
which  I  plead  tlie  Gypsies'  cause  before  my  fellow-men.  And  it  is 
Maria  herself  who  has  taught  me  much  of  the  language  and  the  lore 
of  her  people. 

To  this,  my  earliest  Gypsy  experience,  I  shall  add  one  of  my  most 
recent.     Two  years  ago  I  was  staying  at  Go.ritz,  and  one  evening  in 
the  course  of  my  walk  I  descried,  in  a  solitary  field  outside  of  the 
town,  some  Gypsy  women  beside  a  cart.    I  of  course  went  up  to  them, 
and  accosted  them  in  Eomani,  which  they  understood  and  spoke 
perfectly  well.     When  I  did  so,  I  was  quite  unaware  of  the  fact  that 
their  men,  in  a  state  of  semi-intoxication,  were  close  at  hand  among 
some  bushes  engaged  in  quarrelling  over  the  sale  of  a  half-starved 
donkey  ;  but,  at  the  sound  of  my  voice  they  rushed  out,  and,  hearing 
that  I  was  talking  in  their  own  tongue,  they  eagerly  urged  me  to 
accompany  them  to  a  neighbouring  tavern,  indifferent  to  the  fact  that 
they  were  already  drunk.     They  insisted  that  I  must  come  and  drink 
with  them,  as  I  was  a  "  Kalo."     In  the  meanwhile,  their  young  imps, 
of  both  sexes,  were  trying  to  pick  my  pockets  ;    but  this   I  soon 
became  aware  of,  and  made  them  desist,  with  the  admonition  "  Tate 
na  tshores  !  "     I  also  found,  it  necessary  to  extricate  myself  from  the 
embraces  of  the  drunkest  of  the  men,  who,  while  insisting  upon  my 
being  "  a  stray  Gypsy  "  (an  idea  which  my  features  rather  bear  out), 
was  busily  engaged  in  exploring  the  breast-pocket  of  my  coat.     The 
daylight  was  beginning  to  fade.     Altogether,  it  seemed  prudent  to 
sacrifice  my  linguistic  inclinations  to  my  personal  safety ;  and,  assur- 
ing my  friend  that  I  was  no  Gypsy  but  a  mere  gadsJio  and  raker- 
paskcro,  I  called  out  to  some  peasants  who  were  providentially  passing 
by,  whereupon  he  loosened  his  grip,  and  thus  allowed  me  to  join  my 
deliverers.     Pursued  by  many  deep  oaths,  I  went  on,  under  the  pru- 
tection  of  my  two  "  guardian  angels,"  until  we  gained  the  main  road 
leading  to  town. 

I  had  passed  a  mauvais  quart  d'heure.    These  men  were  looking  so 
wild  at  the  time  that  an  unpleasant  apprehension  of  being  not  only 


134  GYPSYING   BY   THE   ADRIATIC. 

assaulted,  but  perhaps  murdered,  got  hold  of  me,  and  to  such  an 
extent  that  I  promised  myself  never  more  to  go  in  search  of  Gypsies 
unless  escorted  by  at  least  one  friend.  In  the  secluded  and  unfre- 
quented place  to  which  they  wanted  to  take  me,  I  might  have  fallen 
a  monetary  or  a  physical  victim  to  my  Gypsyologism. 

In  such  circumstances,  there  was  little  I  could  learn  from  them. 
The  women,  however,  had  told  me  they  were  from  Carinthia,  and 
were  then  on  their  way  back.  Strange  to  say,  the  women  were  all 
blondes,  with  the  exception  of  one  who  had  the  real  Indian  features 
and  physique.  The  men  were  tall  and  portly ;  and  they  too,  instead  of 
being  olive-coloured,  were  of  a  deep-red  complexion.  This,  however, 
may  have  been  the  result  of  much  brandy.  But  they  had  the 
regular  Gypsy  features  ;  oval  face,  low  brow,  ivory  teeth,  and  jet-black 
hair,  which  fell  in  curls  at  the  temples.^  A  red  handkerchief  tied 
round  the  neck  gave  them  much  the  air  of  brigands. 

This  is  what  I  call  my  negative  linguistic  campaign.  Had  they 
not  been  overdrunk  and  in  a  choleric  mood,  when  I  surprised  them,  I 
dare  say  they  would  have  behaved  quite  mannerly  towards  me.  For 
I  almost  invariably  observe  how  sensibly  kind  they  are  to  one  who 
addresses  them  in  their  own  tongue. 

These  two  instances  of  intercourse  with  Gypsies — in  the  first  case 
with  a  Zingara  del  Littorcde,  in  the  second  with  a  Carinthian  band — 
I  lay  before  my  fellow-members  as  illustrative  of  the  pursuit  of 
Gypsy-hunting  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  Adriatic. 

J.    PiNCHERLE. 


V.~A  SUPPLEMENT  TO  THE  STATISTICAL  ACCOUNT  OF 
THE  GYPSIES  IN  THE  GEEMAN  EMPIEE. 

WIPTEMBEEG. — In  the  district  {Oheramtsbezirh)  of  Bocknang 
there  is  a  Gypsy  family  of  about  twelve  souls  ;  they  possess  a 
house,  but  they  wander  about  almost  the  whole  year.  In  the  district 
of  Ludwigsburg  there  are  two  Gypsy  families  settled ;  to  the 
festival  called  ScMferlaiif,  which  is  held  every  year  at  Mark- 
groeningen,  a  great  number  of  Gypsies  flock  together.  In  the 
district  of  Weinsberg  there  are  some  Germanised  descendants  of  a 
Gypsy  family ;  they  are  for  the  most  part  pedlars,  and  wander  about 

1  This  aescription  of  the  Gypsy  face  coincides  exactly  with  that  given  by  Borrow.  The 
curls  on  either  temple  are  mentioned  by  Swiuburce  in  his  description  of  Spanish  Gypsies  ; 
and  Mr.  Groome  has  seen  one  old-fashioned  English  Gypsy  thus  adorned— a  Buclcland,  at 
Devizes  fair,  in  1872.  -  [Ed.] 


SUPPLEMENTARY    STATISTICS    OF   THE   GYPSIES   IN   GERMANY.       135 

during  the  greater  part  of  the  year.  In  the  district  of  Gmnnd  there 
is  only  one  place  in  which  there  are  settled  Gypsies ;  but  even  these 
are  never  found  at  home  in  the  community  they  belong  to.  In  the 
district  of  Oehringen  there  is  one  family  of  Gypsies,  twenty-seven 
souls ;  these  say  that  they  lived  formerly  in  Alsace.  In  the  district 
of  Ehingen  a  small  Gypsy  colony  is  found,  comprising  eight  families 
(thirty-six  souls),  but  they  are  seldom  seen  in  their  own  district. 

Keuss  aeltere  Linie,  LtJBECK.     There  are  no  Gypsies  in  these 
provinces.  Eudolf  von  Sowa. 


Erratum. 

[In  the  "  Statistical  Account  of  the  Gypsies  in  the  German  Empire,"  contributed 
by  Professor  von  Sowa  to  our  July  Journal,  it  is  stated  (p.  30)  that  some  of  the 
Gypsies  in  Frankfurt  and  Coesliu  keep  shooting  galleries.  This,  however,  is  the 
result  of  an  error  in  translation  (for  the  learned  author,  being  pressed  for  time  at 
the  date  when  his  article  required  to  be  sent  in,  did  not  himself  render  it  into 
English,  which  was  done  in  Edinburgh).  What  Dr.  von  Sowa  really  stated  wa^ 
that  the  Gypsies  referred  to  were  frequently  rat-catchers.  The  German  word  used 
by  him  is  Kammerjuger,  literally  "  chamber-hunter."  This  word  signifies  either 
"  the  servant  of  a  prince,"  or  a  "rat-catcher"  ;  two  occupations  which  at  the  first 
glance  seem  totally  disconnected,  although  it  is  likely  that  the  one  term  included 
the  other  in  the  days  when  "  a  rat  behind  the  arras  "  was  no  uncommon  pheno- 
menon, even  m  the  chamber  of  a  prince.  The  idea  that  Icammerjdcjer  denoted  the 
"  sportsman  "  of  a  shooting-gallery  (or  chamber)  was  borne  out  by  the  fact  that  this 
occupation  is  followed  in  England  by  a  class  of  people,  to  some  extent,  of  Gypsy 
l)lood.     However,  this  is  not  what  was  stated  in  Dr.  von  Sowa'.s  article. — Ed.] 


VI.— CHEISTMAS  CAROLS :  THE  THREE  MAGI. 

rpHE  following  Noiil  or  Christmas  Carol  will  serve  to  illustrate  a 
-L  certain  popular  belief  regarding  Gypsies,  existent  in  the  middle 
of  the  seventeenth  century,  but  prevalent  during  many  of  the  pre- 
ceding centuries.  It  was  composed  by  le  Sieur  Nicolas  Saboly, 
Beneficier  et  Maitre  de  Musique  de  I'Eglise  de  St.  Pierre  d'Avignou. 
Saboly  is  perhaps  the  most  renowned  writer  of  Provencal  Noels.  I 
tiud  ten  editions  of  his  Recue.il  de  Noels  enumerated  between  1670 
and  the  present  time.  The  edition  I  copy  from  is  "  Avignon,  chez 
Peyri,  1854."  This  Noel  is  also  given  in  Voyage  dans  les  Diimrte- 
ments  du  Midi,  by  A.  L.  Millin,  vol.  iv.  p.  163  (1811),  with  slight 
variations,  marking  a  difference  of  dialect.     It  has  been  translated  at 


136 


CHRISTMAS   CAROLS:   THE   THREE   MAGI. 


least   twice   into  English — the   last  time   in   The  Anglican  Clnirch 
Magazine,  December  1887  : — 

LXIX.     Noel. 
Sur  I'air  des  Bohemien  . 


N'aoutrei  sian  tres  Boumian 
Qu^  dounan  la  bonoi;  fourtunou. 
N'aoutrei  sian  tres  Boumian 
Qu'arrapen  pertout  vounte  sian  : 
Enfan  eimable  et  tant  doux, 
Boutou,  boute  aqui  la  croux, 
Et  chascun  te  dira 
Tout  ce  que  t'arribara  : 
Coumencou,  Janan,  cependan 
D6  li  veire  la  man. 


We  are  three  Bohemians 
Who  tell  good  fortune. 
We  are  three  Bohemians 
Who  rob  wherever  we  may  be  ; 
Child,  lovely  and  so  sweet, 
Place,  place  here,  the  cross,^ 
And  each  (of  us)  will  tell  thee 
Everything  that  will  hapj^en  to  thee ; 
Begin,  Janan,  however, 
Give  him  the  hand  to  see. 


Tu  sies,  a  ce  qu^  vieou, 
Egaou  a  Dieou, 

Et  sies  soun  Fis  tout  adourable 
Tu  sies,  a  ce  que  vieou 
Egaou  a  Dieou, 
Nascu  per  yeou  din  lou  nean  : 
L'amour  t'a  fach  enfan 
Per  tout  lou  genre  human  : 
Unou  Viergeou  es  ta  mayre, 
Si^s  na  sensou  gis  d6  payre  ; 
Aco  se  vei  din  ta  man. 
L'amour  t'a  fach  enfan,  etc. 

L'ia  encare  un  gran  secret, 
Que  Janan  n'a  pas  vougu-dire ; 
L'ia  encare  un  gran  secret 
Que  fara  ben  leou  soun  efet : 
Vene,  vene,  beou  Messi, 
Mettou,  mettou,  mette  eici, 
La  pecou  blanquou,  ooussi 
Per  nous  fayre  rejoui : 
Janan,  parlara,  beou  Meina, 
Boute  aqui  per  dina. 

Soutou  tant  de  mouyeu 
L'ia  quaouquaren 
Per  noste  ben  de  fort  sinistre ; 
Soutou  tant  de  mouyen 
L'ia  quaouquaren. 
Per  noste  ben,  de  rigouroux  : 
Se  I'y  ves  unou  crous 
Qu'es  lou  salut  de  tous. 
Et  si  te  I'aouze  dire, 
Lou  sujet  de  toun  martyre 
Es  que  sies  ben  amouroux. 
S^  I'y  ves  unou  crous,  etc. 


Thou  art,  from  what  I  see. 
Equal  to  God. 

And  thou  art  his  Son  all  wonderful : 
Thou  art,  from  what  I  see, 
Equal  to  God. 

Born  for  me  in  the  nothingness  : 
Love  has  made  you  a  child 
For  all  the  human  race  : 
A  virgin  is  thy  mother. 
Thou  art  born  without  any  Father  ; 
This  I  see  in  thy  hand. 
Love  has  made  thee  a  child,  etc. 

There  is  still  a  great  secret. 
Which  Janan  has  not  wished  to  tell 
There  is  still  a  great  secret. 
Which  will  have  soon  its  effect  : 
Come,  come,  beauteous  Messiah, 
Place,  place,  place  here, 
The  white  piece  (of  money) 
To  make  us  rejoice : 
.Janan  wiU  tell,  beauteous  Messiah, 
Give  (it)  here  for  dinner. 

Under  so  many  means 
There  is  something 
For  our  good  very  unhappy  ; 
Under  so  many  means 
There  is  something 
For  our  good  hard  (to  bear) : 
One  sees  there  a  cross 
That  is  the  salvation  of  all. 
And  if  I  dare  to  tell  it  thee. 
The  cause  of  thy  martyrdom 
Is  that  thou  art  right  loving. 
One  sees  there  a  cross,  etc. 


As  our  English  Gypsies  say,   "Cross  my  hand,"  etf. 


CHRISTMAS  CAROLS:  THE  THREE  MAGI. 


137 


L'ai  encarou  quaouqnaren 
Oou  bout  d.6  ta  lignou  vitalou  : 
L'ia  encarou  quaouquaren 
Que  t^  voou  dire  Magnssen  : 
Vene,  vfene,  beou  german, 
Dounou,  dounou  eici  ta  man, 
Et  te  d^vinaran 
Quaouquaren  de  ben  charman  : 
May  veugue  d'argen  ou  tan  ben 
vSensou,  noun  s^  fay  ren. 

Tu  sies  Dieou  et  raourtaou, 
Et  couniou  taou 
Vieouras  ben  poou  dessu  la 

terrou ; 
Tu  sies  Dieou  et  inourtaoii, 
Et  couniou  taou 
Saras  ben  poou  din  noste 

eta; 
May  ta  divinita 
Es  su  I'eternita : 
Si^s  rOoutour  d^  la  vidou, 
Toun  essence  &  infinidcm, 
N'as  ren  que  sie  limita. 
May  ta  Divinita,  etc. 


There  is  still  something 
At  the  end  of  the  vital  line  : 
There  is  still  something 
Which  Magassen  will  tell  thee : 
Come,  come,  gentle  brother, 
Give,  give  here  thy  hand, 
And  I  will  divine  for  thee 
Something  very  charming : 
But  let  the  silver  come,  or  nevertheles-s 
Without  it  we  do  nothing. 

Thou  art  God  and  mortal, 
And  as  such 
Thou  wilt  live  a  very  short  time  on  the 

earth ; 
Thou  art  God  and  mortal, 
And  as  such 
Thou  wilt  be  a  very  short  time  in  our 

condition : 
But  thy  Divinity 
Is  for  eternity : 
Thou  art  the  Author  of  life. 
Thy  essence  is  infinite, 
Thou  hast  nothing  that  may  be  limited. 
But  thy  Divinity,  etc. 


Vos-ti  pas  que  diguen 
Quaoquaren  a  sa  santou  Mayre? 
Vos-ti  pas  que  1^  fen 
Per  lou  men  noste  coumplimen  ? 
Bellou  Damou,  ven6  eiga, 
N'aoutrei  couneissen  deja 
Que  din  ta  bellou  man 
L'ia  un  myst^ri  ben  gran. 
Tu  qu6  si^s  pouli,  digou  li 
Quaouquaren  de  joli. 


Wilt  thou  not  that  we  tell 
Something  to  thy  holy  mother  ? 
Wilt  thou  not  that  we  make  to  her 
At  the  least  our  compliments? 
Fair  Lady,  come  hither, 
We  others  already  know 
That  within  thy  fair  hand 
There  is  a  mystery  veiy  great. 
Thou  who  art  polite,  tell  her 
Something  pretty. 


Tu  sies  doou  sang  rouyaou, 
Et  toun  houstaou 
Es  dei  pu  haou  d'aqueste  mounde : 
Et  toun  houstaou 
Es  dei  pu  haou,  a  ce  que  vieou  ; 
Toun  Seignour  es  toun  Fieou, 
Et  soun  Payre  lou  Dieou: 
Qut^  podes-ti  may  estre  ? 
Sies  la  Fiou  de  toun  j\Iestre 
Et  la  Mayre  d6  toun  Dieou. 
Toun  Seignour  es  toun  Fieou,  etc. 

Et  tu,  bon  Seigne-gran, 
Qu6  si^s  oou  cantoun  de  la  crupi, 
Et  tu,  bon  Seigne-gran, 
Vos-ti  pas  que  v^guen  ta  man  / 
Digou,  tu  crises  bessay 

VOL  L — NO.  III. 


Thou  art  of  royal  biood, 
And  thy  house 

Is  of  the  highest  of  this  w^orld : 
And  thy  house 

Is  of  the  highest,  from  what  I  see 
Thy  Lord  is  thy  Son, 
And  his  Father  is  thy  God : 
What  couldest  thou  be  more? 
Thou  art  the  daughter  of  thy  Master 
And  the  Mother  of  thy  God. 
Thy  Lord  is  thy  Son,  etc. 

And  thou,  good  old  man, 
Who  art  at  the  corner  of  the  manger, 
And  thou,  good  old  man. 
Wilt  thou  not  that  we  see  thy  hand  ? 
Say,  thou  fearest  perhaps 


138 


CHRISTMAS    CAROLS:    THE   THREE   MAGL 


Que  noun  rousen  alquel  ay 
Qu'es  aqui  destaca? 
Roubarian  pu-leou  lou  ga : 
Mete  aqui  dessu,  beou  Moiissa, 
N'aven  pens-a  begu. 


That  we  should  steal  that  ass 
Which  is  tied  up  there  ? 
We  would  rather  steal  the  child  : 
Place  (something)  here  upon,  fair  sir, 
We  have  scarcely  drunk  (to-day). 


Yeou  Teze  din  ta  man 
Que  sies  ben  gran, 
Que  sies  ben  sant,  que  sies  ben 

juste, 
Yeou  veze  din  ta  man 
Que  sies  ben  sant  et  ben  ama : 
Ah!  divin  marida, 
As  toujour  counserva 
Unou  sante  abstinengou  ; 
Tu  gardes  la  Providencou, 
N'en  sies-ti  pas  ben  garda? 
Ah !  divin  marida,  etc. 


I  see  within  thy  hand 
That  thou  art  very  great, 
That  thou  art  very  holy,  that  thou  art 

very  just ; 
I  see  in  thy  hand 

That  thou  art  very  holy,  and  well  loved : 
Ah!  divine  husband, 
Hast  thou  always  preserved 
A  holy  abstinence : 
Thou  guardest  Providence ; 
Art  thou  not  well  guarded  I 
Ah  I  divine  husband,  etc. 


N'aoutrei  couneissen  ben 
Que  sies  vengu  dedin  lou  mounde ; 
N'aoutrei  couneissen  ben 
Que  tu  sies  vengu  sense  argen : 
Bel  enfan,  n'en  parlen  plus, 
Quan  tu  sies  vengu  tout  nixs, 
Oregnies,  a  ce  que  vian, 
Lou  rescontre  dei  Boumian ; 
Que  cregni^s,  beou  Fieou,  tu  sies 

Dieou ; 
Escoutou,  noste  a  Dieou. 


We  others  know  well 
That  thou  art  come  into  the  world ; 
We  others  know  well 
That  thou  art  come  without  money : 
Fair  child,  let  us  not  speak  more  of  it, 
Since  thou  art  come  quite  naked. 
Thou  fearedst,  from  what  we  see, 
Meeting  with  Bohemians  ; 
"Why  didst  thou  fear,  fair  Son?— thou  art 

God. 
Listen  to  our  farewell. 


Si  trop  de  liberta 
Nous  a  pourta 
A  devina  toun  aventourou  : 
Si  trop  de  liberta 
Nous  a  pourta 
A  te  parla  trop  Ubramen, 
Te  pregan  humblamen 
De  fayre  egalamen 
Nostou  bonou  fourtounou, 
Et  que  nous  en  donnes  unou 
Que  dure  eternelamen, 
Te  pregan  humblamen,  etc. 


If  too  much  liberty 
Has  led  us 

To  divine  thy  fortune: 
If  too  much  liberty 
Has  led  us 

To  speak  to  thee  too  freely, 
We  pray  thee  liumbly 
To  make  equally 
Oiu:  good  fortune, 
And  that  you  give  us  one 
"Which  may  last  eternally. 
We  pray  thee  humbly,  etc. 


No.  69  1  of  "  Poesias  Popiilares  colegidas  por  Don  Tomas  Seguro"  ; 
Leipzig:  Brockhaus,  1862,  p.  102  is  entitled  Villancicos  que  cantan 
los  ninospara  el  dia  de  los  Santos  Reyes  ("Carols  which  the  children 
sing  on  the  day  of  the  Holy  Kings  ")? 

1  No.  68  is  a  ballad,  -'El  Gitano,"  of  a  Gypsy  in  prison  for  roljbing  a  mule,  and  a  Gypsy 
givl  telling  fortunes. 

2  Epiphany  or  Twelfth  Day, 


CHRISTMAS    CAROLS:    THE   THREE   MAGI. 


139 


Las  Gitanas  que  son  siempre 
La  alegria  del  portal, 
Viendo  Uegar  a  los  reyes 
Un  baile  quier  en  formar. 

ESTRIBILLO. 

Prevenid  castauuelas,  Gitanas  ; 
Que  al  portal  han  entrado  tres  reyes, 

A  ver  el  zaxjal; 

Clias,  chas,  chas} 

Castauetas,  bandurria,  sonajas 
Ligeras  tocad  ;  chcis  : 

Y  vaya  de  baile, 

Y  vaya  de  solas  : 
Ghis,  chis,  chis. 
Chas,  chas,  chas. 

Que  al  Eey  Nino  mudanzas  alegran 

Y  hoy  los  reyes  liraosna  daran  ; 

Chas,  chas,  chas. 

Saltar  y  buUir 
Volver  y  cruzar  ;  cha.s  : 

Y  puestar  en  rueda 
Ballad  sin  parar. 

Gitanillas,  alegres,  festivas, 

El  baile  alegrad 
Que  al  portal  han  entrado  tres  reyes, 

A  ver  al  ::agal. 

Bailad  sin  parar; 
Chis,  chis,  chis, 
Glias,  chas,  chas : 
Saltar  y  bullir, 
Volver  y  criizar. 


The  Gypsy  women,  who  are  always 
The  joy  of  the  town-gate, 
Seeing  the  kings  arrive 
Wish  to  give  them  a  dance. 

Chorus. 
Get  ready  the  castanets,  Gypsies  ; 
The  three  kings  have  come  in  at  the  gate, 

To  see  the  young  boy ; 

Chas,  chas,  chas.^ 

Strike  the  castanets,  the  bandurine. 
The  joyous  timbrels  ;  chas  : 

And  go  in  the  dance;  [or, Here  goes 
the  dance] 

And  go  one  by  one  : 

Chis,  chis,  chis, 

Chas,  chas,  chas. 

How  the  changing  movements  will  please 

the  child-king, 
And  to-day  the  kings  will  give  us  alms  ; 
Chas,  chas,  chas. 

To  dance  and  bustle  about. 
To  turn  and  cross  ;  chas  : 
And,  formed  in  a  wheel. 

Dance  ye  without  stopping. 
G-ypsy-girls,  gay  and  joyous, 

Make  the  dance  gay. 
For  the  three  kings  have  come  in  at  the 

gate. 

To  see  the  young  boy. 

Dance  without  stopping  ; 

Chis,  chis,  chis, 

Chas,  chas,  chas : 

To  leap  and  bustle  round. 

To  turn  and  to  cross. 


No.  70  is  similar. 

Bien  venidos,  Eeyes, 
Seais  al  portal ; 
Que  las  gitanillas 
Os  desean  y-a. 


The  first  verse  is, 

AVelcome,  0  kings, 
Are  ye  at  the  gate  ; 
How  the  Gypsy-girls 
Are  already  longing  for  you. 


With  a  refrain  at  every  fourth  verse, 

Chas,  elms,  chasi:  Chas,  chas,  chas: 

Soltar  y  bullir  To  leap  and  bustle  about, 

Volver  y  cruzar  To  turn  and  to  cross, 

Y  poneros  en  rueda  -  And  to  make  a  wheel, 

Bailad  sin  parar.  Dance  without  stopping. 


1  The  chis,  chas  is  nieaut  to  represent  the  snapping  of  the  castanets. 


140  CHRISTMAS   CAROLS:   THE   THREE   MAGI. 

There  are  several  Christmas  carols  in  Spanish  put  into  the  mouth 
of  Gypsies.  The  most  tender  and  beautiful  with  which  I  am 
acquainted  is  "  La  Prediccion  de  la  Gitana,"  given  by  Fernan 
Caballero  in  her  Cuentos  y  Poesias  popidarcs  Audaluces.  The 
quaintest  one  is  the  following,  in  the  same  volume : — 

En  el  portal  de  Belen  In  the  gate  of  Bethlehem 

Gitanitos  han  entrado,  The  little  Gypsies  have  entered, 

Y  al  nino  recien  nacido  And  the  new-born  child 

Los  panales  le  han  quitado.  Have  robbed  of  his  swaddling  clothes, 

i  Picaros  gitanos,  Rascally  Gypsies, 

Caras  de  aceitunas,  Faces  of  olives, 

No  han  dejado  al  nino  They  have  not  left  the  child 

Ropita  ninguna  !  One  little  rag  ! 

I  presume  many  of  our  members  are  familiar  with  the  wonder- 
fully cheap  Coleccion  de  Cantcs  Flamencos,  the  songs  composed  by 
Gypsies  in  the  Andalusian  dialect,  collected  and  annotated  by 
D^mofilo  (S.  Machado  y  Alvarez)  Sevilla,  1851.  Some  few  have  been 
translated  in  Spanish  and  Italian  Folk-lore  Songs  by  Alma  Strettell 
(Macmillan  &  Co.). 

Some  articles  on  the  Gypsies  (mostly  a  compilation)  have 
appeared  in  recent  numbers  of  the  Bivista  Gontemporanea  (Madrid), 
in  a  series  of  chapters  on  the  etymologies  of  the  last  edition  of  the 
Dictionary  of  the  Spanish  Academy,  by  D.  A.  Fernandez  Merino ;  in 
conclusion,  he  says  that  he  reserves  fuller  remarks  and  researches  for 
a  special  work  which  he  has  in  preparation. 

Wentworth  Webster. 


Of  the  Andalusian  Carol  quoted  above,  it  may  be  remarked  that 
it  is  substantially  of  old  date.  We  are  told  by  Ticknor,  in  his 
History  of  Spanish  Literature^  that  there  is  a  manuscript  poem  in  the 
Escurial,  of  date  1250-60,  which  (although  its  title  is  "  The  Adoration 
of  the  Three  Holy  Kings  ")  has  as  its  chief  subject  "  an  arrest  of  the 
Holy  Family,  during  their  flight  to  Egypt,  by  robbers."  These 
robbers,  it  is  true,  are  not  there  styled  "  Gypsies."  But  a  considera- 
tion of  the  other  very  important  and  striking  Carols  will  make  it 
eAddent  that  all  of  them  illustrate  the  association  of  Gypsies  with  the 
events  of  the  Nativity — an  association  that  was  apparently  recog- 
nised throughout  mediaeval  Europe. 

For  the  Noel  itself  is  obviously  a  version  of  the  miracle-play  known 

1  London,  1849,  voL  i.  p.  25. 


CHRISTMAS  CAROLS:  THE  THREE  MAGI.  141 

as  "  The  Adoration  of  the  Three  Holy  Kings,"  or  "  The  Three  Magi." 
"  The  legend  of  The  Three  Kings,  commonly  described  as  the  Three 
Kings  of  Cologne,  as  that  city  was  believed  to  have  been  their  final 
resting-place,   was   extremely   popular   in   the  Middle   Ages,"  says 
Wright  in  his  edition  of  The  Chester  Plays ;  ^  and  one  learns  a  good 
deal  about  them  from  him,  from  Ticknor,  and  from  Sandys.     The  last 
named,  in  his  Christmas  Carols^  states  that  "  the  Venerable  Bede,  in 
the  seventh  century,  is  the  first  writer  in  this  country  who  gives  a 
particular   description  of  them,  which  he  probably  took  from  some 
earlier  tradition  " ;  and,  again,  that  "  Lebeuf  mentions  a  Latin  mystery 
of  the  Three  Kings  as  early  as  the  time  of  Henry  the  First  of  France, 
in  the  eleventh  century."    Wright  makes  mention^  of  a  Latin  play  of 
The  Three  Kings,  "  apparently  of  the  twelfth  century,"  which  "  was 
found  in  a  MS.  at  Orleans."     The  Chester  Mysteries,  says  Sandys,^ 
"  were  produced  in  1268,"  and  this  special  subject  appears  to  have  been 
a  peculiar  favourite  at  Chester,  since  it  was  the  custom  there  to  make 
two  plays  of  it,  viz., "  The  Three  Kings  "  and  "  The  Oblation  of  the  Three 
Kings."     Les  Trois  JRois  was  one  of  the  spectacles  exhibited  at  "  the 
fete  which  Philippe-le-Bel  gave  in  1313,  on  conferring  knighthood  on 
his   children."^     "This  legend  afforded  the  subject   of  one  of  the 
Corpus  Christi  plays  at  Newcastle,"  says  Sandys,^  and  he  adds  that, 
although  acted  in  that  town  as  early  as  1426,  "they  are  considered  of 
older  date  "  there.     And  "  when  Henry  the  Sixth  [of  England]  entered 
Paris,  in  1431,  as  King  of  France,  he  was  met  at  the  gate  of  St.  Denis 
by  a  dumb  show  representing  [inter  alia]  the  adoration  of  the  Three 
Kings."  ^     Further  north,|at  Aberdeen,  "  the  Three  Kings  of  Cologne  " 
figured  in  the  procession  held  on  Candlemas  Day  (Purifi°.  of  the 
B.V.M.)  "  by  the  auld  lovabile  consuetud  and  ryt  of  the  burgh  " ;  of 
which  there  is  mention  in  the  years  1442,  1505,  and  1510.^     And  one 
reads  further  that  when  Queen  Margaret  *  made  her  entry  into  Aber- 
deen in  1511,  the  procession  in  her  honour  included  "the   Orient 
Kings  Three,"  who  were  represented  offering  gold,  incense,  and  myrrh 
to  the  infant  Christ. 

But  it  is  unnecessary  to  multiply  instances  showing  how  popular 
this  religious  play  has  been,  or  how  it  has  continued  to  be  acted  in 
one  part  or  another  of  Europe,  down  to  the  present  day.     What  we 

1  The  Chester  Plays,  edited  by  T.  Wright,  London,  1843,  p.  255. 
-  London,  1833,  Introduction,  pp.  Ixxxiii.  and  Ixxxviii.  ' 

^  O/j.  cit.  pp.  V.  -vii.  4  Qp_  cit^  p.  xvi. ,  note. 

s  Sandj's,  op.  cit.  p.  xx.,  note.  ^  Op.  cit.  p.  Ixxxix.  '  Jl'id- 

^  In  the  Council   Register  of  Aberdeen;    quoted  in   Kennedy's   Annuls  of  Aberdien, 
London,  1818,  vol.  i.  p.  95. 

"  Wife  of  James  iv,  of  Scotland,  daiigjjter  yt  Henry  vii.  of  EnghauU. 


142  CHRISTMAS   CAROLS:    THE   THREE   MAGI. 

are  here  concerned  with  is  the  belief  that  these  three  kiiigs  or  magi 
were  of  the  race  of  "  Bohemians  "  (so-called). 

That  one,  at  least,  of  the  three  was  a  black  man,  is  an  old  belief. 
Bede,  in  the  seventh  century,  describes  one  of  them  as  "  of  a  dark,  or 
black  complexion,  as  a  Moor."  ^  And  they  were  very  commonly 
represented  thus.  That  is  how  they  are  represented  to-day  by  the  vil- 
lagers of  the  Alps  of  Carinthia  and  Carniola ;  perhaps  the  only  modern 
Europeans  who  still  perform  this  old  miracle-play.  We  are  told  by 
a  modern  writer,  describing  "  Christmas  in  a  Slav  village,"  that  the 
play  of  "  The  Three  Holy  Kings"  is  enacted  there  every  Twelfth 
Night.  "  The  three  appear  in  full  costume — the  one  with  Ms  face 
conscientiously  Uached — with  holy  water  and  censers  filled  with 
burning  incense."  ^ 

But  when  Longfellow  introduces  the  Wise  Men  of  the  East  in  a 
miracle-play  of  the  Nativity,  supposed  to  be  enacted  at  Strasburg  in 
medieval  times,  he  says  :  "  Three  Gypsy  Kings,  Gaspar,  Melchio7\  and 
Bclshazzar,  shall  come  in."  Though  this  part  of  Longfellow's  Golden 
Legend  does  not  seem  to  be  derived  from  the  Aurea  Legenda,  yet  he 
himself  was  so  well  versed  in  medicevalism  that  it  is  evident  he  had 
good  reason  to  believe  that  all  the  Three  were  generally  repre- 
sented as  Gypsies.  And  when  one  looks  at  the  text  of  "  The  Obla- 
tion," as  played  at  Chester,  one  sees  that  although  the  Three  Kings 
do  not  there  announce  themselves  to  be  "  Bohemians,"  they  succes- 
sively foretell  Christ's  future  in  very  similar  terms  to  the  three  in 
Saboly's  Provencal  Noel. 

How  and  when  did  this  belief  originate  ?     Sandys,  in  referring  to 

the  prediction  in  the  tenth  verse  of  the  72d  Psalm,  generally  believed 

to  relate  to  the  Three  Kings,  states  that  one  version  has  it,  "  Kings 

shall  come  out  of  the  Moors'  land  to  worship  Christ."  ^     To  people 

who  thus  understood  the  passage,  the  kings  of  this  "  Moors'  land " 

would  naturally  be  themselves  "  Moors."     Indeed,  it  is  pretty  certain 

that  the  sign  of  an  Augsburg  hostelry,   The   Three  Moors,  testifies  to 

this  identity.     There  is  also  an  old  inn  at  Newcastle,  called  The  Three 

Indian  Kings,  whose  sign  was  very  probably  at  one  time  a  counterpart 

of  that  of  Augsburg.     (This  miracle-play,  it  may  be  observed,  seems 

long  to  have  been  a  favourite  at  Newcastle,  where  it  was  acted  in 

1426,  and  presumably  long  before.     The  latest  date  given  by  Sandys  * 

1  Sandys,  op.  cit.  p.  Ixxxiii. 

2  Saturday  Revieiv,  8th  December  1888,  "  Cliristmas  iu  tlie  Alps."    (It  would  he  inter- 
esting to  learn  the  formula  employed  in  this  instance.) 

3  Sandys,  op.  cit.  p.  Ixxxii. 

■*  Who  refers  for  these  particulars  to  Brand's  History  of  Neivcastle. 


CHKISTMAS    CAROLS:    THE    THREE   MAGI.  143 

in  connection  with  Newcastle  is  1536,  but  this  play  did  not  cease  to 
be  acted  in  England  until  a  much  later  period.)  ^  That  men  who 
were  spoken  of  as  "  Indians  "  and  "  Moors  "  should  be  portrayed  as  of 
dark  complexion  was  very  natural  and  reasonable.  And  as  no 
European  people  could  have  been  more  "  Indian "  like  than  the 
Gypsies,  it  was  equally  natural  that  they  should  be  regarded  as  the 
representatives  of  the  Eastern  Magi. 

There  is  no  direct  assertion  made,  in  Wright's  version  of  this 
"mystery,"  that  the  Three  Kings  of  the  East  were  Gypsies.  This 
could  be  explained  by  the  assumption  that  the  fact,  or  belief,  was  so 
generally  admitted  that  it  did  not  require  to  be  asserted.  In  the 
English  version  of  the  Legend,  Mdiich  Wright  gives,^  there  is  indeed 
something  that  may  be  construed  into  a  tacit  recognition  of  this  con- 
nection. The  writer  of  that  manuscript  informs  us  that  he  had 
fathered  its  statements  out  of  the  traditional  books  containino;  the 
Legend,  and  from  "  hearing  and  sight  also  of  sermons  and  homilies 
that  be  drawn  out  of  divers  books."  And  he  recounts  the  old  tale, 
how,  from  the  time  of  Balaam's  famous  prophecy,  a  certain  people  of 
the  East  had  kept  watch  for  the  appearing  of  the  Star,  to  which  duty 
they  had  ordained  twelve  of  their  best  astronomers,  whose  number 
was  never  allowed  to  lessen  by  death.  These,  for  many  centuries, 
had  watched  on  a  chosen  hill,  until  at  length  the  expected  light 
appeared.  Now,  the  chronicler — among  many  statements  which  are 
obviously  unreliable — says  that  this  hill  was  called  "  the  hill  of 
Vaws."  And  he  adds  that  the  progeny  of  Melchior,  one  of  the  three, 
became,  on  this  account,  known  as  "  the  progeny  of  Vaws  into  this 
day."  Without  attempting  to  regard  the  many  odd  statements  of 
this  scribe  as  of  historical  value,  one  cannot  fail  to  recognise  from  his 
several  allusions  to  "  the  progeny  of  Vaws,"  that  he  knew  of  a  race  of 
people  contemporary  with  himself,  who  were  known  by  some  such 
title,  and  who  were  recognised  as  descendants  of  one  of  the  Three 
Kings.     And,  as  the  scribe's  English  has  a  smack  of  the  "North 

^  Among  the  names  of  inns  that  of  The  Three  Spanish  Gyi)sies  in  Loudon  in  the 
seventeenth  century  is  worth  noting.  The  same  authority  (Hone's  Every-Day  Book,  London 
1835,  vol.  i.  p.  582  and  747)  makes  mention  of  a  mystery  of  The  Three  Dons,  performed 
at  Romans  in  Dauphine  in  1509.  As  these  ' '  Dons  "  were  martyrs,  like  the  Three  Kings  of 
medicBval  belief,  one  is  apt  to  suspect  that  both  of  these  terms  relate  to  this  play  derived  from 
a  Spanish  source.  Tlie  last  act  of  Lope  de  Vega's  Nacimiento  cle  Christo  ends,  says  Ticknor, 
"with  the  appearance  of  the  Three  Kings  preceded  by  dances  of  Gypsies  and  Negroes,  and 
with  the  worship  and  olferings  brought  by  all  to  the  new-born  Saviour."  Lope  de  Vega,  it  i.s 
true,  belongs  to  a  later  period  than  the  play  of  The  Three  Dons,  but  he  did  no  violence  to  the 
belief  of  the  previous  century  in  associating,  if  not  identifying,  the  Three  Kings  with  Gypsies. 
Indeed,  it  is  quite  likely  that  the  Gypsy  carols,  with  Castanet  accompaniment,  in  Don  Tonias 
Seguro's  collection,  were  current  during  the  sixteenth  century. 

-'  At  the  end  of  vol.  i.  of  the  Chester  Plays. 


144  CHRISTMAS    CAROLS:    THE    THREE    MAGI. 

Countrie,"  where  (on  both  sides  of  the  Borders)  Gypsies  were  generi- 
cally  known  as  "  Faws,"  it  is  not  improbable  that  this  really  signified 
his  belief  that  "  the  progeny  of  Vaws,"  or  of  Melchior,  were  the 
swarthy  "  Faws  "  whom  he  frequently  saw.  In  his  Legend  he  refers 
to  some  of  Melchior's  descendants  as  "  the  princes  of  Vaws  " ;  and,  as 
a  certain  "  Francis  Heron,  king  of  the  Faws  "  was  buried  at  Jarrow- 
on-Tyne,  so  recently  as  the  year  1756,  whose  forefathers,  in  Gypsy 
fashion,  had  no  doubt  borne  the  same  title,  it  is  conceivable  that  a 
half-educated  monk  of  the  North  of  England  would  have  no  difficulty 
in  reconciling  the  name  of  his  Gypsy  neighbours  with  the  alleged 
Gypsy  lineage  of  one,  at  least,  of  the  Three  Kings.^ 

There  are  certainly  hints  of  a  special  lineage  in  these  niediseval 
representatives  of  the  Magi.  In  the  Chester  Plays,  one  of  the  kings 
refers  to  himself  and  his  comrades  as  "  We  that  be  of  Balaam's  blood," 
— "  We  kings  of  his  Jcind."  From  the  beginning  of  the  Christian  era 
back  to  the  days  of  Balaam  of  Aramsea  is  a  long  jump.  Nevertheless 
there  is  a  certain  consistency  running  through  the  theory.  It  is 
undoubtedly  an  old  belief,  and  one  which  received  the  support  of 
Origen,  that  the  Three  Kings  came  from  the  East  to  Bethlehem, 
because  Balaam,  in  the  same  neighbourhood,  though  long  ages  before, 
had  predicted  the  appearing  of  the  Star.  Now,  Balaam  himself  was  a 
"  Wise  Man  of  the  East."  He  is  introduced  to  us  as  a  professional 
magus,  or  fortune-teller,  living  at  Pethor,  on  the  Euphrates ;  and,  in 
his  efforts  to  pronounce  a  curse  against  the  Israelites,  he  employed 
incantations  in  the  first  two  instances.  When  he  refers  to  his  home 
as  in  or  near  "  the  mountains  of  the  East,"  he  uses  an  expression  that 
applies  equally  well  to  the  Three  Magi;  who  were,  not  unlikely, 
dwellers  in  Mesopotamia  as  he  was.  What  is  certainly  worth  noting 
is  that  the  term  magus,  assuming  it  to  mean  a  high-priest  of  the  arts 
of  divination  and  astrology,  is  equally  applicable  to  the  soothsayer  of 
Pethor,  to  the  Three  Magi,  and  to  the  "  Gypsies  "  of  a  later  day.  Of 
course,  the  last-named  class  only  represents  these  arts  in  their  latest 
stage  of  degradation ;  but,  in  other  times,  when  men's  notions  of 
religion  and  of  science  differed  greatly  from  ours,  a  magus  was 
prophet,  priest,  and  king. 

They  have  been  well  honoured,  these  Three  Kings,  whoever  they 
were.  If  the  remains  still  preserved  in  Cologne  Cathedral  are  really 
theirs,  one  wonders  what  judgment  a  craniologist  would  pronounce 

,  1  It  ought  to  be  added,  however,  that  while  this  writer  speaks  of  Jasper  as  a  "  black 
Ethiop,"  and  Bade  ascribes  that  quality  to  Balthazar,  Melchior,  the  ancestor  of  the  "  Vaws," 
does  not  seem  to  be  anywhere  so  specified.     (There  are  various  names  given  to  the  kings,  bii 
the  favourite  are  Jasper  or  Caspar,  Melchior,  and  Balthazar.) 


CHRISTMAS   CAROLS:   THE   THREE    MAGI.  145 

upon  them.  How  they  got  there  has  been  often  tohl ;  and  never 
more  pleasantly  than  by  Dr.  Sebastian  Evans,  in  the  poem  of  which  the 
Three  are  the  theme,  wherein  he  relates  their  journey ings  to  and  fro, 
ending  with  their  death  as  Christian  martyrs.     And  how,  thereafter, 

"  tJiK  Empress  Helena  gathered  their  bones, 
And  set  them  with  gold  and  with  ruby  stones, 
And  treasured  them  up  in  a  holy  shrine 
Of  the  church  in  the  city  of  Constantine. 
But  when  Godfrey  was  King  of  Jerusalem, 
Bishop  Eustace  to  Milan  translated  them, 
And  thence,  ivith  a  nail  of  the  Holy  Cross, 
They  were  dolen  by  Emperor  Barbaross, 
And  Bishop  Bene  laid  every  bone 
In  the  shrine  of  the  Kings,  in  the  Church  of  Cologne, 
A7id  there  in  rubies  luritten  in  full, 
Ye  may  read  for  a  ducat  on  every  skull 
The  names  of  the  Three  who  folio u-ed  the  Star, 
Caspar,  Melchior,  Balthazar.'' 

David  MacRitchie. 


VIL— TALE  OF  A  GIRL  WHO    WAS  SOLD  TO  THE  DEVIL, 

AND  OF  HER  BROTHERS 

ONCE  upon  a  time  there  lived  a  countryman  and  his  old  wife  : 
he  had  three  daughters,  but  he  was  very  poor.  One  day  he 
and  his  young  daughter  went  into  the  forest  to  gather  mushrooms. 
And  there  he  met  with  a  great  lord.  The  old  peasant  bared  his 
head,  and,  being  frightened  at  the  sight  of  the  nobleman,  he  said 
apologetically :  "  I  am  not  chopping  off  your  honour's  wood  with 
my  hatchet,  I  am  only  gathering  what  is  lying  on  the  ground."  "  1 
would  willingly  give  thee  all  this  forest,"  replies  the  nobleman  ; 
and  he  then  asks  the  peasant  if  that  is  his  wife  who  is  with  him. 
"  No,  my  lord,  she  is  my  daughter."  "  AVilt  thou  sell  her  to  me  ?  " 
"  Pray,  my  lord,  do  not  mock  and  laugh  at  my  daughter,  since  none 
but  a  great  lady  is  a  fitting  match  for  your  lordship."  "  That  matters 
little  to  thee  ;  all  thou  hast  to  do  is  to  sell  her  to  me."  As  the 
peasant  did  not  name  the  price  he  asked  for  her,  the  nobleman 
wave  him  two  liandfuls  of  ducats. 

The  peasant,  quite  enraptured,  grasped  the  money,  but  instead 
of  going  home  to  his  wife,  he  went  to  a  Jew's.  He  asked  the  Jew- 
to  give  him  something  to  eat  and  drink,  but  the  Jew  refused,  being 

1  The  reciter  of  this  tale  was  John  Coron,  the  iiai'rator  of  the  Tale  of  a  Foolish  Brother, 
given  in  the  preceding  number  of  our  Journal. 


TALE   OF   A   GIRL   SOLD   TO   THE   DEVIL, 

/ertain  that  he  had  no  money  to  pay  him  with ;  however,  as  soon 
IS  the  peasant  had  shown  him  the  large  sum  that  he  had,  the 
delighted  Jew  seated  him  at  the  table  and  gave  him  food  and  drink. 
He  made  the  old  peasant  drunk,  and  stole  away  all  his  money. 
The  peasant  returned  home  to  his  wife.  She  asked  of  him  where  he 
had  left  his  daughter.  "  Wife,  I  have  placed  her  in  service  with  a 
great  lord."  The  wife  asked  him  if  he  had  brought  anything  to  her. 
He  replied  that  he  was  himself  hungry ;  but  that  this  nobleman  had 
said  to  him  that  he  had  taken  one  daughter,  and  that  he  would  take 
the  two  others  also.  His  wife  bade  him  take  them  away.  He 
went  away  with  these  two  daughters,  and  one  of  them  he  sold  to 
another  lord.  This  one  gave  him  a  hatful  of '  money.  Then  the 
peasant  said  to  his  remaining  daughter :  "  Wait  for  me  here  in  the 
forest ;  I  will  bring  thee  something  to  eat  and  drink,  do  not  stray 
from  here."  He  went  to  the  same  Jew  that  had  stolen  his  money 
from  him.  This  Jew  again  stole  from  him  the  money  he  had 
received  from  the  other  lord.  The  peasant  returned  to  his  daughter, 
to  whom  he  brought  some  bread,  which  she  ate  with  delight. 

There  came  a  third  nobleman,  who  purchased  this  third  girl. 
"  Do  not  go  to  the  Jew,"  said  this  lord  to  the  peasant,  "  but  go 
straight  home  to  thy  wife,  and  hand  over  thy  money  to  her,  so 
that  she  may  take  charge  of  it ;  for  this  Jew  will  rob  thee  once 
more."  The  peasant  returned  home  to  his  wife,  who  was  very 
glad.  .  .  .  This  great  lord  spoke  thus  to  him  :  "  There  is,  in  a  forest, 
a  beautiful  castle  covered  with  silver.  Go  to  the  town,  buy  some  fine 
horses  and  harness,  engage  some  peasants  for  work,  and  rest  thou 
thyself;  make  the  peasants  do  the  work."  .  .  .  He  got  into  a  carriage 
he  took  his  peasants,  and  they  set  out  with  the  help  of  God.  They 
came,  by  a  magnificent  road,  smooth  as  glass,  into  a  great  forest. 
They  met  a  beggar,  who  asked  of  this  great  lord  (this  peasant,  once 
poor,  now  become  rich)  where  his  daughters  were  ?  Soon  after, 
these  peasants  discover  that  they  are  quite  bewildered ;  they  find 
themselves  surrounded  by  deep  ravines  and  insurmountable 
obstacles,  so  that  they  cannot  get  out,  for  they  have  lost  their 
way.  There  came  an  old  beggar  who  asked  of  them,  "Why 
do  you  remain  here,  why  are  you  not  going  on  ? "  "  Alas  !  "  they 
answered,  "  we  cannot  get  out  of  this,  we  had  a  beautiful  road  and 
we  have  lost  it."  "  Whip  up  your  horses  a  little,"  said  the  old  man 
to  them,  "  perhaps  they  will  go  on."  A  lad  touched  up  the  horses, 
and  all  of  a  sudden  the  peasants  see  before  them  a  magnificent 
road.      They  wish  to  thank    this    mendicant,  but   he    has    already 


AND    OF   HEE   BROTHER.  147 

disappeared.  The  peasants  fall  to  weeping,  tor,  say  they  to  them- 
selves, "  This  Avas  no  mendicant ;  more  likely  was  it  the  good  God 
himself."  They  reach  this  castle :  the  peasant  is  in  ecstasies  with  it. 
The  peasants  work  for  him,  and  he  and  his  wife  take  their  ease. 

Ten  years  rolled  hy.  He  had  once  three  daughters,  whom  he 
had  already  forgotten.  "  The  good  God,"  said  he,  "  had  given  me 
three  daughters,  but  I  have  never  yet  had  a  son."  One  day  the 
good  God  so  ordered  it  that  this  peasant  woman  was  brought  to 
bed.  She  was.  delivered  (pray  excuse  me)  of  a  boy.  This  boy  grew 
exceedingly,  he  was  already  three  years  old,  he  was  very  intelligent. 
AVhen  he  was  twelve  years  old  his  father  put  him  to  school.  He 
was  an  apt  scholar :  he  knew  German,  and  could  read  anything ! 

One  day,  this  boy,  having  returned  home,  asked  of  his  father, 
"  How  do  you  do,  father  ?  "     His  mother  gave  him  some  food,  and 
sent  him  to  bed.      ISText  day  he  got  up,  and  went  to  school.     Two 
little  boys  who  passed  along  said,  the  one  to  the  other,  "  There  goes 
the  little  boy  whose  father  has  sold  his  daughters  to  the  devils." 
This  boy  reached  the  school  filled  with  anger ;  he  wrote  his  task 
quickly,  for  he  could  not  calm  his  angry  feelings.      He  went  home 
to  his  father  as  quickly  as  possible ;  he  took  two  pistols,  and  called  on 
his  father  to  come  to  him.      As  soon  as  his  father  came  into  the 
room,  the  boy  locked  the  door  on  them  both.      "  Kow,  father,  tell 
me  the  truth :  had  I  ever  any  sisters  ?     If  you  do  not  confess  the 
truth  to  me,  I  will  fire  one  of  these  pistols  at  you  and  the  other  at 
myself."     The  father  answered:  "You  have  had  three  sisters,  my 
child,  but  I  have  sold  them  to   I  know  not  whom."      He  sent  his 
father  to  the  town,  and  bade  him,  "  Buy  for  me,  father,  an  apple 
weighing   one   pound."       The    father   came   back   home,  and   gave 
the  apple  to  his  son.      The  latter  was  delighted  with  it,  and  he 
made  preparations  for  going   out  into   the   world.      He   embraced 
his  father  and  mother.      •'  The  good  God  be  with  you,"  he  said  to 
them,  "  for  it  may  be  T  shall  never  see  you  more ;  perchance  I  may 
perish." 

He  came  to  a  field,  where  he  saw  two  boys  fighting  terribly.  The 
father  of  these  two  boys  had,  when  dying,  left  to  the  one  a  cloak  and 
to  the  other  a  saddle.  This  little  boy  went  up  to  these  boys  and 
asked  them,  "  What  are  you  fighting  about  ? "  "  Excuse  us,  my 
lord,"  replied  the  younger,  "  our  parents  are  dead  ;  they  have  left  to 
one  of  us  a  cloak  and  to  the  other  a  saddle  :  my  elder  brother  wants 
to  take  both  cloak  and  saddle,  and  does  not  wish  to  give  me  any- 
thing."    This  little  nobleman  said  to  them,  "  Come  now,  I  will  put 


148  TALE  OF  A  GIRL  SOLD  TO  THE  DEVIL, 

you  right :  here  is  an  apple,  which  I  shall  throw  far  out  into  this 
field ;  and  whichever  of  you  gets  up  to  it  first  shall  have  both  of 
these  things."  He  flung  away  the  apple,  and  while  the  boys  were 
running  to  get  it,  this  little  nobleman  purloined  both  cloak  and  saddle. 
He  resumed  his  journey,  and  went  away,  with  the  help  of  God.  He 
came  to  a  field,  he  stopped,  he  examined  the  cloak  he  had  just 
stolen,  and  to  the  saddle  he  cried  :  "  Bear  me  away  to  where  my 
young  sister  lives  ! "  The  saddle  took  hold  of  him,  lifted  him  into 
the  air,  and  carried  him  to  the  dwelling  of  his  young  sister.  He 
cried  to  his  young  sister  :  "  Let  me  in,  sister ! "  Her  response  was  : 
"  I  have  been  here  for  twenty  years,  I  have  never  seen  anybody 
during  that  time  ;  and  you — you  will  break  my  slumber."  "  Sister ! 
if  you  do  not  believe  that  I  am  your  brother,  here  is  a  handkerchief 
which  will  prove  that  I  am."  His  sister  read  thereon  the  names  of 
her  father,  of  her  mother,  and  of  her  brother.  Then  she  let  him  enter, 
and  fainted  away.  "  Where  am  I  to  hide  you  now,  brother  ?  for  if 
my  husband  comes  he  will  devour  you."  "Have  no  fear  on  my 
account,"  he  replied ;  "  I  have  a  cloak  which  makes  me  invisible 
whenever  I  wear  it."  Her  husband  returned,  she  served  some  food  to 
him,  and  then,  employing  a  little  artifice,  "  Husband,"  she  said,  "  1 
dreamt  that  I  had  a  brother."  "  Very  good  ! "  "  If  he  should  come 
here,  you  would  not  hurt  him,  would  you,  husband  ?  "  "  What  harm 
would  I  do  to  him  ?  I  would  give  him  something  to  eat  and  to 
drink."  At  this  she  called  out,  "  Brother,  let  my  husband  see  you  ! " 
The  young  lad's  brother-in-law  saw  him,  and  was  greatly  pleased  with 
his  appearance  ;  he  gave  him  food  and  something  to  drink.  He  went 
out  and  called  his  brothers.  They,  well  satisfied  with  the  state  of 
things,  entered,  along  with  the  boy's  two  other  sisters.  The  latter 
were  brimming  over  with  delight.  A  lovely  lady  also  came,  who 
enchanted  him.  "Is  this  young  lady  married?"  he  asked  of  his 
sister.  "  No,"  she  replied,  "  she  has  no  husband  ;  you  can  marry  her, 
if  you  like."     They  fell  in  love  with  each  other ;  they  were  married. 

For  ten  years  they  lived  there.  At  last  this  youth  said  to  his 
sister :  "  I  must  return  home  to  my  father ;  mayhap  he  is  dead  by 
this  time  ? "  He  got  up  next  morning,  his  brothers-in-law  gave 
him  large  sums  of  gold  and  silver. 

They  drew  near  to  the  house,  he  and  his  wife.  Not  far  from  this 
house  there  was  a  small  wood  through  which  they  had  to  pass,  and  in 
it  they  noticed  a  beautiful  wand.^  "  Let  us  take  this  wand,"  said  his 
wife  to  him,  "  it  is  very  pretty,  we  shall  plant  it  at  home."     He 

1  In  the  original  it  is  "  sukar  kast," — I.  K, 


AND    OF   HER   BROTHER.  149 

obeyed  her,  and  took  this  wand.     He  reached  the  house  :  the  father 
was  very  happy  that  his  son  was  now  married. 

Five  years  passed  away.  The  good  God  gave  them  a  sou.  He 
went  to  the  town  in  order  to  invite  godfathers  After  the  baptism 
they  came  back  from  church,  they  ate,  they  drank,  and  finally  every- 
body went  away ;  he  remained  alone  with  his  wife.  One  day  he 
went  to  the  town.  When  he  came  home,  he  saw  that  his  wife  was 
no  longer  there,  and  that  the  sapling  had  also  disappeared  !  (This 
was  no  sapling,  but  a  demon.)  He  began  to  lament.  "  Why  do  you 
lament  ? "  asked  his  father.  "  Do  not  make  me  angry,  father,"  said 
he,  "  for  I  am  going  out  into  the  world." 

He  got  ready  for  the  road ;  he  set  out.  He  came  into  a  great 
forest.  As  it  was  beginning  to  rain,  he  took  shelter  under  an  oak, 
and  in  that  very  oak  his  wife  was  concealed.  He  slept  for  a  little 
while ;  then  he  heard  a  child  weeping.  "  Who  is  this  that  is 
crying  ?  "  he  asked  of  his  wife.  "  It  is  your  child."  And  he  recog- 
nised her  and  cried  ;  "  Wife,  hearken  to  what  I  am  going  to  say  to 
you.  Ask  this  dragon  of  yours  where  it  is  that  he  hides  the  key  of 
his  house."  "  Very  well,"  assented  she.  The  dragon  came  back  to 
the  house,  she  threw  her  arms  round  his  neck,  and  said  to  him, 
"  Husband,  tell  me  truly,  where  is  the  key  of  our  house  ?  "  "  What 
good  would  it  do  you  if  I  told  you  ? "  he  replied  :  "  well,  then,  listen. 
In  a  certain  forest  there  is  a  great  cask ;  inside  this  cask  there  is  a 
cow  ;  in  this  cow  there  is  a  calf ;  in  this  calf  a  goose ;  in  this  goose 
a  duck  ;  in  this  duck  an  egg  ;  and  it  is  inside  this  egg  that  the  key  is 
to  be  found."  "  Very  good,  that  is  one  secret  I  know."  She  then 
asked  of  him  wherein  lay  his  strength.  The  dragon  owned  this  to 
his  wife  :  "  When  I  am  attired  as  a  lord,  I  cannot  be  killed ;  neither 
could  any  one  kill  me  when  I  am  dressed  as  a  king ;  but  it  is  only  at 
the  moment  I  am  putting  on  my  boots  that  I  may  be  killed,"  "  Very 
good,  now  I  know  both  his  secrets." — He  smelt  at  his  feather,^ 
and  all  his  three  brothers-in-law  appeared  beside  him.  They  lay  in 
wait  until  the  moment  when  the  dragon  was  drawing  on  his  boots, 
and  then  they  slew  him.     They  betook  themselves  to  that  forest,  they 

1  The  narrabn-  had  omitted  to  mention  this  before.  In  many  Polish  and  Russniak 
ales,  one  meets  with  a  bird's  feather  or  a  horse-hair,  possessing  the  magical  power  of  making 
anybody  of  whom  one  has  need,  liowever  far  oft',  to  immediately  appear  beside  one.  One  has 
on\y  to  burn  this  feather  (or  horse-hair)  a  little,  and  then  to  smell  it.  In  this  Gypsy  tale, 
therefore,  the  hero's  brothers-in-law  had  evidently  given  him  such  a  feather,  along  with  the 
'  lart'e  sums  of  gold  and  silver,"  at  the  time  of  his  departure  from  their  home.  But  the 
narrator  had  forgotten  to  mention  this  in  recounting  the  departure,  though  he  remembered 
the  feather  when  he  reached  that  point  at  which  the  hero  had  need  of  it  to  summon  his 
brothers-in-law  to  his  aid,  in  order  to  kill  the  dragon.— I.  K. 


STRAY   NOTES    ON    GEORGE    BORROW  S   LIFE   IN    SPAIN. 

laslied  the  cask,  they  killed  the  cow  that  was  inside  of  it,  they 
dlled  the  goose  that  was  inside  the  calf,  then  the  duck  that  was 
^inside  the  goose,  they  broke  open  the  egg,  and  out  of  it  they  drew  the 
key.  He  took  this  key,  he  came  back  to  where  his  wife  was,  he 
opened  the  oak,  and  he  enabled  his  wife  to  come  forth  out  of  it. 
"  Now,  my  brothers-in-law,  the  good  God  be  with  you  ;  as  for  me,  I 
am  setting  out  to  follow  my  way  of  happiness  ; — now  I  shall  no  more 
encounter  any  evil  thing." 

He  retiu'ned  to  his  father's  house  with  liis  wife.  His  father  was 
very  glad  to  see  him  come  back  with  his  wife ;  he  gave  them  some- 
thing to  eat  and  drink,  and  he  said  to  his  son  :  "  Hearken  to  me,  my 
child ;  we  are  .old  now,  I  and  my  wife ;  thou  must  stay  beside  me." 
And  he  answered  him  :  "  It  is  well,  my  father  ;  if  thou  sendest  me 
not  away,  I  will  dwell  with  thee." 

Isidore  Kopernicki. 


VIIL— STEAY  NOTES  ON  GEORGE  BOEEOW'S  LIFE  IN 

SPAIN. 

I  WAS  little  more  than  a  boy  when  I  first  heard  George  Borrow 
spoken  of  at  the  annual  dinner  given  by  a  connection  of  my 
famil}'"  to  the  deputation  of  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society 
in  a  country  town  near  London.  These  dinners  were  very  dull 
affairs  to  the  younger  guests,  and  the  general  conversation  was  most 
oppressive  to  them.  But  our  interest  woke  up  at  the  mention  of  the 
name  of  George  Borrow :  and  this  is  why  I  remember  clearly  even 
now  what  I  heard  of  him,  while  I  have  forgotten  almost  every 
other  circumstance  of  these  anniversaries.  I  can  distinctly  recall 
one  of  the  secretaries  telling  of  his  first  meeting  with  Borrow,  whom 
he  found  waiting  at  the  offices  of  the  Society  one  morning ; — how 
puzzled  he  was  by  his  appearance ;  how,  after  he  had  read  his  letters 
of  introduction,,  he  wished  to  while  away  the  time  till  a  brother 
secretary  should  arrive,  and  did  not  want  to  say  anything  to  commit 
himself  to  such  a  strange  applicant ;  so  he  began  by  politely  hoping 
that  Borrow  had  slept  well.  "  I  am  not  aware  that  I  feU  asleep  on 
the  road,"  was  the  reply ;  "  I  have  w^alked  from  Norwich  to  London." 
(I  forget  now  in  how  many  hours,  and  when  he  started.)  Then  the 
secretary  stated,  as  I  have  heard  from  others,  that  Borrow  said  that 
he  had  been  stolen  by  Gypsies  in  his  boyhood,  had  passed  several 


STKAY   NOTES   ON    GEORGE   BORROW'S   LIFE   IN    SPAIN.  151 

years  with  them,  but  had  been  recognised  at  a  fair  in  Norfolk,  and 
brought  home  to  his  family  by  his  uncle. 

Of  late  years  I  have  made  the  acquaintance  of  the  Marquis  de 
Santa  Coloma,  who  was  Borrow's  companion  on  ship-board  when  he 
was  wrecked,  and  with  whom  he  landed  at  Cadiz.  According  to  the 
expression  of  the  Marquis,  when  they  stepped  on  to  the  quay  at 
Cadiz,  Borrow  looked  round,  saw  some  Gitanos  lounging  there,  said 
something  that  the  Marquis  could  not  understand,  and  immediately 
"  that  man  became  '  une  grappe  de  Gitanos.' "  They  hung  round  his 
neck,  clung  to  his  knees,  seized  his  hands-,  kissed  his  feet,  so  that  the 
Marquis  hardly  liked  to  join  his  comrade  again  after  such  close 
embraces  by  so  dirty  a  company.  The  Marquis  de  Sta.  Coloma  met 
Borrow  again  at  Seville.  He  had  very  great  difficulty  in  finding  him 
out ;  though  he  was  aware  of  the  street  in  which  he  resided,  no  one 
knew  him  by  name.  At  last  by  dint  of  inquiry  and  description,  some 
one  exclaimed,  "  Oh !  you  mean  el  Brujo  "  (the  wizard),  and  he  was 
directed  to  the  house.  He^was  admitted  with  great  caution,  and 
conducted  through  a  lot  of  passages  and  stairs,  till  at  last  he  was 
ushered  into  a  handsomely  furnished  apartment  in  the  "  mirador" 
where  Borrow  was  living  vnth  Ms  vjife  and  daughter.  This  last  state- 
ment of  M.  de  Sta.  Coloma  had  always  somew^hat  puzzled  me,  until  I 
read  Professor  Knapp's  pamphlet.^  It  is  evident  now  that,  to  his 
Spanish  friends  at  least,  he  thus  called  Mrs.  Clarke  and  her  daughter 
Henrietta  his  wife  and  daughter ;  and  M.  de  Sta.  Coloma  evidently 
beheves  that  the  young  lady  was  Borrow's  oivn  daughter,  and  not  his 
step-daughter  merely.  At  this  time  the  roads  from  Seville  to 
J\Iadrid  were  very  unsafe.  Sta.  Coloma  wished  Borrow  to  join  his 
party,  who  were  going  w^ell  armed.  Borrow  said  he  would  be  safer 
with  his  Gypsies.  Both  arrived  without  accident  in  Madrid;  the 
Marquis's  party  first.  Borrow,  on  his  arrival,  told  Sta.  Coloma  that  his 
Gypsy  chief  had  led  him  by  by-paths  and  mountains  ;  that  they  had 
not  slept  in  a  village,  nor  seen  a  town  the  whole  way.  In  Madrid, 
Borrow  used  to  ride  a  fine  black  Andalusian  horse,  with  a  Russian 
skin  for  a  saddle,  and  without  stirrups  ;  altogether  making  so  con- 
spicuous a  figure  that  Sta.  Coloma  hesitated,  and  it  needed  all  his 
courage  to  be  seen  riding  with  him.  At  this  period  Borrow  spent  a 
great  deal  of  money,  and  lived  very  freely  (i.e.  luxuriously)  in  Spain. 
From  the  point  of  view  of  the  Marquis,  a  Spanish  Eoman  Catholic, 
Borrow  was   excessively   bigoted,   and    fond   of    attacking    Eoman 

1  '•'  George  Borrow,"  by  Professor  W.  J.  Knapp,  of  Yale  University  ;  -extracted  from  The 
Chautauquan,  November  1887. 


152  STRAY   NOTES   ON    GEOEGE   BORROW'S   LIFE   IN    SPAIN. 

I 

Catholics  and  Catholicism.  He  evidently,  however,  liked  him  as  a 
companion ;  but  he  says  that  Borrow  never,  as  far  as  he  saw  or  could 
learn,  spoke  of  religion  to  his  Cypsy  friends,  and  that  he  soon  noticed 
his  difference  of  attitude  towards  them.  He  was  often  going  to  the 
British  Embassy,  and  he  thilnks  was  considered  a  great  bore  there- 
If  any  one  knew  the  true  hiistory  of  what  Borrow  did  in  Spain,  it 
would  be  the  late  Lord  Clarendon,  then  Mr.  Villiers,  and  his  attaches 
and  secretaries  in  Madrid. 

Santa  Coloma  had  been  lone  of  Zumalacarregui's  aide-de-camps, 
and  agent  for  the  Carlist  party  in  England,  and  it  was  in  returning 
from  one  of  these  missions  that  he  met  Borrow  on  board  ship.  They 
encountered  one  another  again  in  the  north  of  Spain.  Borrow,  in 
addition  to,  or  in  lieu  of,  his  work  as  agent  for  the  Bible  Society,  was 
acting  as  special  correspondent  to  the  Morning  Herald.  He  organised 
a  system  of  runners  or  horsemen  to  Behobie,  and  thence  of  post-chaises 
to  Bayonne,  so  that  the  Morning  Herald  got  his  letters  and  despatches 
sometimes  before  the  Government  got  theirs.  M.  de  Sta.  Coloma  is 
very  positive  on  the  point  that  Borrow's  imprisonment  in  the  citadel 
of  Pampeluna  had  nothing  whatever  to  do  with  religion,  but  with  his 
conduct  as  war  correspondent  to  the  Morning  Herald.  Borrow  had 
written  the  truth,  which  was  not  to  the  praise  of  General  Quesada. 
Quesada  got  hold  of  him,  and  by  an  arbitrary  act  shut  him  up  in  the 
citadel.  Borrow  found  means  to  let  Santa  Coloma  know  where  he 
was ;  and  it  was  by  the  intercession  and  secret  influence  of  Santa 

Coloma  and  his  Carlist  friends,  that,  on  application  to  Mr.  Villiers 
(Lord  Clarendon),  pressure  was   put   on  Quesada,  and  Borrow  got 

released. 

Sta.  Coloma  tells   me  that  Borrow  told   him   that   the    Spanish 

Gypsies  were  not  nearly  so  pure  in  speech  and  blood  as  are  the 

English  Gypsies. 

Borrow's  knowledge  of  Basque  seems  to  have  been  of  the  very 

slightest ;    nothing  more  than  what  any  tourist  with  a  facility  for 

language  could  pick  up  in  a  few  weeks. 

Another  point  explained  to  me  by  Dr.  Knapp's  pamphlet  is  that 

Borrow  was  with  the  Gypsies  in  Russia.     Sta.  Coloma  had  told  me 

this,  but  I  could  not  understand  how  it  could  be. 

There  is  no  difficulty  to  any  one  who  knows  the  history  of  the 

first  Carlist  War,  in  understanding   how,  even   when  the   English 

Legion  was  fighting  for  the  Christinas,  Borrow  found  it  necessary  to 

apply  to  Carlist  friends  for  their  intercession  to  an  English  Liberal 

Minister  to  get  released  from  imprisonment  by  a  Spanish  Liberal 


HAND-LIST  OF  BOOKS,  ETC.,  IN  ENGLISH  KELATING  TO  GYPSIES.      \n?> 

General.  The  Duke  of  Wellington  gave  the  telescope  which  he  used 
at  Waterloo  to  Zumalacarregui  as  a  present,  and  Zumalacarregui  was 
slain  by  an  English  bullet.  I  find  references  to  the  letters  in  the 
Morning  Herald  in  Le  Camp  et  la  Cour  cle  D.  Carlos,  by  J.  G. 
Mitchell,  Bayonne  1839  ;  but  with  no  indication  of  the  author. 

Wentworth  Webster.! 


IX.— HAND-LIST  OF  BOOKS,  ETC.,  IN  ENGLISH  EELATING 
TO  GYPSIES.     Compiled  by  H.  T.  Crofton,  1888. 


Academy,  The,  .... 
Adams,  W.  Maurice, 

AiNSWORTH,  W.  HaRRISOX, 

Alexander,  Francesca,     . 
Allan,  Life  of  James, 
Ancient  and  Modern  Britons,  . 
Annual  Eegister,  1784,    . 
Anstet,  F., 

Anthropologia,  1875, 

Anthropological  Society,  1870, 
Antiquarian  Chronicle,  No.  2, 
Arch^ologia,  vol.  vii.,  1785, 
Arnold,  Matthew,     . 
Asiatic    Researches,    vol.    vii., 

1784. 
Asiatic  Society,  Royal,  of  Great 

Britain,  vol.  ii.,  1830, 
Athen.^um,  The, 
Avery,  John,      .... 

Aylwin, 


Axon,  W.  E.  A., 


Various  Reviews. 

Wandering  Tribes  of  Great  Britain.     Cassell's 

Magazine,  Nov.  1883,  pp.  728-731. 
Eookwood,  1839. 

Roadside  Songs  of  Tu.scany.     1888. 
By  James  Thompson.     Newcastle,  1828. 
Anon. :  [D.  MacRitchie].     1884. 
Bryant's  Vocabulary  and  Marsden's  Letter. 
A  Gipsy  Fair  in  Surrey.     Harper's  Magazine, 

March  1888. 
Dr.    Charnock   on   Roumanian    Gypsies,    and 

Sim  Dialect. 
Mitra's  Gipsies  of  Bengal. 
Gipsy  Kings. 

Marsden's  Letter  and  Bryant's  Vocabulary. 
The  Scholar  Gy]^)sy. 
Captain  David  Richardson. 

Colonel  J.  S.  Harriot. 

Various  Reviews. 

Origin  of  the  Gipsies.  American  Antiquarian 
and  Oriental  Journal,  vol.  ix.,  p.  192. 

An  open  air  Romance  for  Puets,  Painters,  and 
Gypsies,  with  a  dedicatory  Sonnet  to  the 
lieloved  memory  of  George  Borrow,  the  Great 
High  Priest  of  the  Ungenteel.  By  Theodore 
Watts.     Still  (Jan.  1889)  unpublished. 

Some  Transylvanian  Gipsy  Songs.  Manchester 
Quarterly,  No.  7,  July  1883. 

Stray  Leaves.     1888.     Gipsy  Colour  Names. 


'  Professor  Knapp,  in  a  recent  letter,  makes  the  following  interesting  statement  :  "  1 
have  a  project  of  writing  for  the  Journal  a  paper  on  'The  Sources  of  the  Calo  Literature  in 
Bon-ow's  Zincali,  1841.'  I  have  all  the  original  MSS.  of  those  sources,  and  they  are  not  in 
George  Borrow's  handwriting  ;  indeed  they  are  much  more  correct  than  he  prints  them,  with 
sundry  pieces  he  did  not  print  at  all,  because  a  little  '.strong'  for  a  Bibl.e  Society  man— a 
Majors  Lil-cngro  Manv.sh." 

■      VOL.  I. — NO.  III.  L 


154:      HAND-LIST  OF  BOOKS,  ETC.,  IN  ENGLISH  RELATING  TO  GYPSIES. 


B.,  W.,        . 
Bailey,  J.  E., 


.     Gipsies  und  their  Friends.     Temple  Bar  Maga- 
zine, May,  1876,  pp.  65-76. 
.     Les  Tchinghianes.     ^Owens  College  Magazine. 
Jan.  1871,  pp.  85-93.     [Review  of  Paspati's 
book.] 
Baily's     Sporting     Magazine,     Slang  Terms  and  OrientaljRoots.    ByJ.C.M.H. 
vol.  xxi.,  Nov.  and  Dec.  1871  ; 


Feb.  1872. 
Baird,  Rev.  John, 

5J  11 

Baird,  W,, 

Barrie,  J.  M.,  . 
Beale,  Annie,  . 
Birkbeck,  Miss  A.  M. 


Blackwood's  Magazine,  1817, 
„       1866, 

„  „        1887, 

Bohemian,  The, 


Bombay  Literary  Society, 
Boner,  Charles, 
BoRDE,  Andrew, 

Borrow,  George, 


Scottish  Gypsy's  Advocate.     Edinburgh,  1839. 
Report  to  Scottish  Church  Society,  1841. 
Memoir  of  late  Rev.  John  Baird,  minister  of 

Yetholm.     London. 
Auld  Licht  Idylls,  1888,  pp.  41-44  and  242,  243. 
Among  the  Gypsies.     Sunday  Magazine,  1875. 
Rural  and  Historical  Gleanings  from  Eastern 

EuroiJe.     1854.     [A  chapter  on  Hungarian 

Gj^sies.] 
Articles  on  Scottish  Gypsies. 
Simson's  History  of  the  Gypsies. 
Transylvanian  Tsiganes. 
Romancist  and   Novelist's  Library.     London, 

1839. 
Lieutenant  Francis  Irvine's  Article.     1819. 
Transylvania.     London,  1865. 
Fyrst  Boke  of  the  Introduction  of  Knowledge. 

1548. 


Reprinted  by 

Murray,  1888. 


.  Bible  in  Spain. 

.  Zincali.     1841. 

.  Lavengro. 

.  Romany  Rye. 

.  Wild  Wales,  1862. 

.  Romano  Lavo-lil.    1874.  j 

.  Embeo  e  Majaro  Lucas.     Badajoz,  1837. 

.  Criscote  e  Majaro  Lucas.     Lundra,  1872. 

.  Macmillan's  Magazine,  Jan.  1886. 

Brand's  Popular  Antiquities,  .  Athenaeum,  Sept.  1881.     See  Knapp,  Prof. 

Bright,  Dr.  Richard,         .        .  Travels  through  Lower  Hungary.     1818. 
BRiTiSHAssociATioNatLeeds,1858,  Rev.  T.  W.  Norwood. 

„  „  „         1861,  Dr.  B.  C.  Smart. 

Brockie,  William,     .        .         .  Gypsies  of  Yetholm.     1884. 

Bryant,  Jacob, Archseologia,  vol.  vii.,  1785. 

„  „       .         .         .         .  Annual  Register,  1784. 


Bruce, 

Burton,  Sir  Richard  F., 


The  Court  Cave ;  or.  The  Hospitable  Gypsies. 

Edinburgh,  1816. 
Sind,  and  the  Races  that  inhabit  that  Valley. 


London,  1851. 


Canning,  Elizabeth,  Trial  of,     .  By  Henry  Fielding.     1753. 

Carew,  Bampfylde  Moore,  Ad-  1745. 

ventures  of. 

Cassell's    Family     Magazine,  Wandering  Tribes  of  Great  Britain,  by  Adams. 

Nov.  1883. 

Catherwood,  Mary  H.,     .        .  The  Gypsies  ("  Wide  Awake,"  Boston,  U.S., 

April  1885). 


HAND-LIST  OF  BOOKS,  ETC.,  IN  ENGLISH  RELATING  TO  GYPSIES.      155 


Century  JSIagazixe,  . 

J)  ))  •        •        • 

Chambers's  Encyclopedia, 

„  Dr.  Robert, 

„  Miscellany,  vol.  xvi., 

„  Journal, 

U  5>  •  • 

>5  >»  •  • 

Charnock,  Dr.,  .... 


Christian  Guardian,  1812, 

Church  of  England  and  Lam- 
beth Magazine,  1875. 

Churchman's  Shilling  Magazine, 

Clark,  E.  L.,       . 

Clarke,  E.  D.,    . 

Cobbold,  Rev.  Richard, 

Collectanea  de  Rebus  Hiber- 
Nicis,  vol.  vi. 

Contemporary  Review,  vol.  xli., 

Cooke,  Keningale,     . 

CoPSEY,  Daniel, 

COPSON,  H.  J.,     . 

CoRNHiLL  Magazine, vols,  xxvii., 

xxviii.,  xxix.,  1873. 
CovERLEY,  Sir  Roger  de, 
Crabb,  James, 


Craig,  A. 

R., 

Crawfurd,  J., 

Crofton, 

H.  T., 

5) 

M 

» 

11 

Crooke,  W., 

Cross,  Mrs., 

D'Anvers,  N., 
Deutsch,  E., 
Dighton,  Robert, 
Drake,  0.  S.  T., 


Visiting  the  Gypsies.     April  1883. 

A  Gypsy  Beauty.     1886. 

Article  "  Gypsies,"  by  E.  Deutsch,  in  1st  cd,  ; 
in  2d,  by  F.  H,  Groonie. 

Exploits,  etc.,  of  Scottish  Gypsies.  1821 
and  1886. 

Account  of  the  Gypsies.     1847. 

Greek  Gypsies  at  Liverpool.     1886. 

Queen  Esther  Faa  Blyth  and  the  Yetholm 
Gypsies.     18th  Aug.  1883. 

Ottoman  Gypsies.     1878. 

Roumanian  Gypsies.     Anthropologia,  1875. 

On  the  Gypsy  dialect  called  Sim.  Anthropo- 
logia, 1875. 

See  Hoyland,  p.  189. 

Rev.  S.  B.  James. 

Sea  Drake. 

Races  of  European  Turkey.     1878. 
Travels  in  various  Countries.     1825. 
John  Steggall,  the  Suffolk  Gypsy.     1856. 
Dr.  Charles  Vallancey. 

E.  Gerard.     Transylvanian  Peoples. 
Guitar  Player,  1881.     The  Gypsies'  Match. 
Dialect  and    Manners   of  Gypsies.     Monthly 

Magazine,  vol.  xlvi.,  1818. 
The  Gypsy's  Warning,     c.  1838. 
Zelda's  Fortune,  by  R.  E.  Francillon. 


'Viij 


See  Tom  Taylor. 

Gypsy's  Advocate,  1831. 

Life  of.     See  Rudall. 

Condition  of  the  Gypsies. 

Book  of  the  Hand.     1867. 

The  Origin  of  the  Gypsies.  (Read  before  the 
Ethnological  Society,  17th  Feb.  1863). 

Dialect  of  English  Gypsies.     See  Smart. 

Early  Books  on  Gypsies.     Antiquary,  vol.  i. 

Gip.sy  Life  in  Lancashire  and  Cheshire.  Man- 
chester Literary  Club,  vol.  iii.,  1877. 

Former  Costume  of  the  Gypsies.  Manchester 
Literary  Club,  vol.  ii.     1876. 

English  Gypsies  under  the  Tudors.  Manchester 
Literary  Club,  vol.  vi.,  1880. 

Gipsy  Folk-Tales.    Manchester  Quarterly,  1 882. 

Gypsy  Tribes  of  N.-W.  Provinces.  Indian 
Antiquary,  vol.  xvii. 

The  Spanish  Gypsy.   By  "  George  EUot."    1869. 

.  House  on  Wheels.     By  De  Stolz.     1875. 
See  Chambers's  Encyclopedia. 
Prints.     "  Gypsey's  Prophecy."     Dublin,  1780. 
A   Strange  People  and  a  Strange   Language. 
Churchman's  Shilling  Magazine,  1876. 


156      HAND-LIST  OF  BOOKS,  ETC.,  IN  ENGLISH  RELATING  TO  GYPSIES. 


Dictionary  of  Canting  Crew.     c.  1724. 
Origin  and  Wanderings  of  the  Gypsies. 
The  Russians  at  Home  and  Abroad.     1879. 
Travels    in     Austria,     Russia,    and     Turkey. 
London,  1838. 
.     See  Cross. 

Poor  Janos ;  a  Tale  of  Hungarian  Gipsy  Life. 
London,  1886. 
.     s.v.  "Gypsies." 
BRiTANNicA,9thed.,s.v.  "Gypsies."    /See  Groome. 
Metropolitaxa,      s.v.  "Gypsies."     See  Renouard. 
Ethnological  Societt,  vol.  ii.,  .     Dr.  B.  C.  Smart. 


E.,B.,  .        .        . 

Edinburgh  Review,  1878, 
Edwards,  H.  Sutherland, 
Elliott, 

Eliot,  George,   . 
Elmeny,  Frank, 

Encyclopedia,  Rees',  1819, 

5) 


Fortune  Teller, 
Francillon,  R.  E., 


See  Norwood  Gipsy,  True-telling  Gypsy. 
See  Cornhill  Magazine. 


Garvock,  the  Gypsy,  a  Romance    Glasgow  Weekly  Mail,  1866. 
of  Fifty  Years  Ago. 


Gerard,  E., 

Gipsy  Chief  :  A  Novel, 
Gipsies,  The  :  A  Tale, 
Gipsy's  Warning  :  A  Tale, , 
Good  Words  Magazine, 

Grellmann,  H.  M.  G., 
Grierson,  G.  a., 


Groome,  F.  H., 


Gypsy  Lore  Society's  Journal, 
H.,  J.  CM., 

Haggart,  David,  Life  of,    . 

Harper's  New  Monthly  Maga- 
zine, 1882. 


Transylvanian  Peoples.   Contemporary  Review, 
vol.  xli. 

1823. 

Anon.     1842. 

Anon. 

Rambles  with  the  Romany.     By  Irvine  Mon- 
tagu ;  and  see  Ralston. 

Dissertation  on  the  Gipsies,  1787  and  1807. 

English  Gipsy  Index.    Indian  Antiquary,  1886. 

Arabic  and    Persian    References    to   Gipsies. 
Indian  Antiquary,  vol.  xvi. 

In  Gypsy  Tents.     1880. 

Gypsies.     Encyclopaedia  Britannica,  9th  ed.  ; 
Chambers's  Encyclopaedia,  2d  ed. 

Gypsy  Folk-tales  :  A  Missing  Link.     National 

Review,  1888. 
1888,  etc. 

Slang  Terms  and  Oriental  Roots.     Sec  Baily's 

Sporting  Magazine. 
Written  in  Edinburgh  Gaol,  1821. 
Gypsy  Dance,  Spanish  Vistas. 


Harriot,  Colonel  J.  S., 


Hellis,  Nellie, 
Hook,  Theodore, 

Hotten,  J.  C,     . 
House  on  Wheels, 
Howitt,  Richard, 
HoYLAND,  John, 

Hugo,  Victor, 


1888,     Anstey's  Gypsy  Fair  in  Surrey. 

.     Observations   on  the  Oriental  Origin   of    the 

Romanichal.    Royal  Asiatic  Society  of  Great 

Britain,  vol.  ii.     London,  1830. 
.     Gypsy  Jan  :  A  Tale.     London,  c.  1886. 
.     Martha,  the  Gypsy ;  or.  The  Fatal  Curse  :  A 

Tale.     Johnson's  Cheap  Library,  Leeds. 
.     The  Slang  Dictionary.     London,  1864. 
.     See  Stolz. 

.     Gypsy  King,  and  other  Poems.     1840. 
.     Historical  Survey  of  the  Customs,  etc.,  of  the 

Gypsies.     York,  1816. 
.     The    Hunchback   of  Notre   Dame.      Various 

editions. 


HAND-LIST  OF  BOOKS,  ETC.,  IN  ENGLISH  RELATING  TO  GYPSIES.      157 
Hunter,  William, 


Illustrated  London  News, 
Indian  Antiquary,     . 
Irene  and  the  Gipsies  :  A  Tale, 
Irvine,  Lieut.  F.,       .        .        , 


James,  G.  P.  R.,          ... 
Rev.  S.  B 

Janus  ;  or,  the  Edinburgh  Literary 
Almanack,  1826. 

Japp,  a., 

Johnson,  C, 

Jones,  Hannah  Maria, 


Kensington,   a    Monthly   Maga- 
zine, 1879, 
Kerrigan,  T.  E., 
Ketura,  the  Gypsy  Queen, 

King,  Charles,  .        .        . 

Knapp,  Prof.  Wiliam  T.,  . 


land,  ( 

D.  G.,    . 

?) 

)j 

?) 

)) 

)) 

)> 

» 

)) 

'5 

)> 

)) 

}j 

J> 

» 

J) 

)) 

Leslie,  Emma,     .... 

Literary  and  Statistical  Maga- 
zine for  Scotland,  vols,  i.,  ii. 
Logan,  W,  H.,     . 
London  Society,  vol.  xlvii.. 
Lost  Sir  Massingberd:  A  Novel, 
Lucas,  Joseph,    .... 


Biggar  and  the  House  of  Fleming,  1867, 
chap.  xix. 

See  Tom  Taylor. 

See  Grierson,  Crooke. 

Children's  Picture  Annual,    c.  1880. 

Similitude  between  Gypsy  and  Hindi  Lan- 
guages.    Literary  Society  of  Bombay,  1819. 

The  Gipsy.     London,  1835,  and  other  editions. 
English  Gyjisies ;  a  Monograph,  in  five  chapters. 
Church  of  England  Magazine.    London,  1875. 
Song  of  the  Gypsy  King,  from  the  German. 

The  Gypsies.     Gentleman's  Magazine,  1883. 
Lives  of  Highwaymen,  etc.     1736. 
Gipsy  Mother :  A  Tale.     1833. 
Gipsy    Girl;     or,    The   Heir    of  Hazel  Dell. 
c.  1833. 

Gipsy  :  A  Tale.     By  B.  L.  A. 

A  Gypsy  Beauty.     Century  Magazine,  1886. 
People's    Pocket    Story    Books.     London,   c. 

1875. 
Romany  Language  of  Coin.    Notes  and  Queries, 

1884. 
"  George  Borrow,"   The   Chautauquan.      Nov. 

1887.    Life  of  Borrow  [in  preparation]. 

English  Gipsy  Songs.     London,  1875. 

English  Gipsies.     London,  1873. 

Breitmann  Ballads.     London,  1872. 

The  Gypsies.     London,  1882. 

Johnston's  Universal  Cyclopaedia,  vols,  ii.,  iii. 

New  York,  1876-77,      Arts,  "Gypsies"  and 

"  Rommany  Language." 
Russian  Gipsies.    Macmillan's  Magazine,  1879. 
Playbill  of  ZiUah  :   a  new   romantic   drama. 

With  Romany  Song.     1879. 
Visiting  the  Gipsies.     Century  Magazine,  1883, 
Charlotte  Cooper,  a  Gypsy  Beauty,     Century 

Magazine,  1886, 
Gypsy  Charms.    St.  James's  Gazette,  2d  Aug. 

1888, 
The  Original  Gipsies,     Holder  ;  Vienna,  1888. 
The  Gypsy  Queen :  A  Tale,     London. 
See  Leland  ;  A  Gypsy  Beauty. 


A  Pedlai-'s  Pack  of  Ballads,  pp.  139-141,  1869. 
Our  Gypsies  and  the  Gypsy  Children. 
James  Payn. 

Yetholm  History  of  the  Gypsies.    Kelso,  1882. 
Petty  Romany.     Nineteenth   Century  Maga- 
zine, 1880. 


158     HAND-LIST  OF  BOOKS,  ETC.,  IN  ENGLISH  RELATING  TO  GYPSIES. 


Macmillan's  Magazine, 

Mackenzie  and  Irby, 
MacRitchie,  D., 


»>  »  •        • 

M  ACT  AG  G  ART,  JoHN,     . 

Maillard,  Annette  Marie, 
Malen,  M,  E.  0., 
Marsden,  W,, 

Marsters,  T., 

Mason, 

Melville,  G.  J.  Whyte, 

Mitchell,  Thomas,     . 

Mitra,  Babu  R., 

Montagu,  Irvine, 
Monthly  Magazine,  1818, 
MoRwooD,  Vernon  S., 


Murray,  R., 


.     Articles  on  George  Borrow  ;  Russian  Gypsies, 

by  Leland. 
,     Travels  in  Sclavonic  Provinces,  1877. 
.     Ancient  and  Modern  Britons.     London,  1884. 

.     Greek  Gypsies  at  Liverpool.   Chambers's  Jour- 
nal, vol.  iii.,  1886. 

.     The  Gypsies  of  India.     London,  1886. 

.     Scottish  Gallovidian  Encyclopedia,  1824,  pp. 
66-70  and  142. 

.     Zingra,  the  Gypsy  :  A  Tale. 

.     Naomi,  the  Gypsy  Girl :  A  Tale. 

.    See  Archosologia,  1785. 

.     See  Annual  Register,  1784. 

.     Poetical  Manual.     18,33. 

.     Border  Tour. 

.     Katerfelto,  1875;  Black  but  Comely,  1879. 

.     History  of  Thomas  Mitchell,  born  and  educated 
among  the  Gypsies.     1816. 

.     Gipsies  of  Bengal.     Anthropological  Society. 
London,  1870. 

.     Rambles  with  the  Romany.     See  Good  Words. 

.     See  D.  Copsey. 

.     Our  Gypsies.     1885. 

.     Gipsies  in  England.     Victoria  Magazine,  1867. 

.     Clarissa,  the  Gypsy :  A  Tale. 

.     The  Gypsy  Scare :  A  Tale. 

.     The  Gipsies  of  the  Border.     Galashiels,  1875. 


National  Review,  1888,     .        .     See  Groome. 

Nevill,  L.,  ....     a  Romany  Queen.     London. 

Newbold, The  Gipsies  of  Egypt.     Royal  Asiatic  Society. 

London,  1856. 
Nineteenth    Century     Maga-     Petty  Romany.    Joseph  Lucas. 

ziNE,  vol.  viii. 
NoRMAND,  Hugh  de,  ,        .        .     The  Gipsy  Queen.     New  York,  1882. 
Norwood  Gypsy;   or,  Universal 

Dream  Book,  1810. 
Norwood,  Rev.  T.  W.,        .        .     Race  and  Language  of  Gypsies.     British  Asso- 
ciation, Leeds,  1858. 
Notes  and  Queries,  .        .        .     Passim. 


Oliver, 
Ousely,  W., 
Palmer,  Prof.  E.  H., 
Paspati,  a.  G.,  . 


Fayn,  Jambs,      .... 
People  of  Turkey,  pp.  158-168. 
Phillips,  George  S.  ("January 

Searle"). 
Philological  Society,  1863, 
Pinkerton,  W.,  .... 


Rambles  in  the  Border. 

Travels  in  the  East.     London,  1823. 

English  Gipsy  Songs.     See  Leland. 

Memoir  on  Language  of  Gypsies  in  Turkish 

Empire.     New  Haven,  1862. 
Journal  of  American  Oriental  Society,  vol.  vii. 
[Same  Memoir.] 
Lost  Sir  Massingberd. 

The   Gypsies   of  the   Danes'   Dike.     London, 

1864. 
See  Dr.  B.  C.  Smart. 
Somersetshire  Gypsy  Vocabulary.     1780. 


HAND-LIST  OF  P.OOK.S,  ETC.,  IN  ENGLISH  RELATING  TO  GYPSIES.      1  nO 


Potter,  H.  T.,    . 
pottinger,  h.,  . 

Quarterly  Eeview,   , 

Ragged    Uproar;     or,     Oxford 

Roratory :  A  Dramatic  Satire. 
Ralston,  "W.  R.  J.,     . 

Ranger  of  the  Tomb;  or.  Gipsy's 

Prophecy :  A  Romance. 
Renouard,  Rev.  Cecil, 
Richardson,  Captain  D., 

Roberts,  Samuel, 

))  )) 

RuDALL,  John,    . 
Rutherford, 


Saintsbury,  George, 
Scott,  Sir  Walter, 
Scot,  Reginald, 
Sheldon,     . 
Sims,  G.  R., 
Simson,  Walter, 

SiMsoN,  James, 

))  ?> 


Smart,  B.  C, 


Smith,  George, 


of  Coalville, 


,,      Hubert, 

Smith,  Laura  A., 
Stanley,  A.  P.,  . 
Steggall,  John, 
Stood  ART,  Jane  T., 
Stolz,  de,  Madame, 
Strettell,  Alma, 
Stuart,  Charles, 
Sykes, 

Tattershall, 
Taylor,  Tom, 


Dictionary  of  Cant,  etc. 

Travels  in  Beloochistan  and  Scinde.     1816. 

Various  Reviews. 
1760. 

A  Gipsies'  Christmas  Gathering.    Good  Words. 
1868. 

1847. 

"  Gypsy"  :  Encyclopa3dia  Metropolitana.   1845. 

Asiatic  Researches,  vol.  vii.     1784. 

Account  of  the  Bazeegurs.     1812. 

The  Gypsies.     1836,  and  other  editions. 

Parallel  Miracles.     1830. 

Life  of  James  Crabb.     London,  1854. 

Southern  Counties  Register. 

See  George  Borrow,  ISIacmillan's  Magazine. 

Guy  Mannering  and  Quentin  Durward. 

Discovery  of  Witchcraft.     1651. 

History  of  Berwick. 

The  Romany  Rye :  A  Drama.     1882. 

History  of    the   Gypsies.      1865,    and    other 
editions. 

The  Gipsies.     1875. 

Social  Emancipation  of  the  Gypsies.     1884. 

John  Bunyan.     1880. 

Scottish  Churches  and  the  Gipsies.     1881. 

The  Gipsies,  etc.     1883. 

Was  John  Bunyan  a  Gipsy  1     1882. 

Dialect  of  the  English  Gipsies.     English  Philo- 
logical Society,  1863. 

Dialect  of  the  English  Gipsies.     1875  ;  and  see 
Crofton,  H.  T. 

British  Association,  Leeds.     1861. 

Ethnological  Society,  vol.  ii. 

Incidents  in  a  Gipsy's  Life.     1886. 

I  've  been  a  Gypsying.     1883. 

Gypsies  and  their  Children.     London  Society, 
18—. 

Gipsy  Life.     1880. 

Tent  Life  in  Norway  with  English   Gipsies. 
London,  1873. 

Through  Romany  Song-Land  (in  preparation). 

The  Gipsies  ;  a  Poem.     Oxford,  1842. 

See  Cobbold. 

In  Cheviot's  Glens.     1887. 

House  on  Wheels.     1875. 
.Songs  of  Spanish  Gipsies.     1887. 

David  Blythe,  the  Gipsy  King.     1883. 

Local  Records  of  Durham,  etc..  vol.  i. 

Tobias  Smith,  executed  at  Bedford.    1792. 
Sir  Roger  de  Coverley,     1851 . 


160     HAND-LIST  OF  BOOKS,  ETC. 
Taylor,  Tom,       .... 


Temple  Bar  Magazine, 

Times,  The, 

Thompson,  James, 

Thomson,  W., 

True  Telling  Gipsy  ;  or,  New 

Fortune  Teller. 
TucKEY,  Janet,  .... 
Turner,  C.  J.  Eibton, 

Vallancey,  Charles, 

Victoria  Magazine,  . 
Walker,  E.  G., 

Watts,  Theodore, 

Weekly  Miscellany,  vol.  xvi.,  . 

Weylland,  John  M.  . 

Wilson,  John  Mackay, 


,  IN  ENGLISH  RELATING  TO  GYPSIES. 

Gipsy  Experiences  of  a  Eoumany  Eei.  Illus- 
trated London  News,  1851. 

Origin  and  History  of  the  Gypsies.  Illustrated 
London  News,  1856. 

Bath,  1870. 

Gipsies  and  their  Friends.     By  W.  B,     1876. 

1872,  Oct.  11,  17  ;  p.  1,  column  2. 

Life  of  James  Allan.     Newcastle,  1828. 

Mammuth.     1789. 

1805,  and  other  editions. 


English  Gipsy  iSongs.     See  Leland. 
History  of  Vagrants  and  Vagrancy. 


1887. 


Woodcock,  Henry, 
Wotherspdon,    . 


Zana,  the  Gipsy,  or.  Heiress  of 

Clair  Hall. 
Zelda's  Fortune, 
Zingra,  the  Gipsy,     . 
ZiNGARi,  The  :  A  Poem,     . 


Language  of  Gipsies  of  Bohemia,  etc.     Collec- 
tanea de  Eebus  Hibernicis.     Dublin,  1786. 
See  Morwood,  V.  G. 

The  Fortune  Teller;  or.  Heir  of  Hazelmore: 
A  Eomantic  Tale. 

See  Aylwin  and  Borrow  (Athenaeum). 

1779. 

Eound  the  Tower;  or.  The  Story  of  the  London 
City  Mission.     1875. 

Tales  of  the  Borders,  1835  :  (a)  The  Faa's 
Eevenge  ;  (b)  Judith  the  Egyptian  ;  (c)  Pol- 
warth  on  the  Green  ;  (d)  The  Countess  of 
Cassilis ;  (e)  The  Hawick  Spate;  (/)  The 
Gipsy  Lover. 

The  Gipsies.     London,  1865. 
A  Word  for  the  Eomany  Chals.     Cheltenham 
College  Magazine,  1873. 

London,  c.  1877. 

See  CornhUl  Magazine  and  Francillon. 
By  A.  M.  Maillard. 
Bridge  water,  1841. 


X._A  VOCABULAEY  OF  THE  SLOVAK-GYPSY  DIALECT. 

By  E.  von  Sowa. 


Authorities. 

M. — F.  Miklosich,  Beitrage  zur  Kenntniss  der  Zigeuner-Mundarten, 
iv.,  "Wien,  1878.  In  this  work  the  author  deals  with — (1)  a  story 
obtained  by  I.  Kluch  from  the  Carpathian  Gypsies  (i.  a.  p.  1  ff), — 
and 


A  VOCABULARY  OF  THE   SLOVAK-GYPSY  DIALECT.  161 

*^T. — (2)  Eight  stanzas  collected  by  I.  Eotarides  at  Drienovo. 
The  speech  of  the  latter  is,  as  I  tried  to  prove  in  another  place,  a  sub- 
dialect  of  the  Hungarian- -not,  like  that  of  my  own  and  Kluch's  texts, 
of  the  Bohemian — dialect. 

M.  W. — (3)  Vocables  occurring  in  the  M.  W.  (see  under  "  Abbre- 
viations ")  of  the  same  author,  and  marked  by  him  as  Carpathian  ; 
the  source  of  these  vocables,  which  for  the  most  part  do  not  occur  in 
the  text  published  by  him,  I  do  not  know. 

K. — A.KaKna,La,  langue  des  Tziganes  slovaques ;  Posen,  1880. 
This  author  states  that  he  collected  his  texts  and  vocables — (1)  in 
the  environs  of  Pest'an  (Postven),  Nove  Mesto  (Vagh  Ujhely), 
Trencin  (Trencsen),  ^eliu  (solna),  and  St.  Martin. 

*K. — (2)  This  refers  to  that  portion  of  the  above  work  which 
deals  with  fifteen  stanzas  collected  by  Dr.  Kopernicki  in  the  district 
of  Gomor  (south-east  border  of  the  Slovak  territory).  The  vocables 
occurring  in  these  stanzas  belong  to  the  Hungarian  dialect. 

S. — (1)  The  texts  (nineteen  tales  and  one  song)  collected  by 
myself,  in  the  years  1884  and  1885,  at  Trencin — Teplice  (Tapolcza), 
a  part  of  which  has  been  published  in  the  Zcitschrift  der  deutschen 
morgenldndischen  Gesellschaft,\6\.  xxxix.,  of  1885,  p.  509 — ib.,  another 
part  in  my  Grammar  of  the  Slovak-Gypsy  Dialect  {Die  Mundart  der 
slovakischcn  Zigcmicr  \  Gottingen,  1887).  The  rest  has  not  yet  been 
published. 

(2)  A  set  of  sentences  composed  by  myself,  and  translated  by  my 
Gypsies  into  their  language. 

(3)  A  collection  of  words  obtained  by  me  in  conversation  with 
them. 

Spelling. 

The  alphabet,  which  will  be  used  in  the  Vocabulary  is  the  follow- 
ing : — a,  d  (Gr.i  a),  h,  ch  (Gr.,  M.  K.,  c),  d,  d',  dz,  e,  4,f,  g,  h,  x  (Gr., 
M.  ch\  K.  li),  i,  i,j  (Gr.,  M.,  K.  dz),  k,  hli,  I,  I'  (M.,  K.  often  l\  m,  n, 
n  (K.,  n  or  ni),  o,  6,  p,  pli,  r,  s,  sh  (Gr.,  M.,  K.  s),  t,  th,  t'  (K.  ti),  t'h,  ts 
(Gr.,  M.,  K.  c),  «,  ^,  V,  y  (Gr.  M.,  K.  j\  z,  zh  (Gr.,  M.,  K.  ^). 

Abbreviations. 

Pa. — A.  Paspati,  £tudes  sur  les  Tchinghianes  ou  Bohemiens  de 
I'empire  ottoman  :  Constantinople,  1870. 

M. — F.  Midler,  Beitriige  zur  Kentniss  der  Romsprache,  i.  :  Wieu, 
1869;  ii.,  ib.  1872. 

1  My  Grammar,  quoted  above. 


162  A   VOCABULAKY   OF   THE   SLOVAK-GYPSY   DIALECT. 

Jcs. — J.  JeUna,  Eomani  (jib,  Qili  jazyk  cikansky  :  2d  edit.,  Prague, 
1883  ;  whenever  I  quote  the  3d  edit.  (Leipzig,  1886),  I  shall  mark  it 
with  Jes.  3. 

M.  W. — F.  MiUosicli,  Die  Mundarten  und  Wanderungen  der 
Zigeuner  Europas  (12  parts)  :  Wien,  1872-80. 

Ptt. — A.  Pott,  Die  Zigeuner  in  Europa  und  Asien :  Halle,  1844  ;  ii., 
ib.  1845. 

a. — Indicates  a  word  once  only  once  occurring  in  the  materials  out 
of  which  my  Vocabulary  is  composed,  or  a  meaning  of  a  word  estab- 
lished by  only  one  sentence. 

SI. — The  sub-dialects  (Mundarten)  spoken  by  the  Gypsies  living 
among  Slovaks,  and  belonging  for  the  one  part  to  the  Bohemian-  and 
for  the  other  to  the  Hungarian-  Gypsy  dialects. 

Gt. — The  dialect  of  the  Greek  Gypsies. 

Bm.       „  „  Roumanian  Gypsies. 

Hng.     „  „  Hungarian  Gypsies. 

Bhm.     „  „  Bohemian  Gypsies. 

Mag.     „  Magyar  languaage. 

Btim.    „  Eoumanian  language. 

Serv.     „  Servian  language, 

Slavon.,,  (Old)  Slavonic  language. 

Tchk.    „  Tchek  language. 

Slov.      „  Slovak  dialect  of  the  latter. 

A. 

A,  a.,  K.,  intj.,  ah  !  oh  !  dwellest.     Even  the  Tchk.  and  Slov. 


Achau,  M.,  S.,  achav  ;  K.,  vb.  intr.,  pt, 
pf.  achlo.     Gr.,  Hng.,  Bhm.  ;  in  Gr, 
the  ]3t.  pf.  is  achilo.     (1)  To  become 
pale  achle  tovarisha — then  they  be 


often  use  one  and  the  same  word  for 
"  remaining  "  and  "  dwelling." 
Achori,  a.,  M.,  S.,  f.  ?  (yachori  ?),  dim  ; 
cf.  yakh.     The  form  and  the  gender 


came  journeymen  ;  lestar  achl'as  hahni  must   be    concluded   from    the    only 

— by  him  she  became  pregnant.     (2)  instance  : — haV  -  achora,   black    eyes  ; 

To  be  ;  akakanah  ach  mre  sovnakune  eye. 

dciieha  —  now    be   with   my  golden  ^rfa,  M.,  K.,  S.,  dem.  pron.,  f.,  ada,  pi. 

god    (farewell)  ;     cf    Slov.     Btid'     s  ala  ;  K.,  but  these  forms  are  used  in- 

BoJiom.     T'ho  achen/ —  he.    silent!  differently  ;  Gr.,  Bhm.  wanting,  Hng. 

(3)  To  remain;  adai  tro  vod'i  achla,  =S1.     (1)  This,   the  mentioned,  the 

hie  tut  mro  rom  muddrla — here  thy  past ;   amenge  vareko  ada  rat  savoro 

soul  will  remain — see,   my  husband  avri    chord'as — somebody  this  night 

will  kill  thee.     (4)  To  continue  ;  a.,  has  stolen  all  our  goods  ;  Na  pil'om 

achellas  o  biyau  iifta  tsela  horsh — the  na  hcd'om  ada   tselo   kurko — I   have 

nuptials  continued  seven  whole  years,  neither  drunk  nor  eaten  all  this  week. 

M.  W,     (5)  To  dwell ;    I'ijeha  man  K.     (2)  This,  the  following ;  a.,  hem, 

Mre  ke  tute,  kai  tu  aches — thou  wilt  dikena,  so   me  ada  rat  kerava — why, 

bear  me  home  to  thee   where   thou  you  will  see,  what  I  shall  do  this  night. 


A   VOCABULARY   OF   THE   SLOVAK-GYPSY   DIALECT. 


163 


Adadire,  a.,  K.,  adv.  of  dives,  Gr. 
wanting,  the  Gr.  correspondent  being 
avdives,  avdics  from  another  base  ; 
Hng.  adadiy  ;  Bhm.  adadives,  to-day 
(lit.,  this  day).  Ada  divesoro,  a., 
K.,  adv.,  dim,  id.  ;  adal'inai,  a., 
S.,  adv.  ;  Bhm.,  SI.  :  (cf.  I'inai),  this 
year  (lit.,  this  summer). 

Adai,  M.,  K.,  S.,  yadai  ;  K.  adv.  ;  Gr. 
wanting  ;  Hng.,  Bhm.  =  SI.  (1)  here  ; 
adai  tro  vod'i  achla — here  thy  soul 
will  remain.  (2)  Hither ;  so  adai 
avl'al  ? — why  didst  thou  come  hither  ? 

Adardc,  M.,  W.,  S.,  adv.  ;  Gr.  wanting  ; 
Bhm.,  it  means  "  here "  ;  cf.  in  the 
Moravian  var.  of  the  Bhm.  d.  karde, 
"  where."  Hither  :  Yav  adarde  yelh 
choneste — come  here  after  a  month. 

Adava,  M.,  K.,  S.,  dem.  pron.,  f.  adaya  ; 
pi.  adala  K. ;  Gr.,  Hng.,  Bhm.  want- 
ing ;  Pol.,  Kuss.,  Ital.  =  SI.  ;  this  ; 
of  whom,  or  which  is  spoken  ;  le  tri- 
tonejeneha  so  herd'an  ? — so  kerd'am  ? 
mangeUas  amendar  the  xal,  ta  lil'am 
leske  jakha  avri.  Ta  adava  som  mc. 
oda  terno  hrdlis  auka  phcnd'as — De 
tertio  quid  fecistis  ? — quid  fecimus  ? 
petebat  a  nobis  edere,  tum  sumsimus 
ei  oculos  foras.  Tum  hie,  sum  ego  ille 
juvenis,  rex  ita  dixit,  M. 

Adebor,  a.,  S.,  adv.,  Gr.  wanting  ;  there 
is  formed  abor,  Pa.  127,  from  another 
base  ;  Hng.,  Bhm,  wanting.  So  much  ; 
attributively  used  in  the  only  instance 
we  have  ;  kai  you,  aso  gdjo  dil'ino, 
il'as  adebor  love  ? — whence  did  he, 
such  a  foolish  peasant,  take  so  much 


money 


X 


Adeso,  S.,  pron.  dem.,  Gr.  ;  Hng.,  Bhm. 
wanting  ;  Hng.  corresponds  aso,  Bhm. 
akadeso  ;  both  from  other  bases  ;  Em. 
=  S1.  Such;  ke  rut' i  mange  trironmi 
nuk  thovel  he  shut'el  dui  adese  homolki 
— to-night  thy  wife  may  put  and  dry 
two  such  whey-cheeses  for  me.  The 
meaning  may  be  :  such  a  food,  which 
is  called  whey-cheese,  Kind'as  peske 
papiris  adeso  har  orndtos — he  bought 
for  himself  such  a  paper  like  pontifi- 
cals ;  Adeso  bdro  jukel — such  a  large 
dog ;  Mange  aneha  naifeder  mol  te 
piyel  h-adeso  mas — thou  wilt  bring 
me  the  best  wine  for  drinking  and 
even  (?)  such  meat. 

Adetsi,  a.,  M.   W.,    adv.  ;    cf.    M.    W. 


X.  131 ;  Gr.  wanting  ;  cf.  atsi ;  Hng. 
wanting,  Bhm.  =  SI.  ;  so  much,  so 
many. 

Agor.     See  Yagor. 

Ax,  read  ay,  S.,  interj,  ;  Slov.  ach,  ah  ! 
oh !  alas  ! 

Akada,  M.,  S.,akado,  a.,  K.,  pron.  dem., 
Gr.,  Hng.,  Bhm.  wanting ;  cf.  Bhm. 
akadarde,  "  look  there  ! "  from  the 
same  base  ;  this,  whom  one  can  show, 
or  look  at  ;  dava  tumenge  akada 
shukdr  id'a — I  shall  give  you  this  fine 
dress.  (The  speaker  is  bearing  the 
clothes  on  his  shoulders.)  So  hi  tut  ? 
hi  akada  bashno — what  have  you  ?  I 
have  this  cock.     (He  is  showing  it.) 

Akadai,  a.,  M.  W.,  adv.  ;  Gr.,  Hng., 
Bhm.  wanting  ;  here. 

Akadava,  K.,  S.,  pron.  dem.,  f.  akadaya. 
pi.  akadala,  K.  ;  Gr.,  Hng.,  Bhm, 
wanting  ;  "  this."  The  very  meaning 
cannot  be  stated.  Kal.  gives  no 
translation.  My  Gyjjsies  confirmed 
the  existence  of  that  word,  but  ex- 
plained it  incorrectly  as  "  so,  in  this 
very  manner,"  Slov.  takto.  The  only 
two  instances  are  :  sako  dives  mosi  te 
xalas  (sc.  o  drakos),  yekha  manushna. 
Ax  devla,  so  pes  akadava  kerla  ?  I^dne 
mozhnd  vets,kai pes  sako  dives  oh  drak- 
oske  te  del  te  xal — every  day  he,  the 
dragon,  must  eat  a  woman.  Oh  God  ! 
what  will  be  done  1  It  is  impossible 
that  one  can  give  food  to  the  dragon 
every  day,  Te  na  tu  akadava  chiveha, 
akada  rovl'i,  uches  and  o  I'leba — if  thou 
wilt  not  throw  this  stick  highly  into 
the  heavens.  In  both  sentences  the 
use  of  akadava  is  not  clear, 

Akakanak,  S.,  adv.,  Gr.,  Hng.  wanting  ; 
cf.  the  following  vocable  ;  Bhm.  =  SI. 
(1).  Now  ;  akakanak  ach  deiieha,  Idcho 
shukdr  phral — now,  farewell,  good  and 
beautiful  brother  !  (2).  Forthwith, 
instantly  (?)  ;  me  tut  akakanak  prv- 
hdl'inava  —I  instantly  shall  put  thee 
to  the  proof.  Perhaps  akakanak  even 
in  this  instance  means  "  now." 
Akana,  S.  adv.,  Gr.  ;  Bhm.  =  SI.,  and 
Akanak,  M.,  K.,  S.,  adv. ;  Hng.  akanak, 
akanik,  akdnek  ;  now  then.  Akana  les 
mind'ar  muddrlas — then  he  killed  him 
immediately  ;  akanak  mange  2}hen, 
soske  tu  ole  bakren  atsi  xas — now  tell 
me  why  thou  eatst  the  sheep  so  much. 


164 


A   VOCABULARY   OF   THE    SLOVAK-GYPSY   DIALECT. 


Akarav,  M.,  W.,  akard'as,  vii.  b.  ; 
akhdrav  ;  M.  W.  akerav  ;  K.,  vb.  tr., 
Gr.  akarava,  akerava ;  Bhm.  akarav; 
"to  groan  ;"  Hng.  akyarav.  Gypsies 
confirmed  the  existence  of  the  vocable, 
but  afterwards  substituted  for  it  vich- 
inav  q.v.  To  call ;  akeren  man  pro  hiau 
— they  invite  me  to  the  wedding.  K. 
Akaso,  M.  W.,  pron.  dem.  Mikl.  states 
(M.  W.  xi.  22)  that  he  has  doubts  about 
the  word,  but  he  gives  an  instance  of 
of  its  use  ;  this  ?  such  ?  besh  tuke  pr- 
oda  grast,  al'e  the  le  akase  le  lukes- 
tanentsa  id'entsa — sit  upon  the  horse, 
but  with  these  (such  ?)  soldiers'  coats. 
— M.  W. 
Akatar,  K.,  prp.,  Gr.=Sl.,  but  means 
"  hence "  ;  Hng.,  Bhm.  wanting  ; 
around ;  cf.  katar. 
Akauka,  M.,  adv.,  Gr.,  Hng.,  Bhm. 
wanting.  So  ;  yek  yekhatar  akauka 
pes  phuchenas — una  ub  una  ita  se 
interrogabant,  M. 
Akava,  M.  W.,  a.  ;  akavo,  a. ;  akova,  a., 
K.  pron.  dem.  ;  pi.  akala,  M.  W.  ;  the 
form  akalo,  a.,  K.,  given  as  a  nom. 
sing,  seems  to  be  an  oblique  form  of 
the  same.  Gr.,  Hng.  =  Si.  ;  Bhm. 
wanting ;  this,  K, 
Ake,  S.,  adv.,  Gr.,  Hng.,  Bhm.  wanting  ; 
there  ;  voici  ;  hem  ake  tut  na  has  ani 
yekh  nevo — why,  there  thou  hadst  not 
even  one  kreuzer  ;  he  tut  dava  le  ake 
dui  neve — and  I  shall  give  to  thee  the 
two  kreuzers  here. 
Akor,  K.  akor,  ]\I.  adv. ;  Mag.  aJckw  ; 

"  then  "  ;  used  as  in  Magyar. 
Akurdt,  S.,  adv.,  Slov.  akurdt,  from  the 
German  ;    (1)  just  entirely  ;  (2)  but 
now  ;  at  that  very  moment ;  (3)  in- 
deed ?  used  as  in  Slovak. 
Akhor,  a.,  K.,  s.  m.,  Gr.,  Hng.,  Bhm. 
=  SL,     and    Gr.,    Hng.    akor  ;    K. 
translates,  noisetier  ;  in  the  other  d. 
it  means  the  nut  only,  and  probably 
even  in  this. 
Al'e,  S.  ale,  M.  conj. ;  Slov.  ale  ;  "  but," 

"  though,"  used  as  m  Slovak. 
Ale'bo,  S.  conj.  ;  Slov.  alebo  ;  "or,"  used 

as  in  Slovak. 
Amdro,  M.,  K.,  S.  poss.  pron.,  Gr. amaro, 

Hng.,  Bhm.  =  SI. ;  our. 
Ambri,   S.    amhro,   M.   W.   s.   f.  ;    pi. 
ambre,  S.  yambri,  M.  W.  ,•  Gr.,  Hng., 
Bhm.  ambrol,  f.  ;  pear,  M.  W.     It  is 


said  to  mean  also  "  apple."  The  form 
of  the  word  is  proved  by  the  sen- 
tences :  oda  ambri  nane  gul'i — this 
pear  is  not  sweet,  S.  ;  de  mange  oda 
ambre — give  me  those  pears,  S. 

Ambrdri  a.,  S.  s.  f.  (dim.  of  the  former), 
pear. 

Amen,  a.,  or.  anun  ?  S.  (Slov.  amen), 
amen,  finishing  a  tale. 

Amen,  M.,  K.,  S.,  pron.  Pers.  (Gr.,  Hng., 
Bhm.  =  Sl.),we. 

Amoi'ns,  M.  W.,  S.  s.  m.  (M.  W.)  ;  Gr. 
amuni ;  f.  Hng.  amoni,  mani,  f. 
Bhm.  =  SI.  (The  gender  has  not  been 
marked  by  Jes.),  anvil. 

Anau,  M.  W.,  S.  ;  anav,  K.  vb.  tr.  pi. 
pf.  ando  (Gr.  anava,  Hng.  Bhm.  =  SI.) 
1.  To  bring  ;  akanak  mosi  t-anes  so 
me  kamava  te  j)iyel  he  te  xal — now 
thou  must  bring  me,  what  I  shall  wish, 
to  drink  and  to  eat.  2.  To  bear; 
Pdni  anes?  dost  thou   bear  water  ? 

3.  T©  ofi"er  (a.,  basaviben,  to  serenate), 
K.  ani  susie,  mri  pirdni,  basaviben. 

4.  To  deprive,  M.  W. ;  Man  and'as 
yepashe  kral'osthar  the  mra  rakl'atar 
— he  has  deprived  me  of  half  my 
kingdom  and  my  daughter. 

Aiida  (and)  ande,  M.  K.  S.,  ando 
{  =  and-o)  K.,  prp.  (Gr.  ande,  ane;  Hng. 
ande,  seems  to  be  wanted  in  Bhm.) 
1.  In. — Anda  gono  ehas  o  rashai — in 
the  sack  was  the  priest ;  you  has  and-o 
sasikdno  mdro — he  was  in  military 
service  (lit.  in  the  soldiers'  bread).  2. 
Into. — Java  me  yepash  rat  anda  kos- 
haris — at  midnight  I  shall  go  into 
the  sheepfold.  3.  To. — Auka  chid'as 
and-e  phu  imar  zhi  and-e  men — so 
he  threw  (him)  into  the  earth  up  to 
the  neck. 

Andal,  M.  S.,  prp.,  Gr.,  Hng.  =  SI., Bhm., 
wanting  ;  out  from ;  ta  angoder  andal 
m/ri  tarishna  xaha — and  first  we  will 
eat  from  my  sack,  M. 

Andar,  a.,  M.  W.,  prp.  ;  (cf.  the  fore- 
going) :  Uxt'el  avri  sar  andar  chikate — 
he  jumps  out,  like  from  mud. 

Andral,  M.  W.,  prp.  (Gr.,  Hng.,  Bhm.= 
SI.),  out  from. 

Andre,  S.,  andro  (  =  andr-o),  K.,  adv. 
prp.  ;  1.  in,  into  (adv.)  avVais  andre, 
pihend'as  le  rashaske — he  went  in  (and) 
said  to  the  priest.  2.  Into  (prp.) ;  andre 
yek   foros    avle    trin   ase    dromaskre 


A   VOCABULA.RY   OF   THE   SLOVAK-GYPSY    DIALECT. 


165 


tnanusha — three  travellers  came  into 
a  town. 

And'el'is.  S.,  s.  m.  (SIov.  andel),  angel. 

Angal,  M.  W.  K.,  S.,  angalo{  =  angal-o), 
anglo  {  =  angl-o),  K.,  prp.,  Gr.,  Hng. 
wanting,  Bhm.  =  Sl.  1.  Out  of;  Leske 
mind'ar  e  sviri  pel'as  angal  o  vast — 
immediately  the  hammer  fell  out  of 
his  hand.  2.  Before ;  Sakonake  moxto 
dinas  angal  o  oliaris — for  each  (of 
them)  he  gave  (put)  a  coffin  before 
the  altar ;  angal  odova,  before  that, 
formerly,  M.  W.  3.  In  presence  of  ? 
n.,  K.,  Angal  tute  tut  kamav — in  thy 
presence,  I  love  thee,  K. ;  angal  dilos- 
kero,  M.  W. 

Angal'i.  s.  f.  (the  form  is  concluded  from 
the  folloAving ;  Gr.,  Hng.  angali,  Bhm. 
wanting),  armful. 

Angal' dri,  M.  W.,  s.f.  (dim.  of  the  fore- 
going), armful. 

Angar,  s.  m.,  concluded  from  the  follow- 
ing (Gr.,  Hng.,  Bhm,  =  SI.),  coal. 

Angaroro,  M.  W.,  s.  m.  (dim.  of  the 
foregoing),  a  piece  of  coal. 

Angaruno,  K.,  adj.  of  coal. 

Anglal,  M.  W.,  adv.  (Gr.,  Hng.,  Bhm.  = 
SI.),  formerly. 

Angle  (ayigl-o),  a.,  k.  prp.  (Grch.,  Hng.  = 
SI.;  Bhm.  wanting),  before. 

Angluno,  M.,  adj.  (Gr.,  Hng.  SI.  ; 
Bhm.  wanting),  fir.st,  former. 

Angoder,  M.,  K.,  S.,  adv.,  formerly, 
before  that ;  ta  angoder  andal  mri 
tarishua  xaha — and  first  we  will  eat 
from  my  sack,  i.e.  before  we  take  from 
the  others,  M. 

Angmsti,  S.,  s.f.  (Gr.  angrusti,angrusht' ; 
Hng.  angrusti ;  Bhm.  =  SI.),  ring, 
finder-ring. 

Angusht,  S.,  angushto,  M.,  K.,  S.,  s.  m., 
(Gr.  angust,  angusht ;  Hng.,  Bhm., 
angushto),  finger. 

Angutno,  M.  W.,  adj.  (Gr.,  Hng.,  Bhm. 
wanting  ;  Gr.  corresponds  anglutno 
from  another  base),  first,  former. 

Alii,  M.  W.,  S,,  adv.  conj.,  Slov.  ani. 
1.  Nor  ;  2.  not  even ;  3.  only  not ; 
with  the  imperative  mood ;  used  as  in 
Slovak. 

Aproha,  a.,  S.,  s.  m.,  SI.,  Jes.  3.^  The 
word  is  not  found  in  any  other  Gypsy 


dialect  as  far  as  I  know  :  its  gender  I 
concluded  from  the  only  sentence  in 
which  the  word  occurs  ;  forge.  Aol'as 
kere  beshchas  ])al  o  aproha,  Was  te 
kerel  mind'ar  oda  kl'id'i — he  came 
home,  sat  behind  the  forge,  began  to 
make  the  key. 

Asav,  M.  W.,  vb.  itr.  (Gr.  asava ;  Hng. 
=  SI. ;  Bhm.  asav  man,  the  correspond- 
ing Tchk.  vb.  being  reflexive),  to 
laugh. 

Asavav,  a.,  M.  W.,  vb.  itr.  (Hng.  =  SI.), 
id. 

Asavo,  a.,  S.,  pron.  dem.  (Gr.  asavko ; 
Hng.  asavo,  asevo ;  Bhm.  wanting), 
such. 

Aso,  M.,  K.,  S.,  pron.  dem.  (Gr.,  Bhm. 
wanting  :  in  the  latter  being  used 
akadeso,  from  another  base  ;  Hng.  = 
SI.).  1.  Such  ;  0  ram  dinas  te  sivel 
asa  id' a  har  rashai — the  Gypsy  caused 
to  sew  such  a  vestment  like  (the  vest- 
ment of)  a  priest ;  So  shai  aso  zasluz- 
hinlas,  so  zakdntrinel  duye  vckl'en  ? — 
what  might  deserve  such  a  man,  who 
brings  to  ruin  two  souls  ?  trin  ase 
dromaskre  manusha — three  travellers 
( =  of  such  men  travelling),  K.  2.  Often 
it  is  used  in  the  sense  of  very.  Aso  bdro 
chiriklo,  eagle,  hawk,  S. ;  aso  bdro  halo, 
hedgehog,  a.  s.  on.  3.  So  ?  a..  You 
aso  koshad'as  les — he  chided  him  so  (in 
such  a  manner). 

Aspoii,  M.  W.,  S.,  adv.  (Slov.  aspon), 
at  least  ;  used  as  in  Slovak. 

Asharau,  ashdrau,  a.,  S.,  vb.  tr.  (Gr. 
wanting;  Hng.,  Bhm.  =  SI.),  to  praise. 
Ashdrau  man,  a.,  S.,  vb.  reti.,  to 
boast ;  Chak  piale  pes  kamle  kere  te 
ashdrcl,  hoi  yon  muddrde — then  they 
would  boast  at  home,  that  they  had 
killed  (him). 

Ashta,  S.,  intj.  (Gr.  shta,  ashta, 
"  attends,"  Pa.  494  ;  Hng.  wanting  ; 
Bhm.,  Jes.  =  SI.  ;  cf.  M.  W.  vii.  7(5), 
a  summons  to  give  something  ;  Germ, 
"her  mit!"  Ashta,  daiko,  oda  pdrno 
kosnoro — Mother,  give  (me)  the  white 
kerchief ! 

Atar,  S.,  atxar,  *M.  (Gr.,  Hng.  =  Si.  ; 
Bhm.  wanting,  there  being  used 
adatar  from  another  base),  from  here. 


1  P.  Jesina  had  detected  this  vocable  in  the  dialect  of  the  Bhm.  Gypsies  before  1  had 
heard  it  from  the  SI.     He  was  aware  of  its  meaning,  but  not  of  its  gender. 


166 


A   VOCABULARY   OF   THE   SLOVAK-GYPSY   DIALECT. 


from  there.  Uzh  me  tut  akanak 
vimozhinava  atar — already  I  shall 
help  thee  (to  come  out)  from  here. 

Atoska,  K.,  prp,  (Gr.,  Hng.,  Bhm,  want- 
ing), after.  Kana  katar  mande  upre 
nshchcs  atoska  tu  pal  amende  ineres — 
when  thou  gettest  up  near  me,  thou 
wilt  die,  after  the  other,  K. 

Atsi,^.,  at'si,  M.  W.,  adv.  (Gr.  only  the 
correlative  keti  is  found,  Pa.  24,  with 
attja,  "here,"  to  which  Mikl.,M.W.  vii. 
12,  puts  it :  it  has  in  common  but  the 
demonstrative  element  ;  Hng.  at'i, 
at'hi ;  Bhm.  wanting,  there  being 
found  adetsi  from  another  base),  so 
much,  so  many ;  so  tu  kames,  hoi 
mange  afsi  bersh  adai  solgdrines? — 
what  dost  thou  claim  for  having 
served  to  me  so  many  years?  Atsi 
e/ias,  azh  la  lopataha  churdelas  pr-e 
vcrda — so  much  was  there,  that  he 
threw  it  with  shovel  upon  the  car ; 
Soske  tu  ale  hakren  atsi  xas? — why 
dost  thou  eat  the  sheep  so  much  ? 

Auka,  M.,  K.,  S.,  aiike,  a.,  K.,  adv.  (Gr. 
cf.  avaka,  "this";  Hng.  avka,  auka  ; 
Bhm.  avoka;  but  Morav.  =  Sl.)  1.  So 
(in  comparisons)  ;  Auka  has  yon 
harvale  sar  yekh  raya — so  rich  they 
were,  like  (some)  gentlemen.  2.  Then, 
in  this  case  (Germ,  "so")  in  the  con- 
clusion following  a  conditional  sen- 
tence. Kana  man  na  rakeha  yekh 
hersheha  adai,  auka  piheneha — if  thou 
shalt  not  find  me  here  after  a  year, 
then  thou  mayst  say.  3.  So  very,  so 
much  ;  Auka  les  mol'inlas  |;?-c  mro 
sovnakuno  devel — he  begged  him  so 
much  by  my  golden  God.  4.  Then, 
consequently,  therefore  ;  -B  romni 
leske  phendJas,  hoi  te  den  pre  sluzh  ha 
duyen  oh  rdklen,  o  duyen  te  den  pr-o 
remeslos ;  auka  len  diiias,  le  Yankos  he 
le  Gashparis,  te  viuchinel — the  wife 
told  him,  that  they  may  send  two  of 
the  boys  to  the  service  and  dedicate 
two  to  the  trade  (profession)  ;  there- 
fore he  apprenticed  them,  John  and 
Caspar. 

Avau,  M.,  S.,  avav,  K.,  vb.  itr.,  iiup- 
yav,  pt.pf.  avlo  ;  cf.  ovav  and  shevav 
(Gr.  avava,  Hng.,  Bhm.  =  SI.)  1.  To 
come  ;  Kana  avri  sikile,  avle  kere — 
when  they  had  served  out  their  time. 


they  came  home.  2.  To  go  (with  pal) : 
na  phiryom  pal  late,  avl'as  yoi  pal 
mande — I  did  not  follow  her,  (but) 
she  followed  me.  3.  To  be  (have) ;  it 
supplants  the  forms  of  som  in  the 
future  tense,  rarely  in  the  potential 
mood  (imperfect) :  Man  avla  nisht 
pash  mande — I  shall  have  nothing 
/^with  me).  4.  To  become  ;  Pale 
acavas  tri  romni — then  (afterAvards) 
I  would  become  thy  wife,  S.  I  can- 
not fully  explain  the  sense  of  avau 
in  the  following  sentence  :  Tu  ire 
mcribnesthar  aveha — thou  wUt  lose 
thy  life ;  cf.  German,  Du  wirst  um 
dein  Leben  kommen,  M.  W.  5.  To 
arise,  a.,  S.  ;  Ole  raklores  avlas  sov- 
nakuni  cherxeu  and  o  kol'in — to  that 
boy  a  golden  star  arose  on  the  breast. 

Aver,  M.  W.,  K.,  S.,  adj.  (Gr.,  Hng., 
Bhm.,  SI.)  1.  Another  :  its  use 
with  ordinal  numbers  is  noteworthy : 
Papales  chak  les  aver  trito  shebrakos 
stretn'ind'as  —  again  another  third 
beggar  met  him  (probably,  another 
b.,  viz.  the  third).  2.  The  second 
(either  there  may  be  enumerated  but 
two  or  more) ;  cf.  the  tale  Kal.  p.  104, 
No.  39 — Aver  dives,  S.,  to-morrow. 

a.,  S.,  adj.  (cf.  jeno),  another,  not 
difi'ering  from  the  simple  aver.  Aver- 
jeno  kind'as  bakren — another  (man) 
bought  sheep. 

avreskero,  K.,  etr anger,  being  the 
gen.  olaver. 

avrival,  a..  S.,  avreval,  M.  W.  (cf. 
val-var),  another  time,  the  second 
time. 

Avgoder,  augoder,  M.  W.,  adv.  (cf.  Gr. 
avgo,  "  the  first "  ;  Hng.  wanting  ; 
Bhm,  avgoder),  formerly. 

Avral,  M.  W.,  adv.  (Gr.  avryal,  Hng. 
avriyal,  Bhm.  wanting),  from  outside. 

Avri,  M.  S.,  adv.  (Gr.,  Hng.,  Bhm.  =  SI.), 
out.  It  is  frequently  composed  with 
verbs,  thus  :  jau  avri,  I  go  out ;  sikl'o- 
vav  avri,  I  learn  out,  I  serve  out  my 
time  ;  Lau  avri,  I  take  out.  In  Tu 
dai  mri  shukdr,  hoi  man  avri  ikerd'al, 
the  meaning  of  the  verb  (cf.  ikerau)  is 
not  clear. 

Azh,  S.,  conj.  (Slov.  az).  1.  Till,  until ; 
2.  so  that ;  its  use  being  the  same  as 
in  Slovak. 


REVIEWS.  16' 


EEVIEWS. 


Strmj  Chapters  in  Literature,  Folk-lore,  and  Archceology.     By  W.  E.  A. 
Axon.     J.  Heywood,  London,  1888.    Pp.  xii.,  308. 

The  second  chapter  in  this  interesting  volume  is  on  "  Colour- 
names  amongst  the  English  Gypsies."  It  was  read  as  a  paper  at  the 
Manchester  Meeting  of  the  British  Association  in  1887,  and  deals 
with  the  development  of  the  colour-sense.  Mr.  Axon,  after  a 
statement  of  curious  facts,  arrives  at  the  conclusion  that  "  it  is  clear 
that  there  is  no  relation  between  the  colour  perception  and  the 
colour  nomenclature  of  the  English  Gypsies."  H.  T.  C. 

English  Waiifaring  Life  in  the  Middle  Ages.  By  J.  J.  Jusseeand. 
Translated  into  English  by  Lucy  Toulmin  Smith.  London  :  T. 
Fisher  Unwin,  1889. 

The  statement,  on  p,  17G  of  this  book,  that  the  Gypsy  race 
"  remained  entirely  unknown  in  England  till  the  fifteenth  century," 
and  that  consequently  "  we  have  nothing  to  do  with  it  here,"  precludes 
us  from  making  more  than  a  passing  reference  to  this  admirable 
edition  of  a  very  instructive  work.  Yet  it  is  there  acknowledged  that 
the  Gypsies  are  specially  the  representatives  of  "the  caste  of 
wanderers  "  in  England,  and  the  book  has  much  to  say  of  itinerant 
fiddlers,  jugglers,  and  mountebanks,  all  favourite  Gypsy  occupations. 
The  tinkers  referred  to  on  p.  232  must  midoubtedly  have  been  Gypsies, 
but  their  date  is  subsequent  to  the  above  limit.  However,  since  the 
fifteenth  century  is  as  yet  the  earliest  recorded  date  for  the  appear- 
ance of  Gypsies  (under  that  name)  in  England,  we  must  assume  that 
none  of  those  mediaeval  nomads  were  Gypsies. 

The  Quarter's  Eecord. 

Nothing  connected  with  Gypsy  study,  during  the  past  three 
months,  has  been  of  such  interest  to  this  Society  as  the  movement  of 
sympathy  and  affiliation  evinced  by  various  kindred  associations. 
We  have  learned  of  the  formation  in  Budapest  of  a  Folk-Lore  Society, 
having  "  Gypsy  Lore  "  as  one  of  its  special  departments ;  and  nowhere 
else  can  the  subject  be  studied  to  greater  advantage,  or  with  more 
zeal  and  scholarship.  The  deep  interest  in  Gypsiology  that  is  taken 
by  the  savants  of  Budapest  and  throughout  Austria-Hungary,  is  a 
thing  beyond   question,  as,  indeed,  our  President's   letter  testifies. 


168  KEVIEWS. 

We  hail  with  pleasure  the  appearance  of  this  new  Society,  and  espe- 
cially the  establishment  of  its  "  Gypsy  "  section.  This  latter,  through 
the  medium  of  Professor  Herrmann,  invites  the  co-operation  of  mem- 
bers of  our  own  Society ;  and  there  is  every  prospect  that  each  will 
prove  of  marked  benefit  to  the  other  in  their  common  study. 

What  we  think  may  be  regarded  as  a  similar  movement  has  been 
initiated  in  France  by  M.  Paul  Sebillot,  of  the  SocUU  des  Traditions 
Populaircs.  In  the  December  number  of  the  Revue  of  that  Society,  he 
calls  the  attention  of  his  fellow-members  to  the  existence  of  this 
Association ;  and  he,  very  happily,  gives  them  a  "  lead "  with  two 
pages  of  his  own  Notes  sur  les  BoMmiens,  which  form  an  appreciable 
addition  to  the  sum  of  our  knowledge.^  Now  that  the  attention 
of  French  folk-lorists  has  been  drawn  to  the  subject,  there  is  good 
reason  for  believing  that  this  article  is  but  the  precursor  of  many 
others  of  the  kind.  Although  France  seems  now-a-days  to  be  very 
barren  of  Gypsies  in  its  central  and  northern  parts,  it  was  not 
always  so,  and  much  can  yet  be  gleaned  from  popular  references 
and  traditions  respecting  them.  There  must  be  many  references  to 
Gypsies  in  local  records,  as  well  as  in  documents  better  known  to 
history ;  and  in  many  parts  of  France  the  race  and  its  language  can 
be  studied  any  day. 

It  is  also  encouraging  to  record  that  at  last  session  of  the  Heal 
Academia  de  la  Historia  in  Madrid,  the  question  of  joining  the  mem- 
bership of  our  Society  was  decided  in  the  affirmative.  Spain  offers 
so  rich  a  field  for  the  study  of  Gypsiology  that  we  may  already  con- 
gratulate ourselves  on  this  decision  of  the  Koyal  Academy. 

Certainly  not  the  least  important  of  the  quarter's  events  is  the 
connection  established  with  the  Folk-Lore  Society,  from  which  the 
happiest  results  may  be  predicted.  Our  interchange  with  the  Journal 
of  American  Folk-Lore  is  also  a  matter  for  congratulation ;  and  we 
cordially  echo  the  wish,  expressed  in  the  last  number  of  that  Journal, 
"  that  this  Society  may  find  many  friends  in  the  United  States." 

1  M.  Sebillot  gives  several  local  terms  for  "  Gypsy,"  of  whicli  the  most  frequent  is 
"  Bohemien,"  variously  modified.  The  Burgundian  "  Gyptien  "  is  almost  identical  with  the 
English  "Gyptian."  In  Languedoc,  as  in  Roussillon,  the  Spanish  "Gitano"  is  used.  But 
Juhccien,  C'aumaro,  Catin,  and  Sairradin  provoke  further  inquiry.  The  last  may  be  only 
a  modification  of  Sarrasin,  once  a  French  term  for  a  Gypsy.  A  caste  of  Chai'guerauds,  who 
form  the  population  of  a  small  village  in  the  Roannais  district,  and  who  are  alleged  to  be 
of  Gypsy  descent,  and  to  have  the  power  of  casting  spells,  would  no  doubt  yield  something 
to  an  investigator.  Another  addition  to  the  many  legends  connecting  Gypsies  with  the 
life  of  Christ  is  that  which  permits  the  Gypsies  to  steal  five  sous  every  day,  "because  a 
Gypsy  woman  hid  the  child  Jesus  in  her  basket  at  the  time  of  Herod's  proscription."  Several 
popular  proverbs  and  sayings  relative  to  Gypsies  are  dra\vn  from  varioxxs  parts  of  France,  the 
most  striking  of  which  is  this  one  of  the  seventeenth  century  :  "The  Gypsy  woman  tells  the 
fortune  of  other  people,  and  the  poor  wretch  doesn't  know  her  own." 


NOTES    AND    QUERIES.  169 

NOTES  AND  QUEEIES. 
I. 

Uniformity  of  ORTiioGRArHY. 

We  have  been  favoured  by  Dr.  Kopernicki  with  the  following  remarks,  in 
answer  to  a  request  for  his  opinion  upon  this  subject : — 

"  Uniformity  of  orthography  in  the  transcription  of  Gypsy  texts  is  beyond  ques- 
tion an  urgent  necessity,  and  of  primary  importance,  in  the  study  of  the  various 
Gypsy  dialects.  I  therefore  warmly  applaud  the  remarks  of  Mr.  Crofton,  who  has 
just  raised  this  important  question  as  one  deserving  immediate  discussion.  So  far 
as  I  myself  am  concerned,  Ijeing  nothing  more  than  a  faithful  cojiyist  of  this 
interesting  language,  and  not  having  any  scientific  knowledge  in  linguistic  matters, 
I  would  never  presume  to  speak  as  a  leading  authority  in  this  question,  so  difficult 
to  solve, — although  really  only  difficult  in  appearance.  In  my  opinion,  Miklosich's 
orthography  is  the  one  which  conforms  best  with  all  the  dialects,  and  which  would 
only  demand  a  few  insignificant  signs  for  the  expression  of  purely  local  deviations 
from  the  principal  dialects." 

Dr.  Kopernicki  then  subjoins  a  list  which  clearly  indicates  "  the  orthography 
adopted  for  my  Polish-Gypsy  texts,  which  is  essentially  that  of  Miklosich,  with 
certain  additional  modifications,  rendered  indispensable  by  the  phonetic  peculiarity 
of  this  dialect."  "  These  are  all  the  sounds  of  the  Polish  dialect  of  Gypsy,  and 
apparently  of  all  the  others.  There  is  absolutely  nothing  wanting  for  the  most  dis- 
tinct and  faithful  expression  of  every  special  sound,  without  the  least  confusion  or 
ambiguity.  I  find  it  therefore  completely  adapted  to  this  language."  The  total 
number  of  the  signs  employed  by  Dr.  Kopernicki  is  fifty.  As  Miklosich's  system 
is  familiar  to  most  of  our  members,  it  is  unnecessary  to  reproduce  his  symbols 
here.  Moreover,  there  are  obvious  reasons  against  our  employing  a  certain  typo- 
graphy, until  we  have  ascertained  that  there  are  no  serious  objections  to  be  urged 
against  it.  The  desirability  of  a  uniform  orthographical  system,  and  the  necessity 
for  fixing  upon  such  a  system  at  the  earliest  possible  date,  must  be  fully  recognised 
by  all  members.  It  is  clear  that  the  one  to  be  adopted  is  that  which  combines 
simplicity  with  exact  orthoepy  ;  and  no  better  form  than  Miklosich's  has  yet 
been  offered  to  us.  Certain  concessions  must,  in  any  case,  be  made  by  those  who 
have  previously  followed  other  princii^les  ;  but  this  offers  no  real  obstacle  to  the 
adoption  of  such  an  orthography  as  Miklosich's. 

It  is  important  that  this  question  should  be  settled  soon,  as,  until  it  is  settled 
we  cannot  print  Romani  text  to  any  extent.  We  therefore  invite  other  members 
to  favour  us  with  their  opinions  on  this  question,  before  the  issue  of  our  April 
number. — [Ed.] 


Etymology  of  "  Gurko." 


Can  any  one  assist  me  in  ascertaining  the  etymology  of  the  word  "  Gurko  "  ? 
Pott  and  several  other  authors  say  that  it  is  derived  from  the  Greek  kyrie,  "  Lord" ; 
but  this  could  only  be  positively  admitted  had  the  Gypsies  been  converted  from 
heathenism  or  Buddhism  to  the  Greek  orthodox  Christian  fiiith.  And  history 
surely  does  not  bear  out  this  surmise. 

In  their  migrations  or  exodus,  had  the  Gypsies  no  other  word  for  "holy-day" 
except  this  Greek  word  just  quoted  ?  Since  they  said,  in  their  own  language, 
U  Rai  and  Devel  for  "  Lord  "  and  "  God,"  why  should  they  not  have  expressed 
"  the  Lord's  Day  "  by  o  Raieslccro  or  o  Develeskero  dives  ? 

A  positive  and  convincing  solution  of  the  etymology  of  this  word  "Gurko"  would 
throw  much  light  upon  the  question  of  the  original  religious  belief  of  the  Gypsies. 

J.  PiNCHERLE. 

VOL.  I. — NO.  III.  M 


170  NOTES   AND    QUERIES. 

3. 

"  SiMO." 

In  his  interesting  paper  on  the  "  Dialect  of  the  Gypsies  of  Brazil,"  in  the  last 
number  of  the  Journal,  Professor  von  Sowa  says,  on  page  69,  "' Simo  [Moraes 
translates  it  by  fiq^iei,  '  I  remained.'  I  am  in  doubt  about  the  meaning  of  that 
word.]"  Is  it  not  the  Spanish  Gypsy  "  Sinar,  v.  n.  '  To  be.'  Ser,  Estar  "  (Borrow, 
The  Zincali,  ii.  107)?  This  would  give  a  good  sense  in  both  the  verses  in  which 
the  word  occurs.     If  so,  fiquci  should  rather  be  sou  or  estou. 

Herbert  W.  Greene. 


A  Peculiarity  of  Gypsy  Utterance. 

In  The  Zincali  (Lond.  1841,  vol.  i.)  Borrow  quotes  "Alonso"  (the  novel 
"  composed  by  the  Doctor  Gerdnimo  de  Alcala,  native  of  the  city  of  Segovia,  who 
flourished  about  the  commencement  of  the  seventeenth  century"),  and  in  this  story 
the  hero,  recounting  his  falling  into  the  hands  of  the  Gitanos,  says  (p.  88)  :  "  Then 
one  of  them,  lisping  a  little,  after  the  Gitdno  fashion,  told  me  that  I  must  "go  with 
them  to  their  encampment  to  speak  to  my  lord  the  Conde." 

Is  there  any  other  writer  who  has  any  remark  corroborating  this  "  lisping  a  little, 
after  the  Gitano  fashion  "  ?  David  MacRitchie. 


Gypsies  of  Oudh. 


The  following  extract  is  from  a  letter  received  from  Archibald  Constable,  of  the 
Oude  and  Rohilkund  Railway  Company's  service,  dated  Lucknow,  14th  July 
1888  :— 

"  I  enclose  a  list  showing  how  I  have  disposed  of  the  "  Gypsy  Lore  "  prospectuses 
you  sent  me.  Seven  is  a  lucky  number  with  the  Indian  Gypsies,  the  Nats,  or 
Barnes,  as  they  are  called  in  Oudh.  All  this  part  of  India  is  a  happy  hunting-ground 
for  these  and  other  allied  tribes,  who,  alas  !  are  ranked  among  the  criminal  tribes, 
and  under  an  Act  of  the  Indian  Legislature  are  compelled  to  '  move  on,'  and  are 
not  allowed  to  camp  for  any  length  of  time  in  one  village.  Many  a  pleasant  hour  I 
have  spent  talking  to  these  interesting  people  ;  and  if  any  of  the  members  of  the 
Society  come  to  these  parts,  I  '11  put  them  in  the  way  of  collecting  a  good  deal  of 
Gypsy  lore,  viva  voce.  Please  send  me  seven  copies  more  of  the  prospectus,  and 
I  '11  do  what  I  can  to  still  further  judiciously  distribute  them."  .  .  .  Further  on  in 
the  same  letter — indeed  at  its  twentieth  page — my  correspondent  adds  a  postscript, 
which  begins  thus  : — "  Twenty  is  an  unlucky  number  with  Indian  Gypsies,  so  I  go 
on  to  add,"  etc.,  etc.  Archibald  Constable. 


6. 

Mayadds. 

The  Civil  and  Military  Gazette,  January  1882,  alludes  to  a  wandering  tribe 
which  had  caused  some  curiosity  in  Madras,  and  which,  it  was  thought,  might 
be  identified  with  a  singular  class  of  Gypsies  known  by  the  name  of  Mayadds,  who 
visited  Lahore  in  1868,  and  a  curious  and  interesting  account  of  whom  is  published 
in  a  memorandum  written  by  Dr.  Leitner,  and  printed  by  the  Punjaub  Government. 


NOTES   AND    QUERIES.  171 

"  In  that  year  a  large  crowd  of  them  arrived  on  foot  and  in  carts  from  Afghanistan, 
and  encamped  for  some  little  time  in  this  place.  They  spoke  a  peculiar  jargon 
amongst  them.selves,  thougli,  when  within  earshot  of  Europeans  and  Indians,  they 
spoke  Persian.  At  first  it  seems  that  there  was  a  difficulty  in  identifying  even 
their  place  of  abode,  but  officers  from  various  parts  of  India  affirmed  that  the  noisy 
and  quarrelsome  strangers  were  in  the  way  of  passing  periodically  between  this 
country  [India]  and  Central  Asia,  and  that  they  had  an  unpleasant  habit  of  looting 
villages  on  their  route.  The  Mayadds  were  always  armed  on  reaching  the  Indian 
frontier,  a  fact  for  which  they  accounted  by  saying  that  they  were  Shiahs,  whom,  as 
every  one  knows,  their  Sunni  co-religionists  sometimes  manage  to  sell  as  slaves. 
'  When,'  says  Dr.  Leitner,  '  I  visited  their  encampment,  their  frantic  gesticulations, 
and  the  hurling  of  children  by  one  woman  to  another  to  emphasise  her  rage, 
reminded  me  of  a  scene  recorded  in  my  account  of  the  Gypsies  of  Turkey,  .  .  ,  when 
a  case  was  decided  in  favour  of  that  side  in  a  tribal  contention  which  could  dance 
most  obscenely,  and  use  the  strongest  expressions  whilst  advocating  their  own 
cause.'  Others  of  the  same  tribe  appear  to  have  visited  Lahore  in  1870.  Their 
Central  Asiatic  home  is  said  to  be  Khorasan,  and  it  seems  that  their  journey  from 
one  country  to  the  other  and  back  extends  over  many  years.  A  partial  vocabulary 
of  the  dialect  of  thieves'  Latin  used  by  the  Mayadds  has,  we  believe,  been  compiled 
by  Dr.  Leitner." 


7- 

AUSTEO-HUNGARIAN   ITEMS. 

(a)    Gypsies  of   the   Austrian   Alps. 
(From  the  Saturday  Review  of  3d  November  1888.) 

The  Alpine  Gypsy  also  differs  in  many  respects  from  all  others,  [i.e.,  beggars, 
vagrants,  etc.],  but  his  is  a  case  of  degeneration  rather  than  development.  Formerly 
large  troops  used  to  wander  to  and  fro,  and  encamp  before  the  various  villages. 
They  were  the  best  of  tinkers  and  coppersmiths,  and  also  made  money  by  horse- 
dealing,  as  well  as  by  theft  and  fortune-telling.  They  were  noted  musicians,  and 
the  villagers  listened  gladly  and  danced  wildly  to  their  strange  tunes.  That  was 
the  golden  age  of  Gypsy  life  in  Austria  :  liberal  institutions  have  done  away  with 
it.  In  many  provinces  laws  have  been  passed  which  exclude  all  Gyjisies  that 
come  from  without.  The  few  who  have  been  born  in  the  province  or  have  a  right 
of  dwelling  within  it  are  still  allowed  to  wander  about  as  they  wUl  ;  but  every 
man's  eye  is  upon  and  every  man's  hand  against  them,  and  they  themselves,  have  a 
sharp  eye  and  ready  hand  for  the  stray  duck  or  chicken,  though  they  prefer 
badgers,  otters,  and  game  of  all  kinds.  Perhaps  their  fingers  sometimes  grasp 
property  of  greater  value.  They  wander  about  in  small  bands,  and  do  nothing 
but  play  music,  which  is  no  longer  what  it  was,  or  still  is  in  Hungary  and  Spain. 
Now  and  then  a  few  bands  meet ;  then  there  is  a  little  dancing,  and  perhaps  an 
acrobatic  performance.  But  they  always  look  cheerless  and  desolate.  The  glory 
is  departed,  and  they  know  it. 

Yet  even  in  this  degraded  condition  the  charm  of  the  Gypsy  girls  asserts  itself, 
and  stories  are  still  told  of  men  who  have  thrown  up  their  positions  and  abandoned 
alike  their  interests  and  their  honour  for  the  love  of  such  women.  It  would  be 
wrong  to  give  any  of  these,  as  persons  still  living  might  be  hurt  by  the  disclosure, 
and,  besides,  it  is  difficult  to  verify  them  ;  but  here  is  one  of  an  earlier  date— the 
events  happened  before  1848 — which  we  have  from  the  lips  of  a  person  who  was 
intimate  with  all  the  non-Gypsy  characters  and  present  at  the  turning-point  of  the 
story.  The  tale  has  also  been  told  us  by  others,  but  in  a  more  fragmentary  form. 
We  omit  names,  for  the  reason  already  mentioned. 


172  NOTES    AND    QUERIES. 

The  proprietor  of  a  large  estate  and  an  important  iron  foundry  was  an  elderly 
man.  His  first  wife  had  died  without  leaving  him  any  children,  and  he  married  a 
young  girl  of  great  beauty  and  amiability,  but  small  fortune.  By  the  marriage- 
contract  the  survivor  was  to  inherit  the  whole  property  in  case  there  were  no  chil- 
dren.    A  young  man  of  the  name  of  W was  the  overseer  of  the  foundry,  and 

lived  in  the  house.  During  an  inundation  the  proprietor  was  engaged  with  every 
one  near  in  doing  what  could  be  done  to  save  the  lives  and  property  of  his  neigh- 
bours, when  he  unfortunately  stepped  upon  a  caving  bank,  which  gave  way  beneath 
him.  He  was  drawn  out  of  the  brook  almost  at  once,  but  not  before  a  large  log, 
borne  down  by  the  torrent,  had  struck  his  head  so  heavily  that  he  died  almost 
immediately,  without  recovering   consciousness.      The  widow  placed   the  whole 

management  of  her  affairs  in  W 's  hands,  and  he  executed  the  trust  with  the 

greatest  honesty,  prudence,  and  skill.  She  was  young  and  blonde  ;  he,  dark,  slender, 
and  of  polished  manners.  He  was  very  careful  about  his  dress  and  the  furniture 
of  his  rooms,  and  spent  what  his  neighbours  thought  a  good  deal  of  money  upon 
them  ;  but  in  other  respects  he  was  by  no  means  extravagant.  In  a  few  years  he 
had  gained  the  respect  and  confidence  of  the  whole  district,  and  everybody — the 
widow  included— thought  that  the  business  engagement  would  end  in  a  marriage. 
One  day  he  was  obliged  to  drive  to  a  neighbouring  village  on  business,  and  there 
met  several  friends,  among  whom  was  our  informant.  On  their  way  to  the  inn 
they  stopped  to  watch  the  performance  of  a  band  of  Gypsies,  among  whom  there 
was  a  very  pretty  girl,  with  curly  black  hair,  a  complexion  remarkably  clear  and  a 
shade  or  two  lighter  than  that  of  her  companions,  and  jet  black  eyes  that  "  flamed 
and  flimmered."     Her  form  was  perfectly  rounded  and  fully  developed,  yet  she 

seemed  to  be  very  young.     When  they  were  in  the  inn,  W took  no  part  in  the 

conversation  ;  he  laid  his  head  on  his  hand,  and  only  replied  to  questions  in  mono- 
syllables. After  a  while  he  suddenly  ordered  his  carriage  and  drove  oft".  Those 
who  remained  were  struck  by  his  manner,  and  questioned  each  other  as  to  whether 
anyone  had  oftended  him.  On  the  following  morning  the  Gypsies  left  for  a  neigh- 
bouring town.    W drove  home,  made  up  his  accounts  with  the  greatest  accuracy, 

and  said  he  must  go  to  the  place  which  was  the  Gypsies'  destination  on  the  follow- 
ing day.  He  neither  drew  his  salary  nor  said  anything  about  his  furniture,  but  he 
took  a  large  chest  with  him.  This  he  had  unloaded  next  day  at  a  small  inn,  sent 
the  carriage  back,  and  never  returned.  After  some  days  the  widow  became  anxious 
and  made  inquiries  about  him,  but  could  only  learn  the  facts  above  given,  and  it 
was  impossible  to  employ  the  police,  as  no  crime  had  been  committed.     For  some 

time  reports  came  that  W had  been  seen  acting  with  a  Gypsy  company  in 

various  distant  places.  Three  years  after  his  flight  a  dead  body  was  found  in  a 
charcoal-burner's  hut  on  the  mountains,  near  the  place  where  his  first  meeting  with 
the  Gypsies  occurred.  The  workmen  said  he  had  come  to  them  in  labourer's  clothes, 
and  asked  for  work  about  half-a-year  before  ;  he  had  done  his  work  well  and  skil- 
fully, but  was  very  reserved,  so  that  nothing  was  known  about  him.    When  the  body 

was  brought  down  it  was  at  once  recognised  as  that  of  W ,  who  was  about  thirty 

years  old  at  the  date  of  his  death. 

If  this  story  stood  alone  it  would  be  hardly  worth  recording.  But  it  does  not 
stand  alone ;  it  is  a  typical  Gypsy  love-story,  and  the  only  one  we  have  had  an 
opportunity  of  verifying.  The  sudden  fascination,  the  ruthless  desertion  of  comfort 
and  duty,  the  long  wanderings,  the  sad  return  of  the  unfortunate  hero  to  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  a  home  over  the  threshold  of  which  he  has  not  courage  to  pass,  and  of  a 
forgiveness  he  does  not  venture  to  claim,  the  lonely  death — all  these  recur  in 
hundreds  of  legends  with  an  almost  wearisome  monotony.  The  above  are  the  facts 
on  which  such  tales  are  founded.  The  expert  tale-teller  would  of  course  alter  them 
to  suit  his  purpose. 

As  to  the  cause  of  the  strange  fascination  which  the  wandering  tribe  seems  to 
possess,  it  is  difficult  to  form  an  opinion.     Nobody  will  be  inclined  to  deny  that 


NOTES   AND    QUERIES.  173 

at  an  early  age  some  Gj^isy  girls  possess  very  unusual  attractions,  and  that  both 
their  beauty  and  their  grace  are  of  a  kind  that  is  likely  to  exercise  a  strong  influence 
on  imaginative  men  of  a  certain  temperament.  But,  as  a  rule,  the  men  of  a  camp  are 
far  better  looking  than  the  women.  Why  do  we  rarely,  if  ever,  hear  of  wives  or 
maidens,  of  whatever  class,  abandoning  everything  for  the  sake  of  such  a  man  ? 
Stories  of  children  of  both  sexes  being  stolen  are  of  course  common  enough,  and  in 
the  Danubian  principalities  a  few  legends  are  current  of  noble  ladies  who  have  left 
their  homes  to  join  a  troop,  but  in  the  latter  case  it  is  almost  always  an  old  woman 
who  lures  the  heroine  away. 

(b)  Oath  by  Bread  and  Salt. 

In  Pester  Lloyd,  1st  July,  1881,  the  following  anecdote  appeared  : — In  the 
neighbourhood  of  Eakos  Palota  there  was  an  interesting  scene  enacted  yesterday 
forenoon  amongst  a  camp  of  Gypsies.  A  Gypsy  who  had  lost  his  cash  informed 
his  leader  of  the  fact,  who  summoned  the  elders  of  the  camp  to  a  council,  after 
which  he  gave  notice  at  the  top  of  his  voice  that  whoever  had  stolen  the  money 
must  at  once  restore  it.  As,  however,  his  challenge  had  not  the  desired  effect,  the 
chief  took  two  poles  which  he  bound  together  in  the  form  of  a  cross,  and  fixed  one 
end  in  the  ground.  On  the  top  of  the  cross  he  then  fastened  a  piece  of  bread,  and 
sprinkled  it  with  salt,  and  upon  this  those  present  were  directed  to  swear  one  by 
one  that  they  had  not  committed  the  theft.  One  by  one  the  members  knelt  before 
the  cross,  and  took  the  oath,  till  the  last  member  of  the  band — an  old  woman — as 
she  was  about  to  take  the  oath  turned  pale,  put  her  hand  in  her  pocket,  and 
brought  out  the  stolen  money.  By  way  of  punishment  she  was  then  and  there 
soundly  beaten  and  kicked  out. 

(c)  BarvaljS  Romane. 

The  Minister  of  the  Interior,  says  the  Vienna  correspondent  of  the  Daily  Tele- 
grajjh,  has  issued  a  decree  in  virtue  of  which  the  nomad  life  led  by  the  Gypsies  will 
henceforth  be  subject  to  legal  restrictions.  Itinerant  Gypsy  bands  will  no  longer 
be  permitted  to  go  about  from  town  to  town  and  from  village  to  village.  In  future, 
wherever  they  turn  up  they  will  be  called  upon  to  give  an  account  of  themselves, 
and  should  it  be  ascertained  that  they  have  come  from  the  East  they  are  to  be 
turned  back  under  gendarme  escort.  On  such  occasions  all  expense  entailed  by 
their  transport  is  to  be  defrayed  by  themselves,  and  should  they  be  insolvent  their 
live  stock  and  chattels  are  to  be  sold  by  auction.  The  itinerant  Gypsy  of  Austria 
and  Bohemia  is  of  doubtful  honesty,  whereas  his  brother  in  Hungary  is  hardwork- 
ing and  inoffensive.  A  case  recently  came  to  my  knowledge  of  a  Hungarian  Gypsy 
horse-dealer  employing  an  English  governess  for  his  daughters,  who  were  receiving 
an  excellent  education,  while  his  son  was  an  officer  in  the  Roumanian  army. — 
Dundee  Evening  Telegraph,  29th  Oct.  1888. 

(d)  Two  Famous  Gypsy  Musicians. 

On  the  afternoon  of  30th  October  last,  the  Central  Cemetery  at  Budapest  was, 
says  a  Moravian  paper,  the  scene  of  a  remarkable  spectacle.  "  The  INIagnates'  Club 
had  erected  a  monument  to  the  Gypsy  violinist  Berkes,  bearing  the  inscription 
The  Magnates'  Club  to  its  favourite  leader,'  which  was  this  day  unveiled.  ISIany 
hundred  Gypsies,  having  their  instruments  with  them,  were  present  at  the  solemn 
function.  First  of  all,  a  venerable  player  (not  himself  a  Gypsy,  says  another  paper) 
delivei-ed  an  impressive  oration,  after  which  a  chorale  was  sung  by  the  choir  of  the 
Volkslheater,  and  then  the  diverse  bands  of  listening  Gypsies  simultaneously  seized 
their  instruments  and  played  Berkes'  favourite  air  in  a  way  which  moved  all  to 
tears.  They  then  repaired  to  the  neighbouring  grave  of  Racz  Pali,  where  they  also 
played  in  the  most  touching  manner  the  melody  he  had  most  loved.     In  spite  of 


174  NOTES   AND   QUERIES. 

the  gathering  dusk,  and  of  the  fact  that  they  were  quite  unprepared,  the  concerted 
playing  of  these  many  hundred  musicians  was  most  highly  effective." 

This  ceremony  has  been  noticed  by  many  English  journals,  one  of  which  {Man- 
chester Guardian,  2d  November)  adds  the  information  that  Berkes  Lajos  died  in 
February  1885,  at  the  age  of  48  ;  and  that  his  son,  "  who  conducts  his  father's 
band,  is  the  same  Gypsy  who  played  at  Gorgeny  Szent  Imre,  in  Transylvania, 
before  the  Crown  Prince  Rudolph  and  the  Prmce  of  Wales."  The  Newcastle 
Daily  Chronicle  (2d  November)  devotes  a  leader  to  the  affair,  and  makes  the  addi- 
tional statement  that  Berkes  Lajos  was  "  the  head  or  '  Primate '  of  all  the 
Hungarian  Zigeuners  "  (which  perhaps  is  based  on  nothing  more  than  a  too-liberal 
interpretation  of  "  Primas  "). 


8. 

An  American  Gypsy's  Letter. 

[Professor  Knapp  sends  us  the  following  letter,— a  copy  of  one  which  he 
received  from  a  local  Gypsy.  The  writer  is  a  man  of  fair  education,  and  had 
replied,  through  the  medium  of  the  newspapers,  to  some  remarks  which  Dr.  Knapp 
had  just  made,  in  a  lecture  on  "  The  History  of  the  Gypsies."  This  led  to  an  inter- 
view, and  finally  to  the  letter  now  given.  The  Romani  sentences  are  in  the 
"  broken  dialect "  commonly  used  by  modern  English  Gypsies.] 

"  201  George  St.,  New  Haven, 
30th  Mar.  '88. 
"  To  Professor  Knapp,  etc.,  etc. 

"  Dear  Sir,— I  leave  the  MS.  of  which  I  spoke,  but  with  faint  hope  of  its  being 
worth  anything.  [It  was  too  gorgious].  Have  you  any  influence  with  the  ladies 
or  gentlemen  who  are  organizing  the  Easter  Carnival  to  be  held  at  the  State  House 
next  week  ?  If  you  have,  will  you  please  say  a  kind  Word  for  us  in  order  that  my 
wife  may  have  her  tent  there.  (I  see  they  advertise  a  '  Gypsy  Camp '  as  one  of  tlie 
attractions).  .  .  .  Mandi'l  kekka  mong,  mandi's  palala,  mandi  pooches  for  bootsey. 
Mandi's  trin  chavers  &  rom  [roumi]  are  adrey  de  kave  &  kek  lover  to  lell  hobben. 
It  doesn't  seem  so  hard  to  say  this  if  I  say  it  in  Romanys,  but  now  you  will  know 
how  glad  and  thankful  I  will  be  if  she  can  get  an  engagement  for  next  week. 

"The  Museum  [where  they  had  a  tent]  is  kek  cooshter,  and  the  dearie  Duvle 
jins  its  too  Tshill  adres  de  tan  for  de  chavers.  I  have  done  my  best  to  lell  bootsey, 
but  they'll  kekka  lell  a  Romany  chal.  — I  am.  Sir,  yours  truly,       Sidney  Gray." 


9. 

Coronation  Ceremony  in  Ohio. 


One  of  the  most  picturesque  ceremonies  of  Gypsy  lil'e  has  just  taken  jjlace  near 
Dayton,  Ohio.  This  ceremony  consisted  of  the  coronation  of  Matilda  ii.  as  Queen 
of  the  American  Gypsies.  The  Gypsies  in  this  country,  says  a  Telegraph  corre- 
spondent, have  been  controlled  for  many  years  by  four  families,  the  Stanleys ^ 
Coopers,  Harrisons,  and  Jeffreys.  These  families  came  here  from  England  in  1859. 
Stanley,  known  as  Sugar  Stanley,  the  principal  member  of  the  first-mentioned 
family,  was  made  king  of  all  the  tribes.  At  his  death  his  daughter  Hagar  became 
Queen.  Dying  in  1874,  she  was  succeeded  by  her  sister,  who  was  proclaimed 
Matilda  i.,  but  she  only  lived  to  reign  six  years.  The  succession  fell  to  Jeanuette, 
granddaughter  of  King  Sugar,  who  is  succeeded  by  Matilda,  another  granddaughter 


NOTES    AND   QUERIES.  175 

of  King  Sugar  Stanley,  whose  succession  is  now  being  celebrated.  She  is  only 
seventeen  years  old,  is  5  feet  7  inches  in  height,  has  a  graceful  figure,  and  is  a  very 
interesting  personage.  At  her  coronation  she  wore  a  red  silk  dress  ;  her  hair  hun 
down  loosely  behind,  gathered  in  the  centre  with  a  crimson  ribbon,  which  set  off  her 
dark  brown  hair.  Queen  Matilda  is  the  absolute  ruler  of  all  the  Komany  tribes  in 
America  :  her  decrees  must  absolutely  be  obeyed  without  question. — Ayrshire 
Argus,  2d  Nov.  1888. 


(!■ 


10. 

"  Working  the  Planet." 


Under  the  above  heading,  the  following  paragraph  appeared  in  a  recent  news- 
paper. It  only  adds  one  more  to  the  long  list  of  examples  of  Gypsy  hukaben.  "  A 
domestic  servant  of  Park  Road,  Hampstead,  was  charged  at  the  Marylebone  Police 
Court  yesterday  with  stealing  a  gold  watch,  a  chain,  a  brooch,  etc.,  worth  £10,  the 
property  of  ^liss  Agnes  Battenbury.  The  prosecutrix  said  that  the  prisoner  had 
been  in  the  service  of  her  sister,  with  whom  she  (the  prosecutrix)  was  residing.  On 
Thursday  last  she  missed  her  Avatch  from  her  dressing-table.  It  was  worth  .£3  or 
£A.  On  the  following  Saturday  she  missed  a  necklet  set  with  jewels,  a  gold 
brooch,  and  a  ring.  They  were  safe  on  the  previous  Sunday  week.  She  went  to 
the  police,  and  a  detective  came  to  the  house  and  questioned  the  prisoner.  She 
said  a  Gypsy  woman  had  come  round  five  or  six  times,  and  she  had  given  her  her 
own  things,  and  then  she  had  taken  prosecutrix's  and  given  them  to  the  Gypsy. 
Detective-Sergeant  Fleming  said  he  went  to  the  house  in  Park  Road  and  saw  the 
prisoner,  who  cried,  and  said  her  best  friend  had  called  on  her  on  Wednesday  last. 
He  asked  who  her  friend  was,  and  she  replied  the  woman  who  goes  about  with  a 
caravan.  The  woman  told  ln-r  she  could  tell  her  fortune,  so  she  (prisoner)  gave  her 
a  dress  and  petticoat.  The  Gypsy  told  her  that  that  was  not  sufficient  to  work  the 
planet,  and  asked  for  something  more  valuable.  She  then  gave  her  her  mistress's 
gold  watch,  necklet,  and  brooch,  and  the  woman  promised  to  return  them  when  she 
had  shown  them  to  the  astronomer  in  Camden  Town.    The  prisoner  was  remanded." 


II. 

A  Scottish  Gypsy  Fray. 


In  Robert  Wilson's  Sketch  of  the  History  of  Hawick  (Hawick,  1825)  the  follow- 
ing passage  occurs  on  p.  74  : — "Another  disgraceful  afl:ray  took  place  at  the  Winter 
Fair  of  this  town,  somewhere  about  eighty  years  ago.  Two  parties  of  Gypsies  and 
tinkers  had  pitched  their  tents  on  the  Common  Haugh,  and  were  busy  in  mending 
bellows,  clouting  caldrons,  and  drinking  whisky.  A  dispute  arose  between  two  of 
the  men  respecting  the  right  of  property  to  a  frail  sister,  who  had,  it  appears,  con- 
ferred favours  on  both.  The  high  words  of  the  disputants  soon  arranged  the  Loch- 
mabenites  and  Yetholmites  in  array  of  battle.  Words  were  succeeded  by  blows, 
and  male  and  female  savages  mingled  with  equal  valour  and  ferocity  in  the  fight  ; 
while  the  lady,  who,  like  another  Helen,  had  originated  the  strife,  Avas  taken  ami 
retaken  several  times.  The  magistrates,  with  their  officers  and  constables,  al 
length  came  upon  the  ground,  and  separated  the  rioters,  but  not  before  two  of  them 
had  been  so  cut  and  mauled  that  tliey  died  in  the  course  of  the  evening.  Three  or 
four  of  these  wretches  were  put  into  the  stocks  in  the  old  jail  of  the  town,  previous 
to  their  being  sent  to  Jedburgh,  among  Avhom  were  the  fair  Cyprian  and  one  of  her 
paramours.  On  lodging  the  party  in  prison,  one  of  the  bailies,  it  is  said,  seemed 
to  feel  much  for  the  poor  girl,  and  spake  to  her  thus  :  '  My  woman,  it 's  a  pity  ye 


176  NOTES   AND    QUERIES. 

shou'd  follow  sic  a  trade,  or  keep  sic  company  ;  ye  liae  a  face  and  a  form  that  might 
grace  ony  honest  man's  table— and  as  I  understand  little  thing  can  be  brought  against 
you  o'  this  day's  mischief,  I  wad  advise  ye  to  leave  thae  tinkler  loons,  ane  and  a'  o' 
them,  an'  gang  to  service.  There 's  nae  saying  what  a  bonny  face  like  yours  may 
do  for  its  owner.'  The  bailie  was  a  believer  in  the  story  of  Cinderella." — This  is,  of 
course,  the  battle  at  Hawick  Bridge  in  1772  or  1773,  of  which  a  full  account  is  given 
in  Mr.  Simson's  History  of  the  Gypsies,  pp.  189-93. 


12. 

Surrey  Gypsies. 


Croydon,  May  29. — Thomas  Cuffley  was  summoned  before  the  Borough 
Justices  for  not  abating  a  nuisance  in  a  yard  belonging  to  him  at  Handcroft  Road. 
Dr.  Philpot  had  inspected  the  place  for  the  Corporation,  and  found  seven  caravans 
and  two  tents.  The  Sanitary  Committee  required  the  yard  to  be  paved,  and  did 
not  wish  to  encourage  the  Gypsy  people  in  the  neighbourhood.  The  horses  were 
always  walking  about,  being  let  loose  in  the  morning  and  evening.  The  owner 
explained  that  he  could  not  get  rid  of  the  Gypsies,  as  he  did  not  know  Avhere  to 
find  them.  They  would  not  be  back  until  the  end  of  August,  as  they  were  away 
for  the  fruit  season.  The  case  was  adjourned  till  June  19th,  to  see  if  the  owner 
could  get  rid  of  his  absentee  tenants. — Croydon  Ga-^ctte,  June  2,  1888. 


13. 
? 

A  Gypsy  Heirloom. 
To  the  Editor  of  the  Examiner  and  Times. 

Sir, — The  enclosed  is  interesting,  as  you  will  see,  and  will  help  to  clear  up 
some  historical  matters  relating  to  Gypsy  life,  and  it  will  also  be  of  much  value  to 
me  in  my  work  for  the  Gypsy  and  van  children,  and  the  pressing  forward  of  the 
bills  I  have  in  hand.     With  many  thanks  for  past  help,  yours,  etc., 

George  Smith,  of  Coalville. 

The  Cabin,  Crick,  Rugby,  Nov.  23. 

This  is  to  certify  that  the  small  symbolical  and  mystical  copper  and  brass  box, 
bearing  the  name  "  Right  Doar  Lee,"  engraved  and  dated  one  thousand  one  hundred 
and  ninety-seven,  I  have  in  my  possession — now  sold  to  George  Smith,  of  Coalville, 
The  Cabin,  Crick,  Rugby,  for  a  nominal  sum,  as  a  token  of  goodwill  for  his  long 
efforts  to  improve  our  condition  and  educate  our  children,  and  also  for  the  many 
kindnesses  received  from  him — is  the  heirloom  of  our  family,  Gypsy  Lees,  and  was 
handed  to  me  by  my  father,  Zachariah  Lee,  over  thirty  years  ago,  and  which  was 
held  by  him  from  his  father  and  ancestors  back  to  the  date  shown  on  the  mystical 
box.  As  witness  my  hand  this  sixteenth  day  of  November,  one  thousand  eight 
hundred  and  eighty-eight.  David  Lee,  his  mark  x 

Witnesses  to  the  above  signature  and  supported  by  them  : — 

James  Lee,  his  mark  x 
William  Lee,  his  mark  x 
Randall  Lee,  his  mark  x 
Alfred  Lee,  his  mark  x 
Edward  Lee,  his  mark  x 
Manchester  Examiner,  26th  November  1888. 


NOTES   AND    QUERIES.  177 

14. 

Dowry  of  an  Exglisii-Gypsy  Bride. 

The  following  paragraph  is  taken  from  the  Edinburgh  Evening  Dispatch  of 
18th  October  1888  : — "A  Gypsy  wedding  took  place  the  other  day  at  Fletton,  near 
Peterborough,  which  excited  great  interest  in  the  neighbourhood,  and  the  church 
was  densely  crowded.  The  contracting  parties  were  respectively  twenty-two  and 
twenty-one  years  of  age,  and  the  bride's  dot  was  £500  in  cash,  and  a  fully  furnished 
caravan  to  live  in." 


15. 

How  TO  Cook  a  Hedgehog. 


{Manchester  City  News,  July  31  1886.) 

Bankfield  House,  Conway  Valley. 
In  answer  to  '"  C.A.J,"  who  wants  to  know  how  hedgehogs  are  cooked,  I  was 
reminded  of  the  following  incident  that  took  place  twenty-three  years  ago.  At  that 
time  I  was  staying  at  the  "Waterloo  Hotel,  Bettws-y-Coed.  In  the  lane  at  the 
back  of  the  hotel  (Beaver  Bridge  end)  one  afternoon,  my  little  terrier  killed  a 
hedgehog,  not  far  from  where  a  Gypsy  tinker  had  his  tent.  It  was  a  favourite 
camping  spot  with  that  tribe.  He  came  up  after  the  fun  was  over,  and  in  con- 
versation said,  "  Hedgehogs  are  splendid  eating  baked  in  clay  or  mud.  Clay  is  the 
best,  but  is  not  always  at  hand.  I'll  just  show  you,"  said  he,  "  how  the  thing  is 
done."  With  that  he  took  out  his  pocket-knife  and  slit  the  hedgehog  open,  and 
drew  the  inside  from  it.  Afterwards  he  got  over  the  wall  into  the  potato  field 
opposite,  and  got  several  handfuls  of  soil,  and  with  a  little  water  mixed  some  road 
gravel  with  it  into  a  thick  mud,  and  rolled  the  hedgehog  up  in  it.  The  process 
reminded  me  of  the  apple  dumplings.  He  said,  "  It  will  take  about  an  hour  to 
bake  it  thorougblv  in  a  good  fire  of  wood.  Afterwards  I  crack  it  all  over  (same  as 
you  do  a  hard  boiled  egg  to  get  the  shell  off),  the  mud,  quills,  and  skin  coming  oS' 
in  one  mass,  leaving  the  hedgepig  beautifully  clean.  Will  you  stop  and  see  me  eat 
it  ? "  I  said  "  No,"  for  sundry  reasons.  I've  not  the  slightest  doubt  he  ate  it. 
He  was  evidently  a  "  man  of  mettle,"  and  didn't  believe  in  doing  things  by  halves. 
With  him  it  was  :  "  The  whole  hocr  or  none."  John  Taylor. 


16. 

A  vSpaxish  Gypsy  Vocabulary. 

The  following  brief  vocabulary  was  taken  down  from  a  (xypsy  model  at  Granada, 
in  1876.  The  words  are  spelt  phonetically,  according  to  the  Spanish  pronunciation 
of  tlie  letters.     All  the  peasantry  thereabouts  constantly  transpose  r  and  /. 

Prajo,  tobacco.  Jamar  (?),  to  eat. 

Llagui,  match.  Llacrai,  eyes. 

Ondever,  God.  Mui,  mouth. 

ChucheUi,  breast.  Nacri,  nose. 

Varon,  dollar.  Ambea,  face. 

Uguaripen,  pretty  (?)•  Vales,  hair. 

Lluro,  mule.  Embastes,  hands. 

Jer,  donkey.  Nicaha  !  get  out  ! 

Matron,  bread.  Nicaha  d  posh,  take  away  life. 


178 


NOTES   AND    QUERIES. 


Gaiji,  Gypsy  girl. 

Camela,  like,  desire. 

Ta,  to. 

Piar,  drink. 

(Jalo,  male  Gypsy  (plur.  raler). 

Eumia,  Gypsy  wife. 

Haji,  go  (imperative). 

Alubias,  beans. 

Relaoras,  potatoes. 

Mor,  wine. 

RepaFii,  handy. 

Estachi,  hat. 

Ran,  stick. 

Gandi,  shirt. 

Jalunis,  breeches. 

Chapires,  shoes. 

Ambea,  jacket. 

Churi,  knife. 

Chinjarar,  a  fight. 

Mnlo,  corpse. 

Tirive,  prison. 


Cangri,  church. 

Chorro,  thief  (plnr.  chorris). 

Ckuguela,  female  thief. 

Martuvillo,  lazy. 

Tasintenga,  matter.     (It  is   part   of   a 

hideous  curse.) 
Chinicro,  handkerchief. 
Jalleris,  money. 
Caler,  quartos  (a  coin). 
Bruji,  real         (do.). 
Liia,  peseta       (do.). 
Varril,  onza      (do.). 
Callardo,  negro. 
Chaborocillo,  baby. 
Lacro,  Spaniard. 
Lumnia,  harlot. 
Quer,  house. 
Orucilla  girl. 
Que  chunga  /  how  ugly  ! 
Malpucaro  (?) 

Pujcro  (?) 

A.  R.  S.  A. 


17. 

Spanish  Gypsies  and  British  Tourists. 

(From  the  Edinburgh  Scotsman.) 

Madrid,  Ajnil  28,  1888. 

Sir, — I  have  received  here  the  Scotsman  of  the  20th  inst.,  containing  a  report 
of  the  trial  of  Dr.  Middle  ton  at  Cordova  for  shooting  a  Gypsy  there.  Having 
twice  visited  Cordova  lately,  I  may  state,  for  the  information  of  tourists,  that  the 
town  is  as  quiet  as  a  provincial  Scottish  town,  and  that  we  neither  saw  nor  were 
bothered  by  any  Gypsies.  That  some  still  do  offer  their  services  as  guides  to 
tourists,  however,  I  learnt  when  there  ;  for  an  English  couple  were  followed  by 
one  until  the  superintendent  of  police  suddenly  appeared,  and  the  Gypsy  at  once 
took  to  his  heels.  Tlie  said  superintendent  warned  the  tourists  on  no  account  to 
take  a  Gypsy  as  their  guide,  which  they  assured  him  they  had  no  intention  of  doing. 

As  to  the  Spanish  Gypsies,  they  form  a  class  apart,  looked  down  upon  by  the 
Spanish  population.  They  dwell  in  quarters  of  their  own,  and  have  trades  of  their 
own.  We  saw  a  great  deal  of  them  at  the  recent  Seville  Fair  and  at  Granada. 
They  are  a  dark,  handsome  race,  and  the  women,  however  old,  carry  themselves  as 
straight  as  arrows.  At  Granada,  to  which  all  tourists  go  to  see  the  Alhambra,  they 
are  inveterate  beggars.  They  spoil  the  tourist's  pleasure  by  their  ceaseless  pursuit 
of  him.  We  visited  the  caves  in  which  they  dwell,  and  found  the  interiors  tidy 
and  the  Gypsies  decently  clad.  Then  we  turned  to  the  Moorish  quarter  of  Granada, 
where  Gypsies  also  congregate,  and  found  ourselves  escorted  by  two  policemen,  each 
armed  with  sword  and  revolver.  This  escort  was  owing  to  a  recent  fracas  which 
occurred  here  between  an  American  gentleman  and  Gypsies,  wdio  assaulted  and 
wounded  him.  The  American  drew  his  revolver,  and  there  might  have  been 
another  Dr.  Middleton  case  had  his  wife  not  induced  him  not  to  fire.  All  this 
shows  that,  so  far  as  Spanish  Gypsies  are  concerned,  they  are  not  a  safe  class  to 
have  anything  to  do  with,  but,  except  at  Granada,  we  were  never  troubled  by 
them  ;  and  I  would  counsel  tourists  not  to  allow  the  thought  of  them  to  interfere 
with  their  visit  to  Spain,  a  country  which  is  one  of  the  most  interesting  and  curious 
in  Europe. — I  am,  &c.,  R.  R. 


NOTES   AND    QUERIES.  179 

I8. 

Scotch  "  Egyptians  ''  of  the  19th  Century. 

The  following  passages  are  extracted  from  the  recently  published  and  very 
entertaining  Auld  Licht  Idylls ;  a  book  descriptive  of  provincial  life  in  an  eastern 
county  of  Scotland.  We  are  informed,  on  excellent  authority,  that,  although  the 
book  does  not  profess  to  be  historical,  the  "  Claypits  beggars  "  here  mentioned  are 
described  much  as  they  actually  were,  and  that  their  names  also  are  real.  Fifty 
years  ago,  these  people  called  themselves,  and  were  frequently  styled  by  others, 
"  Gypsies,"  and  still  more  commonly  "  the  Egyptians."  These  extracts,  too  brief  as 
they  are,  form  a  slight  supplement  to  Mr.  Simson's  descriptions  of  the  Scottish 
(xypsies  ;  and  it  is  interesting  to  note  that  they  testify  once  more  to  the  priestly 
power  vested  in  a  Gypsy  king,  of  which  there  are  several  examples  in  Simson's 
pages,  and  that  the  supreme  rider  of  this  petty  tribe  was  its  lawgiver  as  well  as  its 
pope  and  autocrat.  Miserable  in  the  extreme  was  this  paltry  "  kingship,"  but  it 
forms  one  of  the  latest  witnesses  to  the  former  Gypsy  system  of  Scotland, — if  not 
of  Europe, — and,  indeed,  it  represents  an  exceedingly  ancient  and  primitive  form 
of  government.     These  Claypits  "  Egyptians  "  are  thus  amusingly  described  : — 

"  Storm-stead  shows  used  to  emphasize  the  severity  of  a  Thrums  winter.  As 
the  name  indicates,  these  were  gatherings  of  travelling  booths  in  the  winter  time. 
Half  a  century  ago  the  country  was  overrun  by  itinerant  showmen.  ...  To  the 
storm-stead  shows  came  the  Gypsies  in  great  numbers.  Claypots  (which  is  a  cor- 
ruption of  Claypits)  was  their  headquarters,  near  Thrums,  and  it  is  still  sacred  to 
their  memory.  It  was  a  clachan  of  miserable  little  huts,  built  entirely  of  clay  from 
the  dreary  and  sticky  pit  in  which  they  had  been  flung  together.  A  shapeless  hole 
on  one  side  was  the  doorway,  and  a  little  hole,  stuffed  with  straw  in  winter,  the 
window.  Some  of  the  remnants  of  these  hovels  stiU  stand.  Their  occupants, 
though  they  went  by  the  name  of  Gypsies  among  themselves,  were  known  to  the 
weavers  as  the  Claypots  beggars  ;  and  their  king  was  Jimmy  PaAvse.  His  regal 
dignity  gave  Jimmy  the  right  to  seek  alms  first  when  he  chose  to  do  so ;  thus  he 
got  the  cream  of  a  place  before  his  subjects  set  to  work.  He  was  rather  foppish  in 
his  dress,  generally  alfecting  a  suit  of  grey  cloth  with  showy  metal  bottons  on  it, 
and  a  broad  blue  bonnet.  His  wife  was  a  little  body  like  himself ;  and  when  they 
went  a-begging,  Jimmy  with  a  meal-bag  for  alms  on  his  back,  she  always  took  her 
husband's  arm.  .Jimmy  was  the  legal  adviser  of  his  subjects  ;  his  decision  was 
considered  final  on  all  questions,  and  he  guided  them  in  their  courtships  as  well  as 
on  their  death-beds.  He  christened  their  children,  and  officiated  at  their  weddincrs. 
marrying  them  over  the  tongs."' 

"  There  is  little  doubt,"  says  the  same  writer,  on  a  later  page,  "  that  it  was  a  fit 
of  sarcasm  that  induced  Tammas  [a  neighbouring  villager]  to  marry  a  Gyjjsy  lassie. 
Mr.  Byars  [the  local  minister]  would  not  join  them,  so  Tammas  had  himself  married 
by  Jimmy  Pawse,  the  gay  little  Gypsy  king,  and  after  that  the  minister  re-married 
them.  The  marriage  over  the  tongs  is  a  thing  to  scandalise  any  well-brought  up 
person,  for  before  he  joined  the  couple's  hands,  Jimmy  jumped  about  in  a  startlintf 
way,  uttering  wild  gibberish,  and  after  the  ceremony  was  over  there  was  roucji 
work,  with  incantations  and  blowing  on  pipes." 

One  is  disposed  to  speculate  as  to  whether  this  "  wUd  gibberish  "  was  actual 
Romanes,  or  that  Shelta  which  Mr.  Leland  has  introduced  to  the  notice  of  Gypsi- 
ologists,  and  which  is  a  mixture  of  Romanes  and  Gaelic.     Pure  Romani  speech 
seems  to  have  decayed  at  a   nuich  earlier  period  in  Scotland  tlian  in  En<dand 
although  a  broken  dialect  still  survives. 

Marrying  over  the  tongs,  or  over  a  broomstick,  is  well  known  m  Scotland  as 
a  "  tinkler  "  ceremony  ;  and  divorce  is  said  to  be  eff"ected,  or  at  least  symbolised,  by 
the  partners  standing  on  either  side  of  this  stick  or  tongs,  back  to  back,  and  jump- 
ing away  from  it.  "  Marrying  over  the  sword,"  a  practice  that  appears  to  have 
been  kept  up  among  British  soldiers  until  a  comparatively  recent  period,  has 
evidently  a  like  origin. 


180  NOTES   AND    QUERIES. 

19. 

Gypsy  Musicians  in  Wales. 

[The  particulars  here  quoted  (from  a  long  account  in  the  Wrexham  Advertiser  of 
September  1876)  were  furnished  to  the  contributor  by  John  Roberts,  the  well- 
known  Gypsy  harper  of  "Wales,  of  whom  one  reads  in  Mr.  Groome's  In.  Gypsy 
Tents.] 

"  Sir, — Respecting  the  modern  harpers  of  Wales  and  a  few  of  the  old  ones,  I 
have  the  pleasure  of  forwarding  the  following  particulars,  furnished  to  me  by  one  of 
the  tawny  tribe.  I  may  also  be  permitted  to  say  that  the  Welsh  harp  is  not  likely 
to  die  out  just  yet,  for  the  veteran  and  venerable  minstrel  who  gave  me  the  following 
notes  has  only  twelve  sons  and  a  daughter,  who  daily  play  the  triple-stringed 
nstrument,  and  the  Eisteddvod  ought  to  honour  him  with  an  invitation. 

'•  J.  Ceiriog  Hughes. 

" '  Mr.  John  Parry,  of  Ruabou  (a  blind  man),  harper  to  Sir  Watkin  W.  Wynn, 
Bart.,  taught  William  Williams  of  Penmorfa  (a  blind  man),  who  became  afterwards 
Welsh  harper  to  the  ancient  family  of  the  Hughes's  of  Frecib,  near  Llandolo,  Car- 
marthenshire. William  Williams  taught  the  celebrated  Richard  Roberts,  of  Car- 
narvon (also  a  blind  man),  who  had  the  honour  of  performing  upon  different 
occasions  before  the  Royal  family.  Mr.  Roberts  taught  the  following  pupils  : — 
Archelaus  Wood,  an  Egyptian,  who  became  harper  to  the  Maedock  family,  Tremadoc 
and  Tregj'nter,  Breckonshire  ;  John  Wood  Jones,  an  Egyptian,  formerly  of  Brecon, 
came  to  be  harper  to  the  Right  Hon.  Lady  Llanover ;  John  Robertson,  of  Bangor, 
Carnarvonshire  (he  was  another  pupil  of  Richard  Roberts,  and  died  about  twenty 
years  ago)  ;  Hugh  Pugh,  of  Dolgelley,  Welsh  harper  to  the  Cymreigyddion  Society, 
London  ;  the  late  Mr.  Ellis  Roberts,  harpist  to  his  Royal  Highness  the  Prince  of 
Wales.     All  the  above  gained  silver  harps. ' 

"  A  short  account  of  the  Egyptians  who  first  came  to  Wales,  where  some  of  them 
came  to  be  very  noted  players  upon  the  Welsh  harp,  and  continue  to  the 
present  day  : — 

" '  About  200  years  ago  came  an  old  man,  of  the  name  of  Abraham  Wood,  his 
wife,  three  sons,  and  a  daughter.  He  brought  with  him  a  violin,  and  he  is  sup- 
posed to  be  the  first  one  that  ever  played  upon  one  in  Wales.  The  eldest  of  his 
three  sons,  Valentine  Wood,  did  very  early  take  to  the  harp,  but  was  not  considered 
much  of  a  player.  The  second  son,  William,  was  considered  a  sweet  violin  player. 
He  was  father  to  Archelaus  Wood,  aforementioned,  who  was  the  first  pupil  to  the 
celebrated  Mr.  Roberts,  of  Carnarvon.  Third,  Solomon  Wood.  Valentine  Wood 
had  three  sons — first  was  Adam,  a  good  harper.  He  was  the  father  of  John  Wood 
Jones,  which  was  the  second  puj^il  of  ]\Ir.  Roberts,  of  Carnarvon,  and  harpist  to  the 
Right  Hon.  Lady  Llanover.  Old  Tom  Wood,  who  was  a  very  fine  player  on  the 
violin.  Jeremiah  Wood  Jones,  who  became  to  be  harper  for  fifty-one  years  to  the 
ancient  family  of  Gogerddan,  had  three  sons,  Jeremiah,  Theophilus,  and  John.  The 
first  was  a  good  player,  second  middling,  third,  John  ;  had  he  been  placed  in  good 
hands,  he  would  have  been,  in  his  day,  one  of  the  best  harpers  in  Wales.  Thomas, 
the  second  son  to  Valentine  Wood,  had  twelve  sons,  out  of  which  two  of  them  be- 
came good  harpers — the  first,  Adam,  the  second,  Robert,  who  used  to  very  often 
visit  Colonel  Gwynne,  of  Glanbran,  considered  a  very  good  player.  Benjamin 
Wood  Jones,  of  Carmarthen,  was  also  a  good  player.  All  these  harpers  were  after 
the  school  of  blind  Parry,  of  Ruabon.' " 

M.  Bataillard  having  had  too  little  leisure  for  the  complete  revision  of  his 
treatise  De  Vaiyparition,  etc.,  its  appearance  in  our  Journal  has  necessarily  been 
postponed  till  April. 

NOTICE. — All  Contributions  nmst  be  legibly  written  on  one  side  only  of  the  paper; 
must  bear  the  sender's  name  and  address,  though  not  necessarily  for  publica- 
tion; and  must  be  sent  to  David  MacRitchie,  Esq.,  4  Archibald  Place, 
Edinburgh. 


GYPSY    LORE    SOCIETY. 


1st  January  1889. 

PRESIDENT. 
CHARLES  GODFREY  LELAND. 

VICE-PRESIDEN  T. 
HENRY   T.    CROFTON. 

EDITORS  OF  THE  JOURNAL 

DAVID  MACRITCHIE. 
FRANCIS  HINDES  GROOME. 


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182  LIST  OF  MEMBERS. 

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list  of  members.  183 

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Members  are  requested  to  bring  the  Gypsy  Lore  Society  under  the  notice  of 
any  of  their  friends  who  are  interested  in  this  or  kindred  studies.  An  increased 
membership  is  necessary  in  order  to  carry  out  fully  the  aims  of  the  Society,  as  the 
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JOUENAL    OF    THE 


GYPSY    LORE 


SOCIETY. 


Vol.  I.  APRIL  1889.  No.  4 


I.— BEGINNING  OF  THE  LAOIIGKATION  OF  THE  GYPSIES 
INTO  WESTERN  EUROPE  IN  THE  FIFTEENTH  CENTURY. 

Introduction. 

rpHE  editors  of  the  Journal  had  asked  my  permission  simply  to 
-L  reproduce,  in  English,  the  work  which  I  published  in  1844 
in  the  BiUiotliequc  clc  V^colc  dcs  Chartes  ^  under  the  title  "  Be  Fcq^iJari- 
iion  et  dc  la  dispersion  des  BoMmiens  en  Euro'pe."  A  portion  only  of  that 
work  will  be  found  here — the  portion  wdiich  was  already  the  most  ex- 
tensive, and  which  is  now  considerably  enlarged.  It,  therefore,  does 
not  appear  to  me  superfluous  to  inform  the  reader  what  this  former 
memoir  was,  as  also  another  which  1  published  five  years  later  in  the 
same  collection,-  and  whicli  was  the  very  needful  complement  of 
the  preceding  one.  I  will  also  explain  why  I  now  eliminate  certain 
parts  of  the  memoir  of  1844,  and  content  myself  with  referring  to  the 

•1  Fifth  year  or  fifth  volume  of  this  collection.  The  memoir  appeared  in  two  articles  (5th 
and  6th  parts  of  this  vol.),  which  were  united  and  pi'inted  separately  from  the  collection, 
forming  59  j'ages,  in  large  8vo,  including  four  pages  of  titles.  This  has  heen  out  of  jirint  for 
the  last  thirty  years. 

2  "  Xouvelles  recherches  sur  Vojiparition  des  Boliemiens  en  Europe,"  in  the  JiMio- 
tJiiqv.e  cle  VEcole  des  Chartes,  vol.  i.  of  the  3d  series,  1st  part,  October  1849.  The  reprint, 
to  which  I  made  some  additions  in  the  Note  additionneUe,  which  fills  the  last  ten  pages, 
forms  48  pages,  in  large  Svo.  My  references  are  generally  to  the  reprints  (tirages  A  part) 
of  my  writings. 

VOL.  I. — NO.  IV.  N 


186         BEGINNING   OF   THE   IMMIGRATION    OF   THE   GYPSIES   INTO 

publication  of  1849,  and  I  will  point  out  the  principal  improvements 
I  have  introduced  into  the  present  article. 

When  first  I  took  up  this  subject  forty-five  years  ago,  the  ideas  of 
Grellmann^  were  in  full  favour.  iSTow,  Grellmann,  who  connected  the 
Gypsies  with  the  caste  of  Sudras,  and  who  attributed  their  emigra- 
tion from  India  to  the  invasions  of  Timur  into  that  country  (a.I). 
1408  and  1409),  fixed  their  arrival  in  Europe  at  the  year  1417;"^ 
he  thus  maintained  that  the  Gypsies,  after  having  wandered  in  Asia 
Minor  and  Egypt,  had  entered  the  south-east  of  Europe  the  very 
year  in  which  one  of  their  detachments  appeared  on  the  shores  of 
the  North  Sea.^  He  thought  it  so  certain  that  no  Gypsies  had  ever 
been  seen  in^  Europe  before  1417,*  that  he  went  so  far  as  to  rectify 
the  statement  of  two  western  chroniclers  who  had  signalised  their 
presence  in  Hesse  in  1414  and  in  Meissen  in  1416.^ 

On  closer  examination — that  is  to  say,  in  collecting  the  original 
documents  for  my  work,  published  in  1844 — I  was  therefore  much 
surprised  not  to  meet  with  a  single  one  relating  to  the  advent  of  the 
Gypsies  in  any  country  whatever  of  eastern  Europe,  and  particularly 
in  the  south-east  of  Europe,  either  in  1417  or  at  any  other  date. 

1  Historischer  Versuch  uber  die  Zigeuner,  2d  edit.,  GbttingeD,  1787,  in  small  8vo.,  of 
xvi.  and  368  pages.  Tbe  first  edition  is  that  of  Dessau  and  Leipzig,  1783.  The  French  trans- 
lation, by  M.  J.,  Paris,  1810,  in  8vo,  unfortunately  bears  upon  its  title-jiage  that  it  was 
made  "  from  the  second  edition,"  which  misled  me  at  a  period  when  I  was  not  in  possession 
of  tlie  latter ;  in  reality  it  was  made  from  the  first. 

-  It  is  now  proved  that  all  these  assertions  are  erroneous.  But  in  saying  this  I  would 
not  wish  to  be  thought  uu  just  or  ungrateful  towards  Grellmann :  his  book,  now  a  hundred 
years  old,  still  forms  a  rich  repertory  of  facts  and  bibliographical  information  indispensable 
to  every  student  of  the  Gyj)sies,  and  it  is  there,  as  I  have  taken  care  to  say  at  the  be- 
ginning of  my  memoir  of  1844,  that  I  found  the  first  foundation  of  valuable  indications  for 
my  work. 

3  Grellmann  even  thought  that  he  had  found  a  confirmation  of  this  pretended  fact  in  the 
sayings  of  the  Gypsies  at  Bologna  in  1422  (Grell.  pp.  205-207  ;  Fr.  tr.,  pp.  207-210).  But 
I  have  shown  {De  l'a.2^parition,  etc.,  pp.  13-14  of  tlie  reprint)  the  weakness  of  this 
argument. 

■4  It  must  be  said  that  several  of  his  predecessors  had  gone  before  him  in  this  direction. 
I  will  content  myself  with  quoting  George  Pray,  who  must  have  been  a  great  authority  for 
Grellmann  at  a  time  when  those  authors  of  Eastern  Europe  who  had  not  written  either  in 
Latin  or  in  German  were  generally  unknown  in  the  West.  G.  Pray,  author  of  Annales 
regum  Hungarice,  in  5  vols,  in  fol.  1764-1770,  and  of  several  other  great  collections,  was, 
indeed,  one  of  the  most  learned  Hungarians  of  his  time.  Now  he  had  written  (in  the  above- 
named  work,  part  iv.,  p.  275): — "  Ceric  priniuni  omnium  in  Moldavia,  Valachia  ac  Hun- 
garia,  circiter  annum  1417,  visi  sunt,  isthincque  in  alias  Europaj  ditioues  propagati."  Not- 
withstanding the  circiter  which  destroyed  a  little  of  the  precision  of  the  date,  the  Roumanian 
documents,  in  the  absence  at  that  time  of  any  very  positive  Hungarian  documents,  have 
since  furnished  an  absolute  contradiction  to  Pray.  Grellmann  would  have  done  better  to 
abide  by  the  opinion  of  another  learned  historian  of  Eastern  Europe — the  Moldavian  Prince 
Demetrius  Cantemir — whom  he  also  quotes  further  on,  and  who  declares  that,  in  Moldavia, 
nothing  was  known  concerning  the  period  at  which  the  Gypsies  had  arrived  in  that 
country. 

5  Grellmann,  note  of  p.  206 :  Fr.  tr.>  p.  209.  — I  had  myself  accepted  these  two  pretended 
rectifications  in  1844,  pp.  18-19,  and  pp.  25-26  ;  but,  so  early  as  1849  {Nouvelles  recherches, 
p.  37),  I  expressed  well-founded  doubts  on  the  subject. 


WESTKPiN    F.UltOl'K    IN    THE    FIFTEENTH    CEXTUIJY.  187 

As  it  was,  however,  clear  that  the  Gypsies  had  come  to  us  from 
the  south-east  of  Europe,  or  Itij  the  south-east  of  Europe,^  I  was 
obliged,  on  remarking  the  absence  of  all  positive  information  respecting 
their  first  appearance  in  this  region,  to  propose  the  three  following 
alternatives,  which  I  examined  successively  :  Either  the  Gypsies  had 
existed  in  the  south-east  of  Europe  for  a  longer  or  shorter  time  before 
1417;  or  they  had  spread  there  at  the  same  time  as  they  appeared 
in  the  west,  that  is  to  say  towards  1417  (the  date  whicli  I  accepted 
for  the  west,  arid  which  I  still  accept,  whilst  making  certain  important 
reservations,  as  will  be  seen  hereafter) ;  or  those  who  had  appeared 
suddenly  in  the  west-  in  1417  had  simply  crossed  the  south-east  of 
Europe,  whilst  the  mass  of  them  spread  themselves  there  only 
successively  and  at  a  later  date,  as  they  did  in  the  west. 

These  three  alternatives  are  given  in  chronological  order,  and 
likewise  in  the  order  of  their  probability ;  for  it  is  hardly  neces- 
sary to  say  that  the  first  appeared  to  me  by  far  the  most  probable. 
But  I  could  then  find  no  decisive  document  in  its  favour,  and  I 
prudently  left  the  question  in  suspense. 

What  I  have  just  summed  iip  (with  the  exception  of  a  short 
passage  on  p.  4,  which  I  will  take  up  when  I  come  to  my  present  First 
'period,  and  a  tradition  on  p.  17,  which  would  be  curious  if  I  could 
guarantee  its  authenticity)  fills  sixteen  pages  of  my  first  memoir  (p. 
3-18),  which  it  would  be  all  tlie  more  useless  to  reproduce  here,  as 
I  have  discussed  the  question  with  more  success  in  the  second  memoir 
{Nouvellcs  recherches,  etc.,  1849),  of  which  I  have  now  to  speak. 

Since  1844  I  became  acquainted  with  three  new  and  reliable 
documents  which  decided  the  question  in  the  way  I  had  foreseen, — 
namely,  a  twofold  Roumanian  document  (two  confirmations  dating 
from  1386  and  1387),  of  a  donation  made  about  1370  by  a  Prince  of 
Wallachia,^  of  forty  Salachi  (families)  of  Atsigani,  which  proves  that 

1  I  devoted  some  pages  (pi).  6-9  and  12-13)  of  my  first  memoir  to  establish  that  this 
point  was  beyond  doubt ;  I  more  especially,  in  a  long  note,  quoted  a  certain  number  of 
ancient  authors,  remarking  that  their  errors  or  tlieir  uncertainties  respecting  the  date  of  tlie 
arrival  of  the  Gypsies  in  Europe  do  not  weaken  the  agreement  of  their  testimony  resjiect- 
ing  the  previous  habitation  of  those  who  spread  over  the  West.  This  origin  is,  however, 
so  universally  acknowledged  at  the  present  day  that  it  is  useless  to  insist  upon  it. 

-  They  were  not  very  numerous  from  1417  up  to  1438,  as  I  established  at  the  outset 
(p.  4),  and  as  will  be  seen  further  on. 

3  In  briefly  summing  up  in  my  memoir  of  1849  (p.  20),  these  two  documents,  which  1 
had  inteijded  speaking  of  anew  (see  the  same,  note  3),  I  unfortunately  made  a  confusion 
between  the  names  of  the  Wallachian  princes  concerned  in  this  donation.  I  rectified  this 
confusion  in  my  Lettre  «  la  Rente  critique  of  1875,  p.  14,  note  2  (it  is,  however,  necessai-y  to 
suppress  [line  14  of  this  note]  a  "  nmi"  which  is  a  fresh  lapsus),  and  again  more  succinctly, 
in  Etatdela  Question,  p.  8.  In  short,  the  document  of  1386,  which  raises- some  chrono- 
logical difficulties  and  adds  nothing  to  that  of  1387,  may  be  put  aside.  By  the  latter,  the 
original  of  which  (in  Slavonic,  as  are  all  the  official  Roumanian  documents  of  this  period) 


188         BEGINNING   OF   THE   IMMIGHATION    OF   THE    GYPSIES   INTO 

at  this  period  (1370)  the  Gypsies  were  already  slaves  in  Roumania  : 
Secondly,  a  passage  in  the  relation  of  a  journey  made  by  Symon 
Simeonis,^  who,  visiting  the  island  of  Crete  in  1322-,  found  there  a 
race  of  people  which  he  does  not  name,  but  of  whom  he  gives  a 
description  that  can  only  apply  to  the  Gypsies.  Finally,  a  line  in 
the  Chronique  dr  Ghyprc  (then  unpublished)  of  Florio  Bustrou,  which 
proves  that  the  Cingani  existed  in  Cyprus  towards  the  year  146.s, 
and  paid  a  tax  to  the  royal  treasury.^ 

Armed  with  these  documents,  which  lent  each  other  a  mutual 
support,  and  which  proved  not  only  that  the  Gypsies  were  scattered 
over  the  south-east  of  Europe  in  the  fourteenth  century,  but  also  that 
very  probably  they  were  not  even  new-comers  there,  I  took  up  the 
far  less  clear  documents  that  I  had  already  examined  in  my  first 
memoir :  I  added  several  others,  ami  I  applied  fresh  and  improved 
tests  to  them. 

In  short,  the  thirty-six  first  pages  of  my  Armrrl/cs  rcrJicrrJu'.s 
(1849)  resolved  an  important  question  which  had  not  been  seriously 
mooted  before  1844,  and  which  opened  a  road  leading  further  than  1 
could  then  foresee,  for  we  can  now  go  ]  lack  with  a  certainty  which  1 
think  incontesta])le  U\  the  beginning  of  the  ninth  century.^  We 
cannot  even  consider  this  date  as  final — nor  any  other — as  M.  Mik- 
losich   himself  remarks.-''      1  have    since   then,   indeed,   carried  the 

exists  in  the  archives  of  Bucharest,  and  which  has  been  imljlished,  togetlier  with  a  Roumanian 
translation,  in  the  Archiva  istorica  of  Mr.  Hajdeu,  vol.  iii.,  Bucuresci,  1867,  in  'Ito,  pji. 
191-194,  Mircea  I.  voivode  of  Wallachia,  confirms,  amongst  other  liberalities,  a  donation  of 
forty  Salachi  of  Atsigani  made  to  the  monastery  of  Saint  Antony  of  Voditza  by  his  uncle 
Vladislav,  who  reigned  about  1370  or  1372. 

1  Symon  Simeonis  or  Simon  Symeonis  (for  the  name  is  written  in  both  ways)  belonged 
to  the  order  of  Minorites,  as  likewise  his  fellow-traveller,  who  died  bel'ore  reaching  the 
Holy  Land.  It  appears  that  he  was  a  Spaniard,  and  not  an  '•Englishman"  as  I  wrote 
p.  35. 

-  And  not  "  the  island  of  Cyprus  in  1332,"  as  I  wrote,  p.  12,  axiA  passim  in  my  Nouvelles 
recherche.s.  But  this  double  error  is  not  to  be  imputed  to  me,  for  I  then  took  care  to  say 
that  I  quoted  this  valuable  passage  after  Bryant,  not  having  been  able  to  find  the  original 
work.  I  was  only  able  to  rectify  it  (and  incorrectly  in  Les  derniers  travaux,  jj.  72)  alter 
having  the  rare  opportimity  of  purchasing  the  volume  :  Itineraria  Si/vionis  Himeonis,  etc. 
Cantab.  1778,  in  large  Svo.  of  xvi  and  396  pp.,  with  intercalation  of  eight  supplementary  pages, 
numbered  from  77  to  84  with  an  asterisk.  The  passage  which  interests  us  is  to  be  found 
p.  17.  The  error  of  date  bearing  upon  ten  years  only  was  not  of  great  consequence,  Init  the 
error  of  place,  more  serious  in  itself,  led  me  in  my  youirllcs  reclicrrhes  into  ^'  ruppmclw- 
ments"  which  would  demand  rectification. 

3  These  two  documents  relative  to  the  islands  of  the  eastern  Mediterranean  gave  addi- 
tional interest  to  evidences  furnished  by  the  sixteenth  century  concerning  these  regions, 
which  I  have  reproduced  on  account  of  their  retrospective  value. 

•*  I  think  one  nnght  say  to  the  seventh  century  (see  Etat  de  la  question,  more  amply 
indicated  lower  on,  p.  33-40) ;  but  I  give  the  date  admitted  by  M.  Miklosich  in  order  to  avoid 
entering  here  into  the  discussion  raised  by  this  important  point. 

•''  See  Elat  de  la  questiim  de  Vanciennete  des  Tsiganes  en  Europe.  Exti'act  from  the 
Account  of  the  Congress  of  Anthrojiology  .and  Prehistoric  Archeology,  viii.  session,  Buda- 
pest, 1876  ;  Paris,  1877 ;  in  Svo  of  62  pp.,  and  two  pages  of  Errata,  that  I  \\A\e  added  to  this 
tiraye-u-part,  the  printing  of  the  "Account"  having  been  very  liadly  executed  at  Pest.     It 


WESTEUX    EUllOPE   IN    THK   FIFTEENTH    CENTUKY.  ISO 

question  further  than  any  one  elae  has  done;  tor  1  now  think  nut 
only,  as  did  some  ot  my  predecessors,  that  the  Gypsies  had  ah'eady 
aneestors  in  the  south-east  of  Europe  and  in  Asia  Minor  in  the  days 
of  Herodotus  and  even  Homer,  but  that  these  aneestors  (from  whom, 
however,  1  do  not  pretend  that  'dl  the  Gypsies  now  scattered  over 
the  worhl  descend)  have  contributed  to  the  propagation  of  primitive 
metalhn;uy  in  certain  countries.  ^ 

But  I  will  not  now  mix  up  these  disputable  questions  with  purely 
historical  studies.  I  only  warn  the  reader  who  has  recourse  to  the 
writings  in  which  I  expound  these  new  ideas  that,  since  the  publication 
of  my  long  Lettre  a  la  Berw  critique  of  187-"),  on  the  Orit/ines  drs 
Bohemiens  and  of  some  of  the  writings  which  followed,  I  have  seen  the 
insufficiency  of  the  etymological  comparisons  {rapjjrochrmenfs  efi/)U(>- 
logiques)  which  had  at  first  seemed  conclusive  to  me,  and  by  which  1 
thought  it  possible,  temporarily,  to  supply  the  place  of  the  unavoidably 
long  and  complex  statement  of  the  considerations,  and  the  historical, 
ethnological,  and  arcliieological  congruities  which,  I  think,  will  render 
my  theory  very  plausible.  Want  of  time  has  always  obliged  me  to 
defer  this  statement,  and  my  advanced  age  may  now,  perhaps,  prevenl 
me  from  ever  accomplishing  it.  I  request  the  reader  will  also  believe 
that  I  am  not  ignorant  of  the  philological  objections  which  have  been 
opposed  to  my  theory,  and  that  I  take  account  of  them  in  the  measure 
in  which  they  are  certain;  but  I  remain  convinced,  with  an  eminent 
Indianisf-    who    was    also    a    most    competent   Gypsiologist,    that 

is  this  writing  wliicli  may  now  temporarily  take  the  place  ot  the  first  thirty-six  pages  of  my 
Nouvelles  rechcrchcs  oi'  1849,  and  I  beg  to  refer  the  reader  to  it,  asking  him  at  the  .same 
time  not  to  I'oi-get  that  it  is  only  a  general  sketch,  and  that  for  details  even  the  memoir  of 
1849  may  .still  furnish  some  useful  elements. 

1  At  the  end  (pp.  1-3-I4  of  the  tirage-d-part)  of  a  iirst  communication  made  to  the 
Society  of  Anthropology,  Nov.  18th,  1875,  on  presenting  my  Lettre  «  la  Rente  Critique,  Sur 
h's  Orifjines  des  Bohemiens,  I  had  already  said  a  few  words  on  the  probaLle  j)art  taken  by 
the  Gypsies  in  primitive  metallurgy.  I  took  up  the  idea  anew  (pp.  15-28)  in  a  communica- 
tion made  on  the  2d  Dec.  following  {Les  Tsiganes  de  rdge  de  bronze),  which  was  united  to 
the  i^receding  in  the  same  pamphlet. 

-  GusTAVE  Garkez,  wlio  died  suddenly  at  Paris,  where  he  resided,  on  the  3d  Dec.  1888,  at 
tlie  age  of  54  years.  His  death  is  a  very  great  loss  to  science,  greater  still  to  all  the  .scholars 
who  liad  dealings  with  him  ;  irreparable  to  me,  for  he  was  my  light  in  all  Gypsy  (piestions  con- 
cerning India  and  the  East  in  general,  and  it  was  impossible  to  find  one  more  abundant  and 
more  sure.  He  was  at  the  same  time  untiring  in  kindness,  and  the  most  excellent  of  men. 
He  was  little  known,  because  he  had  not  published  uuich;  but  two  eminent  members  of  the 
Asiatic  Society  to  which  M.  Garrez  lent  his  assiduous  co-operation,  MM.  Barth  and  Senart, 
liave  revealed  to  the  world  of  learning  the  immense  loss  it  has  sustained.  They  have 
published  on  their  friend  and  colleague  two  very  interesting  articles,  of  which  the  one 
appeared  in  the  Revue  criti'iuc  of  the  28th  of  January  1889,  the  other  in  the  Jodriwl 
asiatique,  in  the  number  for  Nov. -Dec.  1888.  Both  explain  very  well  why  Garrez  pub- 
lished so  little,  and  even  wrote  so  little :  it  was  because  his  learning  was  so  exten.'-ive 
and  his  criticism  so  penetrating  that  lie  never  succeeded  in  satisfying  himself.-  But,  amongst 
an  accumulation  of  learning  admirably  co-ordinated  in  his  powerful  brain,  his  two 
biographers  have  forgotten  the  subject  of  the  Gypsies  and  their  language,  Avhich  he  had 
studied  very  seriously,  considering  them  as  a  necessary  complement  to  his  Indian  studies. 


190         BEGINNING   OF   THE   IMMIGRATION    OF   THE    GYPSIES   INTO 

philology  alone  cannot  decide  these  very  complex  questions,  and  that 
if  one  arrives  by  different  roads  at  conclusions  equally  certain  or 
equally  probable,  means  will  necessarily  be  found  to  reconcile  what 
may  appear  contradictory.  But  I  was  then  so  far  from  the  ideas 
I  have  just  mentioned,  that  I  scarcely  dreamt  of  going  back  beyond 
the  thirteenth  century.^ 

At  the  same  time,  however,  whilst  my  Nouvelles  recherches  were 
already  in  the  press,  my  attention  was  drawn  by  the  learned  Arabic 
scholar,  M.  Eeinaud,  to  several  Oriental  documents  which  appeared 
to  open  up  some  entirely  new  perspectives  in  regard  to  the  origin  of 
the  Gypsies ;  and  although  the  question  of  origin  was  foreign  to  the 
subject  to  which  my  actual  study  was  devoted,  I  naturally  hastened 
to  take  advantage  of  such  a  discovery.  Hence  the  JSfote  adclitionncllc 
which  fills  the  ten  last  pages  (pp.  39-48)'^  of  my  Nouvelles  ixclierclics.^ 
The  subject  of  which  I  there  treat  is  precisely  that  which  forms  the 

It  was  M.  Garrez  who,  consulted  by  the  directors  of  the  Revue  critique,  at  tlie  time  of  the 
puhlieation  of  my  Lettre  of  1875  concerning  les  Ori(/lnes  des  Bohemiens,  pointed  ont  tlie  in- 
sufficiency of  my  arguments  in  favour  of  the  antiquity  of  the  Gypsies  in  Europe,  and  it  was 
on  this  occasion  that  I  made  his  acquaintance  without  then  divining  all  the  value  of  this 
meeting.  But  lie  nevertheless  always  encouraged  me  to  pursue  my  researches  in  the  historical 
road  which  I  was  the  only  one  to  follow  ;  and  it  is  he  also  who,  later  on,  one  day  said  to  me  : 
"I  really  think  that  the  discovery  of  the  Indian  origin  of  the  Gypsy  tongue  has  injured 
more  than  it  has  served  in  the  discovery  of  the  origin  of  the  Gypsies,  because  it  has  pre- 
vented from  searching  for  it."  This  is  exactly  what  I  thought,  but  I  should  not  perhaps 
have  dared  to  say  it ;  and  this  opinion  has  a  very  different  weight  in  the  mouth  of  such  an 
Indianist  from  what  it  would  have  had  in  mine. 

In  speaking  of  this  esteemed  friend  it  is  impossible  not  to  think  of  anotlier  loss,  less 
recent  and  much  less  unexpected,  Init  which  has  been  also  much  felt  by  me,  that  of  Pott, 
tlie  eminent  Sanscrit  scholar  and  philologist  of  Halle,  the  greatest  etymologist  of  our  times, 
who  died  in  July  1887,  at  the  age  of  more  than  84  years.  He  was  the  worthy  patriarch 
of  the  Gypsiologists.  His  Zigeuner  in  Europa  unci  Asien  (2  vols.  8vo,  1844-45)  ap- 
peared when  the  Neo-Aryan  tongues  of  India  were  nearly  unknown  ;  his  age  and  his  iuHr- 
mities  did  not  permit  him  in  the  last  days  of  his  life  to  follow  the  progress  of  Indian 
philology  like  Garrez.  But  this  great  work,  to  say  nothing  of  Pott's  later  contributions 
to  Gypsy  studies,  is  none  the  less  a  monument  of  erudition  and  a  valuable  repertory, 
which  seems  to  me  too  much  neglected  at  the  present  time.  Pott  also  was  not  one  of  those 
exclusive  Gysiologists  who  are  of  opinion  that  the  tongue  of  the  Gyi)sies  is  the  sole  source 
from  which  we  can  learn  anything  concerning  their  origiu  and  their  history,  more  or  less 
ancient.  As  the  jiresent  is  the  first  publication  made  by  me  since  his  death,  I  wish  to  express 
in  it  my  very  grateful  remembrance  for  the  partictilar  kindness  with  which  he  always  wel- 
comed my  modest  writings. 

1  See  Nouv.  recherches,  1849,  f).  35.  Cf.  p.  19,  where  the  eleventh  century  ab-eady  ap- 
peared a  very  early  date  to  me,  and  p.  36,  where  I  consider  as  improbable  the  hypothesis 
of  Dr.  Hasse,  who  discovers  the  Gypsies  on  the  banks  of  the  Danube  in  the  times  uf 
Herodotus — a  hypothesis  which  I  fully  admit  now. 

2  Between  p.  36  of  this  memoir  of  1849,  to  which  my  preceding  analysis  is  confined, 
and  p.  39,  which  begins  the  Note  adcUtionnelle,  three  pages  are  devoted  to  the  Additions  ct 
corrections  to  my  memoir  of  1844.  I  mark  out  there  the  new  divisions  of  the  subject  which 
are  the  necessary  consequence  of  the  undoubtedly  correcter  notions  we  had  recently  acquired, 
and  I  there  point  out  documents  concerning  the  Gypsies  in  the  West  which  had  come  to 
my  knowledge  since  1844. 

3  The  same  Note  additionnelle,  in  the  same  small  type,  occupies  but  eight  pages  in  the 
Bibliotheque  de  I'Ecole  des  Charles,  because  I  made  additions  in  the  reprint  (tirage  a 
part). 


wp:stekn  EUKorK  m  the  fiftkexth  centui;y.  191 

memoir  which  M.  de  Goeje,  the  learned  Arabic  scholar  of  Leydeu, 
publislied  in  1875  (in  Dutch),  under  the  title  Contribution  a  I'histoire 
des  Tsiganes  (25  pages  in  8vo.),  and  of  which  an  English  transla- 
tion has  been  given  in  the  volume  entitled  The  Gypsies  of  India 
by  Mr.  David  Macllitchie  (London,  1886).  This  last  circumstance 
renders  unnecessary  any  long  explanation  in  these  pages.  M.  de 
Goeje  was  not  acquainted  with  my  work  of  184:9  when  he  published 
his  memoir,  and  I  am  glad  he  was  not,  for,  had  he  not  thought 
the  subject  entirely  new,  he  would  not  perhaps  have  discussed 
it.  Now  liis  work  is  naturally  superior  to  mine ;  it  has,  above  all, 
the  great  advantage  of  following  the  transportations  of  Djatts  and 
other  Indians  as  far  as  the  territory  of  the  Byzantine  Empire, 
towards  the  year  855,  whilst  the  documents  pointed  out  or  furnished 
me  by  M.  Eeinaud  go  no  further,  so  far  as  regards  these  trans- 
portations, than  Anazarbe  (Ainzarba)  on  the  confines  of  Syria  and 
Asia  Minor  towards  835.  But  the  basis  and  the  subject  of  these 
two  studies  were  so  identical  that  I  was  obliged  to  claim  my  right 
of  priority.^  It  is  well  to  add  that,  if  I  was  then  anxious  to  establish 
it,  and  if  I  am  still  anxious  to  do  so  at  the  present  day,  it  is,  above  all, 
because  it  appears  to  me  to  give  me  more  authority  for  reducing  to 
its  true  value  a  theory  which  was  mine  so  far  back  as  1849,  and 
which  I  then  found  seductive,  but  of  which  I  had  acknowledged 
the  insufticiency  long  before  1875. 

I  think  now,  as  I  did  in  1875,  that  the  Djatts  and  other  Indians 
transported  at  divers  periods  from  India  to  more  western  regions,  and 
finally,  towards  855,  to  the  territory  of  the  Byzantine  Empire, 
may  probably  have  fused  with  the  Gpysy  race,-  especially  if  the 
Gypsies  already  existed,  as  I  am  persuaded  they  did,  in  these  parts, 
but  that  they  could  not  have  been  the  stock  of  the  Gypsy  race  for  two 
principal  reasons  :  "  It  is  unlikely  that  the  five  hundred  thousand 
Gypsies,  at  least,  who  now  exist  in  the  south-east  of  Europe,  to  speak 
only  of  this  region,  should  descend  from  a  few  thousand  Djatts  trans- 
ported tliere  in  855  ;  and,  moreover,  it  is  impossihlc  that  these  Djatts, 

1  I  did  so  by  a  long  letter  published  in  The  Academy  of  the  5th  of  June  1875,  and  also  at 
the  commencement  of  my  Letlre  a  la  Revue  critique  :  siir  Ics  Originc.s  des  Bohimiens  (Sept. 
and  Oct.  1875).  This  right  of  priority  was  graciously  acknowledged  by  M.  de  Goeje  iu  a 
correspondence  exchanged  between  us  on  tlie  subject.  1  only  regret  that  he  did  not 
remember  publicly  to  acknowledge  it  in  the  English  translation  of  1886,  which  was  revised 
by  him  (without  his  having  made,  however,  the  slightest  change  on  his  work  of  1875). 

2  I  have  even  produced  in  support  of  this  probability  a  small  new  contriliution  which  has 
its  value  by  giving,  perhaps  indiscreetly,  in  my  Lcltrc  d  la  Revue  critique  of  lS75(pp.  lU-11), 
an  unpublished  conmmnication  of  M.  Paspati  concerning  the  Gypsies  of  Hai'iupol,  near 
Tchorlu  (seventy  miles  to  the  north-west  of  Constantinople),  who  are  rearers-  of  bujf'aloes. 
This  communication  will  lie  found,  as  tifth  paragraph,  in  tlie  notes  published  by  SI.  Paspati, 
under  the  title  of  Turkish  Gypsies,  in  the  first  number  of  the  present  Journal  (July,  1888). 


192  BEC4INNING    OF   THE   IMMIGRATION   OF   THE   GYPSIES    INTO 

rearers  of  buffaloes,  or  given  to  other  occupations  foreign  to  the 
generality  of  Gypsies,  should  have  been  the  forefathers  of  a  race 
distinguished  by  three  principal  occupations,  the  working  of  metals, 
divination,  and  music,  and  which — more  especially  in  the  working 
of  metals — employs  with  great  skill  primitive  methods  dating 
certainly  from  a  remote  antiquity."  ^ 

However  that  may  be,  I  had  not  waited  for  the  new  views  opened 
out  in  my  Note  additionndlc,  to  discern  that  the  question  of  the  /ir-s/ 
appearance  of  the  Gypsies  in  the  south-east  of  Europe  was  becoming 
quite  distinct  from  that  of  their  first  appearance  in  the  west ;  and 
although  I  did  not  then  think  the  former  question  insoluble,  as  I  now 
consider  it,  I  at  once  separated  it  distinctly  l)y  adopting  a  new 
division  of  the  subject  {Nouv.  rccJi.,  p.  7  and  pp.  36-38);  that  is  to  say, 
by  placing  in  a  First  Fart — "  Lcs  Buhemiens  dans  V Europe  Orienia/e 
rt  Septentrional c  " — the  countries  where  their  advent  remained  un- 
known, and  by  resei-ving  for  the  Secotid  Fart,  "  Lcs  BoMmiens  en  acci- 
dent" all  that  we  know  of  their  first  appearance  in  this  part  of  Europe. 

I  traced  at  the  same  time,  as  far  as  possible,  tlie  line  of  demarca- 
tion between  the  two  zones — that  of  the  known  and  that  of  the 
unknown ;  saying  {Ihid.,  p.  6)  that  it  might  be  represented  by  "  drawing 
a  nearly  straight  line  from  the  southern  extremity  of  the  Baltic  Sea, 
near  the  mouth  of  the  Oder,  to  the  Adriatic  near  Venice  or  Trieste." 

It  was  to  be  well  understood  that  I  did  not  pretend  to  apply  to 
the  immense  European  zone  placed  to  the  east  of  this  line,  the  new 
ideas  that  we  had  just  acquired  for  the  south-east  of  Europe.  Here — 
I  mean  to  say  in  the  Balkan  Peninsula  (including  the  eastern  part 
of  the  Mediterranean)  and  in  the  Danubian  regions— we  then  knew 
with  certainty  that  the  Gypsies  had  existed  long  before  1417.  From 
what  time  had  they  existed  ?  I  then  thought  that,  some  day  or  other, 
we  should  come  to  know  it ;  I  now  think,  though  I  may  be  mistaken, 
that  it  will  never  be  known.  We  may,  no  doubt,  discover  that  at 
such  or  such  a  period  new  immigrations  of  Gypsies  took  place  in  these 
countries,-  Itut  I  think  that  we  shall  never  know  when  the  first  took 

1  The  (}uoted  passage  is  copied  from  p.  4  of  the  paniplilet  {lirmje  d  part),  in  which  T 
liave,  midei-  the  title  of  tiur  les  orir/lncs  des  Bohemicns :  La^  Tsiganes  il  Vdrje  de  hronze, 
united  the  two  communications  of  November  and  December  1875  made  by  me  to  the  Antliro- 
pological  Society.  I  sum  up  there,  much  more  briefly  than  in  the  two  writings  imlicated  in 
the  last  notp  but  one,  my  objections  figainst  tlie  theory  in  tjnestion.  It  must  be  remarl^ed 
also  (ihid.,  note  to  p.  5)  that  1  had  then  in  my  hands  a  complete  translation  into  French 
of  M.  de  Goeje's  memoir,  which  coniirmed  the  estimate  contained  in  my  two  preceding 
writings,  published  before  1  could  become  perfectly  acquainted  with  M.  de  Goeje's  work. 
It  is  well  to  support  my  refutation  on  ethnographical  considerations  of  M.  de  Goeje's  too 
exclusive  theory,  by  the  philological  arguments  of  M.  Miklosich  (vi.,  1S76,  pp.  63-64). 

2  It  is  here,  as  I  have  said  above,  that  the  theory  of  M.  de  Goeje  (which  was  also  mine 
so  far  back  as  1849),  reduced  to  its  true  value,  might  lind  a  legitimate  place.     Other  niigra- 


WESTKUN    EUUOrK    IX    THE    FIFTEENTH    CENTUIIV.  193 

place,  because  they  are  lusL  in  Ihe  night  of  ages.  I  therefore  blot  out 
from  my  programme  their  advent  in  the  south-east  of  Europe. 

But,  in  the  great  eastern  and  northern  zone,  as  it  is  tractul 
above,  there  are  other  countries  whicli  may  demand  fresh  lines  of 
demarcation,  according  as  the  Gypsies  have  existed  there  at  perioels 
more  or  less  anterior  to  1417,  or  have  spread  themselves  there  towards 
this  date,  or  have  arrived  there  later,  perhaps  even  much  later  (whicli 
appears  also  to  have  been  the  case  in  some  distant  countries  of  Western 
Europe).  There  is  here,  without  doubt,  matter  for  discussing  certain 
dates,  generally  rather  recent,  which  have  been  attributed  of  late  to 
the  earliest  appearance  of  the  Gypsies  in  some  of  these  countries, 
But  I  doubt  whether  any  of  tliese  dates  would  appear  decisive  to  me,^ 
and  I  cannot  stay  to  examine  them  here.  IMoreover,  I  could  not  do 
so  without  reproducing  certain  parts  of  my  memoir  of  1849,  which, 
even  in  these  questions  retain  a  certain  value;  it  is  simpler  to  refi-v 
the  reader  to  them. 

Thus,  the  two  zones,  that  of  the  known  and  that  of  the  unknown, 
have  varied  little  during  the  last  forty  years.  As  to  the  line  of  demarca- 
tion A\hich  I  had  traced  between  them,  I  need  scarcely  say  that  in  m\- 
opinion  then,  as  also  in  my  opinion  now,  it  can  nowhere  be  absolutely 
determined.  It  is  necessarily  an  uncertain  line,  destined  to  receive 
divers  inflexions  according  to  reliable  information  on  one  side  or  the 
other.  It  will  also  be  necessary  to  remark  that  the  western  side  repre- 
sents, not  only  the  known,  but  also  the  immigration  commenced  in  J  4 1  7, 
and  that,  consequently,  it  would  l)c  needful  to  add  to  it  the  countries 
of  the  eastern  zone  where  the  immigration  of  the  Gypsies  would 
have  come  in  from  the  west,  and  would  thus  have  been  a  consecutive 
fact  with  the  innnigration  in  the  west.  We  are  far  from  having  anv 
such  precise  information.  I  think  that  all  we  have  learned  that  is 
new  and  certain  on  this  point  during  the  last  forty  years  is,  on  tlie 
contrary,  that  Bohemia,  which  was,  so  to  say,  cut  in  two  by  the  line 

tioiis  I'roni  tliu  Balkan  Peninsula  into  the  region  of  the  Danube,  probably  also  Ironi  Asia. 
and  i)erhaps  even  from  Africa  into  Europe,  at  the  begiuLiug  and  during  tlie  whole  cour.se  of 
the  fifteentli  century,  are  so  ]ii-ol)al)le  tiiat  1  do  not  now  liesitatc  to  make  them  intervene 
in  the  explanation  of  certain  lacts  belonging  to  the  first  period  (1-117-1438)  of  the  immigration 
into  the  West,  as  will  be  seen  further  on. 

1  I  persist  in  thinking,  for  e.xami'le,  that  tlie  existence  of  the  Gypsies  in  Poland,  and 
perhaps  even  in  Northern  Lithuania,  is  more  remote  than  is  generally  admitted.  As  tn 
Russia,  since  it  extends  from  Lapland  and  Nova  Zembla  to  the  Caucasus,  and  from  the  Baltic 
Sea  to  the  Ural  Mountains,  to  say  nothing  of  Siberia  and  of  the  other  Asiatic  possessions,  it 
is  not  easy  to  throw  any  light  upon  a  que.stion  like  that  of  tlie  presence  of  the  Gypsies 
before,  during,  and  even  alter  the  fifteenth  century  ;  and  wliat  one  could  learn  of  any  valur 
concerning  their  earliest  ajipearance  in  one  of  the  great  provinces,  so  different  fioni  each 
other,  in  this  immense  empire,  would  be  strictly  limited  to  this  province.  Here  again  philo- 
logv  alone  is  not  sufficient. 


194         BEGINNING    OF   THE   IMMIGRATION    OF   THE   GYPSIES   INTO 

in  question,  appears  decidedly  to  belong  to  the  eastern  zone.^  It  may 
be  asked,  too,  whether  it  would  not  be  right  to  include  Moravia  and 
Silesia  in  the  same.^  It  is  presumable  that  this  zone  will  even  be 
extended  in  the  direction  of  Venice  and  Trieste,^  where  I  have  placed 
the  termination  of  a  temporary  line,  and  also  by  a  sort  of  projection 
on  the  side  of  eastern  Italy,  which  is  so  near  the  old  Gypsy  station  of 
Corfu.* 

But  it  is  time  to  return  to  that  part  of  my  first  memoir  (1844) 
which  concerns  the  immigration  of  the  Gypsies  into  Western  Europe 
in  the  fifteenth  century,  and  to  confine  ourselves  to  it.  As  we  are 
about  to  speak  of  a  work  which  is  to  pass  under  the  reader's  eyes,  I 
shall  happily  be  able  to  be  much  more  brief. 

At  the  same  time  that  I  discovered  the  absence  of  all  documents 
relative  to  the  appearance  of  the  Gypsies  in  Eastern  Europe,  I  made, 
at  the  outset  of  my  researches,  another  discovery  of  less  consequence 
but  still  highly  interesting.  Our  most  numerous  and  most  important 
documents,  as  I  have  remarked,  are  confined  to  the  time  comprised 
between  1417  and  about  1438.  Up  to  the  time  of  my  discovery  it 
had  always  been  supposed  that  the  facts  revealed  by  them  denoted 
the  real  immigration  of  the  Gypsies  into  the  west  (and  even  into 
Europe) ;  so  much  so  that,  as  soon  as  a  few  Gypsies  had  been  signal- 
ised in  a  country,  it  was  concluded  that  the  race  had  from  that  time 
taken  root  there.  The  examination  and  the  comparing  of  documents 
had  convinced  me,  on  the  contrary,  that,  from  1417  up  to  about  1438, 
the  west  was  only  travelled  over  by  a  small  number  of  Gypsy  bands 
who  explored  this  new  region,  and  who  had  all,  or  mostly  all,  close 
connection  with  each  other,  obeying  the  same  chiefs,  separating  or 

1  "  The  annals  written  in  tlie  Bohemian  tongue  speak,  iimler  the  year  1416,  of  the  appear- 
ance (auftreten)  of  Gypsies  in  Bohemia,  witliout  designating  them  as  a  people  never  before 
seen:  'That  same  year  (1116)  the  Gypsies  (C'ikani)  wandered  ahout  the  land  of  Bohemia 
and  deceived  tlie  people.' — Scri^jtores  rerum  bohem.,  in.  Prague,  1829,  p.  30."  I  extract  this 
quotation  from  the  memoirs  of  Miklosich  (Ueber  die  Mimdarien  imd  die  Wanderungen 
der  Zigeuiier  Earopas,  iii.  Wien,  1873,  pp.  22-23),  taking  notice  that,  according  to  his  own 
remark,  the  word  appearance  is  not  that  which  appears  to  be  suitable.  The  original  phrase 
which  I  have  put  between  single  inverted  commas,  is  given  by  Miklosich  in  the  Bohemian 
tongue,  as  extracted  from  the  Annals  he  has  just  quoted. 

"  "  It  is  xDrobable  that  they  appeared  for  the  tirst  time  in  Moiavia  and  Silesia  towards 
the  year  1416  .  .  .  " — Miklosich,  ibid.  p.  23.  Was  it  veally  for  the  first  time  ?  See  in  Nouv. 
rechcrches,  pp.  29-31,  the  double  document  of  1344  and  1394,  which  has,  I3erha2)s,  a  gi-eater 
value  than  1  formerly  attributed  to  it. 

•'  I  have  always  thought  that  Venice,  which  was  in  such  close  relation  with  the  east 
during  the  times  which  here  iuterest  us,  must  contain  in  its  archives  documents  that  would 
be  very  precious  to  us.  In  consequence  of  these  relations  she  may  even  have  early  drawn 
into  her  orbit  some  groups  of  Gypsies  (this  is  what  1  have  already  remarked  in  Mat  de  la 
question,  p.  22).  A  question  almost  analogous  may  be  asked  concerning  the  soutii  of  Spain 
and  Portugal  (see  my  coiumuuication  Les  Gilanos  d'Espayne  et  les  Cicjanus  du  Portugal, 
Congress  of  Lisbon  of  1880,  pp.  497-510,  pp.  17-30  of  the  tirage  djjart). 

■^  See  Etat  de  la  (jucstio/i  .  .  .  1876,  pp.  20-22. 


WESTKUN    KUKOI'K    L\    TlIK    FlKTKKNTJi    CKNTUUV.  195 

joining  again  at  various  places  evidently  fixed  upon  beforehand  for 
the  great  journey.  It  is  from  1438  only  that  the  Gypsy  race  begins 
to  spread,  little  by  little,  in  succeeding  waves,  over  the  various 
countries  of  the  west.^ 

From  thence,  the  separation  into  two  periods  of  the  innnigration 
of  the  Gypsies  in  the  west:  the  first  comprising  the  years  1417-1438, 
the  second-  beginning  towards  1438  and  continuing  up  to  a  period 
which  it  seems  to  me  impossible  to  fix  with  any  precision,  l)ut  wliicli 
certainly  encroaches  on  the  sixteenth  century. 

The  immigration  of  the  Gypsies  in  the  west  presented,  especially 
at  the  outset,  an  extremely  singular  character,  which  rendered  its 
history  so  much  the  more  curious.  They  gave  themselves  out  as 
penitents  and  pilgrims  come  from  Egypt,  and  brought  accordingly 
letters  of  recommendation  from  the  Emperor,  and  afterwards  from  the 
Pope.  They  presented  themselves  with  these  letters  before  the  local 
authorities  asking  for  aid,  and,  far  from  hiding  themselves  as  much  as 
possible,  as  might  have  been  expected,  they  made  themselves  highly 
conspicuous.  It  is  to  this  circumstance  that  we  owe  the  valuable 
documents  of  the  first  period,  which  enable  us  in  some  degree  to 
follow  the  wanderings  of  these  strange  travellers. 

It  is  evidently  this  part  of  my  memoir  of  1844  that  the  editors  of 
the  present  Journal  had  more  especially  in  view  when  they  asked  me 
to  reproduce  the  memoir  itself ;  for,  unlike  that  which  preceded  it, 
this  part  (from  p.  18)  has  lost  nothing  from  age.  Several  authors 
have  drawn  largely  from  it,  as  they  have  besides  from  several  other 
of  my  Gypsy  writings,  and  too  often  without  properly  acknowledging 
the  source  from  which  they  drew  ;  but  no  one  has  recommenced  it ; 
and  as  the  first  part  at  least  (1417-1438),  which  is  the  only  one 
which  is  seriously  examined  in  it,  is  essentially  composed  of  docu- 
ments arranged  in  chronological  order,  which  is  the  only  })roper  one, 
no  one  could  recommence  it  without  bringing  a  mass  of  new  docu- 
ments, which  would  change  its  disposition — a  very  improbable  case, 
and  which  I  need  scarcely  say  has  not  presented  itself.  It  has 
happened,  on  the  contrary,  that  the  authors  who  wished  to  appear 

1  See  my  memoir  of  1844,  pp.  4,  44-47,  and  that  of  1849,  pp.  36,  37. 

-  I  must  add  here  to  what  I  have  already  said  (p.  14)  of  the  divisions  of  my  subject  into 
two  periods,  that  these  two  periods  perfectly  established  in  my  memoir  of  1844  were  then 
the  second  and  the  third — the  first  being  reserved  for  any  certain  information  that  might  be 
obtained  concerning  the  first  appearance  oi'  the  Gypsies  in  Western  Europe  ;  but  they  had 
become  the  first  and  second  so  early  as  1849  (as  they  still  are),  for  Eastern  Europe  foniis  in 
future  a  first  part  totally  distinct  from  the  second,  which  is  devoted  to  the  west.  Wlien  I 
now  speak  of  the  first  and  second  periods,  I  coiise(iuently  reier  to  the  second  and  third  of 
my  memoir  of  1844,  where  alone  I  have  treated  of  them  formerly  (excepting  a  few  additions 
and  corrections,  j.]).  37-39  in  my  Xouv.  rccherches,  1849). 


196  BEGINNING    OF    THE    IMMIGKATION    OF    THE    GYPSIES    INTO 

to  have  treated  the  subject  as  though  they  were  the  hrst  to  do  so, 
and  as  though  they  drew  directly  from  the  original  sources,  liave 
not  brought  forward  any  really  new  document  belonging  to  this 
important  period  of  1417  to  1438. 

But  if  this  part  could  with  difficulty  be  re-cast,  it  could  and 
would  necessarily  increase,  become  more  complete  and  more  perfect, 
in  proportion  as  fresh  documents  were  discovered.  Some  have, 
indeed,  come  to  light,  of  which  those  who  contented  themselves 
with  pilfering  nie  were  wholly  unaware,  and  of  which  I  now  take 
advantage  for  improving  my  present  work,  taking  care  to  point  out 
the  authors  to  whom  I  owe  the  discovery.  Those  who  will  take  the 
trouble  to  compare  my  old  memoir  with  the  present  one  will  see 
that  they  are  sufficiently  numerous ;  Holland,  in  particular,  which 
has  been  better  explored  in  this  respect  than  any  other  country,  has 
furnished  a  considerable  number.  But  as  the  matter  extends  to  all  the 
countries  in  the  west,  where  so  many  different  collections  have  been 
published,  I  am  no  doubt  unacquainted  with  many  documents,  even 
those  which  have  been  printed,  to  say  nothing  of  those  which  lie 
still  buried  in  the  Archives,^  and  which  are  probably  more  numerous 
than  those  that  have  been  published.  I  should  be  very  grateful  to 
such  of  mj  readers  as  may  be  acquainted  with  any  documents  of 
this  kind,  if  they  would  point  them  out  to  me  with  precision.^ 

This  First  Period  of  the  immigration  of  the  Gypsies  into  the 
west  being  the  principal  object  of  my  present  work,  like  that  of 
1844,  I  should  add  that  I  have  not  confined  myself  to  enriching  it 
with  new  documents ;  I  have  taken  still  more  care  than  before  to 
reproduce  exactly  and  entirely  those  which  are  contemporary  and 
original.  I  have  also  given  more  space  to  the  interpretation 
of  these  documents,  modifying  often  the  form,  to  render  it  more 
exact,  and  sometimes  the  sense  of  what  I  wrote  forty  years 
since.  I  have  even  added,  at  the  beginning  of  the  First  Period,  a 
commentary  explaining,  so  far  as  it  is  possible  to  explain,  the 
strange  facts  contained  in  it.  This  addition  appeared  the  more 
useful  to  me  as  some  persons  had  formerly^  reproached  me  with 
not  enabling  the  reader  to  steer  his  way  through  the  mixture  of 

1  As  will  he  remarked  in  reading  my  work,  it  is  more  especially  the  nmiiicipal  accounts 
which  are  to  be  explored. 

2  My  present  address  is  12  Kue  de  FOdeon,  Paris.  Those  who  may  forget  it  liuve  only 
to  remember  that  I  am  "  Archiviste  de  la  Facultc  de  Medecine."  The  smallest  document 
anterior  to  1440  has  a  pavtionlar  value,  esppcially  if  it  bears  a  precise  date,  but  those  of  the 
succeeding  years  may  also  contain  precious  infornuition.  Vavh  amongst  those  of  mucli 
more  recent  date  there  are  certainly  some  of  great  interest. 

^  See  Nouvelles  recherches,  pp.  38-39. 


WP:STEliX    EUROl'K    IN    TllK    FIFTEENTH    GENTUIJY.  197 

facts  aud  lictioii.  This  commentary  and  certain  critical  discussions, 
such  as  those  concerning  tlie  Gypsies  in  Switzerland,  certainly  make 
my  narrative  heavy,  and  this  defect  is  rendered  still  more  sensible 
by  the  unavoidable  partitioning  of  my  work  in  several  numbers  of 
this  Journal.  But  if,  as  I  think,  this  fault  has  its  utility,  I  trust  the 
serious  student  will  easily  forgive  it. 

As  to  the  Second  Period,  that  which  begins  towards  1438,  and 
which  ought  to  contain  the  immigration  of  the  mass  of  the  Gypsies  in 
the  west — that  is  to  say  wliat  is  in  reality  the  true  immigration — it 
would  be  very  difficult  to  fdl  up  the  outline  properly.     I  had  already 
made  this  remark  of  old,  and  I  will  explain  it  when  1  come  to  speak 
of  this  part  of  my  subject.      I  confined  myself  in  1844   (in  wliat 
was  then  the  Third  Period,  pp.  47-56)  to  collecting  and  arranging 
chronologically,  or   nearly   so,   the   scattered  facts,   beginning  with 
1438,  which  had  come  to  my  knowledge,  including  on  one  side  some 
unpublished  i'rencii  documents  (to  whicli  it  will  now  suffice  to  refer 
the  reader),  and  on  the  other  the  notions  more  or  less  uncertain  which 
it  was  possible  to  entertain  concerning  the  first  a]3pearance  of  the 
Gypsies,  not  only  in  countries  such  as  England  and  probably  Spain, 
where  the  immigration  of  the  Gypsies  is  a  consecutive  fact  of  their 
immigration  in  the  west,  but  also  in  countries  of  the  north  and  the 
east,   such   as   Sweden   and  Eussia  and  even    Poland,  which   then 
belonged  ^  and  still  belong  to  the  unknown  zone,  as  I  have  remarked 
above.    All  this  was  a  little  confused,  and  this  part  of  my  old  memoir 
scarcely  merits  to  be  reproduced  at  the  present  time ;   but,  liaving 
been  obliged  to  devote  to  the  essential  part  of  the  present  work 
{First  Period)  all  the  time  of  which  I  have  been  able  to  dispose  since 
this  publication  was  asked  for,  I  have  not  even  had  leisure  seriously 
to  consider  what  I  should  put  in  its  place.     At  all  events,  as  I  have 
entitled  the  present  publication  Beginning  of  the  Immigration  of  the 
Gypsies  info  Western  Europe  in  the  Fiftecrith  Century,  the  reader  will 
not  expect  to  find  in  it  more  than  it  contains. 

The  present  work  is,  therefore,  new  in  many  respects;  but  I  beg 
the  reader  will  not  forget  that  it  is  also  old,  very  old ;  ibr  I  should 
be  sorry  that  any  one  should  remember  having  found,  under  another 
name  than  mine,  things  that  are  contained  in  this  publication,  and 
think  me  the  plagiarist  of  the  authors  who  have  pilfered  from  me. 

I  have  as  yet  said  nothing  of  a  preliminary  part  which  I  think 
necessary  to  introduce  before  the  First  Period  of  the  immigration  info 

1  See  also  .VowreZfes  recherches,  1819,  pp.  25:51.  aii'l  in  the  Additions  and  corrections, 
p.  38. 


198  BEGINNING   OF   THE   IMMIGRATION    OF   THE   GYPSIES   INTO 

the  west.  But,  as  this  new  chapter  will  follow  immediately,  I  shall 
the  more  willingly  place  in  it  the  considerations  which  explain  and 
justify  it,  as  I  have  not,  up  to  the  present  time,  many  certain  and 
very  conclusive  documents  to  produce  in  it. 

Antecedents  and  Pkeludes. 

Whatever  future  discoveries  may  bring  to  light,  the  immigration 
of  the  Gypsies  into  the  west,  which  began  officially,  so  to  speak,  in 
1417,  remains  a  well-authenticated  fact  and  a  predominating  feature 
of  the  history  of  the  race  in  our  countries.  I  say  officially,  because 
they  then  presented  themselves  with  letters  from  the  Emperor,  and 
a  little  later,  in  1422,  with  letters  from  the  Pope,  and,  instead  of 
shunning  observation,  they  courted  attention  by  every  means  in 
their  power. 

But,  since  it  is  known  that  the  Gypsies  certainly  existed  in  the 
south-east  of  Europe  at  far  earlier  periods,  at  a  date  which  it  is 
impossible  to  fix,  it  is  natural  to  ask  whether  none  had  ever  come 
westward  before  1417.  I  think  that  no  one,  even  a  jiriori,  could 
seriously  reply  to  this  question  in  the  negative.  But,  a  posteriori, 
after  examination  of  the  facts  and  of  the  documents  (even  those  of 
later  date  than  1417,  and  some  still  more  recent)  now  in  our  pos- 
session, one  remains  convinced  that  not  only  Gypsies  may  have 
come  into  these  same  parts  long  before  1417,  but  that  they  must 
have  done  so.  At  the  same  time  it  is  easy  to  understand  the  diffi- 
culty, if  not  the  impossibility,  of  finding  undeniable  historical  traces 
of  these  curious  episodes  of  the  history  of  the  Gypsies. 

I  have  already  devoted  a  special  paragraph  to  this  new  question 
in  J^tat  (U  la  question  .  .  .  1876  (§  iv.  pp.  48-50),^  but  there  I  chiefly 
alluded  to  ancient  times,  of  which  I  cannot  speak  here.  I  have, 
besides,  in  different  parts  of  the  same  treatise,-  made  observations 
explaining  the  absence  or  the  extreme  scarceness  of  more  or  less 
ancient  documents,  which  observations  are  equally  applicable  here. 
I  will  now  sum  them  up  and  complete  them,  for  I  am  obliged  to 
commence  by  negative  proofs,  not  only  because  I  cannot  produce 
many  others,  but  also  because  these  already  possess  considerable 
significance. 

First.  In  the  countries  where  the  Gypsies  were  best  known,  the 
historians  of  the  country  formerly  disdained  to  speak  of  them  ;  indeed. 

See  also  pp.  5,  G,   a  passage  which  particiilarly  points  to  the  period  preceding  the 
earliest  recorded  appearance  of  the  Gypsies  in  the  west. 
See  pp.  30-33.     Cp.  p.  40. 


WESTERN   EUIIOI'E   IX   THE    FIFTEENTH    CENTUUY.  199 

we  should  have  heard  notliing  of  the  existence  of  the  Gypsies  in 
Eoumania  in  the  fourteenth  century,  had  they  not  ah-eady  been 
reduced  to  bondage  there,  and  become  in  consequence  the  object  of 
important  donations ;  nor  in  Corfu  and  the  island  of  Cyprus  at  the 
same  period,  if  in  these  two  islands  they  had  not  been  submitted  to 
conditions  equally  special;  nor  in  Crete  so  far  back  as  1322,  nor  in 
the  Peloponnesus,  a  little  later,  if  foreign  travellers  had  not  passed 
that  way.  We  should  not  have  heard  of  their  travelling  in  the 
twelfth  century  over  Austria  and  the  "  world,"  according  to  the 
expression  of  an  Austrian  monk  of  the  period,  if  he  had  not  had 
the  strange  idea  of  introducing  them  and  describing  them  in  a  metrical 
translation  of  the  book  of  Genesis.  We  should  be  quite  ignorant 
of  their  existence  in  the  Byzantine  empire  ever  since  the  seventh 
century  (or,  according  to  M.  Miklosich,  the  beginning  of  the  ninth 
century)  up  to  the  thirteenth,  if  they  had  not  been  more  or  less  mixed 
up  with  a  sect  of  heretics  of  low  degree,  under  the  name  of  Athingans. 
In  a  word,  we  should  know  nothing  of  the  existence  of  the  Gypsies  in 
the  south-east  of  Europe  before  1417,  if  it  had  not  been  for  purely 
accidental  circumstances,  and  if,  in  the  greater  number  of  the  places 
I  have  just  named,  they  had  not  been  in  conditions  absolutely 
different  from  their  normal  state,  and  which  were  the  cause  of  the 
documents  that  have  come  down  to  us. 

But  I  proceed  to  make  a  statement  wdiich  is  very  applicable  in 
the  present  case,  for  it  proves  that  the  Gypsies,  even  when  new-comers 
in  a  country,  might  pass  there  unperceived — a  statement  as  simple  as 
it  is  important — and  one  which  has  but  recently  come  under  my  notice, 
for  I  produce  it  here  for  the  first  time.  It  obliges  me  to  enter  into 
some  preliminary  explanations. 

In  support  of  my  theory  concerning  the  antiquity  of  the  Gypsies 
in  the  south-east  of  Europe,  after  having  sought  confirmation  in  my 
preceding  remark  for  explaining  the  absence  or  extreme  paucity  of 
documents  relative  to  their  presence  there  in  ancient  times  (and  I  do 
not  doubt  but  that  they  were  well  known  there),  I  remarked,  in  ^tat 
(Ic  la  question  (pp.  31-33),  that  it  was  on  the  contrary  impossible  that 
their  appearance  or  their ^rs^  arrival  should  not  have  been  signalised 
in  these  countries  if  it  had  occurred  in  times  more  or  less  modern  ; 
for  it  is  absolutely  unlikely  that  the  Gypsies,  numbering  several 
hundreds  of  thousands  in  this  region,  should  have  crossed  the  Bos- 
porus under  the  walls  of  Byzantium,  and  in  the  light  of  historical 
times,  without  any  annalist  having  made  mention  of  the  circumstance. 
To  this  very  significant  absence  of  documents  concerning  so  consider- 


200         BEGINNING    OF    THK    IMMIGRATION   OF   THE    GYPSIES   INTO 

able  a  fact,  I  opposed  (p.  31)  the  relative  abundance  of  those  which 
mention  the  appearance  of  the  Gypsies  in  the  west  in  the  fifteenth 
century,  although  they  were  much  less  numerous,  because  they  were 
new-comers  there.  The  first  part  of  this  demonstration  retains  a  certain 
value  on  account  of  the  enormous  number  of  Gypsies  who,  or  at  least 
the  majority  of  whom,  must  have  crossed  a  region  so  limited  and  so 
anciently  civilised  as  that  bordering  on  the  Bosporus  ;  but  I  perceive 
that  the  second  part  is  very  weak,  not  to  say  ineffective,  for,  if  we  are 
tolerably  well  informed  respecting  the  immigration  of  the  Gypsies  into 
the  west  in  the  fifteenth  century,  it  is  owing  to  very  peculiar  cir- 
cumstances which  are  quite  foreign  to  the  normal  condition  of 
this  people. 

The  documents  which  make  us  acquainted  with  the  Gypsies  in 
the  first  period  of  their  immigration  into  the  west  (1417-1438),  when 
there  were  but  few  of  them,  are  exclusively  of  two  sorts :  several 
passages  in  Clironicles,  and  a  still  more  considerable  number  of 
entries  in  Municipal  Accounts,  attesting  the  gifts  made  to  such  or 
such  a  duke,  earl,  or  lord  of  Little  Egypt  and  his  band,  who  invari- 
ably presented  themselves  as  penitents  and  pilgrims  banished  from 
their  homes,  and  who  generally  exhibited  in  support  of  their  state- 
ments and  demands  for  subsidies,  letters  of  recommendation  at  first 
from  the  Emperor  and,  later,  from  the  Pope.  This  certainly  is  not  what 
may  be  called  the  common  way  in  which  the  Gypsies  present  them- 
selves, and  it  is  to  this  exceptional  circumstance  that  we  are  indebted 
for  all  the  entries  in  Town  Accounts  by  which  the  presence  of 
these  new-comers  into  the  west  during  the  period  extending  from 
1417  to  1438,  and  long  afterwards,  is  made  known.  As  for  the 
passages  in  Chronicles,  which  are  the  only  source  of  information  for 
the  first  period  that  can  be  added  to  the  preceding,  I  doubt  whether 
we  should  have  had  a  single  one,  had  it  not  been  for  a  concurrence  of 
similar  exceptional  circumstances ;  that  is  to  say,  if  the  Gypsies, 
especially  at  the  commencement  of  the  immigration,  instead  of 
shunning  observation  and  dispersing  themselves,  as  one  might  have 
expected,  over  the  country,  and  introducing  themselves  in  small 
numbers  at  a  time  and  more  or  less  furtively  into  the  towns,  had 
not  on  the  contrary  made  a  point  of  presenting  themselves  in  cities 
with  a  sort  of  ostentation,  drawing  all  eyes  to  them.  What  is  quite 
certain  is  that  we  should  not  otlier\^'ise  have  had  the  importnnt 
narratives  furnished  by  the  chronicler  of  Flanders  (Tournai,  1422), 
nor  by  the  Bourgeois  de  Paris,  1427,  nor  many  others. 

It  is  even  very  probable,  as  may  be  said  in  passing,  that   this 


WESTERN    EUROPE    IN   THE   FIFTEENTH   CENTURY.  201 

entirely  new  statement  may  help  to  explain  why  the  beginnings  of 
the  Gypsies  in  England  have  remained  so  obscure.  I  have  some 
grounds  for  thinking,  indeed,  that  it  is  because  (for  reasons  that  I 
shall,  perhaps,  examine  in  their  time  and  place)  they  did  not  pre- 

I 

sent  themselves  there  in  the  same  manner  as  on  the  Continent,  but 
introduced  themselves  more  or  less  furtively. 

Second.  Even  in  the  countries  where  the  Gypsies  are  well  known 
(in  the  east  and  in  the  west)  a  multitude  of  different  names  have  been, 
and  still  are  given  to  them,  under  which  they  are  often  not  easily 
recognised.  It  would  require  a  long  chapter  to  enumerate  and 
explain  all  those  with  which  we  are  acquainted.  Add  to  this  list  the 
names  which  we  do  not  know,  i.e.  those  which  may  have  been  in  use 
at  periods  more  or  less  ancient,  and  which  may  have  fallen  into  dis- 
use even  before  1417,  the  date  at  which  the  Gypsies  began  themselves 
to  make  themselves  well  known  in  the  west ;  add  also  the  names  of 
a  vulgar  kind,  such  as  vagabond,  beggar,  foreigner,  etc.,  under  which 
the  Gypsies  may  have  been  designated  separately,  or  along  with  other 
people  of  the  same  sort ;  and  it  will  be  understood  that  documents 
concerning  the  Gypsies  in  the  west  before  1417  may  exist,  which 
leave  us  very  uncertain  as  to  whether  or  not  the  Gypsies  are  there 
referred  to. 

As  complement  to  this  new  observation,  it  must  be  remarked  that 
the  names  given  to  the  Gypsies  frequently  depend  upon  those  whicli 
they  give  themselves  ostensibly,^  but  that  this,  in  general,  is  only  a 
fresh  source  of  error  or  confusion.  Indeed,  even  in  the  countries  to 
which  they  are  well  accustomed,  and  where  they  are  aware  that  they 
are  well  known,  they  avoid  designating  themselves  by  the  names 
which  are  in  use  there ;  still  more  do  they  conceal  these  names  in 
other  countries.  It  is  thus  that  they  called  themselves  Egyptians,  or 
more  exactly  people  of  Little  Egypt,  when  they  spread  over  the  west ; 
it  is  thus  that  the  Gypsy  blacksmiths,  who  have  travelled  over  Europe 
during  the  last  twenty  years,  coming  from  Hungary  or  the  neighbour- 
ing lands,  say  that  they  are  Hungarians,  or  attribute  to  themselves 
some  other  nationality ;  from  which  it  has  resulted  (and  the  detail  is 
notewortliy)  that,  in  a  country  like  France,  where  the  Gypsies  have 
now  been  known  for  nearly  five  centuries,  but  where  they  are  not 
numerous,  provincial  journalists,  who  have  noticed  their  passage,  have 
not  at  first  recognised  them  for  Gypsies.  I  could  also  mention  the 
Greek  Gypsies  who  landed  at  Liverpool  in  1886 ;  but  I  shall  return 

1  I  say  osteiisihhj,  because   tliey  have  among  themselves  secret  names,  which  we  have 
only  begun  to  know  since  the  race  has  been  studied. 

VOL  I. — NO.  IV.  0 


202         BEGINNING   OF   THE   IMMIGRATION   OF   THE   GYPSIES   INTO 

by  and  by  to  these  strange  travellers,  as  well  as  to  the  Gypsy  black- 
smiths from  Hungary. 

After  the  preceding  observations,  it  will  necessarily  be  admitted 
that  Gypsies  may  have  come  into  the  west  at  divers  periods  anterior 
to  1417,  without  its  being  easy  or  even  possible  to  find  any  historical 
confirmation  of  the  fact;  and  if  so,  when  it  is  question  of  a  race  so 
addicted  to  travelling,  why  not  admit  at  the  same  time  that  such  must 
often  have  been  the  case  ? 

I  know  very  well  that,  in  general,  nomads  remain  within  the 
bounds  of  the  countries  they  are  accustomed  to  wander  over,  and  that 
the  Gypsies  themselves,  who  have  not  the  same  reasons  as  pastoral 
nomads  for  confining  themselves  to  these  limits,  generally  remain  in 
the  countries  to  which  they  have  grown  accustomed.  It  requires 
extraordinary  circumstances  to  induce  them  to  emigrate  en  masse ; 
and  it  is  for  this  reason,  no  doubt,  that  the  great  immigration  (very 
partial  nevertheless)  of  the  Gypsies  into  the  west  only  took  place 
centuries  after  they  had  fixed  their  seat  in  the  east.  But  this  obser- 
vation is  applicable  only  to  the  masses ;  and  all  those  who  are 
acquainted  with  the  Gypsies  know  that  there  are  some  amongst  them, 
belonging  to  whatsoever  category,  who  travel  over  new  countries, 
and  that  there  are  even  families  of  Gypsies  who  emigrate  to  distant 
lands.  There  is  besides  a  class  peculiar  to  the  Gypsies — a  remarkable 
class,  and  which  I  suspect  to  have  been  much  more  numerous 
formerly — whose  habit  it  is  to  make  trading  circuits  more  or  less 
extensive  :  I  mean  the  blacksmiths,  who  have  now  their  principal  seat 
in  Hungary  and  in  the  Banat  of  Temesvar. 

It  is  precisely  these  Gypsy  blacksmiths  who  are  described  to  us 
at  the  beginning  of  the  twelfth  century,  by  an  Austrian  monk,  as 
" travelling  far  over  the  world" ^  and  it  is  the  same  Gypsy  CaldaraH 
(as  they  are  called  in  the  districts  of  Eoumania  where  they  are 
accustomed  to  journey)  who  have  recommenced  in  our  own  days, 
throughout  the  whole  of  the  west,  circuits  which  have  led  them  some- 
times as  far  as  England,  as  far  as  Norway,  and  sometimes,  by  way 
of  France  and  Spain,  as  far  as  Corsica  and  Algeria.  France  was,  dur- 
ing a  certain  time,  "  infested  "  by  them,  to  quote  the  newspapers  of 
the  day,  whilst  I  was  rejoicing  in  the  good  luck  which  had  thrown 
them  in  my  way.  How  can  we  doubt  that  the  great  circuits  which 
they  appear  to  have  made  in  the  twelfth  century,  which  we  have  our- 
selves seen  them  make,  especially  since  1866,  and  which  seem  to  have 

1  I  have  already  made  allusion  to  this  document ;  but  I  refer  the  reader  anew  to  Mat  de 
la  question,  pp.  23-29. 


WESTERN   EUROPE   IN   THE   FIFTEENTH   CENTURY.  203 

nearly  ceased  during  the  last  few  years,^  have  not  since  the  twelfth 
century,  at  any  rate,  had  various  alternations,^  and  that  Gypsies,  con- 
sequently, have  travelled  over  the  west  at  many  periods,  which 
it  is  all  the  more  difficult,  if  not  impossible,  to  determine,  as  these 
circuits  were  intermittent,  and  must  often  have  been  made  in  different 
directions  ? 

These  exotic  Gypsy  blacksmiths  generally  return  to  the  country 
whence  they  came,  and  consequently  are  not  immigrants ;  they  may, 
however,  very  well  figure  in  the  antecedents  of  the  immigration  into 
the  west. 

As  to  the  other,  and  much  more  numerous,  Gypsies  of  the  east,  it 
may  have  happened  amongst  them,  as  it  happens  at  the  present  time 
amongst  the  Gypsies  of  every  country,  that  some  individuals,  or  even 
some  families,  take  to  travelling  merely  to  see  foreign  parts,  and  that 
their  adventurous  disposition  may  thus  have  led  them  into  the  west 
without,  perhaps,  their  having  settled  there.  It  is  among  them, 
however,  that  there  may  and  that  there  must  have  been  real  immi- 
grants into  the  west  long  before  1417;  for  independently  of  the 
general  circumstances  which  determine  a  great  movement  of  migra- 
tion among  the  Gypsies,  such  as  that  of  the  fifteenth  century,  there 
are  always  particular  and  local  circumstances  which  may  engage  a 
group  of  families  to  adventure  themselves  into  new  countries  with 
the  hope  of  finding  there  easier  means  of  living.  Those  of  my 
readers  who  bear  in  mind  the  observations  I  advanced  above, 
will  understand  that,  even  if  these  immigrations  into  the  w^est  were 
of  frequent  occurrence  during  the  Middle  Ages,  that  is  to  say,  in  dis- 
turbed times,  when  there  were  in  our  countries  so  many  wayfarers  and 

1  I  am  much  less  well  informed  in  tliis  respect  during  the  last  few  years  tlian  I  was  for- 
mei'ly.  I  should  be  very  grateful  to  those  who  would  inform  me  as  exactly  as  possible  of 
the  ijassage  of  these  Gypsy  blacksmiths  from  Hungary.  They  travel  sometimes  in  rather 
large  numbers  in  waggons,  which  have  no  resemblance  to  the  houses  upon  wheels  of  our 
Gypsies,  and  wherever  they  stoii  they  set  up  large  tents,  where  each  waggon  finds  its  place. 
The  men  have  generally  long  hair,  and  clothes  more  or  less  foreign,  often  ornamented  with 
very  large  silver  buttons,  and  the  chiefs  carry  a  large  stick  with  a  silver  head.  It  is  easy  to 
recognise  them  at  a  glance  by  these  signs,  and  by  their  trade.  The  first  information  to  be 
gathered,  as  far  as  possible,  is  respecting  their  own  numbers,  the  number  of  their  horses, 
and  of  their  tents  and  waggons,  the  dates  of  their  arrival  and  of  their  departure,  the  direction 
they  follow,  the  names  of  the  chiefs,  etc.  Question  them,  if  one  can,  on  the  extent  and 
duration  of  their  journey,  on  the  number  of  Gypsies  of  the  same  profession  as  themselves,  on 
the  countries  w,hich  tiiey  and  their  fellows  have  now  the  habit  of  frequenting.  Articles  from 
newspapers  concerning  them  would  be  welcome,  biit  if  any  such  are  sent  as  cuttings,  the  date 
and  the  name  of  the  newspaper  are  requested. 

-  The  journeys  of  these  Gypsy  blacksmiths  had  already  been  remarked  in  Germany  and 
Italy  long  before  1866,  as  I  have  noted  in  Etat  de  la  qmstion,  p.  56.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  Edict  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella,  published  at  Medina  del  Campo,  in  1499,  mentions  the 
"  Calderos  estrangeros,"  who  niiglit  well  be  Gypsies  (see  my  Gitanos  d'Espagne,  Congress 
of  Lisbon,  1880,  tire  d  jJarf.,  1884,  p.  509).  1  could  quote  other  documents  of  the  same  kind 
as  this,  but  none  more  precise. 


204         BEGINNING   OF   THE   IMMIGRATION    OF   THE    GYPSIES   INTO 

beggars,  so  many  vagabonds  more  dangerous  than  most  of  the  Gyp- 
sies, they  may  not  have  left  any  historical  traces,  especially  if  such 
immigrations  were  made,  as  is  probable,  by  small  groups,  and  without 
noise,  and  if  the  new-comers  did  not  too  much  abuse  the  patience  of 
the  natives. 

But  to  make  this  more  evident,  I  will  take  a  recent  example, 
placing  it  hypothetically  in  an  unknown  past.  Every  one  knows 
in  England  how,  in  July  1886,  a  band  of  about  a  hundred 
Gypsies  coming  from  the  south-east  of  Europe  landed  at  Liverpool ; 
they  intended  taking  passage  to  America,  where  they  hoped  to  find 
an  easier  life ;  but  various  obstacles  having  prevented  them  from 
carrying  out  their  intention,  they  at  last  remained  in  England, 
where  they  dispersed  themselves  more  or  less,  and  where  they  appear 
to  be  already  quite  forgotten.^  In  a  country  like  England,  where  the 
Gypsies  are  so  well  known,  it  was  easily  guessed  what  they  were,  and 
when  it  was  known  through  the  Greek  Consul  at  Liverpool,  whose 
protection  they  invoked,  fehat  most  of  them  came  from  Corfu,^  they 
were  immediately  designated  by  the  name  of  Greek  Gypsies.  They 
had  besides  no  reason  for  not  saying  themselves  whence  they 
came ;  but  they  obstinately  refused,  as  they  invariably  do,  to  confess 
themselves  Gypsies,  and  there  might  have  remained  some  doubts 
on  this  subject,  if  Gypsiologists,  as  expert  as  Mr.  Crofton  and  Mr. 
MacEitchie,  had  not  paid  them  a  visit. 

It  is  clear  that  perfectly  analogous  facts  may  and  must  have 
occurred  before  1417  as  well  as  in  our  own  times.  I  say  analo- 
gous, and  not  identical,  because  the  causes  which  occasion  emigra- 
tion may  differ  according  to  the  cases,  and  also  because  in  olden 
times  the  object — more  or  less  vaguely  had  in  view — could  not  have 

1  Although  as  well  informed  as  possible  by  Mr.  Crofton,  who  knew  that  this  Gypsy  epi- 
sode would  particularly  interest  me,  and  who  sent  me  with  his  usual  great  obligingness  all 
that  he  could  collect  in  newspaper  articles  concerning  them,  I  was  able  to  know  only  up  to 
May  1887,  and  very  imperfectly,  what  had  become  of  one  or  two  of  their  detachments,  and 
since  then  I  have  remained  entirely  without  information  respecting  them.  Here,  again,  I 
should  be  truly  grateful  to  any  one  who  could  give  me  tidings  of  these  strangers  since  May 
1887 — or  even  add  any  information  anterior  to  this  date.  Another  interesting  point 
would  be  to  know  exactly  what  causes  had  influenced  their  emigration  from  Corfu,  and  pro- 
bably the  emigration  of  those  who  had  preceded  them  in  Corsica  (see  the  following  note). 
But  this  is  a  question  which  probably  only  could  be  elucidated  in  Corfu,  where  I  can  scarcely 
hope  that  our  Journal  will  find  any  one  disposed  to  make  this  little  inquiry. 

2  Corfu  is  precisely  the  seat  of  a  Gypsy  colony,  of  which  Hopf  {Die  einwanderv.ng  der 
Zigeuner,  Gotha,  1870,  pp.  17-22)  has  sketched  the  history  since  1346  up  to  our  days  (I  have 
summed  it  up  in  Mat  de  la  iiuesiion,  pp.  20,  21).  I  must  observe  that  already,  in  July  1881, 
a  band  of  Gypsy  blacksmiths  from  Corfu,  much  less  numerous  than  those  which  arrived  in 
Liverpool,  had  landed  in  Corsica  after  having  travelled  over  Italy.  But  I  cannot  enlarge 
here  on  the  sad  adventure  that  happened  to  it  in  Corsica.  I  will  only  remark  that,  although 
blacksmiths,  they  did  not,  any  more  than  the  Gypsies  who  disembarked  at  Liverpool,^  belong 
to  the  class  of  great  Gypsy  travellers,  who  have  their  principal  seat  in  Hungary  and  in  the 
Banat,  and  who  are  not,  habitually  at  least,  emigrants. 


WESTERN   EUROPE   IN   THE   FIFTEENTH   CENTURY.  205 

been  America.  But  these  are  secondary  circumstances.  It  is  not  less 
clear  that,  if  the  fact  I  have  just  recalled  to  mind  had  taken  place 
a  few  centuries  or  only  a  few  years  before  1417,  it  would  remain 
perfectly  unknown  to  us ;  for,  supposing  what  is  already  very  doubt- 
ful, that  some  English  annalist  had  recorded  the  advent  at  Liverpool 
of  these  singular  strangers,  it  would  be  impossible  for  us  to  know 
that  they  were  Gypsies.  And  yet  the  circumstances  in  which  this 
little  Gypsy  immigration  into  England  was  accomplished  render 
it  much  more  striking  than  those  which  must  have  taken  place 
from  one  country  to  another  on  the  Continent  by  a  sort  of  infil-. 
tration — this  is  what  I  wished  to  put  in  evidence. 

There  must  have  been  thus  small  migrations  into  the  west  at  all 
periods  posterior  to  the  unknown  time  of  the  first  establishment  of 
the  Gypsies  in  the  south-east  of  Europe,  and  particularly,  no  doubt, 
at  epochs  almost  equally  unknown  to-day,  where  Gypsy  population 
has  received  new  recruits,  or  has  displaced  itself  in  these  countries ;  ^ 
and  this  is  what  I  call  the  cmtccedcnts  of  the  immigration  of  the 
fifteenth  century,  comprising  therein  the  great  trading  circuits  of  the 
Gypsy  blacksmiths.  But  this  immigration  of  the  fifteeutli  century 
itself  may  have  had  some  forerunners,  as  it  has  certainly  had  some 
loiterers ;  I  mean  to  say  that  groups  of  Gypsies,  urged  no  doubt  by 
the  same  causes  which  produced  this  general  movement  so  singu- 
larly inaugurated  in  1417  and  in  the  following  years,  may  before 
this  date  have  spread  themselves  in  some  countries  of  the  west,  and 
remained  more  or  less  unperceived  because  they  slid  in  without 
noisy  demonstrations.     This  is  what  I  call  the  preludes. 

Among  the  few  documents  that  I  have  now  to  make  known, 
the  two  first  seem  to  belong  to  this  last  kind  of  facts.  I  would  not 
affirm  it,  however,  because,  details  being  wanting,  one  cannot  be 
certain  whether  such  of  these  facts  may  not  have  had  its  root  in 
an  older  past,  and  be  independent  of  the  causes  that  produced  the 
immigration  whose  official  beginning  dates  from  1417. 

Wilhelm  Dilich  (whose  real  name  is  Wil.  Schaefer)  tells  us,  in  his 
Hessian  Chronicle^  that  some  Zigeuners  came  into  this  country 
in  1414;  here  is  all  he  says  under  the  head  of  the  above-named 
year : — "  Then  {zu  der  zeit)  came  for  the  first  time  into  this  country 
the  thieving,  malicious,  and  wizard  beggars  (Bettelvolk)  the  Zi- 
geuners." 

1  It  is  natural  indeed  to  suppose  that,  in  a  population  which  has  so  little  cohesion,  a  move- 
ment of  migration,  even  i^artial  and  limited,  may  not  stop  exactly  where  the  principal  mass 
takes  up  its  new  abode.     Once  in  movement  some  go  further,  and  may  go  very  far. 

-  Hessische  Chronick,  Cassel,  1617,  in  fol.,  p.  229. 


206  BEGINNING   OF   THE   IMMIGRATION   OF   THE    GYPSIES   INTO 

•Anotlier  very  trustworthy  chronicler,  G,  Fabricius,  gives  us — 
in  terms  also  too  concise — a  piece  of  information  relating  to  Meissen, 
in  1416,  but  which,  although  by  two  years  posterior  to  the  preceding, 
appears  to  have  a  little  more  importance;  under  the  date  A°.  1416, 
"  By  order,"  he  says,  "  of  Prince  Frederick,  ^  the  Zingani,  a  sort  of 
wandering,  mischievous  people,  are  driven  out  of  the  country  on 
account  of  their  pilferings,  their  stellionates,  ^  and  their  disorderly 
life."  ^  But  these  Gypsies  (whose  number  is  nowhere  named),  since 
what  date  were  they  in  Meissen  ?  It  seems  likely  that  if  their  arrival 
there  had  been  quite  recent,  Fabricius  might  have  known  it,  and 
would  have  mentioned  it.  We  have  here,  however,  only  a  slight 
presumption  of  their  more  or  less  ancient  sojourn  in  the  country. 

As  I  have  already  said  (p.  186),  various  authors  have  attempted 
to  rectify  the  dates  furnished  by  these  two  documents  ;  and  I  myself, 
in  my  memoir  of  1847  (pp.  18,  19,  and  pp.  25,  26),  had  accepted 
these  rectifications  ;  but  I  now  reject  them  (as  already  in  1849,  p. 
37),  and  this  time  very  decidedly.  It  was  Calvisius  who,  referring 
in  his  0]pus  chronologicum  (Frankfort,  edit.  1650,  in  fol.,  p.  873)  to 
the  passage  in  Fabricius,  substituted  the  date  of  1418  and  changed 
the  sense.^  He  gives,  of  course,  no  explanation.  Grellmann  after- 
wards adopts  this  pretended  rectification,  and  inflicts  a  perfectly  similar 
one  upon  the  passage  from  Dilich,  giviug  as  sole  reason  that  the 
date  of  1414  is  impossible,  because  no  other  author  speaks  of  the 
Gypsies  before  1417.^  But  this  is  a  poor  reason,  and  Calvisius  had 
certainly  no  other  for  rectifying  Fabricius.  It  has  been  previously 
seen  whither  this  criterion  had  led  Grellmann  in  speaking  of  the 
east :  it  is  not  more  certain  here.  Without  doubt  the  chroniclers 
are  not  infallible,  especially  when  they  are  not  contemporary  with 
the  fact  they  relate  and  date.  We  shall  see  this  with  regard  to  the 
Gypsies  in  Switzerland  in  1418  ;  but  we  must,  nevertheless,  rely  on 
the  chroniclers,  and  believe  that  tliey  had  some  reliable  document 

1  Frederick  tbe  Warlike,  Margrave  of  Meissen,  a  prince  jealous  of  his  sovereignty,  and 
n  bad  terms  with  the  Emperor  Sigismund. 

-  A  stellionate  consists  in  selling  as  one's  own  a  thing  belonging  to  another  person — a 
stolen  horse,  for  example. 

•^  A.  1416  :  "  Zigani,  genus  hominum  erroneum  et  maleficum,  ex  ea  ditione,  propter  furta, 
stellionatiTm  et  libidines,  exterminantur,  mandato  Frederici  principis,"  Georg.  Fabricii 
Cliemnicensis  Rerum  Misnicarum  Libri  viii.,  Lipsiae,  without  date,  in  4to. — G.  Fabricius,  a 
Latin  poet  and  an  exact  and  esteemed  historian,  was  born  at  Chemnitz  (Electorate,  subse- 
quently Kingdom  of  Saxony)  in  1516.  He  only  published  his  Res  Misniccc  in  1560,  in  4to, 
two  years  before  his  death. 

•1  Here  is  the  passage  of  the  O^jus  chronologicum  of  Calvisius  indicated  above  :  "Tartari, 
vulgo  Zigeuner,  genus  erroneum  et  maleficum,  primum  in  his  regionibus  visum  ;  et  propter 
furta  et  libidines  ex  Misnia  exterminantur — Fab." 

5  Grellmann,  1787,  pp.  206,  207 ;  Fi-.  trans,  of  1810,  p.  209. 


WESTERN   EUROPE   IN   THE   FIFTEENTH    CKNTURY.  207 

under  their  eyes,  when  we  have  not  some  good  reason  for  rectifying 
them  ;  and  here  I  perceive  none  whatever. 

I  now  come  to  a  document  which  must  be  anterior  to  the  year 
1400,  and  which  lias  been  published^  without  any  commentary  by 
Professor  Dr.  Eeuss  of  Wiirtzburg,  under  the  title  :  "  Proclamation 
against  Gi/psics  (Verordnung  gegen  Zigeuner)."  But  the  point  is 
to  be  absolutely  sure  that  it  really  concerns  the  Gypsies,  and  this  I 
make  no  pretension  to  decide.  I  will  only  offer  some  observations 
which  render  this  ascription  more  likely  in  my  eyes  than  it  first 
appeared  to  me.     Here  is  the  whole  passage  from  Dr.  Eeuss : — 

"  The  book  of  Statutes  (Statutenbuch)   of  the  prince-bishop   of 

Wiirtzburg,  Gerhard  de  Schwartzburg  (elected  in  1373,  died  in  1400), 

a  manuscript  on  parchment  belonging  to  the  historical  society  (Histor. 

Verein)  of  Wiirtzburg  .  .  .  contains  at  fol.  (?  Bl.)  34,  the  following 

.  proclamation : — 

"  Concerning  those  who  lodge  and  harbour  the  people  belonging 
to  the  nation  of  the  Bemische. — It  is  also  our  will  and  we  order  all 
our  subjects,  as  well  priests  as  laymen,  ecclesiastics  and  seculars,  poor 
and  rich,  established  in  our  state  of  Wirczburg,  and  also  all  inn- 
keepers, concerning  the  foreigners  called  Bemische,  that  they  wholly 
abstain  from  oivino-  them  to  eat  and  drink,  from  lodoinf?  them  or 
from  receiving  them  into  their  houses.  Whoever  infringes  this  order 
will  be  punished  by  a  fine  of  one  florin." 

This  ordinance  does  not  contain  anything  that  might  not  very 
well  be  applied  to  the  Gypsies,  but  it  does  not  describe  them  in  a 
way  to  make  them  clearly  recognisable.  It  remains  then  to  know 
what  were  "  these  foreigners  called  Bemische." 

Now,  amongst  the  entries  concerning  the  Gypsies  which  Dr.  G.  L. 
Kriegk,  archivist  of  the  town  of  Frankfort-on-the-Main,  has  extracted 
either  from  the  Books  of  Accounts,  or  from  the  Books  of  the  Bur- 
gomasters of  the  said  town,  and  published  in  his  work  Dcutschcs 

1  In  Anzeiger  fur  Kunde  der  deutschen  Vorzeit,  vol  i.,  year  ISiii)  (first  published  at 
Niirnherg  in  1863),  col.  83,  84.  The  article  contains,  besides,  nothing  in  addition  to  what 
I  translate  above,  but  a  short  notice  of  a  deliberation  of  the  Council  of  the  town  of  Wiirtz- 
burg concerning  a  Gypsy  woman  (Zigeunerin)  in  1494. — In  the  year  1856,  same  vol.  i.  of 
tlie  same  collection,  is  to  be  found,  col.  173,  174,  an  article  signed  "  Aug.  Stciber,"  where  it 
is  sought  to  establi.sh  that  Gypsies  existed  in  Alsace  towards  the  year  1270  ;  but  the  demon- 
stration leaves  much  to  be  desired,  and  I  content  myself  with  referring  to  it  the  reader  who 
would  wish  to  go  deeper  into  the  question.  To  conclude,  the  year  1857  (vol.  ii.  of  the 
same  collection,  published  also  at  Niirnberg  in  1863),  contains,  col.  369-371,  an  article 
upon  "  The  Zigeuner  in  Westphalia,  by  Frederick  Woeste,  of  Iserlohn,"  which  tends  to 
prove  that  the  Gypsies  existed  in  Westphalia  before  the  end  of  the  fourteenth  ceuturj-,  on 
one  hand,  under  various  names,  especially  under  the  Latin  name  oi  focidatrices,  serving  to 
designate  the  Gypsy  women  ;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  under  the  name  of  (raiurerschen.  But 
here,  neither,  do  I  find  anything  conclusive,  nor  even  sufficiently  plausible  to  induce  me  to 
stop  to  examine  it. 


208         BEGINNING   OF   THE   IMMIGRATION   OF   THE   GYPSIES   INTO 

Burgerthu7ii  im  Mittelalter  (vol.  i.),  Frankfort-a-M.,  1868,  in  8vo,  I 
remark  in  note  133/  p.  541,  the  following  mention,  under  the  date 
of  1495 :  "  Those  who  call  themselves  Bemischen  are  to  go  away,  other- 
wise the  council  will  have  them  put  in  prison."  This  entry  occurs  in 
the  midst  of  many  others  which  incontestably  concern  the  Gypsies, 
desi"nated  uuder  various  names  and  under  various  forms  of  the  name 
Zigeuner,  which  have  their  interest,  and  M.  Kriegk  does  not  ex- 
press the  slightest  doubt  but  that  this  entry  equally  concerns  them. 
Now,  although  M.  Kriegk  does  not  explain  the  name  Bemischc?  a 
G-erman  archivist  of  the  town  to  which  these  documents  relate 
appears  better  situated  than  ourselves  to  appreciate  a  case  of  this 
kind,  and  the  identification  which  he  accepts  between  the  people  who 
bore  this  name  and  the  Gypsies  has  probably  some  value. 

I  think  I  might  find  other  examples  of  the  name  Bemischc 
applied  elsewhere,  in  Holland  for  example,  to  the  Gypsies  in  the 
fifteenth  century,  if  I  had  time  to  seek  them. 

But  here  is  a  very  strange  document  which  brings  us  back  to 
the  principality  of  Wiirtzburg,  where  we  have  found  this  name 
Bemische  given  before  the  end  of  the  fourteenth  century,  to 
"strangers"  whom  the  prince-bishop  forbids  his  subjects  to  lodge 
or  feed — a  document  calculated  to  make  one  presume  that  Gypsies 
must  in  reality  have  existed  from  early  times  in  this  little  state. 

There  is  a  Ghronique  de  Flandre,  containing  a  passage,  as  clear 
as  it  is  interesting,  concerning  the  Gypsies  at  Tournai,  towards 
the  month  of  May  1422,^  of  which  I  shall  make  use  in  my  First 
Period.  The  author  of  this  Chronicle,  who  is  a  contemporary,  and 
who  has  certainly  seen  the  "  Egyptians"  of  whom  he  speaks,  ends  the 
description  he  gives  of  them  by  the  following  remark :  "  And  folks 

1  Containing  extracts  from  the  BiirgernieisterMclier  of  the  town  of  Frankfort. 

2  One  can  scarcely  think  this  word  has  any  connection  with  that  of  Bohmen,  which  I 
meet  with  under  tiie  date  of  1480  in  the  extracts  drawn  from  the  Stddtischen  B.echenhilcher 
of  the  town  of  Frankfort  (in  the  same  vol.  of  M.  Kriegk,  p.  150),  because  this  name  of 
Bohmen  (no  doubt  Bohemien,  as  in  France),  which  has  nothing  surprising  in  1480,  would 
with  difficulty  be  explained  if  applied  to  the  Gypsies  of  a  period  anterior  to  1400,  when  the 
name  of  Bemische  was  already  in  use.  I  remark,  by  the  way,  that  M.  Kriegk,  who,  p.  149, 
quotes  this  name  of  "  Bohmen  (Beheimen) "  amongst  those  given  at  Frankfort  to  the  Gypsies 
in  the  sixteenth  century,  thinks,  p.  150,  that  the  Bohmen  of  the  document  of  1480  mentioned 
above,  "do  not  appear  to  have  been  Gypsies,  because  they  had  not  been  simply  sent  away 
or  driven  from  the  town,  but  they  had  been  conducted  to  .  .  .  the  forge  called  Waldschmide, 
near  Nidda,  in  Upper  Hesse."  But  this  detail  appears  to  me,  on  the  contrary,  to  indicate 
that  they  were  probably  Gypsy  blacksmiths,  upon  whom  it  was  sought  to  impose  regular 
work. 

3  Recueil  des  Chroniques  de  Flandre,  published  under  the  direction  of  the  Royal  Com- 
mission of  History  by  J.  J.  de  Sraet,  in  4to,  vol.  iii.,  Brussels,  1856,  p.  372  and  following. 
All  this  curious  passage  has  been  reproduced  in  Extraits  des  anciens  registres  des  Consaux 
de  la  Ville  de  Tournai,  published  by  H.  Vanderbroeck,  archivist  of  the  town,  in  8vo.,  vol.  i., 
Tournai,  1861,  pp.  236-238. 


WESTERN    EUROPE    IN    THE    EIFTEENTII    CENTURY,  209 

gossiped  about  the  allegation  made  by  these  people  that  they  came 
from  Egypt,  but  they  were  only,  as  hath  since  been  known,  from  a 
town  in  Germany  named  in  Latin  EjnjJolensis,  and  in  common  parlance 
Mahone,^  situate  between  the  town  of  '  Wilseuacque '  and  'Jlomme,' 
at  six  days'  journey  from  the  said  '  Vilsenacque,'  and  they  abide 
there  by  tribute  and  servitude." 

The  way  in  which  it  has  pleased  the  Flemish  chronicler  to  indicate 
the  geographical  position  of  the  town  which  he  calls  in  Latin  Epipo- 
lensis,  between  the  town  of  "  Wilsenacque  "  (which  must  be  Wilsnach, 
a  small  town  of  the  Marquisate  of  Brandenburg  )  ^  and  "  Eomme  "  (?) 
....  seems  a  sort  of  enigma  made  on  purpose  to  embarrass  the 
reader;   but  yet   the  important  place,  which  the  chronicler  desig- 
nates by  a  Latin  adjective  more  or  less  inaccurate,  EpipoUnsis,  can 
be  none  other  than  Wiirtzburg,  in  Latin  Herhipolis?      It  is  then 
finally   from   Wiirtzburg   that   the  chronicler  makes  the  pretended 
Egyptians  come.      Certainly  it  is  not  thence  that  all  those  came 
who  spread  over  the  west,  and  we  have  good  reasons  for  thinking 
that  neither  did  the  band  which  appeared  at  Tournai  in  1422  come 
from  thence;    but  that  this  chronicler,  who  was,  moreover,  a  very 
intelligent  man,  should  have  had  such  an  idea,  he  must  have  learnt 
soon  after  tlie  passage  of  the  band  which  came  to  Tournai  in  May 
1422,  that  Wiirtzburg,  or  rather  Franconia,  of  which  the  larger  part 
formed  the  state  of  the  prince-bishop,  contained  a  certain  number  of 
people  of  the  same  sort  who  "  abode  there  by  tribute  and  servitude." 
Now  this  is  not  a  condition  to  which,  before  1422,  the  Gypsies  of  the 
immigration  commenced  in  1417  could  have  been  reduced;   it  is  a 
condition  more  or  less  analogous  to  those  in  which  we  have  found  the 
Gypsies  in  the  fourteenth  and  fifteenth  centuries  in  various  countries 
of  the   east,   to    which  they    appear   to  have  been  subjected  for  a 
long  time  ;    it  could  only  have  been  established  in  the  bishopric  of 
Wiirtzburg    over   Gypsies   who   had   arrived   there   successively  by 
families,  or  in  very  small  groups,  who  had  tried  their  chance  in  the 
west,  and  who,  not  well  knowing  what  to  do,  had  accommodated 
themselves  to  the  sort  of  semi-servitude  offered  them,  in  return,  no 
doubt,  for  some  advantages,  and  above  all  for  their  being  tolerated  in 
this  principality. 

From   these   considerations,    I  am  strongly  disposed   to  believe 

1  M.  Vanderbrocck  writes  here  Mahode  :  is  this  a  correction  ? 

2  See  the  Diction,  (leoijr.  of  Baudraiul,  Paris,  1705,  in  fol.,  at  the  word  Wilsmac/C, 
Wilsnach. 

3  See  the  same  at  tlie  word  WurtrJmrg.  It  remains  to  be  learnt  if  this  town  has 
been  sometimes  called,  "in  common  parlance,"  by  a  name  approaching  to  Mahone  or 
Mahode. 


210  BEGINNING    OF   THE   IMMIGRATION   OF   THE   GYPSIES   INTO 

that  the  Bemischc  who  occasioned  the  ordinance  issued  at  a  date 
necessarily  comprised  between  1373  and  1400,  by  Gerhard  de 
Schwarzburg,  prince-bishop  of  Wiirtzburg,  were  really  Gypsies.  In 
support  of  the  detail  supplied  by  the  chronicler  of  Flanders  that  "  they 
abode  there  by  tribute  and  servitude,"  that  is  to  say  that  they  were 
tolerated  there  under  certain  conditions  by  which  the  bishop  probably 
profited,  one  may  remark  that  this  prince  did  not  drive  them  out  of 
his  principality  as  the  Margrave  of  Meissen  did  at  a  later  date,  but 
that  he  only  prohibited  his  subjects  from  lodging  them  or  feeding 
them  under  penalty  of  a  fine,  a  radical  measure  which  he  may  have 
taken  in  the  interest  of  those  it  affected  in  order  to  prevent  the 
Bemische  from  being  any  longer  a  burden  to  them. 

It  must  be  well  understood  that  I  do  not  offer  these  conjectures 
for  certainties,  but  they  appear  to  me  highly  plausible.  This  probable 
state  of  things  still  existed,  it  appears,  in  1422,  and  it  may  have 
lasted  some  time  longer.  But,  first  of  all,  some  of  the  Gypsy  families, 
those  least  amenable  to  discipline,  may  have  shaken  off  the  yoke 
before  this  period,  although  to  all  appearance  it  was  not  very  heavy, 
and  may  have  passed  into  Meissen,  for  example,  whence  they  were 
to  be  expelled  in  1416,  or  into  Hesse,  where  the  presence  of 
Gypsies  is  signalised  as  early  as  1414.  Besides,  it  is  probable  that 
the  spectacle  of  the  benefits  the  immigrants  of  1417  and  of  the 
following  years  derived  from  their  frauds  may  have  tempted  the 
Gypsies  of  Franconia,  that  the  example  of  the  independence  of  these 
new-comers  may  at  least  have  been  an  inducement  to  emancipate 
themselves,  and  that  they  mixed  themselves  little  by  little  with  the 
other  Gypsies  of  the  west. 

However  that  may  be,  it  will  be  remarked  that  the  foregoing 
facts,  and  others  which  some  writers  have  pretended  to  establish, 
but  which  I  neglected  as  being  still  less  certain  than  those  to  which 
I  have  drawn  attention,  concern  the  western  region  of  Germany. 
This  is  easily  explained.  The  diversity  of  the  languages  spoken  in 
different  countries  is  an  obstacle  that  the  Gypsies  know  very  well 
how  to  surmount  when  they  have  any  reason  for  venturing  into  new 
countries ;  but  it  is  an  obstacle  which  naturally  stops  them  under 
ordinary  circumstances,  whilst  on  the  contrary  they  are  naturally,  so 
to  speak,  induced  to  pursue  their  course  wherever  a  language  witli 
which  they  are  already  familiar  is  spoken ;  for  their  true  frontiers  are 
not  the  political  ones,  but  those  traced  by  language,  and  it  is  thus 
that  the  great  Gypsy  groups  which  exist  in  Europe  have  been  formed, 
and  the  dialects  of  the  Gypsy  tongue,  which  correspond  at  the  same 


WESTERN   EUROPE   IN   THE   FIFTEENTH   CENTURY.  211 

time  to  these  groups  and  to  the  geographical  distribution  of  tlie 
various  languages.  Now  the  German  language,  with  which  the 
Gypsies  of  the  south-east  must  have  familiarised  themselves  in  the 
archduchy  of  Austria  and  elsewhere,  had  long  before  1417  been  ex- 
tended (with  dialectic  differences  which  were  not  sufficient  to  arrest 
them)  as  far  as  the  North  Sea,  Alsace,  and  certain  Swiss  cantons. 
It  is,  then,  in  this  direction  that  Gypsy  families  of  an  adventurous 
disposition  would  prefer  turning  their  steps,^  and  it  is  in  these  parts 
more  especially  that  we  may  hope  to  make  some  discoveries.  As  the 
Italian  language  had  extended  itself  before  the  end  of  the  middle 
ages  over  several  isles  of  the  eastern  waters  of  the  Mediterranean, 
this  circumstance  must  have  been  an  additional  reason  ^  for  early 
attracting  the  eastern  Gypsies  to  Italy. 

I  must  add  two  final  remarks. 

It  will  now  be  easily  understood  why  I  liave  changed  the 
original  title  of  my  work :  Dc  VaiJiKtrition  et  cle  la  dis2}ersion  des 
Bohemiens  en  Europe.  Besides  its  being  no  longer  a  question  of  the 
whole  of  Europe,  the  apparition  of  the  Gypsies,  even  in  the  west  in 
the  fifteenth  century,  has  not  now  in  my  eyes  any  other  than  a 
relative  meaning,  and,  so  to  say,  official,  as  I  have  already  pointed  out. 
As  to  tlie  word  disjjersion,  it  lias  never  been  satisfactory,  and  I 
should  have  changed  it  even  in  1844  to  diffusion,  had  it  not 
been  objected,  and  very  justly,  that  in  Frencli  tliis  word,  when 
used  in  the  sense  of  "spreading,"  is  little  employed  except  in 
physics,  and  can  scarcely  be  applied  correctly,  even  by  extension, 
otherwise  than  to  tilings  such  as  light,  riches,  etc.  Both  are  advan- 
tageously superseded  by  immigration,  which,  besides,  lends  itself  to 
the  modifications  that  the  division  of  the  subject  into  various  periods 
admits  of. 

Secondly,  several  of  the  clironiclers  whom  I  shall  have  to 
quote  in  the  First  Period  add,  in  recording  the  presence  of 
Gypsies  in  such  or  such  a  place,  or  even  country,  that  it  was  the 
first  time  that  they  had  been  seen  there.  I  am  always  careful  to 
reproduce  this  statement,  which  may  have  its  interest ;  but  I  wish  to 
add  that  I  do  not  attach  more  importance  to  it  than  it  merits. 
Without  speaking  of  what  may  have  occurred  at  periods  placed  by 
me  under  tlie  head  of  Antecedents  and  Preludes,  and  without  going 
further  back  than  the  First  Period,  such  a  statement  may  be  subject 

1  It  was,  perhaps,  the  same  motive  that  contributed  to  decide  tlie  first  Gypsies  of  the 
immigration  of  1417  to  go  first  to  the  Hanseatic  Towns,  and  to  commence  by  tiavelling  over 
the  countries  where  the  German  tongue  is  spoken. 

'  See  above,  p.  194. 


212      IMMIGRATION   OF   THE   GYPSIES   IN   THE   FIFTEENTH  CENTURY. 

to  revision.  A  chronicler,  even  contemporary,  may  be  mistaken  in 
this  respect,  especially  if  he  extends  his  remark  to  the  whole  of  a 
country.  But  it  must  be  observed  that  it  is  generally  writers  who 
are  not  contemporary  who  add  this  statement  to  the  fact  revealed 
to  them  by  such  or  such  a  document :  it  is  the  first  they  are 
acquainted  with,  but  it  may  not  in  reality  have  the  signification 
they  attribute  to  it.  "We  have  already  seen  (p.  206)  that  Calvisius, 
not  satisfied  with  changing  the  date  given  by  Fabricius,  also 
impairs  the  sense  of  it  by  adding  these  words :  "  primum  in  his 
regionibus  visum."  Others  may  have  erred  more  innocently.  We 
shall  meet  with  several  proofs  or  several  tokens  of  errors  of  this 
kind.  But,  even  there,  where  motives  for  rectification  or  suspicion 
are  wanting,  the  expression  fo7'  the  first  time  should  never  be  con- 
sidered as  infallible.  I  have  here  spoken  only  of  the  Chronicles, 
because  the  Town  Accounts,  always  confining  themselves  with  much 
precision  to  the  actual  fact,  never  employ  such  a  form ;  but,  if  it  be 
a  document  of  this  nature  which  has  served  as  guide  to  a  chronicler, 
he  may  all  the  more  easily  have  taken  for  a  first  mention  such  or  such 
an  entry  in  these  accounts  which  may  perhaps  have  been  preceded, 
at  a  date  more  or  less  distant,  by  one  or  two  other  entries  which  have 
escaped  liis  notice. 

In  concluding  this  preliminary  chapter,  I  acknowledge  that  it  is 
not  rich  in  facts;  but  in  speaking,  in  1844,  of  that  which  concerned 
the  Gypsies  in  Eastern  Europe,  I  remarked  {De  Vaiiparition,  etc., 
p.  5)  that  it  was  an  outline  but  slightly  filled  in.  It  has  already 
gained  something  since  then ;  and  I  hope  it  will  gain  still  more. 
Conclusive  documents  will  be  still  more  difficult  to  discover  and 
discern,  as  I  have  shown  superabundantly  and  perhaps  tediously  ;  but 
time,  and  the  labour  of  scholars  more  learned  than  myself,  will,  no 
doubt,  do  their  work,  and  perhaps  my  successors  will  give  a  thought 
to  him  who  has  opened  up  these  two  questions. 

Paul  Bataillaed. 


I 


II.— AN  ITALIAN  GYPSY  SONG. 

OBTAINED  the  following  song  from  a  woman  in  Florence  who  is 
a  fortune-teller.  She  assured  me  that  it  is  actually  a  Gypsy 
lyric,  and  in  fact  the  realism  in  it  is  very  striking.  There  are  very 
few  ballads  in  existence  which  are  so  simply  descriptive  of  hard 
life,  and  with  so  little  conventional  "  poetry  "  in  them.     A  remark- 


AN   ITALIAN   GYPSY    SONG. 


213 


able  feature  in  this  ballad  is  its  resemblance  and  almost  identity  with 
old  Spanish  songs  of  a  similar  type. 

Canzone  della  Zingara.  Translation. 


lo  son  Zingara  clie  passegio 
I  villagi  e  la  citta, 
Con  dei  ferri  clie  io  vendo 
Per  la  calza  lavora'. 
E  lavoro  delle  calze 
E  un  lavoro  poveretto, 
Peverina  io  lo  smetto 
Non  avendo  da  mangiar. 
Quest!  ferri  e  proccaciato 
Per  andare  a  dispensare, 
Per  un  un  soldo  guardonare, 
Per  pigliarlo  un'  po'  di  pan. 
Neppur  questo  non  mi  giova, 
La  miseria  e  sempre  grande, 
Si  un  organetto  posso  farmi 
Quello  andero  suonar. 
Sotto  le  finestre  dei  Signori, 
E  dei  principi,  dei  conti, 
E  dei  niarchesi, 
Fin  che  questi  un  soldarello 
Me  lo  passino  a  me  buttar. 
E  allor  sempre  ripetando, 
"  0  di  ferri  a  dispensar  ! " 
CM  lo  sa,  un  biondetto 
0  un  moretto,  purche  sia, 
Non  si  possa  inamorar. 
E  allor'  sempre  cantaro  : 
Ba  la  la  la — ra  la  la, 
E  de'  ferri  non  vo,  piu, 
Io  dispensar — ra  la  la  ! 


I'm  a  Gypsy  girl  who  wanders 
By  the  villages  or  town, 
Selling  iron-ware,  knitting  stockings. 
Walking,  working  up  and  down. 

But  this  ever  knitting  stockings 
Does  me  very  little  good. 
Poor  me  !  I  'd  so  gladly  leave  it, 
For  I  often  want  for  food. 

And  the  iron  ware  I  purchase 
Just  to  make  a  little  trade. 
Just  to  get  a  penny  profit, 
And  to  buy  a  bit  of  bread. 

But  1  've  very  little  pleasure, 
Sufiering  's  always  in  my  way, 
Could  I  buy  a  small  hand  organ, 
Then  I  'd  go  about  and  play, 

Neath  the  windows  of  the  nobles. 
Counts  and  lords — whate'er  they  be, 
Till  some  marquis  from  the  window 
Throws  a  penny  out  to  me. 

Then  you  'd  always  hear  me  singing  : 
"  Iron  ware  I  'd  let  it  be  !  " 
Who  knows  but  some  fair  young  fellow- 
Or  a  dark — may  follow  me  ! 

Then  I  always  would  be  singing : 
Ra  la  la  la — ra  la  la. 
Then  adieu  to  all  the  iron, 
With  a  lal  lal  lal  de  ra! 


It  is  almost  needless  to  say  that  I  have  given  the  song  verbatim 
as  it  was  sung,  and  have  made  no  attempt  to  correct  the  Italian. 
The  air  accompanying  it  is  very  pretty,  simple  and  original. 

Charles  G.  Leland. 

Florence,  Feb.  25,  1889, 


III.— THE  GYPSIES  IX  THE  MAP.CHES  OF  AXCONA 
DUPtlNG  THE  16th,  17th,  and  18th  CENTUPJES. 

THE  eminent  Professor  Antonio  Gianandrea  has  lately  discovered 
among  the  municipal  archives  of  Senigaglia  (Marches  of  An- 
cona),  ten  documents  relating  to  the  Gypsies,  of  which  the  earliest 
bears  the  date  of  1550  and  the  most  recent  that  of  1742.     These  are 


214  THE   GYPSIES   IN   THE   MARCHES   OF  ANCONA 

of  considerable  importance  in  the  history  of  the  ItaHan  Gypsies,  and 
I  believe  that  I  shall  be  giving  pleasure  to  the  readers  of  our  Journal 
in  now  bringing  under  their  notice  these  hitherto  unpublished 
documents. 

Senigaglia  is  a  small  town  of  The  Marches,  built  upon  the  shores 
of  the  Adriatic,  and  is  the  birth-place  of  the  late  Pope  Pius  the  Ninth. 
At  the  date  of  the  first  of  the  following  documents — that  is  to  say  in 
1550 — this  town  was  under  the  rule  of  the  Dukes  of  Urbino,  powerful 
feudal  nobles,  who  there  retained  a  Lieutenant  (Luogotenente).  But, 
besides  this  representative  of  the  ducal  government,  the  town  main- 
tained its  municipal  powers,  like  all  the  other  free  towns  of  Italy  at 
that  period. 

The  two  first  of  these  documents  relate  to  a  decree  of  expulsion 
against  the  Gypsies,  who  are  ordered  to  quit  the  territory  within  four 
days,  under  pain  of  suffering  fortliwith,  three  trcdti  di  cordci}  after 
which  they  were  to  be  sent  to  the  galleys,  their  goods  falling  to  any 
of  the  citizens  who  chose  to  appropriate  them. 

Eiform.  1550-57,  c.  7.  -verso. 

1550,  5  August.  Consiglio,  etc. 
Il  luogotenente  ducale  D.  Hieronymus  Egidius — Presentavit  litteras 
ducales  d.no  locumtenenti  directas  ad  instantiam  hujus  Comunitatis  de 
propellendis  omnibus  Egiptiacis  seu  Zingaris,  et  quod  nullus  Zingarus 
valeat  in  futurum  morari  in  curte  Senogalliae.  Et  sic  expeditum  con- 
silium. 

Decreti,  Lib.  A,  c.  75  e  Lib.  E,  c.  85. 

1552,  10  April.  A  tergo :  Locumtenenti  nostro  civitatis  Senogal- 
liae. Intiis : 
II  Duca  d'Urhino — Luogotenente,  Per  liberare  i  nostri  siulditi  dai 
continui  latrocinii,  che  fanno  i  Zingari  nel  nostro  stato  prohibirete  per 
pubblico  bando  nei  luoghi  soliti,  che  in  termine  di  quattro  giorni  se  par- 
tano  con  le  loro  famiglie  e  robbe  dal  nostro  Stato  sotto  pena  de  tre 
tratti  de  corda  da  darseli  immediate,  si  verranno  in  pntere  de'  nostri 
offitiali,  e  di  essere  mandati  alia  galera  a  nostro  beneplacito :  Concedendo 
che  a  ciascuno  sia  lecito  svaligiarli,  se  vi  saranno  trovati  da  quel  in  poi : 
non  obstante  alcuna  cosa  in  contrario.  E  farete  registrare  la  j^resente  a 
perpetua  memoria,  notificandola  a  tutti  i  luoghi  della  vostra  giurisdi- 
tione  et  medesimamente  al  Vicariato.^    Di  Pesaro  il  di  xdAprile  1552. 

In  the  third  document,  that  of  19th  July  1553,  the  Duke  of 
Urbino  orders  his  Lieutenant  at  Senigaglia  again  to  expel  the  Gypsies 

1  The  tratto  di  corda  may  be  thus  described  :  "The  victim's  hands  were  tied  behind  his 
back,  and  fastened  to  a  rope  running  through  a  pulley  fixed  overhead.  He  was  then  hoisted 
by  means  of  this  pulley  to  a  height  of  six  or  eight  feet  from  the  ground,  so  that,  the 
whole  weight  of  his  body  hanging  from  his  wrists  thus  tied,  all  the  articulations  of  the 
shoulders  were  thereby  dislocated  or  broken.  A  prisoner  was  sentenced  to  undergo  this 
torture  three,  four  or  five  times — even  oftener — after  which  he  was  unbound." 

"  The  Vicarage  of  Mondavio. 


DURING   THE    16X11,    17X11,   AND    18X11   CENTUPJES,  215 

from  that  territory,  under  pain  of  being  despoiled  and  sent  to  the 
gallows.  It  would  seem,  however,  from  this  document,  that  the 
Duke  had  granted  a  patent  to  several  Gypsies,  allowing  them  a  per- 
manent residence,  probably  on  the  condition  that  they  would  change 
their  way  of  living  and  forsake  the  Gypsy  dress.  TJiis  decree  of 
banishment,  therefore,  did  not  strike  at  those  Gypsies  who  possessed 
this  patent.  They,  however,  were  notified  that  they  must  live 
honestly,  without  giving  cause  for  complaint;  otherwise  they  for- 
feited this  privilege,  and  if  any  one  of  these  sedentary  Gypsies  abused 
this  favour,  the  Lieutenant  was  authorised  to  have  him  arrested  and 
punished.     The  text  is  as  follows  : — 

Ibid.  Lib.  E.  c.  87  et  Lib.  A.  cc.  76,  verm  77. 

1553.  19  July.  A  tergo  :  Locumtenenti  nostro,  etc.  Intus  : 
II  Duca  d'Urbino — Luogotenente,  Farete  per  pubHco  bando  notificare 
a  tutti  i  luochi  solliti,  et  prohibirete  che  nisciun  zingano  di  qualsivoglia 
sorte,  che  non  habbia  patente,  possi  o  debba  stare  o  praticare  nel  nostro 
State  sotto  pena  de  esser  svaligiati  et  della  forca,  et  quelli  che  non 
havessero  patente,  e  non  le  presentino  e  gli  monerete  (sic)  debbano  viver 
bene  e  di  maniera  che  non  se  ne  senta  querela  alcuna,  che  alia  prima  se 
gli  revocheranno ;  e  quando  vi  constara  o  constasse  al  presente  che  le 
havessero  abusato,  subbito  provvederete  alia  loro  retentione,  et  avisarete 
che  vi  si  ordinara  il  gastigo  che  se  gli  havera  a  dare.  Di  Urbino  il  di 
19  de  Lugiio  1553. 

SxEPHANUS  de  mandato  Ill.mi. 

SaJvator 

Vincentius. 

Eleven  years  later,  the  citizens  lament  anew  their  woes  and 
sufferings  through  the  annoyances  and  thefts  of  the  Gypsies,  who 
are  again  expelled  and  are  ordered  to  go  away  with  God,  and  never 
again  to  set  foot  in  the  Duchy,  under  the  penalty  of  the  galleys  and 
the  gibbet.  The  licences,  in  the  exceptional  case  referred  to  previouslv, 
were  to  be  presented  and  renewed,  and  any  not  thus  confirmed  afresh 
or  found  to  be  of  past  date,  would  be  held  to  have  become  null  and 
void  : 

Decreti,  Lib.  A.  c.  182. 

1564.  29  July.  A  tergo:  ut  s.  Intus : 
II  Duca  d'Urbino — Luogotenente,  I  continui  richiami  e  querele,  che  ne 
sonno  fatte  da'  nostri  popoli  degli  inso})ortabili  danni  e  latrocinj,  che 
fauno  continuamente  i  zingari  e  loro  famiglie  nel  nostro  Stato  u'  ban 
fatto  risolvere  de  non  gli  tollerare  piu  in  modo  alcuno.  Per6  al  havuta 
de  questa  farete  per  publico  bando  bandire  in  tutti  i  luoglii  solliti,  che 
senza  interporvi  tempo  alcuno  in  mezzo  se  vadino  con  Dio,  et  che  piii 
non  ardischino  starvi,  tornarvi  e  praticarvi  senza  nuova  nostra  deter- 
minatione,  alia  pena  della  galera  e  della  forca,  come  a  Noi  parera,  e,  pub- 
blicato  che  sia  tal  bando,  lo  farete  registrare :  Notificando,  che  se  alcuu 


216  THE    GYPSIES   IN   THE   MARCHES   OF  ANCONA 

pretencle  haver  licenza  per  nostra  patente,  data  sotto  il  presente  anno,  di 
starvi,  che  subbito  venghino  a  jiresentarla  all'  udientia,  die  non  mostrando 
confirmatione  o  nuova  concessione,  non  intendemo  habbia  piii  luogo. 
D'Urbino  li  29  de  Luglio  1564. 

Jacobus  mandate  Ill.mi. 

1564,  3  August — Bando  che  i  zingani  non  ardischino  stare,  praticare 
o  i>assare  in  Senigaglia  et  suo  territorio,  ut  infra 

Per  parte  e  commessione  del  Mag.  Sig.  Luogotenenti  per  ordine  di 
S.  E.  si  fa  publico  bando,  et  expressamente  se  prohibisce  e  comanda,  che 
per  r  avvenire  non  sia  zingaro  alcuno,  tanto  in  compagnia  quanto  solo,  o 
sotto  alcun  altro  quesito  colore  o  sotto  pretesto  de  licenza  o  patente 
ch'  havessino  havuto  avanti  il  presente  bando  da  S.  E.  che  non  ardiscano 
praticare,  stare  o  passare  per  la  citta  de  Senigaglia  o  suo  territorio  e 
distretto,  senza  nuova  determinatione  di  sua  Eccellenza  111. ma  et  Ecc.ma 
sotto  pena  della  galera  o  forca  ad  arbitrio  di  sua  Eccellenza.  Notificando, 
che  se  alcuni  de  essi  pretende  haver  licentia  o  patente  da  sua  Eccellenza, 
data  sotto  il  presente  anno  1564,  di  potervi  stare,  che  subbito  la  debbano 
presentare  in  odientia,  che  non  mostrando  confirmatione  o  nuova  con- 
cessione, non  s'  intendera  habbino  piii  luogo,  et  non  gli  se  menera  buoua. 
— Die  3  Augusti  1564.  {Here  follous  the  declaration,  in  Latin,  of  theimhlic 
proscriher,  certifying  that  he  had  published  this  decree  of  hanishment.) 

There  is  no  further  mention  of  Gypsies  during  the  next  sixteen 
years.  But  in  1580  Duke  Francesco-Maria  issues  a  new  decree. 
From  this  it  would  appear  that  the  Gypsies  increased  in  number  and 
in  audacity — no  longer  confined  themselves  to  petty  thefts  committed 
in  country  districts,  but  entered  the  citizens'  houses  by  force  during 
the  night-time,  bound  them,  robbed  them,  and  dishonoured  their 
women.  By  this  decree  the  Gypsies  are  expelled  without  distinction, 
whether  or  not  they  possess  those  patents,  which  are  hereby  abolished 
and  revoked,  and  without  caring  whether  or  not  they  have  relin- 
quished the  Gypsy  dress.  Those  who  resist  are  doomed  to  the  gallows, 
with  forfeiture  of  their  goods.  The  sbirri  and  the  citizens,  as  soon  as 
they  see  a  Gypsy,  male  or  female,  are  charged  to  call  him  to  a  halt, 
to  fall  upon  him,  and  to  try  every  means  to  take  him  alive.  And  if 
the  fugitive  faces  round  and  resists,  he  may  be  killed  with  impunity. 

Decreti.  Lib.  A.  c.  328. 

1580.  20  July. 
Francesco  Maria  Felirio  della  Eovere  ii.,  duca  vi.  d'Urbino,  Signor  di 
Pesaro  et   di  Senigaglia,  conte   di    Montefeltro  e  di  Durante,  Prefetto 
di  Eoma. 

Se  bene  da'  nostri  Antecessori  sono  state  fatte  provisioni  penali, 
perche  li  zingari  non  habbino  pratica  di  sorte  alcuna  nel  stato  nostro, 
Nondimeno,  essendo  cresciuta  tanto  la  malignita  loro,  che  ardiscouo  non 
solo  di  commettere  furti  et  rubberie,  ma  di  andare  anco  la  notte  alle  case 
d'  alcuni,  ligarli  et  torglili  con  violenza  la  robba  et  1'  honore ;  Habbiamo 
determinato  di  accrescere  li  freni  ancora  et  i  Eemedij.  Pero  prohibiamo 
a  tutti  li  zingari,  maschi  et  femiiie,  che  per  1'  avenire  non  ardischino  anco, 


DURINC    TIIK    IGTII,    1  TTII,    AND    }>^TU    f'RNTUlMKR.  217 

con  pretesto  di  licenza  o  concessioiii  per  1'  aJclietro  ottenute,  quali  tuttc 
revochiamo  o  d'  haver  lasciato  1'  abito  zingaresco  et  essercitio  o  d'  altro 
qual  si  sia  colore,  andare,  stare,  couversare,  passare  o  in  altro  modo 
l)raticare  in  luogo  alcuno  dello  stato  nostro,  sotto  pena  della  forca  et 
confiscation!  de'  beni;  Commandando  a  ciascun  nostro  suddito,  alia  pena 
imposta  da  nostri  Decreti,  a  quelli  che  ne  persegnitano  li  Banditi  capital- 
mente,  clie  vedra  zingaro  o  zingara  nel  nostro  Stato,  che  li  debba  levar 
la  grida  et  rumore  dietro,  et  fare  ogiii  opera  d'  hav'erli  vivi  nelle  niani  per 
poterli  dare  il  debito  castigo,  voleiido  che  a  ciascun  sia  lecito  di  svali- 
giarli,  et  guadagnera  tutti  li  beni  che  li  levera,  non  si  trovando  li  padroni, 
et  trovandosi  guadagni  quella  recognitione  dalli  padroni,  che  sara  giudi- 
cata  honesta  da'  nostri  uditori ;  et  quando  li  zingari  facessero  resistenza 
in  modo  che  non  si  potessero  havei-  vivi,  voliamo  che  sia  lecito  a  ciascuno, 
perche  non  fuggano,  ammazzarli  senza  incorso  de  pena  alcana.  Di  Pesaro 
li  XX.  di  Luglio  1580.  (ProsrriJier's  (h'cl(irati(ni,  as  ii)  former  instance,  dated 
nth  August.) 

From  the  era  of  the  preceding  document  to  that  of  the  following 
there  is  a  lapse  of  about  eighty  years.  The  town  of  Senigaglia  no 
longer  finds  itself  under  the  dominion  of  tlie  Dukes  of  Urbino.  The 
power  of  the  Eoman  Pontiffs  has  stretched  throughout  the  Marches 
of  Aucona.  The  Pontifical  authority  is  represented  by  a  Cardinal- 
Legate,  who  also  has  his  Lieutenant.  But  the  manners  and  the  time 
have  now  become  more  humane;  the  gibbet  and  mob-law  are  no 
longer  spoken  off,  but  merely  the  prison. 

Lettere  d'  udienza,  vol  7.  c.  1  69. 
16.59.  26  June. 
//  Cardinal  Doici  legato  di  Sinigaglia — Luogotenente,  Vi  trasmetto 
niemoriale  di  Gio.  j\Laria  Beliardi  di  codesta  citta  con  ordine  che  quando 
haverete  notitia,  che  si  trovino  o  capitino  costi  zingari,  facciate  loro  in- 
tendere  che  se  ne  partino  subito,  et  essendo  negligenti  ad  ubbedire  li 
facciate  carcerare,  e  me  ne  diate  poi  avviso  in  confurmita  di  die  dispongoiio 
i  Bandi  generali  in  questo  proposito.     Urbino,  26  Giugno  1659. 

II  Carijle.  Dolci. 
During  the  eighteenth  century  the  plague  of  the  Gypsies  con- 
tinued to  afflict  the  Italian  littoral.      In  1720   some  measures  are 
taken  against  this  scourge : — 

•  Ibidem,  vol.  76,  c.  246, 

1720.  26  November. 
Alamanno  Salviati,  Presidente — Luogotenente,  Per  discacciare  i  zingari, 
che  vanno  infestando  estesto  territorio  e  sue  vicinanze,  secondo  il  nostro 
avviso  voi  procederete  contro  di  essi  giusta  la  disposizione  espressa  nella 
CoUettanea  Astelli  a  carte  215  ;  al  qual  fine  ve  1'  intenderete  con  i  giudici 
vicini  per  havere  il  braccio  della  loro  Corte,  e  credendo  necessaria  in 
tempo  proprio  quella  ancora  di  campagna,  datecene  il  rincontro,  che  ve 
la  mandei'emo,  acci6  sia  rimosso  tale  inconveniente  e  resti  provveduto 
opportunamente  alia  quiete  di  cotesti  Popoli,  Tanto  esequirete.  Pesaro, 
26  Novembre  1720. 

V.  Santichi.  A.  Salviati,  Presidente. 

VOL.  I. — NO.  IV.  P 


218  THE   GYPSIES   IN   THE   MARCHES    OF    ANCONA 

But,  twenty- two  years  later  the  public  peace  is  seriously  menaced 
by  the  Gypsies.  The  ninth  document  is  a  detailed  petition  of  the 
citizens  of  Senigaglia,  Scapezzano,  Eoncitelli,  Tomba,  Brugnetto, 
Yallone,  and  other  localities,  demanding  the  support  of  the  authorities 
against  a  troop  of  200  Gypsies,  divided  into  several  companies,  who 
scour  the  country,  making  havoc,  robbing,  and  burning  the  crops. 
According  to  this  petition,  these  Gypsies  imposed  themselves  by  force 
on  a  village,  claiming  the  right  to  remain  there  for  some  weeks. 
They  camped  at  the  side  of  churches  or  under  the  verandas  of  houses, 
and  publicly  committed  all  kinds  of  filthiness,  indecencies,  and 
offences.  They  prowled  about  the  country  threatening  to  burn  and 
plunder  the  peasants'  houses.  They  made  forced  requisitions  of  straw 
and  forage  for  their  horses  and  other  animals.  They  stole  poultry 
and  animals,  and,  entering  houses  while  the  peasants  were  working 
in  the  fields,  they  stole  rings,  clothes,  linen,  and  household  effects. 
Then  they  cooked  and  ate  the  stolen  fowls,  living  Wee  Sarclanapalus. 

M'^ith  them*  were  some  like-minded  rogues,  who  feasted  and 
regaled  themselves  with  them.  Other  people,  even  of  decent  con- 
dition, came  about  the  Gypsies,  for  the  purpose  of  buying  at  a  very 
cheap  rate,  fowls,  rings,  buckles,  corals,  clotlies,  and  other  stolen  goods, 
giving  in  exchange  oil,  vinegar,  salt,  and  other  things,  which  the 
Gypsies  required  in  cooking.  Others  among  these  protectors  or 
adherents  also  gave  the  Gypsies  blankets  or  mattresses,  or  allowed 
them  a  lodging,  so  as  to  be  in  their  good  graces.  And  if,  at  times, 
the  poor  Italian  peasants  sought  to  resent  this  brigandage  and  resisted 
the  Gypsies,  the  local  justices,  corrupted  by  gifts  from  the  Gypsies, 
upheld  them  and  punished  the  peasants.  If  one  band  took  up  its 
departure,  another  immediately  came  into  into  its  place. 

Accordingly,  the  petitioners  besought  the  Archbishop,  loith  tears 
in  their  eyes,  to  send  soldiers  and  to  make  the  tocsin  sound  throughout 
the  parishes,  calling  upon  the  people  to  fall  upon  the  Gypsies  and  free 
their  lands  and  their  fields  from  these  brigands. 

Eccellenza,  Li  popoli  del  territorio  di  Senigallia,  di  Scapezzano, 
Roncitelli,  Tomba,  Brugnetto,  Yallone  et  d'  altri  Eistretti  (s/c),  servi  e 
sudditi  umilissimi  di  V.  E.  con  ogni  ossequio  Le  rappresentano,  clie  nelli 
Territori  suddetti  si  ritrova  una  ciurma  di  quasi  duecento  zingari  tra 
Uomini,  Donne  e  Ragazzi,  divisi  in  piii  compagnie,  che  vanno  era  in  un 
luogo  era  nell'  altro,  facendo  notabilissimi  danni  e  Rubbarie,  insino  a 
dar  fuoco  a  pagliari,  per  lo  che  piu  d'  una  volta  sono  incolpati  e  castigati 
ingiustamente  h  vicini  o  innocenti  Passagieri,  volendo  stare  nelli  sud.' 
Luoghi  per  forza,  non  solamente  per  un  giorno  solo,  ma  per  piu  giorni  et 
intere  settimane,  prendendo  luogo  vicino  alle  Chiese  e  nelle  Loggie  delle 
med.™'=  o  nelle  Loggie  delle  case,  et  in  Luoghi  piu  publici,  e  nelli  Borghi 


DURING   THE    1  (jTH,    1  7tIT,   AND    18TII    CENTURIES.  219 

medesimi  clelli  sud.'  Peasi,  et  ivi  commettendo  publicamente  spoicizie, 
indecenze  e  scandali,  nel  qual  tempo  girando  per  le  campagne  vogliono 
per  forza,  perche  con  minacce  di  abrugiare  e  svaligiare  le  case  vogliono, 
replicasi,  Paglia  per  dormirvi  e  Strami  e  Fieni  per  li  loro  Bestiami, 
rubando  polli,  animali,  et  anco  arivando  nelle  case  campestri,  trovatele 
sproviste  dagli  abitatori,  cbe  stanno  alia  coltura  delle  campagne,  rubbano 
anelli,  liabiti,  biancherie  e  massarizie,  facendo  cosi  piangere  e  stridere  piu 
poveretti  e  contadini,  osservandosi  poi  condiir  una  vita  da  Sardanapali 
in  cucinare  e  mangiare  polli  rubbati  a  poveri  villani,  e,  quel  che  piii  e 
da  notarsi,  si  ritrovano  delli  sudd.'  Luoghi  gentaglie,  che  facendo  con 
essi  loro  compagnia,  mangiano  e  bevono  con  essi  loro  in  publico  e  privato, 
godendo  insieme  la  robba  rubata,  e  ritrovandosi  ancora  altre  genti,  anco 
benestanti,  che  tirati  dal  vil  mercato  comprano  da  loro  polli,  anelli,  fibbie, 
coralli,  abiti  et  altre  cose,  che  hanno  rubbato  in  altri  luoghi,  e  di  piu 
soministrando  per  il  proprio  interesse  aceto,  oglio,  sale,  massarizie  et 
altro  che  li  bisogna  per  cucinare,  che  non  praticarebbero  e  non  pratti- 
cano  con  li  veri  Poveri  di  Giesii  Christo,  dandoli  ancora  piu  d'una  volta 
r  alogio  nelle  proprie  case,  o  imprestandoli  stuore  o  coperte  da  ripararc 
il  freddo ;  dovendo  li  poveri  sui^plicanti  sogiacere  a  continui  danni,  senza 
poterli  discacciare,  mentre  se  talvolta  per  riparare  i  furti  e  custodire  la 
robba  propria  gli  fanno  fuga,  o  in  qualche  nianiera  mossi  dal  furore  gli 
oltraggiano,  sono  subito  castigati  da'  giudici  locali  e  penati  (.sic)  mentre 
talluni  di  questi,  e  specialmente  li  sbirri  piu  tosto  proteggono  li  sud.' 
zingari  per  1'  interesse  di  qualche  vantaggio  e  regalo,  che  da  essi  ne  ripor- 
tano ;  e  perche  non  possono  gli  oratori  jdIu  sofrire  tanti  incommodi  e  danni, 
mentre,  partendo  da  un  luogo  una  compagnia,  subito  ne  giunge  un'  altra, 
in  modo  che  quasi  continuamente  sono  da  quelli  molestati  et  oppressi, 
percio  con  lagrime  agli  occhi  supplicano  la  Bonta  e  Giustizia  di.  V.  E. 
a  darvi  1'  opportuno  remedio  o  con  farli  discacciare  dallo  Stato  o  ordinare 
che  in  tutti  li  Luoghi  vi  sia  una  compagnia  de  soldati,  che  abbiano  a 
discacciarli  con  suonar  le  campane  all'  armi ;  o  che  siano  fatti  prigioni 
per  dargli  un  continue  esilio,  e  che  non  possa  somministrarsegli  il  vitto, 
se  non  che  per  passaggio,  e  non  si  possa  da  loro  comprar  robba  rubata 
sotto  qualche  pena,  o  come  pareni  e  piacera  alia  somma  prudenza  di  V.E. 
— Che  della  gratia,  qua  Deus  ecc. 

(Verso  :  Scribatur  ex  Opjf.  Locumtenenti  Sevogalliae  ad  mentem  domini 
Advocati  Fiscalis.) 


The  Archbishop  then  writes  to  his  Lieutenant,  transmitting  to 
him  the  said  petition. 

But  it  becomes  evident  that  the  Pontifical  authorities  were  afraid 
of  the  Gypsies,  and  were  not  provided  with  sufficient  means  to  make 
them  respect  the  law.  For  in  this  letter  the  Archbishop  recommends 
the  Lieutenant  not  to  compromise  the  small  detachment  of  sbirri,  and 
counsels  him  rather  to  act  tcith  prudence,  addressing  himself  j^olitehj 
to  the  chiefs  of  the  Gypsies,  and  begging  them  to  go  elsewhere, 
hinting  to  them  the  danger  of  a  military  expedition  being  sent  against 
them  if  they  did  not  go  away  peaceably. 


220  GYPSIES   IN    THE   MARCHES   OF   ANCONA. 

Lettere  d'Udienza.  Vol.  101,  c.  95. 

Federko  Lanti,  Preside. — Luogotenente,  Dal  memoriale,  che  vi  acclu- 
diamo,  sentirete  li  gravi  inconvenienti,  disturb!  e  pregiudizi,  die  appor- 
tano  li  zingari,  li  quali  vanno  vagando  per  codeste  vicinanze.  E  pero 
quando  realmente  vi  siano,  per  non  porre  in  pericolo  codesta  squadra  de' 
Birri  si  poco  numerosa,  con  buona  maniera  farete  intendere  a'  capi  de' 
medesimi  Zingari,  che,  se  quanti  egli  siano  di  Uomini  e  Donne  non  pai- 
tiranno  e  slontanaranno  da  codesti  contorni,  li  niandarete  contro  li 
soldati,  e  farete  dar  la  campana  all'  armi  per  farli  inseguire,  carcerare  e 
punire,  conforme  richiedera  il  dovere :  Regolandovi  con  tale  maniera  e 
prudenza  che  serva  per  incuterli  timore,  accin  si  slontanino  ;  e  che  in- 
sieme  non  possa  apportare  maggiori  disordini.  Tanto  eseguirete.  — 
Pesaro,  15  Decembre  1742. 

V.  Agostini.  F.  Arciv.  di.  .  .   .1 

These  documents,  found  by  Professor  Gianandrea,  throw  a  curious 
light  upon  Italian  provincial  life  in  former  times ;  and  I  hope  to  find 
other  such  documents  in  the  municipal  archives  of  The  Marches, 
which,  of  all  the  provinces  of  Itnly,  is  the  one  best  adapted  for  the 
study  of  the  Gypsy  mig-rations. 

Adpjano  Colocci. 


D 


IV.— CENTPtAL  AFRICAN  GYPSIES. 

20  Alva  Strekt,  Edixiburgh,  Feb.  lo,  1889. 

EAR  Mr.  MacRitchie, — I  will  at  last  try  and  fulfil  my  pro- 
mise to  write  you  a  short  note  on  the  few  Gypsies  I  met 
with  in  Central  Africa,  or,  perhaps  I  should  more  correctly  say,  in 
Darfur  and  Kordofan.  The  note  will  not  be  as  long  as  I  at  first  hoped, 
for  a  notebook  containing  my  entries  concerning  them  is  apparently 
lost.     I  have,  therefore,  to  trust  greatly  to  memory. 

As  is  well  known,  Gypsies  are  fairly  numerous  in  the  Nile 
Delta,  where  they  follow  their  usual  occupations  as  pedlars,  menders 
of  pots  and  pans,  horse-dealers,  the  young  women  as  dancers,  and  the 
older  women  as  fortune-tellers.  I  understand  that  it  is  considered 
probable  that  these  Gypsies  came  to  Egypt  from  West  Africa.  It  is 
strange,  therefore,  to  remark  that  they  are  only  met  with  in  diminish- 
ing numbers  the  further  one  goes  south  ;  and,  to  the  best  of  my  belief, 
Dara  in  Darfur  may  be  said  to  be  the  apex  of  a  triangle  of  Gypsy 
distribution  in  the  Egyptian  Soudan.  But  it  should  be  noticed  that 
Dara  forms  as  well  the  apex  of  a  triangle  of  a  westerly  distribution 
of  Gypsies  towards  Wadai  and  Bornu  ;  where  the  base  of  this  triangle 


CENTRAL   AFRICAN   GYPSIES.  221 

is  I  have  failed  to  asceilaiii,  but  it  probably  exteiiels  i'lom  Tripolis  to 
Lake  Chad. 

As  in  Cairo,  so  in  Kordofan  and  JJari'ur,  the  Gypsies  apparently 
exercise  the  same  callings  as  elsewhere,  but  as  far  as  I  could  make 
out,  they  appear  to  keep  themselves  more  isolated  the  more  southerly 
and  limited  the  area  of  their  rovings.  They  seem,  too,  to  avoid 
contiicts,  and  in  times  of  disturbances  they  decamp  to  a  peaceful 
locality.  They  are  noted  as  being  sharp  dealers,  but  I  cannot  say 
that  they  have  the  reputation  of  being  light-fingered.  They  appear 
to  be  on  friendly  terms  with  the  natives  of  the  country,  and,  curiously 
enough,  they  are  said  to  have  introduced  the  art  of  filigree  work  and 
gold-beating  into  Darfur. 

It  is  impossible  to  say  liow  many  Gypsies  are  to  be  found  in 
Darfur.  I  was  told  that  they  were  very  numerous  at  El  Fascher ;  at 
JJara  I  saw  some  thirty  or  forty ;  at  Obeid  there  were  some  sixty  or 
seventy,  and  when  travelling  between  these  two  places  I  passed  by  two 
Gypsy  villages  and  met  one  small  Gypsy  caravan  wending  its  way 
to  the  south.  The  Gypsies  I  met  with  formed  a  marked  contrast  to 
the  natives,  both  Aral  >s  and  Negroes.  They  were  tall,  agile,  muscular, 
but  thin.  They  were  well  proportioned ;  their  hair  was  black,  not 
very  coarse,  and,  when  uncultivated,  straight.  The  heads  were 
dolichocephalic,  the  faces  long  and  oval,  with  prominent  cheekbones, 
the  foreheads  high  and  narrow,  the  noses  low  and  straight,  and,  as  a 
rule,  slightly  prognathous.  The  black  flashing  Gypsy  eye  was  well 
marked ;  the  eyebrows  and  long  eye-lashes  were  black  and  beautiful. 
Though  much  lighter  in  colour  than  the  natives  of  Darfur,  they  were 
yet  deeply  bronzed  by  exposure.  Their  hands  were  shapely,  and,  1 
thought,  smaller  than  those  of  the  Arabs ;  but  what  struck  me  most 
were  the  very  shapely  leg  and  foot,  which  1  probal)ly  noticed  more 
than  I  might  have  done,  on  account  of  the  ungainly  Negro  leg  to 
which  I  had  so  long  been  accustomed. 

With  regard  to  dress,  the  Gypsies  seem  to  adapt  themselves  to 
native  costume.  The  men  wore  the  ordinary  fez,  sometimes  with  a 
turban,  the  "  tob  "  or  sheet,  as  worn  so  commonly  in  Darfur,  or  the 
Kuftan,  i.e.  lonu'  shirt,  with  waist-belt  of  coloured  cotton,  while  short 
white  pants  and  sandals  completed  their  attire.  The  women,  as  a 
rule,  dressed  simply,  either  in  a  long  white  or  dark  blue  shift,  or  else 
partially  veiled  by  the  "  tob  "  of  white  or  blue,  gracefully  draped  over 
the  shoulders,  or  tightly  wound  under  the  armpits.  Some  of  the 
young  girls  wore  little  else  than  "  Eahad,"  a  waist-belt  of  leather  with 
a  deep  fringe  of  leathern  thongs — the  common  dress  of  Soudanese 


222  CENTEAL   AFRICAN    GYPSIES. 

unmarried  girls.     I  fancy  the  married  women  do  not  wear  this.     On 
festive  occasions  the  women  and  dancing-girls  are  finely  decked  out 
in  variously  coloured  garments,  their  ears  (and  noses  sometimes), 
being  hung  with  gaudy  rings,  whilst  around  their  necks,  arms,  and 
ankles  jingle  numerous  bangles  of  beads,  silver,  or  copper- wire.     The 
women  never  wear  veils.     Many  were  tattooed  with  blue  punctiform 
patterns  on  the  chin  and  forehead,  and  the  nails  were  sometimes 
stained ;  this  I  noticed  especially  on  the  younger  dancing-girls.     As 
above  mentioned,  their  hair  was  straight  when  undressed,  but  I  often 
saw  it  dressed  in  a  peculiar  way.     In  a  photo  of  a  reputed   Gypsy 
taken  at  Khartoum  (before  me  as  I  write),  the  hair  is  firmly  and 
closely  plaited  over  the  vertex,  but  ends  in  a  bushy  mass  of  consider- 
able dimensions.     Much  oil  or  butter  is  used  in  dressing  the  hair,  as 
I  have  good  reason  to  remember,  for  on  one  occasion,  when  witnessing 
a  performance  given  at  a  Pasha's  house,  the  following  custom  was 
observed ;  whether  original  or  adopted  from  the  Soudanese  I  do  not 
know.     After  dancing,  and  if  expecting  a  handsome  backsheesh,  the 
girl  dances  up  to  a  guest,  and  makes  a  deep  obeisance.     If,  however, 
a  stranger  is  present  whom  she  thinks  the  host  wishes  especially  to 
honour,  she  makes  a  spring  forward  towards  him,  and  suddenly  strikes 
him  on  the  chest  with  her  mass  of  hair.     This  leaves  an  oily  mark 
and  smell,  which  may  be  pleasant  to  some,  but  which  I  did  not  care 
to  experience  twice. 

The  Arabs  in  Darfur  call  the  Gypsies  "  Ghajar,"  which  term 
includes  them  all,  but  the  fortune-tellers  they  call  "  Fehemi,"  and  the 
dancers  "  Gewhassi."  They  appear  to  welcome  them  to  their  feasts, 
and  to  employ  them  freely  in  doing  odd  jobs.  As  elsewhere,  the  men 
profess  great  knowledge  of  horses,  mules,  donkeys  and  camels,- and 
are,  I  understand,  of  some  repute  as  dealers  and  horse-doctors.  I  did 
not  see  any  of  their  performances  in  Darfur,  nor  have  I  any  notes 
of  their  dialect.  I  heard  them  speak  an  unknown  jargon,  but  their 
Arabic  did  not  seem  to  me  to  differ  from  the  Soudan  dialect. 

The  married  women  have  a  very  high  character  for  chastity,  in 
marked  contrast  to  that  of  the  unmarried  dancing  Gypsy  girls.  The 
music  sung  by  the  Gypsies  is  very  weird  but  pleasant ;  they  employ 
harps,  flutes,  and  drums  to  accompany  their  songs  and  dances.  Many 
of  the  dances  are  graceful,  but  they  have  adopted  some  of  the  doubt- 
ful dances  comraon  to  the  Soudan. 

If  I  should  ever  find  my  notes,  I  will  write  to  you  again  on  this 
subject.  They  contained  a  few  stories,  and  some  account  of  two  or 
three  conversations  I  had  with  Gypsies  in  Darfur. 

E.   W.   iELKlN. 


THK    ORIOIN   OV   THE   GYPSIES.  223 

v.— THE  ORIGIN  OF  THE  GYPSIES. 

ACTING  upon  a  suggestion  made  by  our  fellow-member,  Captain 
E.  C.  Temple,  who  is  at  present  on  duty  in  Upper  Burma,  I 
have  been  looking  up  a  passage  in  the  Gazetteer  of  Bombay  Presidency 
referring  to  the  probable  origin  of  the  European  Gypsies,  and  the 
course  of  their  early  migrations.  This  passage  occurs  as  a  note  to  an 
Article  on  the  early  Indian  settlements  in  Eastern  Africa  (vol.  xiii. 
part  ii.  Tlu'uia  District,  foot-note  on  pp.  711-715).  It  contains  so 
much  that  is  entirely  novel  to  me,  and  will,  I  have  no  doubt,  prove 
so  interesting  to  all  our  members,  that  I  have  ventured  to  reproduce 
it  verbatim  for  the  Journal,  with  all  the  sub-notes  and  references  to 
authorities. 

According  to  Captain  Temple,  the  Article  is  due  to  the  learned 
editor  of  the  Gazetteer,  Dr.  James  Campbell,  whose  great  reputation 
is  an  ample  guarantee  of  the  authenticity  of  the  facts,  and  the  reason- 
ableness of  the  deductions  drawn  from  them.  W.  J,  Ibbetson. 

"Another  section  of  the  people  of  Africa  whose  language  un- 
doubtedly points  to  an  Indian  origin  are  the  Gypsy  tribes  of  Egypt.^ 
In  1799  {As.  Bcs.  iii.  7)  Sir  William  Jones  suggested  that  the  famous 
pirates,  the  Sanghars  or  Sanganians  of  Sindh,  Cutch  and  Kiithiiiwar, 
had  settled  on  the  shores  of  the  Pied  Sea  and  passed  through  Egypt 
into  South-Eastern  Europe  as  the  Zingani  or  Zingari — that  is,  the 
Gypsies.  There  are  two  difficulties  in  the  way  of  this  theory.  The 
present  Gypsies  of  Egypt  seem  to  have  no  trace  (Newbold  in  Journ. 
B.  As.  S.  XVI.  285-300)  of  the  word  Sanghiir  or  Zingari,  and,  except 
the  Helebi  who  may  have  come  from  Yemen,  their  language  points 
to  a  passage  from  India  through  Persia,  Turkey,  and  Arabia.  The 
second  difficulty  is  that,  though  the  earliest  form  of  the  name  by 
which  the  Gypsies  were  known  in  Europe,  At-sykanoi  or  Asikanoi, 
seems  connected  with  Sanghar,  the  form  Tchingani  or  Zingeneh  is 
known  in  Turkey,  Syria,  and  Persia,  and  may  have  passed  from  Asia 
Minor  into  Greece."^     In  spite  of  these  difficulties  the  following  cvi- 

1  Among  English  Gypsies  the  words  for  water,  fire,  liair,  and  eye,  are  j^jawt,  yoy,  bal, 
yak ;  among  Norwegian  Gypsies  pdni,  jag,  bal,  jak ;  among  Persian  Gypsies  ^j(i/ii,  aik,  hdl, 
aki ;  and  among  Egyptian  Gypsies  ^;dHt,  d(/,  bal,  ankhi.  The  correspon<ling  Gujarali  wonls 
SXQ  iKini,  dg,  vdl,  dnkh. 

~  The  chief  modem  forms  of  the  name  are  in  Spain  Zincali,  in  Italy  Zingari,  in  Germany 
Zigeuner,  in  Russia  Ziganeh,  in  Turkey  Tchinghian,  in  Syria  Jinganih,  and  in  Persia  Zingar. 
In  the  fifteenth  century  the  name  appears  as  Sekanae  in  Germany,  and  in  the  thirteenth  and 
perhaps  as  early  as  the  ninth  in  Turkey  in  Europe  and  in  Greece  as  Asigkanoior  At-Sigkanoi. 
Between  the  tenth  and  eleventh  centuries  they  appear  in  Persia  as  Sagan.  Besides  from  the 
Sanganians  or  Sanghars  these  names  may  have  been  derived  from  the  Changars,  a  Panjab 
tribe  (Trumpp  in  J'^diti.  Rev.  CXLVIII.  142  ;  from  Sakan,  that  is  Skythian,  Piawlinson  I'voc. 
R.  G.  a.  I.  40;  from  Zung  (Persian)  negro,   Burton  in  Acudcmi/,  "iZtli  .March  lb75 :  from 


224  THE   ORIGIN    OF   THE   GYPSIES. 

dence  may  be  offered  in  support  of  Sir  AYilliam  Jones'  suggestion 
that  part  of  the  Gypsies  passed  west  by  sea  through  Egypt  to  Europe. 
"  The  Saughars  are  still  widely  spread  in  India.  Besides  in  Cutch 
and  Kathiawar,  under  the  names  of  Sangi'ir  and  Singhar,  they  seem 
to  occur  to  the  south-east  of  Agra,  in  Umarkot,  the  Gangetic  pro- 
vinces, and  Eastern  India  (Elliot's  Eaccs,  N.-W.  Provinces,  i.  332; 
Elliot's  Supplcmentarij  Glossary,  ol  ;  Bomhay  Gazetteer,  v.  95,  96, 
Cutch).  Perhaps  also  they  are  the  same  as  the  Changars,  a  low-class 
Panjcib  tribe,  whose  similarity  in  habits  has  already  led  to  their  pro- 
posed identification  with  the  Zingari  or  Gypsies  (Trunipp  in  Edin. 
Bev.  CXLVIII.  142).  So  famous  were  the  Sanghars  or  Sanganians  in 
the  seventeenth  century  that  in  Ogilby's  Atlas  (1670)  Cutch  is 
referred  to  (p.  293)  as  Sanga.  Sanghars  or  Sengars  appear  in  the  list 
of  Eajput  tribes,  but  according  to  Tod  (Bdjasthdii,  Madras  ed.  i.  75- 
107)  they  were  never  famous.  Ibn  Batuta  (1340),  Marco  Polo  (1290), 
and  Masudi  (920)  mention  Sokotra  as  a  centre  of  Hindu  piracy 
(Masudi's  Prairies  d'Or,  iii.  37  ;  Yule's  3Iarco  Polo,  li.  328,  344,  345). 
That  the  Sokotra  pirates  were  the  Sanghars,  Jtits  or  Jats,  and  Kerks 
who  from  Sindh,  Cutch  and  Kathiawar  ruled  the  Indian  seas,  is  made 
probable  by  Masudi's  statement  (ill.  37)  that  Sokotra  was  a  station 
for  the  Indian  baiudrij,  a  name  which  Al  Baruni  (1020)  applies  to  the 
pirates  of  Cutch  and  Somnath,  and  which  he  derives  from  baira  or 
66Ta,  the  name  of  their  boat.  (Al  Biruni,  in  Elliot  and  Dowson,  i.  65, 
539.)  It  curiously  supports  the  connection  between  the  Sanghars 
and  the  Zingari  or  Gypsies  that  bcra,  the  name  for  the  Cutch  pirate 
craft,  is  also  the  Eomani  or  Gypsy  word  for  boat  {Eiicye.  Brit.  9tli  ed., 
X.  614;  Borrow's  Eomany  Word  Boole,  22).  In  the  eighth  century 
the  Sanghcirs  seem  to  appear  as  the  Tang;imeras  or  Sangameras,  whom 
the  Arab  writers  associate  in  piracy  with  the  Meds,  Kerks,  and  Jats 
(Elliot  and  Dowson,  i.  376,  508).  According  to  Arab  writers,  these 
tribes,  taking  their  wives  and  children,  went  in  mighty  fleets,  moving 
long  distances  as  far  as  Jidda  on  the  Bed  Sea,  and  occasionally 
settling  in  great  strength."     In  the  sixth  century  their  piracies  and 

Zang  (Persian)  rust  (or  ruddy),  Captain  King ;  from  Zingar,  a  saddler,  Captain  Newbold 
Journ.  Jl.  As.  S.  xvi.  .310;  from  the  Kurd  tribe  Zengeneli,  Balfour's  C'l/clojxecUa  ir.  324; 
and  from  two  Gypsy  -words,  chen  moon,  and  kam  sun,  by  Leland  The  Oypsies,  p.  341. 

3  Their  settlements  and  raids  on  the  Persian  Gulf  in  the  eighth  and  ninth  centuries  were 
on  so  great  a  scale  that  the  whole  .strength  (if  the  Khalifs  was  brought  against  them,  and 
when  defeated  they  were  transported  to  Asia  Minor  (Rawlinson  in  Proc.  E.  O'.  S.  I.  40  ; 
Encyc.  Brit.  X.  617).  According  to  Ibn:al-Atir  (a.d.  768)  the  Kerks  made  descents  as  far  uj) 
the  Red  Sea  as  Jidda  (Reinaud's  Memoircs  sur  Vlmle,  181,  note  3).  The  resemblance  be- 
tween some  of  Masudi's  Abyssinian  tribes  and  these  associated  pirates,  the  Zagmvah  with 
the  Sanghars,  the  Karkamh  with  the  Kerks  or  Karaks,  the  MediUeh  with  the  Meds,  and  the 
Maris  with  the  Mers,  seems  worthy  of  notice  (compare  Prairies  d'Or,  in.  38,  and  Elliot  and 
Dowson,!.  506,  530). 


TIIK    ORIGIN    OF   THK    GYPSIES.  22.') 

raids  are  said  to  have  made  aSTausliirvau  the  Sassaiiiaii  insist  on  tlie 
cession  of  the  Beluchistan  coast  {Lid.  Antiq.  viil.  335).  In  iriucli 
earlier  times  the  Sanghars  perhaps  again  appear  in  the  Sangadas  or 
Sangaras  whom  Alexander's  Greeks  (b.c.  325)  found  to  the  AVest  of 
the  Indus,  and  between  its  Eastern  and  Western  mouths  (M'Crindle's 
Commerce  and  Navirjation  of  the  Erythrwan  Sea,  177  :  Vincent's  Com- 
merce of  the  Ancients,  i.  198).  Apart  from  this  douljtful  mention  in 
Alexander's  times,  the  evidence  seems  sufficient  to  support  Sir  William 
Jones'  suggestion  that  from  early  times  the  Sangh;irs  or  Sanganians  cjf 
Cutch  and  Kdthi;Lw;ir  were  in  a  position  to  make  settlements  on  the 
shores  of  the  Eed  Sea.  Sir  W.  Jones'  theory  that  the  Gypsies  of 
Europe  passed  from  India  through  Egypt  seems  to  have  been  accepted 
for  a  time.  A  fuller  knowledge  of  the  Eomani  or  European  Gypsy 
tongue  proved  the  correctness  of  his  main  contention  that  the  Gypsies 
came  from  North-west  India.  At  the  same  time  tlie  traces  of 
Persian  and  Armenian  in  Eomani  and  the  absence  of  traces  of  Coptic 
or  Arabic  discredited  the  view  that  the  Gypsies  entered  Europe  from 
Egypt. 

"  That  some,  perhaps  most,  European  Gypsies  passed  west  through 
Persia  and  Asia  Minor  to  Eastern  Europe  seems  beyond  doubt. 
Besides  the  evidence  of  language,  within  the  last  2000  years  there 
are  traces  or  records  of  at  least  six  westerly  movements  among  the 
frontier  tribes  of  North-west  India  which  may  be  included  under 
the  general  term  J;it.^  The  last  movement  seems  to  have  been 
caused  by  Taimur's  conquests  (1398-1420),  and  the  wanderers  seem 
to  have  picked  up  and  carried  with  them  into  Europe  a  number  of 
the  earlier  Indian  settlers  in  Persia  and  Western  Asia.  At  the  same 
time,  it  seems  probable  that  under  the  name  of  At  Sigkanoi  or  Asi- 
kani  an  earlier  horde  entered  Europe  from  Egypt,  Tlie  argument 
that  because  Eomani  has  no  Coptic  or  Arabic  words  the  Gypsies 
never  passed  through  Egypt  loses  its  force  when  it  is  remembered 
that  there  is  no  trace  of  Arabic,  Syrian,  or  Turkish  in  Iiomani, 
though  some  of  the  Gypsies  are  known  to  have  settled  in  Asia  Minor 
on  their  way  westward  (Fdin.  Eev.  CXLVIII.  111).     Therefore,  even 

1  These  six  iiiovenients  are— (1)  a  doiibtlul  transplanting  of  Kerl<s,  Sindis,  Kolis,  Meils, 
and  other  West  Indian  trilies  some  time  before  the  Cliristiau  era  (Elliot  and  Dowson,  i. 
.509-512) ;  (2)  the  bringing  of  the  Luris  or  Indian  musicians  to  Persia  by  Belirani  Gor  about 
A.D.  450,  and  their  subsequent  dispersion  (Rawlinson  in  Proc.  11.0'. S.  i.  40);  (3)  tlie  de- 
porting of  Kerks,  Sanghars,  and  Jats  in  the  eighth  and  ninth  centuries  from  the  Persian 
Gulf  to  Asia  Minor  (Ptawlinson  in  Proc.  R.U.S.  i.  40,  and  Knc;/<-.  Jlril.  x.  617);  (4)  a 
doubtful  migration  of  Jats  westward  after  their  defeat  in  India  by  Mahmud  of  Ghazni  in 
1025 ;  (5)  a  displacement  of  the  Indian  element  in  Persia  and  Asia  Minor  during  the  con- 
<iuests  of  the  Sel.juki  (twelfth  century)  and  Osmanli  Turks  (fourteenth  century)  ;  (6)  a  final 
westward  motion  at  tlie  close  of  the  lourteeiitli  century,  the  result  of  Taimur's  ravages. 


226  THE   ORIGIN   OF   THE   GYPSIES. 

though  it  left  no  trace  in  their  language,  the  Asikani  or  Singani  may- 
have  passed  through  Egypt  on  their  way  to  Europe.  But  is  it  the 
case  that  thelre  are  no  traces  of  Egypt  in  the  Eomani  tongue  ?  The 
earliest  Greek  form  of  their  name  At  Sigkanoi,  and  a  later  form 
Asigani,  suggest  that  the  initial  At  or  A  is  the  Arabic  Al  '  the/  and 
that  the  Al  was  changed  into  At  because,  like  the  modern  Turkish, 
the  old  Arab  form  of  the  name  was  Tchingani.  Next  to  Sangani  or 
Zingari,  the  best  known  name  for  the  Gypsies  is  Rom.  Eom,  besides 
a  Gypsy,  means  in  their  speech  a  man  and  a  husband,  and  Rom  also 
means  a  man  and  a  husband  in  modern  Coptic  {Udin.  Rev.  CXLVIII. 
140).  Again  the  Gypsies  use  'Guphtos'  {Edin.  Rev.  CXLVIII.  142), 
apparently  Egyptian  or  Copt,  as  a  term  of  reproach.  That  they  came 
from  Egypt  to  Europe  is  supported  by  the  fact  that  the  At  Sigkanoi 
are  first  noticed  (fourteenth  century)  in  Crete,  the  part  of  Europe 
nearest  Egypt,  and  that  they  are  there  described  as  of  the  race  of 
Ham  {Encyc.  Brit.  2th  ed.  x.  612).  In  the  beginning  of  the  fifteenth 
century  (1417-1438),  when  they  seem  to  have  been  joined  by  a 
second  horde  from  Armenia  and  Asia  Minor,  the  Secanee,  Zingari, 
or  Sanghcirs  stated  that  they  came  from  Egypt,  and  their  statement 
was  accepted  all  over  Europe.  Besides  the  name  of  Egyptian,  which 
has  been  shortened  into  Guphtos  in  Crreece,  Gitano  in  Sj)ain,  and 
Gypsy  in  England,  the  Sekanse  or  Zingari  were  in  Cyprus,  and  per- 
haps also  in  Austria,  called  Agariens,  or  the  children  of  Hagar, 
Nubians  in  some  parts,  Farawni  in  Turkey,  and  Pharaoh-nepek,  or 
children  of  Pharaoh,  in  Magyar  or  Hungary.  A  curious  trace  of  the 
belief  in  the  Gypsy  connection  with  Egypt  remained  till  lately  in 
the  oath  administered  to  Gypsies  in  Hungarian  courts  of  justice  : — 
'  As  King  Pharaoh  was  engulfed  in  the  Red  Sea,  may  I  be  if  I 
speak  not  the  truth'  {Edin.  Rev.  CXLVIII.  120,  121,  122;  Encyc.  Brit., 
X.  612).  Again  their  leaders'  titles  mark  the  first  Gypsies  as  belong- 
ing to  South-eastern  Europe  and  Egypt.  In  1417  the  first  band  of 
Secana)  who  appeared  in  Germany  were  led  by  the  duke  of  Little 
Egypt,  and  in  Scotland  in  1500  the  'Egyptians'  were  led  by  the 
earls  of  Cyprus  and  Greece,  and  by  the  count  of  Little  Egypt  {Encyc. 
Brit.  X.  612;  Edin.  Rev.  cXLViii.  117).  Some  of  the  earliest  bands 
(1420)  knew  that  they  originally  came  from  India  {Encyc.  Brit.  x. 
613),  and  others  of  the  same  horde  seem  (the  passage  is  doubtful)  to 
have  said  that  they  came  from  India  through  Ethiopia  {Edin.  Rev. 
CXLVIII.  121).  Their  knowledge  of  their  Indian  origin  seems  a  reason 
for  holding  that  the  Sicanie  or  Sanghars  were  correct  in  stating  that 
they  were  settled  in  Egypt  before  they  came  to  Europe.     Whether 


THE   ORIGIN    OF   THE   GYPSIES.  227 

any  of  the  Sauglu'irs  or  Ziiigaii  passed  along  North  Africa  to  Spaiu 
is  doubtful.  Gypsies  were  very  early  in  Spain  (1447),  but  the  pre- 
sence of  Greek  in  the  Spanish  Roniani  seems  to  show  that  they  came 
overland  from  Eastern  Europe  {Encyc.  Brit.  x.  613-615).  Of  the 
Gypsies  of  North  Africa,  some  were  deported  from  the  South  of 
France  in  1802  (Encyc.  Brit.  x.  613),  others  have  apparently  come 
from  Spain,  and  a  third  doubtful  clement  seems  to  be  passing  west 
across  Africa." 


VI.— TALE  OF  A  WISE  YOUNG  JEW  AND  A 
GOLDEN  HEN.i 

THEEE  was  once  a  rich  nobleman  who  had  lived  with  his  wife  for 
ten  years  without  having  any  children.  One  time  he  dreamt 
that  he  would  have  a  very  warlike  son.  Another  night  he  dreamt 
again  that  a  Jewess  was  going  to  be  confined  on  the  same  day  as  his 
lady.  (This  was  true  !)  Next  morning  this  lord  arose  and  said  to  lus 
wife,  "  Wife,  I  have  dreamt  that  we  are  going  to  have  a  child."  "  That 
may  really  come  to  pass,"  replied  she.  He  further  told  her  of  the 
Jewess :  he  said  to  her  that  she  should  be  brought  to  bed  at  the  same 
hour  as  her  ladyship. 

The  good  God  ordained  that  she  should  be  delivered  of  a  child  : 
the  good  God  gave  them  a  son.  The  boy's  father  was  very  joyful,  as 
were  also  the  mother  and  that  Jewess,  who  was  brought  to  bed  at  the 
very  same  hour  as  this  lady.  The  nobleman  said  to  his  wife,  "  My 
lady,  we  must  go  to  this  Jewess,  in  order  that  our  child  may  be 
brought  up  with  hers."  "  Very  well,  husband."  They  brought  thither 
the  Jewess,  and  she  made  her  home  there,  near  this  nobleman's 
dwelling. 

He  begins  to  grow  up,  this  son  of  tlie  nobleman  :  he  is  very  wise  : 
yet  the  son  of  the  Jewess  is  still  wiser.  He  is  now  ten  years  old,  and 
he  is  eager  to  go  to  school ;  he  learns  there  to  perfection.  His  father 
and  mother  are  filled  with  delight. 

One  time  the  Jew  l)oy  said  to  the  lord's  son,  "  Look  here,  now, 
why  not  request  your  father  to  have  some  beautiful  batlis  made 
for  you  in  the  fields  ?  "  Tlie  nobleman's  son  approached  liis  father, 
kissed  his  hand,  as  also  his  mother's.  "  Father,"  said  he,  "  I  beg  that 
you  will  build  me  some  fine  baths  in  the  fields."  ....  Who  should 
it  happen  to  be  that  set  themselves  to  this  work  ?  Two  old  retainers. 
They  had  seen  in  a  town,  on  a  former  occasion,  a  very  lovely  princess. 

1  This  al&o  was  uarrated  ))y  Jolin  Coroii,  the  Gypsy  prisoner  of  Cracow. 


228  TALE  OF  A  WISE  YOUNG  JKAV 

Well,  what  have  they  gone  and  done,  these  two  servitors  ?  They 
have  caused  the  portrait  of  this  princess  to  be  painted  upon  the  walls 
of  the  baths.  These  two  servants  came  back  and  announced  to  their 
lord,  "  We  have  done  everything  we  were  ordered  to  do."  "  Very 
good ;  how  much  now  do  you  ask  for  that  ?  "  "  We  shall  be  satisfied 
with  whatever  your  grace  deigns  to  give  us."  The  nobleman  gave 
them  four  thousand  florins.  They  accorded  to  their  lord  their  best 
thanks. 

Then  the  Jew  boy  called  to  the  nobleman's  son,  "  Come !  the  baths 
are  now  built,  let  us  see  what  there  is  to  be  seen ! "  They  went 
thither,  but  this  young  Jew  was  always  wiser  than  the  nobleman's 
son.  They  entered  the  first  hall,  there  they  saw  painted  upon  the 
walls  various  kinds  of  birds,  wolves, — all  which  delighted  the  son 
of  the  lord.  Then,  all  by  himself,  he  enters  the  other  apartment,  and 
what  does  he  behold  there?  The  portrait  of  this  lovely  princess 
painted  upon  one  of  the  walls.  He  gazes  at  the  likeness  of  the 
princess,  and  he  is  so  yrcatly  enchanted  icith  it  that  he  swoons  away.^ 
The  young  Jew  sees  him  (faint),  he  resuscitates  him  with  vinegar,- 
and  he  asks  the  nobleman's  son,  "  What  is  the  matter  with  you  ? " 
"  0  brother !  if  I  do  not  have  this  princess  to  wife  I  will  kill  my- 
self." "  Hush  !  for  the  love  of  God,"  replied  tlie  young  Jew,  "  do  not 
cry  so  loud,  for  you  shall  perhaps  have  her  indeed,  although  not  so 
speedily  as  you  wish."  He  returned  home  very  sick,  this  nobleman's 
son.  "  What  ails  him  ? "  asks  his  father ;  but  the  young  Jew  was 
ashamed  to  avow  what  had  happened.  Orders  were  given  to  fetch 
doctors  with  all  speed  ;  various  remedies  ^  are  given  to  him,  but  he  has 
nothing  the  matter  with  him,  for  he  is  quite  well,  only  he  is  quite 
overcome  ■*  on  account  of  this  princess.  "  What 's  to  be  made  of  him  ? " 
asks  this  lord  of  himself.  He  sends  the  mother  in  order  that  she  may 
question  her  son,  and  that  he  may  reveal  to  her  what  it  is  that  has 
happened.  The  mother  comes  to  him,  "  What  is  the  matter,  my 
child  ?  Do  not  be  ashamed  to  tell  it  all  to  me."  "  Ah,  mother  •  "  he 
responded,  "  even  when  I  had  told  you  all  you  would  not  be  able  to  give 
me  any  advice."  "  On  the  contrary,  my  son,  I  will  give  you  very  good 
advice."  Then  he  said  to  her,  "  Mother,  I  have  seen  the  likeness  of 
a  beautiful  princess  in  these  fine  baths ;  if  I  do  not  have  her  to  wife, 
I  will  kill  myself."     The  mother  hears  this  with  delight.     "  That  is 

1  {menylisail'as.)    The  heroes  of  Gypsy  tales  frequently  fall  into  a  swoon.     This  strongly 
recalls  the  scenes  of  the  Pantchatantra. — i.  k. 

2  The  Gypsy  having  for  the  moment  forgotten  the  proper  word  {niU),  improvised  very 
cleverly,  as  usual,  the  name  for  vinegar:  Suiii  pani,  i.e.  acrid  water. — T.  K. 

3  The  Gypsy  word  for  remedy,  or  medicine,  is  drab,  i.e.  grass. — I.  K. 

^  The  Gypsy  verb  is  very  expressive  :  .siikiarel  pes,  i.e.  he  withers  away.—  ;.  K. 


AND    A   GOLDKN    HEX.  229 

well,  my  son.  In  the  meantime,  where  am  1  to  find  lier  ]  "  But  the 
Jew  lad  said  to  the  nobleman,  "  My  lord,  1  will  go  with  him  to  seek 
the  princess :  I  make  myself  responsible  for  his  person,  and  if  any 
harm  befalls  him  let  me  be  punished."  "  Very  well,  then,  get  ready, 
and  set  out  with  the  help  of  God."  They  set  out  and,  on  the  further 
side  of  a  large  town,  the  young  Jew  saw  a  beautiful  wand  on  the  road 
and  a  little  key  beside  it.  "  I  shall  dismount  and  pick  up  that  wand," 
said  he.  But  the  nobleman's  son  said  to  him,  "  What  good  will  that 
wand  do  to  you  ?  You  can  buy  yourself  a  Hne  sword  in  any  town." 
But  the  young  Jew  replied,  "  I  do  not  want  a  sword ;  I  wish  to  take 
that  wand."  ^Yell,  he  got  down  from  his  horse,  he  picked  up  this 
wand  and  the  little  key.  He_  got  into  the  saddle  again,  and  they 
went  on  their  way  with  the  help  of  God. 

They  came  to  a  great  forest,  where  night  surprised  them.  They 
saw  a  light  shining  in  this  forest.  "  See ! "  said  the  lord's  son, 
"  there 's  a  light  shining  over  there."  They  came  up  to  this  light ; 
they  went  into  the  room ;  there  was  no  one  within.  There  they  see 
a  beautiful  bed,  Ijut  unoccupied.  They  see  that  there  is  food  for 
them.  There  is  a  golden  goblet  on  the  side  next  to  the  nobleman's 
son ;  and  beside  the  young  Jew  there  is  a  goblet  of  silver.  The 
nobleman's  son  would  have  seated  himself  beside  the  silver  goblet, 
but  the  young  Jew  said  to  him,  "  Listen  to  me,  brother :  you  are 
the  son  of  a  wealthy  sire,  and  I  am  a  poor  man's  son;  the  place 
for  you,  therefore,  is  beside  the  goblet  of  gold,  and  I  shall  seat  myself 
beside  the  silver  goblet."  Thereafter,  he  disrobed  him  deftly,  and 
made  him  lie  down  on  the  couch.  "  Come  you  to  bed,  brother,"  said 
the  nobleman's  son.  "  I  do  not  feel  sleepy,"  replied  the  young  Jew. 
"  Well,  I  'm  going  to  sleep,  at  any  rate."  He  placed  himself  beside 
the  table,  this  young  Jew,  and  pretended  to  fall  asleep.  Two  ladies 
approached  the  young  Jew;  but  they  were  not  really  ladies — they 
were  fairies.^  These  ladies  spoke  thus  to  one  another :  "  Oh !  this 
young  Jew  and  this  nobleman's  son  are  going  to  a  capital,  where  they 
wish  to  carry  away  the  king's  daughter.  But,"  said  they,  "  the  young 
Jew  did  well  to  pick  up  that  wand  with  the  little  key ;  for  there  will 
be  a  door  of  iron  which,  with  that  key,  he  will  be  able  to  open."' 
These  ladies  went  away  with  the  help  of  God.  The  young  Jew  un- 
dressed himself  and  went  to  bed.  They  arose  next  morning  :  the}' 
came  to  that  iron  door:  the  young  Jew  dismounted  and  opened  it. 
They  see  that  this  is  the  capital,  wherein  dwells  the  princess. 

They  went  into  this  town  :  they  see  a  gentleman  passing.     The 

1  The  Oypsy  word  is  worthy  of  note  :  rasani,  i.e.  ■priestess. — i.  k. 


230  TALE   OF   A   WISE   YOUNG   JF:W 

young  Jew  asks  of  him,  "Where  is  there  a  first-rate  inn  in  this  place  ?  " 
The  gentleman  indicated  such  a  one  to  them,  and  guided  them  to  it. 
He  paid  him  for  his  trouble.  They  ate  until  they  were  satisfied. 
The  nobleman's  son  remained  in  the  inn,  and  the  young  Jew  sallied 
out  into  the  town.  He  saw  a  gentleman  passing.  "  Stay,  sir,  I  have 
something  to  ask  of  you."  This  gentleman  stopped,  and  the  young- 
Jew  asked  of  him :  "  Where  is  the  principal  goldsmith's  in  this 
town  1 "  He  directed  him  there.  The  young  Jew  went  to  this  gold- 
smith. "  Will  you  make  me  an  old  hen  and  her  chickens  of  gold  ? 
The  old  hen  must  have  eyes  of  diamonds  and  the  young  chickens 
also."  "  Very  well."  "  But  I  further  stipulate  that  she  be  aUve." 
The  goldsmith,  who  was  a  great  wizard,  replied,  "  Very  well,  sir,  I 
will  do  that  if  you  will  pay  me."  "  I  will  pay  you  as  much  as  ten 
thousand."  Three  days  later,  he  returned  to  get  what  he  had  ordered. 
He  chose  a  Sunday,  at  the  time  when  the  princess  was  going  to 
church.  It  was  then  that  he  proposed  exhibiting  this  golden  hen 
and  her  chickens,  in  such  a  way  that  the  princess  should  see  them. 
Well !  he  went  to  the  goldsmith's  :  he  took  the  golden  hen  with  her 
young  chickens.  On  the  following  Sunday  he  went  near  to  the 
church,  this  young  Jew :  he  placed  a  table  there,  and  on  it  he 
exposed  his  golden  hen  with  the  young  chicks.  Nobody  who  passed 
that  way  cared  more  about  going  to  church,  but  all  stopped  to  gaze 
with  wonder  at  tliis  golden  hen  with  her  young  chickens.  A  throng 
of  people  from  all  parts  of  the  town  is  gathered  to  see  this  hen  and 
her  chickens.  Even  the  priest  does  not  go  into  the  church,  but  stops 
before  the  hen  and  her  chickens:  he  looks  at  them  so  greedily 
that  his  eyes  are  nearly  starting  out  of  his  head.  At  last  the  king's 
daughter  comes  to  the  church.  She  looks  to  see  what  is  going  on 
there.  A  crowd  of  people,  gentle  and  simple,  all  gathered  together. 
She  had  four  lackeys  with  her.  "  Go,"  she  said  to  one  of  them, 
"see  what  is  going  on  there."  He  went  thither,  and  did  not 
return.  She  sent  a  second  one;  no  more  did  he  come  back,  so  much 
was  he  enchanted}  She  despatched  a  third ;  neitlier  did  that  one 
return, — he  was  charmed.  She  sent  the  fourth,  and  he  returned  not 
either,  heinc/  enchanted  lihe  the  others.  "  What  can  it  be  that  has 
happened  there?"  she  asked  of  herself, — "Is  there  somebody  killed?" 
She  sent  her  maid,  who  made  her  way  with  ditficulty  among  the 

J  The  phrases  liere  italicised  (and  also  that  on  p.  228  aiite,  line  17)  illusti'ate  the  Polish-Gypsy 
use  of  the  word  dzeka,  to  which  I  have  drawn  attention  in  our  Notes  and  Queries,  vol.  i.  No. 
2,  p.  120.  In  the  present  tale,  the  word  occurs  thus  :  po  les  andre  dxeka  peVa  ;  po  leslr  pre 
dzeka  pel' as  ;  p>o  lake  'pre  dzek-a  peVas,  etc.  The  "enchantment"  referred  to  was,  of  coiirse, 
nothing  more  than  intense  delight  at  the  spectacle. — i.  K. 


AND   A    GOLDEN    IIEN.  231 

people,  but  she  too  came  not  back,  so  much  did  this  golden  lien 
delight  her.  Another  was  sent,  who  with  great  difficulty  forced  a 
passage  through  the  crowd,  but  she  too  returned  not,  so  charmed  was 
she.  .  She  despatched  her  third  maid-servant,  who  also  penetrated  the 
throng,  but,  heing  charmed,  did  not  return.  Finally  she  said  to  the 
fourth  one :  "  I  am  sending  you  to  see  what  it  is  that  is  happening 
there ;  but  if  you  do  not  come  back  to  tell  me,  I  will  have  you  put 
to  death."  This  one  also  went.  She  forced  her  way,  after  much 
difficulty,  through  the  crowd,  but  she  came  not  back  out  of  it,  so 
greatly  had  that  golden  hen  charmed  her.  Tlie  princess  then  said 
to  herself — "  What  can  it  be  that  is  going  on  there  ?  Here  are  eight 
persons  that  I  have  sent,  and  not  one  of  them  has  come  back  to  tell 
me  what  the  matter  is ! "  Then  she  went  herself  to  see  what  had 
happened.  Peasants  and  gentlemen  gave  way  before  her.  She 
draws  near  and  sees — a  golden  hen  with  her  young  chickens.  The 
Jew  lad  perceives  her,  and  he  asks  of  her  :  "  Does  this  give  pleasure 
to  your  royal  highness  ? "  "  Greatly  though  it  pleases  me,  sir," 
replied  she,  "  you  will  not  give  it  to  me."  He  took  this  hen  and 
presented  it  to  the  princess ;  and  then,  with  the  help  of  the  good 
God,  he  went  away.  But  the  princess  called  after  him,  and  invited 
him  to  dine  at  her  father's.  The  young  Jew  returned  to  the  inn, 
where  the  nobleman's  son  was  asleep.  He  knew  nothing  of  what  the 
3'oung  Jew  had  done.  The  king  sent  a  very  fine  carriage  to  convey 
the  young  Jew  to  him ;  he  got  into  it  and  drove  off.  The  princess 
was  amusing  herself  with  the  hen  and  its  young  golden  chickens. 
The  king  proposed  to  him  that  he  should  live  with  his  daughter.^ 
"  Very  well,"  said  the  young  Jew  to  him,  "  I  will  live  with  lier." 
Well,  they  eat,  they  drink,  and  at  length  towards  night  the  young 
Jew  sent  some  one  to  fetch  the  nobleman's  son.  Wlien  he  arrived, 
the  whole  three  went  out  to  walk  in  the  garden.  Then  the  young 
Jew  said  to  the  princess,  "  Will  you  go  away  with  us  IVom  here  ? " 
"  Yes,  I  will  go  away,"  she  replied.  They  set  out  with  her  and 
hurried  away,  with  tlie  help  of  the  good  God.  The  father  of  the 
princess  knew  not  where  she  had  gone  to  ;  neither  did  he  know  from 
whence  the  young  Jew  and  the  nobleman's  son  liad  come.  The 
nobleman's  son  arrived  at  his  father's  liouse.  The  father  and  mother 
are  well  satisfied  that  he  has  been  so  successful  in  bringing  home  the 
princess.  "  And  now,  my  son,"  said  his  father  to  him,  "  you  must 
marry  her."  So  he  married  her,  and  they  live  together  with  the  help 
of  God.  The  young  Jew  has  also  married  a  wife,  and  tlie}'  live 
together  with  the  help  of  God.  Isidore  Kopernicki. 

1  That  is,  after  having  married  her. — i.k. 


232  BRAZILIAN   AND    SHETLAND    OYPSIES. 


VII.— BEAZILIAN  AND  SHETLAND  GYPSIES. 

aEOEGE  BOEKOW,  in  The  Zincali,  or  Gypsies  of  Spain  (1841), 
stated  that  Gypsy  "  tents  are  alike  pitched  on  the  heaths  of  Brazil 
and  the  ridges  of  the  Himalayan  Hills,"  but  one  may  question  whether 
he  could  have  verified  either  statement.  How  little  was  known  in 
1844  of  the  existence  of  Gypsies  in  any  part  of  the  New  World  may 
be  gathered  from  the  foot-note  on  p.  55  of  Pott's  Zigeuner.  Indeed,  I 
believe  the  first  certain  indication  of  their  presence  in  South  America 
was  pointed  out  by  myself  in  an  article  contributed  to  the  Uneyclopccdia 
Britannica  (vol.  x.,  1879),  where  I  referred  to  a  passage  in  Koster's 
Travels  in  Brazil,  as  clearly  establishing  the  fact  that  Ciganos  in 
Brazil  were  nothing  nev/  in  1816.  And  now  we  have  Os  Ciganos  no 
Brazil:  contribuigdo  ethnograijhica  (Eio  de  Janeiro,  1886)  of  Mello 
Moraes, — a  work  already  partly  utilised  by  our  esteemed  colleague. 
Dr.  von  Sowa  {Gypsy  Lore  Journal,  Oct.  1888).  To  his  linguistic 
study  I  would  add  a  few  historical  jottings,  such  as  scant  leisure 
and  a  very  imperfect  knowledge  of  Portuguese  have  allowed  me  to 
glean  from  Sr.  Moraes'  pages. 

The  present  Brazilian  Gypsies  seem  to  be  the  descendants  of 
Gypsies  transported  from  Portugal  towards  the  close  of  the  seventeenth 
and  the  commencement  of  the  eighteenth  century.  Thus,  by  a  decree 
of  27th  August  1685,  the  transportation  of  the  Gypsies  was  commuted 
from  Africa  to  Maranhao ;  and  in  1718,  by  a  decree  of  11th  April, 
the  Gypsies  were  banished  from  the  kingdom  to  the  city  of  Bahia, 
special  orders  being  issued  to  the  Governor  to  be  diligent  in  the  pro- 
hibition of  the  language  and  '  cant '  {giria),  not  permitting  them  to 
teach  it  to  their  children,  that  so  it  might  become  extinct.  It  was 
about  this  time,  according  to  "  Sr.  Pinto  Noites,  an  estimable  and 
venerable  Gypsy  of  89  years,"  that  his  ancestors  and  kinsfolk  arrived 
at  Eio  de  Janeiro — nine  families  transported  hither  by  reason  of  a 
robbery  ascribed  to  the  Gypsies.  The  heads  of  these  nine  families 
were  Joao  da  Costa  Eamos,  surnamed  Joao  do  Eeino,  with  his  son, 
Fernando  da  Costa  Eamos,  and  his  wife,  Dona  Eugenia ;  Luis  Eabello 
de  Aragao ;  one  Eicardo  Erago,  who  went  to  Minas ;  Antonio  La(jo, 
with  his  wife,  Jacintha  La^o ;  the  count  of  Cantanhede ;  Manoel 
Cabral  and  Antonio  Curto,  who  settled  in  Bahia,  accompanied  by 
daughters-in-law,  sons-in-law,  and  grandchildren,  as  well  as  by  wife 
and  sons.  They  applied  themselves  to  metallurgy — were  tinkers, 
farriers,  braziers,  and  goldsmiths :  the  women  gave  charms  to  avert 
the  evil  eye,  and  read  fortunes.     In  the  first  half  of  the  present 


EKAZILIAX    AND    SHETLAND    GYPSIES.  233 

century,  the  Brazilian  Gypsies  seem  to  have  been  great  slave-dealers, 
just  as  their  brethren  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic  have  always  been 
great  doctors  in  horses  and  asses.  We  read,  on  p.  40,  of  "M  .  .  ., 
afterwards  Marquis  of  B  .  .  .,  belonging  to  the  Bohemian  race, 
whose  immense  fortune  proceeded  from  his  acting  as  middleman  in 
the  purchase  of  slaA'es  for  Minas."  There  are  several  more  indica- 
tions, scattered  through  the  work,  that  the  Brazilian  nation,  from 
highest  to  lowest,  must  be  strongly  tinctured  with  Eoniani  blood; 
but  I  hope  to  have  said  enough  to  direct  the  attention  of  some  of 
our  members,  better  furnished  than  myself  in  the  knowledge  of  Portu- 
guese, to  this  interesting  little  volume.  Or  might  not  Dr.  Luiz  de 
Castro,  to  whom  it  is  dedicated,  and  who,  it  seems,  has  translated 
several  English  works  into  Portuguese,  be  prevailed  on  to  furnish  us 
with  first-hand  information  ? 

'Tis  a  far  cry  from  Brazil  to  the  Shetland  Isles ;  of  Gypsies  in 
Shetland  (a  most  unlikely  place  for  them)  even  less  is  known  than 
of  Brazilian  Ciganos.  But  on  p.  117  of  The  Orhict/s  and  Shetland 
(London,  1883),  by  Mr.  John  Tudor,  I  have  come  on  the  following 
interesting  passage : — 

"  On  Earl  Patrick's  imprisonment,  Bishop  Law,  for  a  short  time, 
held  sway  in  the  islands,  not  only  in  his  episcopal  capacity,  but  also 
as  holding  the  King's  commission  as  Sheriff,  and  held  his  first  court 
at  Scalloway  on  the  22d  day  of  August  1612,  at  which  many  acts  for 
'  good  neighbourhood,'  as  they  were  long  termed  in  Shetland,  were 
passed,  which  acts  in  the  main  were  similar  to  those  we  have 
already  seen  as  having  been  in  force  in  Orkney.  At  this  court 
'  Johne  Faw  elder  callit  mckill  [great]  Jolme  Faw,  Joline  Faw 
younger  calit  Littill  Johne  Faw,  Katherin  Faw,  spous  to  umquhill 
[the  late]  Murdo  Brown,  Agnes  Faw,  sister  to  the  said  Litill  Johne, 
were  indicted '  for  the  murder  of  the  said  Murdo  Brown,  and  Littill 
Johne  for  incest  with  his  wife's  sister  and  her  daughter,  and  for 
adultery  with  Katherin  Faw,  and  all  for  theft,  sorcery,  and  fortune- 
telling,  '  and  that  they  can  help  or  hinder  in  the  j)roffeit  of  the  milk 
of  bestiale.'  Katherin,  who  pleaded  guilty  to  having  slain  her  hus- 
band with  '  a  lang  braig  knife,'  was  sentenced  '  to  be  tane  [taken]  to 
the  bulwark  and  cassen  [cast]  over  the  same  in  the  sey,  to  be  droonit 
to  the  death,  and  dome  [sentence]  given  thairupone,  and  decerns  the 
remanent  persones  to  be  quyt  [acquitted]  of  the  crymes  aboue written.' 
Walter  Piitchie,  who  seems  to  have  appeared  as  counsel  for  the 
accused,  pleaded  that  it  was  not  usual  to  take  cognisance  of  murder 
amongst  the  Egyptians.  This  clearly  proved  tlicm  to  have  been 
VOL.  I. — NO.  IV.  Q 


234  BRAZILIAN   AND    SHETLAND    GYPSIES. 

Gypsies,  and  the  name  to  have  been,  probably,  Fea  [Faa].  Query  : 
"  Can  the  Orcadian  Feas  have  been  of  Gypsy  descent?"  On  p.  466, 
we  are  further  informed  that  "  the  pier  [of  Blackness,  Scalloway]  is 
said  to  be  built  over  the  bulwark  from  which  Katherine  Faw  was 
'  cassen  in  the  sey.' "  Now,  at  the  risk  of  seeming  paradoxical,  it  is 
worth  while  pointing  out  that  in  this  passage  we,  perhaps,  have  an 
explanation  of  a  standing  puzzle  of  antiquaries — the  discovery  of 
Cufic  coins  in  Orkney,  in  Sweden,  and  in  Lancashire.  In  March 
1858,  in  the  links  of  Skaill,  Sandwick  parish,  Orkney,  a  boy  found  a 
hoard — personal  ornaments  (brooches,  neck  rings,  and  arm  rings,  all 
of  silver),  ingots  of  silver,  and  a  few  coins — the  aggregate  weight  16 
lbs.  avoird.  One  of  the  coins  was  a  St.  Peter's  penny,  struck  at 
York  in  the  10th  century;  one  was  a  penny  of  King  Athelstan, 
struck  at  Leicester  in  926  ;  and  the  rest  were  Asiatic,  of  the  time 
when  the  sect  of  the  Mohammedan  Caliphate  was  at  Cufa  or  Bagdad. 
Three  of  these  Cufic  coins  belong  to  the  Abbaside  Caliphs,  and  seven 
to  the  Sassanian  dynasty.  They  range  in  date  between  887  and  945  ; 
and  the  places  of  mintage,  still  legible,  are  Al-shash,  Bagdad,  and 
Samarcand.  Upwards  of  20,000  Cufic  coins  and  15,000  Anglo- 
Saxon  coins  have  been  enumerated  from  hoards  of  this  period  in 
Sweden  alone;  and  in  1840  Cufic  coins  were  discovered  near  Preston, 
in  Lancashire,  seemingly  of  a  date  subsequent  to  the  10th  century 
(Dr.  Joseph  Anderson's  Scotland  in  Pagan  Times:  The  Iron  Age, 
Edinb.  1883,  pp.  78,  scq)  Now,  till  1883  nothing  was  known  of 
the  Faws'  visit  to  Shetland,  271  years  before;  it  is  at  least  not  im- 
possible that  six  centuries  before  that  date  there  may  have  been  a 
similarly  unknown  visit  to  Orkney  of  a  Gypsy  silversmith,  who,  coming 
from  the  East,  brought  with  him  Eastern  coins.  One  thing,  at  least, 
is  shown  by  the  presence  of  these  Cufic  coins,  that  there  has  been 
communication  between  Orkney  and  the  East — whether  through 
Gypsies  or  not  is  another  matter — within  the  historic  period.  Yet 
Mr.  Lang  has  declared  it  "most  unlikely  ih^t  folk-tales  which  originated 
in  India  could  have  reached  the  Hebrides  by  oral  tradition,  and 
within  the  historical  period."  Where  coins  could  come,  so  too  could 
folk-tales. 

Lastly,  to  end  this  very  discursive  paper,  what  is  the  ultimate 
decision  of  our  Orientalists  as  to  the  presence  or  the  absence  of 
Arabic  words  in  Komani  ?  According  to  Prof,  de  Goeje  there  are  ten 
such  words ;  according  to  Dr.  Miklosich  there  are  none.  Neither, 
however,  of  the  two  scholars  seems  to  me  to  have  perceived  the 
possible  importance  of  the  presence  or  the  absence  (especially  the 


BRAZILIAN    AND    SHETLAND    GYPSIES.  235 

absence)  of  Arabic  elements.  Komani  undoubtedly  contains  Persian 
words ;  would  it  not  have  certainly  contained  also  Arabic  words  if 
the  ancestors  of  our  modern  European  Gypsies  had  sojourned  in 
Persia,  or  even  passed  through  Persia,  at  a  date  later  than  the  Arab 
conquest  of  Persia.  If  Dr.  Miklosich  is  right  iu  his  contention  that 
there  are  no  Arabic  words  in  Punnani,  does  it  not  follow  almost 
inevitably  that  the  Gypsies  must  have  passed  through  Persia  on 
their  way  to  Europe  at  some  date  prior  to  the  middle  of  the  seventh 
century  A.D.  For,  surely,  since  that  conquest  no  Gypsy  could  tarry 
for  any  period  in  Persia  without  ])icking  up  some  Arabic  words. 
This  is  a  point  on  which  1  am  very  anxious  for  information. 

Francis  Hindes  Groome. 


AaiL— A  VOCABUPAPY  OF  THE  SLOVAK- GYPSY  DIALECT. 

By  p.  von  Sowa. 
{Continued.) 


EREATA 

In  the  "A  "  portion  of  this  vocabulary  (ante,  No.  3), 

.     P.  IGl,  line  12,  instead  of  "  solna,"  read  "  Zsolna." 

P.  162,  line  8,  instead  of  "  once  only  once  occurring,"  read  "occurring  only  once. 
P.  104,  line  4  a,  instead  oi  ahjarav,  read  akydrac. 
„        line  49  a,  instead  of  ah'ho,  read  al'eho. 
„        line  24  h,  instead  of  aid  susie,  etc.,  read  ani  tuke,  mri  2nrdni,  basaviben 

n-anavas — I  should  not  even  serenade  thee,  my  beloved.     K. 
„        line  52  b,  instead  of  ad'ais,  read  avl'as. 
P.  165,  line  16  a,  before  M,  W.  insert  "  forenoon." 
P.  166,  line  30  b,  insert  averjciio  before  "'a.,  S.,  adj." 

B. 

Baba,  S.,  s.  f.  (Slov.  baba),  old  woman.  Bahhrano,  M.  W.,  adj.  (prob.  bahrdno  ; 

/>a6o,  *K.,  s.  m.  (Gr.  io?n  ;  Hng.  boho  ;  Gr.,  Hng.  =  SI.,    Bhni.    not   found   in 

Bhm.  wanting),  bean.  my  materials),   of  or   belonging  to  a 

Bachas,  S.,  s.  in.  (Slov.  buni),  shepherd.  sheep. 

Baxt,  M.  W.  S.,  basht ;   *K.,  s.  f.  (Gr.  Bal,  M.  W.,  K.,  s.  m.  (Gr.,  Hng.,  Bhm. 

Bhm.  =  SI.  Hng.  bast),  fortune.  =S1.),  hair  ;  of.  s.  zhuto. 

Bai,    S.,  s.  f.   (Gr.,   Hng.,    Blim.=Sl.),  Bali,  M.  W.,  s.  f.  (Gr.,  SI.  ;  Hng.  not 

sleeve.  found  in  my  materials  ;    ]jhui.  bull), 

Bakri,  M.  W.,  S.,  baJchri,  M.  S.,  s.  f.  sow,  hog. 

(Gr.,  Bhm.,  Hng.  bakri),  sheep.  Bdlo,  S.,  balo,  M.  W.,  s      .  ((Jr.,  Hug., 

Bakro,  S.,  s.  m.  (Gr.,  Blim.  =  S1.,  Hng.  balo;  Hng.,  Bhm, /)a?o),  boar.     Bdro 

bakhro  and  bakro),  v,ct]iev.  bdlo,  S.,  is    said    to    mean   "hedge- 

Bakrori,  S.,  s.  f.  (dim.  of  bakri),  sheej).  hog."^ 

1  It  is  worth  noting  that  the  Slovak  Gypsies  have  no  original  word  in  their  dialect  for 
"hedgehog"  ;  cf.  what  Mr.  MacRitchie  (p. 44  of  this  volume  of  the  Journal)  notes  regarding 
the  dialect  of  the  Catalouian  Gypsies. 


236 


A   VOCABULARY   OF   THE    SLOVAK-GYPSY    DIALECT. 


BaUro,  K.  haloro,  M.  W.,  s.  m.  (dim.  of 
the  former),  swine. 

Baloro,  *K.,  s.  m.  (dim.  of  hal),  hair. 

Bdlos,  S.,  s.  m.  (Slov.  hal),  ball  (a 
festival). 

Balovas,  a.,  S.,  balevas,  M.  W.,  *K.  (a 
compound  of  balo  and  mas,  q.  v. ;  cf. 
M.  W.,  vii.  15),  bacon.  The  vocable 
is  proved  by  the  only  instance  :  De 
man  panp  garashenge  balovas — give 
me  five  groschens'  worth  of  bacon, 
G. 

Balval,  *M.,  *K.,  S.,  bavlal,  M.  W.  (Gr., 
Hng.  balval ;  Bhm.  barval),  wind, 

Banda,  *S.,  s.  f.  (Slov.  banda,  from  the 
Germ.  Bande,  Musilcbande),  band  of 
musicians. 

Banknota,  a.,  *S.,  s.  f.  (Slov.  banhnota, 
from  the  Germ.  Banknote),  bank  bill, 
bank-note. 

Bar,  S.,  bar,  bar,  M.  W.,  s.  f.  (Gr.  bari, 
pari.  Pa.  162  ;  Hng.,  Bhm.  bar), 
garden.  It  is  said  to  mean  also  hedge, 
enclosure,  as  in  the  Gr. 

Bar,  K.,  S.,  bar,  M.  W.,  s.  m.  (Gr., 
Hng.,  Bhm.  =  SI.,  Hng.  bdr),  stone, 
rock.  M.  W.  even  renders  it  cavern  ; 
2)ar  K.,  stone  wall.  My  Gypsies  said 
that  it  means  also  gravel.  Pr-oda  isto 
bar,  hai  has  o  drakos — upon  that  rock, 
where  was  (lived)  the  dragon. 

Baravav  man,  a.,  M.  W.,  vb.  refl.  (prob. 
barydrau  man,  cf.  Gr.  baryarava, 
Hng.  bardrav,  to  make  great  ;  Hng. 
bardl'av,  to  boast),  to  be  proud, 
to  boast  (prop,  to  magnify  one's 
seK). 

Bdrkai,  S.,  adv.  (the  first  part  of  the 
compound  is  supposed  to  be  the  Slov. 
bdr,  used  even  in  Slov.,  indefinite  adv. 
e.g.  bdrkedy  vlg.  ;  cf.  varekai),  any- 
where, somewhere.  So  diknas  bdrkai, 
odova  has  lengro — what  they  saw  any 
where,  that  was  theirs. 

Bdrkana,  S.  barkana,  K.,  adv.  (a  com- 
pound with  the  same  element,  cf, 
varekana),  ever,  at  any  time. 

Bdrkana,  S.,  pron.  ind.  (with  the  same, 
cf.  varekdno),  any  one,  whosoever, 
some.  Mro  devel  leslce  phend'as,  hoi 
kai  feske  te  kedel  bdrkana  love — my 
God  said  to  him,  that  he  might  take 
{i.e.  pocket)  some  money. 

Bdrko,  S.,  pron.  ind.  (of  the  same,  cf. 
vareko),  somebody. 


Bdro,  S.,  K.,  bharo,  M.,  barg,  *K.,  adj. 
(Gr.,  Hng.  baro  ;  Hng.,  Bhm.  bdro), 
grand,  great.  Particular  expressions 
with  bdro  are  :  bdre  love,  bank-bills  ; 
bdro  rai,  gentleman  ;  bdri  rani,  lady ; 
bdro  hdlo,  hedgehog ;  bdro  chiriklo, 
eagle  ;  bdro  xas,  plough,  etc.  Bdri 
I'iudra  means  a  deep  sleep.  Bdro 
drom  is  the  long,  endless  road  of  the 
Gypsy  nomad.  Adt,  lare  devlcha,  ic 
me  jau  bdre  dromeha — farewell,  and  I 
(shall)  go  the  long  Avay  ( =  to  continue 
my  wandering).  The  superlative  often 
marks  the  chief,  the  supreme,  Avle  kit 
peskro  rai,  naibdreder  hadnad'ts  jja 
lendc — they  came  to  their  master, 
the  chieftain  (over  them).  Bhdre- 
yakhengero,  having  large  eyes. 

Bdres,  S,,  very  much.  "  You  igen  bares 
rovl'drlas  pal  piesko  p)hral6ro" — he 
wept  very  much  for  his  brother. 

Baronos,  S.,  s,  m,  (Slov.  baron,  from  the 
Germ,  baron),  baron. 

Bardri,  K.  ;  barori,  M.  W.  ;  baloro, 
ISI.  W.  (incoi-rect),  s.  f.  (dim.  of  bar,  f.), 
hedge,  garden,  stone  wall,  K. 

Barovau,  a.,  S.,  bluirovav,  M.  W.,  vb. 
itr.  (Gr.  baryovara  ;  Hng,  baryovav  ; 
Bhm.  bdrovav),  to  become  greater,  to 
increase  (itr.)  Ola  cJidvo  ehi  tikno, 
al'e  bdrola — the  boy  is  little,  but  he 
will  grow  bigger. 

Bdrso,  S.,  pron.  ind.  (with  the  Slov, 
bar,  cf.  vareso),  something,  what- 
ever, 

Baruno,  a.,  S.,  baruno,  M.  W.  (Gr.,  Hng. 
wanting,  Bhm.  barnno),  made  of  stone, 
stony. 

Barvalo,  S.,  adj.  (Gr.  baravalo  ;  Gr., 
Hng.  =  SI.,  Bhm.  barvdlo),  rich.  You 
hi  barvalo  hire — his  family  is  a  rich 
one  (lit.  he  is  rich  at  home). 

Basinav,  M.  W.,  vb  tr.,  to  execrate,  to 
curse. 

Bashau,  S.,  vb.  itr.  (Gr.  bashava  means 
only  "to  cry,"  "to  bark" ;  Hng.  bashav, 
"  to  bark  "  ;  Bhm.  wanting),  to  play, 
to  sound  (an  instrument).  Shukdrcs 
bashava  pr-e  lavuta — I  shall  play  well 
on  the  lute. 

Bashavau,  M.  W.,  S.,  vb.  itr.,  (Gr., 
bashavava  ;  Hng.,  Bhm.,  bashavav), 
to  play,  to  sound  (an  instrument). 
Shukdrcs  mange  bashavna — they  will 
play  well  for  me. 


A   VOCA.BULAliY    OF    TlIK   SLOVAK-GYPSY   DIALECT. 


237 


Btuhavibcn,  :S\.  \\'.,  S.,  bamvihen  ;  K., 

s.  ni.  (Gr.  wanting,  Hng.   hashavipe, 

Blun.  hashavibm),  mn^ic,  ci.  vichinau. 

Bashno,  M.  W.,  S.,  s.  u).  (Gr.,  Bhm.,= 

SI.  Gr.  busno,  Hng.  wanting),  cock. 
Bashovau,  M.  W.,  S.,  (Gr.,  Hng.,  want- 
ing, of.  baskau  ;  Bhui.  bashovav),  to 
bark,  to  bay. 
Bavlnav,  a.,  :\I.  ^^^,  vb.  tr.,  (Slov.  bavif 

to  amuse. 
Befel'is,  a.,  >S.,  s.   ni.    (Germ.   Befehl), 
petition,  nieniorial     Kana  diJchh   o 
sasiMne  raya,  dine  hi-o  samo  klsaris 
befel'is,  hoi  nashchi  oda  phtlro  sasos 
sliixhba  te  zastavinel — when  the  mili- 
tary  officers  saw   (that)   they  sent  a 
memorial  to  the  emperor  himself,  that 
the  old  soldier  is  not  able  to  discharge 
his  duties. 
Beng,  M.  W.,  K.,  ,S.,  (Gr.,  Hng.,  Bhm. 
=  SI.    Hng.  beago)  devil.     It  may  be 
remarked,  that  in  the  SI.  G.  folk-lore 
the  devil  is  only  once  spoken  of,  viz., 
in  the  tale  0  Drakos,  where  it  is  said 
that  the  w^anderer's  dog  would  scuffle 
even  Avith  the  devil  {he  le  bengeha  pes 
xudiuahas).      All  the  other  passages 
refer  to  sevcrdl  devils  ;  in  the  tale  B 
trill  rdJdd,  three  devils  take  the  three 
princesses  to  hell ;  in  the  tale  0  Phuro 
Sasos  God  orders  the  devils  to  catch 
the  old  soldier,  to  dilacerate  and  to  fry 
him. 
Bereno,  a.,  S.,  adj.  (Slov.  vereny,  pt.  pf. 
of  verii'  "  to  thrust ; "   regarding  the 
change  of  v  and  b  cf.  SI.  bildgos,  vild- 
gros),  committed ;  Slazhba  mange  has 
bereno — the  service  was  committed  to 
me.     The  speaker  himself  translated 
the  sentence  thus  :    sluzba   nine  bola 
verend. 
Berse  ?  a.,  S.    The  word  must  have  been 
heard  badly ;    Akanah   tn   chi  auka, 
har  me  chid'om.     0  rom  xudel  beisc, 
xudinas,  kana  hi  Idki  kashtuni  ror- 
I'dri.     I  cannot  translate  this  passage. 
Uersh,  S.,  blirsh,  M.,  s.   m.,  pi.  bersh ; 
S.  bijrsh,  M.   bersha,  S.   (Gr.,   Hng., 
Bhm.  bersh),  year  ;   boi'sh  bbrshestar, 
from  year  to  year,  M.W.    The  pi.,  is 
proved   by    uzJtdrlas    dui    bersh — he 
waited   two   years.     Me  somas   bish 
bersha   lukesto — I    was  five  years  a 
soldier. 
Beshau  mange,  S.,  bcshar,  K.,  vb.   refl. 


(Gr.  heshava  ;  Hng.,  Bhm.  bcshav),  to 
down  ;  Me  mange  odoi  beshava — I 
shall  sit  down  there  ;  Som  beshto — I 
am  sitting  ;  Somas  bcshchi  pash  e  yag 
— I  was  seated  near  the  fire,  K, 
Bharvalipen,  a.,  M.  W.  (Gr.  baravalipe ; 
Hng.  barvalipe ;  Bhm.  barvalipen), 
richness. 
Bi—  K,  S.,  prefi.\-.  (Gr.,  Hng.,  Bhm.  = 
SI.,  Hng.,  even  used  separately,  I\I.  W., 
vii.  20),  without.  This  particle  can 
be  prefixed  to  almost  all  substantives. 
My  materials  afford  :  bidandengcro, 
without  teeth,  S.  ;  bidiloskero,  w. 
dinner,  M.  W.  ;  bimanresko  (?),  w. 
bread,  M.  W. ;  biyakhengero,  blind  (w. 
eyes),  M.  W.  ;  and  even  bihngcro, 
alone  (without  them),  M.  W. 
Bibold'i,  M.  W.,  s.  f.  (cf.  the  following), 

Jewess. 

Biboldo,  M.  W.  ;  btboldo,  M.  W.,  s.  m. 

Gr.,  Hng.,  Bhm.  =  SI.,  (Gr.  it  is  used 

as  an  adjective,  "  not  baptized  "),  Jew. 

Bichar,  K.,  vb.  tr.  (Gr.,  Bhm.  wanting  ; 

Hug.  bichhav),  to  send. 
Biehavau,  S.  ;  bichavav,  K.,  vb.  tr.  (Gr. 
bicJtavava  ;    Hng.    hichhavav  ;    Bhm. 
bichavav),  to  send. 
Biknau,  M.  W.,  S.,  vb.  tr.  imp.  ;  bikin, 
pl.  pf ,  bikindo   (Gr.   biknava  ;  Hng. 
biknav  ;  Bhm.  bikcnav),  to  sell. 
Bildcho,  a.,  S.,  adj.  (Gr.,  Hng.  wanting  ; 
Bhm.,  but  meaning  "bad"),  unlucky. 
The  meaning  of  the  word  is  proved  by: 
Bildchi  rdkl'i,  te  tn  {man)  shnneha  mre 
lava — unlucky  girl,  if  thou  wilt  hear 
my  words.     So  says  the  witch  to  the 
ravished  girl  in   the  tale   0  Tchora. 
(Jes.,  106,  gives  :  Bildchi  lovina,  bad 
beer). 
Bildgos,  s.  vildgos. 

Birinau,  S.,  vb.  tr.  (the  word  could  be 
derived  from  the  Slov.  beru,  "I  take," 
but  the  difference  of  the  meaning 
leaves  that  in  doubt),  to  bear,  to  drag. 
Akakanak  mange  deha,  so  me  kanuiva 
love  ketsi  me  birinava — now  thou  wilt 
give  me  what  I  desire,  as  much 
money  as  I  shall  (be  able  to)  bear. 
Fdlc  peskc  kcdind'as  ketsi  shai  birin- 
d'as — then  he  dragged  as  much  as  he 
could  bear.  The  meaning  of  the  fol- 
lowing is  not  very  clear  :  The  biri- 
nau but  bilagoha — And  I  drag  myself 
through     the     whole     world     (many 


238 


A  VOCABULAUY   OF   THE   SLOVAK-GYPSY   DIALECT, 


countries)  ? ;  berinav  man,  M.  W. 
(Slov.  hem  sa,  Mikl.),  I  betake  myself. 
Bish,  M.  K.  S.,  num.  card.  (Gr.,  Hng., 
Bhra.  =  S1.),  twenty;  Duvar  hish, 
forty  ;  bishvar,  K.  S.,  twenty  times. 

Bishto,  K.  S.,  num.  ord.  (Gr.,  Hng., 
Blim.  =  SI.),  twentieth. 

Biyau,  M.  W.  S.,  hiyav,  M.  W.,  biao, 
K.,  s.  m.  (Gr.  biav,  bav  ;  Hng.  biav, 
biyav  ;  Bhm.  hiyav),  nuptials  ;  pal 
biyaveskero,  a.,  M.  W.,  is  said  to  mean 
afternoon,  evidently  by  a  mistuke. 

Bizo,  S.,  adv.  (Mag.  bizony) ;  surely,  cer- 
tainly, indeed. 

Bledo,  adj.,  (SI.  biddy)  pale,  concluded 
from  hledone-moskeri,  M.  W.,  adj.  (cf. 
imd)  W'ith  a  pale  face  (f.) 

BlisMnd,  M.  W.,  vb.  imp.  (Slov.  bly'ska 
sa),  it  lightens. 

BoM'i,  M.  W.,  S.,  s.f.  (Gr.,  Bhm.  bololi, 
Hng.  bukcli,  hukeri),  cake,  whcaten- 
bread. 

Bokos,  M.  W.,  (Slov.  hok),  side  (of  the 
body). 

Bokh,  S.,  bok,  K.,  s.f.  (Gr.  hok,  Hng., 
Bhm.  bokh),  hunger. 

Bokhdlo,  M.  W.,  S.  bokdlo,  K.,  adj.  (Gr. 
bokalo  ;  Hng.,  Bhm.  hokhdlo) ;  hungry. 

Bokhal'ovar,  (mange),  M,  W.,  vb.  itr. 
(Gr.  bokal'ovava,  Hng.  bokhayovav, 
Bhm.  bokdlav,  Jes.  3),  to  be  (or  to  be- 
come) hungry. 

Bo'ri,  K.,  S.,  s.f.  (Gr.  bori,  bride,  young 
wife,  daughter-in-law  ;  Bhm.  hdri,  the 
same  ;  Hng.  hori)  ;  daughter-in-law, 
(so  in  all  instances,  viz. :)  Leskrc  nd- 
rodi  la  na  kamnas  borake —  his  parents 
would  not  have  her  as  a  daughter-in- 
law.  Prav  dayko,  yo  vudar,  anav 
tuke  bora,  anav  tuke  hura,  u  Tnange 
romniora — open  the  door,  mother,  I 
bring  thee  a  daughter,  I  bring  thee  a 
daughter,  and  for  myself  a  wife.     K. 

Boruovos,  a.,  M.  W.,  s.  m.  (Mag.  borju, 
hornyu,  calf),  ox. 

Bosorka,  a.,  S.,  s.f.  (Slov.  bosorka,  cf. 
Mag.  bossorkdny),  witch. 

Bou,  a.,  S.  bov,  a.,  M.  W.,  s.  m.  (Gr., 
Bhm.  bov,  Hng.  bof,  hov),  stove. 

Brad'i,  M.  W.  (Gr,  wanting  ;  Hng.,  Em. 
=  Sl.,  Bhm.  brdd'i)  ;  tub,  vat,  can, 
tankard. 

Brdna,  a.,  S.,  s.f.  (Slov.  hrdna),  door. 

Brdt'elis,  a.,  S.,  s.  m.  (a  dim.  from  the 
Slov.  hraf),  brother. 


Brishind,  M.  W.,  S.,  hroshin,  K.  (Gr. 
hrishin,  brishindo  ;  Hng.  brishind, 
brishin  ;  Bhm.  brishind),  rain  ;  bri- 
shind del,  M.  W.,  S.,  hroshindav,  K., 
it  rains. 

Britva,  a.,  S.,  s.f.  (Slov.  hritva),  razor. 

Bruntsl'ikos,  S.,  prop,  noun,  m.  (Slov. 
bruncUk  means  :  a  sort  of  pigeon, 
Burzel  tauhe) :  the  name  of  the  hero 
of  the  tale  "jB  trindraki."  Pah  yekh 
bruntsl'ikos  pes  rakl'as  aso  god'aver, 
brunfxl'ikos  pes  vichinlas.  Then  there 
was  found  a  B.,  such  a  wise  one,  B.  he 
called  himself.  The  speaker  trans- 
lated the  word  B.  by  mtidry  (a  wise 
man)  probably  misled  by  the  word 
god'aver.  The  hero  of  several  Mora- 
vian folk-tales  is  called  Bruncvik. 

Brusnaris,  hrusndris,  S.,  s.  m.  (could 
be  a  slang  word  derived  from  the 
Slov.  brus,  "  to  grind,"  but  cf.  Cat. 
Gypsy  bruxi,  r(5al).  Kreutzer  (an 
Austrian  coin).  Nisht  les  na  kosht'i- 
ncla  aui  brusnaris — it  will  cost  him 
nothing,  not  even  a  kreutzer. 

Brusndrkos,  a.,  s.  m.  (dim.  of  the  fore- 
going), kreutzer. 

Buxlo,  M.  W.,  adj.  (Gr.  buglo  ;  Hng. 
bulho  ;  Bhm.  =  SI.),  wide,  broad. 
Buxles,  M,  W.,  adv.,  widely. 

Bujando,  1  a.,  *K,  (Not  to  be  under- 
stood). 0  chave  bujande,  shelentsa 
probatne — the  boys  are  well  known 
(they  have  been  brought  to  the  proof 
a  hundred  times),  Kal. 

Buko,  M.  W.,  S.,s.  m.  (Gr.,  Bhm.  =  Sl., 
Hng.  hukko,  bhuko),  the  entrails  of  an 
animal,  a.,  S.,  the  liver  (pi.),  M.  W. 

Bukos,  M.  W.,  s.  m.  (Slov.  btik),  beech- 
tree. 

Bui,  M.  W.,  S.,  s.  m.  f.  (Gr,  vul,  hul : 
Hng.,  Bhm.  =  S1.),  posteriors. 

Burkos,  M.  W.,  S.  ;  purkos,  S.,  s,  m. 
(Germ,  harg),  castle,  cavern  {I)  In  the 
Sl.-G.  tales  the  dragons  either  reside 
in  a  burkos,  or  in  a  xeu,  q.v. 

Burnek,  M.  W.,  s.  m.  (Gr.,  Bhm.  =  S1., 
Hng.  bur7iik,  hornck,  the  palm),  hand- 
ful. 

Biiro,  K.,  s.-  m.  (Gr.  wanting,  Hng., 
Bhm.  =  SI.),  bush,  shrub,  brier. 

Buroro,  *K. ;  buroro,  M.  W,  (dim.  of 
the  same),  id. 

But,  M.,  K.,  S. ;  but,  M.  W.,  adj.  adv. 
(Gr.,  Hng.,   Bhm.=Sl.).      1.    Much, 


A   VOCABULARY    OF   TflE   SLOVAK-GYPSY    DIALECT. 


239 


many  ;  Nane  man  but  love — I  have 
not  much  money.  2.  Very ;  Mind'ar 
lesJce  0  shcre  desh  u  lydtnah  Ule  chicVas, 
chah  oda  mashlcaruno  hut  tirinlas, 
nashchik  les  te  chinlas  tele — immedi- 
ately he  cut  him  up  the  fifteen  heads ; 
but  the  middle  held  very  fast,  he 
could  not  cut  it  down.  The  com- 
parative butcr,  M.  W.,  S.,  butter, 
M.  W.,  means  :  further,  beyond  that. 
Buter  tumen  na  dilcava — I  shall  not 
see  you  further.  Les  bxiter  nane 
chdve,  chah  oda  yelch  rdJd'i — he  has 
no  children  except  that  girl.  The 
superlative  sometimes  means  :  par- 
ticularly. Yon  has  odoi  fdnch  bersh, 
oJa  tovari&ha  ;  yon  naibuter  ehas  chah 
vash  oda  rdhl'i — they  were  there  five 
years,  those  journeyman  ;  they  were 
(there)  specially  for  the  sake  of  that 


girl.  Butterjcne,  a.,  M.  (cf.  jene), 
means  the  same  as  buter. 

Bdfi,  *M.,  S.  ;  buti,  M.  W.  ;  buti,  K. 
(Gr.  buti,  buhi  ;  Hng.  buti ;  Bhiii. 
buti.  1.  Labour ;  You  shoha  na 
kerelas  zhddno  but'i — he  never  did 
any  work.  2.  Commonly  the  labours 
of  a  blacksmith  ;  0  rom  herel  but'i, 
leske  mind'ar  o  sviri  pel'as  angal  o 
vast — the  Gypsy  is  working  (at  the 
forge)  ;  immediately  the  hammer  fell 
out  of  his  hand.  But'i  hercs  ? — Buti  ! 
Are  you  forging  ? — Yes,  I  am. 

Buyahos,  a.,  M.  W.,  s.  m.  (SI.  bujak),  ox. 

Buzex,  a.,  M.  W.,  s.  f.  (Gr.  wanting  ; 
Rm.  bu::exa,  pi.  ;  Hng.  bu:xha,  pi. ; 
Bhm.  =  Sl.),  spor. 

Buzini,  s.  zubunis. 

Bzencal  a.,  S.,  s.  f.  (very  uncertain'), 
millet  that  has  been  ground. 


.On. 


Chachihen,  a.,  S.  ;  chachipen,  K.,  s.  m. 
(Gr.  cliachipe  ;  Bhm.  chachipen;  Hng. 
chachipc,  chachipo,  chachipe,  means  : 
fiiith,  justice),  truth,  verity.  Peatu 
mange  chachipen — tell  me  the  truth, 
K. 

Chdcho,  S.  ;  cliacho,  M.  W.,  adj.  (Gr. 
wanting  ;  Hng.  chacho,  chachho  ; 
Bhm.  chdcho  ;  Grm.  chacho  means 
genuine,  pure).  1.  True  ;  Ax  dade 
mro,  nane  chdcho,  me  somas  korkori 
pashl'i  andr-o  her — Oh  my  father,  that 
is  not  true.  I  lay  alone  in  the  house. 
2.  Right ;  Le  tut  akada  angrust'i  pal 
mro  vast  he  thd  tuke  la  pre  tro  angusht 
chdcho — take  this  ring  from  my  hand 
and  put  it  on  thy  right  finger.  3. 
Well,  all  right ;  Kcraha  shuhdr  bii/av, 
h-auka  hi  chdcho — we  shall  make  fine 
nuptials,  and  so  (all)  will  be  right. 

Chachuno,  M.  W.,  adj.  (Gr.,  Bhm.  =  SI., 
l)ut  its  meaning  in  Gr.  is :  true,  right ; 
in  Bhm.  own,  proper),  just. 

Chai,  M.  W.,  K.,  S.,  s.  f.  obl.  sg.  ;  cha 
S.  (Gr.,  Hng.,  Bhm.  =  SI.,  Gr.  chei  ; 
Hng.  chhai).  1.  Girl;  Xudinomyehha 
cha,  trival  laha  keld'om — I  got  hold 
of  a  ixirl  and  danced  with  her  three 
times.    2.  Daughter ;  E  rdhl'i  lot'il'as ; 


dikl'as  pr-e  chavdro  o  dad  :  ax  uzhdr, 

mri  chai — the  girl  was  delivered  of  a 

son.     The  father  looked  at  the  child  : 

Oh,  wait  2,  my  daughter  ! 
Chaiko,  a.,  S.,  s.f.  voc.  (to  the  SI.  chai 

the  Slov.  dim.  suft*.  ka  being  adjoined) ; 

Vzhdr  chaiko  p>r-o  pdui — wait,  girl,  by 

the  water. 
Chak,   M.   S.,  K. ;  dak,  K.  ;    cha,  *K. 

{cha  ker  avava  =  chak  kere  av),  adv. 

conj.  (Mag.  csak).     1.  Adv.  only,  but 

as  in  Mag.     2.  When  (Lat.  ubi,  ut) 

Cha  ker  (r.  chah  kere)  avava,  mas,  ma- 

roro  xava  —when  I  get  home  I  shall 

eat  meat  and  rolls.     K. 
Chalav,  K.,  vb.  tr.  (Gr.,  Bhm.  Avanting  ; 

Hng.  =  81.)  ;  to  strike. 
Chalavav,  *K.,  vb.  tr.   (Gr.  chalavava, 

Hng.,  Bhm.,  SL),  to  strike  (as  in  :  the 

clock  strikes). 
Chdl'ovau,  S.  ;   chalavav,  M.  W.,  K.  ; 

chdl'avav,  M.  W.,  vb.  itr.  (Gr.  chdl'o- 

vava,  Hng.  chal'ovav,  Bhm.  wanting), 

to  become  satiated,  to  feed  to  the  full. 

Le   marestar   chal'ola — she    surfeited 

herself  on  good  rolls.    K. 
Cham,  K.,  s.f.  (Gr.  =  S1.  meaning  cheek, 

Hng.  chham,  Bhm.  ==  SI.),  face. 
Chang,   INI.   W.,  S.,   s.  m.   (Gr.,  Hng., 


1  1  once  heard  this  word  from  Jloravian  Gypsies,  but  could  not  find  out  its  meaning.  I 
afterwards  put  it  to  my  SI.  Gyp.sies  who  translated  it  bytlie  Slov.  ^'•vewo  ;  Ij^t,  probably, 
they  were  induced  to  do  so  only  by  the  similarity  of  sound  between  the  two  words. 

-  A.  threatening  expression  ;  like  the  Germ.  Warte  nur  !  and  the  Slov.  Lea  cakaj  ! 


240 


A   VOCABULARY    OF   THE   SLOVAK-GYPSY   DIALECT. 


Bhm.  =  SI,  in  Gr.  meaning  leg),  knee, 
ja7ig  ?     M.  W.  (ix.  9). 

Char,  M.S.;  char,  M.  W.,  K,  s.f.  (Gr. 
Bh.m.  char;  Kng.,  char);  grass.  Shu- 
har  char  is  said  to  mean  flower,  S. 

Charav,  K.,  vb.  tr.  (Gr.  charava,  Hng. 
=  S1.,  Bhm.  charrav) ;  to  lick. 

Churo,  M.  S.,  s.  m.  (Gr.,  Hng.  charo  ; 
Bhm.  =  SI.) ;  plate  (M.  W.,  also  pot). 

Charori,  chdrori,  K.  S.,  s.  f.  (dim.  of 
chdr),  grass,  K. 

Charoro,  M.  W.,  s,  m.  (dim.  of  chdro), 
plate  ;  (M.  W.,  also  pot). 

Chdvo,  S.,  chavo,  M.  K.,  .s.  m.,  obi.  sg. 
chas,  S.;  1  son  ;  Me  som  barvalo  cla- 
deshro  chdvo — I  am  a  rich  (father's) 
son,  cf.  in  the  Grm.,  Westphal.  G. 
dial,  me  horn  ye  chachi  dadeski  romni. 
2.  Lad,  boy,  Dosta  chdve  pirde,  melc 
latar  na  chinde;  chdvo  oda  yekavl'as, 
mindiar  latar  chind'as — Many  lads 
have  come,  they  have  not  gathered 
it ;  this  single  lad  has  come,  he  has 
gathered  it  at  once.  K.  3.  Child  (pi.). 
Les  buter  nane  chdve,  chak  oda,  ychh 
rdkl'i  —  He  has  no  (other)  children 
except  this  one  girl. 

Chdvoro,  S.,  chavdro,  M.  W.  K.,  s.  chha- 
voro,  M.  W.,  s.  m.  (dim  of  chdvo), 
( hild.  E  rdkl'i  Idt'il'as  ;  ax  diklas 
pr-o  chav&ro  o  dad — The  girl  was  de- 
livered of  a  son ;  the  father  looked  at 
the  child.  2.  Lad,  boy  (even  when 
adult) ;  Ax  mre  chavdre,  ushdren  cMdo 
Oh  my  boys,  wait  a  little  (says  John 
to  his  comrades  in  the  tale  0  Biholdo). 

Chayori,  M.  W.,  K.  S.,  chayori,  M.  W., 
s.  f.  (dim  of  chai),  girl. 

Chekant,  S.,  chekan,  a.,   K.,  s.  m.  (Gr. 
chikat ;    Hng.,   Bhm.,   chekat)  ;    fore- 
head. 
Chekan  yakhengre,  a.,  eyebrows,  K. 

Clierxen,  S.,  cherxen,  M.  W.,  M.,  s.f.  (Gr. 
cherxan,  cherxeni  ;  Hng.  cherheni, 
cherhan  ;  Bhm.  cherxen),  star. 

Cherxendri,  S.,  s.  f.  (dim.  of  cherxen), 
star. 

Chi,  K.,  S.,  Slov.  ci),  if,  (in  interi'ogative 
sentences),  its  use  is  the  same  as  in 
Slov. 

Chiamav,  a.,  K.,  vb.  itr.,  to  walk,  to  go, 
K.  ;  not  confirmed  by  my  Gypsies. 

Chib,  M.  W.,  S.,  s.f.  (Gr.,  Hug.,  Bhm.= 
SI.,  Gr.,  Hng.  chip),  tongue  (never 
language). 


Chibdlo,  S. ;  chibhdro,  ]\I.  W.,  s.  m.  (Gr. 
adj.  loquacious ;  Hng.  chibalo,  id.  and 
blacksmith,  judge  ;  Bhm.  chibdlo,  as 
in  SI.  :  in  other  dialects  still  it  has 
various  meanings),  judge. 

Chik,  M.  W.,  s.  f.  Gr.,  Hug.,  Bhm.  =  SI), 
dirt,  mud. 

Chil,  s.,  butter. 

Chilau,  a.,  S.,  s.  m.  (Gr.  kilav  ;  Hng. 
wanting ;  Bhm.  t'hilav),  prune,  damson ; 
cf.  t'ilavin. 

Chinau,  M.  W.,  S.  ;  chinav,  K.  (Gr. 
chinava,  to  cut,  to  j^erceive,  to  kill,  to 
immolate  ;  Hug.  chinav,  chhinav,  to 
cut,  to  strike,  to  write ;  Bhm.  chinav, 
to  cut,  to  rend,  to  write).  1.  To  cut, 
to  cleave  ;  Chind'as  yepashende  oda 
angrust'i — he  cut  in  two  that  ring. 
2.  To  strike,  to  beat ;  Chin  ten  rano- 
raha — beat  them  with  a  rod.  3.  To 
write  ;  Chinava  here  ke  tute,  ke  tro 
dad — I  shall  write  (a  letter)  to  thy 
family  (lit.  home  to  thee),  to  thy 
father.  4.  To  hang,  M.  ;  Yon  les 
ligede  thel  yekha  shibenitsate,  th-odoi 
visinlas  yek  chinch — they  brought 
him  to  the  foot  of  a  gibbet,  and  on  it 
was  suspended  a  hanged  man.    M. 

Chinav  freko,  to  change  (money),  a.,  S.  ; 
Ase  manusha,  kai  dikhnas  sovnakune 
love  te  chinen  preko — such  men,  who 
would  be  seen  changing  golden  coins, 

Chinau,  a.,  S.,  v.  tr.  (Gr.,  Bhm.  wanting  ; 
Rm.,  Hng.  chinav)  ;  to  shake.  La  e, 
ddr  chind'as,  hoi  kai  pes  il'as  leha  md- 
nush — She  shook  with  fear  (for  she 
saw)  whither  (her)  husband  had  re- 
sorted with  him, 

Chinavav,  *  M.,  M.  W.,  K.,  vb.  tr.  (Gr. 
chinavava,  to  cause  to  cut ;  Hng., 
Bhm.  wanting  ?).  1.  To  rend.  2.  To 
tug  or  irall  about.    K. 

vhingerau,  M.  W.,  S.,  chingerav,  K., 
(Gr.  chingerava,  to  perforate ;  Hng. 
chhingeravav,  to  cut ;  Bhm.  chingerav, 
as  in  SI.);  1.  to  rend  ;  Pale  mind'ar 
oda  top)dnki  cJiingerde — then  they  im- 
mediately rent  the  shoes.  2.  To  cut 
up  ;  Chingerd'as  leske  savore  oda  shere 
— he  cut  him  up  all  the  heads.  3.  To 
knock  down,  M.  W.  4.  To  break,  M. 
W.  5.  To  throw,  to  cast  or  dart,  K. 
Chingerav  yakcntsa,  to  survey  with  a 
look,  to  cast  glances  at,  K. 

Chingerdo,  M.  W.,  s.  m.  (Gr.  chinkardo 


A   VOCABULAllY    OF   THE  SLOVAK-GYPSY    DIALECT.                 241 

an  iron  instrument  ;    Hng.  wanting  ;  Be  silent,  for  I  bring  you  immediately 

Bhm.  =  SI.  borer,  bore)  ;  hatchet.  into  the  paradise. 

(Jhiriklo,  M.  W.,  S.,  s.  ni.  (Gr.,  Hung.,  Chivau,  M.  W.,chiav,  K.,  imp.  chi,  S., 

Bhm.  =  SI.),  bird.     JJaro  Ivlo  chiriJdu,  chiv,  M.  W.,  pi.  pf.  chidu  ((Jr.  chivava, 

eagle  ;  aso  buro  cliirildo,  hawk  ;  shu-  pt.  pf.  chivdo,  to  draw  ;    Hng.,  Bhm. 

Jcar  chiriklo,  lark;   chirildo  so  phirel  c/t-irctr,  tosow,  to  throw);  1.  To  throw. 

rdt'i,  bat  or  rearmouse.  Aso  svtri  chid' as  so  ehas  phures  aspon 

Chirihl'i,  S.,  s.  f.  (Gr.,  Hng.,  Bhm.  chir-  desk  u  pa'nch  tsenti — Such  a  hammer 

ikli),  bird  ;   pa'rni  chirild'i,  magpie  ;  he  threw,  the  weight  of  which  was  al- 

even  a  butterfly  is  sometimes  called  most  fifteen   quintals.     •!.   To  stick? 

chirihl'i.  cf.  Uzhdr  chivau  inro  hur  tra  dahe — 

Chirla,  K.,  S.,  adv.  (cf.  Km.  shiro,  Hng.  (In  the  tale  (J  lioin  th-o  drakos  ii.), 

tsiro,   Bhm.   chiro,  time);    long  ago.  c/u'ac  ao-i,  to  pour  out,  K. 

nachirhf,  K.,  S.,  not  long  since.  Chivos,  S.,  s.   m.   (Mag.   cso'^.)  tobacco, 

Chisto,  a.,  S.,  adv.  (Slov.  cisto,  purely),  pip^)  stem. 

straight  on,  directly  ?      T'icho  achcn  Chi'Juna,  M.  W.,  s.  f.   i^Slov.  rirjun,  cf. 

I'cho  tumea  I'ijau  and-o  rayos  chisto —  Mag.  csizma),  shoe. 


REVIEWS. 

Gli  Zingari :  Storia  d'un  jfopolo  errantc.     By  ADitLVNO  CoLOCci. 
Ermanno  Loescher  :  Turin,  1889. 

Expected  for  some  months  previously,  this  interesting  book  has 
made  its  appearance  with  the  beginning  of  1889.  As  it  is  intended, 
in  a  great  measure,  for  the  general  public  of  Italy — to  whom  any 
serious  work  upon  this  subject,  and  in  their  own  language,  is  quite  a 
novelty — there  is  much  within  the  420  pages  of  Gli  Zingari  that  has 
long  been  known  to  the  world  of  Gypsiologists.  This  could  not  be 
avoided  in  a  book  which  addresses  itself  to  the  public,  and  not  to 
specialists  alone,  and,  no  doubt,  this  is  the  explanation  of  a  fact  which 
might  otherwise  demand  criticism — the  occasional  absence  of  refer- 
ences to  the  sources  of  the  author's  statements.  But  M.  Colocci  was 
not  writing  chiefly  for  his  fellow-members  of  this  Society,  although 
all  of  these  cannot  fail  to  derive  much  pleasure  and  a  considerable 
amount  of  profit  from  the  perusal  of  his  book. 

The  ten  chapters,  which  form  three-fourths  of  the  work,  deal 
with  the  origin,  advent,  dispersion,  persecution,  and  emancipation  of 
the  Gypsies,  with  their  character  and  religion,  their  customs  and 
language,  their  dances,  songs,  and  music.  Tliere  is  a  map — a  novel 
and  instructive  feature — which  shows  the  "Itinerary  of  the  CJreat 
Band  of  1417,"  and  the  localities  in  Middle  and  Western  Europe 
where  the  presence  of  Gypsies  in  the  fifteenth  century  has  been 
recorded.  There  is  also  a  very  good  Bibliograpliy,  from  wldch  other 
compilers  may  each  glean  something ;  and  this  is  followed  by  two 


242  REVIEWS. 

appendices — the  first  consisting  of  about  twenty  pages  of  words  and 
phrases  in  the  Italian  dialect  of  Eoniani,  and  the  second  being  an 
"  Italian-Tchinghiane  "  lexicon.  By  "  Tchinghiane  "  M.  Colocci  in- 
dicates the  speech  of  the  Gypsies  inhabiting  Eastern  Eunielia  and 
the  Balkan  Peninsula  generally,  where  he  has  himself  studied  the 
people  and  their  language.  Both  of  these  vocabularies  have,  therefore, 
the  value  of  original  compilations.  The  first  is  peculiarly  ]\I.  Colocci's. 
That  relating  to  the  Tchinghiane's  is  his  also,  but  the  learned  Paspati 
had  previously  gone  over  most  of  the  same  ground.  (It  is  pleasant 
to  observe,  in  passing,  that  our  author,  during  his  stay  in  Athens, 
enjoyed  the  friendship  of  this  eminent  Tsiganologue,  to  whom,  indeed, 
he  submitted  many  of  the  words  now  published.)  The  book,  which 
is  enlivened  by  many  interesting  woodcuts — some  second-hand  and 
rather  conventional,  others  extremely  valuable — closes  with  a  highly 
poetical  apostrojDhe  to  the  source  of  the  author's  inspiration. 

Among  the  examples  of  Gypsy  poetry  are  (pp.  270  and  280)  a 
few  short  songs  which  M.  Colocci  has  himself  gathered  during  his 
travels  in  Eastern  liumelia.     Moreover,  to  one  of  these — 

Kamalav  tut  m'angaliate 
Kasoav  ani  dakdr, 

he  has  added  the  music,  also  an  original  contribution,  and  by  which 
he  illustrates  a  special  characteristic  of  Gypsy  melody.  The  greater 
part,  however,  of  his  poetical  specimens  are  admittedly  taken  from 
well-recognised  sources. 

While  Gli  Zingari  does  not,  therefore,  assert  itself  as  containing 
throughout  its  pages  a  mass  of  fresh  information,  it  yet  brings  under 
the  notice  of  even  the  scientific  reader  much  that  is  of  distinct 
importance.  Weightier  and  more  learned  books  have,  of  course, 
been  written  upon  the  subject ;  but  no  previous  writer  has  repre- 
sented the  Gypsies  from  so  many  points  of  view,  nor  is  there  any 
other  book  of  the  kind  which  places  so  much  solid  information  before 
the  reader  in  such  a  light,  varied,  and  attractive  manner.  It  must 
certainly  awaken  an  interest  in  Gypsy  matters  among  many  who 
were  previously  indifferent,  and  it  will  give  a  great  impetus  to 
Gypsy  study  throughout  the  whole  of  Italy. 

Zur  Volkskunde  dcr  TranssilvaniscUeii  Zigeuner.     Von  Dii.  Heineich 
V.  Wlislocki.     Hamburg:  Verlag  von  J.  F.  Ptichter,  1887. 

This  is  an  admirable  example  of  vulgarisation,  in  the  best  and 
most  legitimate  sense  of  that  word,  being  a  short  and  singularly  lucid 


REVIKWS.  243 

survey  of  a  subject  upon  vvhich  its  author  could  more  easily  have 
written,  out  of  the  fulness  of  his  knowledge,  a  treatise  of  five 
hundred  pages,  Dr.  von  Wlislocki  has  given  us  in  but  forty  pages 
a  masterly  summary  of  his  knowledge  of  the  manners,  customs, 
superstitions,  and  popular  life  of  the  Gypsies  of  Transylvania,  who 
are  found  in  that  mountainous  region  as  early  as  1415,  and  have 
worked  themselves  there  into  a  kind  of  settled  citizenship.  No 
part  of  Europe  contains  a  more  mixed  population  than  Transylvania. 
The  whole  number  of  the  inhabitants  is  not  much  over  two  millions 
(1880),  yet  here  are  found  Hungarians — descendants  of  the  original 
Magyar  conquerors  and  Szeklers — together  numbering  over  600,000  ; 
Saxons,  descendants  of  the  German  immigrants  in  the  twelfth  century, 
to  the  number  of  over  200,000  ;  more  than  a  million  Walachians ; 
and  as  many  as  46,000  Gypsies.  These  are  commonly  called  in 
Transylvania  by  the  Hungarian  names  of  Pharao  nepc  ("  Pharaoh's 
folk  "),  Purdc  ("  naked  "),  and  Czigdny  :  the  Eumanians  call  them 
C'ujdiiu,  while  they  themselves  prefer  the  name  Rom.  Their 
tents  are  termed  Kortrasch  by  their  Saxon  fellow-citizens.  Their 
language  divides  itself  into  three  dialects,  which  are  mainly  differ- 
entiated by  the  greater  or  less  infusion  of  foreign  words  :  (1)  the 
Hungarian-Gypsy,  (2)  the  Walachian-Gypsy,  and  (3)  the  Saxon- 
Gypsy,  of  which  the  first  is  the  purest,  and  indeed  the  richest  dialect 
of  the  Gypsy  language  in  the  world.  The  Transylvanian  Kortorar 
fall  into  four  main  tribes,  each  under  a  hereditary  chief :  the  Leila, 
Kukuya,  Aschani,  and  Tschale. 

Dr.  von  Wlislocki  rather  suggests  than  draws  upon  the  extra- 
ordinary wealth  of  popular  poetry  of  the  Transylvanian  Gypsies,  hut 
what  he  does  say  is  enough  to  convince  folk-lorists  that  herein  there 
is  an  inexhaustible  store  of  treasures  of  the  richest  quality  and 
preserved,  moreover,  in  the  most  primitive  forms.  The  glamour  of 
Egypt  has  not  blinded  the  author  to  the  drawbacks  of  his  heroes,  but 
through  all  their  squalor  and  lack  of  principle,  and  spite  of  the  many 
unamiable  circmnstances  in  their  environment,  he  can  discern  the 
romance  that  redeems  them  from  baseness  and  glorifies  their  brown 
tents  with  the  halo  of  poetry. 

Til  O.MAS  Davidson. 

Notices  and  aiticlcs  on  the  Gypsy  question  (which  were  largely 
evoked  by  the  publication  of  Gli  Zingari)  have  recently  appeared 
in  the  following  journals  of  Italy  : — La  Gazzetta  Piemohtcse  of  Turin 
(30th  Nov.   1888);  II  Popolo  Romano  (5th  Dec.  1888);  La  Trihuna 


244  NOTES   AND    QUERIES. 

of  Eome  (from  the  pen  of  Evangelist!,  25th  Dec.  1888)  ;  //  Diritto  of 
Rome  (31st  Dec.  1888,  contributed  by  Bertola)  ;  La  Favilla  of  Perugia 
(31st  Dec.  1888),  by  G.  B.  Miliani,  who  also  wrote  on  the  same 
subject  in  the  Bibliofilo  of  Bologna  in  Jan,  1889  ;  in  the  Corriere  della 
Sera  of  Mitan  (by  Barattani;  5-6  Jan.  1889);  La  Bilancia  oi  Jesi 
(3rd  Feb.  1889) ;  Z'  Lllustrazione  Italiana  of  Milan  (by  Ugo  Pesci,  on 
10th  Feb.  1889) ;  the  CiLore  e  Critica  of  Bergamo  (20th  Feb.  1889,  by 
Dr.  N.  Colajanni),  and  in  La  Gazzctta  del  Popolo  della  Domenica, 
Turin,  17th  March  1889.  The  Gazzetta  Musicale  of  Milan,  (10th 
March  1889),  also  contains  the  first  of  an  interesting  series  of  studies 
on  "  The  Music  of  the  Gypsies,"  by  Dr.  A.  G.  Corrieri. 

But  of  the  many  recent  items  upon  this  subject,  which  have 
appeared  not  only  in  the  journals  of  Italy,  but  in  those  of  Austro- 
Hungary  and  of  other  continental  countries,  we  have  not  space  to 
speak  particularly.  It  is  impossible,  however,  to  conclude  without 
referring  to  the  graceful  and  sympathetic  notice  of  our  Society,  which 
the  pen  of  Madame  CopMarlet  (authoress  of  the  Gypsy  novel  Gold- 
Jano),  communicated  to  the  columns  of  the  Bevue  de  I'Oricnt  of  Buda- 
pest, on  20th  January  last.  Herself  an  enthusiastic  lover  of  the 
Gypsies,  as  well  as  a  most  charming  writer,  her  article  glows  with  a 
feeling  of  genuine  appreciation  of  this  Society,  which  may  well  con- 
gratulate itself  upon  having  such  an  advocate. 


NOTES  AND  QUEPJES. 


King  John  of  England  and  the  Tinkers. 

The  anecdote  of  King  James  v.  of  Scotland  (a.d.  1513-1542)  and  the  tinkers 
may  be  contrasted  with  the  similar  adventure  of  King  John  of  England  (a  d.  1199- 
1216),  told  at  length  in  Lonsdale  Magazine,  1822,  vol.  iii.,  p.  312,  and  repeated  in 
Hampson's  Meclii  JEv'i  Kalendarium,  1841,  vol.  i.,  p.  224.  King  John  was  staying 
at  Alnwick  Castle,  and  dressed  himself  as  a  palmer  (pilgrim)  to  visit  the  peasants 
and  learn  news  of  himself.  Upon  St.  Mark's  Day  (April  25)  he  followed  a  footpath 
to  a  well,  where  he  found  three  tinkers,  who  desired  him  to  sit  down  and  tell 
them  the  news.  They  made  themselves  merry  with  mocking  him,  and  led  him  to 
a  boggy  bottom,  and  caused  the  king  to  travel  to  and  fro  until,  bedaubed  with  dirt 
from  head  to  foot,  they  suffered  him  to  depart.  As  he  passed  home  through  Aln- 
wick street  the  i^eople  crowded  about  him.  He  testily  told  them  all  their  posterity 
should  tread  in  his  footsteps.  He  reached  the  Castle,  and  sent  an  armed  party 
after  the  tinkers.  Two  were  hanged  ;  the  third,  who  interfered  on  the  king's 
behalf,  was  presented  with  his  liberty  and  a  sum  of  money.  King  John  then  made 
a  law  that  if  three  tinkers  were  ever  in  future  found  travelling  in  company,  two  of 
them  should  be  hanged  ;  and  in  consequence  of  the  people's  laughing  at  him,  the 
king  made  a  further  decree  that  no  man  should  enjoy  the  freedom  of  Alnwick  until 
he  had  travelled  through  the  same  slough.  H.  T.  Crofton. 


NOTES    AND    QUERIES.  245 

The  Scotch  anecdote  vefevied  to  by  Mr.  Crofton  is  (luoted  by  Siiuson  in  his 
History  of  t/if  Grjimes,  ^^.  104-5.  And  the  similarity  between  the  two  stories  is 
very  striking — so  striking  that  it  is  evident  there  is  more  than  siinilarity.  The 
Scottish  king  goes  through  exactly  the  same  kind  of  experience  as  King  John  of 
England  (with  some  fe^v  and  unimportant  difterenccs  of  detail),  and,  like  him,  he 
made  a  law,  as  the  result  of  this  ill-treatment,  "that  whenever  three  men  tinkers, 
or  gipseys,  were  found  going  together,  two  of  them  should  be  hanged  and  the  third 
set  at  liberty." 

Now  the  Scotch  story  relates  to  the  county  of  Fife,  and  the  first  half  of  the  six- 
teenth century.  The  English  story  relates  to  the  northern  part  of  Northumberland, 
and  the  beginning  of  the  titirtecnth  century.  Obviously,  therefore,  the  English 
story  is  the  true  one,  of  which  the  Scotch  version  is  only  an  echo. 

That  such  an  anecdote,  if  previously  existing,  should  become  associated  with 
James  v.  of  Scotland — a  very  Harun-al-Rashid,  and  of  whom  innumerable  such  stories 
were  told — was  an  exceedingly  natural  event.  But  how  did  the  Northumberland 
tale  of  the  twelfth  centurj'  become  cuirent  in  Fifeshire  in  the  sixteenth  ?  If  the 
English  tale  had  been  a  couple  of  centuries  earlier  still,  the  explanation  would  not 
have  been  ditRcult.  For,  until  the  battle  of  Carham,  in  1018,  the  country  lying 
between  the  Tweed  and  the  Firth  of  Forth  was  not  Scottish  but  English  {i.e. 
Northumbrian)  ;  and  as  the  people  of  south-eastern  Scotland  were  practically  the 
same  as  those  of  Northumberland,  an  Alnwick  incident  would  be  a*  well  known 
on  the  southern  shores  of  the  Firth  of  Forth  as  on  the  River  Tyne.  And  if  current 
on  the  southern  shores  of  the  Firth,  it  could  easily  pass  across  to  the  northern  shores 
when  the  people  on  either  side  became  politically  one. 

This  explanation,  however,  would  insinuate  that  even  the  King  John  version 
was  not  the  original.  Be  that  as  it  may,  it  is  clear  that  the  Scotch  story  is  a  mere 
copy.  And  one  very  interesting  circumstance  is  that,  if  the  Scotch  version  be 
correct  in  speaking  of  the  three  as  "tinkers  or  gij^seys"  and  if  the  English  tradi- 
tion really  dates  from  the  days  of  King  John,  then  the  latter  would  indicate  the 
presence  of  Gijijsies  in  Northumbria  in  the  thirteenth  century. 

David  MacRitciiie. 


The  Words  "  Gurko  "  and  "  Simo." 

With  reference  to  Mr.  Pincherle's  query  (No.  3  of  the  Jonrnal,  p.  1C9)  con- 
cerninfi-  the  etymology  of  Giirho — which  in  Spain  is  kurlo,  and  in  Italy  kurhara — 
I  am  of  opinion  that  the  Greek  KvpiaKrj  is  the  probable  source  of  all  these  forms. 
As  a  matter  of  cui'iosity,  1  would  add  that  two  other  interpretations  were  offered  to 
me  :  one  that  the  word  was  derived  from  the  Turkish-Gypsy  fjorko  (bad,  wicked), 
as  though  the  Gypsies,  when  Christianity  was  imposed  upon  them, had  wished  to  show 
their  contempt  for  the  day  of  religion — well  aware  that  the  Christians  would  not 
have  understood  the  significance  of  the  term.  The  other  derivation  was  from  the 
Indian  g'hur  (house),  either  because  it  was  used  to  denote  the  day  when  one 
remained  in  the  house,  without  going  out  to  work,  or  because  one  went  to  church, 
the  "  house  of  God."  These  two  interpretations  of  gurkoro  dives  have  been  given 
to  me,  but  I  cannot  say  I  have  much  confidence  in  them. 

Simo  comes  from  sinar,  as  Mr.  Greene  (No.  3,  p.  170)  correctly  remarks.  The 
Gitcino  verb  sinar,  however,  seems  to  me  the  old  Latin  form  altered,  and  not  of 
Gypsy  origin.  In  the  Neapolitan  dialect  one  finds  these  forms  :  Simo  accd  (we  are 
here)  ;  Ce  simmo  nasciuti  'nsema  (I  was  born  with  him).     [Latin  sim,  subj.] 

AURIANO  Ci>I/K'CI. 


246  NOTES   AND    QUERIES. 

3- 

Notes  on  the  Three  Magi. 

Florence,  Jan.  4,  1889. 

Dear  Mr.  MacEitchie, — Just  about  the  time  when  I  received  No.  3  of  TJie 
Journal  of  the  Gypsy  Lore  Society,  and  read  your  remarks  on  the  Three  Kings  of 
Cologne,  I  was  interested  in  the  same  subject  from  a  very  different  point  of  view, 
yet  one  which  bears  on  it.  I  am  much  occupied  here  in  Florence  in  collecting 
Witch-lore,  my  assistant-general  being  a  fortune-teller,  apparently  of  Romany  blood, 
who  is  possessed  of  a  gi-eat  store  of  charms  and  incantations,  all  of  the  "  old  faith," 
i.e.  not  Catholic  Christian. 

She  had  frequently  spoken  to  me  of  what  are  called  medaglie  chile  streghe,  or 
witch-medals,  worn  as  a  counter-charm  against  sorcery  and  other  evils.  Finally 
she  obtained  some  of  them  for  me.  They  are  small  brass  counters,  bearing  on  one 
side  the  Three  Kings  of  Cologne  Avorshipping  tlie  child  Christ,  on  the  other, 

S.  s.  reges 
Gasp.  Mel.  Bald. 
Orate  pro  nobis 
Nunc  et  in  iiora  . 

Mortis  nostrae 
Amen  ! 

On  my  remarking  that  this  was  "  Christian,"  I  was  told  that  the  believers  in 
witchcraft,  or  those  who  have  recourse  to  it,  make  an  exception  in  its  favour.  They 
formerly  used  only  old  Roman  coins  for  witch-medals.  The  priests,  to  prevent 
this,  substituted  the  medals  of  the  Three  Kings,  and  "  as  we  found  that  these  were 
as  powerful,  they  were  accepted."  I  have  lately  learned  that  this  compromise  with 
sorcery  made  trouble  among  the  orthodox  believers.  And  I  have  been  told  by  my 
collector,  "  Certainly  we  receive  the  medals,  because  the  Three  Kings  were  Streg- 
hone  "  (or  wizards).     But  wizard  here  implies  also  "  heathen,"  or  not-Christian. 

Why,  indeed,  were  these  medals  accepted  by  the  believers  in  ancient  sorcery,  if 
there  was  not  a  deeply  seated  faith  that  the  Wise  Men  of  the  East  were  sorcerers,  and 
belonged  in  some  way  to  the  great  army  of  dealers  in  dark  lore  ?  It  certainly  showed 
great  shrewdness  in  selection  to  so  exactly  match  the  witches'  medals  with  the 
Three  Kings',  who  were  none  the  less  wizards  or  warlocks  because  they  were  "  holy  " 
men.  As  for  their  connection  with  Gypsies,  it  is  plain  enough.  Gypsies  were 
from  the  East ;  Rome  and  the  world  abounded  in  wandering  Chaldean  magi-priests, 
and  the  researches  which  I  am  making  have  led  me  to  a  firm  conclusion  that  the 
Gypsy  lore  of  Hungary  and  South  Slavonia  (of  which  I  have  large  collections)  has 
a  very  original  character  as  being,  firstly,  tliough  derived  from  India,  not  Aryan, 
but  "  Shamanic"  that  is,  of  an  Altaic  or  Tartar,  or  "  Turanian  "  stock,  such  as  con- 
stitutes the  real  latent  religion  of  the  majority  of  the  country  people  in  India  to-day. 
Secondly,  this  was  the  old  Chaldean  =  A ccadian  "wisdom"  or  sorcery.  Thirdly — 
and  this  deserves  serious  examination — it  was  also  the  old  Etruscan  religion 
whose  magic  formulas  were  transmitted  to  the  Romans.  Now  I  find  that  the 
Florentine  witch-lore  is  derived  from  the  Tuscan  Romagna,  Avhere  it  still  has  such 
infiuence  that  two  persons,  one  a  very  learned  Italian,  and  the  other,  one  of  the 
people,  both  independently  remarked  to  me  that  there  is  ten  times  as  much  faith 
in  heathenism  or  witchcraft  there  as  in  Christianity. 

Tlie  gift  of  gold,  myrrh,  and  frankincense  is  very  little  understood.  Not  long 
ago  a  professional  witch  in  the  Romagna  made,  and  sent  to  me  as  a  kindly  token, 
"  the  great  charm."  It  consists  of  several  very  ancient  Roman  and  one  purely 
Gypsy  ingredient  (the  magnet),  and  was  prepared  with  ceremonies  and  rhymes. 
But  the  chief  component  was  frankincense,  and  I  was  warned  that  to  perfect  it  I 
nmst  add  a  small  gold  coin.  This  is  not  derived  from  the  New  Testament,  for 
everything  among  these  Tuscan  sorceries  is  world-old.  The  gift  by  the  Magi  is 
explained  as  that  of  the  charm  or  amulet  which  is  given  with  a  prophecy.      Its 


NOTES   AND    QUERIES.  247 

object  is  to  insure  its  completion,  and  to  keep  away  evil  influences,  or  malignant 
sorcery,  and  secure  prosperity.  According  to  my  informant,  the  Magi  "  dukkered  " 
the  Infant,  and  gave  him  the  usual  gift.  It  is  certainly  true  that  this  was  the  real 
meaning  of  such  a  gift  under  sucli  circumstances. 

The  Venetian  witchcraft,  as  set  forth  by  Bernoni,  is  evidently  of  Sclavic  =  Greek 
origin.  That  of  the  Eoraagna  is  Etruscan,  agreeing  very  strangely  and  closely  with  the 
(Uialdean  magic  of  Lenormant,  and  marvellously  like  the  Gypsies'.  It  does  not, 
when  carefully  sifted,  seem  to  be  like  tJuit  of  the  Aryans,  though  tliese  latter  at  an 
early  date  got  hold  of  a  great  deal  of  it,  nor  is  it  Semitic.  To  what  degree  some 
idea  of  all  this,  and  of  Gypsy  connection  with  it,  penetrated  among  the  people  and 
filtered  down,  even  into  tlie  Middle  Ages,  no  one  can  say.  But  it  is  very  piobable 
that  through  the  centuries  there  came  together  some  report  of  the  conunon  origin  of 
Gypsy  and  "  Eastern  "  or  Chaldean  lore,  for  since  it  was  the  same,  there  is  no  reason 
why  a  knowledge  of  the  truth  should  not  have  been  disseminated  in  a  time  of  tradi- 
tions and  earnest  study  in  "  occultism."  The  more  I  investigate  it,  the  more  I  am 
convinced  that  we  know  very  little  indeed  about  the  real  or  social  condition  of 
witchcraft  and  sorcery  of  yore. 

I  think  that  I  have  proved  all  I  have  here  asserted  in  a  book  which  I  am  writ- 
ing on  Gypsy  Sorcery.  If  not,  I  have  at  least  brought  together  a  mass  of  curious 
lore  which  possibly  proves  it.  A  great  proportion  of  this  has  been  gathered  by  me 
in  strange  ways  among  very  strange  people  ;  so  strange  that  few  cultivated  men 
would  believe  such  beings  existed,  or  that  such  remains  of  primaeval  religion  are 
actually  "living  and  breathing"  in  Europe.  It  dies  very  hard,  this  old  faith  in 
the  fetish  and  "possession"  and  incantations,  and  it  is  probable  that  here  in 
Italy,  while  the  medals  of  the  Magi  are  sold,  and  benedictions  and  exorcisms  of 
another  kind  are  dealt  out,  there  will  be  found  even  among  the  peasants  many  who 
conjecture  their  true  origin,  and  who,  when  a  good  strong  cure  is  needed,  go  to  it 
by  preference.  Charles  G.  Leland. 

The  idea  that  Gypsies  were  regarded  as  "  wandering  Chaldean  magi-priests,"  in 
comparatively  modern  times,  seems  quite  borne  out  by  the  following  entry,  whjcli 
occurs  in  the  Accounts  of  the  Burgh  of  Aberdeen,  1593-1650: — "Item,  to  twa 
strangers — the  ane  ane  Grecian,  the  uther  ane  Caldean — remanent  in  this  burgli, 
be  the  Counsall  .  .  .  £10."  (,£10  Scots,  it  may  be  remarked,  was  only  16s.  8d.). 
This  "Caldean"  can  hardly  have  been  anything  else  tlian  a  Gypsy.  Probably  the 
"Grecian"  was  also  one  ;  like  those  "Greeks  "  of  1512,  referred  to  in  the  Consti- 
tutions of  Catalonia. 

Note  also  these  lines  in  Butler's  Hudibras  (Part  ii.  Canto  iii.)  : — 
"  He  played  the  saltinbancho's  part, 
Transformed  t'  a  Frenchman  by  my  art ; 
He  stole  your  cloak,  and  picked  your  pocket, 
Cliowsed  and  aildesed  j'ou  like  a  blockhead." 
Warburton  says  that  this  is  "  a  word  of  his  [Butler's]  own  coining,  and  signifies 
putting  the  fortune-teller  upon  you,  called  Chaldeans,  or  Egyptians." 

Whether  Butler  invented  the  verb  "to  caldese"  or  not,  it  seems  evident  that, 
during  the  seventeenth  century,  and  from  one  end  of  Great  Britain  to  the  other, 
the  term  "  Chaldean "  was  not  infrequently  applied  to  Gypsy  fortune-tellers. 
Therefore,  as  the  Three  Magi  were  believed  to  be  Chaldeans,  their  representatives 
on  the  stage  were  naturally  identified  witli  the  existing  fortune-tellers  "called 
Chaldeans,  or  Egyptitms." 

The  following  extract  from  the-  January  number  of  the  Revue  des  Traditions 
2)opulaires  (1889,  p.  39)  may  here  be  given  as  supplementing  similar  statements  on 
pp.  142-3  of  our  Journal  (No.  3)  : — "In  Normandy,  the  Feast  of  the  Kings  is 
celebrated  on  the  Sunday  following  the  6th  of  January,  and  also  the  three  Sundays 
following  that  date,  that  of  the  third  Sunday  being  called  the  Feast  of  the  Moorish 
Kings  (Fete  des  Hois  Maures)."  David  MacKitchie. 


248  NOTES   AND    QUERIES. 

Italian  Tinkers  and  their  Habits. 

The  following  is  from  a  Trieste  newspaper  (II  Piccolo,  evening  edition),  7th 
February  1889  :— 

"  We  would  draw  the  attention  of  our  readers  to  various  incidents  which  have 
recently  occurred  at  Bergamo,  where,  on  the  ramparts  near  the  gate  of  San 
Alessandro,  a  troup  of  Gypsies  was  encamped. 

"  Numberless  disputes  remained  to  be  settled  between  the  tinker-Gypsies 
{Zingari-calderai)  and  their  customers,  who  had  entrusted  to  them  their  kitchen 
utensils,  for  the  repairing  of  which  the  Gypsies  were  asking  exorbitant  prices  ;  but 
the  police  authorities  cut  short  the  difficulty  by  having  all  the  utensils  conveyed  to 
the  police-station,  and  inviting  all  parties  thither  for  an  equitable  settlement. 
And,  indeed,  they  arrived  at  a  more  or  less  spontaneous  agreement,  although 
several  utensils  are  still  lying  at  the  police-station. 

"  Now,  while  the  Gypsies  were  striking  their  tents,  there  arrived  another 
caravan  of  them,  who  desired  to  pitch  their  tents  in  that  place.  This  the  police 
absolutely  prohibited  them  from  doing  ;  and  thus  the  two  caravans,  united  together, 
moved  do^vn  into  the  plain  and  betook  themselves  to  Balicco's  stable-yard,  in  the 
Campo  di  Marte. 

"  Yesterday  the  preliminaries  of  a  strange  contract  appear  to  have  been  com- 
pleted between  the  Gypsies  and  a  landlord  there.  The  latter,  who  bears  the 
sobriquet  of  Facia,  took  temporarily  into  his  service,  during  the  Gypsies'  stay  on 
the  Campo  di  Marte,  one  of  their  boys,  with  whom  he  was  so  much  pleased  that  he 
asked  the  Gypsies  whether  they  would  agree  to  leave  him  altogether  with  him.  To 
this  the  Gypsies  did  not  show  themselves  averse,  but  on  the  understanding  that 
they  should  be  recompensed.  Pacio  desired  to  learn  the  amount  of  such  recom- 
pense. '  Five  lire  for  every  kilo  the  boy  weighs,'  replied  the  Gypsies.  We  do  not 
know  the  lad's  weight,  but  he  is  strongly  built  and  stout,  so  that  Pacio  saw  at  a 
glance  that  the  compensation  was  a  little  too  serious.  However,  he  ventured  to 
offer  two  lire  for  every  kilo.     And  the  bargain  broke  off. 

"  A  contract  of  another  sort  was  afterwards  entered  into  between  the  tw^o  Gypsy 
caravans.  A  lovely  girl  belonged  to  one  of  the  companies  ;  to  the  other  a  sturdy 
young  fellow,  Mastro  Nicola.  Mastro  Nicola  fell  in  love  with  the  girl  and,  ipso 
facto,  asked  her  in  marriage.  The  match  was  at  once  arranged  by  the  chiefs  of  the 
caravan.  Everything  seemed  definitely  settled,  when,  late  in  the  evening,  discus- 
sions arose  concerning  the  Wedding  Prize :  the  caravan  that  had  ceded  the  girl 
claimed  1000  lire  ;  the  other  party  would  not  give  nearly  so  much.  As  a  conse- 
quence, abusive  language  and  menaces  were  freely  exchanged,  and  an  endless 
squabble  got  up,  causing  a  curious  crowd  to  gather  round  Balicco's  stable-yard. 
The  aiiair  threatened  to  become  serious,  for  the  disputants  had  begun  to  exchange 
cuffs  and  blows.  Fortunately  the  marshal,  De  Martino,  with  a  dozen  guards,  came 
up  in  the  nick  of  time.  He  had,  however,  much  trouble  before  peace  could  be 
restored.  Finally,  seeing  themselves  threatened  with  severer  measures,  the  two 
Gypsy  caravans,  with  all  their  baggage,  moved  off  to  a  very  considerable  distance 
from  the  neicchbourhood  of  the  town." 


Volume  I.  of  the  Journal  will  consist  of  the  first  six  numbers,  on  the  comple- 
tion of  which  a  cloth  cover  will  be  issued  to  those  who  have  previously  intimated 
their  desire  to  have  it. 


NOTICE. — All  Contributions  must  he  legibly  ivritten  on  one  side  only  of  the  imper ; 
must  hear  the  sender'' s  name  and  address,  though  not  necessarily  for  jmhlica- 
tion;  and  must  he  sent  to  David  MacEitchie,  Esq.,  4   Archibald  Place, 


Edinburgh. 


JOUENAL    OF    THE 


GYPSY   LORE 


SOCIETY. 


Vol.  I.  JULY  1889.  No. 


I._THE  GYPSIES  OF  ASIA  MINOR. 

THE  Gypsies  are  as  well  entitled  as  the  Circassians,  and  even  as 
the  Tartars  and  the  Noffais,  to  be  reckoned  amono;  the  in- 
habitants  of  Asia  Minor,  where  they  appeared  probably  as  early  as 
the  first  century  of  the  Christian  era,  and  certainly  sooner  than  they 
did  in  Europe.  To  judge  from  the  accounts  of  the  learned  Baki  Zade 
Chusni,  of  the  kaimakams  in  Antioch,  who  occupied  himself  in 
archaeological  research,  one  finds  indications  in  the  Arabic  chronicles 
of  the  seventh  century  of  the  presence  there  of  Gypsies.  There  came 
from  the  East  many  people  calling  themselves  Bitri  (compare  Luri 
and  Ljuli — Gypsies  of  Central  Asia),  and  these  spread  themselves  over 
the  whole  country  lying  on  the  other  side  of  the  Euphrates.  They 
lived  in  tents,  understood  smith- work,  and  how  to  treat  horses,  which 
they  loved  better  than  their  own  children.  The  dance  and  the  song 
embellished  their  wild  and  irregular  life.  It  cannot  be  denied  that 
this  description  is  strikingly  applicable  to  the  Gypsies  who  are  yet  to 
be  found  in  great  numbers  in  Asia  Minor ;  who  often,  with  the 
Turkomans  and  the  Juruken  (mistaken  for  Gypsy  bands)  wander  over 
the  inner  Anatolian  plateau  without  any  evidence  of  possessing  a 
settled  ^bode.  On  my  way  to  Siwas  I  met  three  or  four  bands 
one  after  another,  which  probably  migrated  to  the  south.  On  no 
account  do  they  go  beyond  the  Euphrates  in  Mesopotamia,  for  there 
they  are  opposed  by  the  wild  nomadic  Bedaween.  I  met  no  Gypsies 
in  Syria  and  Palestine,  nor  in  the  Sinaitic  peninsula,  although  I  not 
VOL.  L — NO.  V.  i' 


250  THE   GYPSIES   OF   ASIA   MINOR. 

infrequently  encountered  Gypsy  bands  when  in  Egypt.  The  nearer 
one  finds  oneself  to  the  eastern  boundary  of  Asia  Minor — i.e.  the 
nearer  the  Persian  frontier — the  more  numerous  are  the  Gypsies ;  and 
this  also  is  the  case  on  the  Eussian-Caucasian  frontier. 

Of  the  thirty-four  Gypsies  whom  I  investigated  from  the  anthro- 
pological standpoint  during  my  journey  through  Asia  Minor,  twenty- 
eight  belonged  to  the  so-called  common  type,  and  had  not  the  fine 
features  and  clear  profile  so  often  found  among  our  Gypsies. 
Moreover,  many  of  those  whom  I  have  measured  were  prognathous. 
Their  average  height  was  about  n  feet  2  inches  (1-58  m.) ;  their 
cephalic  index  7 7 '6 — 80-0.  In  general  the  common  type  among 
those  Anatolian*  Gypsies  recalls  the  Gypsies  or  Ljuri  of  Central  Asia ; 
on  the  other  hand,  the  Gypsies  or  Chingars  whom  I  met  on  the  other 
side  of  Charput  belong  to  the  Persian  type  of  the  Susmani  Gypsies. 
Their  fine  profile,  the  oblong  face,  the  fine  aquiline  nose,  the  small  but 
expressive  black  eyes,  the  curly,  black  hair,  and  the  insignificant 
prognathism,  reminded  me  of  the  type  of  the  greater  part  of  the 
South  Russian  and  Wallachian  Gypsies.  Their  cephalic  index  is  from 
75*4 — 78-0  ;  their  average  height  is  about  5  feet  3  inches  (1-60  m.); 
they  are  also  taller  than  those  groups  of  Gypsies  previously  mentioned. 
One  can  sometimes  maintain  this  type  to  be  genuinely  Semitic, 
whereas  those  Gypsies  who  belong  to  the  common  type  have  in 
general  a  Mongolian  cast  of  features. 

The  Gypsies  of  Asia  Minor  are  horse-dealers  and  farriers,  and  they 
also  occupy  themselves  in  telling  fortunes  and  in  stealing.  Musicians, 
singers,  and  dancers  are  more  frequently  met  with  among  the  Susmani 
than  the  real  Anatolian  Gypsies.  The  Persian  Gypsies  who  frequent 
the  frontiers  of  Armenia  and  Persia,  and  who  are  also  found  in 
Kurdistan,  are  notorious  for  their  moral  degeneration ;  the  Gypsies  of 
Asia  Minor,  on  the  contrary,  are  eminent  for  their  high  morality.  It 
is  even  said  that  crimes  against  honour  and  against  their  individual 
property  are  of  very  rare  occurrence  in  their  camps.  The  Gypsies 
frequently  pitch  their  tents  at  the  entrances  of  towns,  and,  uniting 
themselves  with  the  Juruken  and  the  Turkomans,  wander  together 
on  the  Jaila  (the  pasture-land  of  the  Anti-Taurus).  In  the  habits 
of  the  Lycian  and  Pamphylian  Gypsies  one  can  see  the  step  between 
the  nomadic  and  the  sedentary  life.  They  take  the  same  resting- 
places  for  years  at  a  time,  and  busily  engage  in  cattle-rearing ;  the 
women  even  spin  and  weave.  I  have  been  told,  moreover,  that  some 
Gypsy  settlements  are  to  be  found  on  the  way  to  Tosgad,  but  I  have 
seen  nothing  of  them.  A.  Elysseeff. 


THE  LITHUANIAN    GYPSIES    AND    THEIK    LANGUAGE.  251 

II.— THE  LITHUANIAN  GYPSIES  AND  THEIE 

LANGUAGE. 

SOME  ten  years  ago,  a  tribe  of  Gypsies  quartered  themselves  in 
my  forests.  Pushed  by  curiosity,  I  frequently  asked  them  to 
explain  to  me  the  meaning  of  certain  words  I  had  picked  up  among 
them,  and  the  information  so  obtained  led  me  to  compile  the  present 
small  vocabulary. 

Gypsies  have,  of  late,  appeared  more  rarely  in  these  regions. 
They  are  in  the  habit  of  settling  down  for  good  in  the  places  most 
congenial  to  them,  where  they  amalgamate,  by  degrees,  with  the 
native  population  ;  hence,  in  a  hundred  years  hence,  and  perhaps 
even  long  before  then,  they  may  disappear  altogether,  and  those  who 
now  have  opportunities  for  writing  down  the  information  obtained 
with  regard  to  the  Cygani  language,  will  contribute  towards  enlarging 
our  knowledge  on  this  subject  and  enable  linguists  to  institute  further 
comparison  with  the  cognate  languages. 

As  even  now  Gypsies  are  met  here  very  rarely,  I  have  not  been 
able  to  fall  in  with  another  of  their  settlements  for  the  last  ten  years. 
Those  who  pitch  their  tents  in  these  regions  are  known  to  visit  also 
other  more  or  less  contiguous  governments  (provinces). 

Some  of  them  may  be  met  also  at  the  annual  fairs,  but  not  regu- 
larly. As  they  are  great  adepts  in  the  art  of  stealing,  most  of  the 
frequenters  of  those  periodical  meetings  are  anxious  to  give  them  a 
wide  berth.  They  usually  occupy  themselves  with  fortune-telling, 
cheating,  horse-dealing. 

In  winter  time  they  rarely  camp  out  in  the  open  air,  but  take 
up  their  quarters  in  the  village  inns,  where  they  seek  to  ingratiate 
themselves  with  those  who  seem  to  sympathise  with  them.  Their 
favourite  dance  is  the  "  Eed  Cosak,"  a  kind  of  Russian  peasants' 
dance,  accompanied  by  monotonous  songs  or  instrumental  music. 

The  women  usually  wear,  like  the  Kurpi  ^  peasant  women,  a 
large  shawl,  by  way  of  a  cloak,  which  affords  them  not  only  sufficient 
protection  against  the  cold,  but  also  a  convenient  receptacle  for 
stolen  goods.  In  begging,  they  display  considerable  astuteness  and 
knowledge  of  character.  Thus,  for  instance,  when  a  Gypsy  woman 
asks  at  a  peasant's  hut  for  the  gift  of  a  piece  of  lard  or  some  otlier 
similar  article,  a  second  Gypsy  will,  of  course  accidentally,  turn  up 
at  the  same  moment  and  apostrophise  her  somewhat  in  the  following 
style  :  "  How  stupid  you  are  !     Why  do  you  beg  ?     Do  you  not  know 

1  Kurpi,  a  Polish  family,  inhabiting  the  provinces  of  Lomsha  and  Plock. 


252  THE   LITHUANIAN    GYPSIES    AND   THEIR   LANGUAGE. 

liow  good  the  lady  is,  and  that  she  will  give  you  more  than  you  have 
asked  for  ?     .     .     . "     and  so  forth. 

All  of  the  Gypsies  visiting  these  parts  are  Eoman  Catholics, 
and  recite  their  prayers  in  the  Lithuanian  language ;  they  are 
baptised,  married,  and  buried  according  to  the  ritual  of  the  Eoman 
Catholic  Church. 

In  reply  to  some  questions  of  mine,  they  stated  that  they  pos- 
sessed no  books  written  in  their  own  language.  Like  their  Lithu- 
anian kindred,  the  Gypsies  of  Curland  are  Eoman  Catholics,  and 
follow  the  usages  of  the  Catholic  Church.  It  is,  however,  their 
practice  to  conform,  as  much  as  possible,  with  the  creed  of  their  hosts, 
no  matter  what  persuasion  they  may  belong  to.  Thus  I  remember 
seeing,  at  Llittau,  in  Curland,  some  twenty  years  ago,  some  Gypsies 
going  to  confession  at  Easter  time.  They  conform  with  all  sacred 
rites  merely  in  a  most  superficial  manner,  and  after  having  partaken 
of  the  Communion,  they  leave  the  church  in  the  greatest  haste.  A 
priest  told  me  once,  in  a  jocular  way,  that  they  only  come  to  the 
confessional  when  their  conscience  is  oppressed  by  excessive  horse- 
stealing. 

Sometimes  we  are  visited  also  by  Hungarian,  Servian,  and 
Eoumanian  Gypsies.  These  last  consider  themselves  to  belong  to 
the  true  (i.e.  the  Eussian)  Church.  They  are  mostly  tinkers,  repairing 
copper  cooking  utensils ;  but  of  these  they  are  very  apt  to  steal  the 
copper  bottoms,  substituting  an  imitation  of  j^'^^l^'icr-mdcM.  They 
differ  greatly  from  our  own  Gypsies,  whom  they  excel  in  an  incredible 
amount  of  obtrusiveness ;  moreover  they  attack  and  rob  wayfarers, 
and  when  asked  what  they  are,  they  say :  "  We  are  not  Gypsies, 
Sir  ;  we  are  Magyars."  A  pretty  story  is  told  of  these  same  "  Mag- 
yar" gentry,  as  practised  upon  a  gentleman  in  the  district  of  Marianpol, 
in  the  pro\dnce  of  Suwalki.  This  is  what  happened  : — Some  Gypsies 
had  cured  the  horses  on  that  nobleman's  estate  of  glanders,  for  which 
service  they  demanded  a  very  large  sum,  amounting  to  several  hun- 
dred roubles,  which  the  nobleman  refused  to  pay,  as  it  was  greatly 
excessive.  When  the  Gypsies  had  left,  the  horses  began  to  neigh  in 
an  extraordinary  manner,  louder  and  louder,  becoming  perfectly  wild  ; 
and,  eventually,  falling  down  in  convulsions.  A  veterinary  surgeon 
was  sent  for,  but  could  do  nothing,  and  he  was  not  even  able  to  name 
the  disease  from  which  the  horses  were  suffering.  When  the  surgeon 
dissected  one  of  the  dead  horses,  he  found  every  part  of  the  body  to 
be  in  a  perfectly  normal  condition ;  but,  on  opening  the  head,  it  was 
found  that  a  number  of  rags  had  been  pushed  up  the  poor  animal's 


THE    LITHUANIAN    GYPSIES   AND    THEIR   LANGUAGE.  253 

nostrils,  which,  of  course,  brought  on  suffocation.  Sucli  and  similar 
innocent  little  games  are  now  and  then  practised  by  these  amiable 
visitors,  and  no  one  need  therefore  wonder  why  their  room  is,  as  a 
rule,  preferred  to  their  company. 

The  Gypsy  women  always  carry  a  quantity  of  corn  in  tlicir 
poclcets,  for  the  purpose  of  attracting  and  catching  poultry,  which 
they  quickly  kill,  and  adroitly  hide  underneath  their  ample  shawls. 
They  also  dispense  certain  philtres,  which  they  call  "sympathetic 
nostrums,"  supposed  to  have  the  effect  of  making  people  fall  in  love 
with  each  other.     They  are  also  suspected  of  child-stealing. 

I  once  came  across  a  fair-complexioned  Gypsy,  with  light  blond 
hair ;  he  was  the  son  of  a  noble  lady,  who  had  eloped  witli  his  father. 
By  such  and  similar  instances  of  cross-breeding,  the  race  of  the 
Gypsies  becomes  refined  and  altered.  They  usually  speak  several 
languages,  and  are  not  a  little  proud  of  their  own,  which,  they  say, 
is  a  mixtum  compositum,  consisting  of  three  times  nine  languages ; 
that  is  to  say,  probably,  Ijy  an  admixture  of  Lithuanian — Trins 
devineres  Kalhas,  as  they  name  it. 

With  regard  to  their  genealogy,  they  say  that  they  come  from 
Egypt,  and  that,  at  the  time  the  Jews  were  slaves  in  that  country, 
building  towers  and  treasure-cities,  their  ancestors  were  set  over  them 
by  the  Piiaraohs  as  taskmasters,  armed  with  knouts  to  whip  them 
on.  .  Stealing,  they  say,  has  been  permitted  in  their  favour  by  the 
crucified  Jesus,  because  the  Gypsies,  being  present  at  the  Crucifixion, 
stole  one  of  the  four  nails,  by  the  aid  of  which  the  Saviour  was 
nailed  to  the  cross ;  hence  it  is  that,  when  the  hands  had  been 
nailed  fast  there  was  only  one  nail  left  for  the  feet,  and  therefore 
God  allowed  them  to  steal,  and  it  is  not  accounted  a  sin  to  them. 

Gypsies  have,  generally,  a  dusky  complexion,  and  curly  black 
hair,  and  black  eyes,  by  which,  and  their  peculiar  features,  the  descen- 
dants of  this  tribe  are  easily  recognised. 

In  summer  time  the  children  are  often  allowed  to  go  about  naked. 
They  smoke  pipes,  and  when  they  are  short  of  tobacco,  they  are 
satisfied  to  smoke  hay  or  other  vegetable  matter. 

Half  a  century  ago  the  nobility  practised  the  barbarous  sport 
of  hunting  Gypsies  out  of  their  forests,  often  killing  or  crippling 
them.  It  certainly  had  the  effect,  if  not  of  expelling  them  entirely, 
at  least  of  making  their  visits  few  and  far  between. 

When  telling  people's  fortunes  from  their  hands,  they  gratify 
them  usually  with  a  string  of  set,  flattering  phrases ;  for  instance  : 
"  Girls  will  surround  you,  good  sir,  like  flies  around  a  milk-pot.     If 


254 


THE   LITHUANIAN    GYPSIES    AND   THEIR   LANGUAGE. 


you  marry,  you  will  have  no  fewer  than  ten  children ;  men  do  not 
look  after  the  bread  basket "  (meaning,  you  need  not  trouble  about 
having  to  keep  them),  et  ccetera  ad  infinitum. 


CYGANI-ENGLISH  VOCABULARY. 

The  Polish  orthograjDhy  of  the  author  is  here  followed,  with  a  few  modifications. 
The  italicised  "1"  {I)  is  substituted  for  the  Polish  symbol,  which  has  the  force  of 
"U"  in  English.  Italicised  o  and  e  represent  a  nasal  sound  equivalent  to  French 
on  and  in  in  the  words  hon  and  vin.  The  letter  "  ii "  is  here  used  as  in  Spanish. 
Cz  =  Eng.  ch  ;  sz  =  Eng.  sh  ;  z  =  Fr.  g,  as  in  gitc  ;  c  =  Eng.  ts  ;  and  ch  =  Germ.  ch. 


Cygani. 

English. 

Remarks. 
(Those  marked  thus  *  are  by  the  Editors). 

Angrusti, 

Ring,     .... 

Bibo,    . 

Aunt,     .... 

Bibi.* 

Ba/a,     . 

Hair,     .... 

Breza,  . 

Birchwood,    . 

Rus.  Berioza ;  Lit.  Berzas. 

BoZybe, 

Heaven, 

Brydo,  . 

Ugly,     .... 

Pol.  brzydki. 

Bori,     . 

Daughter-in-law,   . 

Pol.  brae' ;  Rus.  baroZ. 

Brainta, 

Brandy      (Schnapps  — 
Eau-de-vie). 

Germ.  Branntwein. 

Bing,    . 

Devil,    .... 

Lit.  Bangputis,  an  idol.     Beng.* 

Boczano, 

Stork,    .... 

Pol.  bocian ;  Lit.  bacenas ;  Rus.  bot'ka. 

Bar,      . 

Stone,    .... 

Lettish,  bars,  a  heap. 

Czaj,     . 

Daughter, 

Czupny, 

Whip,  cat-o' -nine-tails. 

Lit.  cziupti,  to  seize. 

C'zomut, 

Horse-collar, 

Pol.  chomot. 

Czaro,  . 

Large  dish,    . 

Pol.  czara. 

Clio^u, 

Trousers, 

Pol.  cholewa,  the  leg  of  a  boot.   Wlislocki,  cholo, 

stockings.  * 

Cocha, 

Greatcoat, 

Czon,    . 

Moon,    .... 

Czerlienia,    , 

Stars,    .... 

Czyna,  . 

Ear-rings, 

Pol.  cyna  ;  Lit.  cina  (because  they  are  made  of 
tin — Germ.  Zinn). 

Czar,     , 

Grass,    .... 

Used  by  the  Gypsies  for  making  charms ;  Pol. 

Cha,      , 

To  eat,  .... 

czary,  sorcery,  a  love-philtre. 

Cholinakro,  . 

Angry,  .... 

CheZada, 

A  Russian,     . 

Rus.  choZodnyj,  cold ;  coming  from  a  cold 
region — (north). 

Czavo,  . 

Son,       .... 

Kirch.  -Slav,  czado  =  child. 

Czisawo, 

Chestnut  colour,    . 

Pol.  cisawy. 

CzirikZo, 

Bird,      .... 

Lit.  cirulus,  lark. 

Dziuly, 

Woman  (female),  . 

Eng.-Gyp.,  djiivel ;  Paspati,  djuvel.* 

Daj,      . 

Mother, 

Dad,     . 

Father, .... 

Pol.  dziad  ;  Rus.  ded,  grandfather  ;  Lit.  dedis; 
Rus.  diada,  uncle. 

Danda, 

Teeth,    .... 

Lit.  dantis  ;  Lat.  dens. 

DukaZ, . 

Pain,      .... 

Eng.-Gyp.,  duka.* 

Deve?,  . 

God,       .... 

Lat.  Dens  ;  Lit.  Dievas  (and  Dievelis,  dear  God). 

Dzo, 

Oats,      .... 

Eng.-Gyp.,  djob.* 

DzivTkel, 

Dog,       .... 

Drum,  . 

Way  (road  and  street),  . 

Pol.  droga. 

Draba, . 

Medicine, 

Pol.  drobic,  crumbs. 

Dikmengepa 

Show  me  your  hand  (for 

*ast ! 

telling  your  fortune). 

Look  me  on  the  hand.* 

De    p.szatoro 

Give  oats  to  my  horse, 

mire  greske 
dzo! 
Fur,      . 

brother !     . 

Pol.  daj,  give;  Germ.  niir. 

Sheep,   .... 

Foro,    . 

Town,    .-       . 

Filaczyn, 

Country  residence  (Vil- 

Eng.-Gyp.,  filisin;*   Liebich,   filezzin;*    Lit. 

leggiatura). 

pile,  town. 

Felda,  . 

Field,    .... 

Germ.  leld. 

Graj,     . 

Horse,   .... 

Grazki, 

Mare,     .... 

Grazni.  * 

Gad,     , 

Shirt,     .... 

Pol.  galki,  gacie,  drawers. 

THE   LITHUANIAN   GYPSIES    AND    THEIR   LANGUAGE. 


255 


Cygani. 

English. 

Remarks. 

Gadzo, . 

Inhabitant   of   Zmudz 

Rus.,  Lit.  Gudas.    (Eastern  Russia).    Gadzo  = 

(Samogitia), 

Non-Gypsy.* 

Gruszka, 

Pear-tree,       . 

Pol.  gi-uszk. 

Gniado, 

Dun,  or  chestnut  (colour). 

Pol.  gniady. 

GudZo, 

Sweet,    .... 

Lit.  godus,  godlivas,  to  long  for  sweetmeats. 

Gau,     . 

Small  village, 

Germ.  haus. 

Giu,      . 

Rve,       .... 

Hera,   . 

Feet 

Lit.  greitas,  swift;  Pol.  (vulg.)  giry,  feet. 

Hanyiiv, 

Well,     .... 

Hiri^;. 

Peas,     .... 

Esthon.  hern ;  Lit.  zirnei,peas ;  Slav,  zerno,  grains. 

Jag, 

Fire,      .... 

Lit.  uguis ;  Lat.  ignis ;  Sansc.  agni ;  Lettish,  uguns. 

Jaka,    . 

Eyes,     .         .         .         . 

Lit.  al^is  ;  Let.  acis  ;  Pol.  Russ.  oko. 

Jegla,    . 

Fir,        .... 

Lit.  egle,  agle  ;'  Lettish,  egle ;  Pol.  jodZa. 

■Tudii,    . 

Jew,      .... 

Germ.  Jude.  ' 

Jencznienie, . 

Barley,  .... 

Pol.  jeczmien  ;  Rus.  jaczmien. 

Indarako, 

Petticoat, 

Germ,  imterrock  ;  Lit.  indarokas. 

Kachni, 

Poultry, 

Esth.  kanna. 

Kuroro, 

Foal 

Kak,     . 

Uncle,  .... 

Korszy, 

Trunk,  .... 

Polish,  karcz. 

Kcham, 

Sun.    •    .         .         .         . 

Kangiery,     . 

Church, 

Knizki, 

Book,    .... 

Eus.  kniga,  knizka  ;  Lit.  kniga. 

Kas,     . 

Hay,      .... 

Esth.  kask,  kassa,  birch  ? 

Kana,  . 

Ear,       .... 

Esth.  kan,  kand. 

Kar,     . 

Flesh  (meat), 

Rus.  karowa  ;  Lit.  karwe  ;  Pol.  krowan,  cow. 

Kaszta,  Kaszt, 

Wood,   .... 

Pol.  kasztan,  a  chestnut  tree. 

Kiral,  . 

Salt,  adj.,      . 

?  A  quid x^ro  quo  (kiral  =  cheese).* 

Kirko, . 

Bitter,    .... 

Lit.  kartus  ;   Rus.  gorkij. 

Kalu,    . 

Black,    .... 

Germ.  kohl. 

Kotka,. 

Cat,        .... 

Pol.  kotka  ;  Lit.  kate. 

Laska,  . 

Stick  (cane),  . 

Pol.  laska. 

Lye,      . 

To  carry, 

LaUzu, 

Good,     .... 

Lovina, 

Beer,      .... 

Mursz,  . 

Man  {i.e.  mensch),      _    . 

Pol.  monz ;  Rus.  muz;  Lit.  muziks ;  Esth. 
mees. 

Mocho, 

Moss,     .... 

Rus.  nioch. 

Muj,      . 

Body,     .         .         .         . 

Meribe, 

Death,  .... 

Lit.  mii-ibe,  death  ;  mirti,  to  die. 

Mas,     . 

Flesh,    .        .        .        . 

Lit.  mensa  ;  Pol.  mienso  ;  Lit., misti,  to  nourish 

oneself. 

Mirikle, 

Corals,  .         .         .         . 

Matszlim, 

A  fly,     .         .        .         . 

Nasz,    . 

To  move. 

Lit.  neszti ;  Pol.  nieszc',  to  draw. 

Nasze^o  pani, 

The  water  runs  (flows),  . 

Naszel  o  pani.* 

Naswalo, 

Sick,      .         .         .         . 

Okolisto,       . 

To  ride — on  horseback, . 

[  0  kolisto(/. P.  the  horseman).  Cf.  Scotch-Gypsy 
klistic,  soldier.* 

Pani,    . 

Water,  .         .         .         . 

Lit.  pienas  (mleko),  milk. 

Pode  !  . 

Demand — Beg  '. 

Pol.  podaj  !  Lit.  poduk  ! 

Piri,      . 

Kettle,  .        .        .        . 

Pchu,   . 

Earth,    .        .        .        . 

Rus.  pachat,  to  plough,  to  till  the  ground. 

Perio,  . 

An  Egg, 

Lit.  peras,  a  brood  of  chickens. 

Pora,    . 

Pen,       .... 

Pol.  pioro  ;  Rus.  piero. 

Pchaba.  j , 

Apple,  .... 

Parno, 

White,  .... 

Pol.  pardwa,  white  partridge. 

Postin, 

Sheep's  fleece. 

Lit.  postees,  to  clothe  one's-self. 

Pchuro, 

Old        .        .■        .         . 

Papin,  . 
Pogrobo, 

Goose,   .        .         .        . 
Burial,  .... 

Pol.  pogrzeb.  ;  Rus.  pogrcb  ;  Lit.  pagrebas. 

Puruma, 

Onion,  .         .         .         . 

Lit.  j)urai  — wheat. 

Palca    , 

Finger,  .... 

Pol.  Palec. 

Rak^y, . 

Girl,      .         .         .         . 

Roj,      .        . 
Roto,    . 

Spoon,  .         .         .         . 
Wheel  (of  a  carriage  or 

■  Germ,  rad  ;  Lit.  ratas,  a  wheel ;  Saus.  rata,  a 

cart). 

caiTiage. 

Reka,    . 

River,    .         .         .         . 

Rus.  rieka. 

Raszaj, 

Parson  (priest). 

Raj.      . 
Rajny  . 

Gentleman  (Seigneur).  . 
Lady,     .         .         .         - 

|Pol.  (vulg.)  Rajny,  to  woo;  courtship. 

Renkano, 

Pole,      .         .         .         . 

Lit.  lenkas. 

Rom,    . 

Gypsy,  .         .        .        . 

266 


THE   LITHUANIAN    GYPSIES   AND    THEIR   LANGUAGE. 


Cygani. 

English. 

Remarks. 

Romni, 

Wife  ;  female  Gypsy,    . 

Ri, 

To  cook 

Lit.  riti ;  Let.  riht,  to  eat. 

Reca,    . 

Duck,    . 

Sztetus, 

Camp  (Military), 

Germ,  stadt ;  Lit.  stoti,  to  stand. 

Saste,    or 

Sasto, 

Healthy, 

Szwar,  . 

A  liridle. 

Paspati,  shuvar,  bridle.* 

Sawaris, 

A  small  bridle, 

Lit.  suverti,  to  bind  together. 

Stad,    . 

Cap,       . 

Eng.-Gyp.  staadi.* 

Sosna,  . 

Piue  (fir), 

Pol.  and  Rus.  sosna. 

Stremieii, 

Stirniji, 

Pol.  strzemieu  ;  Rus.  stremien. 

SmoZa, 

Tar, 

Lit.  smaZa.     Pol.  smoZa. 

Shiga,  . 

Servant, 

Pol.,  Rus.,  and  Lit.  shiga. 

Saso,     . 

German, 

Esth.  Saks.  German  ;  Pol.  Sas.  Saxon. 

Sal,       . 

Salt, 

Esth.  .sool.    The  Gypsy  word  for  "salt"  is  Ion.* 

Smaru, 

Bread,    . 

?Maru.* 

Szukar, 

Beautiful, 

SzutZo, 

Sour, 

Sado,    . 

Garden, 

Pol.  sad  ;  Lit.  sodas. 

Szino,  . 

Blue,      . 

Pol.  siny  ;  Rus.  sinij. 

Sivo,     . 

Grey  (horse). 

Pol.  siwy. 

Szvagro, 

Brother-in-law, 

Pol.  szwagier ;  Germ,  schwieger. 

Szvencono,    . 

Holy  (sacred), 

Lit.  szventas,  holy  ;  Pol.  swiencony,  consecrated. 

Smentano,    . 

Cream,  . 

Lit.  smetona ;  Pol.  smietana. 

Szeranduni,  . 

Pillow,  . 

Troszero, 

Head,    . 

Tro  szero,  thy  head.  * 

Tyracho, 

Boot,     . 

Tchu,    . 

Smoke,  . 

TchujaZy, 

Pipe,      . 

Tchuvalo=tobacco,  in  various  Gypsy  dialects.* 

Trifil'is, 

Clover,  . 

Fr.  trefle,  Lat.  trifolium.* 

Tchora, 

Beard,    . 

Tchut,  . 

Milk,     . 

Tchera, 

House,  . 

?  Kchera.* 

Terno,  . 

Young,  . 

Lit.  tarnas,  a  servant. 

Uszta,  . 

Mouth,  . 

Pol.  usta  ;  Lit.  ustai,  moustache. 

Vurdo, 

Carriage  or  cart, 

Eng.-Gyp.  vardo  and  wardo.* 

Vedro, 

A  measure  (for  liquids). 

Pol.    wiadro  ;     Rus.    wedro ;     Lit.    wedras,    a 
capacious  skin. 

Vasta,  . 

Hands,  .... 

Lit.  westi ;  Esth.  wasto. 

Volcha, 

Alder-tree,    . 

Pol.  and  Rus.  olcha. 

Vimcy, 

Moustache,    . 

Pol.  wosy ;  Rus.  usy. 

Zen, 

Saddle, . 

Zeleno,. 

Green,   . 

Rus.  zelenij.     Eng.-Gyp.  selno.* 

Zifto,    . 

Yellow, 

Lit.  geltas.     Eng.-Gyp.  yelto.* 

Zwero, . 

Animal  (wild). 

Rus.  zwer ;  Lit.  zweris. 

1.  jek. 

2.  duj. 

3.  trin. 

4.  sztar. 

5.  pancz. 

6.  szau. 

7.  efta. 

8.  ochta. 

9.  enia. 

10.  desz. 

11.  desz  jek. 

12.  deszo  duj. 
13. 

14. 
15. 
16. 
17. 
18. 
19. 


CYGANI  NUMERALS. 

20.  bisz. 

21.  bisztejek. 

22.  biszte  duj. 
23. 
24. 
25. 
26. 
27. 
28. 
29. 

30.  trindesza. 
40.  sztardesza. 
50.  panczdesza. 
60.  szaudesza. 

TOO.  szel. 
200.  duj  szeia. 
300.  triu  szeZa. 


1000.  tysiouc  (Pol.  tysiouc) 


THE   LITHUANIAN    GYPSIES    AND    THEIR   LANGUAGE, 


257 


Not  being  quite  sure  about  the  correct  signification  of  some 
words,  I  took  care  to  inquire  further  of  other  Gypsies  in  the  Polish 
and  Lithuanian  languages,  and  thus  ascertained  that  the  expressions 
used  were  correct.  I  am,  therefore,  quite  sure,  and  have  no  Linger 
any  doubt  about  it,  without  venturing  in  any  way  upon  believing  in 
my  own  infallibility,  having  made  a  compilation  of  a  language  which 
I  have  not  mastered  at  all.^ 

In  an  article  published  in  1881,  in  the  Warsmv  Illustrated 
Gazette,  No.  311,  page  381,  there  appeared  a  synopsis  of  some  words 
of  the  Cygani  language  as  spoken  in  Galicia,  which  proves  the 
diversity  existing  in  the  various  Cygani  dialects,  although  the  author 
of  the  said  article  declares  that  the  Cygani  language  of  Galicia  is 
absolutely  the  same  as  that  of  Lithuania.  From  ■  the  following 
Synopsis  it  will,  however,  be  seen  what  difference  there  exists  really 
between  the  two  dialects.  However,  the  language  of  the  Gypsies  in 
Lithuania  is  quite  the  same  as  that  of  the  inhabitants  of  Samogitia 
(Zmujdz),  the  tribes  in  question  being  in  the  habit  of  frequently 
interchanging  their  camping  grounds. 


SYNOPSIS  OF  SOME  WORDS  IN  USE  WITH  THE  GYPSIES  OF 
GALICIA.  LITHUANIA. 


Cygani. 

English. 

Cygani. 

English. 

MrodeZ. 

God. 
(My  God.)* 

Bevel. 

God. 

Gadziu. 

A  male. 

Gadzo,  Mursz. 

A  male. 

Rakloro. 

Lad. 

Gadzo . 

An  inhabitant  of  Samo- 
gitia (i.e.,  a  non-Gypsy).* 

Rakli. 

Gixl. 

RakZy. 

Girl  (lass). 

Akaraj. 

Gentleman. 
(This  gentle- 
man.)* 

Raj. 

Gentleman. 

Dani. 

Father. 

Dad. 

Father. 

Cher. 

House. 

■Tchero(/kchero)* 

House. 

Rykono.v^ 

Dog. 

Dziukiel. 

Dog. 

Kaszt. 

Wood. 

Kaszt. 

Wood. 

Szero. 

Head. 

Troszero. 

Head  ;  (troszero,  thy 
head).* 

Vast. 

Hand. 

Vasta. 

Hand. 

Pindro. 

Foot. 

Hera. 

Foot. 

Xowe. 

IMoney. 

1 

■i 

Rom. 

t^yp^y- 

Rom. 

Gypsy. 

§  Paspati,  rukon6,  or  rikond,  a  1 

ittle  dog.* 

1  While  it  is  evident  that,  in  some  instances,  M.  Dowojno  has  Iieard  or  noted  down  im- 
perfectly the  words  given  to  him  by  his  Gypsies,  we  have  thought  it  expedient  to  leave  his 
list  in  its  original  state,  believing  that  a  vocabulary  thus  untouched  jiossesses  certain 
advantages  of  accent  which  would  otherwise  be  lost.  Wliere  it  has  seemed  advisable,  we 
have  made  some  additions  to  M.  Dov/ojuo's  "  Remarks.  "—[Eu.] 


258  THE   LITHUANIAN   GYPSIES   AND   THEIR  LANGUAGE. 

In  Kraszewski's  novels,  Oksana  and  The  Hut  near  the  Villayc,  a 
great  many  Cygani  words  have  been  introduced. 

As  the  Russian  authorities  desire  the  complete  supervision  of  the 
Gypsies,  they  are  commanded  to  settle  themselves  in  certain  selected 
localities.  In  this  district  there  has  been  formed  the  Gypsy  village 
of  Szimsza,  near  Szavli,  in  the  province  of  Kovno  ;  and  other  Gypsies 
reside  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Balberiszki  and  Preni,  in  the  province 
of  Suvalki,  regarding  whom  I  shall  say  more  on  a  future  occasion. 

MiECZYSLAW  Doavojno-Sylwestkowicz. 


III._6*  MINARIS:   A  SLOVAK-GYPSY  TALE. 

0  JIINARIS.^  THE  MILLER. 

Uhas  yekh  minaris ;    ehas    les  There  was  a  miller ;  he  had  a 

shukdr  rdkli,  has  lake  hish  hersli,  beautiful  daughter;  she  was  twenty 

nashchi  pes   talindyas   lake   rom.  years  old,  and  could  not  find  a 

You   has   igen,  lakro   dad,  aiul-e  husband.     Her  father  was  much 

hdri  lach,  kana  hi  igen  larvalo,  he  ashamed,  that,  though  he  is  very 

nashchi  pes  lake  rom  talinel.  i-ich,  she  cannot  get  a  husband. 

Lidch  hi  rdklya  jungdleder  h-o  "  In  other  cases,"  he  said,  "  girls 

romes  len.     Ax  tizhdr,  one  dava  te  are  uglier,andyetsecure  husbands. 

kerel  yekh  hdlos  he  dava  and-o  tsclo  Oh  !  I  shall  give  a  ball,  and  send 

hraJina  heslos,  kai  t-aven  pra  hdlos,  an  invitation  througli  the  whole 

(hoi  me  kerava  shukdr  hdlos),  nisht  land,  that  they  may  come  to  the 

les   na   koshtyinelcc   anyi    hrusny-  ball  (that  I  shall  give  a  fine  ball), 

aris;   ketsi   kamla  sako   mdnush,  and  it  will  cost  him  (who  comes 

atsi  shai  khelel  the  shai  xal  the  shai  to  the  ball)  nothing,  not  even  a 

piyel.      Me   chak  ijrohdlinau,  chi  kreuzer ;  every  man  may  dance, 

pes  mra  rdklyake  talinla  vare-savo  and  eat  and  drink  as  much  as  he 

pirdno.  likes.     Only  I  shall  try  if  a  lover 

for  my  daughter  may  be  obtained." 

Laches — ke  rdtyi  desh  ore  He  o  Well,  at  ten  o'clock  at  night,  the 

roriia    te    hashavel.      0    raya,    o  Gypsies  began  to  play.  The  gentle- 

2)rintsi,  vsheliyaka  manusha  auk-  men,  the  princes,  men  of  all  kinds, 

har  so  has  pra  svetos,  savore  avle  ;  whosoever  were  in  the  world,  they 

na  has  para  ole  svetoske,  kai  atsi  all  came  ;  there  was  not  a  pair 

toulehas  atsi  vildgos,  nashchi  pteskc  [left]     in    the    world    [outside]. 

dinyas  o  minaris  anyi  rada.      You  When  such  people  bustled  in  such 

1  The  orthograpliy  is  the  same  in  general  as  iu  my  Slovak-Gypsy  Vocabulary,  except  that 
for  the  signs  t',  d',  n',  I'  there  used,  I  have  here  substituted  fi/,  dy,  ny,  I  (before  i),  ly  (before 
other  vowels),  in  order  to  facilitate  the  work  of  the  printer. 


0  MINARIS:  A    SLOVAK-GYPSY   TALE, 


259 


has  igcn  rado  hoi  chak  pes  talinla 
varesavo  jnrdno  ola  rdklyakc  he 
Irkea  hiyau. 


Lyeho  ndne  nyiko  man  chak  oda 
yekh  rdkli.  Me  som  xvala  devles- 
ke  harvalo  auk-har  grdfo.s.  Kana 
merava,  kaske  me  odova  m^ikava  ? 
ndne  man  rdklo  anyi  rdkli,  chak 
sal  tu  kokori. 

Alyc  Idches — He  tc  hashavcn  o 
lavutdra  yekh  shukdr  verhunkos,  c 
rdkli  gdyas  the  khelcl  the  yekhe 
manusheha,  you  has  masdrsko  to- 
varishis  alye  Jias  igcn  shukdr  the 
cha.s  harvalo.  Mindyar  e  rdkli 
pes  leske  zalyuhindyas  he  c  rdkli 
leske  ;  xudine  pes  soduij6ne  chumi- 
diiule  pes  yekhetdne  he  dine  pcske  o 
vast. 

Tu  sal  mri  romnyi,  me  som  tro 
rom  I  Akanak  jas  ke  tro  dad, 
pheneha  leske,  hoi  amen  sovla- 
o:draha  he  keraha  hiyau.  Ldchcs 
— phiLch  tre  dadestar,  so  man  tuha 
dela. 

Ax  dadka,  phen  ale  mre  romeske, 
so  les  mantsa  dehcc. 

Pcd  mri  smertya  savuro  leske 
he  tuke  poruchinava. 

Te  na  mi'dyas,  ehi  pr-o  scetos  he 
peskra  romnyaha. 


a  manner,  the  miller  did  not  know 
what  to  do.  He  was  much  pleased 
that  probably  a  husband  for  the 
girl  would  be  found,  and  she 
would  make  a  marriage. 

"  For,"  said  he,  "  I  have  none 
besides  this  one  child.  I  am, 
God  be  praised,  rich  as  a  lord. 
When  I  shall  die,  to  whom  shall 
I  leave  that  [money]  ?  I  have 
neither  a  son  nor  a  daughter  except 
yourself." 

Well  then,  the  fiddlers  began 
to  play  a  fine  dance ;  the  girl  went 
to  dance  with  a  man ;  he  was  a 
butcher's  boy,  but  he  was  very 
fine  and  rich.  Immediately  the 
girl  fell  in  love  with  him  and  the 
lad  with  her  ;  they  embraced  and 
kissed  one  another,  and  gave  the 
hand  to  one  another. 

You  are  my  wife,  and  I  am 
your  husband  !  Xow  go  to  your 
father  ;  you  will  tell  him  that  we 
will  espouse  one  another  and  make 
a  marriage.  Well,  ask  your  father 
what  he  will  give  me  with  you 
[as  a  dow^ry]. 

O  father,  tell  my  husband 
[bridegroom  ?]  what  you  will  give 
him  with  me. 

After  my  death  I  shall  bequeath 
all  [that  I  have]  to  him  and  to 
you. 

If  he  is  not  dead,  he  is  in  the 
world  [alive]  with  his  wife. 


Notes. 

This   story  has  been   written  down  from  the  lips  of  a   Gypsy 
lad  (Andreas  Facsuna,  called  Yauko  by  his  comrades),  in  1884,  at 


260  THE   IMMIGKATION    OF   THE   GYPSIES   INTO 

Tapolcza.  In  publishing  it,  I  do  not  imagine  that  its  contents  will 
be  found  interesting.  It  is  intended  only  to  give  to  English  readers 
a  sliort  specimen  of  the  speech  itself,  and  of  the  childlike  style  of 
Slovak-Gypsy  tales. 

To  some  passages  of  the  Gypsy  text,  which  I  left  uncorrected 
itself,  I  ought  to  add  the  following  remarks : — Ax  uzhdr,  me  dava  tc 
kerel,  etc.     Cf.  German  :   Warte,  ich  werde  etc. 

Hoi  me  kerava  shuJcdr  bcUos.  This  is  a  mere  repetition  of  the  fore- 
going :  me  dava  te  kerel  yekh  hdlos. 

Nisht  les  out  kosMijinela.     We  might  expect  Icn  instead  of  les. 

He  0  roma  tc  hashavel.  "  0  roma"  Translated  by  "  The  Gypsies  "  ; 
the  different  meanings  of  that  word  will  be  explained  in  my  Vocabu- 
lary. 

Na  has  para  ole  svetoske.  I  am  doubtful  whether  this  passage  is 
connected  with  the  foregoing  or  with  the  succeeding  sentence.  We 
could  also  render  it :  "  There  was  no  pair  of  men  in  the  world  who 
would  bustle  so  much,  there  was  no  such  abundance  of  light  (else- 
where)." ^ 

Nashchi  peske  dinyas  o  minaris  anyi  rada.  Cf.  German  :  cr  tmisstc 
sich  gar  keinen  Bath. 

Mindyar  e  rdkli  p)cs  leske  zalyubindyas.  Instead  of  the  immedi- 
ately following  he  e  rdkli  leske,  the  narrator  of  the  story  should  say ; 
h-o  rdklo  lake.  Rudolf  von  Sowa. 


IV.— IMMIGRATION  OF  THE  GYPSIES  INTO  WESTERN 
EUROPE  IN  THE  FIFTEENTH  CENTURY. 

{Continued.) 

FIRST  period,   1417 — 1438. 

AT  the  end  of  the  year  1417,  a  band  of  Gypsies  appeared  all  at 
once  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  North  Sea,  not  far  from  the 
mouth  of  the  Elbe.  They  came  most  probably,  or  at  least  the  greater 
number,  from  those  parts  of  the  Byzantine  Empire  which  were 
invaded  or  threatened  by  the  Turks ;  ^  and  wo  may  conclude  from 

1  The  following  reading  is  also  permissible  : — Kui  atsi  tuidehas  .  .  .  anyi  rada, 
"There  was  such  a  bustle  aud  such  a  blaze  of  lamps,  the  miller  did  not  know  what  to 
do."— [Ed.] 

■-  This  is  what  I  conclude  from  the  statements  they  made,  as  will  be  seen  further  on, 
which  were  received  as  true  by  the  Emperor  Sigisniund,  as  is  proved  by  the  contents  of  the 
letters  of  protection.  I  do  not  doubt  that  there  were  then  in  Hungary  other  Gypsies  who 
had  inhabited  the  country  for  a  space  of  time  more  or  less  long  ;  but  it  was  evidently 
not  they  who  could  have  made  these  statements  to  the  Emperor,  nor,  above  all,  who  could 
have  induced  him  to  believe  them. 


WP:STERN   EUROPE    IN    THE    FIFTEENTH    CENTURY.  261 

the  indications  which  are  about  to  follow  that  they  must  have  made 
a  halt  in  Hungary,  and  afterwards  stopped  near  the  Lake  of 
Constance.  During  this  long  journey,  from  the  Balkan  Peninsula  to 
the  North  Sea,  no  chronicler,  no  document  known  up  to  the  present 
time,  has  noticed  their  passage ;  from  which  we  may  conjecture  that 
it  was  rapid  and  direct. 

We  will  here  notice  a  well-attested  fact,  and  a  valuable  testi- 
mony, which  throw  some  light  on  these  early  times.  The  above- 
named  Gypsies  were,  as  we  are  about  to  see,  bearers  of  letters 
of  protection  from  the  Emperor  Sigismund.^  Where  had  they  been 
obtained  ?  It  has  been  generally  supposed  that  it  was  in  Hungary ; 
and  at  first  sight  this  supposition  appears  natural  enough,  these  Gyp- 
sies having  come  from  the  east,  and  Sigismund  being  King  of  Hun- 
gary at  the  same  time  that  he  was  King  of  Bohemia.  But  there  is  a 
small  objection  to  this  supposition ;  which  is,  that  the  Emperor  did 
not  go  to  Hungary  during  this  period.  So  far  as  I  have  been  able  to 
follow  his  movements,  during  the  whole  of  the  time  that  the  Council 
was  sitting  (Nov.  1414 — April  1418),  Sigismund  was  in  Western 
Germany,  at  Constance,  in  France,  and  in  England,  from  whence  he 
returned  by  Calais,  the  Low  Countries,  Alsace,  and  Savoy,  and  re- 
entered Constance  on  the  27th  January  1417,  where  he  remained  till 
the  end  of  the  Council.  Where  then  could  our  Gypsies  have  met 
him  or  gone  to  find  him  ?  A  valuable  piece  of  information  furnished 
by  Munster^  will  find  its  place  here.  This  author  states  that,  being 
at  Heidelberg  (about  1525?),  he  met  some  Gypsies  of  quality,  who 

1  I  will  here  notice  a  double  falsehood  committed  by  these  Gypsies,  and  which  has  a 
certain  critical  interest  for  us.  In  1422,  at  Bologna,  they  say  that  they  have  been  wandering 
for  five  years,  and  they  show  letters  of  protection  from  the  emperor.  Now  their  arrival  in 
the  West  dated  precisely  from  1417.  In  1427,  at  Paris,  they  say  again  tliat  they  have  been 
wandering  for  five  years,  and  at  the  same  time  they  show  letters  of  protection  from  the  Pope. 
Now  it  was  precisely  in  1422  that  they  had  been  in  Rome,  and,  before  this  journey,  they  had 
never  spoken  of  pontifical  safe-conducts.  The  concordance  of  these  circumstances  and,  in 
general,  of  all  those  concerning  the  letters  of  protection  from  the  Emperor  and  the  Pojie 
would  confirm,  if  necessary,  the  authenticity  of  these  documents.  If  they  had  been  false, 
the  Gypsies,  who  in  all  their  statements  carried  back  the  date  of  the  commencement  of  their 
pilgrimage  as  far  as  possible,  would  not  have  failed  to  fabricate  others. 

2  Cosniographie  universdle.  Not  having  been  able  to  consult  the  best  German  or  Latin 
editions  of  tliis  work  containing  the  chapter  relative  to  the  Gyjisies  (it  is  not  to  be  found  in 
the  former,  and  it  is  disfigured  in  the  latter),  I  have  been  obliged  to  rely  upon  the  French 
translation  of  1552-1.555  (Bi'de,  in  large-fol.  p.  287),  and  upon  tliat  of  Belleforest,  Paris,  157.5 
(2  vols,  in  3  parts  in  fob).  In  the  whole  of  this  chapter,  wliich  possesses  some  interest, 
although  the  commencement  is  simply  an  unacknowledged  reproduction  of  a  passage  in 
Albert  Krantz,  the  two  differ  only  in  several  equivalent  expressions  and  by  two  gross  faults 
of  impression,  whicli  each  of  the  two  translations  may  serve  to  correct  in  the  other.  In 
following  these  two  French  ti-anslations,  which  in  the  whole  of  this  chapter  I  have  reason  to 
believe  are  conformable  to  the  best  original  editions,  I  remark,  liowever,  in  my  short  and 
very  important  (|uotation,  two  difl'erent  readings  furnished  by  the  German  edition  of  Biile, 
1669,  which,  allliough  abridged  and  disfigured,  may  have  retained  on  these  two  points  some- 
thing of  the  right  reading :   It  is  at  Ederhach,  near  Heidelberg,  that  Munster  met  these 


262  THE  IMMIGRATION   OF   THE   GYPSIES   INTO 

showed  him  copies  of  some  letters  they  had  formerly  obtained  from 
the  Emperor  Sigismiind  at  Lindau ;  "  in  which  letters  it  was  told  how 
their  ancestors  had  formerly  abandoned  for  a  time  in  Lower  Egypt 
the  Christian  religion,  and  had  returned  to  the  errors  of  the  pagans, 
and  that,  after  their  repentance,  it  had  been  enjoined  them  that,  during 
as  many  years  as  their  predecessors  had  remained  in  the  errors  of  the 
pagans,  so  long  should  some  members  of  all  these  families  travel 
about  the  world,  in  order  that,  by  such  banishment  and  exile,  they 
should  obtain  remission  of  their  sin."  It  is  evidently  the  town  of 
Lindau,  situated  on  the  Lake  of  Constance,  at  eight  leagues  from  the 
town  where  the  Council  was  sitting,  that  is  spoken  of  here.  Unhap- 
pily, Munster  has  not  transmitted  to  us  the  date  of  this  document 
which  passed  under  his  eyes ;  but  the  summary  that  he  gives  of  it  is 
so  much  in  accordance  with  the  essential  data  of  the  accounts  which 
the  Gypsies,  bearers  of  the  Imperial  letter,  are  about  to  give  during 
several  years,  that  one  can  scarcely  doubt  the  identity  of  the  latter 
with  the  one  of  wdiich  Munster  saw  the  copy.^  I  adopt  in  conse- 
quence this  conclusion ;  and  as,  in  addition,  it  is  most  unlikely  that 
our  Gypsies  should  have  remained  long  without  making  use  of  this 
document  in  a  manner  sufficiently  notable  for  the  mention  of  it  to 
have  come  down  to  us,  I  will  in  future  call  this  letter  the  Imperial 
letter  granted  in  1417  at  Lindau.  This  date  of  1417  also  agrees  well 
with  the  chronological  indications  I  have  noted  above  as  to  the 
movements  of  Sigismund  at  this  period;  and  it  is  still  more 
plausible,  because  it  is  only  toivards  the  end  o/  1417  that  we  find  the 
Gypsies  bearers  of  this  letter  from  Sigismund. 

One  will  no  doubt  be  astonished  that  an  Emperor  of  Germany 
should  have  accorded  his  protection  to  the  people  we  are  about  to  see 

Gypsies  ;  and  it  is  a  "  vidimus  .  .  .  that  they  had  obtained  from  the  Emperor  Siyismand  at 
Lindau."  The  first  reading  must  be  the  true  one;  the  second  is  almost  certainly  faulty, 
except  perhaps  for  the  word  vidimus  (instead  of  copy),  which  it  would  be  worth  while  to 
substantiate  with  the  aid  of  the  best  original  editions. — As  to  the  time  when  Munster  met 
these  GjT)sies,  all  the  editions  or  translations  I  have  been  able  to  consult— all  those,  at  least, 
which  give  a  date — repeat :  "  It  is  about  twenty -six  years  ago  that  I,  Munster,  who  write  these 
things,  being  at  Heidelberg  .  .  ."  In  order  to  know  to  about  what  year  this  date  carries  us 
back,  it  would  be  necessary  to  be  acquainted  with  the  first  edition  in  which  this  indication  is 
given.  I  will  only  say  that  Mxinster  died  at  Bale  in  1552  at  the  age  of  63.  that  the  first 
German  edition  of  his  Cosmographie  is  of  1541,  the  first  Latin  edition  of  1550,  and  that  I 
think  his  chapter  on  the  Gypsies  is  slightly  posterior  to  this  latter  date. 

A  last  remark  on  the  subject  of  the  expression  letters,  or  even  some  letters,  employed  in 
the  French  translation  of  Munster : — this  plural,  which  derives  from  the  Latin  littercr,  qua- 
dam  littercri,  and  which  has  been  used  in  French,  and  probably  in  other  languages,  to  design 
certain  ofiicial  documents,  does  not  usually  imply  several  letters,  and  I  shall  employ  it  often 
myself  without  giving  it  the  plural  significance, 

1  Another  letter  granted,  as  we  shall  afterwards  see,  at  Zips  (in  Hungary)  in  1423,  by  the 
same  Sigismund  to  other  emigrant  Gypsies,  further  confirms  this  very  probable  identification  ; 
for  this  last,  granted  no  doubt  to  Gypsies  who  had  been  long  settled  in  Hungary,  does  not 
contain  anything  similar  to  what  Munster  has  noted  in  the  letter  from  Lindau. 


WESTERN    EUROPE   IN    THE   FIFTEENTH    CENTURY.  263 

at  work,  and  above  all  that  lie  should  have  believed  the  tales  of  which 
Munster  has  given  us  the  substance,  and  which  we  shall  find  repro- 
duced, sometimes  developed,  and  without  doubt  amplified,  by  the 
bearers  of  the  Imperial  letter.  I  myself  could  not  be  sure,  in  1844, 
that  the  Gypsies  were  sufficiently  well  known  in  Hungary,  in  1417, 
for  Sigismund  to  be  aware  with  what  sort  of  people  he  had  to  do,  and 
it  was  natural  enongh  then  to  suppose  that  the  Imperial  letters  of 
1417  had  been  obtained  by  a  sort  of  surprise.  The  surprise  still 
remains  possible,  and  even  probable  to  a  certain  extent,  as  I  will 
point  out  by  and  by ;  but  I  am  now  convinced  that  at  this  period 
Gypsies  had  long  existed  in  Hungary,  as  well  as  in  the  neighbouring 
countries,^  and  that  Sigismund,  who  it  is  true  was  not  a  Hungarian, 
but  who  had  been  King  of  Hungary  since  1386,- could  not  have  failed 
to  know  them  in  1417  ;  and  the  letter  of  protection  granted  by  him  in 
1423  to  another  Gypsy  chief  and  his  band,^  proves  that  although  he 
knew  them,  and  although  very  probably  he  even  knew  certain 
amongst  them  nnder  not  very  favourable  colours  (for  he  could 
scarcely  be  ignorant  of  the  way  in  which  the  first  he  had  patronised 
had  conducted  themselves  in  the  West  during  four  years),  that  fact 
did  not  prevent  his  protecting  them  on  occasion.  As  a  general  rule, 
the  public  acts  of  protection  granted  to  Gypsies  in  Hungary,  and 
more  generally  in  the  south-east  of  Europe,  where  a  great  number  of 
them  have  known  how  to  make  themselves  useful  by  their  nomadic 
trades,  or  agreeable  by  their  musical  talent,  and  where  one  was 
already  accustomed  to  tolerate  the  others,  are  less  surprising  than 
those  they  sometimes  obtained  from  different  Western  Princes  in 
times  when  their  tricks  were  known,  and  when  the  populations  had 
become  very  hostile  to  them.  But  the  first  who  came  westward  in 
the   fifteenth  century,  although  they  evidently  proceeded  from  the 

1  The  direct  proofs  are  still  wanting  as  regards  Hungary,  unless  any  should  be  found  in 
the  Archduke  Joseph's  book,  the  French  translation  of  which  I  am  impatient]}-  awaiting ;  but 
the  indirect  proofs  are  already  sufficiently  conclusive.  I  will  not  insist  upon  them  here.— As 
for  the  Gingari  of  Ludwig,  an.  1260  (see  Nnuv.  recherches,  1849,  p.  23-25),  I  still  think  that 
it  is  a  word  that  has  been  badly  read  (instead  of  Bulgari) ;  but  in  the  same  document  (see 
■ibid.)  there  are  some  Hismahelitc  who  are  very  probably  Gypsies,  taking  into  consideration 
the  Ishmaelites,  certainly  Gypsies,  of  the  Genesis  written  towards  1122  by  an  Austrian  monk 
(see  Etat  de  la  question  .   .  .  1876-1877,  pp.  23-29). 

-  It  may  also  be  remarked  that  Sigismund  had  warred  in  Moldo-Wallachia  in  1392,  and 
afterwards  in  1396,  when  he  was  vanquished  and  a  fugitive  ;  a  favourable  condition  for  making 
acquaintance  with  the  Gypsies  who,  we  know,  then  existed  in  that  country.  We  will  add 
that  Sigismund  became,  in  1419,  King  of  Bohemia,  where  he  went  at  that  time  and  engaged 
in  a  war  against  the  Hussites.  We  know  that  the  Gypsies  existed  in  Bohemia  previous  to 
1416  (see  the  passage,  already  cited,  of  the  Annals  in  the  Bohemian  language,  reproduced  by 
Miklosich,  m.,  Mem.,  1873,  pp.  22-23).  This  was  a  further  occasion  for  his  knowing  the 
Gypsies  before  he  granted  them  the  second  letter  of  protection,  that  of  1423. 

2  See  note  on  preceding  page  ;  see  especially,  further  on,  under  the  date  of  Ratisbon,  1424. 


264  THE    IMMIGRATION    OF   THE    GYPSIES   INTO 

Balkan  Peninsula,  where  there  are  now  many  honest  Gypsies,  even 
amongst  the  nomads,^  were,  as  we  shall  see,  most  skilful  knaves  ;  and, 
unless  it  can  be  supposed  that  Sigismund  desired  to  employ  them  as 
spies,^  which  is  not  absolutely  impossible  on  the  part  of  a  Prince  as 
cunning  as  he  was  intriguing  and  disloyal,  we  must  admit  that, 
although  acquainted  with  the  Gypsies  in  general,  he  was  mistaken 
concerning  these  ones  in  particular.  It  is,  however,  important  to 
remark  that  it  was  far  easier  to  fall  into  a  mistake  concerning  them 
than  at  first  sight  it  now  appears  to  be. 

The  provinces  of  the  Byzantine  Empire  were  then  devastated  by 
the  Ottoman  conquests,  which  had  already  been  preceded  by  long 
wars  between  Christians  and  Infidels.  Weary  of  so  much  disorder, 
a  part,  and  probably  not  the  best  part,  of  the  Gypsy  population  of 
these  countries,  which  was  not  attached  to  the  soil  as  the  other  in- 
habitants of  the  land,  nor  sustained  by  any  national  interests,  was 
naturally  disposed  to  seek  out  calmer  regions ;  and  this  was  no  doubt 
the  cause  of  the  movement  which,  by  its  propagation  from  place  to 
place,  brought  about  the  immigration  of  the  Gypsies  into  the  West 
during  the  course  of  the  fifteenth  century  and  in  the  century  following. 

Those  who  emigrated  from  the  countries  that  had  been  the 
theatre  of  these  events  had  been  necessarily  mixed  up  in  the  religious 
conflicts  between  Christians  and  Infidels,^  for  it  was  not  possible  to 
remain  neutral  between  the  two  religions  in  arms  against  each  other. 
The  accounts  of  the  first  Gypsies  concerning  the  religious  pressure  to 

1  As  far  as  regards  the  probity,  at  least  relative,  of  modern  Gypsies  in  the  regions  called 
not  long  ago  Turkey  in  Europe,  I  could  invoke  very  competent  testimony,  to  begin  with  that 
of  Paspati.  But  I  must  not  forget  that  we  are  speaking  of  the  fifteenth  centurj-,  a  period  for 
which  we  have  not  sufficiently  numerous  documents  to  allow  of  our  forming  general  apprecia- 
tions of  the  Gypsies  of  these  countries. 

2  The  Gypsies  have  especially  been  accused  of  serving  as  spies  to  the  Turks  against  the 
Christians,  and  this  accusation  is  clearly  set  forth  in  an  imperial  edict  of  1500  proclaimed  by 
the  Diet  of  Augsburg  (see  Grellmann,  edition  of  1787,  p.  179  ;  Fr.  trans.,  p.  184).  But,  if 
divers  testimonies  are  to  be  believed,  they  had  equally  been  employed  as  spies  by  diflerent 
Christian  personages  (see  Grellmann,  pp.  170-173  ;  Fr.  trans.,  pp.  176-178).  And,  as  regards 
more  particularly  certain  Gypsies  protected  by  Sigismund,  we  shall  see  further  on  that  the 
people  of  Eatisbon  in  1424  looked  upon  them  as  spies.  But  I  do  not  insist  upon  such  allega- 
tions which  for  the  most  part  are  entirely  without  proof. 

3  According  to  the  remarks  of  M.  Paspati,  which  more  especially  concern  the  Gypsies  of 
Roumelia,  the  nomads,  much  more  numerous  than  the  sedentary  Gypsies,  are  for  the  most 
part  Mahometans  {Les  Tchinghianes,  Constantinople,  1870,  p.  11)  :  now  "the  study  of  the 
Tchiughiano-Christian  terms  shows  that  the  Mahometan  Tchinghiaues  had  been  familiar 
with  the  Christian  religion "  (ibid.  p.  26),  which  causes  our  author  to  say,  a  few  lines 
previously,  that  all  must  have  been  Christians  before  the  Mahometan  conquest.  Already  in 
a  former  writing  {Memoir  on  the  Language  of  the  Gyjpsies  .  .  .  in  the  Turkish  Empire,  1860, 
p.  17,  M.  Paspati  had  remarked  that  certain  Mahometan  Gjqisies  (those,  it  appears,  who  are 
at  once  sedentary  and  Mahometan)  lose  their  language  because  "they  consider  it  as  part  and 
parcel  of  the  Christian  heresy."  In  my  Derniers  travaux  relatifs  aux  Bohemiens  clans 
V Europe  orientale  (1870-1872,  p.  33  et  44),  I  had  already  noted  these  observations  of  M. 
Paspati,  as  having,  in  default  of  contemporary  testimony,  a  great  retrospective  interest. 


WESTEEN   EUROPE   IN   THE   FIFTEENTH   CENTURY.  265 

which  they  had  been  alternately  subjected  (see  especially  the  recital 
of  Paris,  1427)  was  then  perfectly  credible,  so  much  the  more  so  that 
it  was  conformable  to  the  well-known  religious  frailty  of  this  race ; 
and  it  was  quite  natural  that  their  misfortunes,  true  or  false,  and 
their  intentions  of  repentance,  more  or  less  sincere,  should  at  once 
touch  the  Christians  of  those  times.^  What  was  a  stroke  of  genius 
on  the  part  of  these  penitents,  more  attentive  to  take  advantage  of 
the  situation  than  to  win  paradise,  or  even  to  deserve  the  kindness  of 
the  inhabitants  of  the  new  countries  into  which  they  w^ere  entering, 
was  to  make  pretence  of  being  pilgrims,  a  condition  which  accorded 
so  well  with  their  usual  manner  of  life,  which  in  addition  dispensed 
them  from  all  labour, — for  the  true  pilgrim  should  live  on  public 
charity — and  which  finally  permitted  them,  even  when  in  rags,  to 
assert  certain  pretensions  to  nobility.  One  may  be  surprised  that 
they  should  have  been  able  to  play  this  part  for  so  long  a  time  in 
certain  countries  ;  unfortunately  for  them,  it  was  destined  to  come 
everywhere  to  an  end,  and  this  end  was  a  lamentable  one. 

As  to  the  titles  of  dukes,  earls,  and  knights  assumed  by  their 
chiefs,  these  were  not  much  more  than  the  equivalents  of  those  of 
Vaivods  and  others  granted  them  in  various  countries  of  the  East ; 
and  these  titles  are  often  to  be  found  consigned  in  official  documents 
in  the  West,  without  the  mention  "  soi-disant "  which,  later  on,  gene- 
rally accompanied  them.  In  reality,  almost  everywhere  one  was  glad  to 
have  to  deal  with  chiefs  who  were  held  to  be  more  or  less  responsible 
for  the  doings  of  their  bands.  What  proves  besides  that  these  titles 
were  considered  as  serious  by  those  who  bore  them  and  by  their 
surroundings,  are  the  epitaphs,  with  the  armorial  bearings  of  a  duke 
and  an  earl  of  Little  Egypt,  who  died  in  1445  and  1498,  in  Swabia, 
and  which  Crusius  has  noticed  in  his  Annalcs  Snetici  (Francof.  1594- 
1595,  in  fob,  vol.  ii.,  pp.  384  and  510),  to  say  nothing  of  the  epitaph 
and  coat-of-arms  of  an  Earl  Peter  of  the  Small  Shield,  whom  Crusius 
suspects  (ibid.  p.  401),  and  with  some  appearance  of  probability,  of 

1  It  must  not  be  tliouglit,  however,  that  these  infidels  did  not  occasionally  play  their 
part  of  converted  Christians  very  seriouslj\  Such  singular  compromises  are  sometimes  made 
by  these  uncultivated  natures  !  I  may  he  allowed  to  refer  here  to  what  I  have  said  else- 
where of  certain  pseudo-Christian  Gypsy  legends,  in  which  the  most  artless  faith  and  the 
most  shocking  impiety  are  mixed  up  in  a  truly  prodigious  manner  {Les  derniers  travaux 
rdatifs  mix  Bohemiens,  1870-1871,  tirage  d  part,  1872,  pp.  67-68  ;  see  also  a  few  words  on 
the  Legende  des  trois  clous  du  cradfieiaent  in  the  Bulletins  de  la  Societe  d'anthropoloijie,  3d 
April  1884,  p.  208.)— I  have,  moreover,  T^nown  a  young  married  Gypsy  couple,  who  were  in 
reality  as  little  Christian  and  even  as  little  Catholic  as  possible,  but  who  nevertheless,  the 
young  woman  having  long  suflered  from  languor,  undertook  a  long  "journey"  to  the  shrine 
of  I  know  not  what  saint  (journey  is  the  i)opular  name  for pilf/rimage),  in-order  to  obtain  a 
cure.  It  is  true  that  this  last  trait,  and  others  similar  to  it,  belong  to  that  category  of 
which  examples  may  be  found  elsewhere  than  amongst  the  Gypsies. 

VOL.  I, — NO.  V.  fcJ 


266  THE   IMMIGRATION   OF   THE   GYPSIES   INTO 

having  been  also  a  Gypsy  chief.  I  shall  perhaps  again  recur  to  these 
curious  documents  in  the  last  part  of  my  work  (second  period  of 
immigration). 

As  to  the  title  of  King  assumed  by  one  of  the  chiefs  in  the  beginning 
of  the  second  period  (commencing  from  1438),  it  appears  more  gro- 
tesque, and  it  is  allowable  to  lend  but  small  belief  to  the  saying  of  the 
Gypsies  (in  Paris,  1427),  "that  they  had  a  king  and  a  queen  in  their 
own  country."  However,  the  title  of  Kmg  of  the  Cygans  appears  to 
have  received  a  sort  of  official  consecration  in  Poland  and  in  part  of 
Lithuania,  but  we  are  only  acquainted  with  it  after  the  beginning  of 
the  eighteenth  century,^  and  it  would  be  interesting  to  know  whether 
this  title  was  in  use  ah  antiquo  amongst  the  Gypsies  of  these 
countries.  The  Queen  of  the  Gypsies  at  Yetholm,  on  the  borders  of 
England  and  Scotland,  may  invoke,  on  her  side,  in  favour  of  her  title, 
an  already  ancient  tradition.  Excepting  these,  I  think  that  the  pre- 
tended kings  and  queens  of  the  Gypsies,  who  from  time  to  time  make 
their  appearance  in  divers  countries,  may  be  considered  as  having  an 
essentially  fictitious  existence. 

In  short,  what  appears  at  first  sight  to  be  the  most  strange  in  the 
imperial  letter,  and  in  the  sayings  of  the  Gypsies  themselves,  is  easily 
to  be  explained,  except  on  one  point,  which  remains  very  surprising, 
namely,  that  a  penitence  so  well  adapted  to  their  habits  of  life,  also 
to  their  evil  inclination  and  to  their  secret  designs,  (that  of  becoming 
pilgrims),  should  have  been  assigned  to  them.  I  shall  not  attempt  an 
explanation  which  the  state  of  my  information  does  not  allow  of.  I 
will  simply  remark  one  circumstance  which  may  have  rendered 
Sigismund  more  accommodating  on  this  point  and  for  all  the  rest. 

The  Gypsies  who  came  from  countries  invaded  or  threatened  by 
the  Turks  no  doubt  commenced  by  abounding  particularly  in 
Hungary,  for  two  reasons  :  first,  because  their  like  were  not  ill-treated 
there,  whilst  in  Wallachia  and  in  jMoldavia  they  were  already 
reduced  to  bondage ;  secondly,  and  above  all,  because  Hungary  was 
then  the  chief  appanage  of  the  Christian  Emperor  himself,  whose  pro- 
tection could,  and  no  doubt  would,  be  so  valuable.  Now  this 
affluence  of  the  Gypsies  must  have  pre-occupied  Sigismund  and  the 
personages  who  surrounded  him,  or  who  administered  the  country 
during  his  absence,  and  disposed  them  to  accord  more  easily  a  sort 
of  recommendation  which  might  contribute  to  deliver  the  country 
from  the   over-abundance  of  these  strangers.      It  may  perhaps   be 

1  Concemiiig  the  chiefs  of  the  Gypsies  in  Poland  and  Lithuania,  see  Historical  Sketch  0/ 
the  Cygaii  people  (in  Polish),  by  Theodore  Narbutt,  Wilua,  1830,  in  8vo.,  pp.  127-138. 


WESTERN   EUROPE   IN    THE   FIFTEENTH    CENTURY.  2G7 

objected  that,  if  such  were  really  the  idea  of  Sigismund  and  his 
counsellors,  it  was  not  only  one  or  two  of  these  letters  that  he  would 
have  granted  them.  ...  It  is  indeed  very  possible  that  they  were  in 
reality  more  numerous.  It  must  be  noticed  that  it  is  due  to  two 
remarkable  accidents  that  we  are  acquainted  with  the  two  imperial 
letters, — the  substance  of  one  through  Munster,  the  text  of  the  other 
through  the  priest  Andrew  of  Eatisbon :  may  there  not  also  have 
been  many  others  ?  ^  At  all  events,  those  which  we  know,  and 
which  remain  at  least  as  specimens  of  two  different  types,  were 
copies — authentic  copies,  no  doubt — when  one  of  them  fell  under 
the  eyes  of  Munster,  as  we  have  already  seen,  the  other,  as  we  shall 
see  by-and-by,  under  the  eyes  of  the  priest  of  Eatisbon  (1424)  ; 
and,  if  these  copies  emanated  from  the  imperial  chancery  (of  which 
we  are  ignorant),  they  would  prove  the  facility  with  which  this 
chancery  multiplied  the  copies  of  these  acts. 

I  have  endeavoured  in  the  preceding  pages  somewhat  to  en- 
lighten the  reader  about  the  often  strange  facts  that  are  about  to 
pass  under  his  eyes,  and  concerning  which  he  would,  no  doubt,  have 
asked  himself  what  he  ought  to  think.  But  it  will  often  be  neces- 
sary to  add  to  these  explanations  the  skilfulness  of  the  Gypsies,  their 
persistence,  and  sometimes  their  talent  in  soliciting,  the  surprising 
ability  with  which  certain  of  these  uncultivated  and  shallow  people, 
who  appear  strangers  to  all  our  habits,  know  how  to  insinuate 
themselves  into  the  favour  of  those  who  can  be  of  use  to  them,  and 
even  purchase  (when  the  object  in  view  is  worth  the  price)  the 
subordinates  through  whom  the  ear  of  the  powerful  is  gained. 
Certainly,  the  "  Dukes  "  Andrew  and  Michael,  who  directed  all  this 
first  expedition,  and  who  knew  how  to  group  under  their  command 
hundreds  of  Gypsies  disseminated  throughout  such  extensive  spaces, 
were  skilful  men.  But,  in  reality,  these  first  emigrants  rendered  a 
very  poor  service  to  their  successors,  in  leaving  a  tradition  of  idleness, 
imposture,  and  rapine,  which  the  greater  number  of  those  who  fol- 
lowed have  but  too  well  imitated. 

To  end  this  long  digression,  which  I  have  however  abridged  as 
much  as  possible,  it  would  be  necessary  to  make  some  comments 
upon  the  Egyptian  origin  which  the  Gypsies  then  attributed  to 
themselves,  and  which  they  continue  to  attribute  to  themselves  up 
to  the  present  day.      But,  as  this  complex  and  so  to  say  unstable 

^  I  acknowledge  that  this  remark  diminishes  somewhat  the  value  of  the  identification 
established  above  between  the  imperial  letter  of  which  the  first  Gj-psies  were  bearers  and 
that  which  was  shown  to  Munster  ;  but  this  identification  does  not  the  less  remain  very 
likely. 


268  THE   IMMIGRATION   OF  THE  GYPSIES   INTO 

question  would  carry  me  too  far,  I  will  confine  myself  to  saying 
that  we  must  certainly  neither  accept  too  literally  this  confused 
tradition,  nor  entirely  despise  it ;  for  it  appears  to  be  anterior  to  the 
migration  of  the  fifteenth  century,  and,  for  my  own  part,  I  think  it 
contains  some  truth. 

The   existence   of    this    Egyptian   tradition,   either   among    the 
Gypsies,  or  around  them,  in  the  south-east  of  Europe  before  1417 
is  the  historical  point  which  it  would  be  interesting  to  establish  here. 
This  is  the  place  to  examine  a  Byzantine  document  of  the  beginning 
of  the  fiftenth  century,  of  which  Carl  Hopf  (who  died  towards  the 
beginning  of  the  year  1874)  had  given  the  substance  in  his  pamphlet, 
Die  Eiiiwanderung  der  Zigeuner,  Gotha,  1870,  p.  12,  and  of  which  I 
had  pointed  out  the  probable  importance  inEtat  dc  la  Question,  p.  16, 
but  which  I  had  then  been  unable  to  consult ;  for  Hopf  had  been 
pleased  to  quote  this  document  without  any  indication,  excepting 
the  author's  name  and  the  title  of  his  principal  writing.     Here  is 
what  I  have  learnt  since  :  the  work  in  question  is  a  satirical  writing, 
entitled,  The  Descent  into  the  Infernal  Begions  ('ETrcSrjixLa  ev  aSov) 
whose  author,  Mazaris  or  Mazari,  in  imitation  of  the  Dialogues  of  the 
Dead  of  Lucian,  places  the  scene  in  the  infernal  regions,  with  this 
difference,  that,  instead  of  making   his   characters  speak,  it  is   he 
himself  who  makes  his  descent  into  the  lower  regions  the  su])ject  of 
a  discourse.     This  account,  which  is  rather  long,  is  followed  in  the 
manuscript  existing  in  the  National  Library  of  Paris  by  three  other 
short  treatises  by  the  same  author  which  are  connected  with  it,  and 
of  which  I  must  make  mention  ;  for  it  is  in  the  first  of  these  treatises, 
and  not  in  the  principal  piece,  that  the  passage  which  interests  us 
is  to  be  found.     All  this  has  been  analysed  by  Hase  in  Notices  et 
extraits  des  manuscrits  de  la  hihliotheque  du  roi,  in  4to,  t.  ix.,  part  ii., 
an.  1813,  pp.   131-141.     Hase  had  extracted  at  the  same  time  from 
these  writings  all  the  useful  references  that  he  could  find  in  them, 
as  well  concerning  the  life  of  the  author  as  concerning  the  manners 
of  the  Byzantine  court;  but  the  passage  I  sought  for  had  not  at- 
tracted his  attention.     Happily  the  Descent  into  the  Infernal  Regions, 
with  its  annexed  treatises,  has  been  published  integrally,  as  I  have 
since  learnt,  by  Boissonnade  in  his  Aneedota  grmca,  large  8vo,  vol.  iii., 
1831,   pp.  112-186;   and  I  have   at   last  found  in  it,   p.    174,   the 
passage  Hopf  had  in  view,  and  of  which  a  finished  Hellenist,  M. 
Tardieu,  of  the  Library  of  the  Institute,  has  had  the  kindness  to 
make  a  literal  translation  for  me.     This  passage,  then,  is  to  be  found 
in  the  first  of  the  three  parts  which  follow  the  Descent  into  the  In- 


WESTERN    EUROrE    IN   THE    FIETEKNTII    CENTURY.  269 

fcrnal  Regions;  which  part  (pp.  163-182),  much  longer  than  the  two 
following,  is  entitled,  "  The  Dream  ajfer  the  Resurrection. "  ("Oi/eipo? 
fiera  rrjv  dva^iwatv,  etc.),  and  ends  (pp.  173-182)  with  a  letter, 
which  is  the  only  one  of  all  the  writings  of  Mazaris  that  is  dated, 
and  this  date,  placed  at  the  head  of  the  letter,  corresponds,  as 
Boissonnade  remarks,  to  the  year  1416  of  tlie  Christian  era.^  At  the 
sixth  line  of  this  letter  begins  (p.  174)  the  following  passage  : — 

"  In  Peloponnesus,  as  thou  knowest  thyself,  0  my  host,  live  pell 
mell  numerous  nations  of  which  it  is  not  easy  nor  very  interesting 
to  retrace  the  boundaries,  but  here  is  what  tradition  says  as  being 
evident  to  all  and  notable  :  Lacedemonians — Italians — Peleponnesians 
— Sclavonians — lUyrians — Egyptians  (AlyvTrTiot),  and  Jews  (with- 
out counting  a  good  number  of  other  people  interspersed  in  the 
midst  of  these) — in  all,  seven  principal  nations." 

Hopf,  after  having  alluded  to  this  passage  which  he  had  indi- 
cated so  badly,  adds  (p.  12)  :  "  It  has  been  shown  long  ago  that  we 
are  not  to  see  in  these  Egyptians  a  Moorish  colony  from  Egypt  as 
had  been  at  first  supposed,"  and  he  does  not  doubt  that  it  is  a 
question  here  of  Gypsies.  If,  indeed,  the  idea  of  a  real  Egyptian 
colony  may  be  put  aside  witli  certainty^ — which  Hopf,  well  versed 
in  the  knowledge  of  Greece  in  the  jNIiddle  Ages,  was  well  able  to 
decide — we  cannot  doubt  that  these  "  Egyptians "  were  Gypsies. 
It  is  a  conclusion  which  forces  itself  upon  one,  when  the  passage 
from  Mazaris  is  compared  with  all  that  we  already  know  from  Hopf 
and  other  sources  of  the  existence  of  Gypsies  in  various  parts  of 
Greece  in  the  fourteenth  centurv,  and  at  the  beainnincj  of  the  fifteenth 
(see  £tat  de  la  Question,  pp.  11-23),  without  forgetting  the  deductions 
which  Miklosich  has  drawn  from  the  study  of  the  Gypsy  dialects, 
relative  to  their  long  stay  in  this  country  before  the  fifteenth  century. 
It  is  necessary,  in  fine,  to  note  that  Guphtui  is  still  at  the  present 
day  one  of  the  names  given  to  the  Gypsies  in  Greece,  where  certain 
ruins  are  known  under  the  name  of  Guphto-Kastron. 

I  think,  then,  that  we  may  consider  the  Egyptians  of  Mazaris  as 
real  Gypsies  ;  and,  to  say  nothing  of  tlic  importance  of  this  document 
in  other  respects,  it  results  from  it  that  the  name  of  Egyptians  was 
applied  to  the  Gypsies  in  Greece  long  before  their  immigration  in  the 
fifteenth  century  into  the  West,  for  it  is  clear  that  the  name  thus 
applied  did  not  date  from  the  day  on  which  Mazaris  remarked  it. 

1  Hopf,  without  of  course  any  explauatiou,  gives  the  date  of  1414.  The  difTorence  is  of 
small  iniiiortance. 

•  This  is  indeed  the  whole  (piestion  ;  and,  althoup;li  for  the  present  I  follow  Hopf,  I  should 
be  glad  to  have  on  this  point  the  opinion,  coin  formal  )le  or  not,  of  any  competent  reader. 


270  THE   IMMIGRATION   OF   THE   GYPSIES   INTO 

As  to  the  name  of  " Little  Egypt"  very  ingeniously  adopted  by 
the  immigrants,  it  may  have  originated  in  some  special  locality,  such 
as  the  country  of  Gyppe,^  in  the  Peloponnesus ;  but  this  name,  no 
doubt,  took  an  uncertain  and  varied  signification  in  the  mouth  of  the 
Gypsies,  some  of  them  meaning  under  this  name  the  country,  wher- 
ever it  might  be,  whence  they  had  really  come,  others  intentionally 
oiving  it  a  more  or  less  fanciful  signification  for  the  benefit  of  stran- 
gers,  but  all  or  the  greater  number  of  them  believing,  I  make  no 
doubt,  the  tradition  which  made  their  forefathers  come  from  Egypt ; 
only,  as  it  may  well  be  supposed,  those  who  repeated  this  tradition, 
especially  after  a  long  residence  in  the  West,  would  have  been 
puzzled  to  say  where  Egypt  was  situated. 

There  is  a  curious  remark  to  be  made  here :  on  their  first  arrival 
in  the  West  (Hanseatic  Towns,  1417),  if  we  can  rely  on  the  texts  of 
Corner  and  Rufus,  who,  although  contemporary,  do  not  appear  to  have 
written  until  some  time  afterwards,  the  immigrants  gave  themselves  the 
name  of  Tsigans  (Secanos  se  mmciqjccntes),  a  name  by  which  they  were 
then  well-known  in  the  south-east  of  Europe  (as  we  know  positively 
at  the  present  day),  and  by  which  they  were  probably  designated  in 
the  imperial  letter  of  1417,  as  they  are  in  that  of  1423  ;  but,  as  soon 
as  they  had  quitted  the  Hanseatic  towns,  they  carefully  concealed 
this  name  which  had  not  brought  them  good  luck,  and  no  longer 
represent  themselves  except  as  people  "  from  Little  Egypt."  - 

Eegarding  the  various  names  given  to  the  Gypsies  from  this 
period  and  later  on  in  different  countries,  it  is  not  necessary  for  me 
to  speak ;  this  subject  would  demand  a  special  study  even  after  that 
of  the  learned  and  lamented  Pott  in  his  Zigcuncr  (vol.  i.,  1844,  pp.  26- 
51).  In  tlie  meanwhile,  every  reader  in  the  least  familiar  with  the 
matter  will  easily  recognise  the  Gypsies  under  the  various  names  that 
we  may  meet  witli.  I  have  taken  care  to  reproduce  all  these  names 
with  precision,  in  order  that  my  work  may  be  consulted  on  this 
matter  as  safely  as  the  original  documents. 

There  still  remain  in  the  accounts  given  of  our  Gypsies,  and  col- 
lected by  the  Bourgeois  dc  Paris  (1427),  divers  details  concerning 
which  I  have  said  nothino; ;  and  this  other  ill-accordinu;  detail  fur- 
iiished  by  Corner  (1417)  may  be  added,  which  is  that  it  was  "their 
bishops  "  who  had  imposed  upon  them  as  a  penitence  to  wander  dur- 

1  See  Etat  de  la  questiun  de  Vancl'iinete  dcs  Tsigancs  en  Europe,  1876,  pp.  14-15. 

-  The  chroniclers  frequently  substitute  for  this  name  that  of  Loiver  Egypt,  which  no 
doubt  appears  to  them  a  more  correct  equivalent ;  Imt  in  the  official  acts,  public  accounts  of 
towns,  etc.,  where  the  titles  assumed  by  the  Gypsies  are  more  exactly  reprodiiced,  we 
always,  or  almost  always,  find  "Little  Egypt." 


WESTERN   EUROPE   IN    THE    FIFTEENTH   CENTURY.  271 

ing  seven  years.  But  although  in  some  of  these  accounts,  which  it 
is  impossible  to  verify,  there  may  be  a  small  part  of  truth,  we  risk 
little  in  attributing  them  on  the  whole  to  the  imagination  of  the  par- 
ties interested. 

After  these  explanations  I  return,  or  rather  I  at  length  come,  to 
my  recital ;  and  first  of  all  it  appears  to  me  that  the  following  is  the 
way  in  which  we  may  conjectui-e  that  the  events  took  place: — 

Our  Gypsies  started  evidently  from  some  province  of  the  Byzan- 
tine Empire,  and  amongst  them  there  may  have  been  some  who  came 
from  Asia  and  even  from  Africa.  They  arrived  first  in  Hungary, 
already  provided,  no  doubt,  with  letters  of  recommendation  (for  these 
people  always  found  means  of  procuring  some  ^),  in  which  mention 
was  made  of  the  misery  the  Turks  had  inflicted  upon  them.  By 
aid  of  these  letters,  they  managed  to  gain  the  interest  of  some  of  the 
personages  who  governed  Hungary  in  the  absence  of  King  Sigismund, 
and  who  in  their  turn  confirmed  by  some  document,  addressed  or  not 
to  their  King  and  Emperor,  the  recital,  already  no  doubt  amplified, 
of  these  pretended  pilgrims.  These,  seeing  their  plan  of  campaign  so 
well  prepared  in  the  countries  of  the  West,  were  then  desirous  of 
having  letters  from  the  Emperor  himself,  as,  later  on,  they  were 
desirous  of  having  letters  from  the  Pope,  and  they  marched  straight 
towards  Constance.  The  most  sedate  of  the  band  composed  their 
countenance  as  they  approached  the  grave  abode  where  the  great 
Council  of  Christendom  was  holding  its  sittings ;  they  were  not  sorry 
to  find  Sigismund  taking  some  relaxation  from  his  overpowering  pre- 
occupations in  the  free  and  imperial  town  of  Lindau,  which  has 
deserved  the  surname  of  Littk  Venice.  There  they  presented  them- 
selves in  as  godly  a  manner  as  possible  to  the  very  Christian 
Emperor,  spoke  of  Hungary  to  the  King  of  Hungary,  of  the  Turks  to 
him  who  was  continually  warring  against  them,  and  ended  by  telling 
a  skilful  tale  which  everything  seemed  to  confirm,  to  begin  with  the 
papers  whicli,  no  doubt,  they  already  held  from  some  high  personage 
in  Hungary,  such,  perhaps,  as  the  son  of  Peter  the  Macedonian,  that 
Nicholas  in  whom  the  Emperor  placed  all  his  confidence,  and  whom 
he  had  invested  with  the  absolute  command  of  liis  troops  against  the 
Turks.  How  indeed  suspect  of  imposture  true  Orientals  coming  from 
so  far,  people  who,  with  the  exception  of  tlieir  chiefs,  wore  such  poor 
clothing,  and  who  had  gold  chinking  in  their  pockets  ?     When  they 

1  Besides,    Comer  tells  us  positively  that,   as   far  back  as  1417,  tbey  had  letters  from 
princes,  and  more  especially  from  Sigismund. 


272  THE  IMMIGRATION   OF  THE   GYPSIES   INTO 

left  the  Emperor  they  carried  away  letters  signed  by  his  own  hand, 
and  containing  all  their  story  in  full. 

The  next  thing  was  to  make  use  of  these  letters  as  much  as  pos- 
sible, but  as  far  as  might  be  from  the  Emperor.  Certainly  no  country 
could  better  secure  this  double  advantage  than  all  those  free  towns 
belonging  to  the  Empire,  and  standing  along  the  shores  of  the  North 
and  Baltic  seas,  towards  the  point  where  these  two  seas  meet. 
Lindau  had  been  for  them  an  agreeable  sample  of  these  little 
imperial  republics.  The  band  went  then  direct  towards  the  Teutonic 
Hansa,  crossed  without  stopping  the  space  which  separated  them  from 
it,  and  only  joined  each  other  on  entering  it.  Thus,  unnoticed, 
they  traced  the  road  that  we  shall  soon  see  them  follow  in  another 
direction. 

Towards  the  end  of  1417^  our  band  of  Gypsies  arrived  at  the 
northern  extremity  of  Germany,  and  began  to  visit  the  Hanseatic 
towns  which  were  at  this  time  at  the  height  of  their  power.  They 
commenced  at  Liineburg;  then  crossed  the  Elbe,  and  reached 
Hamburg,  which  had  not  yet  attained  its  independence  ;  at  last, 
following  the  shores  of  the  Baltic  from  west  to  east,  they  made 
acquaintance  with  the  free  cities  of  Llibeck,  Wismar,  Eostock, 
Stralsuud,  and  Greifswald. 

These  Gypsies  are  signalised  to  us  by  three  chroniclers,  Corner, 
liUFUS,  and  Albert  Krantz,  but  the  two  first  only  are  contem- 
poraries of  the  event.  Both  were  well  situated  for  accurate  informa- 
tion. Corner  was  from  Liibeck,^  and  I  presume  that  Eufus,  less 
known,  was  likewise  from  thence,  for  he  has  written  a  chronicle  of 
this  town,  and  he  mentions  in  this  work  the  event  which  interests 
us.^     But  Corner,  though  rather  concise,  is  much  more  complete,  and, 

1  The  maimer  in  which  Corner  has  dated  the  passage  in  his  chronicle,  indicated 
further  on,  allows  of  our  arriving  at  the  apjiroximate  precision  :  quarto  anno  Sigisvmndi 
qui  est  Domini  \i\T.  Tliis  date  concerning  Sigismund  can  only  relate  to  the  period  wlien 
as  Emperor  he  received  the  silver  crown,  that  is  to  say,  on  the  8th  November  1414.  Now 
the  day  usually  adopted  in  the  fifteenth  century,  by  the  Germans  as  well  as  by  the  Church 
of  Rome,  as  the  beginning  of  the  year,  was  the  25th  December  or  the  1st  January.  The 
apparition  of  the  Gypsies  on  the  shores  of  the  North  Sea  took  place  then  between  the  8th  of 
November  1417  and  the  25th  of  December  or  1st  of  January  following  (according  to  the 
Julian  calendar ;  for  the  Gregorian  calendar  dates  only  from  1582,  and  was  only  adopted  suc- 
cessively, at  very  different  dates,  in  tlie  various  countries  of  the  West.  This  must  not  be 
lost  sight  of  in  the  course  of  the  pi'esent  work). 

'  M.  Herm.  Cornerii  Chronica  novella,  usque  ad  annum  1435  dedticta,  in  the  Corpus 
hist,  viedii  cevi  of  Eccard,  Lipsiae,  1723,  in  fob,  vol.  ii.,  p.  1225.  Hermann  Korner,  Corner, 
or  Cornerius,  monk  of  the  order  of  preaching  friars  of  St.  Dominic,  assisted  at  the  provincial 
synod  of  Hamburg  as  early  as  1406  ;  he  must  have  been  very  young  at  this  time  (see 
Corpus  hist,  of  Eccard,  i.  ii.,  No.  III.,  Preface).  I  do  not  think  that  his  chronicle  was 
printed  before  it  was  inserted  in  the  above-named  collection. 

3  It  is  only  through  Mr.  F.  Dyrlund's  Tatare  og  Natmandsfolk  i  Danmarh  (Copenhagen, 
1872,  in  8vo,  p.  360)  that  I  am  acquainted  with  the  passage  that  RUFUS,  in  his  Chronicle  of 


WESTERN   EUIIOPE   IN    TIIK    FIFTEENTH   CENTURY.  273 

as  Riifus  adds  nothing  very  important  to  his  compatriot's  account,  I 
sliall  follow  Corner. 

With  regard  to  Krantz,  who  belonged  also  by  his  birth,  life,  and 
death  to  one  of  the  towns  then  visited  by  our  Gypsies,  I  had 
formerly  added  one  or  two  features  of  his  recital  to  that  of  Corner ; 
luit  on  a  closer  examination  I  perceive  that  all  the  details  given  by 
him  refer  to  the  Gypsies  of  his  own  time,  ^  and  would  consequently 
be  more  appropriate  to  a  description  of  these  strangers  towards  the 
end  of  the  fifteenth  century.  I  will,  therefore,  confine  myself  princi- 
pally to  the  information  furnished  by  Corner.  But  the  three 
chroniclers  are  perfectly  agreed  concerning  the  date  of  the  year,  and, 
thanks  to  Corner,  we  have  even  been  able  to  be  more  precise. 

These  Gypsies,  seen  for  the  first  time  in  the  countries  now  called 
Hanover,  Holstein,  and  Mecklenburg,  numbered  about  three  hun- 
dred, men  and  women,  not  including  the  children  :  this  circumstance 
must  have  carried  their  number  to  four  or  five  hundred,  for  no  doubt 
amongst  these  Gypsies,  as  amongst  those  of  the  present  day,  children 
abounded.'^  If  we  rightly  interpret  the  text  of  Corner,  they  already 
frequently  broke  up  into  several  bands,^  but  they  all  looked  up  to 
the  same  chief,  they  marched  in  concert  and  followed  each  other 
closely ;  in  a  word,  they  formed  a  whole  in  which  the  total  number 
of  individuals  was  appreciable,  and  to  all  appearance  it  was  the 
whole  of  the  band  which  travelled  over  all  the  places  through  which 
we  have  followed  it.     These  people  were  very  ugly,^  and  black  as 

Lubeck  {L>jhst  Kronnike)  of  1400  to  1430  (Grantoff  :  Die  Liibeckischen  Chroniken  in  nieder- 
deutscher  Sprache,  vol.  ii.,  p.  496),  devotes  to  our  travellers,  under  the  year  1417.  The 
complete  translation  will  be  found  further  on,  following  the  text  from  Corner. 

Mr.  F.  Dyrlnnd  mentions  also  (////(/.  p.  289,  note  2)  the  following  line  of  Lambertus 
Alakdus  (who  (lied  in  1672)  in  Westplialcns  Moiiumenta,  vol.  i.,  1831,  under  the  year 
1416:  "Anno  eodem,  Tartari  prinio  in  Holsatiam  venerunt."  But  it  appears  that  this 
author  is  not  always  exact  in  his  chronolo{,'y,  and  I  am  very  much  disposed  to  tliink,  with 
Mr.  Dyrlund,  that  this  aiiparition  of  the  Cypsies  in  Holstein  must  be  referred  to  1417,  and 
that  tlie  information  comes  directly  or  indirectly  from  Korner.  However,  as  we  have  traces 
of  the  presence  of  the  Gyjisies  in  Germany,  in  the  north  or  in  the  centre,  before  1417,  it  is 
not  quite  impossible  that  there  should  be  here  some  fact  belonging  to  the  Preludes  of  the 
immigration. 

1  See  Albert  Krantzii  Saxonia;  Francfort,  1621,  in  folio,  lib.  xi.,  cli.  2,  jip.  285-286.  Mr. 
Dyrland  gives  also  the  text  of  the  passage.  Albert  Krantz,  born  at  Hamburg  towards  the 
middle  of  the  fifteenth  century,  died  there,  Dean  of  the  Chapter  of  the  Cathedral,  on  the 
7th  December  1517.  His  Saxon  Chronicle  ai)peared  for  tlie  first  time  at  Cologne  in  1530. 
Krantz  is  much  better  known  than  Corner  and  Rufus.  Munster,  in  his  Cosmographic,  has 
reproduced  entirely  the  passage  from  Krantz,  giving  it  as  his  own,  and  the  learned  Conrad 
Gesner,  in  his  Mithridates,  has  copied  it  from  Munster  without  knowing  that  the  real 
author  was  Krantz. 

-  Cf.  Kufus,  who  estimates  their  total  number  at  400. 

3  "  Turmatim  autem  incedebat  (multitudo),  et  extra  urbes  in  campis  pernoctabat,  eo 
quod  furtis  nimium  vacaret,  et  in  civitatibus  comprehendi  timeret." — CoKNER. 

■*  Forma  twrpissiml,  Corner ;  Black  and  Ugly,  lUifus ;  Nigredinc  infonnes,  Krantz.  I, 
who  find  them  very  handsome,  cannot  help  remarking  that  the  copper  complexion,  and  also 
the  uncleanliness,  of  our  adventurers,  appear  to  have  had  a  great  influence  in  the  aversion  of 


274  THE  IMMIGRATION   OF   THE   GYPSIES   INTO 

Tartars.^  The  people  of  these  countries  so  named  them,  and  in  some 
places  they  still  retain  the  name.  As  to  themselves,  they  called 
themselves  Secani-  (that  is  to  say,  Tsigani).  They  had  amongst 
them  chiefs,  that  is  to  say  a  duke  and  an  earl,  who  judged  them,  and 
whose  orders  they  obeyed.  Some  ^vere  on  horseback,  others  on  foot. 
Their  infidelity  to  the  Christian  faith,  and  their  relapse  to  Paganism 
after  a  first  conversion,  was,  it  was  said,  the  cause  of  their  wandering 
life:  their  bishops  had  imposed  upon  them  as  a  penance  the  con- 
tinuation of  their  adventurous  course  during  seven  years.  They 
were  bearers  of  and  exhibited  letters  of  protection  {litteras promotorias) 
from  several  princes,  amongst  others  Sigismund,  King  of  the  Eomans, 
which  caused  them  to  be  well  received  by  the  episcopal  towns,  by 
princes,  castellans,  fortified  towns  {oppidis),  by  bishops  and  other 
mitred  dignitaries. 

But  they  showed  themselves  little  worthy  of  this  friendly  recep- 
tion. The  shrewd  Germans  of  these  mercantile  towns  open  to 
strangers  of  all  nations  did  not  long  suffer  themselves  to  be  imposed 
on  by  the  recitals,  the  diplomas,  and  the  chivalrous  equipage  of 
these  strange  adventurers.  Corner  and  Rufus  say  that  the  troop 
camped  at  night  in  the  fields  because  of  their  frequent  thefts,  which 
made  them  fear  to  be  arrested  in  the  towns.  They  were,  indeed, 
great  thieves,  especially  the  women ;  and  in  consequence  several  of 
them  were  in  various  places  captured  and  killed.^ 

our  two  Germans,  accustomed  to  white  and  clean  faces,  and  tliat,  after  the  first  impression 
had  passed  away,  Krantz,  wlio  still  finds  them  hideoudij  black,  no  longer  dares  to  call  them 
ugly  inform  and  feature.  I  must  not  however  quarrel  too  sharply  with  our  chi'oniclers 
beyond  the  Rhine  on  this  account :  those  of  France,  and  even  those  of  Italy,  will  say  the 
same. 

1  Rufus  makes  them  even  come  from  Tartary. 

2  Secanos  se  nuncupantes,  Corner  and  Rufus.  This  detail  is  very  peculiar  and  very 
curious,  as  I  have  remarked  above  (p.  270),  providing  it  be  not  the  result  of  ulterior  general 
information  obtained  by  Corner,  who  could  only  have  written  the  passage  in  his  chronicle 
relative  to  the  Gypsies,  after  having  made  inquiry,  as  he  follows  them  in  five  towns. — 
Krantz,  who  wrote  towards  the  end  of  the  fifteenth  century,  says:  Tarta,ros  vulgus  appellcit; 
ill  Italia  vacant  Cianos. 

3  Corner.  Here  is  the  complete  text  of  this  chronicler,  who  remains  up  to  the  present 
time  the  most  important  original  authority  for  the  fact  which  has  engaged  our  attention  : — 

"(Quarto  anno  Sigismundi,  qui  est  Domini  1417°),  quaedam  extranea  et  previe  non  visa 
vagabundaque  multitudo  hominum  de  Orieutalibus  partibus  venit  in  Alemaniam,  peraiii- 
bulans  totam  illam  plagam  usque  ad  regiones  maritimas.  Fuit  etiam  in  urbibus  stagiialibus, 
incipieus  ab  urbe  Luneburgensi,  et  perveniens  in  Prutziam  peragravit  civitates  Hamme- 
burgensem,  Lubicensem,  Wismaiiensem,  Rostoccensem,  Sundensem  et  Grispeswaldensem. 
Turmatim  autem  iucedebat,  et  extra  urbes  in  campis  pernoctabat,  eo  quod  furtis  nimium 
vacaret,  et  in  civitatibus  coiuprelieLdi  timeret.  Ei"ant  autem  uumero  ccc  homines  utriusque 
sexus,  demtis  parvulis  et  infantibus,  forma  turpissimi,  nigri  ut  Tartari,  Secanos  se  nuncu- 
pantes. Habebant  etiam  inter  se  Principes  suos,  Ducem  scilicet  et  Comitem,  qui  eos 
judicabant  et  quorum  mandatis  parebant.  Fures  axitem  ei'aut  magni,  et  praecipue  mulieres 
eorum  ;  et  plures  de  eis  in  diversis  locis  sunt  deprehensi  et  iuterfecti.  Litteras  quoque  pro- 
motorias Principum  et  praesertim  Sigismundi  regis  Romanorum  apud  se  ferebant,  propter 
quas  a  civitatibus,  priucipibus,  castris,  oppidis,  episcopis  et  prelatis,  ad  quos  declinabant, 


WESTEliN    EUROPE   IN    THE    FIFTEENTH    CENTURY.  275 

These  misadventures  must  have  induced  them  to  forsake  the 
shores  of  the  Baltic ;  and,  in  fact,  we  find  them  in  the  first  half  of 
the  year  1418  at  Leipzig/  and  at  Frankfort-on-the-Main.''^  But  the 
details  concerning  their  passage  in  these  two  places  are  wanting,  and 
the  time  of  the  year  is  even  unknown  for  Leipzig. 

The  Gypsies  now  come  to  Switzerland.  Sprecher  pretends  that 
they  appeared  in  the  Grisons  (in  lihsetia),  and  in  the  surrounding 
countries  so  early  as  1417.^  It  is  true  that  all  the  other  chroniclers 
attribute  to  the  year  1418  the  first  arrival  of  the  Gypsies  into  the 
countries  which  now  form  Switzerland  ;  and  Grellmann  has  relied 
solely  on  their  testimony/  although  he  was  acquainted  with  the  pas- 
sage in  Sprecher.     At   first   sight,  however,  the  real  disagreement 


admissi  sunt  et  humaniter  tractati.  Eorum  auteni  quidain  equitabant,  quidam  vero  pedes 
[pedites]  gradiebantur.  Causa  auteni  hujus  divagatiouis  eorum  et  peregriuationis  dicebatur 
fuisse  aversio  a  fide  et  recidivatio  post  conversioueni  suam  ad  Paganismum.  Quam  quideni 
peregriuationem  continuare  tenebautur  ex  iujuncta  eis  poeuiteutia  ab  Episcopis  suis  ad 
septennium." 

It  is  not  uninteresting  to  compare  this  text  of  Corner  with  that  of  Rufcs,  who  was  also  a 
contemporary  of  the  fact.  The  following  is  a  literal  translation,  with  the  exception  of  a  few- 
words  which  I  reproduce  in  the  original  language  because  they  demand  a  special  knowledge 
of  Low  German: — "At  the  same  time  (lil?),  a  band  of  strangers  wandered  through  the 
country,  who  came  from  Tartary  :  they  were  black  and  ugly,  and  they  had  with  them 
women  and  children.  They  passed  through  the  towns  and  camped  in  the  fields,  for  the 
townspeople  could  not  tolerate  them  becaiise  they  stole.  They  were  about  four  hundred  in 
number,  and  gave  themselves  the  name  of  Secanes  (Seca?ien).  They  had  amongst  them 
chiefs,  a  count  and  a  duke,  by  whom  they  were  judged  when  they  had  committed  any  fault. 
The  chiefs  of  the  country  had  given  them  safe  conducts  dat  se  velich  togen,  icor  se  loolden. 
Some  of  them  travelled  on  horseback,  but  most  went  on  foot.  The  reason  they  went  from 
one  country  to  another  was,  it  was  said,  because  they  had  relapsed  to  Paganism,  and  it  was 
for  this  that  this  penance  had  been  inflicted  on  them,  and  they  were  to  undergo  it  for  seven 
years." 

The  resemblance  is  so  great  between  this  text  and  that  of  Corner,  that  one  of  the  two 
chroniclers  appears  to  have  been  acquainted  with  the  other. 

1  Anno  1418  :  "  The  Zigeunei-,  a  malicious  people  of  thieves  and  sorcerers  appeared  for 
the  first  time  at  Leiiizig."  LeijJ-igische  Chronike,  by  Tobie  Hendenreich,  doctor  of  law  at 
Leipzig.  Leipzig,  1G35,  in  4to.  I  place  this  appearance  before  that  of  Frankfort,  which  is  better 
dated,  because  Leipzig  is  less  removed  from  the  Hanseatic  towns ;  but  this  circumstance  only 
furnishes  a  faint  probability  ;  and  in  the  absence  of  any  indication  respecting  the  month,  one 
cannot  even  be  certain  that  what  took  place  at  Leipzig  was  not  subsequent  to  the  meeting 
of  the  bands  of  Gypsies  in  Switzerland,  nor  that  what  took  place  at  Strasbourg,  whicli  will 
be  found  placed  after  this  grand  rendezvous,  was  not  anterior  to  it. 

-  "Mention  is  first  made  of  them  at  Frankfort  in  the  month  of  June  1418,  where  one 
finds  in  the  book  of  accounts  of  the  town  {Slddtische  Rechenhiicher,  fol.  38'')  that  4  pounds 
and  4  shillings  were  spent  for  the  bread  and  the  meat  given  to  the  strange  people  from  Little 
Egypt  (den  eleudigen  luden  vsz  cleynen  Egypten)  ..."  Deutsches  Biirfjerlham  im  MUtdaltcr, 
etc.  (particularly  at  Frankfort-on-the-Main)  by  Dr.  G.  L.  Kriegk,  archivist  of  the  town  of 
Fiankfort.  Frankfurt-a-M.,  1868,  in  8vo.  vol.  i.,  p.  149.  At  the  end  of  this  extract,  pp. 
150-152,  and  in  the  corresponding  notes,  p.  541,  Mr.  Kriegk  gives  some  fifteen  extracts 
relative  to  the  Gypsies  at  Frankfort,  from  1334  to  1497i  all  taken  from  the  Bools  of  Accounts 
or  the  Registers  of  tits  Burgomasters  of  the  town,  besides  an  interesting  decree  of  the  Council 
of  Frankfort,  of  1571.  ' 

3  "Eodem  anno,  in  Rhietia  et  circumvicinis  regionibus  primo  conspecti  sunt  Xubiaiii, 
etc."  Pallas  Rhatica,  etc.,  or  Rhcetia,  etc.,  or  C'hrouicon  Rhatuc,  auUwre  Fort.  Sprechero 
at  Berneck,  etc.,  Basel,  in  4to,  1617,  p.  91 ;  or  edit  Elzevir,  1633,  sm.  12°,  p.  139. 

*  Grell.,  1787,  p.  201 ;  trad,  fr.,  p.  202. 


276  THE   IMMIGRATION   OF   THE   GYPSIES   INTO 

appears  to  be  only  between  Spreeher  and  Guler/  these  two  chroni- 
clers being  the  only  ones,  amongst  our  own,  who  specify  the  Grisons. 
If  we  consider  indeed  that  the  wild  country  of  the  ancient  Eheetians 
had  still  at  this  period  quite  a  separate  existence  from  Helvetia,  of 
which  a  part  had  become  confederate  in  1315,  taking  the  name  of 
one  of  its  cantons,  the  Canton  of  Schwitz,  we  should  be  inclined  to 
suppose  that  the  Gypsies  may  have  visited  it  in  1417,  without  the 
knowledge  of  the  chroniclers  of  Helvetia,  or,  at  all  events,  without 
their  having  paid  attention  to  it.  The  date  given  by  Spreeher  is  not 
then  without  some  appearance  of  worth,  and  I  could  not  lightly  reject 
it.  I  do  reject  it  however,  because  the  comparative  examination  of 
the  passage  of  Guler,  and  of  all  the  passages  which  interest  us  in  the 
other  Swiss  chronicles,  shows  me  clearly  that  Spreeher,  no  more  than 
Guler  indeed,  was  acquainted  with  any  original  document  special  to 
the  Grisons. 

What  at  first  sitiht  strikes  the  collector  of  texts  concerning  the 
apparition  of  the  Gypsies  is  the  great  number  of  tliose  offered  by 
Switzerland ;  but  one  soon  perceives  that  this  unusual  abundance  is 
more  apparent  than  real.  Nearly  all  our  Swiss  chroniclers  have 
copied  and  re-copied  each  other.  We  should  then,  in  making  use  of 
them,  neglect  no  means  of  critical  supervision,  and  attend  especially 
to  the  chronological  order  in  which  they  succeed  each  other.^     We 

1  "Towards  the  same  time  (1418)  were  seen  for  the  first  time  in  the  Rhetian  countries  the 
Ziegeiner,  vulgarly  called  Jlciden  (pagans.)"  Bhctia,  that  is  to  say,  detaihd  and  true 
description  of  the  three  honourable  Grisons  and  other  lihetic  countries  (in  Gemian),  by  Guler 
de  Veineck,  etc.,  1616,  in  fol.,  p.  156  verso. 

-  Here  is  the  complete  list  of  these  chronicler.s.  I  include  Wurstisen  in  it,  whose  testi- 
mony only  regards  Bale  in  1422,  but  who  must  have  been  known  to  some  of  the  after 
chroniclers  ;  and  Specklin,  whose  testimony  regards  Strasbourg  in  1418,  and  who  was  cer- 
tainly acquainted  with  some  earlier  Swiss  chronicler  : — 

John  StU-MPF,  who  died  in  1558,  signalises  the  appearance  of  the  Gypsies  in  Helvetia, 
and  especially  at  Ziirich  in  1418;  Schweitzer  Chronic,  etc.  (Swiss  chronicle,  that  is  to  say, 
description  of  all  the  honourable  confederation — edit,  revised,  augmented,  and  continued 
by  John  Rudolpj  Stumpf,  Tiguri :  1606,  in  fol.,  p.  731).  The  first  edition  of  this  chronicle  is 
of  1546  at  the  latest.  Among  the  ancient  authors  who  have  quoted  Stunqif,  1  will  name 
Spondanus  {Anncd.  ecclcsiast.  continuation  in  3  vols.,  iu-fol.  Lutet.  1641,  vol.  ii.  p.  237),  who 
read  1400  where  Stumpf  says  1418. 

Giles  TscHUDi,  magistrate  at  Glaris,  an  esteemed  historian,  was  born  at  Glaris  in  1505, 
and  died  in  1572.  It  is  he  who  gives  us  the  most  precise  details  concerning  the  march  of 
the  Gypsies  in  Switzerland  in  1418,  ^gid.  Tschudii  Chronicon  helveticum,  etc.  (in  German, 
— edit,  of  1736  in  2  vols,  in-fol.,  vol.  ii.  p.  116).  This  chronicle  was  only  printed  for  the 
first  time  in  1/34. 

Christian  Wurstisen  (in  Latin  Urtisius),  a  scholar  of  Bale,  liorn  in  1544,  died  in  1588, 
published  in  1580  his  Bale  Chronicle  (Easier  Chronick,  etc.,  oder  Easier  Eistumbs  Historien) 
in  four  books,  dated  at  the  end.  We  shall  only  make  use  of  this  te.xt,  which  regards  exclu- 
sively the  territory  of  Bale  and  a  neighbouring  district  in  1422,  further  on. 

Daniel  Spiccklin  (or  Speckel),  Architect  of  the  town  of  Strasbourg,  and  one  of  the 
greatest  engineers  of  his  time,  wrote  also  at  the  end  of  the  sixteenth  century,  I  do  not  know 
exactly  at  what  period.  I  owe  the  knowledge  of  his  Collectanea  (in  two  vols.,  in-fol.  iiss. 
of  the  time,  conserved  in  the  library  of  Strasbourg)  to  the  kindness  of  M.  Strobel,  professor 
at  the  mixed  college  of  Strasbourg,  and  author  of  a  good  History  of  Alsace,  and  who  has 


WESTERN   EUROPE   IN  THE   FIFTEENTH   CENTURV.  277 

shall  thus  be  broimht  to  recognise  that  there  are  but  three  who  can 
pass  for  original :  Stumpf,  Tschudi,  and  Wurstisen ;  none  however 
are  contemporary.     (When  this  was  written,  I  was  not  acquainted 

also  given  me  some  other  documents  (M.  Strobe!  died  suddenly  in  1850).  It  is  in  this  col- 
lection, valuable  for  its  history  of  Alsace,  that  Siiecklin,  1st  vol.,  fol.  .340,  ad  mi.  1418, 
mentions  the  arrival  of  the  first  Zeyginer  at  Strasbourg  ;  he  adds,  unfortunately,  "  and  in 
every  country  "  (of  Europe,  no  doubt),  and  that  makes  me  already  fear  that  his  assertion 
rests  only  on  this  reasoning,  unworthy  no  doubt  of  a  man  of  eriidition  if  even  the  premises 
had  been  less  inexact :  the  Gypsies  showed  themselves  for  the  hrst  time  in  all  the  countries 
of  the  centre  of  Europe  in  1418,  consequently  at  Strasbourg.  This  basis  would  be  all  the 
worse  because  the  Gypsies  only  spread  themselves  perhaps  over  that  part  of  Switzerland 
which  is  near  to  Alsace,  in  1422  (see  Wurstisen).  What  is  certain  is  that,  except  tliat 
Strasbourg  takes  the  place  of  Ziirich,  the  passage  in  Specklin  is  scarcely  anything  else  than 
a  second  edition  of  the  passage  of  Stumpf, — some  phrases  are  transposed,  some  details  are 
suppressed:  Specklin  even  takes  upon  himself  to  add  the  name  oi  Epirus  to  that  of  Little 
Egypt,  and  to  fix  at  fifty  years  the  interval  which,  according  to  the  author  he  copies,  sepa- 
rated the.  real  Gypsies  from  the  new  ;  but  his  originality  ends  there.  What  is  especially  un- 
fortunate for  him  is  that  he  has  the  hardihood  to  repeat  the  whole  number  of  14,000,  when 
Tschudi,  whom  no  doubt  he  was  not  acquainted  with,  says  jjositively  that  on  leaving 
Switzerland  the  band  divided  into  two  sections,  which  took  dift'erent  routes. — Tliese  observa- 
tions do  not  absolutely  prove  that  the  capital  fact,  i.e.  that  of  the  coming  of  the  Gypsies  to 
Strasbourg  in  1418,  is  false  ;  but  it  must  be  allowed  that,  under  such  a  cover,  it  becomes 
doubtful. 

John  GULER  de  Weinech  and  Fortunat  Sprecher  of  Berneck,  who  filled  important 
functions  either  in  the  army  or  in  the  magistrature  and  politics  of  their  country,  were  both 
born  at  Davos,  in  the  Grisons,  the  first  in  1.562,  the  second  in  1585.  Sprecher  wrote  a 
biography  of  Guler,  and  the  title  alone  of  this  ojmsculum  seems  to  prove  that  they  were 
bound  together  by  friendship.  Their  works,  quoted  in  the  preceding  notes,  appeared  at  an 
interval  of  one  year  :  that  of  Guler  in  Itiltt,  at  Ziirich,  where  the  author  for  some  time 
resided  ;  that  of  Sprecher  at  Bale,  in  1617,  whilst  the  author  was  governor  of  the  county  of 
Chiavenne  (in  the  Milanese).  The  work  of  Guler  is  far  more  extensive  than  that  of 
Sprecher,  but  it  presents  deficiencies,  the  second  part  promised  by  the  author  having 
perished  by  fire. 

The  rather  long  passage  in  Guler  may  be  divided  into  two  parts. — In  the  first  part, 
devoted  to  the  first  Zigeuners,  the  only  ones  who  were  authentic  in  the  eyes  of  Guler  and  in 
those  of  the  other  Swiss  chroniclers,  he  copies  Stumpf,  putting  however,  in  the  place  of  the 
number  of  14,000  that  of  1400,  perhaps  from  Crusius  {Aiinales  Suevici),  and  adding  details 
which  are  not  to  be  found  in  Tschudi ;  thus  he  develops  the  saying  of  the  Gypsies  on  the 
cause  of  tlieir  exile,  and  he  speaks  of  their  passports  and  of  Duke  Michael,  of  whom,  in 
Switzerland,   Wur.stisen  alone   had   spoken   before   him.      Where    has   Guler  found    these 
details?     He  has  taken  them  from  Munster  (CWho^t.  univ.),  who  had  already  appropriated 
to  himself  tlie  interesting  passage  from  Krantz,  joining  to  it,  however,  some  curious  observa- 
tions, by  which  Guler  in  his  turn  profited.     The  phrase  concerning  the  passports  is  taken 
textually  from  Krantz,  save  that  Guler  has  added  the  Pope  to  the  Emperor,  doubtless 
following  Wurstisen.     As  to  the  recital  of  the  Gypsies  concerning  the  cause  of  their  exile,  it 
is  copied  from  Munster,  who  had  already  taken  it  I  know  not  whence,  perhaps  out  of  the 
Chronicle  of  Bologna,  from  which  several  other  of  his  details  appear  also  to  have  been  bor- 
rowed.— In  the  second  part  of  his  passage,  Guler  makes  us  acquainted  with  the  counterfeit 
Gypsies  whom  he  thinks  to  have  followed  the  first,  and  whom  Stumpf  already  distinguishes 
from  them,  but  less  clearly.     Here  are  to  be  found  textually  the  details  given  by  Krantz  on 
the  Gypsies  of  his  time,  enriched  by  those  that  Munster  had  joined  to  his  plagiarism,  con- 
cerning the  pretended  attempt  of  the  Gypsies  to  return  into  Africa,  iheiv  fortime-tellintj,  and 
Va^xv pilfering s,  etc.     Finally,  a  word  of  Guler's  indicates  tliat  he  was  also  acquainted  with 
some  of  the  authors  who  make  the  Gypsies  come  fiom  Zengitania — Niger,  Ortelius,  Vulcanius, 
or  others. — On  the  whole,  in  all  the  passage  by  Guler,  1  only  find  one  line  to  notice :  Guler 
says,  in  ending,  that  the  Gypsies  are  now  driven  out  of  many  countries,  and,  that  when  tliey 
are  found  there,  they  are  thrown  into  prison  or  beheaded  as  they  deserve ;  and  he  adds : 
"  Several  princes,  however,  accommodate  themselves  willingly  enough  wth  this  heap  of 
pickpockets." 

The  passage  in  Sprecher  is  only  a  short  and  feeble  summary  of  the  proceeding,  especially, 
it  would  seem,  of  Guler,     He  was  also  acquainted  with  Vulcanius  or  Ortelius,  from  whom  he 


278  THE   IMMIGKATION   OF   THE    GYPSIES   INTO 

with  a  Swiss  contemporary  chronicler,  Justinger,  who  will  be  found 
further  on). 

Our  authors,  whilst  they  copy  each  other,  have  nevertheless  found 
means  to  disagree  on  several  important  points.  Their  principal 
divergence  bears  on  the  number  of  the  Gypsies  who  visited  Switzer- 
land. The  question  is  important,  as  we  are  about  to  see ;  it  is  no 
longer  a  question  of  some  hundreds  of  individuals,  but  of  thousands, 
many  thousands. 

Tschudi  estimates  the  number  of  these  Gypsies  at  forty  thousand  ; 
Stumpf,  and,  in  accordance  with  him,  Specklin,  and  Walser,  who, 
however,  copy  Guler  for  all  the  rest,  make  it  fourteen  thousand.^ 
How  comes  it  then  that  Guler,  who  steals  from  Stumpf,  should  have 
replaced  this  number  by  that  of  fourteen  hundred?  Is  it  from 
Crusius  -  that  he  has  borrowed  this  different  reading  ?  But  what 
reason  had  Crusius  for  giving  it  ?  Is  it  on  his  part  a  rectification 
or  an  error  in  copying  ?  If  his  work  were  recent,  I  should  have  no 
hesitation  in  saying  that  it  was  an  error  of  copying ;  for,  in  our 
times,  it  would  not  be  allowed  to  reproduce  or  analyse  a  text,  naming 
its  author,  when  at  the  same  time,  even  for  the  best  reasons  in  the 
world,  an  important  modification  is  introduced.  But  the  annalists 
of  those  times  had  not  the  same  ideas  as  ourselves  on  this  point,^ 
and  I  am  disposed  to  think  that  it  is  a  rectification.  At  all  events, 
the  number  of  fourteen  hundred  is  to  be  retained  and  examined ;  for 
one  can  only  hesitate  for  a  moment  between  this  number  and  that  of 
fourteen  thousand,  the  forty  thousand  Gypsies  of  Tschudi  exceeding 

borrows  the  name  of  JVubiani.  The  only  difference  between  him  and  the  other  Swiss 
chroniclers  is  in  the  date  of  1417 ;  and  if  it  is  not  the  result  of  a  lapsus,  it  is  probably 
because,  finding  the  source  of  Guler  in  some  of  the  copyists  of  Krantz  (Munster,  Gesner,  or 
others),  Sijrecher  has  thought  that  he  was  acting  as  a  highly  jiidicious  critic  in  adopting  the 
date  furnished  by  a  more  original  document. 

John  Grossids,  whose  Little  Chronicle  of  Bd,le  (in  German)  appeared  for  the  first  time,  I 
think,  in  1624  (Basel,  in  small  8vo,  p.  70,  sub  an.  1422),  only  abridges  the  passage  from 
Wurstisen. 

Finally,  Gabriel  Walser,  whom  I  know  to  be  posterior  to  the  above,  does  no  more  than 
reproduce  the  passage  from  Guler,  abridging  it  a  little  in  the  second  part,  and  applying  it 
without  further  ceremony  to  the  canton  of  Appenzell.  Only  he  takes  up  again  in  Stumpf 
the  number  of  14,000  that  Guler  had  replaced  by  1400  ;  and  as  to  the  date,  he  substitutes,  no 
doubt  by  negligence,  1419  for  1418  (see,  however,  further  on,  the  passage  from  Justinger). 
He  ends  by  adding  a  few  noteworthy  statements  regarding  the  measures  taken  against  the 
Gj'psies  in  various  countries,  and  the  small  number  of  them  that  wei'e  still  to  be  met  with  in 
the  canton.  See  New  Chronicle  of  Appenzell,  or  Description  of  the  Canton  of  Appenzell. 
interior  and  exterior  rodes  (in  German),  S.  Gallen,  1740,  in  8vo,  ^jp.  266-267. 

1  As  to  Sprecher,  whose  testimony  is  null,  he  does  not  give  any  number ;  and,  as 
Wurstisen  and  Cirossius  speak  of  another  arrival  of  Gypsies  four  years  later,  we  need  take  no 
account  of  it  here. 

-  Annates  Suevici,  ah.  an.  1213  ad  ayi.  1594.  Francof.  1595,  2  vols,  in  fol.  3d  part, 
2a  vol.  p.  345. 

3  Witness  Calvisius,  rectifjdng  Fabricius  in  the  way  we  have  seen  above. 


WESTEKN   EUROPE   IN    THE    FIFTEENTH    GENTUllY.  279 

all  bounds  of  probability.^  Now  I  say  even  of  the  fourteen  thousand 
what  jNIiiller-  says  of  the  forty  thousand,  which  is  that  such  a 
multitude  would  have  alarmed  all  the  princes  and  towns,  and  that 
one  does  not  find  any  trace  of  such  an  agitation.  And,  whilst 
Miiller  hesitates  between  these  numbers  of  fourteen  thousand  and 
fourteen  hundred,  under  pretext  that  the  latter  would  not  have 
attracted  the  attention  of  all  the  chroniclers,  I  am  astonished  on  the 
contrary  to  see  the  Gypsies,  to  tlie  already  enormous  number  of 
fourteen  hundred,  pass  not  only  through  Switzerland,  but  at  a  few 
leagues  from  Bale,  without  anything  being  known  about  it  at  Bale.^ 
Fourteen  hundred  Gypsies !  it  is  double  the  number  contained  in 
the  Basque  provinces  in  France,  where  the  inhabitants  demand 
yearly  in  the  "  Conseil  general "  for  the  Lower  Pyrenees,  and  even 
in  the  legislative  assemblies,  measures  of  repression  against  these 
wretched  renmants  of  half-civilised  nomads.-^  I  add  with  Grellmann  ^ 
that  everything  we  have  seen  up  to  the  present  moment,  and  every- 
thing we  know  about  the  composition  of  the  Gypsy  bands,  is 
opposed  to  the  number  of  fourteen  thousand.  That  of  fourteen  hun- 
dred is,  on  the  contrary,  sufficiently  probable,  and  we  will  adopt 
it  for  the  present.  I  say  for  the  present,  for  it  is  already  very  high ; 
and  if  later,  when  we  cast  a  glance  over  the  whole  of  the  facts,  and 
on  calculating  the  number  of  Gypsies  who  travelled  over  Europe 
during  this  period,  we  experience  a  difficulty,  it  will  be  that  of 
arriving  at  such  a  total. 

However  it  may  be,  this  multitude  entered  Switzerland  by  the 
country  of  the  Grisons,^  crossed  the  canton  of  Appenzell,"  and  pene- 
trated into  the  canton  of  Zurich.  A  great  number  came  to  Ziirich  ;  ^ 
they  arrived  there  the  last  day  of  August,  camped  before  the  gate  of  the 
town,  on  the  place  of  Baunser's  mead  and  on  the  banks  of  the  Liniath. 

1  Miiller,  in  his  Histoire  de  la  Confederation  Suisse  (French  trans,  by  MM.  Monnard 
and  Wulliemin,  vol.  iv.  p.  277,  note  299),  also  rejects  this  number.  As  for  Grellmann,  he 
was  not  acquainted  with  the  passage  of  Tschudi,  and  he  was  already,  with  good  reason, 
alarmed  at  the  number  of  14,000.     See  Grellmann,  p.  209-211  ;  French  trans.  i)p.  212-214. 

2  At  the  passage  quoted. 

3  They  were  also  known  at  Bale  in  1422,  according  to  Wurstisen ;  but  see  Justinger 
further  on. 

■*  This  was  written  in  1844.  Since  then  the  Gypsy  population  in  tlie  French  Basque 
provinces  has  passed  through  various  phases,  the  explanation  of  which  would  be  too  long  for 
us  to  enter  upon  here. 

5  Edition  of  1787,  pp.  209-211 ;  French  trans,  of  1810,  pp.  212-214, 

6  Unless  they  at  once  went  through  the  countries  of  St.  Gall  and  Appenzell  below  the  Lake 
of  Constance.  I  have  chosen  the  Grisons  on  account  of  the  passages  in  Guler  and  Sprecher. 
I  do  not,  however,  attach  any  importance  to  their  testimony,  no  more  than  to  that  of  Walser, 
and  I  should  not  follow  them  if  they  had  not  appeared  to  be  in  accordance  with  the  ulturior 
itinerary  of  the  Gypsies  compared  with  their  anterior  itinerary. 

7  Walser.     See  the  preceding  note. 

8  Tschudi  and  Stumpf. 


280  THE   IMMIGKATION   OF   THE   GYPSIES   INTO 

They  remained  there  six  days.  Then  they  went  as  far  as  Baden  in 
Argovia,  and  there  they  separated  into  two  bands.^  This  multitude 
did  not  march  in  close  columns ;  they  dispersed  themselves  over  the 
country,  ^  and,  according  to  Stumpf,  it  was  not  the  whole  horde  who 
camped  before  the  gate  of  Zurich.  There  must,  however,  have  been 
a  close  connection  in  this  horde,  and  a  visible  unity  in  the  march  of 
the  different  bands  composing  it,  before  Tschudi  could  have  remarked 
its  breaking  up  on  quitting  Switzerland. 

These  people  who  had  never  before  been  seen  in  the  country, 
and  whom  all  our  chroniclers  represent  as  strange  and  singular, 
were  generally  black,^  the  chiklren  as  well  as  the  men  and  women.* 
They  had  their  dukes,  earls,  and  lords ;  and  two  dukes  and  two 
knights  were  especially  remarked  amongst  them."^  Guler  and,  copy- 
ing him,  Walser  add  that  the  principal  chief  was  Duke  Michael  of 
Egypt;  but  we  know  what  to  think  of  Guler's  originality,  and 
although  I  have  not  sufficient  proof  that  he  was  acquainted  witli 
Wurstisen,  I  fear  he  has  borrowed  this  detail  from  liim  :  it  is,  how- 
ever, probable. — These  Gypsies  said  that  they  were  from  Little 
Egypt.*^  They  related  that  they  had  been  driven  out  by  the  Sultan 
and  the  Turks,  and  that  they  were  condemned  to  do  penance  in 
poverty  during  seven  years.  They  were,  besides,  very  honest  people; 
followed  the  Christian  customs  as  concerned  the  baptism  of  the 
newly-born  children,  the  burials,  and  all  the  rest.  They  wore  poor 
garments,  but  they  had  a  great  deal  of  gold  and  silver  provided  by 
their  own  country ;  ate  well,  drank  well,  and  paid  well.^  Stumpf 
adds  that,  faithful  to  their  word,  at  the  end  of  seven  years  these 
Gypsies  returned  home;  and  he  is  careful  not  to  confound  them  with 
the  vagabonds  who,  under  the  same  name,  have  since  so  much  in- 
creased in  number,  and  amongst  whom,  he  adds,  the  most  honest  is 
a  rogue,  seeing  that  they  live  exclusively  on  theft. '^     This  strange 

1  Tcshudi. 

2  Stumpf.  Tscluuli,  who  carried  their  number  to  40,000,  certainly  did  not  think  that 
these  forty  thousand  souls  remained  motionless  and  comimct  during  theli-  six  days'  sojourn 
before  the  gate  of  Ziirich. 

3  Tschudi ;  Sprecher.     The  latter  says  :  gens  atra.  •*  Tschudi.  ^  Ibid. 

fi  Stumpf  only  says  from  Egypt.  Tschudi  is  more  explicit  :  according  to  him  they  said 
they  wei'e  from  the  country  of  Zingri  (?)  in  Little  Egypt ;  some  also  said  that  they  came 
from  Igritz  (?). 

7  All  these  details  are  taken  from  Stumpf  and  from  Tschudi. 

8  Guler  has  taken  possession  of  this  idea,  and  has  developed  it  as  a  transition  between 
his  plagiarism  of  Stumpf  and  that  of  Munster,  already  enriched  by  that  of  Krantz  :  "After 
the  departure  of  the  Zigeuner,"  says  he,  "a  lost  and  savage  rout  of  thieves  gathered  together, 
took  their  place,  and  dared  to  make  themselves  black  like  them  by  means  of  an  ointment. 
When  they  had  become  sufficiently  disorderly,  dissolute,  and  dirty,  they  also  assumed  the 
garb  of  the  strange  Zigeuners,  and  endeavoured  thus  to  persuade  the  world  that  they  were 
tlie  above-mentioned  Egyptians,  and  that  they  had  endeavoured  to  go  by  sea  to  Africa,  but 


WESTERN   EUROPE    IN   THE   FIFTEENTH   CENTURY.  281 

testimony  seems  at  least  to  indicate  that  the  numerous  Gypsies  who 
first  came  into  Switzerland  behaved  themselves  there  with  some 
decency;  and  there  is  reason  to  suppose  that  they  were  tolerably 
well  received  there.^ 

What  we  have  just  seen  to  have  taken  place  in  Switzerland  was 
evidently  a  complete  rendezvous ;  and  I  am  persuaded  that  this 
rendezvous  was  not  the  simple  effect  of  chance.  \Vlien  indeed  one 
considers  the  first  Gypsy  peregrinations,  one  is  struck  by  their 
promptitude.  In  all  the  countries  where  one  can,  by  aid  of  authentic 
testimony,  follow  the  Gypsies  during  some  time,  one  sees  them 
marching,  marching  continually,  not  only  as  nomads  who  like  a 
change  of  place,  but  as  travellers  in  haste  to  see.  Such  journeys 
must  have  had  for  object  the  exploration  of  the  new  part  of  the  world 
into  which  they  had  bravely  ventured ;  and,  in  order  that  this 
exploration  should  be  more  extensive,  and  nevertheless  profitable  to 
the  whole  band,  it  was  necessary  to  separate  often,  and  re-assemble 
sometimes ;  above  all  it  was  natural  to  meet  again  completely  at 
some  place  far  advanced  of  the  journey,  such  as  this.  In  these 
meetings,  the  inferior  chiefs  related  to  tlie  superior  what  they  had 
seen ;  the  head  chief  numbered  his  men  and  issued  fresh  orders. 

The  somewhat  alarming  number  of  Gypsies  gathered  together  in 
Switzerland  contributed,  no  doubt,  to  make  them  prudent  and 
reserved.  They  owed  besides  some  respect  to  the  country  on  the 
borders  of  which  they  had  been  so  well  treated  by  the  Emperor,  and 
which  the  Emperor  had  lived  in  scarcely  four  months  previously ;  - 

had  been  prevented  from  landing,  etc.  ..."  The  Gj'psies  have,  it  is  true,  given  this  last 
reason  to  explain  theii'  stay  in  Europe  after  the  expiration  of  the  seven  years  :  see  Munster. 
As  to  the  masquerade  wliich  gave  rise  to  the  hundreds  of  thousands  of  Gypsies  spread  over 
Europe,  it  will  deceive  no  one. 

1  This  appears  also  to  have  been  the  case  from  a  short  passage  in  Joh.  Jakob  Hottinger, 
who,  in  his  Swiss  Ecclesiastical  History,  after  having  spoken  of  the  benevolence  of  the  town 
of  Boleure  towards  several  localities  and  divers  persons,  adds  :  "The  same  charity  was  ex- 
perienced at  the  same  period  by  the  homeless  Zigeuners."  See  Ilelvetische  Kirchengeschichte, 
recast  after  the  ancient  work  of  Joh.  Jakob  Hottinger,  and  other  sources,  by  Louis  Wirz, 
pastor  at  Monch-Altorf,  Ziirich,  1808-1810,  in  8vo,  vol.  iii.  p.  22.3.  —I  quote  this  work  in 
default  of  the  original  by  J.  J.  Hottinger,  which  I  have  not  been  able  to  find  in  tlie  Paris 
libraries  ;  and  it  is  impossible  that  this  passage  should  be  taken  from  Wirz  (which,  however, 
is  of  small  importance).  Hottinger  does  not  specify  the  time  more  than  tlie  facts  ;  but, 
according  to  the  date  which  precedes  and  that  which  follows,  his  observation  would  refer 
only  to  the  middle  of  the  fifteenth  century,  which  is  too  recent,  if  it  concerns,  as  I  think  it 
does,  the  first  Gypsies  who  travelled  through  Switzerland. 

-  Perhaps  even  the  Emperor  was  still  quite  near,  which  would  be  very  significant. 
•  After  the  Council  (which  closed  on  the  22d  April  1418)  Sigismund  continued  travelling  for 
some  time  in  the  Rhine  countries  ;  afterwards  he  went  into  Hungary.  .  .  ." — Hist,  des 
Alle?nands,  by  Schmidt,  translated  (by  J.  C.  de  Laveaux),  in  Svo,  t.  v.,  1786,  p.  134. 

^.B. — It  will  be  seen  further  on  that  all  the  preceding  remarks  on  the  good  behaviour 
of  the  Gypsies  in  Switzerland  in  1418,  remarks  justified  in  1844  by  the  unanimous  testimony 
of  the  non-contemporary  chroniclers  belonging  to  this  country,  appear  now  to  be  reduced 
to  nothing  by  the  testimony  of  Justinger. 

VOL.  I. — NO.  V.  T 


282  THE   IMMIGRATION   OF   THE    GYPSIES   INTO 

and  besides  it  entered  into  their  plans  to  re- visit  it.  They  did  not 
therefore  stay  long  there.  Their  passage  appears  to  have  been  very 
rapid  and  very  direct :  they  certainly  did  not  travel  through  all  the 
countries  of  the  confederation,  as  AValser  pretends  ;  ^  according  to  all 
probability,  they  only  crossed  the  north-eastern  extremity  of  Switzer- 
land, and  they  crossed  it  with  such  an  unanimity  that  their  passage 
must  have  left  for  the  moment  but  small  traces.^ 

All  that  we  have  just  seen  concerning  the  Gypsies  in  Switzerland 
(including  the  notes)  was  written  in  1844.  Since  then  I  have 
become  acquainted  with  a  passage  from  Justinger,  the  only  Swiss 
chronicler  known  up  to  the  present  time  who  is  contemporary  with 
the  fact.^  I  translate  literally  this  passage,  which  is  placed  under 
the  year  1419  : — 

"  Of  the  baptized  Heiden.  In  the  said  year  came  to  Bale,  to 
Zurich,  to  Berne,  and  to  Soleure  more  than  two  hundred  baptized 
pagans  (Heiden) ;  they  were  from  Egypt,  pitiful,  black,  miserable, 
with  women  and  children ;  and  they  camped  before  the  town  (of 
Berne  *)  in  the  fields,  until  there  came  a  prohibition  (from  the  autho- 
rities), because  they  had  become  unbearable  to  the  inhabitants  on 
account  of  their  tliefts,  for  they  stole  all  they  could.  They  had 
among  them  dukes  and  earls,  who  were  provided  wdth  good  silver 
belts,^  and  who  rode  on  horseback  ;  the  others  were  poor  and  pitiful. 
They  wandered  from  one  country  to  another :  and  they  had  a  safe- 
conduct  (Geleitbrief)  from  the  King  of  the  Eomans." 

Several  important  facts  in  this  testimony  which,  I  repeat,  is  con- 
temporary, disagree  with  those  I  had  previously  collected,  and  which 
certainly  were  not  borrowed  from  him. 

First  the  date :  but,  contemporary  as  he  was,  Justinger,  if  he 
wrote  this  passage  some  years  after  the  fact,  may  have  been  mistaken 

1  Walser,  copying  Guler,  aud  wishing  absolutely  to  jjlace  in  his  chronicle  of  Appenzell 
the  passage  of  the  chronicle  of  Helvetia,  substitutes  this  trivial  fact  for  the  coming  of  the 
Gypsies  to  Zurich. 

-  I  have  already  remarked,  as  being  an  astonishing  fact,  that  this  great  horde  should  have 
passed  at  fifteen  leagues  from  Basle,  without  making  itself  known  at  least  by  some  detach- 
ments. 

3  Conrad  Justinger  :  Berner  Chronik,  published  by  Stierlin  and  Wysz  in  1819,  p.  381. 
The  passage  in  old  German  is  entirely  reproduced  by  M.  F.  Dyrlund  (op.  cit.,  p.  362),  where 
I  see  that  Justinger,  who  died  in  1426,  was  recorder  of  the  town  of  Berne  from  1411,  and 
that  his  chronicle  goes  as  far  as  1421.  I  should  have  wished  to  see  in  the  original  publica- 
tion how  the  date  presents  itself;  but  I  have  not  found  the  volume  in  the  National  Library 
of  Paris. 

■*  Justinger  was  from  Berne,  and  his  chronicle  being  that  of  Berne,  there  can  be  no  doubt 
as  to  the  place. 

5  I  wondered  for  a  moment  whether  these  were  not  receptacles  for  containing  money  worn 
roun  the  body  and  generally  underneath  the  garments,  but  the  German  expression  {silhria 
Gurteln)  does  not  permit  a  doubt  but  that  they  were  real  belts,  baldricks  or  ornaments  of 
some  kind. 


WESTERN   EUROPE    IN    THE    FIFTEENTH    CENTURY.  283 

on  this  point.  Now  it  is  certain  that  he  cannot  have  written  it  at 
tlie  very  moment,  because  he  speaks  at  the  same  time  of  the  visit  of 
the  Gypsies  in  several  of  the  Swiss  cantons.  Besides,  a  passage  of 
the  chronicle  which  commences  by  these  words :  "  In  the  same 
year,  .  .  ."  does  not  present  the  same  chronological  certainty  as  if 
the  date  of  the  year  had  been  expressed :  in  addition  to  the  month 
being  omitted,  which  appears  to  indicate  a  rather  vague  remembrance, 
it  may  happen  that  a  fragment  thus  dated  may  slip  from  one  year  to 
another.  If,  however,  the  date  of  1419  were  exact,  it  would  be  pos- 
sible that  it  applies  exclusively  to  Berne,  where  the  author  lived,  and 
perhaps  to  Soleure,  and  even  to  Bale,  three  places  of  which  Tschudi 
does  not  speak,  and  where  a  band  of  "  more  than  two  hundred  "  Gyp- 
sies may  have  come  in  the  year  which  followed  the  great  rendezvous 
in  Switzerland.  For,  as  far  as  concerns  Ziirich,  where  Tschudi  says 
positively  that  the  great  band  arrived  on  the  31  st  of  August  1418, 
and  even  Baden  in  Argovia,  which  is  not  far,  and  where  Tschudi 
relates  that  it  separated  into  two  portions,  it  appears  to  me  impos- 
sible to  admit  that  this  chronicler  has  not  had  some  precise  docu- 
ment under  his  eyes. 

It  may  be  replied  perhaps  that  Tschudi,  to  whom  belongs  the 
regrettable  honour  of  having  fixed  the  legend  of  William  Tell,^ 
Tschudi,  who  has  given  us  the  fantastic  number  of  forty  thousand 
Gypsies,  does  not  merit  much  confidence.  I  answer  that,  as  regards 
estimates  which  are  often  uncertain  and  variable,  such  as  the  number 
of  combatants  in  a  battle  -  or  the  number  of  individuals  in  a  Gypsy 
horde,  legend  has  full  scope,  and  that,  in  this  instance,  Tschudi  has 
evidently  followed  and  perhaps  enlarged  upon  the  legend,  but  that  a 
date  so  precise  as  that  of  the  31st  August  1418  is  of  a  very  different 
nature.  I  will  add  that  Stumpf,  another  Swiss  chronicler,  original  in 
this  passage,  also  gives  the  year  1418  as  that  of  the  appearance  of 
the  Gypsies  in  Switzerland,  and  particularly  at  Ziirich. 

My  conclusion,  which  can  only  be  provisional,  is  then  that  two 
alternatives  are  possible :  either  Justinger  has  made  a  mistake  of  a 
year,  or  else  this  date  of  1419  applies  to  another  arrival  of  Gypsies 
at  Berne  and  probably  at  Soleure,  perhaps  at  Bille.  In  the  first 
case,  I  should  be  inclined  to  tliiidc  that  the  "  two  hundred"  Gypsies, 

1  See  the  Revue  Critique  of  the  lltli  July  1868,  p.  29,  in  the  article  by  Rod.  Keuss  on  the 
work  of  M.  Albert  Rilliet,  Les  Origincs  de  la  Confederation  Suisse. 

-  See  in  the  Revue  Critiq\ie  of  the  6th  February  1888,  p.  108,  the  analysis  (by  51.  Am. 
Hauvette)  of  the  work  of  M.  Hans  Delbriick,  Die  Perserkriege  und  die  Burgunderkriege, 
Berlin,  1887,  upon  the  preposterous  numbers  attributed  by  the  Swiss  to  the  Burgundian 
armies  vanquished  by  them  at  Granson  and  at  Morat  (1476). 


284  THE    IMMIGRATION    OF   THE   GYPSIES   INTO 

or  a  few  more,  with  whom  Justinger  was  acquainted  in  the  last- 
named  places  and  particularly  at  Berne,  where  he  lived,  were  but  a 
detachment  of  the  great  band  of  Zurich.  For,  whilst  making  a  large 
allowance  for  the  legend,  I  can  with  difficulty  persuade  myself  that 
the  40,000  of  Tschudi,  the  14,000  of  Stumpf,  Specklin,  and  Walser, 
the  1,400  of  Crusius  and  of  Guler,  an  estimate  which  appeared  to 
me  to  be  perhaps  acceptable,  should  finally  be  reduced  to  "more 
than  two  hundred,"  that  is  to  say,  to  a  number  notably  inferior  to 
that  which  we  found  at  the  outset  in  the  Hanseatic  towns.^ 

In  one  or  other  of  these  alternatives,  not  only  Berne  and  Soleure, 
which  did  not  figure  in  our  first  Swiss  documents,  would  be  added 
under  the  date  of  1418  or  1419,  but  even  Bale  also,  where  the  testi- 
mony of  Wurstisen,  without  doubt  applicable  to  the  year  1422, 
signalises  the  presence  of  the  Gypsies  at  that  period  as  occurring 
for  the  first  time.  But  Wurstisen  was  not  a  contemporary,  and  he 
may  easily  have  been  unacquainted  with  a  document  anterior  to 
that  of  which  he  made  use.  I  had  already  experienced  some 
astonishment  (in  1844,  p.  30  and  p.  34,  note  2 ;  see  above,  p.  279  and 
p.  282,  note  2)  that  the  great  band  of  1418  should  have  passed  so 
near  Bale  unknown  to  the  inhabitants  of  this  town.  It  now  seems 
probable  that  they  came  there  in  1418  or  1419,  and  most  probably 
in  1418. 

A  last  point  upon  which  Justinger  is  wholly  at  variance  with 
the  non-contemporaneous  chroniclers,  is  the  manner  in  which  the 
Gypsies  behaved  in  Switzerland  on  their  first  appearance,  in  numbers 
more  or  less  considerable,  in  this  country.  Here,  I  think,  his  testi- 
mony may  be  received  without  reserve :  the  pretended  nobility  of 
the  first  Gypsies  is  founded  on  the  distinction,  purely  chimerical, 
established  by  the  other  chroniclers  between  these  and  their  succes- 
sors ;  it  is  in  contradiction  with  all  that  we  know  of  other  countries  ; 
and,  if  I  allow  what  I  have  said  on  this  subject  to  remain,  it  is  simply 
as  a  legendary  testimony. 

The  itinerary  that  I  have  endeavoured  to  trace  (p.  31  of  the  tirage 
a  'part;  see  above,  pp.  279-280)  for  the  entrance  of  the  Gypsies  into 
Switzerland  may  also  have  to  be  modified  when  better  information 
is  obtained.  What  appears  clear  to  me  up  to  the  present  moment  is 
that  the  order  in  which  Justinger  mentions  the  towns  and  the  cantons 

1  As  to  the  numbers  that  we  shall  meet  with  ulteriorly,  they  are  in  general  reduced  to 
about  100  or  120  (excepting  at  Forli,  1422,  where  they  are  200,  and  perhaps  in  some  other 
places,  Augsburg  in  1418,  Bale  in  1422,  etc.,  where  their  number  is  ill  determined).  But 
we  have  reason  to  think  that  they  separated  on  leaving  Switzerland,  and  it  would  seem  that 
afterwards  their  meeting  was  never  complete. 


WESTERN   EUROPE   IN  THE   FIFTEENTH   CENTURY.  285 

visited  by  tlieni  (Bale,  Zurich,  Berne,  and  Soleure),  is  quite  fortuitous, 
and  does  not  represent  an  itinerary. 

As  to  tlie  description  of  their  departv,re  from  Switzerland  {ibidem 
and  below),  it  is  founded  on  the  precise  testimony  of  Tschudi,  whom 
one  cannot  refute  without  very  positive  proofs.  But  the  return  by 
circuitous  routes,  like  the  previous  appearances  at  such  or  such  a  point, 
are  always  possible,  especially  in  a  country  composed  of  independent 
cantons.  And  it  is  thus  that  the  passage  through  Switzerland  of  the 
great  horde  (if  there  be  a  great  horde,  as  I  am  still  inclined  to  think), 
or  of  the  detachments  which  composed  it,  may  also  not  have  been  so 
rapid  as  I  supposed  it  to  have  been  (pp.  33-34  of  the  former  tirar/e 
a  part,  p.  282  ante). 

In  short,  the  testimony,  very  valuable  notwithstanding,  of  the 
contemporary  Justinger,  far  from  throwing  light  upon  the  history  of 
the  first  appearance  of  the  Gypsies  in  Switzerland,  leaves  much  in 
obscurity.  It  is  an  historical  point  which  most  likely  will  only  be 
elucidated  by  the  Eegisters  of  the  municipal  accounts  of  the  towns 
through  which  the  Gypsies  have  passed,  and  in  which  they  may  have 
received  subsidies,^  as  we  shall  see  that  they  have  received  elsewhere. 

What  actually  contributes  to  the  uncertainty  of  the  Swiss 
itinerary  is  that  documents  sometimes  bear  the  date  of  the  year 
only;  we  have  met  with  such  examples  not  only  in  Switzerland, 
but,  before  or  after  the  passage  of  the  Gypsies  in  this  country,  at 
Leipzig,  at  Strasbourg. 

For  the  present,  however,  it  is  after  the  departure  from  Switzer- 
land that  I  place  the  arrival  of  the  Gypsies  at  Strasbourg,  as  I  have 
also  temporarily  placed  their  passage  at  Leipzig  before  their  entrance 
into  Switzerland.  We  have,  indeed,  left  the  great  band  breaking  up 
near  Baden  in  Argovia.     A  part  of  the   horde,  adds  Tschudi,  then 

1  I  call  the  attention  of  the  Switss  scholars  of  Zurich,  Baden  in  Argovia,  Berne,  Soleure, 
Bale,  and  in  general  of  all  the  Swiss  tovms  that  have  kept  their  ancient  A  ccounts,  to  this 
point :  for  the  first  question  is  the  knowledge  of  the  tovi^ns  in  Switzerland  possessing  A  ccounts 
going  back  as  far  as  the  beginning  of  the  fifteenth  century  ;  and  upon  this  point,  information, 
even  negative,  would  have  a  solid  interest.  Wherever  these  accounts  exist,  it  would  be  neces- 
sary more  particularly  to  explore  those  between  1416  and  1420,  and  better  still  up  to  1438  ; 
but,  this  exploration  once  commenced,  it  would  be  interesting  to  pursue  it  as  far  as  possible 
in  order  to  extract  from  these  Registers  all  that  they  contain  about  the  Gypsies  (Zigeuner, 
Ileiden,  etc.,  etc.)  ;  and  even  to  go  further  back  than  1417  to  see  if  perchance  people  resem- 
bling the  Gypsies  may  not  have  existed,  under  other  names,  in  Switzerland  before  1417. 
These  extracts  published  in  some  collection  of  the  country  (of  which  I  should  be  glad  to 
receive  the  exact  indication— rue  de  rOdeon,  12,  Paris)  would  form  the  beginning  of  a  docu- 
mentary History  of  the  Gypsies  in  Switzerland,  like  that  which  M.  Dirks  has  collected  for 
Holland.  It  is  scarcely  necessary  for  me  to  add  that  what  I  have  requested  for  Switzerland 
on  the  occasion  of  an  obscure  fact,  upon  which  it  would  be  particularly  interesting  to  throw 
some  light,  would  be  equally  desirable  for  all  the  countries  of  Europe,  and  that,  if  I  only 
speak  here  of  the  Registers  of  Towns,  it  is  not  with  any  intention  of  excluding  fhe  Chronicles 
and  such  other  sources  of  information  as  may  present  themselves. 


286      IMMIGRATION   OF  THE   GYPSIES   IN   THK   FIFTEENTH  CENTURY. 

passed  the  Boetzberg,  that  is  to  say,  the  north-west  end  of  the  chain 
of  the  Jura.  Tschudi  does  not  follow  them  further,  and  does  not 
say  what  direction  the  others  took.  But  it  is  natural  to  think  that 
a  good  number  of  Gypsies  must  then  have  penetrated  either  into  the 
present  grand  duchy  of  Baden,  or  directly  into  Alsace,  and  it  is  thus 
that  some  may  have  arrived  at  Strasbourg  in  the  same  year. 

Now,  the  presence  of  the  Gypsies  at  Strasbourg  in  1418,  which 
left  some  doubts  on  my  mind  when  it  was  mentioned  only  by 
Specklin  ^  and  by  Hermann,  '^  appears  better  attested  by  an  (un- 
published ?)  Chronicle  of  Strasbourg,  which,  however,  I  only  know 
through  a  quotation,^  and  wliich  does  not  specify  the  time  of  year. 

Paul  Bataillard. 

{To  he  continued.) 


D 


v.— THE  GITANOS  OF  TO-DAY. 

UEIiSrG  the  autumn  of  the  past  year  (1888),  I  travelled  over  a 
considerable  part  of  Spain,  and  the  conclusion  I  have  come  to 
regarding  the  Gitanos  is,  that  one  is  much  mistaken  if  one  believes 
that  the  pure  type  of  the  traditional  Gitano  is  still  to  be  found  there. 

I  have  visited  the  famous  suburb  of  Triana  (Calle  de  la  Cava)  at 
Seville  ;  there  is  there  a  population  which  does  not  differ  much  from 
the  populations  of  the  other  quarters  of  Seville.  Even  in  t\iQ  fctbrica 
de  tahaeos  of  Seville,  where  there  are  many  thousands  of  work- 
people, the  workshops  of  the  Gitanos  do  not  strike  one  as  very 
different  from  those  of  the  Andalusians.  Here  and  there  only  (and 
especially  among  the  old  people),  one  sees  a  rare  type,  presenting 
some  trace  of  the  true  Gypsy  physiognomy.'* 

1  See  my  long  note  on  Specklin,  pp.  27-28  of  my  former  memoir  ;  and  above,  pp.  276-277. 

"  In  a  note  of  my  former  memoir  (p.  34),  I  said  :  "  I  find  besides  in  a  collection  of  small 
scattered  facts,  placed  at  the  end  of  Notices  historiques,  statistiques  et  litteraires  sur  Stras- 
bourg, by  Hermami  (Strasbourg,  1819,  2  vols,  in  Svo.,  vol.  2,  p.  432)  tlie  following  sentence  : 
'  In  1418,  some  Gypsies,  called  in  German  Zigeuner,  and  in  some  countries  Heiden,  pagans, 
came  for  the  first  time  into  Alsace  and  the  neighbourhood  of  Strasbourg.'  But  the  author 
having  dispensed  himself  from  indicating  his  authorities,  1  think  the  indication  is  drawn  from 
the  Collectanea  of  Specklin  and  to  be  received  with  the  same  distrust." 

3  In  a  short  article  upon  the  Zigeuner,  by  Auguste  Stober,  inserted  in  the  Anzeiger  fur 
Kunde  der  deutschen  Vorzeit,  an.  1856,  t.  i.,  Niiruberg,  1863,  p.  173,  I  find  the  following 
note  concerning  the  apparition  of  tlie  Gypsies  in  Germany:  "They  came  from  Epiro  (sic), 
which  tlie  vulgar  call  'Little  Egypt.'  Trausch,  handsch.  Strasburgische  Chronik,  ir.  366. 
According  to  Trausch,  the  '  Zetjgincr'  made  their  first  appearance  at  Strasbourg  ml418." 
M.  Stober  does  not  say  to  what  epoch  this  chronicle  belongs  ;  but  what  makes  me  believe  in 
its  originality— at  least  relative— is  that  the  detail  given  by  Specklin,  that  "they  came  from 
Epirus,  called  also  \'ulgarly  Little  Egypt "  (see  again  above,  p.  277,  in  the  long  note  on 
Specklin  reproduced  from  my  former  memoir),  is  certainly  borrowed  from  him. 

•*  With  these  statements  of  the  Marquis  Colocci,  compare  the  "  Sketclies  at  Seville  "  in 
our  A'^otes  and  Queries  (p.  ZQ^  post). — [Ed.] 


THE   GITANOS   OF   TO-DAY.  287 

The  Gitanos  of  Seville  emigrate  to  America  without  the  least 
disinclination ;  once  there,  they  employ  themselves  as  herdsmen  in 
the  ganaclcrias,  or  enlist  in    the  military  service  of   Cuba  or  the ' 
Philippine  Islands. 

In  the  Sierra  Morena  I  found  Gitanos,  whose  special  occupation 
was  the  making  of  baskets  and  cliairs.     These  spoke  a  better  cald. 

At  Saragossa  I  found  a  small  Gitano  colony. 

There  are  also  some  at  Cordova.  And  we  know  of  the  adventure 
which  happened  there  to  an  English  tourist  (a  Dr.  Middleton,  I 
believe),  who  shot  a  Gitano  on  the  tower  of  the  Cathedral  to  save 
himself  from  being  robbed  by  him.^ 

At  Santa  Fe  there  is  a  numerous  colony  of  Gitanos,  who  have 
preserved  the  racial  type  better  than  others.  They  are  proud  of  it, 
and  they  say  of  themselves  without  any  hesitation  :  Nosotros  semos 
caUs  de  siete  costillas  y  media  ("  We  are  Gitanos  on  seven  sides  and  a 
half  "),  meaning  that  they  are  of  the  genuine  stock. 

There  are  also  Gitano  localities  in  Granada.  Some  live  in  the  St. 
Nicholas  quarter  {Barrio  dc  la  Cava  de  San  Nicola) ;  but  the  greatest 
number  live  in  the  Sacro  Monte  quarter  above  the  Albaycin,  in  caves 
cut  out  of  the  rock,  formerly  grottoes  of  the  Moors.  This  Barrio  de 
los  Gitanos,  everywhere  pierced  with  these  caverns,  presents  the  ap- 
pearance of  a  huge  hive  of  bees.  Zigzag  footpaths  lead  from  one 
grotto  to  another.  The  sides  of  the  Sacro  Monte  are  tufted  with 
the  aloe  and  the  cactus.  Below,  amid  the  ruins  of  ancient  Arab  walls, 
flows  the  Darro. 

The  Gitanos  of  Granada  are  smiths,  sheep-shearers,  small  traders 
at  the  fairs,  and,  above  all,  they  beg  from  tourists.  The  women  tell 
fortunes,  or  perform  Flamenco,  dances  before  strangers. 

There  are  nearly  two  hundred  Gitanos  in  Granada.  They  are  said 
to  be  thieves,  and  I  am  inclined  to  believe  it ;  but  I  must  admit  that 
with  me  they  were  very  honest,  and  they  laughed  fit  to  split  them- 
selves when  I  spoke  to  them  in  cal6,  for  that  seemed  something 
wonderful  to  them.  They  took  me  for  one  of  themselves,  belonging 
to  a  foreign  country,  but  of  their  race.  The  good  people  of  Granada 
were  amazed  to  see  me  always  in  such  company,  and  they  said  to 
me  with  a  reproachful  air :  "  Sefior,  los  jitanos  son  fjente  muy  fea  !  " 
("  The  Gitanos  are  very  dirty  people,  Senor  !  ") 

1  In  this  connection  I  may  state  that  my  experiences,  when  at  Granada,  did  not  at  all 
coincide  with  the  opinions  expressed  by  the  writer  of  the  letter  "  Spanish  Gypsies  and 
British  Tourists,"  comnumicated  to  the  Edinburgh  Scotsman  (and  quoted  in  our  Journal, 
No.  3,  p.  178).  I  was  at  Granada  in  the  month  of  November,  and  the  tspanish  police  did 
not  take  the  precautions  referred  to  in  that  letter.  I  have  been  with  the  Gitanos,  alone,  day 
and  night,  in  tlieir  caves,  and  I  found  them  very  good  fellows. 


288  THE   GITANOS   OF   TO-DAY. 

Their  morality  is  not  worth  much ;  especially  iu  the  matter  of 
virtue.  I  have  known  several  Jitanillos,  thirteen  or  fourteen  years 
old,  who  posed  as  city  guides,  but  who  in  reality  conducted  strangers 
to  houses  of  evil  fame.  With  regard  to  the  alleafed  chastitv  of  the 
Gitanas,  extolled  by  Borrow,  Enault,  Quindale  and  Liszt,  I  would 
make  some  reservations. 

At  Seville,  at  Cadiz,  at  Granada,  I  have  known  real  Gitanas  who  were 
anything  but  prudes.  I  have  even  spoken,  at  Cadiz,  to  a  poor  and 
rather  pretty  Jitanilla,  who  had  been  seduced  by  her  lover,  a  Gitano, 
and  deserted  by  him  when  with  child.  Eepulsed  by  her  family, 
the  poor  young  creature  turned  courtesan.  At  Granada,  I  knew 
a  Gitana  who  accepted  an  invitation  to  dinner  which  I  gave  to  her 
and  to  her  husband.  After  dinner,  she  found  an  excuse  for  sending 
away  her  Othello,  and,  being  then  left  alone  with  me,  she  made 
such  advances  to  me  as  no  virtuous  Desdemona  would  have  made. 
At  Cadiz,  several  Gitanas  follow  the  occupation  of  go-between  in 
love  intrigues.^  These  are  generally  neither  young  nor  beautiful. 
And  I  always  think  with  shame  of  a  scandalous  speech  made  to  me 
at  Cadiz  by  two  very  young  Gitanas,  of  ten  or  eleven,  which  they 
accompanied  by  gestures  of  an  indescribably  licentious  nature. 

At  Granada  there  is  a  prince  of  the  Gypsies,  a  grotesque  being ; 
he  remains  nearly  the  whole  day  at  the  gate  of  the  Alhambra 
awaiting  strangers,  and  clad  in  the  old  Spanish  muleteer  costume, 
wearing  a  large  peaked  hat  on  his  head.  His  coat,  with  its  gold  lace 
and  velvet,  must  have  been  very  grand  in  its  day;  but  now  it  is 
very  ragged  through  the  effects  of  time.  This  personage  sells  his 
own  photograph  to  visitors,  and  one  learns  from  the  back  of  it  that 
it  is  the  portrait  of  Mariano  Hernandez,  Frinc%]i€,  de  los  Gitanos, 
modelo  del  immortcd  Fortuny.  He  really  was  a  model,  and  sat  to 
this  famous  painter. 

It  is  a  sight  to  see  this  pedicular  prince  attire  himself  proudly, 
grand  in  his  garments  and  his  authority !  He  conducts  you  to  the 
Barrio  de  los  Gitanos;  he  organises  Gypsy  concerts  and  Flamenca 
dances  for  the  amusement  of  strangers.  I  had  myself  a  good  deal 
of  intercourse  with  him,  in  order  to  acquaint  myself  better  with  certain 
details  about  the  Gitanos,  and  to  practise  the  Cedd,  which  he  speaks 
much  better  than  the  others. 

Through  him  I  was  still  better  enabled  to  remark  the  simplicity 

1  Compare  the  remark  made  by  Mepliistopheles  to  Faust,  with  reference  to  Martha  ;— 
"  Das  ist  ein  Weib  wie  auserlesen, 
Zum  Kupider-  und  Zigeunerwesen  !" — [Ed.] 


GYPSY   SONGS   OF   MOURNING. 


289 


with  which  the  good  Borrow  judged  of  the  morality  of  the  Gitanas. 
This  prince  will,  indeed,  procure  Gitana  models  for  you,  if  you  are 
anything  of  a  painter,  or  even  if  you  are  not  one  at  all.  And  if  you 
should  occupy  yourself  with  the  original  instead  of  the  copy,  his 
Highness  the  Prince  of  the  Gitanos  will  not,  you  may  be  sure,  raise  any 
diplomatic  question  about  this  exploit  touching  one  of  his  subjects ! 

As  to  their  language,  the  greater  part  of  the  Gitanos  at  the 
present  day  speak  Spanish,  and  employ  the  Spanish  phraseology, 
only  substituting  some  Calo  words,  and  modifying  some  Spanish 
words  with  the  terminations  saro — sara  and  une — una.   For  example  : 


saro-a 


Pelisara. 
-Frcntisara. 
Carissara. 
Lenguisarx. 
Unisaro. 
Doisaro. 
Treisaro. 
Cincueiitisaro. 


une-a. 
Cahonazo  (Trousers), 
Cravate  (Fr.),  .  . 
Dcdo  (Finger),  .  . 
Jaqueta  (Jacket),  . 
Chaleco  (Waistcoat), 
Oreja  (Ear),  .  .  . 
etc. 


Cahonziine. 

Cravatund. 

Deduna. 

Chequetuna. 

Chalequne. 

Orejuna. 


Pelo  (Hair),     .     . 

Frentc  (Forehead), 

Carrillo  (Cheek), 

Lengua  (Tongue), 

Uno  (One),     .     . 

Dos  (Two),      .     . 

Tres  (Three),  .     . 

Gincuenta  (Fifty), 

etc. 

The  true  Calo  language  still  exists,  in  the  precise  sense  of  the 
word.  But  only  a  limited  number  of  these  words  are  now  used ;  the 
rest  is  Castilian.  Each  individual  Gitano  only  knows  a  small  portion 
of  it.  Nevertheless,  in  my  conversations  with  Gitanos,  above  all 
with  those  of  the  Sierra  Morena,  and,  in  particular,  with  their  old 
people,  I  have  collected — here  or  there — some  hundreds  of  words, 
which,  perhaps,  I  shall  one  day  publish. 

I  have  also  collected  many  of  their  Cantos  Flamencos,  similar  to 
those  published  by  Professor  Machado  y  Alvarez,  some  sayings  and 
proverbs,  riddles,  etc.,  etc.  Adkiano  Colocci. 


VI.— GYPSY  SONGS  OF  MOUENING. 

I. — PRISONEllS'    LAMENTS. 

IN  the  course  of  my  visits  to  prisons,  and  specially  in  Transylvania 
when  in  quest  of  folk-lore,  I  often  had  an  easy  and  safe  oppor- 
tunity of  making  a  study  of  the  Gypsies. 

These  people,  who  are  either,  generally  speaking,  as  sliy  as  a  roe 
or  as  intrusive  as  a  bug,  are  always  very  slow  to  furnish  any  informa- 
tion regarding  their  poetry  and  national  customs ;  but  in  prison  I 
found  them  dispirited  by  the  loss  of  their  freedom,  and  much  fretted 
by  the  confinement  which  they  probably  feel  more  keenly  than  any 
one  else.     Here,  after  having  won  their  good-will  by  talking  to  them 


290  GYPSY   SONGS    OF   MOURNING. 

in  their  own  tongue,  they  would  open  their  hearts  to  me,  protesting, 
as  a  rule,  their  innocence,  but  occasionally  when  severely  cross- 
examined  as  to  the  cause  of  their  incarceration,  they  would,  in  a 
shamefaced  fashion,  admit  their  guilt.  It  would  be  worth  while,  I 
think,  if  some  of  the  officials  of  criminal  departments  in  Hungary, 
where  there  is  no  lack  of  people  who  study  the  Gypsy  tongue  for  their 
pleasure  merely,  were  to  study  the  language  and  national  customs  of 
the  Gypsies  from  a  judiciary  standpoint,  as  is  done  in  other  countries. 
Some  of  the  Gypsies  condemned  to  a  rather  longer  term  of  imprison- 
ment begged  me  to  intercede  on  their  behalf  to  have  their  condition 
mitigated  (although  their  well-being  in  prison  is  incomparably  greater 
than  it  is  in  freedom),  or  even  to  obtain  their  release.  Once,  some 
recently  incarcerated  members  of  a  Gypsy  band,  with  whom  I  had  but 
a  short  time  before  been  tramping  the  country,  in  a  prisoner's  dress 
and  on  very  familiar  terms,  stared  with  their  eyes  wide  open  on 
seeing  me  on  intimate  terms  with  the  all-powerful  public  prosecutor. 

On  such  occasions  the  Gypsies  were  fond  of  singing  to  me  their 
improvised  laments  (or  rather  dirges),  which  they  spin  out  indefinitely, 
and  which  I  had  to  stop  when  they  began  to  weary  me.  These 
Jeremiads  they  whined  out  in  a  drawling  and  very  sing-song  tone, 
of  a  decided  Eoumanian  type.  A  specimen  of  these  chants  was 
published  in  the  second  number  of  our  Journal  (page  101,  No.  7, 
Burzenland) ;  being  one  which  was  sung  to  me  by  Mojsa  Curar  in  the 
prison  of  Brasso  (Kronstadt),  in  the  summer  of  1886.  I  wrote  down 
more  than  100  verses  of  his  words,  if  one  may  apply  the  term  "  verse  " 
to  a  series  of  disconnected  sentences,  extremely  primitive  alike  in 
rhythm  and  in  rhyme. 

I  shall  quote  the  text  as  a  curiosity  (not  on  account  of  its  poetical 
value),  making  use  of  the  same  system  of  transcription  as  that 
employed  iu  the  translation  of  the  epoch-making  Gypsy  work  of  our 
august  fellow-student,  the  Archduke  Josef. 

The  text  was  taken  down  very  hurriedly,  and  in  many  places  is 

doubtful.     One  asterisk  denotes  that  the  word  is  borrowed  from  the 

Eoumanian,  two  from  the  Magyar. 

Vaj,*  Devla-le,  na  maj*  marme,  Ah,  God!  afflict  me  no  more, 

Ke  man,  Devla,  d'ekin*  mard'as,  For,  since  thou,  0  God,  hast  afflicted  me, 

Cin  misto  na  kerd'as.  Nothing  good  hast  thou  done. 

Vaj*-  JJcvlica,  vaj*  Devlica,  Ah,  dear  God!  ah,  dear  God, 

Ke  man  ci  maj*  mares!  That  me  no  more  thou  strikest! 

Avrete  gindu*  kerd'as,  To  others  trouble  hast  thou  made, 

Del,  mar-le  te  pJiabar-le,  God,  strike  and  burn, 

Ke  mail  ci  maj*  marcs  !  But  me  no  more  strike  ! 

Tai  zatar,  Devla,  iatar,  And  I  will  go,  U  God,  I  will  go, 


GYPSY   SONGS   OF   MOURNING. 


291 


Pala  mandi  ci  maj  *  dikhau. 
Devla,  Vevla,  the  avau 
Tai  zav  the  ^mla  leste 
Ci  maj  *  akarav-le  palpate, 
Te  sal,  zikaj  se  lumi,  * 

Kaj  kerdela  o  pai  kanali. 

Core,  core  serke  o  dad  barvalo, 

Taj  ci  loat*  (?)  kosno 

01  cokaja  maravau 

Taj  tne  but'i  kerau 

Taj  me  kosno  tuke  lau. 

Ale  Devla,  me  saj  zasa, 

Te  pala  man  ci  dikhau, 

Ale,  ale,  Devla,  me  saj  kisa; 

Pala  mande  na  diklem, 

Ci  folosti  *  na  kerdem. 

Jare  *  De via,  dikhau, 

Ek  baro  folosu  *  kerau. 

Zatar  tuke,  zatar, 

Zatar -le  Devlica  ! 

Ale  Devla,  but  pherdem, 

Taj  sar  keti  *  ci  pelem, 

Ale  Devla,  biit  inrau, 

Taj  kade  ci  maj  *  pecisarau. 

Zatar  mange  za  kija  mre  gctzi, 

Taj  m,ire  saore. 

Vaj,  *  but  Devla,  bid 

Dekind*  avilem, 

Mure  saoren  ci  diklem. 

Te  kamela  o  Del, 

Mure  saoren  inhe *  dikhau, 

Kamela  svuntu  *  Del,  the  cumidau-le  ; 

0  Del  e  lacu,  th'  avau 

Taj  pirau, 

Te  kereni  chavau 

Mure  saorensa. 

Zatar,  zatar,  mure  romiii, 

Taj  anau  kotorna, 

Ek  kotorna  manro ; 

Anau  so  trehul,  * 

Le  saoren  so  trebul.  * 

Zikaj  barval'on  ol  saora, 

Apoj  *  atunci  *  milulel  *  o  Del 

Gindinela  *  |j?-o  lenge. 

But  core  ande  lume  * 

Te  ziden  ande  d'es, 

Ad'es  te  taisa. 

Vaj*^  Devla-le,  vaj  Devla, 

Kaj  me  but  kamau. 

Mar  en,  the  j>ot'inau, 

Taj  zilta  nasci  kerau; 

ASunen  man,  2^chraleya, 

Hajda,*  the  corau, 
Kaj  me  bid  kamati, 


Beliiiul  me  no  more  will  I  look. 

0  God,  0  God,  I  come 

And  follow  lifter  her, 

No  more  call  I  her  back  again, 

And  go,  the  length  and  breadth  of  the 

earth. 
And  make  the  waters  [our]  grave. 
O  poor,  poor  one,  thy  father  is  rich, 
But  has  not  bought  thee  a  neckercliief ; 
Tlic  hammers  will  I  beat, 
And  much  [smith-work]  will  I  do, 
And  I  will  buy  to  take  to  thee 
Oh,  God !  I  shall  be  able  to  depart, 
And  behind  me  never  look. 
Ah,  God,  ah,  God,  I  shall  be  able  to  go, 
Behind  me  I  have  not  looked. 
Nothing  praiseworthy  have  I  done. 
To  God  will  I  look, 
A  great,  praiseworthy  deed  will  I  do. 
I  will  go  from  thee,  I  will  go  away, 
I  will  go  away  with  God  !  (?) 
Ah,  God,  much  have  I  travelled, 
And  nothing  has  gone  well  with  me. 
Ah,  God,  nmch  do  I  travel, 
And  that  no  more  shall  I  survive. 
I  am  going  to  go  away  to  my  wife, 
And  to  my  children. 
Ah,  long,  God,  long  is  it 
That  I  have  come  \}.  here]. 
My  children  not  have  I  seen. 
But,  if  God  will, 
My  children  again  shall  I  see, 
The  holy  God  grant  that  I  kiss  them ; 
God  is  good,  so  that  I  come 
And  go, 

And  at  home  eat 
Along  with  my  chUdren. 
I  go,  I  go,  my  wife. 
And  I  bring  a  piece, 
A  piece  of  bread  ; 
I  bring  what  is  needed. 
To  the  children,  what  is  needed. 
How  the  children  will  grow. 
And  then  will  God  bless  them 
[And]  take  care  of  them. 
Many  poor  [are]  in  the  world 
And  live  from  day  to  day. 
To-day  and  to-morrow. 
Alas,  b  God  !  alas,  0  God  ! 
For  I  owe  nuich. 
They  beat  me,  tliat  I  pay. 
And  money  none  can  I  make 
Hearken  to  me,  my  brothers, 
Come,  that  I  may  steal, 
For  I  owe  mucb. 


292 


GYPSY   SONGS   OF   MOURNING. 


Hajda*  the  corau, 

Kai  the  pot'inau. 

?  hersh  ci  potHndom. 

Ane  te  kamel  o  Del, 

The  pot'inasa, 

Zanel  o  Del,  sar  pot'inasa, 

The  kerel,  the  kojel,  amensa  e  mila.* 

Te  maj  *  Devla  del  vares, 

Te  kerd'el  sar  kamel ; 

Leske  e putere* 

Apoj*  the  meraha,  inulo  aveha, 

Ci  maj  *  pot'inasa. 

Te  sa  perd'om, 

Te  ci  maj  *  ^^loi'-inrfoin. 

Ale,  onre  male,  vire  onale, 

Asen  te  helgedun  /  *  * 

So  Del  amen  del,  pot'iriasa 

Me  ci  mul'om,  de  nekazu  *  som ; 

0  Del  e  lacu,  majd  *  *  del, 

Majd  *  *  zasa,  majd  *  *  zasa, 

Te  majd  *  *  pihirasa 

The  palpala  zas. 

0  Del  del  amen, 

Amen  taj  tumen, 

0  Del  e  lacu  the  kerel, 

So  kamel. 

So  horn  me  but  saori 

Trebu  *  sar  dav  chaben, 

0  Devla  svuntu,*  de  man  ! 

Me  lau,  the  cin  lau, 

Cin  misto  ci  kerdem. 

Daje,  daje,  mire  daj, 

Tu  sa  rod'al  andro  mende, 

Andro  lestar  saori. 

Daje,  daje,  the  kamel  o  Del, 

Ke  saori  kere  ink'  *  avena, 

0  Del  bin  laco, 

Devla,  da  me  sast'ino, 

Ke  sal  laco, 

Tute  hin  putere.* 

Da  rusa  mure  dajake, 

Taj  ferina  la 

Nasvalipneha. 

Amen,  Devla,  ci  zand'am, 

Ke  per  as  andre  kide  comma, 

Taj  ci  zand'am,  k'avas  kathe, 

Taj  .  .  .  (?)  andre  kade  kera, 

Kade  kera  vest'ake. 

The  kamel  o  Del,  ci  maj  *  avasa, 

Zikaj  avela  ek  bahi  jk  pchuv. 

Sostar  ci  avil'al  romhi, 

Te  men  anes  chaben  ? 

Nasci  .  .  .  (1)  the  avau. 

The  vilena  avena  tumen. 


Come,  that  I  may  steal, 

Wherewith  I  shall  pay. 

1  A  year  nothing  have  I  paid. 

I  God  \Yill  to  bring  it  to  pass, 

I  shall  pay. 

God  knows,  I  will  pay  all. 

He  will  take  pity  on  us. 

God,  give  ns  something, 

He  has  done  as  he  willed  ; 

To  him  is  the  power. 

When  we  are  dead,  we  shall  be  corpses, 

Nothing  more  to  pay. 

Always  have  I  gone. 

Nothing  at  all  have  I  paid. 

0  my  comrades,  my  comrades. 
Be  silent  and  play  the  fiddle  ! 
What  God  gives  to  us,  we  will  pay, 

1  am  not  dead,  in  misfortune  am  I  ; 
God  is  good,  soon  will  he  give. 
Soon  shall  I  come  and  go 

Soon  shall  walk 

And  again  come. 

God  gives  to  us. 

To  us  and  to  you, 

God  is  good  and  does 

What  he  willeth. 

I  have  many  children 

It  is  necessary  I  give  [them]  to  eat, 

0  holy  God,  give  to  me  ! 

1  take,  and  do  not  take. 
Nothing  good  have  I  done. 

0  mother,  0  mother,  my  mother. 
Thou  hast  ever  wept  for  me, 
And  for  thy  children. 
0  mother,  0  mother,  would  to  God 
That  the  children  home  again  come. 
God  is  good, 

0  God,  give  me  health, 
For  thou  art  good, 

To  thee  is  the  power. 

Give  a  gift  to  my  mothei", 

And  keep  her 

From  illness. 

We,  0  God,  have  not  known. 

That  we  should  fall  into  this  misery, 

And  have  not  known,  that  we  should 

come  here, 
And  ...(?)  in  these  houses. 
These  houses  are  notorious. 
If  God  will,  no  more  come  we  here. 
So  long  as  one  pig  goes  upon  the  ground. 
Wherefore  have  you  not  come,  wife, 
And  to  me  brought  food  ? 

1  could  not  come, 

And  soon  you  will  come, 


GYPSY   SONGS   OF  MOURNING. 


293 


The  kamel  o  Del. 
Naj  tumen  hut, 
Numaj*  trill  con 
Taj  deh  d'es. 
Sa  gind'om*  sar  th'aves, 
Taj  azulcerd'em  tut. 
Andaliode  ci  kerel  chanci, 
0  Del  milidel  *  me 
Anhala  man  kathar, 
O  Del  naj  sar  o  mamis. 


If  God  will. 

Not  is  to  you  much  [spare  time] 

Only  three  montlis, 

And  ten  days. 

Always  thought  I,  that  you  would  come, 

And  I  awaited  you. 

But  that  does  not  matter, 

God  will  have  compassion  upon  us 

Will  release  us  from  here, 

God  is  not  like  man. 

A.  Herrmann. 


II. — Laments  for  the  Dead  :  In  the  Popular  Poetry  of  the 
Trausylvaniaii  and  South-Hungarian  Teut- Gypsies. 

(The  following  are  extracted  from  an  Article  contributed  by  our  fellow-mem- 
ber, Dr.  Heinrich  v.  Wlislocki,  to  the  Dresden  "  INIagazin  fiir  die  Litteratur  des 
In-  und  Auslandes,"  of  9th  March  last.  Dr.  Wlislocki  has  only  given  the  Romani 
text  in  the  two  specimens  of  the  Bocilye  which  are  here  reproduced.  He  does  not 
furnish  the  original  Romani  in  the  other  specimens  of  Bovilye,  or  in  any  of  the 
Kaiddve.  The  latter  are  therefore  translated  here  solely  from  Dr.  Wlislocki's  Ger- 
man versions. — Ed.). 

Just  as  the  so-called  Rauda  {"  lament ")  forms  a  stepping-stone  to 
the  Lithuanian  folk-song  proper  (knorwn  to  the  world  of  literature, 
since  Lessing's  time,  by  the  national  name  of  Daina),  so  does  the 
Eovilye,  or  song  of  lamentation  \l.it.  of  iveeping'],  of  the  Tent-Gypsies 
of  Transylvania  and  the  South  of  Hungary  lead  the  way  to  the  true 
lyric  poetry  of  these  people.  The  Rovilye  is  a  kind  of  elegy,  witliout 
either  rhyme  or  verse,  and  is  rather  an  unstudied  address  to  the  dead 
than  a  true  song  of  lamentation,  although  it  is  "crooned"  by  the 
mournincj-women  in  a  half-murmured,  half-chanted  monotone.  It 
does  not  even  resolve  itself  into  proper  strophes  and  verse-lines,  but 
rather  into  longer  or  shorter  numbers,  at  the  end  of  which  the  woman 
who  is  chanting  it  makes  a  longer  or  a  shorter  pause,  according  to  the 
requirements  of  the  leading  idea. 

Akin  to  the  Rovilye  is  the  Kaiddve,  the  song  of  lamentation 
proper,  which,  like  the  other  songs  of  the  Tent-Gypsies,  is  of  regularly- 
constructed  verse,  rhyming  in  couplets.  These  Kaiddve,  which 
may  be  heard,  though  not  often,  among  the  Transylvanian  Tent- 
Gypsies,  are,  like  the  Rovilye,  recited  by  regular  mourning-women 
shortly  before  the  burial.  "While  the  Rovilye  always  specially 
addresses  itself  to  a  certain  person  {e.g.  a  son  to  his  father,  a  husband 
to  his  wife),  the  Kaiddve  is  more  general  in  character  and  may  be 
employed  as  a  universal  farewell  to  the  dead,  for  which  reason  it  is 
chanted  immediately  before  the  burial,  whereas  the  singing  of  the 
Rovilye  commences  with  the  laying  of  the  body  upon  the  bier. 

I  shall  now  give  two  of  these  laments  in  the  original  text,  as  I 
have  noted  them  down  in  the  course  of  my  frequent  expeditions  with 


294  GYPSY   SONGS   OF  MOUENING. 

bands  of  the  Tent-Gypsies,  and  the  others  as  rendered  literally  into 
German;  they  testify  that  in  the  world  of  feeling  men  are  everywhere 
alike,  whether  uncivilised  or  civilised. 

EOVILYE. 

(In  the  Eomani  text  here   given  c  =  Germ.   tsch,    a:  =  Germ,  ch, 
y=Germ.  dsch,  n  is  as  in  Spanish,  sh  and  y  as  in  English.) 

I. — The  Daughter  to  her  Mother. 

1.  Gule  day,  gule,  nd  man  tu,  the  1.  Sweet  mother,  sweet,  would  that 
Icerdyelds^InMbyeMbdrUithekerdyelds/  thou  hadst  not  borne  me,  Would  rather 
E  hdr  nd  jdncl,  kdnd  Idkro  ddy  merdyds,  that  thou  hadst  borne  a  stone  !  The 
Uvd  me  core  pdcirtd  silydbdvpdl  bdrvdl,  stone  knows  not  when  its  mother  is 
Silydbdv  pAld  Mm  meriben  gule  ddydTcri.  dead.   But    I,    poor  hxrk,   sing   in   the 

breeze,  Sing  in  the  sunshine  the  death  of 
my  sweet  little  mother. 

2.  Niko  man  dkdnd  tdtydrel,  Kdnd  2.  Noonenowwill  warnime,WhenIam 
me  shilydvdv ;  Niko  mdn  ushdlyin  del,  cold  ;  No  one  will  shade  me,  When  I  am 
Kdnd  me  tdte  som  /  Te  ko  mdnge  x>ddd  oppressed  with  the  heat  !  And  who  will 
kerel,  Kdnd  sovdles  som  ?  Bdrvdl  nd  hin  prepare  my  couch.  When  I  am  sleepy  ? 
mindig,  0  Mm  nd  hin  mindig,  Uvd  me  The  wind  blows  not  ever.  The  sun  shines 
core  rovdv  cdk  mindig.  not   ever,  But  I,  poor  one,  shall  ever 

weej}. 

3.  Andro  bes  me  jidv,  Kdnd  hin  bar-  3.  Into  the  wood  will  I  go,  When  the 
vdld,  Te  tut  me  dkdrdv,  oh  gule  ddy  ;  wind  blows.  And  to  thee  will  I  call,  oh 
Uvd  tu  nd  dves,  Mire  dpsd  na  telckoses,  sweet  mother  ;  But  thou  comest  not, 
M're  vodyi  nd  sdscdres.  Cores  me  cdk  Thou  dost  not  wipe  away  my  tears,  My 
jidv,  Yekd  core  Keshdlyi^,  Bcshdv  me  heart  thou  dost  not  heal.  Lonely  shall 
dkdnd,  Upro  epustd  bdr,  Kdy  ciriklo  nd  I  wander,  A  poor  Kcshalyi  ^,  Henceforth 
silydbel,  Kdy  cdr  nd  bdrvdlyol,  Odoy  me  will  I  sit  me  down.  On  barren  rocks, 
beshdv  te  rovdv.  Where  sings  no  bird,  Where  grows  no 

grass.  There  will  I  sit  and  sorrow. 

II. — Another  Version. 

1.  Oh    ddy,   tire    muy    hin  p)dndles,  1.  Oh  mother,  thy  mouth  is  closed, 

Tre  luludyi  nd  cumides  ;    T're  punrd  Thou  dost  not  kiss  thy  little  flower  ; 

nd  jdn  pro  selene  mdl,  T're  vdstd  hin  Thy  feet  go   no   more  over  the  green 

inules  te  Tiikdnd  yon  keren/     Oh  ddy,  heath,  Thy  hands  are  dead  and  work 

1  "A  hill-fairy,  who  Bits  on  the  high  mountain  peaks,  and  lets  her  mile-long  hair  blow 
down  through  the  valleys,  which  causes  the  mist." 

In  explanation  of  several  other  allusions  in  these  laments,  Dr.  Wlislocki  subjoins  the 
following  fragments  of  Gypsy  folk-lore  : — 

"  The  '  White  Hoimd  '  is  the  warder  stationed  at  the  portals  of  the  Kingdom  of  Death, 
far  up  among  the  summits  of  the  mountains.  See  my  Volkskunde  der  transsilvanischen 
Zigeuiier ; "  (which  is  reviewed  in  the  G.  L.  Soc.  Jmirjud,  ante,  pp.  242-3).  From  the 
allusions  in  the  Rovilye,  it  would  seem  that  as  each  newcomer  reaches  the  gates  of  death, 
the  bay  of  the  White  Hound  is  heard. 

"Before  one  attains  the  actual  Kingdom  of  the  Dead,  one  must  wander  through  a  waste 
place,  where  blows  an  icy  wind  'that  cuts  the  skin  like  a  knife.' 

"According  to  a  pojDular  belief  among  the  Gypsies,  whoever  plucks  a  flower  from  a 
grave  dies  soon  after. 

"  The  Gypsies  believe  to  a  certain  extent  in  the  transmigration  of  souls,  and  therefore 
they  bury  in  the  highway  at  an  early  hour  those  little  children  who  were  not  yet  able  to 
walk,  so  that  '  the  soul  may  journey  on  in  an  onward-faring  pregnant  woman.' " 


GYPSY   SONGS   OF  MOURNING. 


295 


t're  ycilchd  nd  dilclen  seleno  hcs,  T'rc  hand 
nd  dshunen  cir Helen,  Te  fu  nd  jdnes, 
Kdnd  Vre  luludiji  mere!  / 

2.  E  ruled  vmyd  meren,  Te  jnile  selinen, 
Uvd  rri're  vodyi  somores  hin,  Te  somores 
mindig  cdk  hin  !  E  pdTii  ndcol  Te  pal 
vreme  thdvdel ;  M're  djysd  mindig  thdv- 
den,  Te  Tiikdnd  ndcen  ;  Cirikld  hin 
blindes,  Te  ishmet  silydben;  Asdvihen 
nd  hin  mdnge,  Te  vil;o  ishmet  dnhnnel. 


3.  Bdkrori  rdciye  here .  jidl,  Cirikli 
here  urdl ;  Uvd  me  core,  hay  the  jidv  ? 
Kdnro  beshel  cores  upro  jyrn  mdl,  Te 
cores  me  beshdv  upro  pro  bdv. 


4.  Oh  day,  sostdr  man  cord  tu  muk- 
lydl  ?  Jiukiyi  me  jidv  yevende  pal  yiv, 
Te  nildye  pdl  hrtshind;  Pxdres  me 
p)dshhjovdv  Upro  p>ro  tro  probos,  oh  ddy  / 
Asukdrdv,  dsuhdrdv,  Cin  tu  dvea  dndrdl 
mulengre  them. 


no  more  !  Oh  mother,  thine  eyes  see 
not  the  green  wood,  Thy  ears  licar  not 
the  birds,  And  thou  knowest  not,  Tiiat 
thy  little  flower  is  fading  ! 

2.  The  trees  fade  quickly.  And  grow 
green  again,  But  my  heart  is  sad,  And 
sad  for  ever  !  The  brook  becomes  dry, 
And  in  the  spring-time  it  flows  again  ; 
My  tears  are  ever  flowing,  And  they 
never  dry  ;  The  birds  cease  their  sing- 
ing, And  then  again  they  sing  ;  Gone  is 
my  laughter.  And  no  one  hears  the 
sound  of  my  laugh  any  more. 

3.  At  evening  the  little  lamb  returns 
to  the  fold.  And  home  flies  the  bird; 
But  ah,  poor  me,  whither  shall  I  go  ? 
The  thistle  stands  solitary  upon  the 
field.  And  all  alone  upon  the  heath 
am  I. 

4.  Ah  mother,  why  hast  thou  left 
poor  me  ?  As  a  poor  hound  do  I  wander 
in  winter  through  the  snow,  And  in 
summer  through  the  rain  ;  Then  I 
lay  myself  wearied  Upon  thy  grave,  oh 
mother!  And  I  wait  and  wait,  Until 
thou  comest  back  from  the  country  of 
the  dead. 


To  a  Child. 
Thou,  my  child,  my  only  one. 
Ah  !  how  soon  from  me  thou  'rt  gone  ! 
Lovely  rosebud,  fair  to  see. 
Death,  alas  !  has  gathered  thee  ! 
E'en  the  grave  will  treat  thee  kind, 
For  indeed  thou  'rt  gold  refined ! 
Purest  gold,  dear  child,  art  thou, 
Rest  in  sweetest  slumber  now  ! 


To  a  Maid. 
Beauteous  dove,  with  golden  sheen. 
Thou  to  Death  a  prey  hast  been  ! 
Once  like  graceful  hemp-stalk  thou. 
Bruised,  alas  !  and  broken  now  ! 
As  the  stately  tree  on  high, 
Wert  thou  in  thy  comrades'  eye  !     . 
Ah  !  that  in  thy  sweet  embrace 
Lover  ne'er  found  resting-place  ! 
That  on  thy  lips,  so  soft  and  red, 
Lover's  kiss  was  never  laid  ! 
Joy  and  Love  thou  here  must  leave 
Eest  at  morn  in  peaceful  grave  ! 


AIDAVE. 

To  a  Young  Woman. 
In  the  wind  the  trees  loud  moan. 
Sister,  thou  hast  left  us  soon  ! 
Sister,  on  the  other  shore, 
'Tis  thine  to  greet  those  gone  before  ! 
Thirty  years  long  was  thy  quest. 
For  the  heart,  the  body,  rest ! 
Thou  hast  found  it  now. 
Soon  revive  wilt  thou, 
Freed  from  pain  and  sorrow's  sway — 
But  ah  !  so  far,  so  far  away  ! 

To  a  Man  Highly  Esteemed. 
Lofty  tree  in  forest  high, 
In  the  ground  thou  soon  must  lie  ! 
Though  the  golden  sun  is  shining, 
Sad  thy  branches  all  are  pining  I 
Ah,  thou  wouldst  to  rest  lie  down, 
Followed  by  our  prayers  alone  ! 
Few  the  men  now  left  on  earth 
Like  to  thee  in  good  and  worth  ; 
Henceforth,  without  sun  or  star, 
Leaderless,  we  wander  far  ; 
Since  of  thee  we  are  forlorn. 
Lofty  tree,  in  glory  born  ! 


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VII.— A  VOCABULAEY  OF  THE  SLOVAK-GYPSY  DIALECT. 

By  R  von  Sowa. 
(Contimied.) 


Cho,  s.,  nacho. 

Cholaxdni,  a.,  M.  W.,  s.  f.  (Gr.  chovexani, 

ghost,  phantom  ;  Hng.  chohani ;  Bhm. 

wanting),  witch. 
Chon,  *M.,  M.  W.,  S.,  s.  m.  (Gr.,  Bhm. 

=  SI.,  Hng.,  chhon,  chhom).    1.  Moon, 

*M.,   M.  W.      2.    Month,    S>.—Yav 

adarde  yekhe  choneste — come  here  in 

a  month. 
Chondro,  chonoro,  M.  W.,  s.  m,  (dim.  of 

the  foregoing),  moon. 
Chor,   S.,   chor,  *K.,  s.  m.  (Gr.,  Hng., 

Bhm.  chor),  thief,  robber. 
Choral,  M.  W.,  adv.  (Gr.  choryal ;  Hng. 

wanting  ;  Bhm.  choral),  secretly. 

Po  choral,  M.  W.,  id. 
Ghorau,  S.,  chorav,  M.  W.,  vb.  tr.  (Gr. 

chorava;  Hng.,  Bhm.  chorav),  to  steal, 

to  ravish,  S.,  a. 

Chorau  avri,  to  pkinder. 
Chori,  M.  W.,  s.   f.    (Gr.,  Hng.,  Bhm. 

wanting),  robbery.    Geijasfr-e  chori — 

he  went  to  rob,  M.  W. 
Choripen,  M.  W.,   s.  m.  (Gr.   chorihe  ; 

Hng.  choripe ;  Bhm.  choriben),  theft, 

robbery. 

Po  choripen,  a.,  secretly,  M,  W. 
Choro,  S.,  choro,  K.,  chorro,  shorro,  M.  W., 

adj.  ((Gr.,  Hng.  choro  ;  Bhm.  chorro). 

1.    Poor;  Ax   Devla,   so  tut    dava? 

Me  som   choro   sasos — 0  God,   what 

shall    I    give    thee?     I    am   a   poor 

soldier.      2.     Unlucky  ;    Ax    Devla 

mreya,  har  me  choro  manushoro  atar 

dendshava  ? — Oh  my  God,  how  shall  I, 

unlucky  man,  fly  hence  ?     3.  Orphan, 

M.  W.  ;    Devleskri    chori  —  orphan, 

K. 
Chorroro,  shorroro,  M.  W.,  adj.  (dim.  of 

choro),  poor,  orphan. 
amchi,   M.  W.,   s.   f.   (Gr.,   Hng.  =  SI. 

Bhm.  chuchi),  breast  (of  a  woman),  pi. 

teats. 
Chudinav  man,  a.,  M.  W.,  vb.  refl.  (Slov. 

cudovat'),  to  wonder. 
Chulavau,  1  a.,  vb.  tr.  (Gr.,  Hng.,  Bhm. 


wanting  ;  SI.,  a  mistake  1),  to  sweep 
Kai  pes  chulavel,  said  a  Gypsy,  when 
asked  what  he  would  say  for  "a 
broom." 

amlo,  M.  W.,  K.,  adj.  adv.  (Gr.,  Hng. 
wanting;  Bhm.  =  SI.),  few,  a  little. 
Nane  man  but  Idve  chak  chulo — I  have 
not  much  money,  but  just  a  little. 
Pale  leslce  phend'as  :  "  uzhdr  chulo  " — 
then  he  said  to  him,  "  wait  a  little." 

Chid'avav,  M.,  vb.  itr.  (s.  chul'ova^i); 
to  flow,  to  drop.  The  word  is  proved 
by  :  You  oda  rdldo,  vichind'as,  hoy 
vzhdi  chul'ala  o  pdni  ;  fale  has  o  gdje 
igen  rada,  hoy  oda  pdni  chul'alas — 
he,  that  boy,  exclaimed  that  the  water 
is  always  flowing  ;  then  the  men  were 
very  glad  because  that  water  was 
flowing,  M. 

ChuVinlca,  S.,  chulinka,  M.  W.,  adv. 
(dim.  of  chulo,  formed  in  the  way  of 
the  Slavonian  ;  Gr.,  Hng.  wanting  ; 
Bhm.  =  Sl.),  a  little. 

Chul'ovau,  M.  W.,  S.,  vb.  itr.  (Gr. 
wanting;  Hng.,  chuyovav ;  Bhm.= 
SI.),  to  drop,  to  splash,  M.  W. 
■  Chumi,  a.,  K.,  s.  1  (Gr.  chumi.  In  the 
other  dialects  it  is  found,  but  in  com- 
position with  the  verb  dau.  I  am 
myself  of  opinion  that  even  in  SI.  it 
is  never  found  as  a  separate  noun) ; 
kiss. 

Chumidau,  S.  chumidav,  K.,  vb.  tr. 
(Gr.  chumidava  ;  Hng.  Bhm.  chumi- 
dav), to  kiss.  Xtidinas  j)eskre  phrales 
he  igen  Us  chumidelas — he  embraced 
his  brother,  and  kissed  him  much. 
Chumi  dinas  chamatar  —  he  kissed 
(her)  on  the  face,  K. 

Chupni,  S.,  s.  f.  (Gr.  chtipni,  chukni 
means  a  tobacco  pipe ;  Hng.  chumnih; 
Bhm.  =  SI.),  whip. 

Churdau,  S.,  churdav;  M.  W.,  K.,  vb. 
tr.  (a  contracted  form  of  chivr-dau, 
the  SI.  v  before  consonants  being  a 
semi-vocal ;  Bhm.  chivrdav,  which  is 


A  VOCABULARY  OF  THE  SLOVAK-GYPSY  I)L\LECT. 


297 


to  be  referred  to  Gr.  chiv-dava  ;  Hng. 
chidav),  to  throw.  You  kana  avna, 
pre  tute  o  yag  churdena — when  they 
come,  they  will  throw  tire  upon 
thee. 
Churi,  S.,  chnri,  "SI.  W.,  s.  f.  (Gr.  churi, 


chorl  ;    Hng.    churi  ;    Bhni,    churi), 

knife. 
Churori,  ]M.   W.,  s.  f.  (dim.  of  churi), 

knife. 
Chvrtkos,    S.,    s.     m.     (Slov.     ctvrtoJc), 

Thursdav. 


D. 


Dad,  M.,  K.,  S.,  s.  m.  (Gr.  Hng.  Bhm.= 

SI),  father. 

Dadeshro  chdvo :  See  chdvo. 
Dadives  :  See  adadives. 
Dndka,  a.,  S.,  s.  m.  voc.  (cf.  chaiko),  0 

father.     This  form  is  proved  by  :  Ax 

dadka,  phcn    oh   mre    romeske  —  oh 

fiither,  say  to  my  husband. 
Dadoro,  *M.  S.,  dadoro,  M.  W.  (dim. 

of  dad),  father. 
Dai,  K.,  S.,  s.  f.  obi.  sg.  da;  instr.  daha 

(Gr.,  Hng.,  Bhm.  =  Sl.  ;  Gr.  dn,  tai), 

mother. 
Daiko,  K.,  S.,  s.  f.  voc.   (dim  of  dai, 

cf.  chaiko),  0  mother. 
Dand,  M.  W.,  S.,  s.   m.  pi.  danda  ;  S. 

dand,  M.  W,  (Gr.  dant;  Hng.,  Bhm. 

=  S1.),  tooth. 
Dandcrau,  S.,   vb.    tr.    (Gr.    danfelava, 

dantarava  ;    Hng.,    Bhm.    dauderav), 

to  bite. 
Dar,  M.  ^\.,  S.,  s.  f.  (Gr.,  Hng  ,  Bhm. 

=  S1.),  fear. 
Darandufno,  'M.   W.,  adj.   (Gr..   Hng.. 

Bhm.  wanting),  afraid,  terrified. 
Danmd'ovau,    M.    W.,    vb.    itr.    (Gr. 

daranovava  ;    Hng.,    Bhm.    wanting), 

to  be  afraid. 
Darav,  S.,  dnrav,  a.,  K.  (a  misprint?), 

vb.  tr.,   pi.   pf.   darand'ilo,  from  the 

foregoing  (Gr.  darava;   Hng.   darar; 

Bhm.  ddrav),  to  fear.     Me  iutar  na 

darau — I  am  not  afraid  of  tliee. 
Daravau,  ISI.  W.,  S.,    vb.    (dr.,  Hng., 

Bhm.    The  corresponding  forms  mean 

'■  to  frighten  "),  to  fear.     JS^'ikaMar  na 

daralas — he  did  not  fear  anybody. 
Dau,  M.,  S.,  dav,  K.,  pf.  dinom  (Gr. 

dava  ;  Hng.,  Bhm.  dav).    1.  To  give  ; 

De  man  varcso — give  me  something. 

2.    To   order   (Slavism)  ;    You  dinus 

banda    te    vichincl    hashaviben  —  he 

ordered  a  band  (of  musicians)  to  make 

music.      3.    To   let,    to   permit  ;  The 

tuke  deha  yek  yak  avri  te  lei — if  thou 

permittest  thyself  to  take  away  one 

VOL.  I. — NO.  V. 


eye,  M.  Dau  niaH,  to  engage  (in). 
Pes  dine  and  o  rovibcn — they  began 
to  weep  (were  engaged  in  weeping). 
Dau  man — to  commend  one's  self. 
£'  fhilri  manushi'ii  dinas  peske  nira 
Devles — the  old  woman  commended 
herself  to  God.  Dau  fnle,  a.,  to  un- 
button, M.  W. 

Daydri,  M.  W.,  K.,  S.  (dim.  of  dai), 
mother. 

Dejinau,  a.,  S.,  vb.  itr.  (Mag.  d'ufni,  to 
sting,  to  thrust;  Hng.  wanting;  Bhm. 
dejinac,  to  elicit,  Jes.,  57).  1.  To 
thrust ;  Man  igen  dukal,  me  man  igen 
dijind'om — I  feel  a  great  jmin  ;  I  have 
thrust  me  much  (?  pricked  or  stabbed 
myself).  2.  The  verb  seems  to  have  a 
different  meaning  in  the  sentence  Kana 
ijou  kapl'as,  mind'ar  lake  and-o  vusht 
defind'as  oda  yepash  angrust'i.  In 
the  tale  O  Trin  Druki  a  girl  had  given 
the  half  of  a  ring  to  the  Bruntsl'ikos. 
When  he  metwithher  again,she  offered 
him  a  glass  of  wine.  AYhen  drinking 
it,  he  found  in  it  the  other  half  of  the 
ring,  which  she  had  thrown  into  it 
(that  is  the  explanation  of  the  quoted 
sentence).  3.  To  splash  out  ;  Aukao 
drakos  uumind'as  pordd,  azh  leske  le 
vastestar  a  rat  defind'as— so  the  dragon 
pressed  (the  stone)  continually,  until 
the  blood  splashed  out  from  his  hand. 

Dennshau,  S.,  denashav,  M.  W.,  K.  (Gr.. 
Hng.  wanting;  Bhm.  dendshav,  a  com- 
posite of  da  +  ndshav,  Mikl.,  M.  W. 
viii.  23,  cf.  Km.  de  nashibe,  ib.),  to 
run,  to  Hy. 

Deti,  *M.,  s.  m.  (Slov.  den),  day  ;  occurs 
only  in  dobri  den.     See  DobrL 

Desh,  K.,  S.,  num.  card.  (Gr.,  Hng., 
Bhm.  =  SI.),  ten;  deshvar,  K.  S.,  ten 
times. 

Deshto,  K.,  S.,  num.  ord.  (Gr.,  Hng., 
Bhm.  =  Sl.),  tentii. 

Deiel,  M.  W.,  *K.,  S.,  del.,  *M.,  s.  m. 
(Gr.,  Hng.,  Bhm.  devel ;  Gr.dd;  Hng. 

U 


298 


A   VOCABULARY   OF   THE   SLOVAK-GYPSY   DIALECT. 


del),  God.  The  SI.  Gypsy  always  says, 
mro  Devel  (my  God),  or  mro  sovna- 
kuno  Devel  (my  golden  God),  and  very 
seldom  uses  the  single  noun,  cf.  even 
in  Hng.  bastdh  somniakiine  Devla ! 
Ml.  I.  ;  151.  Idche  somniahune  Devla  ! 
ib.  181,  etc.  I  could  not  find  instances 
of  this  use  in  any  other  dialect. 
In  the  tale,  0  phuro  sasos,  God  gives 
orders  to  St.  Peter.  In  the  same  tale 
God  appears  in  the  shape  of  a  beggar 
to  the  poor  soldier,  and  saj's  hifu- 
self  :  Me  som  mro  sovnahuno  Devel — 
I  am  my  golden  God.  And  in  the 
tale,  E  trill  rcildya,  God  reveals  him- 
self in  the  shape  of  an  old  man. 

Develoro,  S.,  s.  ra.  (dim.  of  Devel,  Bhm. 
Devldro),  God. 

Devl'ikdno,  a.,  S.,  adj.  (Gr.  Devlikano  ; 
Hng.,  Bhm.  wanting),  divine ;  occur- 
ring only  in  Mri  Dcvl'ihmi  dai — my 
God's  mother  (the  Virgin  Mary). 

Diesara,  a.,  K.  (cf.  dosdra  ;  I  am  doubt- 
ful of  diesara),  morning,  K. 

Dikhau,  M.  W.,  S.,  dikav,  K.  dikxan, 
*M.,  vb.  tr.,  pi.  pf.  diklo  (Gr.  dikava, 
dikhara  ;  Hng.,  Bhm.  dikhav),  to  see ; 
dikliau  pre — to  look  at. 

Dilos,  M.  W.,  S.,  dilos,  M.  W.,  s.  m. 
(Mag.  del ;  Hng.  wanting,  Bhm.  =  SI.). 
1.  Midday,  noon ;  2.  Dinner.  Yoi 
amenge  tdvla  o  dilos — she  will  cook 
the  dinner  for  us.  Diloskero,  at  noon, 
M.  W.  ;  zhi  diloskero,  till  noon, 
M.  W. 

Dil'ino,  S.,  dilino,  M.  W.,  K.,  adj.  (Gr., 
Hng.,  Bhm.  dilino  ;  Gr.  diiiiln),  fool- 
ish, silly. 

Dil'ovar,  a.,  M.  W.,  vb.  itr.  (Gr.  dikyo- 
vava  ;  Hng.  dit'hovav ;  Bhm.  wanting), 
to  appear  (prop.,  to  be  seen). 

Dives,  K.,  S.,  d'ives,  M.  W.,  S.,  d'es, 
M.  W.,  s.  m.  pi.  d'ives,  d'ivesa  ;  M. 
W.,  dives,  s.  f.  ;  (Gr.,  Hng.  dives ; 
Gr.,  Bhm.  d'ives,  pi.  d'ivesa,  Jes.  11  ; 
Gr.  dies,  dis),  day. 

Divesal'ol,  S.,  d'ivcsalol,  iSI.  W.,  divesul'o, 
K.,  vb.  imp.  (Gr.  disl'ol ;  Hng.  dislol, 
it  glows  ;  Bhm.  d'ivesal'ol),  it  dawns. 

Divesdro,  K.,  s.  m.  (dim.  of  dives),  the 
dawn,  K. 

Divizjd7io,  a.,  S.,  s.  m.  (Germ.  Division), 
division  (milit.). 

Divo,  a.,  M.  W.  adj.  (Slavon.  divij, 
Mikl.),  wild. 


Diz,  S.,  s.  f.  (Gr.,  Hng.  wanting  ;  Bhm. 
=  S1.,  cf.  Ptt.  ir.  318),  castle';  Phdn 
diz — prison,  gaol  (cf.  Germ.  Schwerer 
Kerker). 

Dldzhofsi,  a.,  S.,  s.  pi.  (certainly  bor- 
rowed from  Slov.,  but  I  could  not 
find  its  equivalent  in  the  Slov. 
dictionary),  silver  coins  ;  so  my  Gypsy 
explained  it.  The  only  passage  in 
which  it  occurs  (in  the  tale  0  Rom 
th-o  drakos  !),  runs :  So  kames  mandar 
akanak?  love?  I'eho  kames  mandar 
dldzhohi,  I'eho  hdre  dukdii  ?  Vai  ka- 
mes bdre  love?  (cf.  Zeitschr.  d.  d.  morg. 
Ges.     Vol.  xxxix.  p.  513), 

Do,  ,S.,  prep.  (Slov.  do),  to,  till :  only  in 
azh  do  rdna,  till  the  morning. 

Dohri,  *M.,  adj.  (Slov.  dobri),  good  ; 
only  in  the  Slov.  phrase,  dobri  den, 
good  day  ! 

Dohouinau,  _  M.  W.,  vb.  tr.  (Slov. 
dohonit'),  to  overreach.  Slov.  A^erbs 
compounded  with  do  are  frequently 
borrowed.  The  materials  further 
aff'ord  : 

Doxdzinau,  S.,  vb.  itr.,  to  reach. 
Dostainau,  M.  W.,  vb.  tr.,  to  receive. 
DoydHnau,  S.,  doydinar,  M.  "W.,  vl). 

tr.,  to  arrive. 
Doved'inaii,  S.,  vb.  tr.,  to  bring  to. 
Dozvjed'inau  man,  S.,  vb.  refl.,  to  con- 
vince one's  self,  from  the  Slov.  vbs. : 
dochddzat',    dostaf,   dojst',   doviest', 
dozvedet'sa. 

Dorik,  M.  W.,  S.,  s.  f..  (Gr.,  Bhm.  dori; 
Hng.  =  SI.),  band  (string-band). 

Dosdra,  a.,  K.,  adv.  (cf  Slov.  zora,  dawn, 
rose,  morn  ?)  near  the  morning,  K. 

Doska,  a.,  M.  W.,  s.  f.  (Slov.  doska). 
board,  plank. 

Dost,  dosta,  K.,  S.  (Slavon.  dosijti,'M.\k\. 
M.  W.  vii.  45  ;  Rm.,  Hng.,  dosta), 
enough. 

Dostatkos,  S.,  s.  m.  (Slov.  dostatek, 
plenty,  provision,  stock,  store. 

Dovart'inav,  a.,  M.  ^Y.,  vb.  (Slov. 
rartovat',  to  keep  guard.  Cf,  for 
another  etymology,  M.  W.,  xii.  76.) 
The  meaning  is  not  given  in  M.  W. 

Drdgo,  S.,  adj.  (Serb,  drag,  the  Slov. 
form  being  drahy),  dear.  Mro  drdgo 
mdnush — My  dear  man  ! 

Drakos,  M.  S.  (Slov.  drak),  dragon.  In 
three  of  my  Sl.-G.  stories  a  dragon 
is  mentioned.     In  the  tales,  0  Bom 


A   VOCABULARY   OF   THE   SLOVAK-GYPSY   DIALECT. 


299 


th-o  drakos,  i.  and  ii.,  the  dragon 
dwells  in  a  cave  (yasldna)  with  his 
blind  mother.  He  steals  sheep,  a 
great  number  of  which  he  eats.  He 
possesses  plenty  of  money  ;  he  is  able 
to  fly  through  the  air.  In  this,  as  in 
other  tales,  the  dragon  converses  with 
men.  In  the  tale,  0  Trin  DroJd,  three 
dratrons  have  ravished  girls,  with  whom 
they  dwell  on  inaccessible  peaks  or  in 
deep  abysses.  They  are  cannibals, 
and  they  can  scent  the  flesh  of  men 
from  afar.  One  of  them  eats  leaden 
dumplings  at  dinner.  One  of  them 
has  a  dozen  heads.  These  dragons 
are  possessors  of  treasnres.  In  the 
tale,  0  Drakos,  the  dragon  is  said  to 
have  twenty-four  heads.  Every  day 
a  girl  must  be  offered  to  him  as  food 
by  the  inhabitants  of  the  town.  This 
dragon  also  resides  in  a  cavern,  and 
has  a  blind  mother  like  that  in  B.D.  i. 
All  the  dragons  mentioned  in  the 
tales  have  immense  strength  of  body  ; 
they  throw  sticks  up  to  the  sky  ; 
with  their  hands  they  squeeze  stones 
until  water  splashes  out  from  them 
(0  Bom  th-o  Dr.)  ;  they  throw  ham- 
mers weighincj  from  fifteen  to  fiftv 
quintals  to  a  distance  of  foui'teen  or 
even  fifty  miles  (0  Trin  Dr.),  etc. 

Drom,  M.  W.,  K.,  S.,  s.  m.  (Gr.,  Hng., 
Bhm.  =  S1.).  1.  Way,  road,  see  Wro. 
2.  Journey.  Dava  tut  trin  mare  pr-o 
drom — I  .shall  give  thee  three  loaves 
of  bread  on  the  journey. 

Dromaskro,  a.,  K.,  adj.  (from  the  fore- 
going), wandering.  Trin  ase  dro- 
maskrc  mannsha — three  travellers,  K. 

Druid,  a.,  S.,  num.  ord.  (Slov.  druhy), 
second;  occurs  only  in  drnhl  ra~, 
second  time. 

Dtsera,  a.,  M.  W.,  s.  f.  (Slov.  dcera), 
daughter. 

Duhos,  M.  W.,  s.  m.  (Slov.  duh),  oak. 

Dmjo,  M.,  adj.^  (Slavon.  dlugu,  ISIikl., 
M.  W.,  VII.  *vb.,  Hng.,  Bhm.  =  SI.), 
long.  Dagos,  M.  W.,  adv.,  a  long 
time,  for  a  long  time. 

Dui,  K.,  S.,  duy,  M.,  num.  card.  (Gr., 
Hng.,  Bhm.  =  SI.),  two.  Donde,  a., 
Gr.  (duyende),  in  two,  K.  Me  le 
donde  cldnd'omas — I  shall  have  cut 
him  in  two,  K.  ;  diiljenc,  dujene,  M., 


(s.  jdne),  two,  both,  soduijene,  see  so  ; 
duvar,  M.  W.,  *K.,  S.,  duar,  K.  (s. 
var),  two  times,  twice.  In  the  Obi. 
the  first  jiart  also  of  the  composite 
changes  its  form  ;  e.g.,  dwje-jme7i,  ace. 
m.,  duye-jetientsa,  inst.  f. 

Dukal,  M.  W.,  S.,  vb.  imp.  and  tr.  (Gr. 
dukava,  to  feel  a  pain  ;  Rm.  =  SI., Hng., 
Bhm.  dukhal.  In  SI.  it  is  not  always 
used  impersonally,  but  never  other- 
wise than  in  the  3d  pers.  sing  pres.), 
to  ache,  to  pain.  Man  igen  dukal — I 
feel  a  great  pain  ;  Man  dukal  o  sMro — 
my  head  aches. 

Dukdtos,  S.,  dukatisi  a.,  M.  W.,  s.  m. 
(the  nom.  sing,  being  inferred  from 
\A.  dukati,  S.,  and  dukdta,  M.  W. 
(Slov.  dukdt),  an  Austrian  ducat. 

Dukerau,  S.,  vb.  itr.  (do  Slov.  +kerau'':) 
The  meaning  of  this  verb  is  not  clear. 
It  occurs  only  in  the  tale,  0  Trin 
Draki,  in  the  following  passages  :  (a.) 
Kaitutadaiil'oX,mro  drugo  mdnush? 
Adai  tro  vod'i  aclilaf — Me  na  darauf 
— Adai  chirikleske  na  dukerel  u  tu 
adarde  avl'al !  This  last  sentence 
might  be  translated  :  A  bird  does  not 
succeed  [not  even  a  bird  succeeds]  in 
coming  here,  and  thou  camest  here  I 
That  is  to  say  :  The  i^eak  on  which  we 
dwell  is  so  high  that  not  even  a  bird 
is  able  to  reach  it.  (b.)  Latar  phuch- 
el  oda  drakos :  (me  som)  mange  adai 
manushdlo  mas  khandel. — Al'e  kai 
tuke  mro  drdgo  rom,  manushdlo  mas 
khaudelas,  kana  adai  chirikle  {■ — klo  ?) 
chirikleske  na  dukerel  ?  The  chronicler 
himself  translated  the  last  sentence  : 
Ptdk  kn  ptdkn  ncdolctl  (bird  does  not 
come  to  bird),  cf.  Mikl.  M.  W.,  xii. 
90  :  Chiriklo  chirikleske  na  doydinel — 
A  bird  does  not  come  to  the  bird. 

Dukrutna  1  a.,  S.  (This  must  be  a  mis- 
understood Slov.  word. — I  cannot 
explain  it).  Imdr  you  prinjdrd'as,  o 
Yankos,  peskra  da  :  mro  Devel  asi 
dukrutna  diiias,  ta  jirinjdrd'as  akvrdt 
(0  Dui  Chdvore). 

Dtcma,  a.,  S.,  s.  f.  (Bulg.  dnma,  Mikl. 
M.  W.,  vii.  117;  Rm.  Bhm.  =  Sl.), 
speech,  answer?  advice?  Vhak  mri 
duma  shun,  har  tuke-  phenava,  auka 
most  te  keres — Only  hearken  to  my 
advice  (words  ?)  ;  as  I  say  to  thee  so 


300 


A   VOCABULARY    OF   THE    SLOVAK-GYPSY   DIALECT. 


must  thou  do.  Po  trtral  lestar 
pMichl'as,  na  kaml'as  te  vaJcerel  leha 
e  duma — three  times  he  asked  him, 
(but)  he  would  not  si^eak  (give)  to 
him  an  answer  (?)■ 

Duma  dav,  a.,  M.  W.  (Rm.  Bhni.  = 

fSl.,  but  means,  to  speak),  to  consult, 

to  deliberate. 

Dumo,  M.  W.,   S.,    s.    m.   (Gr.,    Hng., 

Bhm.  =  SI.),  back.    A  Gr}'psy  rendered 


"  crook-backed  "  by  Nane  Idcho  dumo 

(not  having  a  good  back). 
Dumdro,  a.,   M.    W.,    s.    m.    (dim.    of 

dumo),  the  first  slice  of  a  loaf. 
Dilr,   S.,   dur,  M.    W.,  K.,    adv.   (Gr., 

Bhm.  dur,  adj.  adv.,  Hng.  dxir  adv.), 

far  ;  dtlroder  (comp),  further. 
Duvar.     See  vudar. 
DvokhJii,  S.,  s.  m.,  pi.  (Slov.  dvojicky), 

twins  ;  droirhlci  chavore,  id. 


D' 

D'akinav,    a.,   M.    W.,  vb.    tr.    (Slov.  D'iv,  M.  W.,  (Gr.    giv,  ic ;    Hng.    '//<• 
d'akovat'),  to  thank.  wheat ;  Bhm.  =  SI.,  corn),  grain. 

DVwuih/ovo,  S.,  adj.  (Slov.  di'imantov)'i),  D'ives.     Hee  Dives. 

of  diamond,  dianiantine.  D'ivesal'ol.     Sec  divesalul. 

D'es.     See  Dives.  D'ivinau    man,     S.,    vb.     refl.     (.Slov. 

D'ilos,     See  Dilos.  divit'sa),  to  wonder. 

Dz. 

Dzdr,  S.,  d~ar,  M.  W.,  K.,  s.  f.  (Gr.  jar  ;  Dzarulo,  a.,  S.,  adj.  (Gr.  jaryalo  ;  Hng. 

Hng.  dzdr  ;  Bhm.  d~a?-),  moustaches,  dzarvalo  ;  Bhm.  =  Si.),  nioustacliioed, 

shag,  filament,  hair  :  dr.dra,  pi.,  eye-  shaggy, 
brows,  S. 


E. 


Efta,  K.,  S.,  dfta,  M.,  num.  card.  (Gr., 
Hng.,  Bhm.  =  S1.),  seven  ;  eftavar, 
K.,  S.,  seven  times. 

EftatOf  K.,  S.,  num.  ord.  (Gr.,  Hng., 
Bhm.  =  SI.),  seventh. 


enea,  enia,  iniya  ;  Hng.,  Bhui.  =  Sl.) 
nine  ;  enarar,  S.,  ennyavar,  K.,  nine 
times. 
Enato,  S.,  ennyato,  K.,  num.  ord.  (Gr.  \ 
Hng.,  Bhm.  =  SI.),  ninth. 


Ekstra  (Slov.    vulg.   and  Germ,   extra),      E'lyen,   S.,  intj.  (Mag.  djeyi),  long  live 

separately.  he  I  (in  drinking  one's  health). 

Ena,  S.,   ennya,    K.,   num.    card.    (Gr.      Eskche,  S.,  adv.  (Slov.  e.ite),  still,  yet. 


F. 


Feder.     See  Idcho. 

Fektinau,  a.,  S.,  vb.  itr.  (Germ,  fechteii), 

to  fight. 
Fel'eblos,  a.,  S.,  s.  m.  (Germ.  Feldwebel), 

sergeant. 
Figl'aris,  M.  W.,  s.  ni.    (Slov.  ficjliar), 

juggler. 
Firshtos,  S.,  s.  m.  (Germ.  Flbst),  prince. 
Flinta,  M.  W.,  s.  f.  (Slov.  vulg.  flinta, 

from  the  Germ.  Flinte),  gun,  rifle. 
Forgovos,  a.,  M.  W.,  s.  m.  (Mag.  forgo, 


bunch   of  feathers),  red  cap    (as  tlie 

Turkish  fez). 
Forikos,    M.    W.,    s.    m.    (dim.    of  the 

following  ;  cf.  Bhm.  forichkos),  town. 
Foros,   M.,    S.,  Joros,   K.    (Gr.,    Bhm. 

faros  ;  Hng.  foro),  town. 
Frchkos,  S.,  s.  m.  (Slov.  cvrcek,  cricket, 

frcat',  to  rattle,  to  whiz  ;  but  the  Sl.-G. 

word  may  be  borrowed  rather  from 

another  Slav,  language),  cricket. 
Furt,  S.,  adv.  (Germ.  forO,  coutinually. 


REVIEWS.  301 


PtE  VIEWS. 


Ohscrvacioncs  Criticas  a  las  Et inwlogias  dc  la  Real  Academia  Espafiola. 
By  Professor  A.  Fernandez  Merino.  (Extracted  from  the 
Revista  Contempordnca,  ]\Iadrid,  1889.) 

These  observations,  which  our  learned  colleague  has  brought 
forward  with  a  view  of  rendering  more  accurate  the  next  edition  of 
the  Eeal  Academia's  Diccionario,  are  in  many  respects  beyond  our 
scope.  But  of  the  187  pages  of  this  pamphlet,  a  large  portion  (pp. 
63-111)  directly  concerns  itself  with  the  Gitanos  and  their  language; 
while,  in  the  detailed  etymological  criticisms  which  follow,  various 
Eomani  derivations  are  set  forth. 

The  objections  which  the  critic  urges  so  strongly  against  the  Bic- 
cionario  (too  strongly,  perhaps,  to  suit  the  taste  of  the  lexicographers) 
are  that,  whereas  it  omits  many  important  v/ords,  on  the  ground  that 
they  are  too  technical  or  special,  it  includes  a  great  many  terms  that 
have  nothing  to  justify  their  presence  in  so  important  a  work,  being 
mere  slang,  or  else  Spanish-Americanisms.  {Sec  pp.  G7,  Q^,  and 
110.)  Moreover,  while  these  slang  words  are  so  often  introduced,  the 
Gitano  words — of  which  many  {see  p.  110)  are  in  constant  use  in 
Spain,  and  not  among  Gypsies  only — are  ignored  altogether.  Fur- 
ther, the  Gitanos  and  their  language  are  entirely  confounded  and 
identified  with  the  ladroncs,  picaros,  and  other  scamps,  most  of  whom 
know  nothing  of  Romanes,  but  employ  this  Icrc/a,  Germania,  or  slang, 
which  the  Diccionario  ignorantly  believes  to  be  the  language  of  the 
Gypsies.  With  Professor  Merino's  righteous  indignation  against  this 
recognition  of  a  jar<ioii,  to  the  exclusion  of  a  genuine  kingua(je,  we 
have  of  course  every  sympathy ;  but  it  is  to  be  feared  that  he  will 
iind  few  Gypsiologists  who  will  agree  with  him  in  regarding  the  occu- 
pants of  prisons  as  a  class  totally  distinct  from  the  Gypsies. 

Among  those  words  to  which  Professor  Merino  assigns  a  Gitano 
origin  are — chtfjuendc  (  =  Eng.  Gyp,  diVc),  chacJio,  gao,  pillo,  camelar, 
lacayo,  lacha,  and  ^jiw/70.^  A¥ith  regard  to  rJtacho,  which  occurs  in 
Spanish  as  a  term  of  endearment,  and  which  Professor  INIerino  is 
inclined  to  believe  comes  (through  the  Gypsies)  from  the  Hindustani 
chctcha,  "  uncle  "  (cf.  Gyp.  h/Jc,  Ivko),  we  would  suggest  that  it  has  a 
nmch  closer  affinity  with   the  Gypsy  adjective  chacho,   "true"   or 

"  genuine." 

And   if  a   Gitano   origin   has   not   been   assigned   to   the  word 

1  See  pp.  126,  127,  157,  160,  163,  167,  174,  179.  180,  and  181. 


302  EEVIEWS. 

gaita,  "a  bagpipe,"  we  beg  to  point  out  that  it  belongs  to  the 
Greek  dialect  of  Romani  (see  Paspati,  s.  v.  Gdldci).  It  can  scarcely 
be  maintained  that  Spain  gave  this  word  to  the  Gypsies  of  the 
Ottoman  Empire.  On  the  other  hand,  those  Greek  Gypsies,  whose 
presence  in  Spain  in  the  year  1512  is  testified  by  the  Constituciones 
de  CataluTM  (see  De  Rochas,  p.  269),  must  certainly  have  employed 
the  word,  if  the  bagpipe,  still  used  by  the  juglars  of  Catalonia,  was 
as  much  associated  with  the  Gitanos  as  it  formerly  was  with  the 
Gypsies  of  England  and  Scotland. 

Professor  Merino's  survey  of  the  various  accounts  relating  to  the 
advent  of  the  Gypsies  in  Europe,  which  occupies  many  pages,  calls 
for  no  special  mention  here.  Of  the  importance  of  his  etymological 
"  observations  "  there  can  be  no  question. 


Die  Zigeuner  unter  den  Siidslaven  :  Contributed  by  Madame  Maklet 
(Mara  Cop)  to  No.  3  of  the  Mhnologische  Mitteilnngen  aus 
Ungarn. 

In   this    article,   IMadame   Marlet,   content    to   act   the   part   of 
"  chorus,"  has  placed  before  her  readers  an  alternating  series  of  state- 
ments, by  two  highly  competent  authorities,  regarding  the  South- 
Slavic  Gypsy  family.     Professor  J.  H.  Kuhac,  eminent  as  a  collector 
of  Slavic  ballads,  and   whose  valuable  work,   Jugodavenske  piesme 
(South-Slavic    songs),   is   devoted   to   the   melodies,   folk-lore,   and 
customs  of  the  Gypsies,  as   well  as  of   the    Slavs  and  Slovaks  of 
Hungary,  has  from  time   to   time    expressed    liimself   upon  Gypsy 
matters,  in  the  course  of  his  correspondence  with  Madame  Marlet. 
These  letters  Madame  Marlet  has  since  submitted  to  our  esteemed 
fellow-member,  the  Archduke  Joseph  of  Austria- Hungary,  with  the 
request  that  he  would  jot  down  such  marginal  comments  as  might 
suggest  themselves  to  His  Highness  while  perusing  Professor  Kuhac's 
statements.     Informal  as  the  notes  accordingly  are,  in  either  case, 
they  are  thus  obviously  none  the  less  valuable. 

Many  interesting  statements  are  made  with  regard  to  the  organi- 
sation of  the  Gypsy  community,  and  the  system  of  government  by 
"  woiwodes,"  who  in  turn  acknowledge  a  supreme  "great  woiwode." 
This  dignitary,  and  the  "  species  of  '  Peter's  pence,' ".  exigible  by  him, 
at  once  recalls  to  an  English  reader  the  "  Grand  Eogue,"  who  once 
received  a  similar  tribute  in  England,  according  to  earlier  writers. 


REVIEWS.  303 

Other  remarks  are  made  on  such  subjects  as  marriage  by  purchase ; 
and  the  temporary  connection  which  a  Bomani  chai  does  not  scruple 
to  form  with  a  gadjo,  and  which,  indeed,  receives  the  formal  sanction 
of  the  woiwode.  And  the  Archduke  states  that  it  is  not  unusual  to 
see  a  fair-liaired  child  at  play  with  his  swarthy  half-brothers  and 
sisters. 

That  these  Gypsies  are  good  linguists,  and  generally  able  to 
speak  in  three  languages  (sometimes  in  more),  is  distinctly  asserted. 
Professor  Kuhac,  indeed,  has  formed  a  high  opinion  of  the  Gypsy's 
abilities.  Kot  only  are  we  told  that  every  member  of  a  Gypsy 
family  has  his  or  her  special  daily  work  to  do,  contrary  to  the 
common  belief  that  they  are  idle  people,  but  that  as  a  race  they 
are  distinguished  by  great  talent  and  perseverance.  Whatever 
they  engage  in  they  excel  in  ;  and  this  applies  not  only  to  music,  as 
European  history  testifies,  but  also  to  many  other  arts,  such  as  gold 
and  silver  filigree-work,  smith-work,  and  wood-carving.  It  is  cer- 
tainly noteworthy  that,  as  we  are  here  informed,  the  Gypsies  of  Mon- 
tenegro are  called  Majstori  ("  Meister  "),  because  even  yet  they  are  the 
only  artificers  of  that  country.  The  Montenegrins,  it  appears,  are 
only  in  a  very  slight  degree  agriculturists,  and  to  engage  in  any 
handicraft  would  be  quite  beneath  their  dignity,  according  to  the 
inherited  ideas  of  that  warrior  caste.  Now,  it  is  equally  notable  that 
the  Gypsies  of  Scotland  must  at  one  time  have  occupied  a  precisely 
similar  position  to  those  of  Montenegro.  For  the  Gypsies  of  the 
Highlands  of  Scotland,  if  not  those  of  the  whole  country,  were  known 
as  caircls ;  which  term  has  exactly  the  signification  of  Majstori,  \\z. 
"  artificers."  Both  of  these  terms  testify  that  the  Gypsies  were  once 
pre-eminently  a  caste  of  artificers ;  and  this  is  very  suggestive. 

These  various  notes  and  commentaries  are  extremely  interesting, 
and,  having  all  the  weight  of  authority,  they  are  equally  important. 
It  is  gratifying  to  notice  that  this  paper  will  be  followed  by  a  subse- 
quent series  of  observations  by  these  two  eminent  Gypsiologists. 


Ueber  den  Zauber  iiiit  vienscJilichen  Korperteilen  bei  den  transsilvan- 
ischen  Zigeunern.  Contributed  to  No,  3  of  the  Ethnologische 
MiUeilungen  aus  Ungarn^  by  Dk.  Heinkich  von  Wlislocki. 

This  treatise  forms  a  supplement  to  the  previous  .studies  in  Gypsy 
Lore  undertaken  by  this  zealous  and  most  thorough  Gypsiologist. 
Here  Dr.  Wlislocki  restricts  himself,  as  the  title  indicates,  to  the 


304  REVIEWS. 

"  magic  "  that  is  associated  with  the  various  parts  of  the  human  body. 
The  opening  section  of  his  article,  that  now  before  us,  is  chietly  taken 
up  with  a  detailed  account  of  the  witchcraft  of  the  Fingers,  which 
form  the  text  of  five  separate  descriptions.  The  Hair,  Teeth,  and 
Nails  are  also  dealt  witli.  The  whole  article  will  greatly  interest 
those  who  desire  to  study  this  subject;  and  it  not  only  forms  a  valu- 
able addition  to  Dr.  Wlislocki's  previously  published  studies  in 
Gypsy  Witchcraft,  Ijut  it  is  also  a  characteristic  item  in  this  the 
latest  number  of  Professor  Herrmann's  admirable  Journal. 


Besides  the  three  publications  above-named,  we  have  also  to 
record  the  recent  appearance  of  various  books,  pamphlets,  and  news- 
paper notices  (some  of  these  last  of  no  great  value,  it  is  true,  but  still 
useful  as  illustrating  Gypsy  ways.)  In  No.  11  of  Das  Macjazin  filr  die 
Litteratur  dcs  In-  und  Auslandes,  (Dresden,  9th  March  1889),  appeared 
Dr.  Von  Wlislocki's  beautiful  TotenJclagen,  copious  extracts  from 
wluch  are  given  in  our  present  number.  Pastor  J.  Jesina  has  issued 
another  sflries  of  Gypsy-Bohemian  Tales  {Cikdnsko-ccshe  poliddky  a 
jpovidky:  Nos.  4  and  5,  Kuttenberg,  1889).  The  Italian  newspaper, 
La  Sentinella  (Osimo,  24th  April  1889),  is  enriched  with  nearly  two 
columns  on  Gli  Ziiujari  in  Africa,  by  the  Marquis  Colocci.  And  in 
his  new  and  elegant  edition  of  the  famed  Breitmann  Ballads,  Mr.  C. 
G.  Leland  has  succeeded  in  introducing  /  Gili  Bomaneskro  and  the 
moving  ballad  of  The  Gypsy  Lover.  Other  items,  chiefly  relating  to 
English  Gypsies,  are  these  : — Fortune-telling  at  Darwen,  near  Black- 
burn, by  a  Gypsy  hawker,  Jane  Matilda  Boswell  (18),  who  was  fined 
2s.  6d.  therefor,  {Preston  Guardian,  16th  March  1889);  Fortune-tell- 
ing at  Hanley,  by  Kosannah  Price,  Gypsy,  fourteen  days'  imprison- 
ment, {Derly  Be^Mrter  22d  March  1889);  Zachariah  Smith,  George 
Smith  (his  son)  and  Nathaniel  Smith,  Gypsies,  fined  £5  for  assault 
on  police  at  Collingham,  near  Wetherby,  {Leeds  Mercury,  26th  April 
1889)  ;  The  Gypsies  of  Ceylon,  {The  Times,  23d  April  1889);  notices 
of  the  "  Gypsy  Heirloom,"  mentioned  on  page  176  of  our  Journal, 
{The  Gra-phic,  4th  May,  and  the  Newcastle  Daily  Chronicle,  16th  May 
1889);  Carnathia  Clayton,  aged  five,  accidentally  burnt  at  camp  at 
IMerryhill,  near  Handsworth,  {Manchester  Guardian,  4th  May  1889)  ; 
Andrew  Dighton,  Gypsy,  elopement  with  Caroline  Smith,  wood  mer- 
chant's daughter  at  Eastbourne  {Manchester  City  News,  4th  May  1889) ; 
Yetholm  Gypsies— three  paragraphs,  {Tlic  Globe,  10th  May  1889); 
George  and  Boye  Burton,  Gypsies,  sons  of  Selina  Burton,  imprisoned 


NOTES   AND   QUERIES.  305 

one  month  for  assault  on  farmer  at  Bodenham  {Hereford  Times,  11th 
May  1889);  "A  King's  Nephew:  how  Owen  Stanleigh  was  crowned 
years  ago  in  Enghmd."  A  very  long  and  excellent  article,  with 
illustrations,  containing  valuable  information  as  to  American  Gyjosies 
(by  Artliur  Kegan,  in  the  Globe-Democrat,  St.  Louis,  Missouri,  U.S., 
26th  May  1889).  The  Marquis  Colocci's  recent  work,  Gli  Zingari,  was 
also  reviewed  by  Mr.  W.  E.  A.  Axon  in  The  Academy  of  1st  June  1889. 
And  we  may  mention  that  The  Portfolio  (London :  Seeley  &  Co.) 
reproduces  in  its  June  number  a  line  head  of  a  Gypsy,  by  Sir 
Frederick  Leighton,  P.E.A. 


XOTES  AND  QUERIES. 
I. 


Hungarian  Gypsy  offering  to  prove  that  he  descends  from 

"King  Pharaoh." 

The  French  newspaper,  Le  Temps,  contained  in  its  number  of  the  10th 
September  1888,  under  the  head  "  Aufrichc-Ho7igrie,"  the  following  paragraph, 
which  I  re-translate  into  English  : — 

"A  correspondent  from  Vienna  to  the  Daily  News  says  that  an  old  Gypsy 
named  Raphael  has  addressed  a  request  to  the  Emperor  Francis-Joseph,  in  which 
he  begs  him  to  proclaim  him  ^  King  of  the  Gypsies,  because  he  can  prove  his  direct 
descent  from  '  King  Pharaoh.'  The  subscriber  of  the  address  promises  on  liis  part 
to  put  an  end  to  the  vagrant  habits  of  the  Gypsies,  and  so  enable  them  to  furnish 
good  soldiers  to  the  Austrian  army." 

The  Emperor  of  Austria  has  certainly  not  taken  the  request  of  the  old  Gypsy  as 
seriousj  for  the  fact  belongs  much  more  to  folk-lore  than  to  the  domain  of  govern- 
ment ;  but  this  request  was  all  the  more  interesting  to  the  Gypsiologist  because  its 
author  evidently  made  it  seriously,  and  because  it  has  an  evident  connection  with 
the  old  tradition  which  makes  the  Gypsies  come  from  Egypt,— a  tradition  pro- 
pagated all  over  Europe  for  centuries  past  by  the  Gyi).sies  themselves,  and  which 
has  procured  them,  especially  in  Hungary,  the  name  of  the  '''^ people  of  Pharaoh." 

An  ecclesiastic  residing  in  Hungary,  Mr.  Eeuss,  pointed  out  sonie  time  ago  to 
his  former  master,  Pott,  a  Gypsy  song,  "  known  by  the  name  of  \\\c  famous  Song  of 
Pharaoh  (beriihmte  Pharaonslied),  which  seems  to  have  an  epic  character,"  and 
which  the  Gypsy  who  had  been  heard  to  sing  it  accomiwnied  with  bitter  tears. 
Unfortunately  it  had  not  been  possible  to  gather  more  than  a  fragment  of  it,  and 
that  perhaps  an  incorrect  one,  or  composed  in  an  ancient  Gypsy  dialect  (which 
miidit  even  be  Asiatic  or  African  ?)  ;  for  Pott  had  not  been  able  to  translate  it,  but 
he  nevertheless  reproduced  the  fragment,  in  the  hope  of  calling  the  attention  of 
some  investigator  who  might  collect  the  whole  of  the  song  and  give  a  translation  <>f 
it.  (See  Pott,  Uehcr  die  Zirjcuner,  in  ZeitscJirift  dcr  Dcutschcn  morgcnldndischcn 
Gesellschaft,  3d  vol.,  1849,  p.  327.    Cf.  Bataillard,  Les  Verniers  Travaux  ...  p.  27). 

If  there  yet  remains  any  chance  of  recovering  and  throwing  some  light  on  this 
precious  song,  it  would  no  doubt  be  furnished  by  some  old  Hungarian  Gypsy, 
imbued,  like  Kaphael,  with  the  Pharaouic  traditions  concerning  his  race  and  con- 
cerning his  OAvn  family. 

'  Le  Temps  writes,  "de  se  proclaiiier,"  which  is  evidently  a  nn'stake. 


306      .  NOTES   AND    QUERIES. 

At  all  events,  it  would  be  curious  to  learn  the  proofs  that  this  Gypsy  asserted 
he  was  able  to  furnish  of  his  Pharaonic  descent  ;  and  no  one  could  be  better  situated 
than  the  eminent  Gypsiologist,  the  Archduke  Joseph,  to  find  the  petition  addressed 
to  his  Imperial  cousin,  and  the  old  Gypsy  Eaphael  himself,  and  to  obtain  from  the 
latter  the  documents  and  the  explanations  by  which  he  pretended  to  justify  his 
petition.  This  request  we  ourselves  now  respectfully  address  to  his  Imperial  and 
Royal  Highness.  P.  B. 


The  Chixoaneros  of  Venezuela. 

I  have  recently  been  reading  again  a  l:)ook  written  with  much  ability,  and  giving 
a  bright  and  interesting  account  of  some  very  varied  scenes.  No  authors  name  is 
given  on  the  title-page,  which  reads  : — 

"  Campaigns  and  Cruises  in  Venezuela  and  New  Grenada  and  in  the  Pacific 
Ocean  from  1817  to  1830  ;  with  the  Narrative  of  a  March  from  the  River 
Orinoco  to  San  Buenaventura  on  the  Coast  of  ('hoco  ;  and  Sketches  of  the 
West  Coast  of  South  America  from  the  Gulf  of  California  to  the  Archi- 
pelago of  Chiloe.  Also  Tales  of  Venezuela  :  illustrative  of  Revolutionary 
Men,  Manners,  and  Incidents.  (London,  Longman  and  Co.  Printed  by 
H.  E.  Carrington,  Chronicle  Office,  Bath,  1831.)"     3  vols. 

My  present  object,  however,  is  chiefly  to  call  attention  to  the  account  given  of  a 
race  bearing  very  striking  analogies  to  that  mysterious  Romany  race  which  has  pro- 
vided so  many  puzzles  for  ethnologists  of  the  Old  World  : — 

"  He  was  one  of  that  class  of  Mestizo  natives  who  are  called,  in  many  parts  of 
South  America,  Gitanos  and  Chinganeros,  in  allusion  most  probably  to  the  wander- 
ing, vagabond  way  of  life  they  have  adopted  ;  for  there  would  seem  to  be  no  reason 
to  believe  that  they  really  belong  to  that  singular  race  of  outcasts  from  whom  they 
derive  their  name,  and  who  are  supposed  to  be  as  yet  confined  to  the  Eastern 
quarters  of  the  globe.  These  people  are  held  in  utter  contempt  and  abhorrence  by 
all  true  Indians  ;  and  not  even  the  meanest  tribes  among  them  will  hold  any 
intercourse  with  the  Chinganeros,  whom  they  consider  degraded  by  their  buffoonery 
to  the  level  of  monkeys.  Their  agility  and  humour,  nevertheless,  rendered  tlieir 
occasional  visits  always  welcome  to  the  light-hearted  Criollos  ;  and  even  the  super- 
cilious Spaniards  deigned  at  times  to  relax  from  their  haughty  gravity,  and  to  smile 
at  their  unpolished  gambols.  At  the  hottest  periods  of  the  guerra  d  la  muerte  the 
Chinganeros  were  considered  as  privileged  exceptions  to  the  general  rule,  which 
admitted  of  no  sort  of  neutrality  in  the  sanguinary  contest,  and  were  freely  per- 
mitted to  visit  the  encampments  of  both  patriots  and  royalists,  for  the  diversion  of 
the  soldiery.  As  they  belonged  to  no  party,  so  they  could  scarcely  be  looked  on  as 
spies  ;  and  although  they  had  not  the  least  scrujjle  in  conveying  such  intelligence 
as  lay  in  their  way,  or  even  occasionally  becoming  bearers  of  private  messages  from 
one  side  to  the  other,  still  they  atoned  for  this  conduct,  or  rather  neutralised  its 
eS"ects,  by  the  perfect  impartiality  of  their  communications.  In  a  word,  they  were 
considered  too  despicable  and  insignificant  a  race  for  anger,  or  even  for  serious 
attention." — vol.  iii.  p.  162. 

In  another  place  he  says  : — 

"  The  Chinganeros  are  a  peculiar  race  of  wandering  CrioUo  minstrels,  whose 
habits,  and  even  whose  appellation,  strikingly  resemble  those  of  the  Zinganees,  or 
Eastern  Gypsies.  They  claim  for  themselves  pure  [American]  Indian  descent ;  but 
this  is  denied  by  the  aborigines.  They  are  all  good  dancers  and  musicians,  and, 
above  all,  fortune-tellers,  supposed  sorcerers,  and  improvisatori." — vol.  ii.  p.  324. 


NOTES   AND    QUERIES. 


307 


Of  their  power  as  minstrels  he  gives  two  examples,  with  tranalations  : — 


Montanora  soy,  seuoras  ! 
Yo  no  niego  mi  nacion, — 
Mas  vale  ser  Montanera 
Que  no  Porteuo  pintor  : 
Montanera  en  Buenos  Ayres 
Por  las  Pampas  he  pasado  ; 
Montanera  por  las  nieves 
De  las  Andes  he  baxado. 
En  su  curso  por  el  cielo 
Quien  atajara  al  Lucero  ? 
Mas  atreve  quien  pretende 
Atajar  al  iSIontanera. 
Libres  vuelan  los  condores 
Por  la  caiia  Cordillera  ; 
Y  no  menos  por  los  valles 
Libre  va  la  Montanera. 


"Za  Montanera. 


A  Montanera's  life  I  lead, 

I  '11  ne'er  disown  the  name, 

Though  village  maids  and  city  dames 

May  lightly  hold  our  fame. 

From  Buenos  Ayres'  boundless  plain 

The  Montanera  comes, 

And  o'er  the  mighty  Andes'  heights 

In  liberty  she  roams. 

What  hand  e'er  tried  in  empty  space 

To  arrest  the  morning  star  ? 

The  Montanera's  free-l)orn  mind 

To  enslave  is  harder  far. 

Free  o'er  the  Cordillera's  peaks 

The  lordly  condor  stalks  ; 

As  freely  through  her  native  wilds 

The  Montanera  walks." 


"  La  Zamhullidu 


ra. 


Nino  !  toiiiad  este  anillo, 

Y  Uevadlo  a  la  niuralla, 

Y  dile  a  la  centinela, — 
Este  nino  va  de  guardia. 
Vamo'nos,  Chinas  del  alma  ! 
Varao'nos  a  zambuUir  ; 

El  que  zambulli  se  muere, — 
Yo  tambien  quiero  morir  ! 

Huid  la  pompa  del  poblado, 
Niiio,  huid  a  la  savanna  ; 
All  gozareis  quieto, 
En  salud,  hasta  manana. 
Vamo'nos,  Chinas  del  alma  I 
Vamo'nos  li  la  caleta, 
Para  ver  los  guacamallos 
Con  fusil  y  bayoneta. 

Piensan  luego  en  dispertarse 
Los  temblores  ya  dormidos  ; 
Volvad  niiio  a  la  muralla, 
Salgad,  6  serais  perdido. 
Vamo'nos,  Chinas  del  alma  ! 
Vamo'nos  a  la  laguna, 
A  ver  si  en  la,  zambullfda 
Encontrenios  una  plunia, 
Con  que  escriba  la  chata  mia 
Las  cartas  de  Montezuma. 


Youth  !  this  magic  ring  receive, 
The  Chinganera's  fairy  spell  ; 
Swift  the  city  ramparts  leave. 
Nor  heed  the  wakeful  sentinel. 
Come  !  beloved  of  my  soul, — 
To  the  dejjths  of  ocean  fly  ; 
Where  the  dark  blue  billows  roll 
Fearless  plunge,  nor  fear  to  die. 

To  the  wild  savanna  fly  ! 
Empty  pomp  of  cities  scorning  ; 
There,  beneath  the  vault  of  sky, 
Rest  in  safety  till  the  morning. 
Come  !  beloved  of  my  soul, — 
To  the  sands  of  ocean  come  ; 
There  no  sounds  shall  meet  thine  ear 
Save  curlew's  jiipe  or  bittern's  drum. 

Hark  !  the  wakening  eartlupiake's  cry 

Echoes  on  the  startled  ear  ; 

To  the  city  ramparts  fly, 

Youth  !  for  death  awaits  thee  here. 

Come  !  beloved  of  my  soul, — 

Fly  we  to  the  desert  waste  ; 

There,  where  the  lake's  blue  watei-s  roll, 

A  fairy  pen,  by  wizards  placed, 

Lies  for  thee  to  write  a  scroll 

Such  as  Montezuma  traced." 


Whether  these  wandering  minstrels  are  really  Gypsies  or  not,  the  resemblance 
between  the  Montaneros  and  the  Gitanos  is  sutticiently  striking  to  be  worthy  of 
notice,  and  of  fuller  investigation  l)y  those  having  the  ojiportunity  for  making 
further  inquiries.     {Originally  contributed  to  Notes  and  Queries,  Hh  Jahj  1883.] 

William  E.  A.  Axon. 


308  NOTES   AND   QUERIES. 

Two  Italiax  Books  of  the  Eighteenth  Century. 

While  residing  at  Venice,  I  observed  in  the  "  Querini-Stampaglia  "  Library  a 
book  bearing  this  title,  La  Zingana,  memoric  Egiziane  di  Madonna  N.  N.  scrittt 
infrancese  da  se'  medesima,  e  pubblicate  dalV  abate  Pielro  Chiari,  poeta  di  S.  A.  S. 
il  Sigr.  Duca  di  Modena,  Tomi  II.  Parma  1762  :  con  Vignetta  litografata  ;  la 
Zingana.    From  the  pages  of  this  book  I  made  the  following  extract  (page  254), 

"  Historical  Origin  of  the  Gypsies,  styled  Egyptians. 

"  The  Avorld  has  always  been  tenacious  in  its  prejudices.  By  the  name  of 
'  Gypsies,'  it  understands  nothing  more  than  gangs  of  mere  vagabonds,  without 
fatherland  or  home,  living  ixpon  the  proceeds  of  imposture,  and  even  the  credulity 
of  the  ignorant  crowd. 

"  To  judge  them  rightly,  however,  one  ought  to  have  read  something  of  the 
ancient  history  of  the  East.  At  the  present  day  they  are,  I  do  not  deny,  a  crew  of 
outlaws,  who  may  not  inaptly  be  termed  the  dregs  of  society  ;  but  the  time  was 
when  they  were  the  glorious  and  memorable  remnant  of  a  renowned  people,  who 
held  sway  in  the  East,  and,  like  other  famous  races,  at  length  suffered  the  vicissi- 
tudes of  fortune  and  of  time.  This  nation,  subjugated  and  dispersed  more  than  a 
thousand  years  ago,  sought  shelter  and  safety  in  Egypt.  But  even  there  it  did  not 
long  enjoy  tranquillity  ;  and,  finding  no  peace  with  fellow-man,  it  was  forced  to 
seek  for  safety  among  the  ■wild  beasts  of  the  forest.  There,  amid  the  most  desolate 
wildernesses,  did  these  people  withdraw  themselves  almost  wholly  out  of  sight  of 
other  men.  Time,  the  disposer  of  all  things,  chiefly  exercises  its  tyranny  over  the 
human  inclinations.  A  wild  and  rude  climate  generally  renders  the  manners  of  the 
inhabitants  also  wild  and  rude.  (Even  so  may  the  most  pellucid  stream  grow 
turbid.)  Thus  did  the  residue  of  a  highly-cultured  nation  gradually  degenerate 
into  a  horde  of  rough  vagabonds.  The  most  contemptible  of  their  occupations  was 
originally  most  laudable,  and  replete  with  inventive  genius.  The  art  of  foretelling 
good  or  bad  fortune — which  now-a-days  is  so  associated  with  the  Gypsies — was  at 
one  time  the  science  of  astronomy,  so  assiduously  and  comj^rehensively  studied  by 
them  that  they  professed  to  be  able  to  foretell  all  human  vicissitudes  by  the  aid  of 
the  heavenly  bodies.  The  songs  with  which  they  are  wont  to  accompany  their 
predictions  are  but  a  survival  from  the  golden  days  of  their  ancient  poetical 
incantations,  then  wonderfully  embellished  by  the  accompaniment  of  various 
musical  instruments.  The  industry  which  they  applied  to  the  cultivation  of  the 
soil  and  the  uses  of  commerce  degenerated  in  later  times  into  the  incredible  ability 
they  display  in  theft  and  rapine,  whereby  they  almost  solely  exist.  Great  travellers 
and  explorers  have  placed  them  before  us  in  an  honourable  and  favourable  light, 
but  now  they  are  spoken  of  with  contempt.  They  shift  their  dwelling  every  third 
day,  and  the  place  of  their  birth  is  never  the  place  of  their  death,  for  a  longer  stay 
is  not  permitted  to  them.  Are  they  to  be  doomed  for  ever  to  this  unsettled,  Avild, 
and  wandering  life  V 

My  Venetian  note-book  contains  also  a  few  extracts  from  I  Zingani :  Storiella 
piacecolie  ;  Venezia,  1710,  nella  Tipografia  del  Dal  Fabbro  : — 

"  Capitolo  I. — In  a  low  haunt  in  the  outermost  principality  (Principato 
ulteriore),  that  forms  part  of  the  great  province  of  '  Terra  di  Lavoro,'  in  the  king- 
dom of  Naples,  was  born  Corradino  Anicllo,  whose  stoi-y  we  are  going  to  relate. 
He  descended  in  a  direct  line  from  that  famous  Tommaso  Aniello,  called  Masaniello 
d'AniulJi.  .  .  .  He  has  been  a  great  impostor." 

On  page  21  it  is  stated  ; — "  Corradino  dressed,  after  the  Gypsies'  fashion,  in 
green  garments  {vestito  di  color  verde),  with  large  shining  metal  buttons,  his  black 


NOTES   AND   QUERIES.  309 

hair  falling  in  curls  by  each  ear.  His  head  was  covered  with  a  silken  network, 
above  which  he  woi-e  a  large  coarse  hat  (cappeUacio),  trimmed  with  gold.  In 
complexion  he  approached  so  nearly  to  olive  (his  complexion  is  styled  olivastro), 
that  he  looked  like  a  real  Gypsy." 

So  far  as  I  remember,  this  book — being  a  mere  romance — contains  nothing  else 
worthy  of  quotation.  However,  the  extracts  which  I  have  made  from  both  books, 
although  they  are  of  (|uestionable  value,  seem  to  throw  some  light  upon  the  Italian 
Gypsies  of  last  century.  J.  Pixcherle. 


4. 

Sketches  at  Seville. 

1.  From  a  balcony  at  the  Fonda  de  Madrid. 

"  A  group  of  Gypsies  passed  one  day  :  a  man  with  a  blue  fez-shaped  cap,  a  loose 
gray  jacket,  and  full  blue  Turkish  trousers,  reaching  only  to  the  calf  of  the  leg, 
followed  by  a  woman  so  tall  and  muscular,  so  dark  and  fierce,  so  majestic  and 
sibylline,  that  she  might  have  passed  fur  ]Meg  iNIerrilies  had  it  been  possible  to 
imagine  her  in  English-speaking  parts;  but  in  ^a  dark-red  woollen  petticoat  and 
striped  blanket  for  a  cloak,  she  was  the  true  Ziugara.  A  lithe  lad  of  twelve  or 
fourteen  brought  up  the  rear,  in  bright  rags  dulled  by  dirt :  he  was  bronze-colour, 
with  M-ild  black  eyes  and  elf  locks,  and  looked  like  a  half-tamed  animal.  They  did 
not  speak  to  each  other,  nor  look  at  each  other,  but  marched  along  in  single  file, 
bound  together  only  by  their  isolation  from  everybody  else.'' 

2.  At  La  Triana. 

"I  found  the  Gypsy  quarter  very  diiferent  from  the  huddle  of  picturesque 
squalor  which  I  had  exj^ected.  It  is  more  like  a  neat  village,  the  houses  being 
white,  and  low  like  cottages.  The  few  shop  doors  and  windows  are  given  up  to 
the  gay  appurtenances  of  the  Andalusian  horseman,  and  to  coarse  pottery  of  the 
most  beautiful  antique  Eastern  forms.  Before  one  of  the  saddlers'  shops  stood  a 
drove  of  patient-faced  donkeys.  Their  driver  .  .  .  was  bargaining  for  a  pair  of 
purple  and  orange  saddle-bags.  My  errand  was  for  earthenware,  and  I  entered  a 
small  shop  where  great  bulging  oil-jars  of  dark  shining  green,  Avith  a  deep  project- 
ing rim  and  three  curved  handles,  stood  in  rows.  The  walls  were  lined  with  shelves 
bearing  dark  red  terra-cotta  water-cruses,  with  taper  necks  and  trefoil  lips,  others 
of  a  delicious  cream-colour,  covered  witli  a  graceful  incised  design,  and  others 
delicately  beaded  over  with  a  raised  pattern  ;  some  had  one  arm  akimbo,  or  a  long 
eccentric  spout.  ...  I  lost  my  head  over  this  display,  and  recklessly  ordered  big 
pieces  by  the  pair  and  smaller  ones  by  the  dozen.  .  .  .  The  Gypsy  merchant,  only 
a  degree  more  brown,  stately,  and  silent  than  tlip  ordinary  Andalusian,  betrayed 
no  emotion  at  my  prodigalitj',  altliough  I  am  persuaded  that  he  had  never  made 
such  a  sale  before,  for  the  bill  amounted  to  several  hundred  reah." 

(From  "A  Cook's  Tourist  in  Sixain";  Atlantic  Monfldij,  August  1884.) 


Of  a  Tinker  Bereax  axd  of  a  Highwayman. 

There  are  two  or  three  facts  in  the  Life  of  the  Corn-law  Ehymer,  Ebenezer 
Elliott  (1781-1849),  that  may  have  an  interest  for  members  of  our  Society.  He  was 
the  grandson  of  Eobert  Elliott,  a  whitesmith,  of  Newcastle-upon-Tyne,  whose 
ancestors,  I  have  been  told,  and  have  the  honour  to  believe,  were  thieves,  neither 


310  NOTES   AND    QUERIES. 

Scotch  nor  English,  but  lived  on  the  cattle  they  stole  from  both.  "  My  father,"  he 
continues,  "  being  a  Dissenter,  baptized  me  himself,  or  employed  his  friend,  and 
brother  Berean,  Tommy  Wright,  the  Barnsley  tinker,  to  baptize  me."  Here 
surely  are  crypto-Egyptians  for  Mr.  Simson  ! 

In  1849  the  Rhymer  received  a  visit  from  Mr.  Watkins,  his  future  biographer, 
at  Great  Houghton,  near  Barnsley,  in  Yorkshire.  They  walked  out  to  "Wind- 
gap  Oak,  which  stands  on  an  eminence,  commanding  views  on  all  sides.  Elliott 
told  me  how  once  another  oak  stood  near,  in  whose  hollow  trunk  Nevison,  the 
highwayman,  is  reported  to  have  been  hid  when  he  was  taken.  In  revenge  of  this 
it  had  been  burnt  down  by  some  Giipsies'^  (Watkins'  Life  of  Elliott,  1850, 
p.  258).  There  is  a  somewhat  conflicting  account  in  the  smaller  Memoir  of 
Elliott  (1850)  by  "January  Searle"  (George  S.  Phillips)  :— "He  spoke  of  two 
great  oaks,  about  a  mile  from  his  house,  where  the  Wapentake  assembled  in 
ancient  times  ;  and  where,  in  the  hollow  of  one  of  them,  Nevison,  the  celebrated 
highwayman,  had  to  secrete  himself  when  in  danger.  He  likewise  related  the 
history  of  Nevison,  who  was  born  at  Wortley  in  Charles  the  Second's  time,  and 
knew  the  site  of  the  ])ublic-house,  where  he  was  at  last  captured.  'A  heart-break- 
ing story,  I  have  no  doubt,'  said  Elliott,  'for-tlie  daughter  of  the  innkeeper  was 
Nevison's  sweetheart.'  "  F.  H.  Groome. 


6. 

The  Arabian  Jugglers. 


Among  those  words,  occurring  in  Romani,  which  Professor  De  Goeje  regards 
as  Arabic,  is  "the  Arabian  jugglers'  word  mosjtun  [moshtdn]"  =  viochton,  a  box. 
If  this  means  that  the  word  is  peculiar  to  Arabian  jugglers,  and  is  therefore  not 
Arabic,  the  inference  is  that  the  jugglers  of  Arabia,  like  those  of  many  other  lands, 
are  really  Gypsies,  and  that  they  obtain  the  word  moshtdn  from  their  mother- 
tongue.  David  MacRitchie. 


7. 

"  Egyptian  "  Days. 


In  John  Major's  Historia  Maioris  Britannia',  tarn  Angliai  quam  Scotia',  etc., 
of  which  the  hrst  edition  was  published  "ex  ofBcina  Ascensiana"  in  1521,  I  find  a 
mention  of  a  "  dies  infaustus  et  ^gyptiacus."  I  should  be  grateful  to  any  of  my 
fellow-members  of  the  Gypsy  Lore  Society  who  could  furnish  me  with  parallel 
passages,  or  indicate  the  probable  meaning  of  the  word  "^gyptiacus  "  in  Major's  use 
of  it.  The  passage  occurs  near  the  beginning  of  the  eleventh  chapter  of  the  Fourth 
Book  of  the  History,  in  connection  with  the  accession  of  Alexander  iii.  to  the  throne 
of  Scotland,  and  is  as  follows : — "  Post  Alexandri  secundi  obitum,  filius  eius  Alexander 
tertius  octo  annos  natus  puellus  in  regem  ordinatur  :  veruni  in  eius  coronatione 
inter  regni  primores  lis  orta  est,  aliquibus  dicentibus  quod  prius  debebat  eques 
auratus  sen  miles  quam  rex  insigniri  :  aliis  oppositum  asserentibus.  Aliqui 
utrisqiie  contradixerunt,  dicentes  nihil  illo  die  debere  fieri :  quia  dies  erat  infaustus 
d  yEgy2)tiacns."  I  may  add  that  Major  did  not  consider  that  the  party  of  delay 
had  reason  on  their  side — adducing  several  reasons  of  no  present  relevancy  ;  but  he 
brings  forward  as  a  "  Secunda  propositio,  Nulla  est  dies  JEgyptiaea  plus  infausta 
pro  regum  coronationilms  quam  alia."  This  looks  as  if  there  were  a  considerable 
choice  of  "  Egyptian  "  days.  Archibald  Constable. 


NOTES   AND    QUERIES.  311 

8. 

Further  Accounts  of  Mr.  Smith's  Mystical  Box. 
See  our  Notes  and  Queries,  p.  176  ante.) 
The  London  Graphic  of  4th  jNIny  1889  contains  an  engraving  of  this  alleged 
"  Gypsy  heirloom, ■'  with  the  following  remarks  : — 

"This  box  has  been  presented,  or  rather  sold  for  a  merely  nominal  sum,  to  Mr. 
George  Smith,  of  Coalville,  by  a  number  of  leading  Gypsies,  in  gratitude  for  his 
efforts  to  improve  the  condition  of  the  Gypsies  and  van  children.  Tlie  presentation 
took  place  last  November,  at  a  large  gathering  of  Gypsies  on  Plaistow  Marshes, 
and  a  memorandum  was  drawn  up  and  signed  by  its  then  possessor,  David  Lee, 
stating  that  the  small  symbolical  and  mystical  copper  and  brass  box,  bearing  the 
name  '  Riidit  Door  Lee,'  engraved  and  dated  1182,  had  been  an  heirloom  in  his 
family,  the  Gypsy  Lees,  and  had  been  lield  by  his  father's  ancestor  back  to  the  date 
engraved  upon  it.  The  box  is  stated  to  have  brought  thousands  of  ])oands  to  the 
Lee  family,  and  fortunes — so  the  Gypsies  themselves  would  say — to  those  who 
climbed  the  '  Ladder  of  Life,'  or  the  '  Golden  Ladder '  (which  is  engraved  on  the 
side  of  the  box  not  shown  in  our  engraving),  read  the  mystical  numbers,  and  had 
their  '  planets  ruled.'  Mr.  Smith  thinks  that  the  box  was  engraved  abroad,  and 
that  Right  Door  Lee  either  means  an  officer  of  the  sacred  army  of  Gypsies  who 
were  wont  to  march  about  Europe  some  centuries  since,  with  counts  and  earls  at 
their  head,  or  else  '  Eight  through  the  Sea.'  The  box  is  jirobably  one  of  the  pass- 
ports granted  by  Pope  Sixtus  iv.  to  the  Gypsies  to  admit  them  to  the  kings  and 
rulers  of  Europe,  and  of  the  countries  through  which  they  travelled,  soliciting  alms 
on  their  pious  pilgrimage.  This  also  agrees  with  Mr.  Smith's  views  expressed  in 
his  works  on  Gypsy  life  as  to  their  first  appearance  in  Europe  and  England  at  the 
end  of  the  fifteenth  and  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  centuries.  Consequently,  he  con- 
siders that  time  and  wear  have  tui'ned  the  1482  into  1182,  and  the  date  1497  (on 
the  side  not  shown  in  our  illustration)  into  1197.  Mr.  Smith  is  well  known  for 
his  strenuous  and  successful  efforts  to  improve  the  condition  of  the  brickyard  and 
canal-boat  children.  He  is  now  working  hard  to  induce  Pai'liament  to  educate  and 
protect  130,000  English  and  Scotch  Gypsy  and  van  children,  and  his  jiroposed 
measures  have  the  good  wishes  of  the  Gypsies  and  van-dwellers  themselves." 

As  a  result  of  the  above  account,  the  Newcastle  Daily  Chronicle  of  23d  May 
1889  contained  the  following  : — 

"  I  mentioned  last  week  that  a  box  given  by  the  Gypsies  to  Mr.  Geo.  Smith  of 
Coalville  had  been  illustrated  in  the  Graphic,  and  that  an  identically  similar  one  had 
been  found  to  be  in  the  possession  of  a  Newcastle  gentleman.  The  only  difference 
was  this  :  the  Gypsies  claimed  that  the  box  given  to  Mr.  Smith  bore  the  date  1182, 
Mr.  Smith  believed  the  right  date  to  have  been  1482,  and  the  Newcastle  box  had 
for  its  date  1582.  Since  last  week's  note  appeared,  Mr.  W.  J.  Carr,  of  Ebchester, 
has  left  at  the  Chronicle  office  for  my  inspection  a  similar  l)ox  which  he  jjossesses, 
and  which  he  bought  at  a  second-hand  shop  about  twenty  years  ago.  It  is  of  brass, 
about  8  inches  long  and  Ig  inches  deep,  has  on  it  the  exact  inscription  which 
appeared  in  the  Graphic,  and  bears  the  date  1482.  The  characters  appear  to  me 
to  be  Dutch,  and  there  is  clearly  an  almanac  engraved  on  the  box.  Two  other  old 
boxes,  belonging  to  INIr.  Crawhall,  Newcastle,  have  turned  up  during  the  week, 
and  have  been  inspected  by  Aid.  Barkas  of  the  Art  Galleiy.  Where,  it  may  be 
asked,  have  these  five  curious  boxes,  all  going  back  so  many  centuries,  come  from  { 
and  what  was  their  intended  use  at  the  time  of  manufacture  ?  One  of  the  series 
certainly  looks  more  like  an  ancient  mariner's  spectacle  case  than  anything  else." 

Mv.  H.  T.  Crofton,  to  whom  we  are  indebted  for  these  extracts,  points  out  that 
the  date  upon  this  l)ox,  as  shown  in  the  Graphic  engraving,,  is  unmistakably 
1765."  And  a  gentleman  who  has  made  a  study  of  such  things,  and  to  whom  the 
engraving  was  therefore  submitted,  states  his  opinion  thus  :  — 


(( 


312  NOTES   AND    QUERIES. 

"It  is  a  simple  almanack  for  1765.  The  months  are  arranged  according  to  the 
day  of  the  week  on  which  the  first  day  of  the  month  falls,  but  are  in  this  order — 
Tues  :  Mon  :  Sun  :  Satur  :  Fri :  Thurs  :  Wednes. 

"  The  numbers  over  the  total  number  of  days  in  each  month  have  been  probably 
misread  in  the  engraving  from  the  box.  They  should  denote  the  order  of  succes- 
sion of  the  months — March  1,  April  2,  May  3,  June  4,  July  5,  August  6,  Sept.  7, 
Oct.  8,  Nov.  9,  Dec.  10,  Jan.  11,  Feb.  12  (the  Roman  order).  The  figures  in  the 
circles  at  the  ends  are  probably  the  Virgin  and  the  Pope  (?)." 

In  explanation  of  the  fact  that  these  boxes  have  been  variously  assigned  to  the 
years  115,?,  14S3,  and  155^,  it  ought  to  be  stated  that,  under  the  figure  assumed  to 
represent  a  Pope,  there  are  certain  indistinct  characters,  of  which  the  two  last 
are  pretty  plainly  "  82."  What  the  two  first  are  (?  the  initials  of  said  "  Pope  ")  it 
is  impossible  to  say.  But  the  actual  date,  1765,  which  is  in  its  proper  place,  is 
perfectly  legible.  


The  Gypsies  of  Ceylox. 
A  recent  report  on  the  destruction  of  game  in  Ceylon  by  a  committee  of  sports- 
men belonging  to  the  island  refers  to  wandering  bands  of  Gypsies  as  being  amonc 
the  culprits.  A  Colombo  newspaper  states  that  these  so-called  Gypsies  of  Ceylon 
are  known  among  the  Cingalese  as  Telugus,  and  are  met  with  in  most  parts  of  the 
island,  engaged  in  the  occupations  of  exhibiting  tame  cobras  or  monkeys,  and  per- 
forming jugglery,  and  from  their  appearance  are  not  to  be  distinguished  from 
ordinary  Tamil  coolies  from  Southern  India,  so  that  in  a  recent  census  report  they 
appear  to  have  been  classed  as  Tamils.  They  are,  however,  careful  to  call  them- 
selves Telugus,  though  apparently  unable  to  speak  Telugu, — Cingalese  and  Tamil 
being  used  indiscriminately  by  them.  The  two  classes  of  snake-charmers  and 
monkey-dancers  are,  according  to  their  own  account,  quite  distinct,  the  former 
being  much  more  numerous  ;  they  belong  to  different  castes,  and  each  professes  to 
consider  the  other's  occupation  as  degrading.  The  women  of  the  monkey-dancers 
also  practise  palmistry.  Their  religion  appears  to  partake  very  much  of  that  of  the 
locality  in  which  they  appear  ;  sometimes  they  are  Buddhists,  sometimes  Sivites. 
They  are  perfectly  illiterate,  and  have  no  desire  that  their  children  should  be  edu- 
cated. A  camp  of  snake-charmers  met  with  in  the  southern  province  of  Ceylon 
spoke  Cingalese  fluently  and  well,  though  with  a  foreign  accent.  They  could  not 
speak  Telugu,  though  they  said  it  was  their  proper  language,  but  spoke  Tamil. 
They  asserted  "  that  their  ancestors  came  over  in  the  time  of  Buddha,"  and  they 
professed  to  be  Buddhists.  These  people  never  settle  down,  but  spend  their  lives 
wandering  over  the  island  ;  their  wagon-shaped  talipot  huts  packed  up  and  carried 
on  donkeys'  backs.  They  abhor  work  of  all  kinds,  but  do  not  appear  to  be  addicted 
to  serious  crime.  Unlike  their  brethren  in  Europe,  they  are  not  much  given  to 
plunder,  though  at  times  having  many  opportunities  ;  but  occasionally  a  crop  has 
been  found  to  have  sensibly  diminished  after  their  departure  fiom  the  neigliljour- 
hood.  They  are  quite  distinct  from  the  class  of  wandering  Moormen.  As  to  their 
claim  to  a  Telugu  origin,  it  is  curious  to  note  that  the  wandering  castes  of  the  Dec- 
can,  snake-charmers  and  others,  lay  claim  to  Telugu  descent.  It  is  not  known 
whether  these  Gypsies  have  any  affinity  with  the  wanderers  going  by  that  name  in 
Europe  and  elsewhere,  or  whether  thej'  owe  that  name  merely  to  their  nomadic 
hahits.— The  Times,  23d  April  1889. 

Members  are  reminded  that  their  Subscriptions  for  the  year  ending  20th  June  1890 

are  nov)  due. 


NOTICE. — All  Contributions  must  be  legibly  tcritten  on  one  side  only  of  the  paper; 
nuLst  bear  the  sender's  name  and  address,  though  not  necessarily  for  publica- 
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Edinburgh. 


JOUENAL    OF    THE 


GYPSY   LORE 


SOCIETY. 


Vol.  I.  OCTOBEE  1889.  No.  6 


I.— THE  OEIGIN  OF  THE  HUNGAEIAN  MUSIC. 

LISZT  tried  in  all  good  faith  to  prove  the  Hungarian  Music  to  be 
a  mere  Gypsy  invention.     The  great  paper-war  excited  by  the 
publication  of  his  views  was  severely  contested,  but  was  by  no  means  so 
sterile  of  results  as  is  maintained  by  Liszt's  followers.    One  important 
result  of  it  was  the  discovery  of  many  particulars  hitherto  unknown  ; 
still,  the  result  of  it  shows  that  Liszt  found  no  one  of  mark  to  adopt 
his  opinion  in  Hungary.     It  is  a  pity  this  important  result  is  not 
known  outside  our  own   country.     The  assailants  of  Liszt's  theory 
employed  the  most  inexorable  logic,  wliilst  its  defenders  contented 
themselves  with  declaring  that  Liszt  has  been  misunderstood,  that  the 
mistake  is  not  in  his  book  itself,  but  merely  in  its  title,  wliich  ought 
to  have  run,   "  Of   the   Gypsies,  and  the  manner  they  handle  the 
Music  in  Hungary."     (See  an  article  in  the  Ncmzet  of  October  23, 
1886.)     Still,  the   whole   book   contradicts   this   idea.     Only  a  few 
passages,  especially  chapter  cxvii.,  seem  to  corroborate  it,  and  even 
that  only  seems  to  do  so :  as  all  that  we  read  there  is  advanced 
hypothetically.     If  Liszt  had  wished  merely  to  represent  the  Gypsies 
as  clever  performers,  the  designation  of  our  music  could  not  have 
been  to  him  matter  of  ([uestion. 

VOL.  L — NO.  VL  X 


314  THE   OKIGIN    OF   THE   HUNGARIAN   MUSIC. 

According  to  him  the  Gypsies  created  their  art  for  their  own  sake, 
in  order  to  commune  one  with  another,  to  sing  to  themselves,  to  paint 
their  own  joys  and  griefs  {Des  BoMmiens,  pp.  221,  248,  249);  they 
created  it  without  taking  any  pattern  from  the  "  Giorgios  "  or  non- 
Gypsies  (59).  Moreover,  in  those  centuries  during  which  their  musical 
epos  was  gradually  developed  by  the  rhapsodisation  of  very  many 
fragments,  they  did  not  so  much  as  guess  that  there  existed  any 
other  music  in  the  world  (251). 

They  had  their  own  scale  and  their  genuine  language,  and  it  was 
solely  to  the  maintenance  of  these  two  things  that  they  always 
bestow  a  conscientious  and  sincere  attention  (221). 

The  three  main  peculiarities  of  the  Gypsy  music,  from  which  are 
derived  all  its  other  originalities,  are :  their  own  intervals,  which  differ 
from  those  of  European  music ;  the  genuine  Gypsy  rhythms ;  the 
luxuriant,  essentially  Oriental,  ornamentation  (223). 

In  a  word,  tliis  music  is  of  Gypsy  origin  to  the  core.  It  formerly 
was  never  called  Hungarian  Music,  but  Gypsy  Music.  From  the 
report  given  on  p.  14  of  vol.  vi.  of  the  Anzeigcn  one  would  con- 
clude, following  Liszt's  opinion,  that  the  Hungarians  did  not  in 
last  century,  to  wit  in  the  year  1775,  so  much  as  dream  {ne  son- 
geaient  point  encore)  that  the  Gypsy  Music  was  their  own  (278). 

It  was  not  till  the  present  century  that  the  Gypsy  Music  became 
an  object  of  pride  to  the  Hungarians,  and  was  declared  a  national 
property  by  being  called,  instead  of  Gypsy  Music,  Hungarian  Music 
(322).  Cf.  "the  so-called  Hungarian  Music"  (339),  "The  Gypsy 
musicians  founded  the  three  principal  elements,  i.e.  the  melody,  the 
rhythm,  and  the  ornamentation,  in  a  mould  that  is  conventionally 
called  Hungarian  Music"  (235). 

Liszt  himself  called  his  rhapsodies  Hungarian  ones,  because  it 
would  be  unfair  thereafter  to  separate  from  each  other  what  has  been 
united  in  the  past.  The  Hungarians  adopted  the  Gypsies  as  their 
own  musicians;  they  identified  themselves,  etc.  (346-7). 

The  art  of  the  Gypsies  developed  only  on  Hungarian  soil.  The 
Hungarians  were  appreciative  listeners  (219,  248,  287)  ;  solely  to  their 
protection  does  this  music  owe  its  fortunate  development,  and  so  far, 
and  so  far  only,  have  the  Hungarians  any  share  tlierein. 

The  development  of  the  Gypsy  Music  in  our  country  shows  no 
trace  of  having  been  influenced  by  the  Hungarian  Music ;  quite  on 
the  contrary  :  the  Hungarians  adapted  their  national  dances  to  the 
division  and  the  measure  of  the  Gypsy  airs  (269),  and  (instead  of 
their   own    national   songs)    sung    melodies   of    Gypsy    origin   with 


THE    ORIGIN    OF    THE    HUNGARIAN    MUSIC.  315 

Hungarian  words,  and  these  melodies  remained  in  perfect  purity 
among  the  inhabitants  of  villages  and  heaths,  and  struck  there  so 
deep  a  root  that  there  they  were  finally  appropriated  (272). 

Even  those  who  still  cling  to  the  notion  tliat  the  Hunejarians 
taught  their  own  songs  and  dance-airs  to  the  Gypsies  cannot  deny 
that  they  have  to  thank  the  Gypsies  for  preserving  their  poor  frag- 
ments from  destruction  (281). 

That  the  Gypsies  are  not  able  to  identify  themselves  with  the 
sentiments  of  any  other  race  is  plainly  asserted  on  p.  218.  This 
music  therefore  is,  not  only  with  regard  to  its  form,  but  with  regard 
to  its  contents  also,  not  Hungarian,  but  Gypsy.  National  enthusiasm, 
the  very  essence  of  a  nation,  is  enshrined  in  this  music.  "That  this 
nation  is  that  of  the  pariahs — well,  what  has  it  to  do  with  the  art?" 
(347,  etc.) 

The  foregoing  assertions  of  Liszt's  have  been  refuted  by  many 
authorities.  See  in  this  respect  the  communications  of  Brassai, 
Bartalus,  Simonffy  Kalnuin,  Adelburg,  Czeke  Sandor,  and  Scudo.  It 
was  Brassai  who  did  so  most  fervently.  He  combated  not  only  the 
musical  but  the  ethnographical  section  of  Liszt's  book,  and  con- 
demned it  with  inexorable  logic. 

As  for  us,  we  wish  briefly  to  sum  up  the  following  arguments 
concerning  this  problem  of  the  Gypsies. 

Before  our  Gypsies  entered  Hungary,  they  certainly  were 
acquainted  witii  at  least  the  Greek  and  Wallachian  popular  music. 
In  our  country  they  made  acquaintance  with  the  Hungarian  j\Iusic, 
of  which  mention  occurs  in  several  historical  sources,  notably  in  a 
passage  of  the  biogi'aphy  of  St.  Gerard.  The  Hungarian  Music  seemed 
peculiar  but  agreeable  to  the  ears  of  the  strangers.  Besides  the 
Hungarian,  they  found  Servian,  Slovak,  and  German  airs. 

The  musical  faculty  of  the  Gypsies  entered  into  the  services  of 
the  music  of  every  people  ;  moreover,  they  play  all  those  foreign  songs 
and  dance-airs  which  are  adopted  by  fashion. 

That  this  was  the  case  in  tlie  very  beginning  of  their  era  of 
lustre  is  proved  beyond  any  doubt  by  Czinka  Panna,  who  played  not 
only  the  Hungarian  dance-airs,  but  Styrian,  German,  and  French  as 
well.  Liszt  himself  knew  from  a  letter  of  M;itray  {Des  BoMm. 
p.  306)  that  Bihari  played  "  Kalnmaykas,"  French  quadrilles, 
Ecossaises,  and  minuets. 

The  Hungarian  Music  was  always  called  Hungariau,  and  never 
Gypsy.  The  Gypsy  musician  himself,  when  asking  what  he  shall 
play,  suggests  a  Hungarian  air,  never  a  Gypsy  one. 


316  THE   ORIGIN   OF   THE   HUNGAEIAN   MUSIC. 

Liszt's  belief  that  the  name  of  Hungariau  Music  originated  only 
in  the  beginning  of  the  present  century  is  strikingly  refuted  by  the 
following  Latin  lines,  which  were  written  in  1772,  on  the  occasion  of 
the  death  of  Czinka  Panna : — 

"  Nam  seu  Styriacos  malles,  seu  Teutonis  orbes 
Seu  quibus  Francus,  prompta,  superbit,  erat. 
Praecipue  Hungaricos  (vah  nunc  quoque  .  .  .  stupesco) 
Tors  prorsus  magica  moverat  arte  choros." 

Nor  is  it  true  (as  Liszt  asserts  on  p.  24.5)  that  the  violin  and 
the  czimbalom  (dulcimer)  formed  in  every  time  the  basis  of  their 
orchestra.  The  so-called  Polish  violin  was  unknown,  or  at  least  not 
in  use  with  us,  even  in  the  first  half  of  the  sixteenth  century  (see 
above,  p.  323 ;  see  also  Brassai,  pp.  27,  42-3). 

According  to  Liszt,  the  Gypsies  did  not  even  invent  the  music 
which  is  now  called  Hungarian  in  Hungary,  but  brought  it  with 
them  (267).  If  this  were  true,  the  traces  of  the  essential  peculiari- 
ties of  the  music  in  question  would  necessarily  be  found  in  the  songs 
and  dance-music  of  the  Gypsies  of  other  countries.  But  experience 
shows  the  very  opposite  (see  196,  198). 

The  most  important  and  decisive  argument  which  proves  the 
genuine  Hungarian  origin  of  the  Hungarian  music  is  the  rhythm. 

The  very  pulsation  of  the  rhythm  is  the  accent.  The  law  of 
accent  of  the  Hungarian  music  is  the  same  as  that  of  the  Hungarian 
language.  This  is  the  reason  why  Hungarian  songs  cannot  be  sung 
to  German,  French,  Italian,  etc.,  words,  without  accentuating  the 
words  in  the  Hungarian  manner. 

The  Hungarian  accent  is  the  very  opposite  of  that  met  with  in  the 
most  ancient  dialect  of  the  European  Gypsy  language.  Hungarian 
accentuates  the  first  syllable,  the  Greek  Gypsy,  with  few  exceptions, 
the  last  (see  above,  p.  3). 

As  the  Gypsies,  before  their  settling  in  Hungary,  did  not  know 
the  accent  which  is  pulsing  in  the  same  manner  as  well  in  the  Hun- 
garian language  as  in  the  Hungarian  music,  but  first  became  acquainted 
with  it  there,  and  accustomed  themselves  to  it  in  such  a  measure 
that  they  forgot  their  own  genuine  accent,  and  accentuate  at  present 
their  own  language  in  the  Hungarian  manner,  it  is  clear  they  could 
not  bring  with  them  the  Hungarian  music,  which  shows  the  very 
genuine  Hungarian  rhythms,  but  that  they  must  liave  learned  it 
in  Hungary. 

Liszt,  learning  this   refutation  (January    13th,    1873),   declared 


THE   ORIGIN   OF   THE   HUNGARIAN    MUSIC.  317 

orally,  ''I  am  thoroughly  a  practical  musician.  I  have  my  own 
rhythms."  He  said  he  was  not  able  to  teach  anybody  the  theory 
of  rhythms. 

He  recognised  the  decisive  value  of  the  argument  of  rhythm,  but 
insisted  that  "the  Gypsies  brought  something  with  them."  Thus 
in  the  course  of  conversation  he  maintained  that  the  harmony,  how- 
ever, was  introduced  into  the  Hungarian  music  by  the  Gypsies.  Tliis 
can  be  conceded  ;  for,  without  doubt,  the  Gypsy  orchestras  have  had 
a  great  share  in  the  development  of  the  peculiar  accompaniment. 

Yet,  if  Liszt  was  wrong  concerning  the  origin  of  our  music,  still 
he  earned  an  immortal  fame  as  the  earliest  interpreter  of  this  national 
treasure  of  ours  to  all  the  world,  as  well  by  his  peerless  art  as  by  his 
brilliant  pen.  Emil  Thewrewk  de  Ponor. 

Budapest. 


II.— THE  PAEIS  CONGEESS  OE  POPULAK  TRADITIONS. 

StocJchohn,  Aug.  20,  1889. 

THE  life  of  an  English  Gypsy  during  the  season  of  fairs,  cockshies, 
races,  hopping,  pivlioi  te  dukkerin,  te  ijiaben,  "cocoa-nuts  and 
fortune- telling  and  drinking  beer,"  is  about  as  confused  and  bewilder- 
ing an  existence  as  can  be  imagined,  and  that  of  the  President  of  the 
Gypsy  Lore  Society  at  the  French  Exposition  was  like  unto  it. 
Perhaps  it  was  the  immense  quantity  of  coloured  windows  in  the 
show,  with  the  piles  of  glittering  variegated  glass-work  and  the  bands 
of  music,  which  created  a  feeling  as  if  I  had  been  a  factor  in  a  vast 
kaleidoscope  which  was  turned  round  and  round  to  orchestral  accom- 
paniment. ■  It  began  with  the  first  sight  of  the  great  iron  scaffolding 
or  trestle-work,  the  Eiffel  Tower  of  Babel,  which  rises  appropriately 
over  the  true  modern  Babylon,  and  ended  as  it  grew  smaller  in  the 
distance  and  vanished. 

I  dwelt  very  near  the  Exposition,  and  so  went  there  at  once  after 
arriving  in  Paris.  Within  its  limits  there  are  to  be  found  a  company 
of  Spanish  Gypsy  girl  dancers  in  a  small  theatre,  a  very  picturesque 
company  of  Roumanian  Romanys,  who  both  sing  and  play,  and 
another  of  Hungarian  Tziyanc  from  Szegediu,  not  inferior  to  tliem. 
I  need  not  say  that  I  speedily  became  acquainted  with  them,  or  that 
they  welcomed  such  an  extraordinary  being  as  an  Anglo-American 
Romany  rye,  avec  effusion,  volunteering  to  play  for  me  such  real 
Gypsy  airs  as  the  "  Song  of  the  Gorgios "  and  "  Bird  Song."  The 
Roumanians  knew  very  httle  Romany.     In  fact  there  was  only  one 


318  THE    PARIS    CONGliESS   OF   POPULAR   TRADITIONS. 

of  them,  an  elderly  man,  who  could  really  converse  in  it,  but  the 
Hungarians  rejoiced  greatly  therein  as  well  as  in  a  knowledge  of 
German.  And  when  I  marvelled  thereat,  since  even  in  Buda-Pest  the 
Gypsies  are  hard  to  find  who  know  Nemetz,  they  assured  me  that  it 
was  nothing  remarkable,  inasmuch  as  they — the  Szegedin  Eoms — were 
as  much  beyond  the  Buda- Pesters  in  general  intelligence  as  they  were 
as  musicians,  and  indeed  intimated  that  in  all  moral  qualities,  good 
looks,  and  great  virtues,  they  were  as  far  superior  to  their  compatriots 
as  a  dark  night  is  to  a  small  nigger.  That  they  were  indeed  very 
remarkable  Gypsies  appeared  from  the  fact  that  they  said  nothing 
about  being  rhori  roms  or  poor  devils,  but  manfully  declared  that 
they  were  making  money,  and  revelling  in  wine,  good  food,  and  other 
carnal  comforts  of  Paris  to  their  hearts'  content,  being  evidently  the 
most  to  be  envied  individuals  in  town,  and  chiefly  in  this,  that  they 
knew  it. 

My  object  in  visiting  Paris  was,  however,  not  to  see  the  Exposi- 
tion, climb  the  Eif-bab-el  Tower,  or  listen  to  Gypsy  music,  but  to 
attend  the  Comjres  des  Traditions  populaires  or  iblk-lore,  and  which, 
considering  the  immensely  rapid  though  recent  growtli  of  this  new 
branch  of  Wissenschaft,  will  be  regarded  some  day  as  having  formed 
a  very  great  era  in  the  history  of  learning.  It  is  worth  observing 
that  this  Congress  was  held  "  conformably  to  a  Ministerial  decision, 
dated  Feb.  11,  1889,"  and  that  the  French  Government  not  only 
officially  recognised  the  importance  of  such  a  study,  but  manifested 
its  interest  in  many  ways,  as  in  courtesies  extended  to  foreign 
members,  such  as  the  reception  given  to  them  by  the  Minister  of 
Public  Works.  The  opening  of  the  Congress  took  place  July  29,  in  a 
hall  of  the  Trocadero.  It  was  a  matter  of  very  great  regret  to  all 
concerned  that  England  was  not  more  fully  represented,  as  there  was 
a  very  great  desire  indeed  to  secure  English  co-operation  and  interest. 
Great  satisfaction  was  expressed  that  the  English  Gypsy  Lore  Society 
had  sent  a  deputy,  the  proof  being  that  I  was  elected  honourable 
President  for  the  first  regular  sitting,  as  a  special  compliment  to  our 
Association.  Among  those  who  attended  were  MM.  Charles  Plaix, 
S^billot,  Prince  Koland  Bonaparte,  Zinirgredzki,  Stanislaus  Prato, 
Henry  Carnoy,  Jean  Fleury,  Leon  Vicaire,  Tiersot,  Kaarle  Krohn  of 
Finland,  le  Comte  de  Puyniargre,  Mario  Proth,  Certeux  (the  treasurer 
and  generally  useful  man  of  the  Congress),  H.  Cordier,  Jules  Baillet, 
Charles  Morelle,  Kaoul  Eosieres,  Felix  Kegamey,  Michel  Dragomanov, 
Krzyvicks,  Lancy,  Emile  Bl^mont,  and  Michau.  After  the  first  day 
our  meetings  were  held  in  the  Mairie,  opposite  San  Sulpice. 


TIIK    FAKIS    COXGKKSS    OF    POl'ULAi;    TKADITIONB.  319 

I  regret  that  I  cannot  find  space  for  even  a  brief  recital  of  the 
many  admirable  papers  read  by  most  of  these  gentlemen,  and  if  I 
give  a  resum^  of  my  own  it  is  at  the  request  of  our  Editor,  and 
because  it  directly  refers  to  our  Society.     I  remarked  that : — 

"  It  is  not  very  long  since  even  learned  men  began  to  understand 
the  great  importance  of  the  affinities  between  folk-lore  and  history, 
according  to  the  real  meaning  of  the  latter  word.  Now  we  are  begin- 
ning to  perceive  that  one  is  to  the  other  as  the  colour  of  a  picture  is 
to  its  design.  In  fact  as  regards  '  local  colour,'  be  it  in  truthful 
narrative  or  romance,  of  all  which  is  of  general  interest  nine  parts  out 
of  ten  belong  strictly  to  folk-lore. 

"  Thus  far  next  to  nothing  has  ever  been  published  as  to  the 
relations  between  (lypsies  and  European  popular  traditions,  or  the 
influence  which  they  have  exercised  on  our  folk-lore.  1  may 
here  recall  certain  remarks  translated  by  Mr.  David  MacKitchie 
from  the  Ethnologische  Mitteilungen,  and  his  comment  thereon,  in 
wdiich  treatise  the  belief  is  advanced  that  leuend  or  folk-lore  is 
strictly  the  gospel  of  a  religion  of  consolation  to  the  suffering,  and 
that  fairy  tales  and  Gypsy  predictions,  and  all  the  possible  solaces  of 
sorcery,  are  so  many  promises  of  hope.  From  this  point  of  view — 
that  popular  tradition  has  been  a  religion — it  may  be  declared  that 
the  folk-lorists  or  traditionists  are  writing  its  Bible,  and  that  this  our 
Congress  has  its  place  among  other  great  synods  and  councils,  since  it 
is  here  that  a  first  general  effort  has  been  made  to  arrange  and 
co-ordinate  the  branches  of  this  study  of  a  great  popular  faith. 

"  Of  this  religion  Gypsies  have  been,  for  thousands  of  years  in  the 
East,  and  for  four  hundred  in  the  West,  the  chief  priests.  Wherever 
they  abound,  they  are  the  story-tellers,  or  trouveurs,  who  spread 
songs  and  sorceries  and  traditions  of  every  kind  among  the  people, 
creating  and  keeping  alive  all  folk-lore.  Among  the  collections 
which  I  have  made  during  the  past  ten  years  in  Hungary  and  the 
Tuscan-Eomagna,  I  have  been  constantly  astonished  at  the  extra- 
ordinary influence  which  these  humble  beings  have  asserted  wherever 
they  have  gone.  Heine  said  of  De  Musset  that  he  was  a  man 
with  a  great  future  behind  him.  The  Gypsies,  with  their  strange 
talents  and  gift  of  vitalite  r acinic,  and  influence  on  millions  of 
believers,  are,  after  all,  a  feeble  folk,  with  no  hopes  of  a  national  life 
before  them. 

"  Though  they  came  from  India,  the  real  religion  (of  sorcery)  of  the 
Gypsies,  as  clearly  shown  iu  Hungary  and  all  South-Eastern  P^urope, 


320        THE  PARIS  CONGRESS  OF  POPULAR  TRADITIONS. 

is  not  Hindu,  but  pre- Aryan — that  is  to  say,  Sbamanic.  As  a  theory 
which  may  at  least  serve  as  a  scaffold  to  build  on,  I  assume  that  this 
Shamanic  sorcery  was  originally  Turanian,  Altaic,  or  Tartar ;  that  it 
spread  to  Babylon  and  Nineveh,  as  well  as  to  the  Etruscans,  and  in 
the  north  to  the  Finns,  Laplanders,  and  Eskimo.  It  is  a  gross  religion 
of  man's  wants  and  sufferings,  incarnate  as  tormenting  spirits,  who 
are  driven  away  by  exorcisms  and  drum-beating  and  fumigation.  It 
was  the  ancient  religion  of  the  peasantry  in  India,  and  always  pre- 
served by  them  in  secret,  despite  the  Brahmins.  Of  late  years,  owing 
to  religious  toleration  on  the  part  of  our  Government,  it  has  begun  to 
creep  out  of  its  mysterious  cavern,  and  shake  off  the  dust  of  a 
thousand  years,  with  which  it  was  covered. 

"  I  could  give  innumerable  instances,  did  space  permit,  to  prove 
that  Shamanism  lias  been  '  historically  '  transmitted  from  race  to 
race,  and  that  it  did  not  spring  up  spontaneously  or  sporadically 
under  the  influence  of  concurrent  chances.  Thus  I  may  mention 
that  two  incantations,  learned  by  me  from  a  fortune-teller  of  Tuscany, 
were  quite  the  same  with  others  given  by  Lenormant  in  his  Magie 
chalddienne.  Of  this  faith  the  Gypsies  are  to-day  indefatigable  mis- 
sionaries. In  a  letter  recently  received  from  a  person  who  collects 
magical  lore  for  me  in  Italy,  the  writer  tells  me  that  she  can  do 
nothing  at  present,  but  that  she  expects  in  a  few  days  to  see  an  old 
Zingara  or  Gypsy  woman,  who  is  learned  in  all  kinds  of  sorcery  and 
witchcraft.  And  in  the  last  song  in  the  dialect  of  the  Tuscan 
Eomagna  a  woman,  whose  lover  it  enchanted,  goes  to  a  Gypsy  for 
relief. 

"  If  Gypsies  have  thus  since  all  time  been  going  about  like  birds 
over  many  lands,  leaving  here  and  there  the  seeds  or  grains  of  tradi- 
tion of  every  kind,  it  will  be  cheerfully  admitted  that  they  deserve 
attention  in  our  efforts  to  collect  all  that  is  important  in  popular 
beliefs.  We  are  only  beginning  to  recognise  the  vast  value  of  all 
folk-lore  or  legends  just  as  they  are  perishing  with  great  rapidity — 
ct  on  11  en  fait  j)as  des  nouvelles — no  new  ones  are  created.  Therefore 
it  is  not  too  much  to  declare  that  the  man  or  woman  who  collects  a 
book  among  the  people,  even  on  the  most  insignificant  subject, 
deserves  a  place  in  the  annals  of  literature. 

"  We  have  had  for  more  than  a  year  in  Great  Britain  a  Society 
founded  specially  for  the  study  of  Gypsy  lore.  This  Society,  of  which 
I  have  the  honour  to  be  President,  and  here  represent,  soon  discovered 
that  we,  far  from  moving  in  a  very  restricted  circle,  had  to  deal  with 
a  subject  whicli  spread  over  half  the  globe,  and  was  mingled  with 


THE  PAEIS  CONGRESS  OF  POPULAR  TRADITIONS.       321 

every  kind  of  tradition.     There  is  indeed  an  old  Scotch  song  which 
declares  that  Gypsies  form  one-tliird  of  all  folk-lore : — 

Of  fairies,  witches,  Gypsies 

My  nourrice  sang  to  me  ; 
Of  Gypsies,  witches,  fairies 

I'll  sing  again  to  thee.^ 

"  My  colleagues  of  the  Hungarian  Deputation  will  tell  you  that 
among  the  twenty-five  committees  of  their  Folk-lore  Society,  cacli 
devoted  to  a  special  language  and  race,  there  is  one  for  the  Gypsies, 
of  which  the  Archduke  Josef  is  chairman.  I  do  not  know  how 
these  Hungarian  Eomanys  discovered  the  magical  virtues  of  the 
Maria  Theresa  dollar.  (I  have  seen  among  them  a  sick  infant,  whose 
parents  believed  it  would  soon  recover  because  they  had  hung  three 
such  coins  round  its  neck.)  But  it  is  remarkable  that  over  a  great 
part  of  Eastern  and  inner  Africa  the  blacks  will  take  no  other  money, 
and  it  is  in  consequence  still  coined  for  them.  We  owe  thanks  to 
the  Gypsies  for  at  least  this  important  aid  to  commerce. 

"  As  the  literature  of  proverbs  has  become  so  extensive  that  men 
are  now  beginning  to  publish  volumes  of  special  subjects  in  it,  so  it 
is  already  beginning  to  be  evident  that  folk-lore  must  be  subdivided 
to  be  thoroughly  pursued.  I  trust  that  I  have  shown,  tliough  inaptly, 
that  Gypsy  lore  has  an  important  place  in  tradition,  and  I  venture  to 
say  that  my  colleagues  in  our  Society  have  pursued  the  subject  with 
such  ability  as  to  fully  demonstrate  its  value.  Such  is,  gentlemen, 
the  present  condition  of  a  study  which  has  so  many  relations  to  the 
history  and  popular  traditions  of  all  Europe." 

One  of  the  most  interesting  dinners  at  which  it  has  ever  been  my 
fortune  to  be  present  was  that  given  by  Prince  Eoland  Bonaparte  to 
the  members  of  the  Society.  As  a  traveller,  a  collector  in  many 
lands,  and  as  a  learned  folk-lorist.  Prince  Bonaparte  occupies  a  higli 
position.  His  hotel  in  the  Gour  de  la  Eeine  would  be  called  a  very 
fine  palazzo  in  Italy,  and  it  is  nifignificently  adorned  with  arms  and 
ethnological  relics,  or  works  of  art,  collected  far  and  wide  in  every 
land.  On  this  occasion  our  host  had  provided  the  lioumanian  Gypsies, 
whom  I  have  mentioned.  Their  music  was  soft  and  beautiful,  and 
very  remarkable  in  being  the  only  band  I  ever  heard  at  a  dinner 
which  did  not  disturb  the  conversation.  The  mcmv  at  this  dinner 
was  worth  remark.     It  was  a  large  and  l^eautifully-executed  etching, 

1  Thus  rendered  iu  the  address  : — 

"  Des  fees,  des  Tsigaues  et  sorcieres, 
Ma  nourrice  me  chantait ; 
A  mon  tour  je  chante  les  sorcieres, 
Les  Tsiganes  et  les  fees." 


322        THK  PARIS  CONGKESS  OF  POPULAR  TRADITIONS, 

representing  prehistoric  men,  and  was  specially  designed  as  a  compli- 
ment to  the  guests.  It  was  a  very  polyglot  company,  and  I  had 
occasion  to  use  all  tlie  scraps  of  languages  which  I  have  picked  up  in 
a  life  of  wandering.  But  it  was  the  first  very  "  swell "  party  of  any 
kind  at  which  I  ever  was  obliged  to  rdkker  Bomanis. 

Our  next  treat  was  to  a  concert  of  popular  songs  given  by  the 
Congress  in  the  hall  of  Hotel  des  Soci^tes  Savantes,  sur  Serpente.  If 
any  one  had  ever  predicted  to  me  during  my  Latin  Quarter  student 
days  in  1847-1848,  that  a  time  would  come  when  a  body  of  ladies  and 
gentlemen  would  assemble  in  what  was  then  the  proverbially  dirtiest 
yard-wide  little  slum  even  on  our  side  of  the  Seine,  I  should  have 
been  "  a-smile."  Sed  tem^pora  mutantur  et  nos  do  mutamur — astonish- 
ingly, in  illis.  This  concert  was  also  in  many  tongues,  all  uniting 
in  the  one  celestial  language  of  music,  and  was  pronounced  to  be  a 
great  success. 

It  was  a  queer  chance,  but  I  had  been  put  down  as  delegate  on  the 
Hungarian  Deputation,  and  was  the  only  one  of  them  all  who  came. 
In  this  capacity  as  Magyar,  I  laid  before  the  Congress  a  paper  stating 
that  our  marvellously  active  friend,  Professor  Anton  Herrmann,  is 
about  to  publish  a  weekly  Folk-Lore  Journal  in  four  languages, 
French,  English,  Hungarian,  and  German.  Those  who  collect  will 
thank  me  for  stating  that  the  price  will  be  from  7  to  14  florins;  but 
Folk-lore  Societies  mav  subscribe  for  their  members  for  one-fourth  of 
this  amount.  Our  final  explosion  of  gaiety  was  at  a  dinner  given  at 
the  Cafe  Corazza  in  the  Palais  Eoyale  by  the  Congress  to  the  foreign 
delegates,  I  think  that  this  will  long  be  remembered  as  one  of  the 
jolliest  assemblies  which  even  the  Frenchmen  "  in  our  midst "  had 
ever  attended.  After  the  dinner  came  the  toasts.  Mr.  Andrews, 
who  represented  America,  being  absent,  when  I  was  called  on  to 
answer  as  the  President  of  the  Gypsy  Lore  Society,  and  not  wishing 
that  America  should  remain  unspoken  for,  I  replied  that  I  appeared 
for  three  countries,  like  Mrs.  Malaprop's  Cerberus,  "  three  gentlemen 
in  one."  Then  came  singing  of  a  curious  and  varied  character. 
There  was  present  the  celebrated  Desrousseaux,  "  chansonnier,"  an 
elderly  man,  but  a  still  charming  singer  and  reciter,  whose  volumes 
of  ballads  have  circulated  by  the  hundred  thousand,  and  whose  other 
works  have  given  him  the  highest  rank  as  a  traditionalist.  From 
him  we  had  his  best.  Then  came  wonderful  lays  of  many  lands.  I 
shall  never  forget  an  Ukraine  Cossack  song,  which  had  the  very 
expression  of  a  wild  wind  wailing  over  the  desolate  steppe. 

Among  the  papers  read  during  the  Congress,  that  by  M.  Ploix,  on 


THE   PARIS   CONGRESS    OF    POPULAK   TRADITIONS.  323 

the  interpretation  of  mythical  tales,  will  attract  attention  Avhen 
published.  I  can  recall  having  been  interested  also  by  one  from 
M.  Carnoy  on  Esthonian  traditions.  M.  Carnoy  has  published  a 
valuable  little  work  on  the  variants  of  the  tales  in  Keyuard  the  Fox. 
Karle  Krohn  lectured  on  Finland  traditions,  and  not  only  presented  a 
full  set  of  all  the  publications  of  his  Society,  which  are  very  valuable, 
but  promised  to  send  any  of  them  which  individual  members  desired 
to  them.  A  very  curious  communication  on  the  Swastika,  by 
M.  Zmirgrodzki,  excited  much  comment.  I  called  attention  to  the 
fact  that  in  China  the  Swastika,  or  cross  with  side  ends,  has  been 
the  basis  of  the  Kou-a  system  of  dualism,  which  has  not  only  given 
birth  to  a  library  of  mystical  literature,  but  even  greatly  influenced, 
if  it  did  not  entirely  create,  the  national  system  of  decorative  art, 
"  a  batons  romjjus"  by  grouping  on  longs  and  shorts.  There  is  a  very 
learned  paper  on  this  subject  by  H.  Cordier  on  Zcs  SocUUs  secretes  de 
la  Chine,  originally  published  in  the  Bevue  cV Ethnographic,  edited  b}' 
Dr.  Hamy.  To  this  latter  gentleman  I  owe  thanks  for  the  courteous 
manner  in  which  he  led  us  through  the  Ethnographic  department  of 
the  Trocadero,  and  for  giving  me  permission  to  sketch  in  it. 

There  was  a  general  hope  that  the  next  general  meeting  of  the 
Folk-lorists  may  be  in  England,  and  I  sincerely  trust  that  it  may  be 
brought  about.  The  cordiality  of  the  reception  of  all  foreigners  at 
this  meeting,  the  real  kindness  and  hospitality  shown  them,  were 
such  as  to  deserve  special  gratitude,  and  I  take  great  pleasure  in 
expressing  it.  The  acme  of  refinement  and  politeness  is  when 
scholars  are  cosmo-polite  to  one  another.  Kings  among  kings  should 
be  kingly,  and  friendly  alliances  and  much  intercourse  between 
thinkers  elevates  them  in  every  way.  I  have  heard  men  ridicule 
these  Congresses,  and  ask  of  them  cui  bono  ?  but  I  always  shall 
believe  that  there  is  a  great  deal  of  bono  in  them,  as  much  for  the 
world  as  for  the  men  who  meet  at  them.  That  I  am  a  sincere  con- 
vert to  this  faith  may  indeed  be  drawn  from  the  fact  that  I  am  now 
writing  in  Stockholm,  waiting-  for  the  Conoress  of  Oriental  Scholars 
to  begin — of  which  I  will  write  anon,  for  there  are  to  be  "  great 
doings  "  here — yea,  and  thereunto  a  cup  of  mead  at  the  tomb  of  Odin, 
and  other  high  jinks  of  a  Norse  character.  ]\Ieanwhile  I  am  wrest- 
ling manfully  with  Swedish.  Truly  it  is  a  very  Proteus  of  tongues. 
Sometimes  I  seem  to  grasp  it  in  words  like  Scotch,  such  as  myckel 
and  bra,  and  then  for  half  a  sentence  English,  gradually  gliding  into 
delusive  German,  and  ending  with  some  horrible  term,  deducible 
from  nothins;  known  to  me.     Au  rcvoir  in  our  next. 

Charles  G.  Leland. 


324  THE   IMMIGRATION    OF   THE   GYPSIES    INTO 

III.— IMMIGEATION  OF  THE  GYPSIES  INTO  WESTEEN 
EUEOPE  IN  THE  FIFTEENTH  CENTUEY. 

FIEST   PERIOD,    1417 — 1438. 

{Continued.) 

TT7E  have  left  the  Gypsies  divided  into  two  bands  on  quitting 
^^  Switzerland  (towards  the  commencement  of  September  1418), 
and  one  of  these  bands  most  probably  visiting  Alsace. 

What  appears  certain  is  that,  on  the  1st  of  November  1418,  a 
troop  of  Gypsies  came  to  Augsburg.  It  numbered  only,  it  is  true, 
fifty  men,  but  they  were  followed  by  a  legion  of  ugly  women  and 
dirty  children.  These  vagabonds,  of  black  complexion,  as  the  chroni- 
cler says,  had  moreover  at  their  head  two  dukes  and  several  earls,  as 
they  called  them.  These  circumstances  induce  me  to  compute  their 
number  at  about  a  hundred  and  fifty  individuals.  They  represented 
themselves  as  exiles  from  Little  Egypt,  and  as  people  skilful  in  the 
art  of  divination.  But,  on  closer  examination,  it  was  discovered  that 
they  were  master  thieves,  and  unmitigated  rogues.^ 

It  is  difficult  to  say  what  fraction  of  the  great  horde  was  repre- 
sented by  this  band.  However,  as,  whatever  may  have  been  the  num- 
ber of  Gypsies,  we  nowhere  see  more  than  two  dukes  appear  at  their 
head,  and  as  we  meet  with  these  two  chiefs  at  Augsburg  (if  this 
detail  given  by  a  non-contemporary  chronicler  may  be  relied  on),  I 
am  disposed  to  think  that  the  staff  and  central  corps  of  the  whole 
horde  must  have  been  there.  It  is  then  to  be  supposed  that  the 
Duke  Andrew,  whom  we  shall  find  named  for  the  first  time  in  the 

1  "Porro  currente  adhuc  liocce  anno  (1418),  pervenerunt,  Kalendis  novembribus,  ad  banc 
primum  civitatem  ignoti  et  subnigri  errones,  numero  quinquaginta,  permagnam  etiam  turn 
deformium  muliercularuni  turn  fcedoruni  puernlorum  catervam  secum  ductitantes.  Quibus 
duo  duces  et,  uti  ferebaut,  aliquot  coniites  praierant  ;  profitebanturque  se  niinori  ^gypto 
exulare,  et  vaticinandi  peritos  esse.  Verum,  re  penitus  iutrospecta,  meri  trifures  furciferique 
sunt  depreheusi.  Hodie  uostris  Zegineri,  Italis  Cingcmi,  et  Gallis  Bohemi  dicuntur  ..." 
(Two  different  explanations  of  tlieir  origin  follow.)  Annales  Augsthurgenses,  by  Achil. 
Pirmin.  Gassar  (physician  at  Augsburg,  born  in  1505,  died  in  1577),  in  the  Script,  rer.  Geim. 
prcrc'qme  Saxon.,  de  Joh.  Bur.  Menckeuius,  Lipsias,  1728-1730,  in  fob,  3  vols.,  t.  i.,  col. 
1560-1561.  Two  Germ,  authors.  Mart.  Crusius  (^Annales  Suev.,  Francof.,  1595,  in  fol.  t.  ii., 
p.  346)  and  J.  Ludolf  (ad.  suam  Hist.  uEthiop.  Comvient,  1691,  p.  214),  have  given  extracts 
of  the  passage  of  Gassar  which  interests  us.  Ludolf  appears  even  to  have  been  acquainted 
with  the  manuscript :  "  MSS.  extant  in  hibliot.  Gotana,"  he  says  in  a  note.  However,  both 
have  read  1419  where  I  read  1418.  I  cannot  verify  this  difference,  the  edition,  or  the  two 
editions,  of  the  Annals  Augs.  which  already  existed  in  the  times  of  Crusius  and  of  Ludolf, 
and  which  are  the  only  others  remaining  with  the  above,  having  become  exceedingly  scarce. 
But  I  ought  to  mention  that  the  edition  given  by  Mencken  passes  for  having  been  made  from 
the  manuscript  itself.  Now  here  one  might  hesitate  between  1418  and  1430,  the  annalist 
having  encroached,  in  the  year  1418,  on  the  facts  which  belong  to  1430  ;  but,  I  repeat,  it  is 
impossible  that  it  should  be  1419. — In  his  extract,  Crusius  has  put  by  mistake  seventy  men 
instead  of  fifty.  Grellmann  (1787,  p.  210)  and  all  the  modern  writers  u^jon  the  Gypsies 
have  been  acquainted  with  this  extract  only,  and  have  reproduced  the  error. 


WESTERN   EUROPE   IN    THE   FIFTEENTH   CENTURY.  325 

followiug  year  near  Macon,  and  whom  we  shall  meet  with  later  on, 
accompanied  on  this  occasion  the  Duke  Michael,  whom  we  have  most 
probably  met  with  already  in  Switzerland,  and  whom  we  shall  again 
meet  with  more  certainty  at  Bale  in  1422. 

It  will  be  remarked  that  the  bands  which  remained  visible  during 
the  following  years  were  not  very  numerous ;  and  this  fact  agrees 
with  the  conjectures  just  expressed  concerning  the  Augsburg  band. 
On  quitting  Switzerland  the  horde,  if  really  more  numerous  than 
anywhere  else,  did  not  break  up  into  two  troops  only  :  it  must 
soon  have  divided  again.  It  seems  indeed  as  though  the  greater  part 
of  this  multitude  melted  away  definitively,  and  that  the  nucleus 
alone,  commanded  by  the  two  dukes,  remained,  sometimes  united, 
sometimes  divided  into  two  detachments,  conducted  each  by  a  duke. 

On  Friday,  the  24th  August  1419,  "Andrew,  Duke  of  Little 
Egypt,"  arrived  at  St.  Laurent,  near  Macon,^  '•'  with  men,  women,  and 
children  to  the  number  of  120  persons,  if  not  more  (saul  le  plus)." 
Under  this  date,  a  first  article  of  the  Register  of  the  deliberations  of 
the  town  of  Macon,  mentions  the  order  given  to  a  farmer  of  the 
sixteenth  of  Macon,^  to  deliver  as  alms  to  this  personage  and  his  com- 
pany, in  the  name  of  the  said  town,  bread  and  wine  to  the  amount  of 
seventy  "  sous  tournois." 

Under  the  same  date,  a  second  article  adds  the  following  details 
concerning  the  presence  of  these  strangers  at  St.  Laurent :  "  They 
were  men  of  terrible  stature  in  person,  in  hair,  as  well  as  otherwise  f 

1  St.  Laurent-lez-Macon  is  a  parish  distiuct  from  Macon  (department  of  Saone-et-Loire),  and 
which  now  is  in  the  department  of  the  Aiu  ;  but  the  Saone  alone  separates  these  departments, 
and  a  bridge  connects  St.  Laurent  (on  tlie  left  bank)  with  Macon  (on  the  right  bank).  If 
these  Gypsies  were,  as  is  very  probable,  a  part  of  those  who  had  visited  Switzerland,  they 
had  therefore  already  crossed  the  Saone  before  arriving  at  St.  Laurent,  and  had  most  likely 
travelled  over  a  part  of  Franclie-Comte.  and  of  Burgundy. 

2  "A  farmer  of  the  sixteenth"  was  one  who  had  farmed  a  tax  established  on  the 
sixteenth  of  the  revenue,  or  the  sixteenth  of  the  sale  of  such  or  such  a  merchandise,  or  a  tax 
increasing  by  one-sixteenth  the  tax  already  existing. 

3  Here  is  the  text  of  this  strange  iihrase,  and  which  remains  rather  obscure  :  "  Estoient 
gens  de  terriblie  stature,  tant  en  persenes,  en  chevelx,  comme  autrement."  One  might 
wonder  that  the  scribe  who  had  just  written  tvfice perso7ie  andpersones  (I  have  omitted  one 
of  the  two  passages,  because  they  repeat  each  other)  should  now  write  pershies  ;  but  Littrc 
gives  the  form  ^;f)r5^nc  as  being  Burgundian,  and  this  form  is  still  more  irregular  in  its  first 
syllable.  As  to  the  word  chevelx,  one  might  ask  one's-self  at  first  sight  whether  it  means 
cheveux  (hair),  or  chevaux  (horses) ;  but,  besides  its  being  a  question  here  of  ^'■people"  I 
think  the  examples  given  by  Littre  concerning  those  two  wor<ls  suffice  to  show  that  it  cannot 
be  a  question  oi  horses  (I  do  not  find  a  single  form  of  the  word  cheval,  chevaux  where  the 
letter  a  is  wanting  in  the  second  syllable).  Godefroi,  in  his  Diet,  de  Vancicnne  langue 
francaise,  gives  also  the  word  chevei,  plur.  clievelx,  with  the  signification  of  chief;  adj. 
priyicipal ;  but  this  signification  appears  to  mc  to  be  inapplicable  here.  In  short,  the  sense 
of  the  passage  seems  to  me  to  be :  people  of  terrible  aspect,  as  well  by  their  stature  (in 
person)  and  by  their  hair  as  otherwise.  At  all  events,  it  appears  that  the  people  of  tliis 
band,  or  some  of  them  whom  the  writer  of  the  Deliberations  had  remarked,  were  of  very 
tall  stature,  which  circumstance  is  not  mentioned  in  any  other  document.  As  to  the  ainin- 
dant  hair  which  might  contribute  to  give  a  savage  appearance  to  those  who  possessed  it,  I 


326'  THE    IMMIORATION    OF   THE    GYPSIES    INTO 

and  they  lay  in  the  fields  like  beasts  ;  and  some,  the  women  as  well 
as  the  men,  practised  evil  arts  (magic)  such  as  palmistry  and  necro- 
mancy. And  on  this  account  they  were  summoned  to  the  Castle  of 
Macon  by  the  justice  of  the  King's  officers,  for  certain  deceits  by  evil 
art  which  they  had  practised  in  the  said  town  (no  doubt  at  Macon) 
on  Anthony  of  Lyon,  grocer,  .  .  .  and  several  others."  ■'  I  remark 
that,  in  this  second  article,  Andrew  is  no  longer  desionated  as 
"  the  Duke  of  Little  Egypt,"  but  as  "  Andrew,  who  calls  himself 
Duke  of  Little  Egypt,"  a  significative  difference,  and  which  is 
explained  by  the  context.  It  is  very  probable  that,  at  this  moment 
of  the  same  day,  the  magistrates  of  the  town  would  not  have  sent 
him  a  gift  of  bread  and  wine. 

As  to  the  misdeeds  of  subtilty  with  which  our  Gypsies  are 
reproached  at  Macon,  they  will  be  found  fully  described  at  Tournai 
(1422),  and  at  Paris  (1427);  but  this  is  the  only  time  during  the 
whole  period  between  1417  and  1438,  so  far  as  our  present  knowledge 
extends,  that  these  misdeeds  brought  upon  them  a  citation  before  jus- 
tice." I  cannot  help  remarking  on  this  occasion  that  in  the  present 
document  no  mention  is  made,  as  in  most  of  the  others,  of  the  letters 
of  the  Emperor  Sigismund,  The  same  remark  applies  to  the 
deliberation  of  the  town  of  Sisteron,  where  we  are  about  to  meet 
anew  with  the  same  band,  but  not  to  a  similar  document,  which 
brings  the  Duke  Andrew  to  our  notice  at  Deventer  (Low  Countries)  in 
March  1420.  In  this  last  place  he  was  bearer  of  "letters  from  the 
King  of  the  liomans "  (an  authentic  copy  no  doubt) :  was  not  this 
Duke  Andrew,  who  appears  to  us  for  the  first  time  at  Macon,  in 
possession  of  these  letters,  either  in  this  town  or  at  Sisteron  ? 

However  this  may  be,  here  are  our  travellers  summoned  to,  and 
perhaps  imprisoned  in,  the  Castle  of  Macon  by  the  King's  officers  of 
justice — not  all  of  them  doubtless  (120  men,  women,  and  chil- 
dren), but  the  principal  and  the  most  compromised  among  them,  not 

do  not  doubt  but  that  it  was  the  men  of  whom  it  is  question  here,  either  because  it  fell  on 
their  shoulders,  as  is  usually  the  case  with  tlie  Hungarian  coppersmiths  whom  we  have  seen 
in  the  West  within  the  last  twenty  years,  or  because  it  formed  an  enormous  and  entangled 
roll  round  their  head,  as  is  sometimes  seen  even  amongst  our  Western  Gypsies. 

1  This  double  document  is  extracted  from  the  arcliives  of  the  town  of  Macon,  Registers 
of  the  Deliberations,  1st  vol.  (BB.  12),  folio  129,  verso.  It  had  been  pointed  out  to  me,  so 
far  back  as  1855,  by  my  excellent  colleague  of  the  Society  of  the  Ecole  des  Chartes,  Eugene 
de  Stadler,  then  Inspector-General  of  the  Archives  (died  1875),  who  had  given  me  a  summary 
of  it.  I  am  indebted  for  the  whole  text  to  the  kindness  of  anotlier  and  younger  colleague, 
M.  L.  Lex,  archivist  for  tlie  department  of  Saoue-et-Loire. 

2  Corner,  spealcing  of  those  who  travelled  through  the  Hauseatic  towns  (1417),  says  that 
"several,  in  divers  places,  were  seized  and  put  to  death."  But  it  is  more  tlian  probable 
that  tliese  were  victims  to  tlie  vengeance  of  the  people  or  peasants  whom  they  had  deceived 
or  robbed.     The  autliorities  would  not  have  proceeded  in  so  violent  a  manner. 


WP:STERN    EUROPE    IN    TIIK    FIFTEENTH    CENTURY.  327 

excepting  most  probably  the  J)uke  Andrew.  One  would  like  to  know 
how  they  got  out  of  their  adventure;  but  M.  Lex,  the  archivist 
already  named,  who  has  had  the  kindness  at  my  request  to  go  over 
the  continuation  of  the  D6liMrations  up  to  the  end  of  the  year  1419, 
has  not  succeeded  in  finding  anything  further. 

Those  who  are  acquainted  with  the  Gypsies  can  represent  to  them- 
selves in  this  circumstance  the  lamentations  and  supplications  of  the 
women,  and  the  active  and  persevering  steps  taken  by  all  those  who, 
remaining  at  liberty  (supposing  some  to  be  prisoners),  were  considered 
the  most  clever.  One  may  be  certain  also  that  the  chief,  who  bore 
the  title  of  duke,  was  a  man  fertile  in  resources.  At  all  events  the 
whole  band  could  not  have  long  delayed  the  continuation  of  its  pil- 
grimage. 

In  effect,  five  weeks  later,  we  find  the  Gypsies  in  Provence,  as  we 
learn  by  the  history  of  a  town^  in  this  country,  which  did  not  then 
belong  to  the  King  of  France.     A  troop  of  these  strangers  arrived,  on 
the  1st  of  October  1419,  at  Sisteron  in  Provence,  where  they  were 
named  Saracens,  the  appellation    given  to  all   non-Christians,  and 
which  was  particularly  familiar  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  south  of 
Prance  on  account  of  the  recollections  left  by  the  invasions  of  th6 
Arabs.     "  Their  strange  visit,"  says  M.  de  Laplane,  "  was  not  without 
inspiring  some  fears.     Tliey  were  refused  admittance  into  the  town  ; 
they  remained  for  two  days  in  a  field  encamped  like  soldiers,  in  the 
quarter  of  the  Baume,  where  food  was  sent  to  them.     Tliey  consumed 
at  one  meal  a  hundred  loaves  of  the  weight  of  twenty  ounces,  from 
which  one  can,  in  some  measure,  judge  of  their  number.     Those  who 
appeared  in  Paris,  in  1427,  and  who,  being  lodged  at  La  Chapelle, 
e.\cited  in  so  lively  a  manner  the  curiosity  of  the  public,  were  scarcely 
more  numerous,  since  Pasquier  -  does  not  carry  their  number  beyond 
a  hundred  an<l  thirty-two  persons;'^  including  women  and  children. 

1  Histoire  de  Sisteron,  tiree  de  ses  Archives,  etc.,  par  Ed.  de  Laplane,  in  8vo,  tome  1, 
Digne  1843,  pp.  261,  262. 

"  The  true  source  is  the  Journal  d'un  Bourgeois  de  Paris,  to  which  M.  de  La])lanc  ouirht 
to  have  referred  the  reader,  rather  than  to  the  imperfect  extract  which  Estienne  Pasquier 
had  given  in  his  Jlecherches  de  la  France  (1596)  of  the  very  interesting  passage  of  tliis 
chronicle  then  unpublished  (the  passage  will  be  found  further  on  ;  Paris,  1427) :  for,  not  to 
mention  the  edition  of  1729  (in  Memoires  de  France  et  de  Bnurgocjne),  which  edition  has, 
it  appears,  served  to  establish  those  which  I  point  out  lower  down,  the  Journal  d'un 
Bourgeois  de  Paris  had  appeared  in  the  Buchon  collection  (tome  40,  1827),  and  had  been 
reproduced  in  two  other  collections  previous  to  the  Histoire  de  Sisteron. 

^  The  Bourgeois  de  Paris,  after  having  mentioned  the  twelve  horsemen  who  arrived  (irst 
in  Paris,  then  the  other  Egyptians  who  arrived  ten  days  later,  says  that  tliey  "were  not 
more  in  all  '.  .  .  than  one  hundred,  or  one  hundred  and  twenty  or  thereabouts."  Pasipiier, 
who  gave  the  number  of  132,  has  done  wrong,  I  think,  in  having  added  u])  the  two 
numbers. 


328  THE   IMMIGRATION   OF  THE   GYPSIES   INTO 

Like  the  troop   in  Paris,  these  had  horses,^   and  as   commander  a 
duke,  to  whom  the  provisions  were  presented."  ^ 

This  estimate  is  very  near  the  precise  number  ^  given  us  at  St. 
Laurent-lez-Macon,  and  we  must  conclude  from  thence  that  it  was 
the  same  band,  and  that  the  duke  mentioned  at  Sisteron  was,  as  near 
Macon,  the  Duke  Andrew.  During  this  interval  the  band  had  spread 
itself  over  Provence,  and  the  reputation  of  these  "  Saracens,  wlio  were 
travelling  over  the  world  as  a  penance,"  had  preceded  them  at  Sis- 
teron. As  soon  as  they  had  arrived,  steps  were  taken  to  satisfy  them 
immediately,  in  order  that  they  might  leave  as  soon  as  possible,  for  it 
was  known  beforehand  "  that  they  wrouglit  evil " ;  it  was,  however, 
found  to  be  indispensable  to  support  them  for  two  days ;  and  in  all 
respects  "  the  example  of  the  other  towns  in  Provence  where  they  had 
passed "  was  followed ;  which  indicates,  by-the-by,  that  other 
archives  of  the  country  ought  to  contain  notices  analogous  to  this 
one,  which  is  not  without  interest. 

Six  months  go  by,  and  we  meet  Duke  Andrew,  with  the  same  band, 
in  the  Dutch  Low  Countries.  Here  is  the  literal  translation  of  an 
article  in  the  accounts  (Kameraars-rekeniug)  of  the  town  of  Deventer 
(Province  of  Overryssel),  under  the  date  of  1420  : — 

"  Out  of  charity,  to  the  Lord  Andreas,  Duke  of  Little  Egypt :  on  a 
Wednesday  after  rcminisccre  (6th  of  March), to  the  saidlord,  who  had 
been  driven  out  of  his  country  on  account  of  the  Christian  faith,  and 
had  come  to  our  town  with  a  hundred  persons,  men,  women,  and 
children,  and  about  forty  horses ;  the  same  having  letters  from  the 
King  of  the  Ptomans,  containing  an  invitation  to  give  them  alms,  and 
to  treat  them  with  kindness  in  all  the  countries  where  they  might  go  : 
given  by  order  of  our  aldermen  {scepenen),  25  florins  (gulden).  .  .  . 

1  Direct  mention  of  horses  is  not  made  in  the  Deliberation  ;  but  Laplane  naturally 
assumes  that  there  were  some  in  consequence  of  the  "  quatre  emines  d'avoine  (quatuor  eininas 
civate)  "  which  formed  part  of  the  daily  ration. — To  the  gifts  of  wine,  bread,  and  oats  must 
be  added  a  sum  of  money,  "  quatuor  lessi  (Q  mutonis." 

2  Hist,  de  Sisteron,  loco  cit.  Here  is  the  text  of  the  Registers  quoted  in  this  work  :  — 
"Quod,  amore  Dei,  istis  Sarracenis  qui  venerunt  ad  hanc  civitatem  Sistarici,  et  qui  vagant 
per  universum  orbem,  penitentia,  ut  de  atteuto  quod  eleemosynam  jiecierunt  a  dicta  univer- 
sitate  pro  dando  els  discessum  ab  hac  civitate,  racione  mali  quod  faciunt,  dentur  els  de  bonis 
universitatis  ea  que  sequuntur,  pro  uno  prandio,  sic  et  alire  universitates  Provincia;  in  quibus 
fuerint  fecerunt.  Et  jjrimo,  duas  cupas  vini  puri,  que  valent  quinque  grosses,  ad  racioiiem 
IIII°''  alborum,  pro  qualibet  cupa,  mouete  albe,  coniputando  cavtum  pro  tribus  denariis. 
Item,  centiim  panes,  quenilibet  unius  piataci  monete  albe.  Item,  IIIlo""  lessi  mutonis.  Item, 
1111°''  eminas  civate,  que  valent,  secundum  quod  nunc  venduntur,  unum  flor.  albe  monete, 
ad  racionem  triuni  denaviorum  pro  carto.  Precipientes  clavai'io  (tresorier)  dicte  universitatis 
quatenus  ita  faciat  crastino  die  in  prandio,  et  ista  omnia  faciat  apportari  ultra  ad  pratuni 
Balme  ubi  sunt  ipsi  lochati  more  gencium  armorum,  et  presententur  quidam  (sic)  duci 
ipsorum  qui  est  proceles  (sic)  inter  eos,  ex  parte  universitatis,  amore  Dei."  (1419. —  I"'' 
Octobre.     Regist.  des  deliberations.) 

3  It  appears  still  nearer  by  the  rectification  made  in  note  3  of  the  preceding  page. 


WESTERN   EUROPE   IN   THE   FIFTEENTH    CENTURY.  329 

Item,  to  the  same  for  1  )read,  beer,  for  straw,  herrings  and  smoked  her- 
rings, for  cost  of  the  carriage  of  the  beer,  for  straw,  for  cleaning  out 
the  barn  in  wliich  they  slept,  (paid)  to  Berend,  who  conducted  them 
as  far  as  Goor,  etc.,  in  all,  19  florins  10  plakken."^ 

It  ought  perhaps  to  be  added  that  the  Gypsies  showed  themselves 
also,  in  this  same  year,  in  Friesland,  and  in  the  north  of  Holland  pro- 
perly so  called,^  and  also  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Leyden,  that  is  to 
say  on  the  confines  of  northern  and  southern  Holland,^  which  might 

1  Document  published  by  Mr.  P.  C.  Molliuyseu,  De  Ileidens  in  Ovcrijssel,  in  Overijs- 
selsche  Almanak  for  the  year  1840,  Deventer,  1839,  pp.  59,  60  ;  and  reproduced  by  J.  DiKKS, 
Geschiedkundige  Onderzoekingen  .  .  .  (Historical  researches  concerning  the  sojourn  of  the 
Heidens  or  Egyptians  in  the  Low  Countries  of  the  North),  Utrecht,  1850,  in  8vo,  p.  56.  I 
shall  more  than  once  have  to  quote  this  volume  of  Mr.  Dirks's  (viii.  and  160  compact  pages), 
in  which  the  author  has  collected  all  the  original  documents  relative  to  the  (iypsies  that  it 
had  been  possible  to  find  up  to  that  time  in  Holland,  from  the  fifteenth  century  up  to  our 
times,  and  which  has  been  followed  by  a  sujiplement  published  in  1855  in  the  Bijdragen, 
etc.,  of  Mr.  Nijhofl',  appearing  at  Arnliem,  and  by  scattered  contributions  published  by 
divers  persons  in  the  Navorschcr  (the  Seeker — Amsterdam)  from  vol.  vii.  (1857)  to  vol.  xxxi. 
(1881).  In  two  letters,  dated  10th  July  1874  and  8th  July  1889,  Mr.  Dirks  has  kindly  given 
me  a  summary  list  of  the  documents — most  of  theiu  rather  recent — published  in  the  latter 
of  the  above-named  collections  (sinular  to  those  which  appear  in  France  under  the  title  of 
U  Intermediaire  and  in  England  under  that  of  Notes  and  Queries),  which  form  eacli  year  a  vol., 
in  small  fol.,  from  1852  to  1871,— in  large  8vo  subsequently.  Although  Mr.  Dirks  always 
indicates  the  authors  who  have  published  documents  before  him,  I  shall  also  indicate  them 
first,  whenever  I  may  have  been  able  to  procure  the  original  pul)lications. — A  few  last  words 
upon  the  principal  work  of  Mr.  Dirks  (1850).  It  consists  of  three  parts.  The  1st  (pp.  4-38) 
comprises  general  notions  concerning  the  Gypsies,  where  one  naturally  finds  information 
already  known  ;  the  two  pages,  8-10,  concerning  the  arrival  of  the  Gypsies  in  p]urope,  are 
quite  behindhand,  even  considering  their  date.  The  new  and  very  important  part  is  the 
2d  (pp.  39-137),  full  of  Dutch  documents,  classed  according  to  the  provinces.  In  the  3d 
part  (pp.  138-157)  the  author  gives  a  general  summary  of  the  history  of  the  Heidens  in  the 
Low  Countries  of  the  North  from  the  documents  contained  in  the  second  part.  I  remark 
(p.  139)  one  notion  which  it  is  useful  to  rectify  :  Mr.  Dirks  wrongly  imagines  that  the 
titles  of  earl,  duke,  or  king  have  been  given  to  the  Gypsy  chiefs,  and  often  to  the  same 
chiefs  alternately,  by  the  authorities  of  the  countries  through  which  they  passed,  according 
to  the  degree  of  consideration  they  consented  to  accord  them  :  no— they  repeated,  with  more 
or  less  confidence  at  first,  with  more  or  less  suspicion  afterwards,  the  titles  which  these 
chiefs  gave  themselves,  and  which  were  often  attested  by  the  official  papers  of  which  they 
were  the  bearers. 

2  "Dirk  Burger  van  Schorel,  in  his  Chronyck  van  MedemUik  (Hoorn,  1767,  p.  93),  says 
that  when,  in  the  year  1420,  they  came  for  the  first  time  into  Friesland,  and  into  the 
northern  quarters  of  Holland,  they  were  made  much  of,  but  soon  afterwards  opinion  changed 
regarding  them.  Whence  has  this  writer  gathered  this?  The  archivist  (?  Chartcrmcester), 
J.  A.  van  der  Zwaan,  has  taken  the  trouble,  on  the  subject  of  the  Heidens  or  Egyptians, 
to  verify  a  great  number  of  accounts  of  Bailiwicks  (Baljuwschappen)  in  the  province  of 
Holland  in  tlie  fifteenth,  sixteenth,  and  seventeenth  centuries  ;  but  he  has  only  found  oyie 
single  note  of  1491  and  two  of  1633  and  1635."— J.  Dirks,  Geschiedkundige  Onderzoekingen, 
etc.  (already  quoted),  p.  118.  I  am  told,  besides,  that  Dirk  van  Schorel  deserves  but  little 
credit. 

3  Mr.  J.  Dirks,  in  his  very  obliging  letter  of  the  10th  of  July  1874,  had  given  me,  amongst 
many  others,  the  following  indication  :  At  the  end  of  extracts  relative  to  the  Heidens,  taken 
from  the  accounts  of  the  Abbey  of  Leeuwenhorst  (from  1462),  and  published  by  Mr. 
Ramnielman  Elzevier  inthe  vols.  xii.  and  xiii.  of  the  Navorscher,  Mr.  R.  Elzevier  .says  (vol.  xiii., 
1863,  p.  164)  ;— "  If  one  examines  the  accounts  of  the  Abbeys  of  Leeuwenhorst  and  of  Rhyns- 
burg  (near  Leyden),  I  think  tliat  earlier  mention  will  be  found  there  of  the  Gypsies,  for  ex- 
ample in  the  year  1420."  I  then  wrote  a  long  letter  (15th  July  1874)  to  Mr.  Rauimelman 
Elzevier,  archivist  at  Leyden,  in  order  to  ask  him  for  some  explanations  upon  this  and  several 
other  points  ;  but  I  did  not  receive  any  answer. 

VOL.  I. — NO.  VI.  Y 


330  THE   IMMIGRATION   OF   THE   GYPSIES   INTO 

have  been  their  road  for  gaining  Hainault,  where  we  shall  shortly 
meet  them.  But  here  our  information  is  so  uncertain  that  I  do  not 
dare  to  rely  upon  it. 

What  is  more  certain  is  the  passage  at  Tournai  (Hainault),  at  the 
end  of  September  of  the  following  year,  of  a  group  of  Gypsies  who, 
according  to  the  context,  do  not  appear  to  have  been  numerous. 

"30th  of  September  1421.  The  '  co?isaMa; '  (consuls,  aldermen  of 
the  town)  charge  Sir  Jean  Weltin  to  examine  the  request  made 
on  the  suhjed  of  the  Egyptians. 

"  It  is  again  to  the  municipal  accounts,"  says  the  editor  of  these 
documents,^  "  that  we  must  have  recourse  to  complete  the  often  too 
laconic  information  procured  from  the  registers  that  we  are  analysing. 
Here  is  the  account  of  1421  ^  concerning  what  is  called  the  suhjed  of 
the  Egyptians : — 

" '  To  Sir  Miquiel,  prince  of  Latinghem  in  Egypt,  as  [gift]  ^  made 
to  him  out  of  pity  and  compassion,  for  the  sustaining  of  him  and 
several  other  men  and  women  of  his  company  who  were  driven  out 
of  their  country  by  the  Saracens  because  they  had  turned  to  the 
Christian  faith  :  xii  gold  "  moutons,"  worth  xiii  livres.  Item,  for  a 
rasiere  *  of  bread  which  was  given  in  common  to  the  said  Egyptians, 
XXXV  s.  Item,  for  a  barrel  of  "  amhours  "  (a  sort  of  beer)  also  given  to 
them  xviis.  vid.  The  said  portions  amounting  [to]  xvil.  xiis. 
vid.'" 

Who  is  this  new  "  Sir  Miquiel,  prince  of  Latinghem  in  Egypt "  ? 
Is  it  the  Duke  Michael  of  Egypt,  whom  we  have  perhaps  already  met 
with  in  Switzerland  in  1418,  and  whom  we  meet  with  more  certainly 
at  Bale  in  1422  ?  ^  It  is  possible ;  but  then,  for  some  reason  of  which 
we  are  ignorant,  he  had  adopted  a  new  title  which  has  a  Flemish 
physiognomy  much  more  than  an  Egyptian  one.*^  It  is  possible  also 
that  it  may  have  been  a  petty  dissentient  chief  of  some  kind  who  had 
wished  to  receive  the  alms  (those  he  obtained  here  were  very  liberal) 

1  Extraits  analyliques  des  anciens  o-egistres  des  Consaux  de  la  ville  de  Tournai  (1385- 
1422)  .  .  .  published  by  H.  Vanderbroeck,  archivist  of  the  town  of  Tournai  (in  2  vols.  8vo  ; 
Tournai,  1861  aud  1863),  tome  i.,  p.  236. 

2  The  editor  ought  again  to  have  given  here  the  date  of  the  month  aud  the  day. 

3  The  word  within  brackets  is  wanting  in  the  text. 

4  The  "  rasiere"  is  generally  a  measure  of  capacity;  it  appears  that  at  Tournai  the 
rasiere  represented  also  a  certaiu  weight  or  a  certain  quantity  of  articles  of  food,  such  as 
bread,  which  cannot  be  measured. 

5  He  is  fouud  again  at  Utrecht  in  1439,  but  this  date  belongs  to  the  Second  Period. 

6  M.  Louis  de  Mas  Latrie,  whom  I  met  at  the  Ecole  des  Chartes  on  the  30th  January 
1873,  whilst  I  was  occupied  with  these  documents,  told  me  that  he  had  known  a  colonel  of 
engineers,  since  dead,  whose  name  was  Lateignan  de  Ladinghem,  who  was  a  native  of  Flauders 
or  of  Artois,  or  of  some  neighbouring  province.  M.  de  Mas  Latrie  did  not  doubt  that  Latinghem 
or  Ladinghem  was  the  ntimc  of  some  place  in  this  region. 


WESTEllN    EUROPE   IN   THE   FIFTEENTH    CENTUUV.  331 

for  himself  and  his  little  group,  and  who,  not  daring  to  usurp  the  title 
of  Duke  i\Iichael,  which  might  have  drawn  upon  him  the  ill-will  of 
him  whose  name  he  had  usurped,  took  another  less  high-sounding 
title.i 

The  "Egyptians"  returned  to  Tournai  in  the  following  year 
(1422).-  Unfortunately  the  very  valuable  passage  of  the  chronicle 
which  describes  this  band  (not  very  numerous,  it  appears)  does  not 
give  us  the  name  of  the  chief,  and  does  not  even  make  special  mention 
of  any  chief.     Here  is  this  curious  document : — 

"  And  in  the  following  year,  which  was  one  thousand  four  hundred 
and  twenty-two,  about  the  month  of  May,  several  people  of  strange 
nation,  who  said  they  came  from  Egypt,  came  for  the  first  time  to  the 
town  of  Tournai  and  the  country  round  about.  And  they  said  they 
could  only  lodge  for  the  space  of  iii  days  in  a  town,  because  they  were 
constrained  to  journey  as  pilgrims  about  the  world  for  vii  years  before 
they  might  return  into  their  said  country.  And  these  Egyptians  had 
a  king  and  lords  w^hom  they  obeyed,^  and  had  privileges,  so  that  none 
could  punish  them  save  themselves. 

"  And  most  of  these  lived  by  pilfering,  especially  the  women,  who 
were  ill-clothed,  and  entered  the  houses,  some  asking  alms  and  others 
bargaining  for  some  sort  of  merchandise.  And  it  was  with  difficulty 
that  one  could  be  upon  one's  guard  against  them  without  losing  some- 
thins.  And  there  were  some  who,  the  better  to  deceive  foolish  men 
and  women,  pretended  to  foretell  the  future,  such  as  the  having  of 
children,  or  of  being  soon  or  well  married,  or  of  having  good  or  bad  luck, 
and  many  other  such  deceits.  And  whilst  they  were  thus  abusing  the 
belief  of  many  people,  the  children  cut  the  purses  of  those  who  were 
too  attentive  to  their  charms,  or  they  themselves,  with  the  hand  with 
which  they  seemed  to  hold  a  child  (whicli  they  did  not  do,  for  the 

1  See  further  on  pp.  332-333,  particularly  the  end  of  note  3,  p.  333. 

"  Mr.  Vauderbroeck,  in  (juoting  this  passage  of  the  chronicle,  appears  to  think  that  it 
applies  to  the  same  fact  which  had  been  signalised  on  the  30th  of  September  1421,  at 
Tournai.  It  is  no  doubt  the  phrase,  "  came^rs^  to  the  to^vn  of  Tournai .  .  .,"  which  induced 
him  to  make  this  supposition  ;  but  the  chroniclers  are  too  much  disposed  to  think  that  the 
first  fact  with  which  tbey  become  acquainted  is  the  first  of  the  same  kind  that  has  taken 
place.  Supposing  that  this  writer,  who  does  not  appear  to  have  immediately  d.ated  the 
fact  he  has  so  well  described,  but  which  he  has  no  doubt  interpolated  into  his  chronicle  later 
on,  should  have  been  mistaken  in  the  year,  which  is  not  very  probable,  his  recollections 
would  not  have  furnisbe.l  him  with  "towards  the  month  of  May"  instead  of  the  30th  of 
September.     On  the  whole  I  see  no  reason  to  doubt  the  approximate  date  given  by  the 

chronicler. 

3  This  vague  mention  of  "king  and  lords  "  is  better  specified  by  the  Bourgeois  de  Pans 
(see  Paris,  1427).  That  which  here  concerns  the  king  refers  no  doubt  to  what  these  Egyptians 
then  said  of  their  own  country.  On  the  contrary,  the  privilege  of  which  they  boasted  of 
being  punished  only  by  themselves  evidently  regards  their  actual  chiefs  ;  cf.  further  on 
(Bologna,  July  1422)  my  note  concerning  the  pretended  imperial  decree  which  authorised 
them  to  steal. 


332  THE   IMMIGKATION   OF   THE    GYPSIES    INTO 

child  was  supported  by  a  band  put  on  as  a  sling  ^  covered  over  with  a 
blanket  ('  Jlassart  or  lincJwel '  ^),  and  this  hand  was  free),  purloined 
artfully  without  its  being  perceived. 

"  And  the  men  were  sufficiently  well  dressed,  the  greater  number 
of  whom  occupied  themselves  with  the  buying  and  selling  of  horses, 
and  they  were  such  skilful  horsemen  that  a  horse  appeared  very  much 
better  under  them  than  under  other  men.  And  thus,  by  '  heu- 
delant '  ^  and  deceiving,  they  often  got  a  better  horse  than  their  own, 
and  money  into  the  bargain.  And  some  of  these  men,  when  they 
bought  some  merchandise,  gave  a  florin  in  payment,  and  in  receiving 
their  change,  were  so  skilful  with  their  hand,  confusing  and  cheating 
the  people,  or  asking  for  other  money  than  that  which  was  given 
them,  that  none  escaped  without  loss.  And  often,  when  they  had 
stolen  what  they  could,  they  would  not  take  the  merchandise,  pre- 
tending not  to  know  the  money  that  had  been  given  them  in 
exchange. 

"  And  these  folks  were  lodged  in  Tournai  on  the  market-place,  in 
the  cloth-market,  where  many  went  to  see  them  by  day  and  by  night. 
And  they  slept  there  by  couples,  one  close  to  the  other,  and  were  not 
ashamed  to  do  their  necessities  and  natural  works  before  every  one. 

"  And  folks  gossiped  about  the  allegation  made  by  these  people 
that  they  were  from  Egypt,  but  no  doubt  they  were  only,  as  was 
known  afterwards,  from  a  town  in  Germany  named  in  Latin  Ujn- 
polensis  (sic),  and  in  common  parlance  Maliode  (or  Mahone  ?),  situated 
between  the  town  of  Wilsenacque  and  liomme  (sic),  at  vi  days'  journey 
from  the  said  Vilsenacque ;  and  they  abide  there  by  tribute  and 
servitude."  ^ 

I  have  already  quoted  and  remarked  upon  ^  this  last  paragraph 
which  ends  by  so  strange  a  geographical  indication.  I  reproduce  it 
here,  however,  not  only  to  avoid  cutting  short  this  valuable  passage 
of  a  chronicle,  but  also  because  this  paragraph  appears  to  me  to  be  of 

1  The  text  says  "estoit  soutenu  de  ung  cha,mt  d  erquerpe."  I  think  we  ought  to  read, 
"d  esquerjm,"  that  is  to  say,  en  echarpe,  in  a  sling. 

2  This  "_^assart  or  linchoel "  (linceul — anciently  a  sheet,  and  by  extension  all  sorts  of 
covering)  appears  again  at  Bologna  (July  1422)  under  the  name  of  Schiavina  (see  p.  336),  and 
is  called  at  Paris  (1427)  a  "  fiaussoie"  another  form  of  the  vfordjlussart. 

3  Godefroy,  in  his  Diet,  de  Vancienne  langue  Frangaise  (in  course  of  piiblication).  men- 
tions the  verb  ^'heudeler"  with  a  note  of  interrogation,  and  produces,  as  sole  example,  the 
self-same  phrase  in  our  text.     The  precise  meaning  of  this  word  is  then  still  unknown. 

^  Recueil  des  Clironiqucs  de  Flandre,  published  imder  the  direction  of  the  Pvoyal  Com- 
mission of  History  by  J.  J.  de  Smet.  Brussels,  in  4to,  vol.  iii.  1856,  p.  372,  in  the  great 
Collection  des  Chroniqiies  beiges.  I  need  not  say  that  the  author  of  this  chronicle  is  con- 
temporary with  the  event  which  he  evidently  relates  de  visu  ;  but  his  name  is  unknown.  The 
editor  (p.  113)  thinks  that  this  important  chronicle  was  probably  written  at  Tournai,  and  he 
makes  some  remarks  on  the  incorrect  French  of  the  "  Walloii"  writers. 

■''  In  Antecedents  end  Pidvdes,  pp.  207-210, 


WESTERN   EUROPE    IN    THE   FIFTEENTH   CENTURY,  333 

a  nature  to  throw  perhaps  some  light  upon  the  particular  origin  of 
such  a  little  band  as  may  present  itself  to  us  under  an  unusual  aspect, 
like  that  which  came  first  to  Tournai  (September  1421)  under  the 
conduct  of  "  Miquiel,  prince  of  Latinghem  in  Egypt." 

Indeed,  if,  as  I  think,  there  existed,  before  1417,  in  the  bishopric 
of  Wurtzburg  (RerhijJolis),  which  must  be  the  place  intended  in  this 
strange  document,  Gypsies  whom  the  Prince  Bisliop  forbade  his 
subjects  to  harbour,!  if  some  had  been  driven  from  Meissen  in  1416,  to 
say  nothing  of  those  who  might  have  arrived  in  Hesse  in  141 4,"^  it  is 
quite  natural  to  think  that  some  of  those,  seeing  the  success  obtained 
by  the  newly  arrived  Gypsies  from  the  East,  endeavoured  to  imitate 
them,  and  caused  themselves  to  be  equally  well  received  by  repeating 
the  same  tales,  which  it  was  probably  not  difficult  to  learn  well 
enough.  What  they  lacked,  however,  was  necessarily  the  letters  from 
the  Emperor  (afterwards  from  the  Pope)  in  confirmation  of  their 
assertions.  Now  I  remark  precisely  that,  in  the  account  of  the  liberal 
alms  given  on  the  30th  of  September  1421  by  the  town  of  Tournai 
to  "  Miquiel,  prince  of  Latinghem  in  Egypt,"  no  mention  is  made,  as 
is  generally  the  case  in  the  documents  of  a  similar  nature,  of  the 
imperial  letters  .  .  . :  this  circumstance  alone  proves  nothing,  for 
the  greater  number  of  these  documents  are  too  summary  to  contain 
invariably  such  an  indication,^  but  it  is  necessary  to  authorise,  in 
presence  of  other  more  significative  circumstances,  a  conjecture  like 
that  which  I  have  just  made,  and  which,  besides,  I  only  give  as  a 
conjecture. 

This  conjecture  is  inapplicable,  whatever  the  chroniclers  may  say, 
and  notwithstanding  the  absence  of  all  mention  of  the  imperial  letters, 
to  the  band  which  has  just  been  described  to  us  by  the  Chronique  de 
Flandre,^  for  several  of  the  curious  details  given  by  it  concerning 

1  See  Antecedents  and  Preludes,  pp.  207-210. 

2  See  ibid.,  pp.  205-207. 

3  I  have  already  remarked  (p.  326)  that  there  is  no  mention  made  of  tlie  imperial  letters 
in  the  account  of  St.  Laurent-lez-Macon  (end  of  August  1419),  nor  in  those  of  Sisteron  (1st 
October  1419),  to  say  notliing  of  certain  Clironicles  (see  the  following  note) :  this  does  not 
prevent  me  from  considering  the  Gypsies  signalised  in  these  places  as  forming  part  of  the 
group  to  whom  these  letters  had  been  accorded.  The  shortness  of  the  accounts  is  not,  how- 
ever, without  doubt  the  only  cause  of  the  omission  which  is  sometimes  remarked  in  them. 
It  is  very  likely  that  the  scribe,  or  the  municipality  itself,  seeing  wliat  sort  of  people  they 
had  to  deal  with,  may  have  more  than  once  found  it  more  suitable  not  to  mention  the  imperial 
recommendation.  At  St.  Laurent,  precisely,  the  "  Egyptians  '  behaved  themselves  very  ill, 
at  Sisteron  they  are  known  beforehand.  "But  this  consideration  appears  inapplicable  to  the 
first  band  which  visited  Tournai,  for  the  "  prince  of  Latinghem  "  and  his  followens,  who  were 
very  well  received  there,  gave  no  cause  of  complaint.  They  appear  to  have  wished  to  dis- 
tinguish themselves  advantageously  in  this  respect  from  those  whose  steps  they  followed, 
according  to  my  conjecture. 

•*  The  chroniclers  neglect  too  easily  the  official  details,  such  as  the  name  of  the  chief,  the 
papers  he  possessed,  things  which  are  more  interesting  to  the  municipalities  who  grant  alms. 


334  THE   IMMIGKATION   OF   THE   GYPSIES   INTO 

this  band  are  identical  with  those  which  the  Journal  d'un  Bourgeois  de 
Paris  will  give  us  concerning  the  Gypsies  who  visited  us  in  1427, 
and  who  were  evidently  one  of  the  principal  bands  of  this  period. 

The  identity  of  the  details  furnished  by  the  two  chroniclers  adds, 
besides,  a  great  value  to  these  two  documents,  for  it  proves  the  per- 
fect correctness  of  the  observations  collected  on  both  sides.  But  the 
Ghronique  de  Flandre  contains  also  no  less  curious  details,  which  are 
met  with  in  no  other  document  of  this  first  epoch,  especially  the 
subterfuge  used  by  the  women  for  thieving,  the  cunning  of  the  horse- 
dealing  men,  the  thefts  in  changing  money  practised  by  both  men 
and  women,  and  which  are  still  at  the  present  time  one  of  the  com- 
monest misdemeanours  of  the  Gypsies,  with  this  difference,  that  it  is 
now  almost  always  the  exclusive  business  of  the  women. 

Let  us,  however,  pursue  our  researches  and  resume  the  itineraries 
of  these  indefatigable  travellers,  as  far  as  the  documents  which  have 
come  to  our  knowledge  will  permit. 

The  letters  of  the  Emperor  began  to  get  old,  they  must  already 
have  been  dated  five  years  before,  and,  as  the  Gypsies  had  said  up  to 
the  present  time  that  their  pilgrimage  was  to  last  seven  years}  it  was 
prudent  to  see  what  could  be  done.     Besides,  the  credit  enjoyed  by 
the  Emperor  Sigismund  was  not  the  same  in  every  country ;  and  these 
great  pilgrims  began  to  pass  for  unbelievers.     It  was  clear  that  if,  by 
the  imperial  letters,  they  could  obtain  others  from  the  Pope,  their 
situation   throughout   the  whole  of   Christendom   would   be  much 
benefited ;  and  truly  as  penitents  it  behoved  them  to  go  to  Kome.  .  .  . 
This  is  precisely  the  idea  which  entered  the  head  of  our  adventurers. 
To  go  to  Rome,  to  see  the  Pope,  still  better  to  extort  from  him  letters 
of  protection,  what  a  strange  thing,  and  apparently  how  difficult  for 
Gypsies  !     The  strangeness  was  an  additional  reason  for  them  to 
attempt  it,  and  as  for  the  difficulty,  nothing  is  difficult  to  a  Gypsy. 

"The  18th  of  July  1422,  a  duke  of  Egypt,  named  Duke  Andrew, 
arrived  at  Bologna  with  women,  children,  and  men  from  liis  own 
country.     They  might  be  about  a  hundred.     This  duke,  having  denied 


We  find  the  same  regrettable  omissions  in  the  inestimable  testimony  of  the  Bourgeois  de 
Paris,  whose  recital  makes  one,  however,  supi)ose  that  these  Gypsies  exhibited  the  jDapal 
letters  obtained  in  1422. 

1  Their  statement  on  this  point,  agreeing  no  doubt  with  wliat  was  contained  in  the  imperial 
letter,  had  not  varied.  See  above  the  Hanseatic  towns  (1417),  Switzerland  (1418),  Tournai 
(May  1422),  and,  lower  down,  Bologna  (July  of  the  same  year).  According  to  the  statement 
in  the  last-named  place,  it  was  the  King  of  Hungary,  i.e.  the  Emperor,  wlio  had  fixed  this 
duration  to  tbeir  pilgrimage. — After  the  letters  from  the  Pope  were  obtained,  towards  the 
end  of  August  1422,  this  latter  year  seems  generally  to  serve  as  the  point  of  departui-e  for  a 
new  terra  of  seven  years. 


WESTERN    EUROPE   IN    TUK   FIFTEENTH   CENTURY.  335 

the  Christian  f.aith,  the  King  of  Hungary  ^  had  taken  possession  of 
his  lands  and  person.  Then  he  tokl  the  king  that  he  wished  to 
return  to  Christianity,  and  he  had  been  baptized  with  about  four 
thousand  men ;  -  those  wlio  refused  to  be  baptized  were  put  to  death. 
After  the  King  of  Hungary  had  thus  taken  them  and  re-baptized 
them,  he  ordered  them  to  travel  about  the  world  for  seven  years,  to 
go  to  Rome  to  see  the  Pope,  and  afterwards  to  return  into  their  own 
country.  When  they  arrived  at  Bologna,  they  had  been  journeying 
for  five  years,^  and  more  than  half  of  them  were  dead.  They  had  a 
decree  from  the  King  of  Hungary,  the  Emperor,  in  virtue  of  which 
they  were  allowed  to  thieve,  during  these  seven  years,  wherever  they 
might  go,  witliout  being  amenable  to  justice.' 

"  When  they  arrived  at  Bologna,  they  lodged  themselves  inside  and 
outside  the  gate  of  Galiera,  and  settled  themselves  under  the  porticoes 
(portici),  with  the  exception  of  the  duke,  who  lodged  at  the  King's 
Inn  (1^q\Y  Albergo  del  Ee).  They  remained  a  fortnight  at  Bologna. 
During  this  time  many  people  went  to  see  them,  on  account  of  tlie 
duke's  wife,  who,  it  was  said,  could  foretell  what  would  happen  to  a 
person  during  his  life,  as  well  as  what  was  interesting  in  the  present, 
how  many  children  would  be  born,  whether  such  a  woman  was  good 
or  bad,  and  other  things  ;  concerning  all  which  she  told  truly.  And, 
amongst  those  who  wished  to  have  their  fortune  told,  few  went  to 
consult  without  having  their  purse  stolen,  and  the  women  had  pieces  of 
their  dress  cut  off.  The  women  of  the  band  wandered  about  the  town, 
seven  or  eight  together ;  they  entered  the  houses  of  the  inhabitants, 
and,  whilst  they  were  telling  idle  tales,  some  of  tliem  laid  hold  of 
what  was  within  their  reach.  In  the  same  way  they  visited  the 
shops  under  the  pretext  of  buying  something,  but  in  reality  to  steal. 
Many  thefts  were  committed  in  this  way  in  Bologna.      So  it  was 

1  It  was  the  Emperor  Sigisiiiund  who  was  King  of  Hungary  since  1392. 

2  ".  .  .  e  cosi  sL  battezzo  con  ahiuanti  di  quel  popolo,  e  lurono  circa  4000  iioniini."  It 
will  be  seen  that,  ia  Paris,  in  1427,  the  Gypsies  said  that  they  had  numbered  one  thousand 
or  twelve  hundred  when  they  set  out.  I  note  these  numbers  without  deducing  anything  from 
them. 

3  I  have  said  before  what  importance  we  may  attach  to  this  statement  taken  in  its 
absolute  signification,  but  I  also  point  out  all  the  value  that  this  statement  and  that  of  the 
Gypsies  in  Paris  in  1427  derived  from  their  compai-ison  with  the  dates  of  the  safe-conducts 
of  the  Emperor  and  of  tlie  Pope  ;  they  prove  the  authenticity  of  tliese  safe-conducts,  and 
these  will  serve  to  prove  the  identity  of  the  band  of  Gypsies  travelling  over  the  west  ut  this 
epoch. 

*  It  is  more  than  doubtful  whether  the  Emperor's  letters  contained  any  such  clause,  but 
they  evidently  contained  anotlier  which  is  in  reality  equivalent  to  it.  The  Tournai  clironicler 
(May  1422)  tells  us  that  they  had  "privileges  so  that  none  might  punish  them  but  them- 
selves only,"  that  is  to  say  their  chiefs.  And  we  find  this  privilege  drawn  up  by  Sigisraund 
himself  in  the  letter  which  he  accorded,  in  1423,  to  another  Gypsy  chief,  the  voivode  Ladislas, 
to  whom  he  reserves  the  right  of  justice  over  all  the  members  of  his  band,  to  the  exclusion 
of  all  the  local  authorities.     See  farther  on,  liatisbon,  1424. 


336  THE    IMMIGRATION   OF   THE   GYPSIES   INTO 

cried  throughout  the  town  that  no  one  should  go  to  see  them  under 
a  XDenalty  of  fifty  pounds  and  excommunication ;  for  they  were  the 
most  cunning  thieves  in  all  the  world.  It  was  even  allowed  to  those 
who  had  been  robbed  by  them  to  rob  them  in  return  to  the  amount 
of  their  losses  [a  strange  expedient].  In  consequence  of  which 
several  of  the  inhabitants  of  Bologna  slipped  during  the  night  into  a 
stable  where  some  of  their  horses  were  shut  up,  and  stole  the  best  of 
them.  The  others,  wishing  to  get  back  their  horse,  agreed  to  restore 
a  great  number  of  the  stolen  objects.  [This  was  accordingly  done  as 
it  appears.]  But,  seeing  that  there  was  nothing  more  to  gain  there, 
they  left  Bologna  and  went  off  towards  Kome. 

"  Observe,"  adds  the  chronicler,  "  that  they  were  the  ugliest  brood 
ever  seen  in  this  country.  They  were  thin  and  black,  and  they  ate 
like  swine ;  their  women  went  in  smocks,  and  wore  a  '  schiavina '  ^ 
across  the  shoulder  (ad  armacollo),  rings  in  their  ears,  and  a  long  veil 
on  their  head.  One  of  them  gave  birth  to  a  child  in  the  market-place, 
and,  at  the  end  of  three  days,  she  went  on  to  rejoin  her  people."^ 

Forli  was  on  the  road  to  Rome  (about  five  leagues  from  Bologna, 
which  the  Gypsies  had  quitted  about  the  2d  of  August),  and  we  find 
them  before  this  town  on  the  7th  August.  Their  number  had  no 
doubt  increased  on  the  road,  for  the  chronicler  of  Forli  esteems  it  to  be 
two  hundred.  These  unaccommodating  people,  says  he,  went  to  and  fro 
during  two  days  like  wild  beasts  and  thieves.^  If  one  can  judge  by 
the  expressions  of  the  chronicler,  they  affected  to  treat  the  Italians 
on  a  footing  of  equality,  and  representing  themselves  as  a  people  sent 
by  the  Emperor,  they  demanded  a  sort  of  alliance  with  the  people  of 
Forli.  Fra  Geronimo  does  not  tell  us  anything  more  of  them,  except- 
ing that  some  of  them  said  they  were  from  India.^     He  adds  that 

1  I  find  in  the  dictionary  :  "  Garment  of  coai'se  linen  peculiar  to  slaves,  and  worn  also  by 
pilgrims  and  hermits.  It  is  also  used  for  bed-coverings  made  of  the  same  tissue."  Garment 
or  covering  for  pilgrims,  the  two  things  are  already  much  alike,  for  the  Gypsies  they  are  one 
and  the  same  thing.  I  will  not,  therefore,  decide.  Old  engravings  show  us  the  Gypsies,  and 
especially  the  Gyi)sy  women,  wrapped  in  long  and  large  cloaks  in  the  form  of  blaukets,  or 
vice-versd.  Sometimes  these  blanket-cloaks  are  striped.  See,  amongst  others,  the  engraving- 
given  by  Munster.  As  to  the  epithet  ad  armacollo,  it  means  that  the  Gypsy  women  then 
wore  the  blanket,  not  as  a  cloak,  as  the  engraving  in  question  represents  them,  but  as  a 
drapery  passed  under  the  arm  and  fastened  on  the  other  shoulder.  Le  Bourgeois  de  Paris 
(see  further  on)  tells  us  precisely  that  the  women  wore  as  sole  garment  a  smock,  and  over  it 
a  very  coarse  old  blanket  fastened  on  the  shoulder  by  a  band  of  cloth  or  a  cord.  See  also 
notes  1  and  2  of  page  332,  ante  (Tournai,  Mai  1422). 

2  Chronica  di  Bologna  in  the  great  collection  of  Muratori,  Rerum  Hal.  Scriptores,  t.  xviii., 
1731,  pp.  611,  612. 

3  The  text  hea,rsfu7-entes,  furious,  but  I  think  we  ought  to  reaifurantes. 

*  "  Eodem  millesimo  (1422)  venerunt  Forlivium  quatdam  geutes  missaj  ab  Imperatore, 
cupientes  recipere  fidem  nostram  ;  et  fueruut  in  Forlivio  die  vii"  Augusti.  Et,  ut  audivi, 
aliqui  dicebant  quod  erant  de  India.  Et  steterunt  hinc  inde  per  duos  dies  gentes  nou  niultum 
morigenatae,  quae  quasi  bruta  auimalia  et  furentes.     Et  fuerunt  numero  quasi  ducenti,  et 


WESTERN    EUROPE    IN    THE    FIFTEKNTH    CENTURY.  337 

there  was  a  great  plague  and  a  great  mortality  that  year  at 
Forli.i 

On  quitting  Forli,  as  in  quitting  Bologna,  the  Gypsies  said  that 
they  were  going  to  Eome  to  the  Pope ;  and  iu  truth  they  were  going 
there.  It  appears  even  that  these  crafty  heathens  found  means  to 
touch  the  sovereign  pontiff :  as  was  evidenced  by  the  new  letters  of 
protection  which  they  soon  produced. 

The  object  of  the  journey,  as  I  have  already  given  to  understand, 
was  these  famous  letters  of  protection.  As  soon  as  they  had  been 
obtained,  the  troop  retraced  its  steps.  We  are  about  to  find  them 
again  in  Switzerland,  in  this  centre  of  civilised  nations,  where  the 
Gypsies  had  already  once  before  given  each  other  rendezvous,  and 
which  they  no  doubt  liked  on  account  of  its  division  into  more  or  less 
independent  cantons,  and  also  perhaps  because  they  again  met  with 
the  German  tongue,  with  which  they  had  been  long  familiar,  as  I  have 
remarked  in  my  first  article,  for  it  will  be  observed  that  it  is  again  in 
a  German-speaking  canton  that  we  meet  them. 

In  the  same  year  (1422) — we  do  not  know  the  precise  date,  but 
the  possession  of  the  Pope's  letters  places  it  undoubtedly  after  the 
month  of  August — the  cunning,  lazy  foreigners  called  Zigciner  were 
known  for  the  first  time  at  Bale,^  and  in  the  Wiesenthal.^  The 
chronicler  of  Bale  ^  does  not  tell  us  the  number  of  these  travellers, 

ibant  versiis  Romam  ad  Papam,  scilicet  viri  et  nmlieres  et  parvuli."  Chronicon  Foroliviense 
(1397-1433),  auctore  fratre  Hieronymo  foroliviensi,  ordiuis  Pra2dicatorum  ;  in  Rerum  italic. 
Scriptores,  vol.  xix.  p.  890.  — There  is  in  this  text  a  short  sentence  which  has  been  more 
remarked  than  pei'haps  it  deserves  to  be  :  "  aliqui  dicebant  quod  erant  de  India."  In  the 
tirst  place,  this  incorrect  Latin  allows  of  two  different  interpretations :  was  it  some  of  the 
Gypsies  who  said  that  ?  or  some  of  the  inhabitants  of  Forli  who  had  this  idea  ?  I  had 
formerly  aiiopted  the  first  of  these  two  interpretations  :  now,  it  appears  to  nie  very  doubtful. 
In  either  case  it  must  be  recollected  that  at  this  period  the  word  India  was  sometimes  made 
use  of  to  indicate  certain  countries  in  Africa,  particularly  Ethiopia,  as  Pott  has  remarked  in 
a  passage  of  Die  Zigeuner  which  I  cannot  put  my  hand  on.  Some  authors,  indeed,  of  the 
sixteenth  century  and  of  a  later  date  have  given  the  name  of  ^-Ethiopcs,  JVubiani,  etc.,  to  the 
Gypsies. 

1  Muratori  makes  the  same  oliservation  in  his  Annali  d' Italia,  vol.  ix.  (1764),  p.  89. 

2  See,  however,  in  my  preceding  article,  pp.  282-284,  the  testimony  of  Justiuger,  accord- 
ing to  whom  the  Gypsies  had  already  visited  Bale  in  1418  or  1419. 

3  Wiesenthal  (valley  of  the  Wiese),  Visentagiensis  Comitatus,  between  the  territory  of 
Ulni  and  the  county  of  Wurtemberg  (became  a  duchy  iu  1495). 

•*  Wurstisen  Basler  Chronik,  Brde,  1580,  in  fol.,  p.  240,  or  John  Grossius  (who  copies 
Wurstisen),  Kurtze  Bassler  Chronick,  Biile,  1624,  in  small  8vo,  p.  70.  Concerning  tliese  two 
clironiclers  see  my  note  relative  to  the  Swiss  chroniclers,  pp.  276  and  278.  Here  is  the 
literal  translation  of  the  passage  in  Wurstisen  :  "In  1422,  came  for  the  first  time  to  Bale  and 
into  the  Wiesenthal,  a  cunning  and  lazy  strange  people  called  Ziijeiner,  with  about  fifty 
horses.  They  had  a  chief  who  calls  himself  the  Duke  Michael  of  Egypt.  They  were  provided 
with  safe-conducts  (Paszioorte)  from  the  Pope  and  from  the  King  of  the  Romans.  It  was  on 
this  account  that  they  were  tolerated  and  allowed  to  pass,  although  it  was  to  the  displeasure 
of  the  peasants.  They  said  they  drew  their  origin  from  the  Egyptians  who  refused  hospitality 
to  Joseph  and  Mary  during  their  llight  into  Egypt  with  the  newly-born  Lord  Jesus  to  escape 
the  anger  of  Herod.  It  was  for  this  reason  that  God  cast  them  out  into  misery  as  orphans 
(vjeiszlosz).     Since  then  this  black,  ugly,  and  savagely  vagabond  people,  ..."  etc. 


338  THE   IMMIGKATION   OF   THE   GYPSIES   INTO 

but  seeing  that  the  baud  was  provided  with  fifty  horses,  it  may  be 
concluded  that  it  was  considerable.^  Wurstisen,  however,  mentions 
only  one  chief,  and  he  does  not  bear  the  same  name  as  the  chief  of 
Bologna ;  he  calls  himself  the  Dvike  Michael  of  Egypt.  However, 
the  band  was  provided  with  safe  conducts  (Paszvvorte)  from  the  King 
of  the  Romans,  with  which  we  are  acquainted,  and  also  with  those 
which  they  had  just  obtained  from  the,  Pope.  "  It  is  on  account  of 
these  letters,"  adds  Wurstisen,  "  that  these  vagabonds  were  tolerated 
and  allowed  to  pass,  although  it  was  to  the  displeasure  of  the  country 
folks."  It  appears  clear  from  this  account  that  the  two  dukes  had 
joined  each  other,  as  was  natural,  to  go  to  Rome ;  and  it  is  very 
probable  that  this  meeting  took  place  between  Bologna  and  Forli,  for, 
during  this  short  journey,  Mdiich  our  travellers  had  accomplished  in 
five  days,  their  numbers  had  doubled,  as  we  have  seen  above.  Were 
the  two  dukes  still  together  at  Bale  ?  It  is  very  possible,  although 
Wurstisen,  who  wrote  a  century  and  a  half  after  the  event,  has  only 
found  mentioned  in  the  documents  he  lias  no  doubt  consulted  one 
duke  bearing  another  name  than  the  duke  of  Bologna.  But  it  is  also 
possible  that  the  band  had  separated  after  the  journey  to  Rome.  It 
may  be  presumed,  however,  even  in  this  last  case,  that  the  detach- 
ment signalised  at  Bfde  was  the  principal  nucleus  of  this  band ;  but 
the  possession  of  the  imperial  and  pontifical  letters  is  no  longer  a 
proof  of  it  to  me  as  it  formerly  was ;  ^  for  I  am  now  convinced  that 
the  Gypsy  chiefs  took  care  to  provide  themselves  with  authentic 
copies  of  these  important  documents,  and  the  two  dukes  who  were 
together  in  Rome  had  even  perhaps  obtained  two  original  letters  from 
the  Pope.  The  possession  of  these  documents,  whether  original  or 
o»ly  authentic  copies,  only  proves  that  the  Gypsies  who  possessed 
them  depended  on  the  two  great  chiefs  with  whom  we  are  acquainted, 
and  this  is  the  important  point. 

But  Wurstisen  ends  by  a  statement  which  it  is  impossible  to 
admit.  Up  to  the  present  moment,  every  time  that  we  have  been 
informed,  in  a  more  or  less  explicit,  in  a  more  or  less  summary 
manner,  of  the  accounts  of  the  Gypsies  concerning  their  Egyptian 
origin  and  the  cause  of  their  pilgrimage,  these  accounts  all  turned 
upon  the  same  theme,  and  it  is  still  the  same  story  we  meet 
with  in  1427  at  Paris,  where  it  w\as  more  fully  developed  than  any- 

1  I  liad  at  first  thought  of  several  hundred,  but  I  observe  that  tlie  band  which  visited 
Deventer  in  1420,  and  which  owned  about  forty  horses,  was  only  estimated  at  a  hundred 
souls.  It  must  not  be  forgotten  that  these  Gypsies  already  exercised  the  trade  of  horse- 
dealing  (see  especially  "La  Chronique  de  Flandre"  Tournai,  1422). 

2  See  my  memoir  of  1844,  p.  40. 


WESTERN   EUROPE   IN   THE    FIFTEENTH   CENTURY,  339 

where  else,  and  afterwards  at  Amiens,  at  Tournai  (1429),  etc.  etc. 
Here,  on  the  contrary — I  mean  at  Bille — there  is  a  totally  different 
version  :  "  They  say  that  they  drew  their  origin  from  those  Egyptians 
who  had  refused  hospitality  to  Joseph  and  Mary  when  they  fled  into 
Egypt  with  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  it  was  on  this  account  that  God  had 
condemned  them  to  wretchedness."     I  may  here  remark  that  we  are 
about  to  meet  with  the  same  entirely  novel  version,  but  in  a  band  of 
Gypsies,   evidently  Hungarian,  who   consequently    could  not   have 
made  the  recital  of  their  religious  adventures  among  the  Moham- 
medans,    and  who,   moreover,  had   certainly  not   quitted   Hungary 
before  the  end  of  April  1423  at  the  soonest;  besides  which  they  were 
only  at  Ratisbon  in  1424  (towards  the  month  of  August?).     Nothing 
can  be  more  natural  than  that  these  should  have  given   another 
explanation  of  the  origin  of  their  miserable  and  wandering  existence. 
But  those  of  Biile  (1422),  who  were  in  possession  of  the  pcqml  letters, 
obtained  in  the  same  year,  and  which,  it  is  evident,  could  only  have 
been  got  by  aid  of  the  imperial  letters,  in  which  the  statement  we 
are  acquainted  with  was  consigned,  and  by  presenting  themselves  to 
the  Pope,  in  accordance  with  this  statement,  as  repentant  pilgrims, 
how  could  these,  at  such  a  moment,  forsake  the  story  which  had 
answered  them  so  well,  and  adopt  an  ancient  legend  which  was  con- 
trary to  the  imperial  letter,  and  without  doubt  contrary  also  to  the 
papal  letter  of  which  they  were  bearers  ?    This  is  not  only  highly 
improbable,  but  we  also  know  positively  by  a  document  at  Amiens 
(27th  Sept.  1427,  see  further  on)  that  this  was  not  the  case :  for  it  is 
on  the  sight  of  the  'pontifical  letters  that  the  authorities  at  Amiens 
ascertain  that  the  Holy  Father  certifies  that  Earl  Thomas  of  Little 
Egypt   (the  chief  of  this  detachment)  and  his  followers  have  been 
driven  from  their  country  for  not  having  consented  to  forsake  the 
Christian  faith.    If,  then,  Wurstisen  has  really  gathered  from  a  reliable 
document  the  statement  which  he  transmits  to  us,  there  must  have 
been  amongst  the  band  at  Bfde  some  Gypsy  recently  arrived  from 
Hungary,  to  whom  the  recital  with  which  we  are  acquainted  was  not 
yet  familiar,  and  that  the  witness  who  sought  for  information  must 
have  had  the  bad  luck  to  fall  upon  that  one.  .  .  .  But  it  is  far  more 
probable  that  Wurstisen,  who,  after  some  lines  devoted  to  the  aj^pear- 
ance  of  the  Gypsies  in  his  country,  speaks  of  those  of  his  own  time 
(not,  as  it  may  be  guessed,  to  speak  well  of  them),  should  have  gathered 
this  explanation  from   some  of  these  vagabonds,  and  should  have 
thought  it  was  that  which  they  had  always  given. 

The  chronological   order  which   I  have  always  endeavoured  to 


340  THE   IMMIGRATION   OF   THE   GYPSIES   INTO 

follow  brings  me  now  precisely  to  a  document  of  very  particular 
interest,  and  which  is  transmitted  to  us  by  a  well-informed  witness. 
This  document  carries  us  to  Eatisbon  in  1424,  and  there  is  certainly 
question  here  of  a  new  band  (scattered  about  and  more  or  less 
numerous)  which  did  not  only  come  from,  but  was  native  (oriunda) 
to  Hungary,  that  is  to  say,  belonging  to  that  category  of  Tsigans 
accustomed  from  times  more  or  less  ancient  to  circulate  or  move 
about  within  that  country.  This  is  proved  by  the  statement  of  these 
people  themselves,  or  by  that  of  the  very  intelligent  chronicler  who 
has  evidently  visited  them,  and  also  by  the  context  of  the  recent 
letters  of  Sigismund,  of  which  they  were  bearers,  and  even  by  the 
name  and  title  of  the  chief  to  whom  they  had  been  accorded.  I  shall 
revert  to  these  last  observations ;  but  it  is  right  to  reproduce  first  of 
all  the  valuable,  but  too  concise,  recital  of  the  chronicler. 

"  Item,  in  those  times  (1424  ^)  there  came  into  our  countries  and 
wandered  about  in  them  a  certain  nation  of  Cingars,^  vulgarly  called 
Cigawnar.  They  were  seen  near  to  Eatisbon,  succeeding  each  other, 
sometimes  to  the  number  of  thirty  people,  men,  women,  and  children, 
sometimes  in  smaller  numbers.  They  pitched  their  tents  ^  in  the 
fields,  because  they  were  not  allowed  to  inhabit  towns ;  for  they 
cunningly  took  what  did  not  belong  to  them.  These  people  were 
natives  of  Hungary,  and  they  said  that  they  were  exiled  on  account 
or  in  remembrance  of  the  flight  of  our  Lord  into  Egypt,^  when  He 

1  The  chronicler,  although  he  has  habits  of  precision,  has  not  specified  more  particularly, 
no  doubt  because  he  was  referring  to  an  event,  indefiuite  in  its  nature  and  duration,  to 
which  it  was  not  possible  to  assign  a  determined  date.  All  that  I  can  remark  is  that  the 
passage  which  interests  us  comes  after  cei'tain  facts  relating  to  the  year  1424,  the  three  last 
to  the  26th  and  21st  Jime  and  to  the  15th  August,  and  before  other  facts  in  the  same  year 
which  bears  the  dates  corresponding  to  the  1st,  21st,  and  29th  September. 

2  Cingari  (see  also  further  on  the  word  Zi7igari  in  another  passage  of  the  same  chronicler 
referring  to  the  year  1426).  This  is,  as  far  as  I  can  recollect,  the  oldest  example  known  up 
to  the  present  time  of  this  particular  form  of  the  name  of  the  Tsigani — the  form  charac- 
terised by  the  r  in  the  last  syllable— which  has  been  often  employed  in  after  times  by  authors 
of  different  countries  writing  in  Latin,  and  which  has  been  adopted  (but  not  at  first)  in 
Italian.  It  will  be  remarked  that,  although  the  letter  from  Sigismund,  and  other  Hungarian 
acts  of  much  later  date,  are  written  in  Latin,  the  form  therein  employed  is  Cingani  (some- 
times Czigani).  Concerning  the  form  Cingari  there  would  be  a  special  study  to  make, 
which  I  had  formerly  begun,  and  in  which  I  should  have  to  make  use  of  a  valuable  unpub- 
lished note  of  the  late  Garrez. 

3  We  shall  find  the  same  mention  of  tents  made  in  a  few  lines  that  the  same  chronicler 
devotes  to  another  passage  of  Gypsies  at  Ratisbon  in  1426.  This  detail  is  interesting ; 
perhaps  even  it  may  furnish  an  additional  distinctive  trait  between  the  great  baud  which 
began  to  travel  over  the  West  in  1417  and  these  new-comers  from  Hungary ;  but,  as  the 
question  of  tents  calls  for  observations  of  some  length,  I  shall  place  these  and  some  others 
at  the  end  of  the  First  Period. 

4  The  same  explanation,  which  is  certainly  wrongly  attributed  by  Wurstisen  to  the 
Gypsies  visiting  Bale  in  1422,  but  which  was  apparently  current  amongst  the  Gypsies  in 
the  west  in  the  time  of  this  chronicler  (end  of  the  sixteenth  century),  is  rather  more  explicit  : 
it  was /or  having  refused  hospitality  to  the  Holy  Family,  flying  into  Egypt,  that  they  had 
been  condemned  to  a  wandering  and  miserable  life.  These  few  additional  words  render  the 
legend,  not  more  likely,  but  clearer. 


WESTERN    EUliOPE    IN    THE   FIFTEENTH   CENTURY.  341 

fled  from  Herod,  who  souQ-ht  Him  to  slav  Him.  But  the  common 
people  said  that  they  were  spies.  These  people  had  also  letters  from 
King  Sigismuiid,  and  I  have  been  careful  to  insert  here,  as  being 
perhaps  interesting  to  chroniclers  (or  to  chronics  ?),  the  tenor  of  one 
of  these  letters  which  they  possessed  written  upon  paper."  ^ 

The  imperial  letter,  which  we  give  here,  and  which  is  dated  the 
month  of  April  of  the  preceding  year  (1423),  is  as  follows  : — 

"Sigismund,  by  the  grace  of  God  King  of  the  Romans,  ever 
august,  and  King  of  Hungary,  of  Bohemia,  of  Dalmatia,  of  Croatia, 
etc., — To  all  our  faithful  nobles,  knights,  castellans,  of&cers,  vassals, 
to  our  free  towns  (civitatibus  Hheris),  to  our  fortified  towns  {opindis), 
and  to  their  judges  constituted  and  existing  under  our  reign  and 
dominion  (dominio),  greeting  with  love.  Came  in  person  into  our 
presence  our  faithful  Ladislas  Wayvode  (Way?ioda  -)  of  the  Cigani, 
with  others  of  his  tribe  {ciim  aliis  ad  ipsum  spectantibus),  who  pre- 
sented their  very  humble  supplications  to  us,  here  at  Zips  (wi  Sepus) 
in  our  presence,  with  entreaty  of  supplications  and  prayers,  in  order 
that  we  might  vouchsafe  to  gratify  them  with  our  most  abundant 
grace.  In  consequence,  we,  being  persuaded  by  their  supplication, 
have  thought  proper  to  grant  them  this  privilege  (libertatem). 
Therefore  each  time  that  the  said  Ladislas  and  his  people  (sua  gens) 
shall  come  into  our  said  possessions,  be  it  free  cities,  be  it  fortified 
towns  {dominia,  videlicet  civitates  vel  oppida),  from  that  time  we 
send  word  and  strictly  order  to  your  present  fidelities,  that  you  may 
favour  and  keep  without  any  hindrance  or  trouble  the  said  Wadislas 
(sic)  Wayvode  and  the  Cigani  who  are  subject  to  him ;  and  even  that 
it  may  please  you  to  preserve  them  from  all  obstacles  and  offences. 
That  if  any  variance  or  trouble  occurred  between  themselves,  then 
that  neither  you  nor  any  other  of  you,  but  that  the  same  Ladislas 
Waiwode,  should  have  the  power  of  judging  and  absolving.  As  to 
the  present  (letters),  we  order  that,  after  their  reading,  they  should 

1  "  Habebat  quoque  gens  eadem  litteras  Sigismundi  Regis  quarum  iinius  tenorem,  aquin 
in  papyro  habebant  scriptam,  hie  pro  Cronicis  inserere  curavi."  Andreas  Ratisponensis 
presbyteri  Ord.  Can.  Reg.  S.  Aug.  ad  S.  Magnum  in  pede  pontis  Ratisponensis  Diarium 
seccennale,  annum  Christi  mccccxxii.  cum  quinque  sequentibus  complectens,  ex  autograplio 
auctoris  edidit  Andreas  Felix  CEfelius,  Bibliothecoe  Bav.  prrefectus  ;  in  lierum  Jioicarian 
Scriptores  of  CEfelius,  Augusta  Vindel.  (Augsbourg),  1763,  in  2  vols,  fol.,  vol.  i.  p.  21. 
Notwithstanding  the  particular  importance  of  this  passage  of  the  chronicle  and  of  the 
imperial  letter  which  follows  it,  as  I  have  given  a  complete  and  as  exact  a  translation  as 
possible  of  them,  I  do  not  think  it  necessary  to  reproduce  here  these  two  texts  (excepting 
the  few  lines  above  of  Andrew  of  Ratisbon,  which  call  for  some  observations),  because  the 
first  has  been  reproduced  by  Mr.  Dyrlund  (always  very  exact)  in  his  previously-named  book, 
Tatere  og  Natmandsfolk  i  Danmark,  Kopenhague,  1872,  p.  365  ;  and  the  second  by 
Grellmann,  1787,  p.  343. 

-  The  word  is  thus  written  in  the  whole  course  of  this  document,  and  CEfelius,  in  order 
not  to  bear  the  responsibility  of  this  inaccuracy,  adds  in  a  note  "  In  codice  Wayjioda." 


342  THE    IMMIGRATIOISr   OF   THE   GYPSIES   INTO 

always  be  returned  to  him  who  shall  have  presented  them.  Given  at 
Zips  (in  Sepus),  the  Sunday  before  the  feast  of  St,  George  the  Martyr 
(this  feast-day  falls  on  the  23d  of  April),  the  year  of  our  Lord 
MCCGCXXIIL,  and  of  our  reigns,  in  Hungary  xxxvi^^ ;  as  King  of  the 
Eomans,  xn*^  ;  in  Bohemia  the  third." 

It  results  from  the  indications  furnished  by  the  Priest  of  Eatis- 
bon,  that  in  1424,  in  Bavaria,  especially  round  about  Eatisbon,  there 
was  a  small  floating  population  of  Gypsies,  who  had  come  from  Hun- 
gary. They  had,  it  appears,  adopted  certain  places  for  encamping, 
and  succeeded  each  other  there  in  numbers  sometimes  greater,  some- 
times smaller.  And  this  circumstance  explains,  as  I  have  already 
remarked  in  a  note,  that  the  chronicler  has  not  given  any  precise 
date  to  the  event.  But  it  seems  to  us  that  he  might  have  said  when 
and  how  he  had  obtained  not  only  the  communication  of  the  valu- 
able document  which  he  has  transmitted  to  us,  but  the  means  of 
transcribing  it.  One  does  not  even  learn  by  his  recital  whether  the 
Waiwode  Ladislas  was  at  Eatisbon  at  the  rather  uncertain  time 
which  is  in  question,  and  still  less,  if  it  was  he  who  communicated 
to  the  author  the  Imperial  letter  dated  from  the  preceding  year.  But 
this  author  has  been  too  happily  inspired  in  transmitting  this  docu- 
ment to  us  for  us  to  find  fault  with  him  for  the  rest.  Who  knows 
besides  if  he  has  not  had  some  reason  for  not  mentioning  the  means 
by  which  he  had  procured  himself  this  copy  ?  "With  the  Gypsies  on 
one  hand,  with  the  subaltern  police  agents  on  the  other,  it  is  often 
necessary  to  be  cautious  how  one  proceeds. 

To  end  at  once  with  these  details,  which  remain  secondary  from 
the  moment  that  no  light  can  be  thrown  upon  them,  it  is  important 
to  remark  certain  expressions  in  the  last  sentence  of  the  chronicler. 
"  They  had,"  says  he,  "  letters  from  Sigismund,  .  .  .,"  and  here,  in 
opposition  to  the  usual  meaning  of  the  word  littercc,  it  is  impossible 
not  to  see  that  it  is  a  question  of  several  letters.  The  sequel  shows  it : 
" quarum  unius  tenorem"  etc.  One  can  scarcely  doubt  the  exactness 
of  the  statement,  and  the  statement  is  curious.  Besides,  the  letter  of 
which  the  text  has  come  down  to  us  was  written  on  'paper  (m  papyro) : 
so  then  it  was  already  a  copy — for  the  original  diploma,  which 
came  from  the  Imperial  Chancery  was  necessarily  on  imrcliment — 
it  was  no  doubt  an  authentic  copy,  otherwise  the  document  would 
not  have  satisfied  the  very  intelligent  chronicler;  but  it  appears 
interesting  to  me  to  find  already  in  the  Gypsies'  possession  the  copy  of 
an  Act  which  could  scarcely  have  had  more  than  one  year's  date. 


WESTEllN   EUROPE   IN   THE    FIFTEENTH   CENTURY.  343 

These  remarks  complete  those  which  I  have  presented  in  my  second 
article,  pp.  266-267. 

But  the  double  document  which  precedes  calls  for  more  certain 
observations  of  particular  importance. 

Whilst  the  Gypsies  who  travelled  over  the  West  from  1417  Avere 
evidently  Oriental  Gypsies  coming  from  countries  occupied  or 
threatened  by  the  Turks,  those  wlio  spread  themselves,  in  small 
groups,  in  Bavaria  during  a  certain  part  of  the  year  1424,  were,  on 
the  contrar}^,  Hungarian  Gypsies.  Not  only  did  they  say  so  them- 
selves, and  are  so  considered  by  the  chronicler,  but  everytliing  proves 
it.  There  are  no  more  Oriental  accounts.  The  letter  from  the 
Emperor  does  not  say  a  word  of  their  exotic  origin,  it  refers  to  them, 
on  the  contrary,  as  old  and  faithful  subjects  deserving  of  the  favour 
of  the  sovereign  who  lends  an  ear  to  their  request.  On  their  side, 
these  new  immigrants  do  not  pretend  to  explain  their  wandering  life 
by  more  or  less  recent  adventures  which  had  happened  in  their 
Egyptian  Jiome.  No ;  but  as  they  believe,  in  common  with  all  tlie 
Gypsies  in  Europe,  in  an  ancient  Egyptian  descent,  they  repeat  a 
legend  which  was  probably  current  amongst  them  in  Hungary  and 
elsewhere,  and  which  carries  back  their  wandering  life  to  the  period 
of  the  flight  into  Egypt.^ 

I  note  lastly  a  detail  which  agrees  well  with  all  the  other  circum- 
stances to  which  I  have  called  attention.  The  dukes  Aiidrcni  and 
Michael,  to  whom  most  likely  the  Imperial  letter  from  Lindau  was 
accorded  in  1417,  bore  names  which  belong  to  the  whole  of  Christen- 
dom, and  that  of  Michael  had  been  borne  by  eight  Emperors  of  the 
East.  They  are  names  which  are  perfectly  suitable  to  Gypsy  chiefs 
coming  from  some  unknown  region  of  the  Byzantine  Empire.  Quite 
different  is  the  name  of  the  Waiwode  Ladislas.  It  is  a  name  of 
Slavonian  origin — Polish,  I  believe — which,  imder  the  form  ofWladis- 
las,  has  been  borne  by  several  dukes  or  kings  of  Poland,  and  by  some 
dukes  or  kings  of  Bohemia,  but  which  had  been  carried  by  Polisli 
princes  into  Hungary,  where  it  had  been  naturalised  from  the 
eleventh  century  under  the  form  of  Ladislas.  It  had  also  passed  into 
Wallachia  (first  as  Vladislav,  then  as  VJad) ;  Imt  I  do  not  think  it 
will  be  found  further  south,  and  it  has  certainly  never  been  in  use  in 
the  Byzantine  Empire.     The  form  Ladislas  was  finally  a  Hungarian 

1  Several  other  legends  in  \vliich  tlie  Gypsies  are  connected  with  Jesus  Christ,  St.  Peter, 
and  the  Crucilixion,  are  still  current  amongst  the  Gypsies  of  the  present  time,  and  some- 
times even  amongst  other  people.  But  the  fact  of  such  a  legend  existing  so  far  back  as 
1424  appears  to  me  to  be  particularly  interesting.  If,  at  this  period,  the  Gypsies  had  not 
already  travelled  about  the  world  from  a  time  immemorial,  they  would  not  have  conceived 
such  a  legend. 


344  THE   IMIVIIGRATION   OF   THE   GYPSIES   INTO 

name,  and  it  is  exceedingly  probable  that  the  Gypsy  chief  who  bore 
it  was  born  in  Hungary.  It  must  be  added  that  the  title  of  Wa'iivode 
or  Woiwode,  though  it  is  also  of  Slavonian  origin,  is  that  which  has 
always  beeu  given  in  Hungary  and  Transylvania  to  Gypsy  chiefs, 
and  even  to  tliose  Hungarian  personages  who,  from  tlie  middle  of  the 
sixteenth  century  up  to  about  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth,  as  far  as 
one  can  judge  with  regard  to  these  dates  from  the  documents 
furnished  by  Grellmann,  filled  the  rather  lucrative  office  of  superior 
chief  of  the  Gypsies  in  one  or  other  of  these  two  countries.  (See 
Grellmann,  1787,  p.  133,  and  following,  and  Nos.  ii.,  III.,  iv.  of  the 
Appendix  {Beylage). 

I  will  not  take  leave  of  these  new-comers  without  remarking  that, 
according  to  the  trustworthy  testimony  of  the  priest  of  Eatisbon,  they 
were  not  to  be  preferred  to  the  first  protected  by  Sigismund.  This 
Emperor  was  decidedly  not  very  difficult  in  the  choice  of  his  proUg^s ; 
and  when  we  see  him  so  graciously  admit  into  his  presence  his 
"  faithful  Ladislas,  with  others  of  his  band,"  to  listen  to  and  grant 
their  entreaties,  I  ask  myself  whether  it  was  not  rather  to  give  them 
instructions  as  spies.  I  had  formerly  rejected  this  idea,^  but  the 
Imperial  relapse,  and  the  opinion  which  the  people  of  Eatisbon 
formed  in  this  respect,  bring  me  back  to  it,  or  rather  awake  my  sus- 
picions on  the  subject. 

It  is  not  only  in  1424  that  the  arrival  and  departure  of  the  Gyp- 
sies at  Eatisbon  were  remarked.  The  same  chronicler,  Andrew,  priest 
of  this  town,  signalises  them  again  at  Eatisbon  in  September  1426, 
saying  that  they  pitched  their  tents  in  a  place  {inter  Maiterias),  which 
was  without  doubt  outside  the  town.  According  to  the  terms  of  this 
very  short  document,  which  gives  no  indication  of  their  number,  it 
would  appear  that  they  remained  there  but  one  day.^  Was  it  a  new 
band  arriving  from  Hungary  %  Was  it  the  return  of  a  detachment  of 
the  little  floating  population  which  had  been  signalised  in  1424? 
The  laconicism  of  the  chronicler  does  not  allow  of  making  a  choice 
between  these  two  alternatives,  the  only  ones  which  present  them- 

1  See  my  second  article,  p.  264.  To  the  second  note  of  this  page  I  might  have  added 
that  Frederick  the  Great  did  not  disdain  to  employ  the  Gypsies  as  spies.  See  Ernest 
Lavisse,  Etudes  sur  Vhistoire  de  Prusse,  Paris,  Hachette,  1885,  pp.  290-291.  In  these  two 
small  pages  the  eminent  Professor  gives  an  interesting  sketch  of  the  history  of  the  Gypsies 
in  Eastern  Prussia  and  Lithuania  under  Frederick  i.  and  Frederick  ii  (the  Great).  What 
is  wanting  here  is  the  indications  of  sources  which  would  allow  us  to  refer  to  details  which 
are  without  doubt  valuable ;  but  the  nature  of  M.  Lavisse's  works  does  not  allow  of  any 
indications  of  this  kind,  even  on  a  special  subject  like  the  present. 

2  1426.  "Hoc  anno  Gens  Zingarorum  iterum  venit  Ratisponam,  lixitque  tentoria  sua 
et  habitavit  inter  Maiterias  feria  secunda  post  Matthsei"  (that  is  to  say,  the  Monday  after 
the  feast  of  St.  Matthew,  which  is  on  the  21st  of  September).— Andrre  Ratis.  presbyteri 
Diarium  sexennale,  in  the  collection  already  named  (p.  341,  note  1)  of  CEfelius,  vol.  i.  p.  26. 


WESTEKX   EUROPE   IN    THE   FIFTEENTH    CENTUKY.  345 

selves,  for  it  is  not  possible  to  connect  these  new-comers  of  1424  and 
of  1426  with  the  band  with  which  we  are  acquainted  since  1417. 

Besides,  as  nothing,  in  the  documents  which  the  First  Period  is 
about  to  furnish  us  witli,  will  recall  the  distinctive  characters  of  the 
new-comers  of  1424  and  1426,  we  will  set  them  aside,  supposing  for 
the  moment,  either  that  they  have  remained  in  Bavaria,  or  that  in 
the  other  countries  where  they  may  have  spread  themselves  they 
have  drawn  attention  less  than  their  predecessors, — which  is  not 
surprising,  as  they  had  no  marvellous  stories  to  recount,  nor  official 
alms  to  ask  for  as  pilgrims. 

Indeed  it  must  not  be  forgotten  that  even  the  others — those  who 
for  us  date  from  1417 — leave,  in  general,  no  trace  of  their  passage 
unless  they  are  Milling  to  do  so,  that  is  to  say,  unless  they  ask  for 
subsidies  from  the  municipalities,  as  pilgrims  driven  out  of  Little 
Egypt,  or  unless  they  take  pleasure  at  the  same  time  (for  the  outward 
show  did  not  in  general  exclude  the  demand  for  alms)  in  making  a 
rumour  in  the  towns,  which  will  procure  us  the  recital  of  some 
chronicler. 

This  remark  adds  so  much  the  more  value  to  the  two  statements 
made  by  the  Priest  of  Ratisbon,  who  does  not  appear  to  have  had  to 
do  with  Gypsies  very  desirous  of  drawing  attention  upon  themselves. 

Paul  Bataillard. 
{To  he  continued^ 


IV.— THE  EED  KING  AND  THE  WITCH. 

A  ROUMANIAN  GYPSY  FOLK-TALE. 

rpHlS  story  is  ISTo.  10  in  the  Prohe  de  Limba  si  Literatura  Tsigani- 
-L  lor  din  Boumania  (Bucharest,  1878)  of  Dr.  Barbu  Constan- 
tinescu,  from  which  I  have  already  translated  "  The  Bad  Mother  "  for 
the  first  number  of  our  Journal,  p.  25.  The  present  story,  which 
seems  to  me  the  very  best  Gipsy  folk-tale  that  we  liave,  may  be 
compared  with  Grimm's  No.  57,  Von  Hahn's  No.  65,  and  -'The 
Norka"  on  p.  73  of  Mr.  Ptalston's  Ptussian  collection. 

It  was  the  Eed  King,  and  he  bought  ten  ducats'-worth  of  victuals. 
He  cooked  them,  and  put  them  in  a  press.  And  he  locked  the  press, 
and  from  night  to  night  posted  people  to  guard  the  victuals.  In  the 
morning,  when  he  looked,  he  found  the  platters  bare.  He  did  not 
find  anything  in  them.  Then  the  king  said  :  "  I  will  give  the  half 
VOL.  L — NO.  VI.  2 


346  THE  RED  KING  AND  THE  WITCH. 

of  my  kingdom  to  whoever  shall  be  found  to  guard  the  press,  that 
the  victuals  may  not  go  arnissing  from  it." 

The  king  had  three  sons.  Then  the  eldest  thouQ-ht  within  himself. 
"  God  !  what,  give  half  the  kingdom  to  a  stranger  !  It  were  better  for 
me  to  watch.  Be  it  unto  me  according  to  God's  will."  He  went  to 
his  father.  "  Father,  all  hail !  ,  What,  give  the  kingdom  to  a  stranger ! 
It  were  better  for  me  to  watch."  And  his  father  said  to  him  :  "  As 
God  will,  only  don't  be  frightened  by  wliat  you  may  see."  Then  he 
said  :  "  Be  it  unto  me  according  to  God's  will."  And  he  went  and 
lay  down  in  the  palace.  And  he  put  his  head  on  the  pillow,  and  re- 
mained with  his  head  on  the  pillow  till  towards  dawn.  And  a  warm 
sleepy  breeze  came  and  lulled  him  to  slumber.  And  his  little  sister 
arose.  And  she  turned  a  somersault,^  and  her  nails  became  like  an 
axe  and  her  teeth  like  a  shovel.  And  she  opened  [the  cupboard], 
and  ate  up  everything.  Then  she  became  a  child  again,  and  returned 
to  her  place  in  the  cradle,  for  she  was  a  child  at  the  breast.  The  lad 
arose,  and  told  his  father  that  he  had  seen  nothing.  His  father  looked 
in  the  press,  found  the  platters  clean ;  no  victuals,  no  anything.  His 
father  said  to  him  :  "  It  would  take  a  better  man  than  you,  and  even 
he  might  do  nothino." 

His  middle  son  also  said :  "Father,  all  hail !  I  am  eoino-  to  watch 
to-night,"  "  Go,  dear ;  only  play  the  man."  "  Be  it  unto  me  ac- 
cording to  God's  will."  And  he  went  into  the  palace,  and  put  his 
head  on  a  pillow.  And  at  ten  o'clock  came  a  warm  breeze,  and  sleep 
seized  him.  Up  rose  his  sister,  and  unwound  herself  from  her 
swaddling-bands,  and  turned  a  somersault,  and  her  teeth  became 
like  a  shovel,  and  her  nails  like  an  axe.  And  she  went  to  the  press 
and  opened  it,  and  ate  off  the  platters  what  she  found.  She  ate  it 
all,  and  turned  a  somersault  again,  and  went  back  to  her  place  in 
the  cradle.  Day  broke,  and  the  lad  arose,  and  his  father  asked  him 
and  said  :  "  It  would  take  a  better  man  than  you,  and  yet  he  might 
not  do  anything  for  me,  if  he  were  as  poor  a  creature  as  you." 

The  youngest  sou  arose.  "  Father,  all  hail !  Give  me  also  leave 
to  watch  the  cupboard  by  night."  "  Go,  dear ;  only  don't  be  frightened 
with  what  you  see."  "  Be  it  unto  me  according  to  God's  will,"  said 
the  lad.  And  he  went  and  took  four  needles,  and  lay  down  with  his 
head  on  the  pillow ;  and  he  stuck  the  four  needles  in  four  places. 
When  sleep  seized  him,  he  knocked  his  head  against  a  needle,  so  he 
stayed  awake  until  dawn.     And  his  sister  arose  from  her  cradle,  and 

1  Da-pes  pa  sareste,  literally,  "gave  herself  on  tlie  head."    A  Roninni  formula,  almost 
invariably  preceding  every  transformation. 


THE   RED    KING   AND   THE   WITCH.  347 

he  saw.  And  she  turned  a  somersault,  and  he  was  watching  lier. 
And  her  teeth  became  like  a  shovel,  and  her  nails  like  an  axe.  And 
she  went  to  the  press,  and  ate  up  everything.  She  left  the  platters 
bare.  And  she  turned  a  somersault,  and  became  tiny  again  as  she 
was ;  went  to  her  cradle.  The  lad,  when  he  saw  tliat,  treml)led  with 
fear ;  it  seemed  to  him  ten  years  till  daybreak. 

And  he  arose,  and  went  to  his  father.  "  Father,  all  hail  ! "  Then 
his  father  asked  him  :  "  Didst  see  anything,  Peterkin  ?  "  "  What 
did  I  see  ?  what  did  I  not  see?  Give  me  money  and  a  horse,  a  horse 
fit  to  carry  the  money,  for  I  am  away  to  marry  me."  His  father  gave 
him  ducats  in  abundance,  and  he  put  them  on  his  horse.  The  lad 
went,  and  made  a  hole  on  the  border  of  the  city.  He  made  a  chest 
of  stone,  and  placed  all  the  money  there,  and  buried  it.  He  placed  a 
stone  cross  above,  and  departed. 

And  he  journeyed  eiglit  years,  and  came  to  the  queen  of  all  the 
birds  that  fly.  And  the  queen  of  the  birds  asked  him  :  "  AVhither 
away,  Peterkin  ? "  "  Thither  where  there  is  neither  death  nor  eld,  to 
marry  me."  The  queen  said  to  him  :  "  Here  is  neither  death  nor 
eld."  Then  Peterkin  said  to  her :  "  How  comes  it  that  here  is 
neither  death  nor  eld  ? "  Then  she  said  to  him  :  "  When  I  whittle 
away  [hiyar;iua]  the  wood  of  all  this  forest,  then  death  will  come  and 
take  me,  and  old  age."  Then  Peterkin  said  :  "  One  day  and  one 
morning  death  will  come  and  eld,  and  take  me." 

And  he  departed  further,  and  journeyed  on  eight  years,  and  arrived 
at  a  palace  of  copper.  And  a  maiden  came  forth  from  tliat  palace, 
and  took  him  and  kissed  him.  She  said :  "  I  have  waited  long  for 
thee."  She  took  the  horse  and  put  him  in  the  stable,  and  he  spent 
the  night  there.  The  lad  arose  in  the  morning,  and  placed  his  saddle 
on  the  horse.  Then  the  maiden  began  to  weep,  and  asked  him. 
"  Whither  away,  Peterkin  ?  "  "  Thither  where  there  is  neither  death 
nor  eld."  Then  the  maiden  said  to  him  :  "  Here  is  neither  death  nor 
eld."  Then  he  asked  her  :  "  How  comes  it  that  here  is  neither  death 
nor  eld  ? "  "  Why,  when  these  mountains  are  levelled,  and  these 
forests,  then  death  will  come."  "  This  is  no  place  for  me,"  said  the 
lad  to  her.     And  the  lad  departed  further. 

Then  what  said  the  horse  to  him  ?  "  JNIaster,  give  four  .... 
[bicea  1]  in  me,  and  two  in  yourself,  and  arrive  in  the  plain  of  regret. 
And  regret  will  seize  you,  and  cast  you  down,  horse  and  all,  so  spur 
your  horse,  and  escape  and  tarry  not."  He  came  to  a  liut.  In  the 
hut  he  beholds  a  lad,  as  it  were  ten  years  old,  who  asked  him  :  "  What 
seekest  thou,  Peterkin,  here  ? "      "I  seek  the  place  where  there  is 


348  THE   RED   KING   AND   THE   WITCH, 

neither  death  nor  eld."  The  lad  said  :  "  Here  is  neither  death  nor 
eld.  I  am  the  Wind."  Then  Peterkin  said  :  "  Never,  never  will  I 
go  from  here."  And  he  dwelt  there  a  hundred  years,  and  grew  no 
older. 

The  lad  dwelt  there,  and  went  out  to  hunt  in  the  mountains  of 
gold  and  silver,  and  he  could  hardly  carry  home  the  game.  Then 
what  said  the  Wind  to  him  ?  "  Peterkin,  go  unto  all  the  mountains  of 
gold  and  unto  the  mountains  of  silver ;  but  go  not  to  the  mountain 
of  regret  or  to  the  valley  of  grief."  He  heeded  not,  and  went  to  the 
mountain  of  regret  and  the  valley  of  grief  And  grief  cast  him  down. 
He  wept  till  his  eyes  were  full.  And  he  went  to  the  Wind  :  "  I  am 
going  home  to  my  father,  I  will  not  longer  stay."  "  Go  not,  for  both 
your  father  is  dead,  and  brothers  you  have  no  more  left  at  home.  A 
million  years  have  come  and  gone  since  then.  The  spot  is  not  known 
where  your  father's  palace  stood.  They  have  planted  melons  on  it ; 
it  is  but  an  hour  since  I  passed  that  way." 

But  the  lad  departed  thence,  and  arrived  at  the  maiden's  whose 
was  the  palace  of  copper.  Only  one  stick  remained,  and  she  cut  it 
and  grew  old.  As  he  knocked  at  the  door,  the  stick  fell  and  she 
died.  He  buried  her,  and  departed  thence.  And  he  came  to  the 
queen  of  the  birds  in  the  great  forest.  Only  one  branch  remained, 
and  that  was  all  but  through.  AVhen  she  saw  him,  she  said,  "  Peter- 
kin, thou  art  quite  young."  Then  he  said  to  her,  "  Dost  thou  re- 
member telling  me  to  stay  here  ? "  As  she  pressed  and  broke 
through  the  branch,  she  also  fell  and  died. 

He  came  where  his  father's  palace  stood  and  looked  about  him. 
There  was  no  palace,  no  anything.  And  he  fell  to  marvelling  :  "  God, 
thou  art  mighty."  He  only  recognised  his  father's  well,  and  went  to 
the  well.  His  sister,  the  witch,  when  she  saw  him,  said  to  him  :  "  I 
have  waited  long  for  you,  dog."  She  rushed  at  him,  to  devour  him, 
and  he  made  the  sign  of  the  cross,  and  she  perished.  And  he 
departed  thence,  and  arrived  in  a  certain  .  .  .  [bozi  ?],  and  came  on 
an  old  man  with  his  beard  down  to  his  waist.  "  Father,  where  is  the 
palace  of  the  Eed  King  ?  for  I  am  his  son."  Said  the  old  man  : 
"  What  is  this  thou  tellest  me,  that  thou  art  his  son  ?  My  father's 
father  has  told  me  of  the  Ked  King.  His  very  city  is  no  more. 
Dost  thou  not  see  it  is  vanished  ?  And  dost  thou  tell  me  that  thou 
art  the  Eed  King's  son  ? "  "  It  is  not  twenty  years,  old  man,  since  I 
departed  from  my  father,  and  dost  thou  tell  me  that  thou  knowest  not 
my  father  ? "  It  was  a  million  years  since  he  had  left  his  home. 
"  Follow  me,  if  thou  dost  not  believe  me."     And  he  went  to  the  cross 


THE   RED    KING   AND    THE   WITCH. 


349 


of  stone  ;  only  a  palm's  breadth  was  above  the  ground.  And  it  took 
him  two  days  to  get  at  the  chest  of  money.  When  he  had  lifted  out 
the  chest,  and  opened  it,  Death  sat  in  one  corner  groaning,  and  Old 
Age  groaning  in  another  corner.  Then  what  said  Old  Age  ?  "  Lay 
hold  of  him,  Death."  "  Lay  hold  of  him,  yourself."  Old  Age  laid 
hold  of  him  in  front,  and  Death  laid  hold  of  him  behind.  The  old 
man  took  and  buried  him  decently,  and  planted  the  cross  near  him. 
And  the  old  man  took  the  money  and  also  the  horse. 

Francis  Hindes  Groome. 


v.— A  TKANSYLVANIAN-GYPSY  BALLAD. 

{Rdklo  te  Edklyi  =  Lad  and  Lass).^ 

Eaklo. 

Brinsheniv  me  yelv  rdlhjd, 


Brinshevdv  me  shuJcdrd  ! 
Ld  veldv  mdyide  romFd, 
Yoy  the  lisperlds  pdni  I 

Raklyi. 

Lisperdv  dndrdl  pdTd 
Tide  hdmdr  ycF  goni, 
Kdnd  mdnge  suv  rodes, 
Ko  dndre  fdni  perdyds. 

Raklo. 
Roddv  me  dndre  pdTd 
Tate  e  suv,  vi're  rdkliji, 
Kdnd  hidos  t'u  kercs 
Angushtensd  may  Idces. 

Raklyi. 

Kerdv  tute  diu/ushtensd 
Ldce  hidos  upre  pdTid, 
Kdnd  lover  fv.  keres 
Andrdl  pd^os  may  Idccs. 

Raklo. 
Kerel  tute  ndrodos, 
Tover  dndrdl  a  2Jdgos, 
Kdnd  pro  kdm  o  tover 
Laces  the  kovelydrel. 

Raklyi. 

Uvd  pro  kdm  na  Idces 
Tu  0  tover  kovlydres  ! 

Raklo. 
Misei^es  hin  rdkldhd, 
Kdnd  the  dumddeld  / 

1  According  to  the  ortliograpliy  here  employed, 
Spanish,  aiuiy,  sh,  aud  y  as  in  English. 


Lad. 
I  know  a  maiden, 
I  know  a  pretty  one  ! 
Her  take  I  to  wife, 
Could  she  spin  water  ! 

Lass. 
I  spin  from  water 
Quickly  a  sack  for  thee, 
If  you  find  me  a  needle 
That  fell  in  the  water. 

Lad. 
I  find  in  the  water 
Your  needle,  my  lassie, 
If  you  make  a  bridge 
Of  fingers  right  well. 

Lass. 

I  make  thee  of  fingers 

A  good  bridge  o'er  the  water, 

If  you  make  an  axe 

Of  ice  right  well. 

Lad. 
For  thee  the  friend  make  [i.e.  "  I 
An  axe  out  of  ice,  make  "] 

If  the  axe  in  the  sun 
He  forges  v.ell. 

Lass. 

But  the  axe  in  the  sun 
Not  well  do  you  forge. 

Lad. 
'Tis  ill  with  a  maiden 
When  one  does  strive. 

c=English  ch,  p  =  Gemian  ch,  n  is  as  in 


350  a  transylvanian-gypsy  ballad. 

Analysis. 

lidklo  =  youth,  lad;  te  =  and;  rdMyi  =  giY],  raklijd  accus.  sing.;  rdklyi  =  'aoxn. 
for  voc.  ;  brinsherdv  =  I  know ;  me=I,  rtidnde  {mange)  dat.  sing.  ;  shukdr= 
beautiful,  shukdrd  accus.  sing.  fern.  ;  i/o?/  =  she,  Za=acc.  sing.  fern. ;  veldv  =  I  take  ; 
veldv  romni  =  \  take  to  wife,  I  marry  ;  the  =  ii  conjunction  used  with  subjunctive  ; 
lisperdv  =  I  spin,  lis])erlds  =  lisperdlds,  3  sing.  impf.  subj.  ;  jjd/Ji  =  water,  j)dna  = 
nom.  pi.;  dndrdl  =  oni  of;  <w  =  thou,  itt^e  =  dat.  sing.  ;  yek'  =  yekd,  one;  goni  = 
sack  ;  Mjia.  =  wlien,  or  if ;  s«'i!  =  needle  ;  roddv  =  I  seek,  rodes=2  sing.  pres.  ;  perdv 
=  1  full,  j}erdyds  =  Z  sing.  perf.  ;  dndre  =  in;  m're= my;  feidos  =  bridge  (from  the 
Hungarian  hid)  ;  A:erav  =  l  make,  ke7'es  =  2  sing,  pres.,  JlereZ  =  3  sing.  pres.  ; 
dngushto  =  &Tiger,  dng^ns/ti(;?isd  =  instrumental  plur.  ;  may^a  prefix  used  in  super- 
lative ;  idces  =  well  (adv.);  Idco,  ldce=good  (adj.);  upre,  pro  =  u]pon,  in,  over; 
tover  =  iixe,  hatchet  ;  ^Mf'os  =  ice  ;  Md?-o(ios  =  friend  ;  Mm  =  sun  ;  kovlydrdv=I 
forge  kovelydrel=3  sing,  pres.,  kovlydres  =  2  sing,  pres.;  tivd  =  h\\t ;  n«  =  not  ; 
miseg=had,  misepes = bad iy ;  dumdddv  =  l  strive,  dumddeld^S  sing.  fut.  (one  shall 
or  will  strive). 

This  ballad  of  the  Trausylvaiiiaii  Gypsies  is  interesting  in  that 
the  same  subject,  and  treated  in  almost  the  same  way,  has  already 
been  found  among  other  peoples;  in  Banish  {MittJer,  No.  1327-32)  ; 
in  German  (Eosa  Warrens,  Germanische  Volkslieder  der  Vorzeit, 
vii.  305);  in  Swedish  (Arwidson,  iii.  128);  in  Scottish  (Child,  i.  276, 
and  Aytoun,  ii.  15).  There  are  ideas  that  are  common  to  all  man- 
kind, and  not  peculiar  to  one  people.  I  heard  this  ballad  from  a 
Gypsy  woman  at  Broos  in  1887,  and  again  in  the  spring  of  the 
present  year  from  a  Gypsy  named  Botar  Peter,  in  Alvincz. 

Heinkich  von  Wlislockl 


VI.— lEISH  TINKEKS  AND  THEIE  LANGUAGE. 

ALTHOUGH  the  caste  of  "  Tinkers "  cannot  be  regarded  as 
identical  with  that  of  the  Gypsies,  yet  it  is  undeniable  that  the 
two  are  closely  associated,  and  that  a  great  number  of  Gypsies  are 
tinkers.  "  So  many  Gypsies,  so  many  smiths,"  has  long  been  a  pro- 
verb in  Transylvania,  and  so  early  as  the  year  1122  we  find  the 
Austrian  Gypsies  referred  to  as  Chaltsmide,  or  "  cold- smiths."^  The 
Castilian  edict  of  1499  was  directed  against  "Egyptians  and 
foreign  tinkers  (ccdderos  extrangeros) " ;  and  similar  edicts  issued 
against  "  English  Gypsies  under  the  Tudors,"  and  subsequently,  yield 
a  similar  testimony.  And  the  connection  between  the  two  castes 
still  exists  :  to  borrow  the  words  of  Mr.  Leland,  "  He  who  catches 
a  tinker  has  got  hold  of  half  a  Gypsy." 

1  "That  here  by  Ghaltsviide  .  .  .  Gypsies  are  meant,  scarcely  admits  of  doubt,"  is 
Mr.  Groome's  remark  in  introducing  this  quotation  {Encyc.  Brit.  art.  "Gypsies  "),  and  few 
will  dispute  the  correctness  of  his  inference. 


IRISH    TINKEHS    AND    TIIKII;    LANGUAGE.  351 

These  remarks  are  necessary  as  introductory  to  a  study  of  the 
Gypsies  of  Ireland.  If  one  is  to  accept  the  testimony  of  an  Enfjlish 
Gypsy  wlio  has  visited  most  of  the  celebrated  Irish  horse-fairs, 
there  are  no  Eomane  to  be  found  in  Ireland  at  the  present  day, 
except  those  wlio  have  crossed  from  Great  Britain  in  recent  years. 
Nevertheless,  the  tinker  caste  in  Ireland  is  certainly  Gypsy  to  some 
extent.  Simson,  in  his  History,  speaks  of  that  caste  as  practically 
one  with  the  Scotch  nomads  whom  he  styles  "  Gypsies  " ;  but  that 
writer  employs  the  term  "  Gypsy "  in  a  much  too  comprehensive 
fashion.  That  there  is,  however,  a  distinct  Gypsy  element  in  tlie 
tinkers  of  Ireland  may  be  seen  from  the  following  description, 
which  is  from  the  pen  of  an  Irish  lady,  resident  in  the  county  of 
Limerick : —  ^ 

"  In  an  account  of  the  Greek  Gypsies,  whose  arrival  and  pro- 
tracted stay  in  England  gave  rise  last  year  to  a  good  deal  of  comment, 
I  observed  that  the  name  by  which  they  were  designated  in  their 
continental  passports  was  that  of  chaudronnicr,  or  '  tinker.'  Now 
I  have  often  heard  that  the  Irish  tinkers  are  a  species  of  Gypsy ;  and 
certainly  they  resemble  the  latter  class  in  their  wandering  habits,  for 
they  seldom,  if  ever,  stay  for  any  length  of  time  in  one  place.  ]\Iore- 
over,  they  are  all — in  this  neighbourhood,  at  any  rate — dark-haired 
and  of  swarthy  appearance,  and  they  seldom  marry  out  of  their  own 
caste.  It  has,  therefore,  occurred  to  me  that  a  few  remarks  upon  the 
habits  of  the  Irish  Gypsies  or  tinkers,  based  upon  personal  experience, 
may  prove  instructive,  and  perhaps  amusing,  to  those  who  take  an 
interest  in  the  manners  and  customs  of  our  liritish  nomads — all  the 
more  interesting  because  these  must  gradually  disappear  under  the 
pressure  of  modern  law, 

"Most  of  the  country  people  in  Ireland  profess  to  believe  that  the 
only  necessary  marriage  ceremony  needed  by  the  tinkers  generally  is 
for  the  man  and  woman  to  jump  together,  hand  in  hand,  over  the 
'  budget' — as  the  box  containing  the  materials  used  by  a  tinsman  is 
called.-  Perhaps,  on  the  same  principle,  but  by  jumping  back  again, 
a  divorce  may  be  obtained  !  Certainly  the  following  custom,  and  the 
instances — strictly  true  in  each  case — which  accompany  it,  go  far  to 
suggest  that  tinkers  are  not  very  particular  as  to  the  means  used  to 
'mate 'them.     The  village  of  B ,  in  the  south-west  of  Ireland, 

1  This  extract  is  taken  from  a  longer  article,  contributed  to  the  North  Brithh  Advertiser 
of  26th  February  1887. 

2  The  word  "budget"  was  so  used  in  Shakespeare's  time,  as  may  be.  seen  from  the  lines 
in  Autolycus's  song  ( Winters  Tale,  iv.  2) :  - 

"  If  tinkers  may  have  leave  to  live, 
And  bear  the  sow-skin  budget." 


352  IRISH    TINKERS    AND    THEIR   LANGUAGE. 

has  for  many,  many  years  been  made  a  rendezvous  by  tinkers  for  the 
furthering  of  a  very  curious  custom — namely,  tliat  of  exchanging 
wives.  Incredible  as  this  may  appear,  it  is  nevertheless  a  fact,  and 
though  the  instances  of  it  do  not  occur  so  frequently  now  as  formerly 
seldom  does  a  fair  day  pass  without  one  exchange  at  least  being 
effected.  The  tinkers  seem  to  think  very  little  of  the  matter,  which 
they  designate  by  the  somewhat  vulgar  term  of  a  '  swap.'  To  the 
following  '  swap,'  or  exchange,  a  friend  of  mine  was  an  unseen  wit- 
ness. Tinkers  are  great  horse-dealers,  and  the  one  in  question  was 
no  exception  to  the  rule.  Seeing  a  promising  young  foal  in  the  posses- 
sion of  a  fellow-tinsman,  he  longed  to  become  its  owner.  How  to  do 
so  was  the  question,  for  tinker  Number  Two  refused  to  part  with  the 
animal.  Some  months  later  the  two  men  met  at  the  villafie  fair  in 
question.  Number  Two  had  a  very  ugly  old  wife,  with  only  one  eye, 
whom  he  longed  to  '  swap ' ;  while  Number  One  was  the  possessor  of 
a  young  and  pretty  one,  whom,  so  far,  he  had  no  wish  to  dispose  of 
in  the  usual  way.  But  business  was  business,  and  so  good  an  oppor- 
tunity was  not  to  be  lost,  so  he  offered  the  pretty  young  wife  for  the 
old  one  with  the  one  eye,  provided  the  coveted  foal  was  given  too,  so 
as  to  make  the  exchange  equal.  Tinker  Number  Two  demurred,  but 
over  a  few  friendly  glasses  the  bargain  was  concluded.  He  got  the 
young  wife,  and  gave  in  exchange  the  foal  and  the  '  old  woman ' — 
as  he  called  her.  In  all  these  '  swaps '  horses,  money,  so  nmch 
whisky,  perhaps  a  new  '  budget,'  or  a  suit  of  clothes,  form  part  of  the 
exchancje." 

Apart  from  all  other  resemblances,  this  custom  of  wife-exchange 
would  of  itself  suggest  Gypsy  affinity.  In  describing  the  Gypsies  of 
Spain,  George  Borrow  quotes  freely  from  "  Don  Juan  de  Quinones, 
who,  in  a  small  volume  published  in  1632,  has  written  some  details 
respecting  their  way  of  life,"  wherein  this  passage  occurs  : — "  Friar 
Melchior  of  Guelama  states  that  he  heard  asserted  of  two  Gitanos 
what  was  never  yet  heard  of  any  barbarous  nation,  namely,  that 
they  exchanged  their  wives ;  and  that  as  one  was  more  comely- 
looking  than  the  other,  he  who  took  the  handsome  woman  gave  a 
certain  sum  of  money  to  him  who  took  the  ugly  one."  ^  Whether  or 
not  the  system  of  wife-exchange  was  peculiar  to  Gypsies,  we  have 
here  a  visible  link  between  the  Spanish  Gypsy  and  the  semi-Gypsy 
of  Ireland ;  and  the  statement  made  by  the  Spanish  writer  of  the 
seventeenth  century  is  unconsciously  confirmed  with  a  remarkable 
exactness  by  our  lady  writer  of  modern  Ireland. 

^  The  Zincali,  vol.  i.  chap.  x.  (1811  ed.). 


IRISH    TTNKEUS    AND    THEIR    LANGUAGE.  353 

We  get  glimpses  of  those  Irish  tinkers  in  at  least  two  modern 
books,  whose  writers  have  more  than  a  casual  acquaintanceship  with 
similar  nomads.  For  example,  a  certain  well-known  sojourner  "  in 
Gypsy  tents"  relates  how,  as  he  and  some  young  Eomani  lads 
strolled  along  a  Welsh  lane,  they  encountered  a  Romimo  chiriJclo, 
or  "  Gypsy  magpie"  (otherwise  known  as  the  water-wagtail),  which, 
as  it  scarcely  hopped  aside  to  let  them  pass,  proclaimed  to  tliem 
that  they  would  soon  see  strange  Gypsies — according  to  a  settled 
article  of  Gypsy  belief.  "  And  lo  !  a  turn  in  the  lane  brought  us  in 
sight  of  .  .  .  two  tattered,  low,  smoked  tents,  pitched  in  a  hollow  by 
the  wayside.  But  '  tink,  tink,  tink '  came  the  sound  of  a  white- 
smith's hammer,  announcing  that  these  were  no  gentle  Komane,  but 
Irish  Crinks.  ...  At  least  the  wielder  of  the  liammer  was  black 
enough,  though  whether  from  innate  swarthiness  or  ingrained  grime 
it  were  hard  to  determine.  1  could  but  hazard  a  remark  in  Komanes, 
'  Sor  shau,  pala  ?  rinkeno  saulo  si '  (How  d  'ye  do,  brother  ?  a  beauti- 
ful morning).  He  paused  a  moment  with  uplifted  hannner,  shot  a 
mistrusting  glance  at  us,  and  curtly  answering,  '  I  dunna  jon  your 
cant,'  went  on  with  the  milk-pail  he  was  fashioning."  ^ 

Now,  although  that  "  Crink  "  was  not  a  Eomanochal,  yet,  as  j\Ir. 
Groome  points  out,  one  of  the  words  he  used,  Jon,  signifying  "  know," 
is  good  Eomanes  ;  and  indeed  the  Crink's  pronunciation  of  the  word 
is  nearer  the  continental  forms  than  the  Anglo-Eomany  Ji7i.  In 
fact,  that  one  sentence,  "  I  dunna  jon  your  cant,"  seems  to  put  in  a 
nutshell  the  chief  characteristics  of  the  Irish  tinkers'  lanfijua<Te,  or 
jargon.  For  "  cant "  is  there  used  in  the  ordinary  Gaelic  sense  of 
"  speech."  And,  whatever  its  original  form,  the  language  of  the 
Irish  tinkers  seems  to  be  a  compound  of  English,  Eomanes,  and 
Gaelic. 

The  study  of  this  form  of  speech  is  as  yet  in  its  infancy.  Until 
lately  it  has  been  taken  for  granted  that  when  Shakespeare  made 
Prince  Henry  boast  that  he  could  "  drink  with  any  tinker  in  his  own 
language,"  the  language  referred  to  was  Eomanes.  And  the  same 
inference  has  been  drawn  from  the  allusion  to  "  the  beo^gars'  tonQ[ue  " 
in  the  ballad  of  The  Gaherlunyie  Man  (ascribed  to  James  v.  of  Scot- 
land). But  Mr.  Leland  relates  how,  in  the  year  1876,  he  first  learned 
of  the  existence  of  a  dialect  peculiar  to  tinkers,  with  which  dialect 
he  subsequently  made  a  closer  acquaintance.  This  form  of  speech, 
he  tells  us,  is  known  as  Minkhrs'  Thari,  Shelia  Thari,  or  "  Shclta," 
otherwise  "  Tinkers'  T;dk."     And,  after  due  consideration,  he  has  been 

1  See  pp.  '25-"26  of  ilr.  Groome's  /«  Gypsy  Tents. 


354  IRISH    TINKERS    AND   THEIR   LANGUAGE. 

led  to  remark :  "  I  have  always  supposed  that  the  tinkers'  language 
spoken  of  by  Shakespeare  was  Eomany,  but  I  now  incline  to  think 
it  may  have  been  Shelta." 

As  the  discoverer  of  Shelta  gives  several  pages  of  words  in  that 
language,  in  an  easily  accessible  form,  ^  it  is  unnecessary  to  repeat 
them  here.  But  on  looking  at  these  examples,  one  is  ready  to  agree 
with  the  explanation  given  by  a  decayed  vagabond,  who  furnished 
him  with  much  information  on  this  subject : — "  As  for  the  language, 
I  believe  it 's  mostly  Gaelic,  but  it 's  mixed  up  with  Eomanes  and 
canting  or  thieves'  slang.  Once  it  was  the  common  language  of  all 
the  old  tinkers.  But  of  late  years  the  old  tinkers'  families  are 
mostly  broken  up,  and  the  language  is  perishing." 

One  remarkable  feature  of  Shelta  is  that,  while  it  undoubtedly  is 
a  form  of  Gaelic,  it  is  not  confined  to  those  districts  where  Gaelic  is 
still  spoken,  but  is  employed  by  tinkers  and  tramps  throughout  the 
British  Islands ;  of  whom  it  is  to  be  presumed  that  a  great  number 
have  never  been  outside  the  borders  of  England.- 

Some  of  those,  however,  who  are  otherwise  connected  with  the 
Gaelic  language  are  to  be  met  with  in  the  late  Mr.  Campbell's 
Popular  Tales  of  the  West  Highlands ;  and  it  was  from  one  of  them, 
a  certain  John  M'Donald,  that  he  obtained  the  stories  of  The  Broion 
Bear  of  the  Green  Glen,  The  Tale  of  the  Soldier,  and  another,  "  of  which 
one  scene,"  says  Mr.  Campbell,  "represented  an  incantation  more 
vividly  to  me  than  anything  I  have  ever  read  or  heard."  With 
regard  to  this  John  M'Donald,  we  have  the  following  information : — 
"  He  wanders  all  over  the  Highlands,  and  lives  in  a  tent  with  his 
family.  He  can  neither  read  nor  write.  He  repeats  some  of  his 
stories  by  heart  fluently,  and  almost  in  the  same  words."  "  He  is 
about  fifty  years  of  age^;  his  father,  an  old  soldier,  is  alive,  and 
about  eighty ;  and  there  are  numerous  younger  branches  ;  and  they 
were  all  encamped  under  the  root  of  a  tree  in  a  quarry  close  to 
Inveraray,  at  Easter  1859.  The  father  tells  many  stories,  but  his 
memory  is  failing.  The  son  told  me  several,  and  I  have  a  good  many 
of  them  written  down.  They  both  recite.  They  do  not  simply  tell 
the  story,  but  act  it  witli  changing  voice  and  gesture,  as  if  they  took 
an  interest  in  it,  and  entered  into  the  spirit  and  fun  of  the  tale. 

1  The  Gypsies,  Boston,  1882  ;  coucluding  chapter,  "Shelta,  the  Tinkers'  Talk." 
"  In  the  November  and  December  numbers  of  The  Academy  of  1886  will  be  found 
examples  of  Shelta,  not  only  collected  by  Mr.  Leland,  but  also  by  Mr.  H.  T.  Crofton.  In 
each  of  these  cases  the  words  were  frequently  obtained  from  people  who  do  not  appear  to 
have  had  any  known  connection,  by  birth  or  ancestry,  with  Ireland  or  the  Highlands  of 
Scotland. 

3  This  was  in  1860. 


IRISH    TINKERS   AND   THEIR    LANGUAGE.  355 

They  belong  to  the  race  of  '  Cairds,'  and  are  as  much  nomads  as  the 
Gypsies  are."  "  There  is  a  similar  race  in  Spain,  and  though  they  are 
not  all  Gypsies,  they  are  classed  with  them." 

This  word  "  Caird,"  or  "  Ccard;'  is  defined  by  Mr.  Campbell 
thus: — "Oeard,  any  kind  of  smith;  .  .  .  Gypsies  and  travelling 
tinkers  are  pre-eminently  ceardan  or  smiths,  because  they  work  in  a 
great  variety  of  metals."  ^  In  the  Irish  -  or  Gaelic  dictionaries  of 
Scotland,  ceard  is  rendered  "  a  tinker," — and  one  less  flattering  defini- 
tion given  is  "a  blackguard."  Of  course  those  dictionaries  also 
interpret  the  word  ceard  in  the  wider  sense  referred  to  by  Mr. 
Campbell.  But  all  over  Scotland  ccard  or  caird  has  long  been  a 
recognised  equivalent  of  "tinker"  ;  and  that  its  meaning  is  even  more 
special  in  Gaelic  may  be  inferred  from  the  fact  that  the  Gaelic  dic- 
tionaries not  only  regard  "  tinker "  and  "  ceard  "  as  synonyms,  but 
they  define  the  word  "  GyjDsy  "  as  ceard-Jiosachd  (a  fortune-telling  or 
wizard-tinker),  and  "  a  Gypsy  woman  "  is  not  only  han-fhiosaichc  (a 
sorceress),  but  also  ban-cheard  (a  tinkeress).^ 

A  consideration  of  this  word  ccard,  in  this  aspect,  suggests  a  very 
great  deal.  "  In  our  own  Highland  glens,"  says  a  Scottish  writer,'*  "  1 
have  heard  more  legends  of  supernatural  smith-work  than  ever  I 
could  gather  of  Ossiau."  Were  these  "  supernatural  smiths "  the 
same  as  the  "  wizard-tinkers "  we  are  speaking  of  ?  If  they  were 
not,  wherein  did  they  differ  ?  Certainly  the  antiquity  of  ceards  in 
the  British  Islands  has  never  yet  been  disputed.  And,  in  view  of  the 
opinion  held  by  a  Tsiganologuc  such  as  M.  Bataillard,  that  the  Gypsies 
have  been  pre-eminently  worlcers  in  bronze,  if  they  did  not  introduce 
it  into  Europe,  it  is  interesting  to  quote  the  following  remarks  of  a 
modern  archaeologist  ^  regarding  ancient  bronze  sword-sheaths  found 
in  Ireland : — "  Then  came  the  discovery  [within  recent  years], 
amongst  a  quantity  of  fragmentary  paalstaves,  socketed  celts,  and 
minor  articles,  of  the  greater  portion  of  what  liad  been  a  fine  sheath 

1  For  these  various  references  in  the  West  Highland  Tales,  see  vol.  i.  xcv.-.xcvi.,  anrl  164- 
175  ;  vol.  ii.  276-285  ;  and  vol.  ill.  387,  note  5. 

2  Until  comi)aratively  recent  times  the  Gaelic  of  Scotlanti  was  known  to  the  English- 
speaking  ])eople  of  Scotland  as  "  Irish,"  which  word  being  pronounced  (as  it  even  yet  is  in 
some  districts)  as  "  Earish,"  or,  still  earlier,  as  "  Earis,"  eventually  occasioned  tlie  barbaric 
spelling  "  Erse,"  now  almost  obsolete.  This  detail  is  noted  here  in  order  to  emphasise  the 
fact  that  the  "Irish  Tinkers"  under  notice  are  not  confined  to  Ireland,  but  belong  equally 
to  the  "  Irish"  districts  of  Scotland— (not  to  mention  other  parts  of  the  British  Islands 
where  Irish  is  not  a  local  form  of  speech). 

3  See  the  dictionaries  of  Armstrong,  M'Alpine,  and  M'Leod  &  Dewar. 

•*  The  late  Mr.  Cosmo  Innes  (as  quoted  at  p.  354  of  the  Proceedings  of  the  Society  of 
Antii/iuo'ii's  of  Scotland,  1880-81). 

5  Mr.  W.  F.  Wakeman,  in  the  Journal  of  the  Royal  Historical  and  Archaeological  Associa- 
tion of  Ireland,  April- July  1889,  pp.  98-99. 


356  IRISH   TINKERS   AND   THEIR   LANGUAGE. 

of  bronze.  Like  the  specimens  found  with  it,  it  had  been  broken  up, 
probably  by  some  ancient  ceard,  or  worker  in  bronze,  whose  aim  was 
to  use  the  metal  in  the  manufacture  of  new  weapons,  instruments,  or 
ornaments.  ...  It  is  well  perhaps  here  to  remark  that  at  Lagore, 
Ballinderry,  and  other  lacustrine  retreats  in  Ireland,  objects  in  a 
half-finished  state,  composed  of  bronze,  bone,  or  other  material,  have 
not  uni'requently  been  turned  up,  as  also  crucibles  in  which  metal,  or 
probably  vitreous  paste  of  some  kind,  had  in  all  likelihood  been 
melted.  Indeed,  there  is  abundant  reason  to  believe  that  many  of 
our  crannogs  [lake-dwellings]  were  at  times  in  the  occupation  of 
ceards,  or  workers  in  brass,  or  bronze,  as  well  as  in  iron,  bone,  flint, 
wood,  and  even  glass." 

To  turn  to  the  Slielta  language,  the  speech  of  existing  cairds. 
The  name  "  Shelta"  is,  in  the  opinion  of  one  leading  Gypsiologist,  very 
likely  nothing  else  than  a  variant  of  "  Celtic,"  or  "  Keltic."  And 
another,  who  has  been  the  first  to  introduce  this  speech  to  public 
notice,  says  with  regard  to  it : — "  Of  Celtic  origin  it  surely  is.  .  .  . 
The  question  which  I  cannot  solve  is,  On  which  of  the  Celtic  lan- 
guages is  this  jargon  based  ?  j\Iy  informant  declares  that  it  is  quite 
independent  of  Old  Irish,  Welsh,  or  Gaelic.  In  pronunciation  it 
appears  to  be  almost  identical  with  the  latter ;  but  while  there  are 
Gaelic  words  in  it,  it  is  certain  that  much  examination  and  inquiry 
have  failed  to  show  that  it  is  contained  in  that  language.^  That  it  is 
'  the  talk  of  the  ould  Picts — thim  that  built  the  stone  houses  like 
bee-hives ' — is,  I  confess,  too  conjectural  for  a  philologist.  I  have  no 
doubt  that  when  the  Picts  were  suppressed  thousands  of  them  must 
have  become  wandering  outlaws,  like  the  Eomany,  and  that  their  lan- 
guage in  time  became  a  secret  tongue  of  vagabonds  on  the  roads. 
This  is  the  history  of  many  such  lingoes ;  but  unfortunately  Owen's  ^ 
opinion,  even  if  it  be  legendary,  will  not  prove  that  the  Painted 
People  spoke  the  Shelta  tongue.  I  must  call  attention,  however,  to 
one  or  two  curious  points.  I  have  spoken  of  Shelta  as  a  jargon  ;  but 
it  is,  in  fact,  a  language,  for  it  can  be  spoken  grammatically,  and 
without  using  English  or  Romany.  And  again,  there  is  a  corrupt 
method  of  pronouncing  it,  according  to  English,  while  correctly  enun- 
ciated it  is  purely  Celtic  in  sound.  More  than  this  I  have  naught  to 
say."  3 

1  This  statement  requires  to  be  qualified.  The  numerals  given  by  Mr.  Leland  are  exclu- 
sively Gaelic  (save  for  a  slight  Roniani  turn  iu  "  trin-yedh  "  for  "tri-deug,"  or  "  -dheug  "). 
And  a  slight  knowledge  of  Gaelic  enables  one  to  see  that  Gaelic  predominates  in  Shelta. 
But  this  is  a  question  which  only  Gaelic  scholars  are  competent  to  deal  with. 

2  The  Irish  tinker,  who  furnished  many  of  the  words. 

3  Mr.  Leland's  Gi/psies  (Boston,  1882),  pp.  369-371. 


IRISH    TIXKHKS   AND   THEIR    LANGUAGE.  357 

Whatever  be  the  truth  regarding  the  Irish  tinkers  and  their  lan- 
guage, it  is  evident  that  much  may  yet  be  learned  from  a  study  of 
both.  "Whether  Ireland  has  had,  or  even  yet  retains,  a  caste  of  verit- 
able Eomane,  appears  to  be  unknown  at  present.  There  seems  no 
reason  for  believing  that  Ireland  was  not  as  much  a  home  of  the 
Gypsies  as  any  other  part  of  the  British  Islands.  Indeed,  the  Scot- 
tish liistorian  of  tlie  Gypsies,  Mr.  Walter  Simson,  indicates  that  Scot- 
land received  its  Gypsy  population  froin  Ireland.^  Be  this  correct  or 
not,  one  would  think  that  State  documents  and  parish  records,  relat- 
ing to  Ireland,  would  yield  quite  as  many  Gypsy  items  as  those 
relating  to  England  and  Scotland.  Such  a  reference  as  this,  for 
example,  provokes  further  inquiry  : — "  Long  ago,  when  the  sturdy 
beggars  were  whipped  out  of  Duljlin,  by  order  of  the  Lord  Mayor  and 
the  Corporation,  they  made  a  halt  on  the  top  of  Tallagh  Hill,  which 
overlooks  the  city.  Here  they  might  safely  shake  their  fists  at  the 
Lord  Mayor,  and  defy  the  power  of  liim  and  his  myrmidons,  as  they 
were  far  beyond  his  jurisdiction  and  hearing."  ^  Were  these  "  sturdy 
beggars  "  akin  to  those  who  in  Great  Britain  underwent  similar  tribu- 
lation, along  with  the  "  rogues  and  vagabonds "  "  commonly  called 
Egyptians"?  And  if  they  too  spoke  "the  beggars'  tongue,"  was  it 
the  language  of  the  Eomane,  or  that  Shelta  dialect  which  appears  to 
be  peculiarly  associated  with  Irish  nomads  ? 

David  MacPiItchie. 


1  Mr.  Simson  states  that  "  before  the  year  1460  "  the  south-west  of  Scotland  was  ravaged 
by  a  band  of  Gj^psies  from  Ireland  ;  and  these  are,  in  point  of  date,  his  earliest  "Scottish 
Gypsies."  He  also  refers  to  a  large  immigration  of  Irish  Gyi^sies  in  nineteenth-centnry 
Scotland.  "  It  is  only  about  twenty-five  years,"  he  says,  writing  about  thirty  or  forty  years 
ago,  "since  the  Irish  Gypsies,  in  bands,  made  their  appearance  in  Scotland.  Many  severe 
confiicts  they  had  with  our  Scottish  tribes  before  they  obtained  a  footing  in  the  country. 
But  there  is  a  new  swarm  of  Irish  Gypsies  at  present  scattei'ed,  in  bands,  over  Scotland,  all 
acquainted  with  the  Gypsy  language. " 

However  it  may  conflict  with  the  belief  that  Shelta,  rather  than  Romanes,  is  the  special 
language  of  Irish  tinkers,  it  is  clear  that  if  all  those  to  whom  Mr.  Simson  refers  spoke  the 
dialect  employed  by  the  Irish  Gypsies  whom  he  met  in  Fife  (of  which  dialect  he  gives  speci- 
mens at  p.  328  of  his  book),  then  they  certainly  spoke  Romanes.  But  this  may  be  explained 
by  the  fact  that  tinkers,  such  as  the  "Owen,"  who  supplied  so  much  Shelta  to  Mr.  Leland, 
could  also  speak  Romanes.  That  writer  particularly  says  of  Shelta,  "I  class  it  with  the 
Gypsy,  hecaiise  all  vjho  speak  it  are  also  acquainted  with  Romany  "  ;  and  one  is  led  to  infer 
from  his  remarks  that  Shelta  has  been  preserved  from  the  knowledge  of  the  outer  world  with 
much  greater  care  than  Romanes  itself.  Consequently,  Mr.  Simson's  tinkers  may  have 
known  both  languages,  but  have  refrained  from  imparting  to  him  any  words  of  the  more 
secret  "  Shelta." 

-  Journal  of  the  Royal  Historical  and  Archmological  Association  of  Ireland,  April-July 
1889,  p.  138. 


358 


VENETIAN  EDICTS  RELATING  TO  THE  GYPSIES  OF 


VII.— VENETIAN  EDICTS  relating  to  the  Gypsies  of  the  Sixteenth, 
Seventeenth,  and  Eighteenth  Centuries.  (Extracted  from  the 
Archivio  dci  Frari,  at  Venice.) 


Parte  presa  nell'  Eccellentiss. 
Consefjlio  di  Pregadi  1558- 
15  Liiglio,  e  1588-24  Set- 
tembre,  In  Materia  di  Cingani. 
Stampata  per  Antonio  Pinelli 
Stampatore  Ducale. 

1558 — 15  Luglio,  In  Pregadi. — 
Con.siderando  la  mala  qualita  dei 
Cingani,  e  la  molestia  danni  e  molti 
disturbi,  die  ricevono  li  fedeli  nos- 
tri  dalla  loro  practica,  fu  preso  in 
questo  Conseglio  a'  21  Settembre 
1549,  che  fossero  niandati  fuori 
delli  Territori  nostri  e  che  nell' 
avvenir  non  se  gli  potesse  dar  licen- 
za  di  venir  nel  Stato  Nostro  senza 
deliberazione  di  esso  Conseglio ;  il 
qual  Ordine  cosi  buono  e  lodevole, 
al  presente  non  si  osserva,  essendo 
introdotto,  che  li  detti  Cingani  co'l 
mezo  di  Lettere  Patent!  da  loro 
impetrate  da  alcuni  Rettori  Nostri 
di  poter  transitar  per  tre  giorni 
sotto  la  sua  giurisdizione  vanno 
vagando  per  li  luogi  Nostri,  contro 
la  forma  del  Decreto  predetto  con 
danno  di  molti,  &  universal  mor- 
morazione,  Al  che  dovendosi  pro- 
veder  per  satisfazione,  e  benefizio 
delli  Popoli  nostri,  I'andera  Parte, 
che  le  predette  Lettere  Patent!  siano 
revocate  &  anuullate ;  come  fatte 
contro  li  Ordini  nostri,  ne  de  cae- 
tero  possino  essere  piii  fatte,  sotto 
pena  alii  Cancellieri,  6  altr!  Minis- 
tri,  che  le  facessero,  de  immediate 
privazion!  della  Cancelleria,  o  altro 
Officio,  che  havessero,  e  d!  non 
poter  in  perpetuo  piu  esercitar  alcun 
Officio  del  Dominio  Nostro  ;  e  sia 
commesso  a  tutti  !  Rettori  Nostri 
di  Terra  Ferma,  che  debbano  far 
uscir  detti  Cingari  subito  e  im- 
mediate dell!  luogh!  Nostri,  li 
qual!   non   possono   piu   essere  ad- 


Eesolution  taken  in  the  Most 
Excellent  Council  of  the  Pre- 
gadi, 15th  July  1558,  and  24th 
September  1588,  concerning  the 
Gypsies.  Printed  by  Antonio 
Pinelli,  Ducal  Printer. 

1558 — 15th  July,  In  Pregadi. — 
Considering  the  evil  disposition  of 
the  Gypsies,  and  the  annoyance, 
damages,  and  manifold  troubles  that 
our  faithful  subjects  sustain  from 
their  intercourse,  it  was  enacted  in 
this  Council  on  the  2  1  st  September 
1549,  that  they  should  be  sent  out 
from  our  territories,  and  that  hence- 
forward no  licence  would  be  given 
to  them  to  come  into  our  State  with- 
out a  consultation  of  said  Council ; 
which  Decree  so  good  and  laudable 
is  not  observed  at  present,  owing  to 
the  circumstance  that  the  aforesaid 
Gypsies,  by  means  of  Letters  Patent 
obtained  by  them  from  some  of  our 
Rectors  Avith  power  to  pass  for 
three  days,  under  his  jurisdiction, 
are  wandering  about  our  lands, 
contrary  to  the  manner  of  the 
aforesaid  decree,  causing  damage  to 
many,  and  a  universal  complaint. 
Wherefore,  it  being  our  duty  to 
take  measures  for  the  satisfaction 
and  benefit  of  our  people,  it  is  en- 
acted that  the  above-named  Letters 
Patent  be  revoked  and  made  void, 
as  made  against  our  orders,  and 
that  they  be  never  made  again, 
under  penalty  to  the  Chancellors  or 
other  officers  who  would  so  do  of 
the  immediate  forfeiture  of  their 
office  or  other  charge  that  they 
have,  and  their  subsequent  disability 
ever  after  to  exercise  any  other  office 
of  our  dominion  ;  and  be  it  ordered 
to  all  the  Rectors  of  the  main- 
land that  they  are  to  expel,  at  once 


THE  SIXTEENTH,  SEVENTEENTH,  AND  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURIES.      359 

messi,  ne  per  tre  giorni,   ne   altvi-  and  immediately,  the  said  Gypsies 

menti  a  niodo  alcuno  senza  licenza  from  our  lands,  into  which  they  are 

di  questo  Conseglio,  e  se  contro  le  no  more  to  be  admitted,  either  f(ir 

forme    dell'    Ordine    presente    nell'  three    days,    or    otherwise,    in    no 

avvenir    si    conferiranno    in    alcun  manner    whatsoever,   without  a  li- 

luogo     Nostro,    cosi    con    Patenti  cence  by  this  Council,  and  if  contrary 

delli  Eettori,  come  senza,  siano,  i^'  to  the  statutes  of  the  present  order, 

esser  s'intendano  incorsi  alia  pena  they  should  in  future  betake  them- 

di  esser  posti  a  Eemo  nelle  Galee  selves  to  any  places  of  ours,  with 

Nosti-e  de'  Condennati.  ove  habbino  ]\atents   from   the    Kectoi's  or  not, 

a  servir  alia  Catena  per  Anni  diese  they  shall  be  held  to  have  incurred 

continui ;  Haver  debbano  quelli  che  the    ])enalty   of   being  put   to   the 

l)renderanno  alcuni  di  essi  Cingani  Oar,  in  our  convict  galleys,  where 

Contrafacenti,  ut  supra,  e  consegne-  they  shall  serve  at  the  Chain  for  ten 

ranno  in  le  forze  della  Giustizia  da  consecutive  years ;  Those  who  will 

esser  mandate  in  questa  Citta  per  apprehend  any  of   the    counterfeit 

i'effetto  predetto  Ducati  diese  delli  Gypsies  above  referred  to  and  deliver 

Danari  delleTaglie.  Possiendo  etiam  them  into  the  hands  of  justice,  to  be 

li  detti  Cingani,  cosi  huomini  come  sent  into  this  city  for  the  aforesaid 

femine,  che  saranno  ritrovati  uelli  effect,  will  be  paid  ten  ducats  out 

Teritori   Nostri,  esser  impune  am-  of  the  fund  for  such  captives.     It 

mazzati,   si  che  li  Interfettori  per  is    also    permitted    that    the    said 

tali  homicidij  non  habbino  ad  in-  Gypsies,    both    men    and    women, 

correr  in  alcuna  pena.     Et  la  pre-  found    in  our  territories,    may    be 

sente  Parte  sia  fatta  pubblicar  dalli  with    impunity    slain,    without  the 

detti  Eettori  in  li  luoghi  soliti  per  jierpetrators  of  such  murders  having 

intelligenza  d'ogni  uno,  e  registrar  to    incur    any    penalty    whatever, 

in    Atti    delle    loro    Caucellerie,    a  And  let  this  Decree  be  made  publicly 

memoria  delli  successor!,  e  sia  posta  known  by  the  said  Eectors  in  the 

nelle  Commissioni  di  essi  Eettori.  usual  places  for  the  intelligence  of 

every  one,  and  let  it  be  registered 
in  Acts  of  their  Chancellories,  to 
remind  their  successors,  and  be 
placed  in  the  records  of  said 
Eectors. 

1588-24     Settembre,    In     Pre-  15 88-2 4th    September,    fn   Pre- 

gadi. — Se  bene  per  Parte  di  questo  gadi. — Although   by   order  of  this 

Conseglio  21  Decembre  1549,  e  15  Council,  21st  December  1549,  and 

Luglio  1558,  e  stato  provisto,  che  loth  July   1558,  it  has  been  pro- 

li    Cingani    per    li    molti    danni  e  vided    that     the    Gypsies,    owing 

disturbi   che   inferivano  alii  Terri-  to    the    several    injuries    and    dis- 

tori  dello  Stato  Nostro,  non  potes-  turbances  caused  to  the  territories  of 

sero  haver  ricetto   in  alcun  luogo,  our  State,  were  to  be  received  no- 

sotto  pena  di  Bando,  Galea,  &  anco  where,  under  penalty  of  banishment 

di  poter  esser  impune  ammazzati.  and    the    galley,    and    also    to    be 

Nondimeno    si   vede,   che    tuttavia  slain  with  impunity  :  Nevertheless 

&    stanno    in    molto    inimero    con  it  is  seen  that  they  are  yet,  in  great 

danno  grandissimo   di  detti  Terri-  numbers,  and   greatly  to  the  detri- 

torij,  ai  quali  vien  anco  dato  recapito  ment  of  these  territories,  still  living 

da  molti,  che  tengono  poco  conto  there,  to  whom  also  shelter  is  being 

della  Giustizia,  &  che   partecipano  afforded  by  many  who  make  light 


360 


VENETIAN   EDICTS   RELATINCx   TO    THE    GYPSIES   OF 


delli  loro  latrocinij,  con  mala  sodis- 
fattione  delli  poveri  Contadini,  & 
altri,  clie  ricevono  da  loro  molti 
danni,  al  die  dovendosi  proveder. 
L'Aiidera  parte,  die  salue,  &  ri- 
servate  le  sopradette  leggi,  sia  a 
quelle  aggiuiito  che.tutti  li  Eettori 
di  Terra  Ferma,  debbano  una  volta 
air  anno  far  publicar  tutte  le  sopra- 
dette parti ;  &  oltre  di  ci6  faccino 
proclamare,  die  se  alcuno  dara 
recapito,  o  allogiara  li  predetti 
Cingani  incorrera  in  pena  di  seruir 
per  anni  tre  in  Galea  alia  Catena 
6  altra  pena  die  parera  ai  Eettori, 
secondo  la  qualita  della  persona. 
Et  subito  die  detti  Cingani  capite- 
ranno  in  alcun  luoco  siano  obligati 
i  Merighi  delle  Ville  sotto  le 
medesime  pene,  andar  a  darli  in 
nota  alii  Eettori  piii  vicini,  acdo 
possano  essere  cacciati  del  tutto 
dello  Stato  Nostro  &  castigati 
quelli  die  gli  hauessero  dato  re- 
capito. Non  potendo  li  Eettori 
predetti  concedere  a  detti  Cingani 
a  modo  alcuno,  iie  in  voce  ne  con 
lettere  patenti,  o  passaporti  di 
alcuna  sorte,  ne  jier  transito  ne 
altraniente  di  jjoter  stare  o  passare 
per  lo  Stato  Nostro,  senza  licenza 
di  questo  Conseglio  ;  e  le  sia  mede- 
simamente  e  sopratutto  prohibito 
di  poter  venire  in  questa  Citta 
nostra.  Et  la  presente  Parte  sia 
registrata  nelle  Cancellarie  delli 
Eettori  di  Terra  ferma,  e  posta 
nelle  Commissioni  loro  per  la  sua 
debita  esecuzione. 


1767-29  Luglio.— In  Consiglio 
di  Dieci.  Sebbene  per  le  Parti  del 
Senato  21  Decembre  1549,  e  15 
Luglio  1558,  e  per  quelle  aiicora 
del  Consiglio  di  Dieci  21  Agosto 
1690,  6  8  Eebbrajo  1692  sia  stato 
proveduto  con  risolute  ordinazioni 
e  Leggi  onde  sia  assolutamente 
proibita  I'introduzione  e  perman- 
enza  de'  Cingani  cosi  di  LTomini 
die    di    Donne,    nelle    Citta    della 


of  justice,  and  who  share  in  their 
plunder,  greatly  to  the  dissatisfac- 
tion of  the  i:)oor  peasants  and  others 
who  receive  much  harm  at  their 
hands  :  To  obviate  Avliich,  be  it  en- 
acted that  in  addition  to  the  afore- 
said laws,  it  be  also  decreed  that  all 
the  Eectors  of  the  mainland  are  once 
a  year  to  have  all  the  abovenained 
laws  published,  and  further,  that 
they  proclaim  that  any  one  affording 
shelter,  or  lodging  the  aforesaid  Gyp- 
sies, will  incur  the  penalty  of  serving 
for  three  years  in  the  Galleys  at  the 
Chain,  or  such  other  punishment  as 
shall  seem  fit  to  the  Eectors  accord- 
ing to  the  quality  of  the  person. 
And  as  soon  as  said  Gypsies  happen 
to  appear  in  any  place,  the  Merighi 
delle  Ville\oY  rural  magistratesjsliall, 
under  the  same  penalties,  be  obliged 
to  denounce  them  to  the  nearest 
Eectors,  that  they  may  be  entirely 
driven  out  from  our  State,  and  those 
])unished  who  had  afforded  them 
shelter.  The  aforesaid  Eectors  not 
■  being  allowed  to  grant  to  said  Gyp- 
sies, in  any  manner  whatsoever,  either 
verbally  or  with  letters  patent,  and 
passports  of  any  sort  whatever, 
neither  by  way  of  passage  or  other- 
wise, to  stay  or  pass  through  our 
State,  without  a  licence  from  this 
Council,  and  it  being  likewise 
specially  prohibited  to  permit  them 
to  come  into  this  our  city.  And  be 
the  present  Decree  registered  in 
the  Offices  of  the  Eectors  of  the 
mainland,  and  intrusted  to  their 
provision  for  its  due  execution. 

1 7  6  7—2  9  th  July.— In  the  Council 
of  the  Ten.  Although  by  Decree  of 
the  Senate  21st  December  154-9, 
and  15th  July  1558,  and  by  those 
also  of  the  Council  of  the  Ten  21st 
August  1690,  and  8tli  February 
1 692,  it  has  been  provided,  by  strict 
ordinances  and  laws,  that  the  in- 
troduction of  the  Gypsies,  both  of 
men  and  women,  into  the  cities  of 
the  mainland  and  their  territorifes, 


Till':  SIXTEENTH,  SEVENTEENTH,  AND  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURIES.      .3G1 


Terra  Ferma  i>  loro  Territorj,  sotto 
le  rigorose  pene  espresse  in  esse 
Leggi,  e  Decrcti;  con  tutto  ci6 
essendo  pervenuto  a  Cognizione  del 
Cousiglio  medesimo,  e  ])iii  iiidi- 
vidualincnte  per  la  relazione,  die 
ha  avanzata  il  Podesta  e  Capitano 
di  Treviso  nelle  sue  Letterc  24 
Luglio  cadente,  clie  una  Truppa  di 
essi,  sin  al  numero  di  30,  parte 
a  piedi  e  parti  a  Cavallo  tutti 
d'armi  muniti  siano  comparsi  in 
alcune  Ville  di  quel  Territorio  con 
terrore  e  spavento  di  quei  villici,  e 
con  quelle  moleste,  e  dannose  con- 
segnenze  die  ne  derivano  dalla  loro 
introduzione,  e  stazione  nello  Stato 
Nostro  per  le  sopraffazioni,  e  rapine, 
clie  vengono  da  essi  praticate. 

Per6  volendosi  dall'  autorita  di 
questo  Consiglio  nei  modi  piii  forti, 
ed  efficaci  rimediare  a  cosi  gravi 
molestie,  e  disturbi,  si  fa  noto  die 
non  possa  per  qualunque  immagin- 
abile  colore,  o  pretesto  esser  per- 
messo  ne  tollerata  I'introduzione  e 
permaneuza  di  detti  Cingari  si  di 
Uomini  die  di  Donne,  soto  le  pene 
rigorose  espresse  in  esse  Leggi,  di 
Prigione,  e  Galea,  e  anche  di  essere 
impunemente  ammazzati  secondo  le 
quality  delle  transgressioni.  In 
consonanza  delle  medesime  Leggi 
dovranno  li  Contestabili,  Capitanj 
di  Campagna  ed  altri  Ministri  de' 
Reggimenti  non  die  li  Comuni 
delle  Ville  inseguirli  a  tutto  potere, 
e  farli  ridurre  nelle  pubbliclie  forze. 
Per  preniio  poi  del  fermo,  captura 
e  consegna  di  essi  Cingari,  con- 
seguiranno  Ducati  venticinquo  per 
cadauno,  da  esigersi  o  dal  Canier- 
lens-o  alia  cassa  del  Consiirlio  di 
Died,  o  da  qualunque  altra  Camera 
della  Terra  Ferma  a  piacere  ed 
arbitrio  del  Detentore.  E  se  contro 
la  forma  del  presente  Ordinc  Nos- 
tro fosse  da  alcuiio  contra vvenuto, 
dando  a  costoro  ricetto,  ed  alloggio, 
incorrer  debba  nelle  dette  pene,  ed 
altre  die  ])areraiiuo  alii  Pettori, 
secondo  la  qualita  della  persona,  e 

VOL.  I. — NO,  VI. 


and  their  continued  residence  there, 
be  absolutely  forbidden,  under  the 
rigorous  penalties  imposed  in  the 
said  laws  and  decrees,  nevertheless, 
it  having  come  to  the  cognisance 
of  the  same  Council,  and,  more 
particularly,  through  the  relation 
forwarded  by  the  Mayor  and  Cap- 
tain of  Treviso  in  his  letters  of 
the  24th  of  the  present  month  July, 
that  a  gang  of  them  amounting  to 
thirty  in  number,  partly  on  foot 
and  partly  on  horseback,  all  of 
them  supplied  with  arms,  appeared 
at  some  country-houses  of  that 
territory  to  the  terror  and  fright 
of  those  villagers,  and  with  those 
disturbing  and  injurious  conse- 
quences that  proceed  from  their 
introduction  and  stay  in  our  State, 
through  the  acts  of  oppression  and 
rapine  perpetrated  by  them  : 

Wherefore,  the  authorities  of 
this  Council,  wishing  to  remedy,  in 
a  more  efficient  and  more  forcible 
manner,  so  great  a  mischief  and 
trouble,  it  is  hereby  made  known 
that  it  is  forbidden,  under  any 
imaginable  idea  or  pretext,  to  allow 
or  tolerate  the  introduction  or 
permanence  of  said  Gypsies,  either 
of  men  or  women,  under  the  rigorous 
penalties  imposed  in  the  said  laws 
of  prison  or  galleys,  and  also  to  be 
slain  with  impunity,  according  to 
the  nature  of  the  transgressions.  In 
accordance  with  the  said  laws,  the 
Constables,  country  officers,  and 
other  Government  officials,  as  well 
as  the  communal  authorities  of  the 
country,  must  pursue  them  most 
strenuously,  and  have  them  handed 
to  the  police.  And  as  a  reward 
for  the  apprehension,  capture,  and 
delivery  of  such  Gypsies,  they 
will  receive  twenty-five  ducats  a 
head,  to  be  exacted  either  of  the 
Chamberlain  of  the  Council  of  the 
Ten's  funds,  or  of  any  other  bank 
of  the  mainland,  at  the  pleasure 
or  option  of  the  arresters.  And  if, 
contrary  to  the  terms  of  the  present 

2  A 


362 


VENETIAN    EDICTS. 


clella  delinqueuza,  onde  da  per  tutto 
purgato  resti  lo  Stato  da  cosi 
malnata  e  daniiosa  infezione  di 
Gente. 

E  la  presente  sia  stampata  e 
man  data  alii  Rettori  principali 
della  Terra  Ferma  con  Ordine  di 
farla  pubblicare  nelle  loro  Citta,  e 
trasmetterli  agli  altri  Rettori  delle 
Fortezze,  Terre,  e  Castelli  e  a  tiitti 
i  Giurisdicenti  clie  si  attrovano  nel 
loro  Territorio,  onde  resa  universal- 
mente  patente  ad  ognuno  riporti 
I'intiera  inviolabile  obbedienza  ed 
osservanza. 


Decree  of  ours,  it  should  be  con- 
travened by  any  one,  by  giving  to 
those  people  shelter  and  lodging, 
he  is  liable  to  the  said  penalties 
and  such  others  as  may  be  deemed 
fit  by  the  Rectors,  according  to  the 
quality  of  the  person  or  of  the 
delinquency,  that  everywhere  the 
State  may  thus  be  purged  of  so 
ill-born  and  accursed  a  plague  of 
people. 

And  let  the  jiresent  be  printed 
and  sent  to  the  principal  Rectors 
of  the  mainland,  with  the  order 
to  have  it  published  in  their  towns, 
and  transmitted  by  them  to  the 
governors  of  the  fortresses,  lands, 
and  castles,  and  to  all  the  counsel- 
lors of  the  law  within  their  terri- 
tory, in  order  that  it  be  universally 
made  known  to  every  one  for  the 
entire  and  inviolable  observance  and 
obedience  thereof. 


VIII.— A  VOCABULARY  OF  THE  SLOVAK-GYPSY  DIALECT. 

By  R.  von  Sowa. 
(Continued.) 


G. 


Gad,  M.  W.,  S.,  s.  lu.  (Gr.,  Hng.,  Bhm. 
=  S1.),  shirt. 

Gadoro,  K.,  s.  m.  (dim.  oi  gad),  a  pretty 
little  shirt  or  chemise. 

Gaji,  S.  gaji,  K.,  s.  f.  (Gr.,  Hng.  gaji, 
Bhm.  gaji),  country-woman,  peasant's 
wife. 

Gajikano,  M.  W.,  adj.  (Gr.,  Hng.,  Bhm. 
wanting, — the  Gr.  forming  gajano, 
the  Hng.  gajeno,  the  Bhm.  gajiino), 
human. 

Gdjo,  M.,  S.  gajo,  K.,  s.  m.  (Gr.,  Hng. 
gajo.,  Bhm.  gajo  *),  country-man,  non- 
Gypsy. 

Gdjoro,  S.,  s.  m.  (dim.  of  gdjo),  country- 
man, a  man  of  small  figure. 


Garuvau,  M.  W.,  S.,  vb.  tr.  (Gr.  gera- 

vava,  Hng.  =  SI,  Bhm.  ganivav),  to 

hide. 
Gatichka,  a.,  K.,  s.  f.  (dim.  from  Mag. 

gatya  ;    Slov.   gate,   drawers),   pretty 

trousers. 
Gau,  M.  AV.,  *K.,  S.,  gdv,  M.  W.  (Gr., 

Hng.,  Bhm.  gav),  village. 
Gazdo,  M.  W.,  s.  m.  (Mag.,  Slov.  gazda), 

landlord,  inn-keeper. 
Gazdovstvo,  M.  W.,   s.  m.    (Slov.   gaz- 

dovstvo),  economy,  inn-keeping. 
Gcro,    M.  W.,  S.,   gcro,   M.   W.,   adj., 

M.  W. ;  but  SI.  never  combined  with 

a  noun  (Gr.  wanting ;  Bhm.  means  : 

deceased,  late),  miserable,  wretched, 


1  While  in  Hng.  sometimes  even  a  Gypsy  is  called  cfdjo,  Mikl,  M.  IF.,  vii.  53 ;  there  is 
no  instance  of  that  use  in  SI. 


A  VOCABULARY   OF   THE   SLOVAK-GYPSY  DIALECT. 


363 


unlucky.  Yoi,  gdri  mosi  te  has  t'ixo 
auka  sar  mdt'hi — she,  the  unlucky  (girl) 
mustjiave  been  silent  like  a  fly,  S. 

Gilavau,  M.  W.,  S.,  gil'avau,  (/Waul 
(M.  W.,  VII.  56,  the  prt.  gil'adas  may 
be  referred  to  a  pres.  gil'avau),  vb. 
itr.  (Gr.  gU'ahava ;  Hng.  d'ilazinav, 
jilabav  ;  Bhm.  gilavav),  to  sing. 

Oiloi,  a.,  S.,  s.  f.,  obi.  sg.,  gil'a,  M.  W. 
(Gr.  gili;  Hng.  d'ili,  d'i'li,  ;  Bhn;. 
giloi,  Jes.  61),  song. 

Oinau,  M.  W.,  S.,  vb.  tr.  (Gr.  gmava ; 
Hng.  genav,  jinav  ;  Bhiu.  ginav  ;  Gr. 
to  count,  to  reckon  ;  Hng.  Bhm.  even, 
to  read),  to  read.  A  Si.  Gypsy,  when 
asked  how  he  would  call  a  book,  said  : 
kai  pes  ginel  (lit.  what  is  read,  or 
where  is  read)  and  kai  ins  andre 
chinel  (lit.  in  which  is  written). 

Giiii  1  a.,  S.,  s.  pi.  (a  mistake  ?  Cf. 
Slov.  dyua,  melon),  gourd,  pumpkin. 

Gizdavo,  a.,  S.,  adj.  (Rum.  ghiy.davu, 
pretty,  elegant ;  Bhm.  wanting;  Hng.  = 
SI.  ;  (jenn.  giscvo,  giveso;  Hug.  Germ, 
proud,  supercilious),  fine?  Kana  gele, 
mukle  lake  havoro  dostatkos  gizdavo, 
hoi  lenge  te  tdvel.  The  chronicler 
translated  it  :  naipeknejsi  (most  beau- 
tiful). 

Godav'er,  M.  W.,  S.,  godiaver,  K.  god'- 
avo,  M.  W.  (Gr.  Hng.  god'aver  ;  Bhm. 
god'avd),  intelligent. 

Gdd'i,  S.,  godi,  K.,  s.  m.  (Gr.  godi,  gudi, 
m.  f,  ;  Hng.  Bhm.  gdd'i  ;  cf.  vdd'i), 
1.  Mind,  intellect.  2.  One's  self ;  Me 
mange  kerava  har  me  gdd'i  kamava — I 
'  shall  do  what  I  shall  wish  (to  do)  ray- 
self.  A  variant  of  these  verses  affords 
Kai.  :  me  mange  kerava  har  me  gddi 
ja7iava. 

Gondolav,  K.,  vb.  tr.,  and 

Gondulinav,  K.,  vb.  tr.  (^Slag.  gondolni, 
Hng.  =  SI.),  to  prove,  to  experience. 

Gduo,  gono,  S.,  s.  m.  (Gr.,  Hng.  go7w  ; 
Hng.,  Bhm,  gdno),  sack. 


Gondro,  M.  W.,  S.,  s.  m.  (dim.  of  gono). 

small  sack,  or  bag. 
Goreder,  a.,  M.  W.,  adv.  com  p.  (Slavon. 

gorij ;   Mikl.  M.   W.,   i.   12)  ;   worse. 

Odoleha  ehas  meg  goreder — With  the 

other  it  was  even  worse. 
Goshvardo,  M.  W.,  adj.  (from   gdd'il), 

intelligent. 
Granaris,  M.  W.,  S.,  s.  m.  (probably  of 

Slavonian     origin.       Correspondents 

are  not  found  in  other  dialects  except 

that  of  the  Span.  G.    The  dictionaries 

of  Sales  Mayo  (Quindale)  and  D.  A. 

de  C.  give :  granar,  enriquecer,  grane, 

ducado,  1?.  36,  resp.  107.      The  first 

remarks  that  granar  belongs  to  the 

"  Germania  "  slang),  kreutzer. 
Grasf,  S.,  s.  m.  (Gr.,  Hng.,  Bhm.  =  SI.), 

horse  (cf.  s.  j)drno). 
Grastdro,  M.    W.,  S.,  grastoro,  'M.  W. 

s.  m.  (dim.  of  grast),  horse.    A  Sl.-G., 

when  asked  for  the  word  for  "  mare," 

gave  grastdro. 
Grashis,  S.j's.  m.  (Mag.  garas  ;  hardily, 

from    the    Slov.    form    gros  ;    Hng. 

garashi  ;  Blim.  garashis),  groat. 
Grdfos,  S.,  s.  m.  (Mag.  grdf),  count. 
Grijeshno,  S.,  adj.  (cf.  Slavon.  greh,  sin, 

Mikl.  M.,  W.  I.  13),  sinful. 
Gulo,  M.  W.,  K.,  S.,  adj.   (Gr.   gudlo, 

guglo ;  Hng.  guUo ;  Bhm.  =  SI),  sweet; 

hither    belongs    also     gulohav    {gulo 

xau  1),  to  become  sweet,  K. 

Gules,  M.  W.,  adv.,  sweet. 
Guruv,  M.  W.,  S.,  guru,  M.  W.,  s.  m. 

(Gr.,  Hng.,  Bhm.  guruv),  ox. 
Guruvano,  M.  W.,  adj.  (Gr.  =  Sl.,  Hng. 

gurvano  ;   Bhm.  wanting),  of  an  ox, 

only  in  guruvano-mas,  beef. 
Guruvni,  guruni,  M.  W.,  gurumni,  K., 

s.  f.   (Gr.,  Hng.  guruvni,  gurumni  ; 

Bhm.  guruvni),  cow. 
Guruvudri,   guruvnori,    M.    W.,   s.    f. 

(dim.  of  guruvni),  cow. 


H.1 


Hadnad'is,  S.,   s.  m.  (Mag.  hadnagy), 

chief,  chieftain. 
2ZafZ'os,K.,*K.,s.m.  (from  theMag.?),  bed. 

Halasha,  a.,  S.,  s.  pi.  (Slov.  ?  I  do  not 
know  the  Slov.  or  Tchk.  original),  the 
meaning    is    not    known.      Cf.    Yo7i 


jalas  and  o  hare  halasha,  and  o  bare 

vesha  (in  the  tale  0  dil'ino  rdklo). 
Halushko,  *K.,  s.  m.,  ?  pi.  halushki,  K. 

(Slov.  haluska,  f.),  dumpling. 
Hal'enlca,  the  name  of  a- female  genius 

in  the  tale,  E  trin  raid' a. 


1  Many  words  which  Kai.  writes  with  initial  h  will  be  found  under  x. 


364 


A   VOCABULARY   OF   THE    SLOVAK-GYPSY   DIALECT. 


Sandri,  M.  W.,  s.  f.  pi.  (Slov.  handra, 
rags,  from  the  Germ,  hadern),  clothes. 

Haninav,  M.  W.,  vb.  tr.  (Slov.  hanit'), 
to  blame. 

Har,  K.,  S.,  sar,  K.,  S.,  adv.  conj.  (Gr. 
sar  ;  Hug.,  Bhm.,  sar,  har)  ;  1.  As, 
like.  Auha  has  yon  harvaU  sar  raya — 
They  were  as  rich  as  gentlemen. 
Alcana  tu  chi,  har  me  chid'om — Now 
throw  thou  as  I  threw  ;  2.  than  ;  Le 
romcske  has  buter  har  oxto  shel  rup — 
The  Gypsy  possessed  more  than  eight 
hundred  florins.  K.  harpes,  how,  or 
thus,  consists  of  the  two  words  harpes, 
q.  v.,  harlco  auka  (?),  even  as,  just  as, 
K.  ;  3.  When  ;  Sar  yekha  ranilcoraha 
shluhind'as  oda  bar,  mindydr  e  bare- 
star  achlo  pdiii — When  he  with  a  rod 
struck  that  rock,  immediately  out  from 
the  rock  came  water.  M.  Sar  les 
tsidelas  tses  oda  Icdre,  auha  leshe  odd 
kdro  shi  pixnil'as  anda  lestc — When 
he  drew  him  through  the  thorns,  that 
thorn  pierced  into  his  body  (lit.  him). 

Harangos,  harango,  K.,  s.  m.  (Mag. 
harang),  bell. 

Harangozinau,  S.,  -nav.,  K.,  vb.  (Mag. 
harangozni)  ;  1.  to  ring  (a  bell)  ;  2. 
to  sound  (bell).  Nitranska  harangi 
harang ozinena — The  bells  of  Nitra 
will  ring,  K. 

Hart'as,  hdrt'as,  S.  (Gr.  not  noted,  Hng. 
hart' a  ;  Bhm.  hart'as,  cf.  Ptt.  ii.  168), 
blacksmith. 

Have,  K.,  S.,  savo,  M.  W.,  S.,  pron. 
interr.  rel.  (Gr.,  Hng.,  savo ;  Bhm. 
havo).  1.  Who  ?  K.  '  2.  Who,  which 
(seldom).  Bare  svireha,  savo  tsidel 
triandafunti — With  a  large  hammer, 
which  weighs  thirty  pounds. 

Havoro,  S.,  saro,  M.  W.,  savor o,  M.  W., 
S.,  s.,  adj.  (Gr.,  Hng.,  Bhm.  savoro), 
all ;  havorejene,  a.,  S.,  all.  Viberind'as 
havore  jenendar — He  chose  from  all  (of 
them). 

Hay,  a.,  *M.,  intj.  (Slov.  haj),  why ! 
hey! 

Haydukos,  M.  W.,  s.  m.  (Slov.  hajduch ; 
Mag.  hajdu,  pi.  hajdtlk),  watch-man. 

Haynav.  M.  W.,  vb.  itr.  ?  (Serb,  hajav, 
Mikl.),  to  care. 

Hazclau,  S.,  vb..  tr.  jDt.  pf.  hazdindo  (Gr. 
lazdava,  pi.  pf.,  lazdino ;  Hng.  vazdau ; 
Bhm.  hadav),  to  lift,  to  raise. 

Hazika,  harika,  K.   (a  misprint  ?  Slov. 


hazuka ;  Bhm.  hazika,  Jes.  62.  I 
supposed  therefore  that  the  SI.  word 
might  be  hazika),  vest. 

He,  K.,  S.,  the  (seldom),  S.,  conj.  adv. 
1.  And  :  Xudinas  peskre  phrales  he 
igen  les  chumidelas — He  embraced  his 
Ijrother  and  kissed  him  much.  2, 
Also,  even;  He  me  Java  tuha — I  also 
shall  go  with  thee.  Me  tut  akanak 
prohdlinau  he  tra  kora  daha — Imme- 
diately T  (shall)  try  thee  even  Mith 
thy  blind  mother.  Yo^i  he  Je  bengeha 
pes  xndinahas — He  would  scuffle  even 
with  the  devil. 

Hegedushis,  M.  W.,  s.  m.,  pi.  hcgcdusha 
(Mag.  heged'ds,  fiddler),  musician. 

Helos,  K.,  s.  m.  (Mag.  hely  ;  Hng.  helo  ; 
Bhm.  hclos,  Jes.  62,  place,  spot), 
place. 

Hem,  M.,  S.,  intj.  (In  my  grammar, 
quoted  in  the  introduction,  as  also  in 
my  texts,  I  have  always  written  hem  ; 
but  now  I  think  that  I  ought  to  write 
hen,  for  that  intj.  seems  to  be  the 
Slov.  hen,  here  !  there  I),  here  ! 

Heslos,  a.,  S.,  s,  m.  (Slov.  heslo,  device, 
motto),  advertisement. 

Hintova,  S.,  s.  f.  (Mag.  hinto  ;  Hng., 
Bhm.  hintova,  hlintova,  Jes.  62), 
coach,  carriage. 

Hiyaba,  S.,  ydbahi,  a.,  S.,  adv.  (Mag. 
hijaban,  hidban  ;  Hng.  hijdba  ;  Bhm. 
hiaba),  in  vain. 

Hl'el  a.,  S.,  intj.  (Slov.'/iZ'a),  Hl'e  dade, 
yepash  shel! — Look  father,  fifty  florins ! 

Hnoyos,  S.,  s.  m.  (Slov.  hnoj),  dung, 
dunghill. 

Hodno,  M.  W.,  adj.  (Slov.  hodny), 
worthy. 

Hod'ina,  S.,  s.  f.  (Slov.  hodina),  hour. 

Hoi,  M.,  S.,  heu,  K.  hogy  (pron.  hod'), 
*M.,  conj.  (Mag.  hogy  ;  1.  that ;  2.  so 
that ;  3.  because,  for  ;  4.  that  (final), 
in  order  to  (1-4  as  in  Mag.)  ;  5.  in- 
troducing the  speech  of  another,  not 
to  be  translated  (like  the  Greek  on), 
0  chdvo  phend'as,  hoi  n-avla  feder 
mange — The  boy  said  :  It  will  not  go 
better  with  me  (I  shall  not  succeed 
better  than  now)  ;  hoi  ka,  hoi  kai,  S., 
so  that  ;  Pes  yon  auka  kerde,  hoi  k-o 
drakos  les  andre  chivlas — They  so 
did  that  the  dragon  threw  him  in  ; 
hoi  te,  hoi  kai  te,  S.,  that  (final)  ; 
Auka  les  mol'inlas  ^'re  mro  sovnakuno 


A   VOCABULARY   OF   THE   SLOVAK-GYPSY   DIALECT. 


365 


devel,  hoi  te  na  bashavcl — So  (much) 
he  begged  him,  for  the  sake  of  (my 
golden)  God,  that  lie  may  not  play. 
Yoi  Icske  phcnd'as,  oda  2}rinfse::no,  hoi 
hai  Icske  mashkdre  and  o  shcro  te 
chinel — She  said  to  him,  that  princess, 
that  he  may  strike  him  on  the  middle 
of  the  head. 

Holuhos,  M.  W.,  s.  m.  (Slov.  hohib), 
dove,  pigeon. 

Homolka,  S.,  s.  f.  (Slov.  homol'ka),  whey, 
cheese. 

Hordris,  M.  W.,  s.  ni.  (Slov.  hordi-), 
forester,  woodman. 

Horniatsko,  a.,  K.,  adj.  (Slov.  liorniucky). 
of  the  hiiihlands.  Homiatsht  romdre 
— the  Gypsy  lads  of  the  mountains. 

Hoske,  soske,  K.,  S.,  hoskc,  M.,  adv.  (Gr., 
Hng.  soske;  Bhm.  =  S1.)  why?  how? 
Soske,  inhend'as,  na  rovavas  iml  mro 
Idcho  phrcd — how,  he  said,  should  I 
not  bewail  my  good  brother  ? 

Host'iiitsa,  S.,  s.  f.,  and 


Host'iiitsos,  a.,  S.,  .s.  m.  (Slov.  hostinec) 
inn. 

Hrabinav,  K.,  vb.  itr.  tr.  (Slov.  hrahat'), 
to  rake. 

Hrabli,  K.,  s.  f.  pi.  (Slov.  hrable),  rake  ; 
cf.  s.,  tsidau. 

Hraxos,  a.,  S.,  s.  m.  (Slov.  hrach),  pea. 

Hrainau,  S.,  hrayinav,  M.  W.,  vb.  itr. 
(Slov.  hrat'),  to  play  (at  cards).  0 
karti  hrainenas  —  They  played  at 
cards. 

Hrminel,  M.  W.  (Jirmilas,  ]\I.  W.= 
hrminlas),  vb.  imp.  (Slov.  hrmet'),  it 
thunders. 

Hromada,  M.  W.,  s.  f.  (Slov.  hromada), 
heap. 

Hruda,  S.,  s.  f.  (Slov.  hruda),  cheese- 
pudding. 

Hrusios,  S.,  s.  m.  (Slov.  chrust,  may- 
bug),  beetle. 

Huseiiitsos,  a.,  S.,  s.  m.  (Slov.  husenica), 
caterpillar. 

HiistOj'M.  W.,  adj.  (Slov.  husty),  dense. 


X. 


Xdben,   S.,   xaben,  M.  W.,  s.  m.  (Gr. 

xabe  ;  Hng.  xdbc  ;  Bhm.  =  SI.),  food. 
Xachovav,  M.  W.  (Kal.  107,  writes  hac- 

hav),   vb.   itr.    (Gr.,    Hng.    wanting ; 

Bhm.  only  the  tr.  xachdrav  is  known), 

to    burn.       Savorc   jande,   heu   mar 

hachil'as — All  thought    that  he  had 

already  perished,  K. 
Xal'ovau,  M.,  S.,vb.  tr.  itr.  (Gr.  aghal'o- 

vava,  axal'ovava,  Pa.  128  ;  Hng.  hay- 

ovav ;    Bhm.    xal'dvav,   Jes.    62),   to 

understand. 
Xaiiati,  a.,  M.,  S.  hanav,  K.,  vb.  itr. 

(Gr.  xandava  ;  Hng.  haiiavav  ;  Bhm. 

xanav,  Jes.  62),  to  dig,  cf.  s.  vidt'hi. 
Xatiig,  M.  W.,  S.,  xanik,  xanik,  xaning, 

S.,  s.  f.  (Gr.   xaning,   oxiing  ;    Hng. 

hanik,  hdnik;   Bhm.  =  SI.),  fountain, 

spring. 
Xauigori,  xangori,  M.  W.,  s.  f.  (dim.  of 

xanig),  fountain. 
Xanoi-i,  M.    W.,  s.  f.   (dim.  of  xani), 

fountain. 
Xarkorn,  ]\I.   W.,  s.  m.  (Gr.  xarkoma, 

kitchen     utensils  ;     Hng.    harkum ; 

Bhm.  =  SI.),  brass,  copper. 
Xarkomdlo,  a.,  M.  W.,  adj.  (Gr.,  Hng., 

Bhm.  wanting,  there  being  formed  Gr. 


xarkomako,  xarkmio  ;  Bhm.  xarkdno), 
brazen,  copper  (adj.). 

Xaro,  M.  W.,  s.  m.  (Gr.  xando,'  xanro  ; 
Hng.  hdro  :  Bhm.  xdro),  sabre. 

Xau,  M.,  S.,  hav,  K.,  vb.  tr.  pt.  pf. 
xalo  (Gr.  xava ;  Hng.  liav ;  Bhm. 
xav),  to  eat. 

Xeroi,  (ceroi,  S.,  xero,  M.  W.,  s.  f.  obi. 
sg.  xera,  S.  (Gr.,  ger,  thigh  ;  Hng. 
hero,  foot  ;  Bhm.  =  SI.),  leg. 

Xeu,  M.  W.,  S.,  xev  ;  M.  ^\'.,  hev 
K.  (Gr.,  Bhm.  xev  ;  Hng.  hev)  ; 
1.  hole,  abyss  ;  2.  cavern.  Thus  in 
the  tale  0  Drakos  is  said :  Odoi  has 
ande  yekh  yaskina  (q.  v.),  bdro  dra- 
kos ;  and  afterwards  :  Kana  avlas  ki- 
oda  isto  xeu,  fordd phend' as:  drako na! 
ja  mange  atar  arri/ — When  lie  went 
to  that  cavern,  he  continually  said  : 
Drason,  come  out  from  there :  3. 
window,  K.,  S.,  Phand),  e  xeu  andrc, 
shut  the  window  I  S.,  cf.  s.  mnrvano. 

Xiba,  a.,  S.,  s.  f.  (Slov.  chyba),  loss, 
damage. 

Xinav,  M.  W.,  ob.  itr.  (Gr.  xi7iava, 
xiava  ;  Hng.  hiyav,  Bhm.  =  SI.),  ca- 
care. 

Xoxavau,  M.  W.,  S.,  vb.  tr.  (Gr.  xoxa- 


366 


A   VOCABULARY   OF   THE   SLOVAK-GYPSY   DIALECT. 


vava ;  Hng.  hohavav ;  Bhm.  xoxavav), 
to  lie,  to  deceive.  Xoxad'as  tut,  hoi 
you  tut  tela — He  deceived  thee  (when 
saying)  tliat  he  will  take  (marry)  thee. 

Xolov,  K.,9^.,  s.  m.  (Slav.  orig.  of.  Mikl. 
M.  W.,  I.  14,  VII.  64  ;  Hng.  holav  ; 
Bhm.  xolov),  trousers. 

Xol'amen,  S.,  adj.  (Gr.,  Hng.,  Bhm, 
wanting),  angry. 

Xoli,  a.  (r.  xol'i),  M.  W.,  s.  f.  (Gr. 
xoli7i ;  Hng.  holi,  hull  ;  Bhm.  xoli), 
anger. 

Xolisal'ovav,  a.,  (r.  xol'is  — ),  M.  W., 
vb.  itr.  (Gr.  xolasarava  ;  Hng.,  Bhm. 
wanting),  to  fret. 

Xol'ovav,  M.  W.,  vb.  itr.  (Gr.  wanting  ; 
Hng.  holovav  ;  Bhm.  only  the  tr. 
ol'avav  is  known),  to  fret. 

Xorusis,  S.,  s.  m.  (Germ.  Char),  choir. 

Xrixil,  S.,  s.  m.  (Slavon.  of.  Ptt.  ii.  167  ; 
Bhm.  xrrixil),  pea. 

Xrobdkos,  S.,  s.  m.  (Slov.  chrobdk), 
beetle. 

XropisaVovav,  M.  W.,  vb.  itr.  (Rum. 
hrdpire,  to  be  torn  asunder),  to  be  in- 
attentive ? 

Xudmi,  M.  W.,  S.,  hudav,  K.,  vb.  tr., 
pi.  pf.  xudino,  S.  (Gr.,  Hng.  want- 
ing ;  Bhm.  xudav).  1.  (a)  To  seize 
to  apprehend,  to  ravish,  to  embrace  : 
Xuden  les  sh'erestar — They  take  him 
by  the  head,  M.  W. ;  Yon  phende 
mashhar  peslce  ( —  te  1),  hoi  yon  la 
xudena — They  concerted,  that  they 
would  ravish  her  ;  Xudinas  peshre 
phrales  he  igm  les  chumidelas — He 
embraced  his  brother  and  kissed  him 
much,  (b)  (with  the  reflective  pro- 
noun) To  wrestle  :  You  he  le  bengeha 
pes  xudinahas — He  would  wrestle 
even  with  the   devil.      2.    To  hire  : 


Xudava  mange  shtdren  mursha  {1 — en) 
he  phirava  lentsa  and  -o  them — I  shall 
hire  (for  me)  four  lads,  and  wander  Avith 
them  in  the  country.  3.  To  obtain 
(to  buy)  :  2Ve  dadestar  chudinom 
love — From  tiiy  father  I  obtained 
money  ;  K-aver  rai  xudava  lo'keder 
than — At  another  merchant's  I  shall 
buy  cloth  at  a  more  reasonable  price. 

Xudipen,  a.,  M.  W.  (not  yet  stated  in 
another  dialect),  gaol,  prison. 

Xudoba,  S.,  s.  f.  (Slov.  chudoba),  poor 
people. 

Xumer,  S.,  s.  m.  (Gr.  xomer ;  Hng. 
humer  ;  Bhm.  =  Sl.),  dough,  paste. 

Xiirdo,  S.,  adj.  (Gr ,  Bhm.  xurdo,  but 
Bhm.  meaning :  mellow ;  Hng.  hurdo), 
little,  young,  only  in  xurde  chdvore, 
little  children. 

Xurdes,  S.,  adv.,  seldom.  Tsuza  ma- 
nusha  aulta  xurdes  p"^^  sikl'on  ro- 
manes  —  Strange  people  so  seldom 
learn  the  Gypsy  language. 

Xutilav,  a.,  M.  W.  (Gr.,  Hng.,  Bhm. 
wanting  ;  Rm.  xutilau),  to  seize. 

Xutno,  adj.  (Slov.  chtdny),  savoury ; 
inferred  from  xutnones,  M.  W.,  adv. 
id. 

Xutrinau,  a.,  S.,  vb.  itr.,  to  scrape  (a 
horse  with  its  hoof)  ;  Mind'ar  la  xera- 
ha  xutrind'as — At  that  moment  it 
scraped  with  its  foot. 

Xut'au,  S.,  hutav,  xutav,  M.  W.,  huiav, 
K.,  vb.  itr.  p.  t.  p.  f.  xut'il'om,  S., 
hutil'om  K.  (Gr.  wanting;  Em.  xutau, 
xutau  ;  Hng.,  Bhm.  xut'au),  to  jump. 

Xvala,  S.,  s.  f.  (Slov.  chvdla),  praise, 
only  in  the  phrase  :  xvala  devleshe  ! — 
God  be  praised  !  Thank  God  !  Slov- 
Chvdla  Bohu! 


I  /  K.  intj.,  ah  !  oh  ! 

Id'a,  M.  W.,  S.,  s.  m.  ?  (cf.  Ptt.  ii.  65), 
clothes. 

Igen,  M.,  S.,  adv.  (Mag.  igen,  yes),  very. 

Iherau,  M.  W.,  *M.,  S.,  inkerav,  M.  W., 
vb.  tr.  (Gr.  wanting ;  Hng.  =  SL, 
Bhm.  ikerav)  ;  1.  to  hold.  Tker  chaye 
le  ketova — Hold,  girl,  the  apron ;  *M., 
2.  to  keep.  Java  and-o  vildgos  he 
tre   bakren  na-y-ikerava — I   shall   go 


into  the  world,  and  will  not  keep  thy 

sheep ;  cf.  s.  avri. 
Uav,  s.  Imi. 
Ilo,  s.  yilo. 
Imdr,  S.,  mar,  K.  adv.  (Mag.  immdr), 

already. 
Inach,  S.,  adv.  (Slov.  indc,  otherwise), 

else,  otherwise. 
Indra,  s.  I'indra. 
Indral'ovaVf  s.  lindral'ovav. 


A    VOCABULARY   OF  THE   SLOVAK-GYPSY   DIALECT. 


367 


Inke,  M.,  adv.  (cf.  Mag.  inkdbb,  ratlior  ; 

Bhm.  =  S1.),  yet,  still. 
Irimen,  a.,  M.  W.,  adj.  (cf.  the  follow- 
ing), turned. 
Irinau,  M.  W.,  S.,  vb.  tr.  (cf.  Ptt.  ii. 

65 ;    Hng.,    Bhin.   irinav),    to   turn ; 

irinau  upre,  to  subvert,  to  destroy. 

You  amcnge  havoro  foros  irinlus  npre 

.cerentsa — He  would  us  overthrow  the 

whole  town  with  his  feet. 

Irinau  man,  to  be  transmuted. 
Irinde  pes  pre  chiriklende — They 

were  transformed  into  birds,  M.  W. 
Ispidau,  M.  W.,  vb.  tr.,   to  thrust,  to 

stick. 
Isto,  M.,  S.,  pron.  deui.  ace.  sg.,  istones, 

S.  (Slov.  is((/},  certain  (of  which  men- 


tion has  been  made  already).  It  is 
never  used  without  the  def.  article  or 
the  den),  pron.  oda.  Kai  pes  il'as  o 
isto  zhchrdkos  ki-o  sasos — When  that 
beggar  betook  himself  to  the  soldier. 
Fdle  yov,  gel' as  oh  raske  te  phenel,  ole 
istone  raske — Then  he  went  to  say 
(that)  to  the  gentleman  (mentioned 
above). 

Itsiya,  M.  W.,  itsia,  SI.,  etsiya  K. 
(Mag.  itc'X  ;  Bhm.  itd,  Jes.  in.  82), 
a  half  pot  of  beer  or  wine  (Germ. 
Ilalbe). 

lu,  s.  u. 

Ldrav,  M.  W.,  ob.  itr,  (Gr.  lisdrava  ; 
Hng.,  Bhm.  wanting),  to  tremble. 


J. 


Jdnau,  ^.,  janav,  M,  W.,  K.,  dchanav, 
K.,  vb.  tr,  pt.  pf.  jdnlo,  jando,  M.  W., 
S.  (Gr.  janava  ;  Hng.,  Bhm.  janav)  ; 
1.  to  know  ;  2.  jdnau  mange,  to  mean. 
Me  mange  jdnd'om  hoi  hi  chdcho — I 
meant  that  it  is  true. 

Jang,  s.  chang. 

Jau,  M.,  a.yjav,  K.  vb.  itr.,  pt.  pf.  gclo, 
S.,  pf.  gel' am,  S.,  gdyoin,  M.  W., 
yal'om,  *K. — to  go,  to  fly.  Har  so 
naifeder  chiriklo  kana  jal  and-o  luftos 
— Like  the  best  bird,  when  it  flies 
through  the  air. 

Jcno,jeno,  M.,  K.,  pi.  m.  jene,  f.  jena, 
S.  (Gr.  je7W,  s.  m.  person  ;  Hng., 
Bhm.  =  SI.),  only  in  aver-jeno  (s,  s. 
aver)  used  sg.  elsewhere,  only  pi. 
forming  collectives  —  viz.  dui-jenc, 
dujene,  trinjene,  (q.  v.),  hish  the  shtdr- 
jene — All  the  twenty-four  together  ; 
ostatnajcne — The  rest,  all  the  others. 

Jido,  S.,  jido,  M.  W.,  ?.hido,  M.  W. 
(Gr.  jivdo,  pt.  pf.  of  jivava  ;  Hng. 
jivdo,  zhivdo,  Bhm.  =  SI.),  alive;  som 


jido,  to  live.  2'c  na  mi'ile,  pochiUai  hi 
jide — If  they  did  not  die,  ihcy  live 
(are  alive)  now. 

Jid'drau,  S.,  zhid'drav,  M.  W.,  vb.  tr. 
(Gr.  not  noted  ;  Hng.  jivd'drau,  to 
incend ;  Bhm.  jid'drav,  to  feed),  to 
vivify,  to  animate. 

Jid'ovau,  S.,  jid'ovav,  M.  W.,  vb.  itr. 
(Gr.  jivd'ovava;  Hng.,  Bhm. not  noted), 
to  revive. 

Jil,  s.  T'hil. 

Jukel,  S.,  s.  m.  (Gr.,  Bhm.  =  SI.  Gr. 
zhiilcel ;  Hng.  jukal,  juklo),  dog. 

Jukloro,  M.  W.,  K.,  jukloro,  M.  W.,  s. 
m.  (dim.  of  jukel),  dog. 

Jungdlo,  M.  W.,  S.,  jungalo,  M.  W., 
adj.  (Gr.,  chungalo,  zungalo,  bad, 
miserable  ;  Hng.  =  SI.  dirty,  ugly, 
Bhm.  =  SI.),  ugly.  Indch  hi  rdkl'a 
jungdleder  h-o  romes  len — In  other 
cases  girls  are  uglier  and  marry  never- 
theless. 

J^w,  M.  W.,  s.  m.  (Gr.,  Bhm.  =  SI.  Hng. 
ju),  louse. 


REVIEWS. 
Die  Zigeuner.     By  Dr.  A.  Weisbach.     Vienna,  1889. 

This  treatise,  originally  contributed  to  tlic  Anthropological  Society 
of  Vienna,  appeals  specially  to  those  whose  interest  in  the  Gypsies  is 
that  of  the  anthropologist.     Selecting  fifty-two  Gypsy  soldiers  from  a 


368  REVIEWS. 

Hungarian  regiment,  Dr.  Weisbacli  has,  witli  the  greatest  precision 
and  minuteness,  applied  to  each  individual  the  same  method  of  mea- 
surement and  observation,  the  results  of  which  may  be  seen  at  a 
glance  in  the  tabular  record  appended  to  his  pamphlet.  Of  the  52 
Gypsies,  39  were  Hungarian,  and  the  remaining  13  were  from 
Transylvania ;  but  this  does  not  seem  to  imply  any  marked  physical 
difference.  The  table  shows  that  of  the  whole  number  33  were 
black-haired,  16  had  hair  of  a  dark  brown,  and  3  were  brown-haired. 
The  colour  of  the  skin  was  in  this  proportion  : — brown,  1 8  ;  inclined 
to  brown,  .20  ;  light  brown,  8 ;  inclined  to  yellow,  6 ;  while  the 
hue  of  the  eyes  was  as  follows : — dark  brown,  28;  brown,  15  ;  light 
brown,  5  ;  greyish  brown,  2 ;  and  grey,  2, — from  which  it  will  be 
seen  that  the  darkest  type  prevailed.  The  men,  who  were  all  young, 
were  of  medium  height.  Dr.  Weisbach  sums  up  generally  the  result 
of  his  observations  to  this  effect :  "  These  Gypsies  are  of  middling 
bulk  and  weight.  .  .  .  Their  distinctly  mesocephalic  head  is  small 
and  moderately  contracted  towards  its  base.  .  .  .  The  short  neck, 
of  average  thickness,  is  placed  upon  a  short,  tapering  body.  .  .  . 
They  have  very  short  arms,  with  the  upper  part  short  and  slen- 
der. .  .  .  Their  legs  are  long,  much  longer  than  their  arms."  Such, 
briefly,  are  some  of  the  leading  characteristics.  But  a  perusal  of  the 
pamphlet  itself  is  necessary  for  a  proper  appreciation  both  of  the 
results  obtained  from  these  measurements,  as  well  as  of  the  care  and 
precision  therein  displayed.  Such  work  as  Dr.  Weisbach  has  here 
undertaken  helps  much  towards  a  proper  estimate  of  the  ethnological 
position  of  the  Gypsies. 


Uihnologische  MitUilungcn  cms  Ungarn,  I,  Jahrgang,  1887-89; 
III.  Heft.     Budapest,  1889. 

Notice  has  already  been  taken  in  our  Journal  (July  number, 
pp.  302-4),  of  the  Gypsy  contributions  to  the  first  section  of  this 
part  of  the  Ethnologische  Mitteilungen,  and  these  are  followed  up, 
in  the  instalment  which  completes  the  Part,  with  otliers  equally 
interesting.  Dr.  Wlislocki's  Beitrdge  zu  den  Stavwiesverhdltnissen 
der  siehenhurgischeoi  Zigeuncr,  which  supplements  his  previous  article 
in  Globus,  1888,  contains,  along  with  much  kindred  information,  the 
oath  taken  by  the  Woiwode  of  the  Kukuya  tribe ;  which  is  as  fol- 
lows : — 

Sat'arav  tumengc  pale  hacht  te  pale  libacht,  sat'arar  fiimenge  pale 


REVIEWS.  369 

naJvcdipen  te  falc  sasciiJen,  sat'arav  tumenge  kere  te  sakotancstc  !  Ku 
tumen  akamcl,  man  akcancl ;  ko  man  kamel,  tumen  kamel !  Odoj  me 
som,  odoj  tumen  san ;  odoj  tumen  san,  odoj  me  som  !  0  kam  sat'ar 
man,  cumut  avel  mange  /  (I  will  help  you  in  good  fortune  and  in  ill 
fortune,  I  will  help  you  in  sickness  and  in  health,  I  will  help  you  at 
home  and  abroad  !  Who  ofiends  you,  offends  me  ;  who  befriends  me, 
befriends  you  !  Where  I  am,  there  shall  you  be ;  where  you  are, 
there  will  I  be !  May  the  Sun  help  me,  may  the  Moon  go 
with  me !) 

Under  Hewiische  Volkerstimmcn  there  are  twelve  Gypsy  examples 
from  Dr.  Wlislocki's  collection,  delightfully  rendered  into  German  b}- 
Professor  Herrmann.  In  the  bibliographical  section  there  is  a  pre- 
liminary list  of  Gypsy  publications  ;  and  we  are  promised  a  critical 
survey  of  Zigeunerphilologie  in  Hungary.  Dr.  Herrmann  has  also  a 
very  full  and  instructive  note  on  the  term  "  Little  Egypt,"  in  which 
he  states  the  various  localisations,  by  various  writers,  of  that  name. 
Lastly,  there  is  a  complete  account  of  the  newly  formed  Ethnogra- 
phical Society  of  Hungary,  its  aims,  and  its  organisation.  As  this 
Society  will  publish,  under  the  name  Folk-lore,  a  journal  in  which 
the  Mhnologische  Mitteilungen  aus  Ungarn  will  be  incorporated,  the 
latter  will  cease  to  exist  as  a  separate  publication.  That  it  will 
practically  be  continued,  however,  may  he  seen  from  the  fact  that 
Folk-lore  will  be  edited  by  Dr.  Herrmann  conjointly  with  Dr. 
Louis  Katona.  The  new  journal  will  be  very  wide  in  its  scope, 
taking  in  everything  that  relates  to  ethnology,  folk-lore,  and  kindred 
themes ;  and,  as  it  is  thoroughly  international,  it  invites  articles 
written  in  any  of  the  chief  languages  of  Europe.  Its  Gypsy  section, 
which  ought  to  be  the  most  interesting  to  members  of  our  Society, 
will  be  presided  over  by  His  Imperial  Highness  the  Archduke  Joseph. 


Les  Mysth-es  du  Nouvcl-An  a  Gcnhe:  par  Aaron  Manass^.    Geneva. 

Curiously  contrasting  with  either  of  the  preceding  publications  is 
this  unpretending  little  brochure,  which  offers  itself  to  tlie  reader  for 
the  modest  sum  of  15  centimes.  But  since  it  was  transmitted 
through  the  post  by  the  President  of  the  Gypsy  Lore  Society,  one 
naturally  expects  it  to  explain  why  it  has  been  so  distinguished.  And 
this  it  does,  for  it  devotes  itself  to  a  description  of  the  various  kinds 
of  vagabonds  who  assemble  at  the  chief  Swiss  fairs.  And,  of  course, 
among  these  are  Les  Eomanitchels.  Under  the  heading  Les  Banquistes 
is  comprised,  we  learn,  "all  those  nomads,  of  doubtful  occupation, 


370  EEVIEWS. 

who  travel  from  village  to  Yi\\a.ge  pour  7vustir  les 2Jantes  (shn-pletons)." 
And,  in  proceeding  to  classify  those  Bmiqidstes,  M.  Manasse  begins 
with  the  mountebanks,  from  whom  he  very  naturally  passes  to  the 
Eomanitchels.  These  he  refers  to  as  "  birds  of  prey,"  "  tarantulas," 
and  as  being  in  general  thoroughpaced  scamps.  It  is  interesting  to 
note  that  they  are  chiefly  remarkable,  in  the  eyes  of  this  gentleman, 
as  mesmerists ;  although  their  alleged  clairvoyance  is,  he  states,  the 
merest  trickery.  But  this  feature  is  noteworthy,  as  Gypsies  have 
long  been  associated  with  mesmerism,^  It  is,  moreover,  interesting 
to  compare  this  description  of  the  clairvoyante,  "  Mademoiselle  Irma 
(ou  tel  autre  nom  de  fantaisie),"  with  that  of  an  American  Gypsy 
woman,  whose  circular  (sent  to  us  by  a  lady-member  of  Outre-Mer, 
and  which  nothing  but  want  of  space  prevents  us  quoting)  sets  forth 
her  prophetic  powers  and  her  accomplishments  in  terms  almost 
identical.  Our  author,  who  shows  a  remarkable  intimacy  with  the 
various  forms  of  trickery  he  describes,  then  passes  on  to  the  card- 
sharpers,  and  other  gamesters,  and  after  them  the  charlatans,  or  quack- 
doctors,  the  itinerant  ballad-singers,  and  the  pedlars.  As  in  other 
cases,  it  is  difficult  to  decide  as  to  the  exact  degree  in  which  Gypsies 
ought  to  be  identified  with  such  people ;  but  they  cannot  be  disso- 
ciated from  them.  The  kind  of  life  here  described  is  said  to  be  fast 
disappearing  at  Geneva,  as  elsewhere,  but  the  glimpses  obtained  in 
these  "  flying  leaves "  have  a  decided  value ;  and  the  picture  there 
sketched  suggests  to  one's  mental  vision  the  great  fairs  of  the  Middle 
Ages,  when  such  people  were  in  all  their  glory. 


Among  other  notices  of  recent  Gypsy  publications,  we  have  the 
following  (somewhat  belated)  items  from  Italy : — Gli  Zingari,  article 
in  the  Rivista  di  Filosofia  Scientifica,  by  Professor  Morselli  (Turin,  Feb, 
No.,  1889);  Gli  Zingari,  in  the  Guore  e  Gritica,  by  G.  Eosa  (Bergamo, 
31st  March  1889);  Gli  Zingari,  in  the  Nuava  Antologia,  by 
Ernesto  Mancini  (Rome,  16th  May  1889);  and  an  article  by  Eomeo 
Lovera  in  the  Guorc  e  Gritica  (Bergamo,  5th  No.  of  current  year), 
entitled,  Mbrei  e  Zingari  in  Bunicnia.  Professor  von  Sowa  has  con- 
tributed to  the  Zeitschrift  fur  Volkerpsycliologic  unci  Sprachwissen- 
schaft,  vol.  xix.,  an  article  on  the  Dialect  of  the  Westphalian  Gypsies, 
which,  as  may  be  seen  from  the  reprint  with  which  we  have  been 
favoured,  is  characterised  by  the  same  admirable  qualities  as  his 
Slovak  vocabulary,  presently  appearing  in  our  pages.  The  Bulletin 
1  See  references  to  this  in  our  Journal  of  July  1888,  p.  42. 


REVIEWS.  371 

de  la  SocUte  iV Anthropolorjic  (t.  xii.  2)  contains  a  French  version  of 
M.  Bataillard's  "  Gypsy  Immigration."  No.  3  of  Pastor  Jesina's 
Slovnih  cesJco-cikdnsky  has  recently  appeared  :  also  Miss  Laura  A. 
Smith's  Through  Romany  Songland  (London,  D.  Stott),  a  miscellane- 
ous collection  of  verses  and  music  attributed,  not  always  correctly,  to 
Gypsies.  La  France  of  July  15,  1889,  contained  an  article  on 
Les  Gitanos  (evoked  by  the  presence  of  Spanish  Gypsies  at  the  Paris 
Exhibition),  by  M.  Henry  Girard  ;  and^  simiharly,  M.  Piene  de  Pont- 
Jest,  in  writing  upon  Lcs  Fenwics  cxotiqucs  a  V Exi^osition  in  Figaro, 
devoted  his  instalment  of  3d  August  1889  to  Les  Gitanas. 

The  following  scraps  of  "  Gypsy  Lore  "  have  also  been  chronicled 
during  the  past  quarter: — The  Manehestcr  Courier  of  13th  July 
relates  how  Jane  Penfold,  at  Dalston,  was  convicted  of  telling  the 
fortune  of  Mary  Aldows,  cook,  and  was  sentenced  to  one  month's 
imprisonment.  "  She  had  told  Aldows  that  she  had  a  lucky  face,  and 
if  she  lent  Penfold  a  watch  she  should  have  next  day  '  a  full  descrip- 
tion of  her  planet.'"  "Hunting  for  Gypsies"  {TJie  Graijliic,  13th 
July)  describes  a  visit  to  Ellen  Eaa,  at  Yetholm,  "  a  decent,  grey- 
haired,  dingy-looking  woman  of  about  sixty."  The  same  tribe  is 
indicated  in  the  "Yetholm  Gypsy  Komance  "  {Scottish  Ljeadcr,  10th 
August),  referring  to  Florence  Blythe's  claim  to  the  large  fortune  left 
by  her  father,  Thomas  H.  Blythe,  of  San  Francisco.  In  this  article 
mention  is  made  of  "  the  Blythes  of  Kentucky."  The  Oldham 
Standard  of  10th  August  records  the  "blocking"  of  Mr.  George 
Smith  of  Coalville's  Bill  for  educational  facilities  for  Gypsy  and  van- 
dwellins;  children.  Mr.  Pdtchie  stated  in  the  House  of  Commons 
that  the  number  of  these  children  returned  in  the  Census  in  1881, 
as  sleeping  in  canvas  tents  and  in  the  open  air,  on  April  1,  1881,  was 
■1658  males  and  3901  females.  In  the  Daily  Telcgrajjh  of  15th 
August  there  is  a  full  account  of  a  recent  Gypsy  M'cdding  in  the 
Viennese  suburb  of  Nuszdorf  The  Star  of  20th  August  has  a  para- 
graph giving  a  special  instance  of  "  How  some  Gypsies  live."  And 
both  the  Manehestcr  Courier  of  19th  August  and  the  Manchester 
Guardian  of  17th  September  refer  to  a  recent  communication  by  INIr. 
Edgar  L.  Wakeman,  on  the  subject  of  "  American  Gypsies." 


It  is  with  much  regret  that  we  here  record  the  death,  on  21st 
August  1889,  of  the  eminent  Gypsy  scholar.  Pastor  Josef  Jesina. 
Born  at  2itnoves,  in  Bohemia,  on  17th  August  1824,  he  was  ordained 
on   25th  July  1850,  and    he  has   long  been  known  to  his  brother 


372  REVIEWS. 

students  as  pastor  of  Golden-Oels,  in  Bohemia,  where  he  died.  He 
was,  writes  a  correspondent,  "  a  warm  friend  of  the  Gypsies,  by  whom 
he  was  much  trusted.     He  had  a  most  thoroudi  knowledoe  of  the 

o  o 

Gypsy  language  (in  which  it  was  his  great  delight  to  correspond,  as 
he  could  do  with  complete  facility).  His  works  are  the  valuable  and 
now  very  rare  book  Romani  Cih  (in  Bohemian,  1880  ;  3d  ed.  in 
German,  1886),  and  a  great  many  supplementary  treatises  recently 
composed  and  published.  He  followed  literature  with  entire  disin- 
terestedness, for  the  publication  of  his  books  not  only  brought  him  in 
nothing,  but  caused  him  much  outlay.  It  is  well  known  that  one  of 
his  vforks(Gh/2ysi/-BoJiemianTcdes)  is  in  course  of  appearing;  but  only  the 
first  five  numbers  of  this  had  been  issued  at  the  time  of  his  death." 


NOTES  AND  QUEEIES. 

I. 

"Egyptian  Days." 

On  the  article  '"  Egyptian  Days "  in  the  Journal  of  the  Gyjjsy  Lore  Society, 
vol.  i.  p.  310, 1  beg  leave  to  remark  that  the  naming  of  the  disastrous  days  Egyptian 
days  is  explained  by  lines  5-6  of  the  Versus  de  diehus  JEgyptiacis,  which  are  to 
be  found  in  the  Poet(e  Latini  Minores,  v.  page  354,  edited  by  Baehrens. 

The  lines  in  question  are  these — 

"  Si  tenebrse  j3Egyptus  Gr£eco  sermone  vocantur, 
Inde  dies  mortis  tenebrosos  iure  vocamus." 

But  I  think  the  real  reason  of  it  -was  found  out  by  Mommsen,  who  enumerates 
those  days  in  the  Corpus  Inscri2)t.  Let.  i.  p.  374,  and  says  the  origin  of  the 
superstition  was  as  follows: — "Superstitio  hsec  ab  j^gyptiis  nomen  tradit  non 
aliam  ob  causam  opinor,  quam  quod  mathematicam  doctrinam  omnem  bonam 
malam  ^gyptiis  acceptam  referre  solebant  veteres ;  hoc  certissimuni  est  ortam  esse 
in  ipsa  urhe  neqae  ante  cetatem  imperatoriam,  cum  mirum  in  modum  dico  ^gyptiaci 
senatus  legitimi  ab  Augusto  demum  ordinatos  sequantur,"  etc. 

Eecently  Dr.  Wilhelm  Schmitz  and  Jules  Soiseleur  occupied  themselves  with 
this  matter.  The  latter  did  so  in  the  Memoires  de  la  Socictc  Rationale  des  Anti- 
quaires  de  France,  Paris,  1872,  xxxiii.  pp.  198-253,  and  Schmitz  in  the  volumes 
1867  xxii.,  1868  xxiii.,  1874  xxix.,  1876  xxxi.,  of  the  Ehcin.  Mus.,  and  again  in  the 
Beitrdge  zur  lateinischen  Sprache  und  Literatur  Kunde,  von  Dr.  Wilhelm  Schmitz, 
Leipzig,  1877,  pp.  307-320. 

I  myself  published  a  list  of  the  Dies  ^gyptiaci  that  I  found  in  the  Codex 
Vossianus,  jST.  116,  in  the  Eg^jptemes  Philologiai  Kbzlony  (Universal  Philological 
Advertiser),  1879,  iii.  p.  Ill  and  foil. 

The  Egyptian  days  were,  according  to  the  Codex  Paris,  N.  1338,  the  following  : 
—January  1  and  25,  February  4  and  26,  March  1  and  28,  April  10  and  20,  May  3 
and  25,  June  10  and  16,  July  13  and  22,  August  1  and  30,  September  3  and  21, 
October  3  and  31,  November  5  and  28,  December  12  and  15. 

It  were  needless  to  demonstrate,  after  what  has  been  said,  that  the  Gypsies 
have  nothing  at  all  to  do  with  the  naming  of  these  days. 
Budapest.  Emil  Thewrewk  de  Ponor. 


NOTES    AND   QUERIES.  373 

Mr.  Archibald  Constable's  question,  concerning  the  inauspicious  days  called 
"Egyptian  Days"  (Number  of  July,  p.  310),  has  at  once  called  to  my  mind  an 
article  that  I  had  formerly  seen  on  this  subject  in  the  great  Glossariiuu  of  Du 
Cange.  I  have  consequently  had  recourse  to  this  admirable  collection  (consult  in 
preference  Didot's  edition  in  7  vols,  in  4to,  1840-1850  ;  or  the  editions  of  Favre, 
more  recent,  published  at  Niort  in  1 0  vols,  in  4to).  The  article  is  to  be  found  at 
the  vrord  Dies  (Dies  ^gyptiaci),  and  it  comprises  nearly  two  columns  of  quota- 
tions and  of  references,  which  furnish  very  valuable  elements  concerning  the  his- 
tory of  this  superstition,  but  which  do  not  throw  much  light  on  its  origin.  This 
origin  is  naturally  attributed  to  the  Egyptians,  which  is  not  unlikely,  Egypt  and 
Chaldea  having  had  much  to  do  with  Grecian  astrology,  which  afterwards  spread 
itself  over  the  whole  of  the  Roman  world  (see  Histoirc  de  la  divination  dans 
VAntiquite,  par  Bouche-Leclercq,  Paris,  1879-1882,  vol.  iii.  et  iv.  passim).  But 
this  is  a  very  vague  indication.  It  may  be  more  particularly  asked  whether  this 
superstition  may  not  have  been  inqjorted  into  Greece  at  the  epoch,  dating  from 
Alexander  (332  ans  B.C.),  when  the  Macedonians,  the  Greeks,  the  Romans  succes- 
sively reigned  in  Egypt.  I  observe  that,  even  before  333,  the  Egyptians  had  built 
a  temple  to  Isis  in  the  Pirjeus,  and  that  the  worship  of  Isis  was  introduced  in  the 
same  manner  into  Corinth,  etc.  (Bouche-Leclercq,  work  quoted,  vol.  iii.  p.  388). 
At  all  events,  it  does  not  appear  at  first  sight  that  the  superstition  is  connected 
Tfith  the  Gypsies  ;  but  better  information  would  be  necessary  to  be  certain  that 
they  had  nothing  to  do  with  it. 

There  are  assuredly  other  collections  than  that  of  Du  Cange  to  be  consulted  on 
this  subject.  I  have  neither  looked  into  the  Thesaurus  of  Henri  Estienne,  nor  into 
the  Glossarium  medice  et  infimci?  Gro'citatis  of  the  same  Du  Cange,  nor  into  the 
Bihliothhque  Orientale  of  D'Herbelot,  etc.  But  I  can  refer  to  a  passage  of  the  Dis- 
sertation of  Muratori  upon  super.stitions,  in  the  Antiquitates  italica'  medii  a>vi 
vol.  v.,  Mediolani,  1741,  in.  fol.,  col.  71,  a  passage  in  which  the  learned  Italian  him- 
self refers  to  one  of  his  previous  publications.  P.  Bataillaud. 


2. 

The  Chingan^ros. 


With  reference  to  the  two  songs  given  in  the  Notes  and  Queries  of  our  last 
number  (p.  307),  "  The  Chingancros  of  Venezuela,"  a  correspondent  writes  : — 

Some  thirty  years  ago  I  passed  a  winter  in  Montevideo,  and  made  what 
inquiries  I  could  about  the  Indian  and  native  tribes  of  the  region.  I  was  happy  in 
meeting  some  of  those  who  were  best  informed  on  these  subjects  :  one  wlio  kindly 
helped  me  was  the  executor  of  Bonpland,  the  companion  of  Humboldt,  and  the 
possessor  of  his  papers.  He  believed,  and  it  was  believed  by  others,  that  at  certain 
seasons  parties  of  Indians  from  Peru  and  Ecuador  crossed  the  Andes,  traversed  the 
Gran  Chaco,  passed  through  Paraguay,  Corricntes,  and  Entre  Rios  to  the  Atlantic 
at  the  northern  embouchure  of  La  Plata,  seeking  herbs  and  simples,  and  returning 
by  almost  the  same  route. 

Is  there  any  indication  in  the  work  whence  these  songs  are  extracted  as  to  wliere 
they  were  really  heard  and  taken  down  \  If  they  were  sung  by  wandering  Indians 
north  or  west  of  the  Andes,  they  would  be  some  corroboration  of  the  opinion  above 
stated,  for  they  contain  unmistakable  allusions  to  Buenos  Ayres  and  to  ISIontevideo. 
In  La  Montanera  the  term  "  Porteiio  "  is  the  usual  name  for  an  inhabitant  of 
Buenos  Ayres,  as  "  Oriental "  is  of  those  of  the  Banda  Oriental  (Montevideo).  In 
La  Zambidlidura  China,  Chinita,  is  a  term  of  endearment  applied  to  children  in 
La  Plata.  It  is  taken  from  the  Chino  or  China  Indians,  who  inhabited  the 
extreme  south-east  of  the  Banda  Oriental,  and  who  were  favourite  servants  and 


374  NOTES   AND    QUERIES. 

nurses  to  the  earlier  Spaniards.  I  was  told  that  no  perfectly  pure-blooded  Indians 
of  that  race  were  now  to  be  found,  only  mixed  breeds  and  mestizos.  A  lad,  whose 
mother  was  said  to  be  one  of  the  purest  of  these  Indians  left,  was  a  servant  in  the 
family  whom  I  was  visiting.  The  translator  has  certainly  misunderstood  this  song  ; 
and  I  do  not  pretend  to  explain  it  all.  "  ZambuUida  "  does  not  only  mean  the  act 
of  diving,  but  is  also  a  term  for  a  fatal  stroke  in  fencing,  and  may  perhaps  be  used 
in  a  more  general  sense,  as  fighting.  I  see  nothing  of  " Chinganero's  fairy  spells" 
in  the  original.  "  Guacamayo "  is  the  "  red  macaw,"  and  is  often  applied  to  the 
scarlet-clad  English  soldiers  ;  thus  "Para  ver  los  guacamillos  con  fusil  y  bayon^ta" 
might  refer  to  General  Whitelock's  expedition  against  Buenos  Ayres,  or  to  General 
Auchmuty's  occupation  of  Montevideo.  Anecdotes  of  both  were  current  in  the 
country  when  I  was  there.  "La  caleta"  might  be  the  shore  of  the  Bay  of  Monte- 
video. "Los  temblores  ya  dormidos  "  may  be  merely  a  drum  or  trumpet  call,  the 
reveille.  "La  chata  mia,"  "my  snub-nosed  darling,"  or  "  my  female  monkey,"  is  a 
term  of  endearment.  "  Las  cartas  de  Montezuma  "  is,  I  believe,  a  slang  term,  but 
for  what  I  cannot  now  explain.  The  whole  song  seems  to  be  simply  that  of  one 
called  from  his  mistress's  side  to  go  on  guard  in  some  beleaguered  town.  The  style 
of  the  translation  is  singularly  like  the  poetical  translations,  from  many  languages, 
done  by  Miss  Louisa  Stuart-Costello. 

If  the  periodical  journeying  of  parties  of  Indians  or  other  tribes  from  the  north- 
western almost  to  the  south-eastern  extremity  of  South  America  can  be  proved,  the 
fact  would  be  of  capital  importance  in  the  diffusion  or  transmission  of  folk-lore.  I 
cannot  see  that  such  a  journey  involves  less  physical  difficulties  than  a  journey 
across  the  more  temperate  regions  of  the  Old  World,  and  consequently  folk-lore  and 
tales  might  have  been  thus  transmitted  from  one  end  of  the  Old-World  continent  to 
the  other,  in  ages  when  the  condition  of  its  inhabitants  was  not  very  unlike  that  of 
the  Indians  of  the  New  World  ;  and  certainly  more  probable  in  later  times  when 
emphatically  "  all  roads  led  to  Eome." 

Perhaps  some  of  your  readers  can  throw  more  light  on  this  point,  as  well  as  on 
the  origin  and  meaning  of  the  two  songs  mentioned  above. 


3. 

Gypsy  Coloities  in  Carniola. 

I  have  been  informed  by  a  gentleman  who  has  visited  Carniola  that  he  met 
with  Gypsies  when  staying  at  Groj^jh  '^^  the  foot  of  the  Teloiic  forest,  on  the  banks 
of  the  small  river  Fodnart{l).  He  was  there  told  that  there  is  a  rather  large 
colony  of  Gypsies,  who  are  nail-smiths.  He  was  also  told  that  there  is  another 
Gypsy  colony  in  Althammer,  at  the  base  of  the  Tricjiav  mountain,  near  the 
Worheiner  lake.  It  would  be  interesting  to  learn  whence  those  Gypsies  came,  and 
whicli  dialect  they  speak.  Eudolf  vox  Sowa. 


4. 

The  Seven  Languages. 


I  lately  paid  a  visit  to  an  encampment  at  Leith  of  Gypsies,  and  non-Gypsies, 
when  the  following  conversation  took  jjlace  : — ■ 

Franifton  Bosivdl  (desirous,  apparently,  of  parading  our  joint  erudition). — 
Now,  what  might  you  call  that,  Mr.  Groome  ?     (Pointing  to  the  kettle-prop.) 

Myself. — That  ?     Oh  !  a  saster,  I  suppose. 


NOTES   AND   QUERIES.  37") 

Framjyfon. — H'm  !  well,  yes  I  that's  not  so  bad,  but  kekavisko  saster  would  be 
properer. 

Mrs.  Cunningham  (a  brush  and  basket  hawker). — There,  now  !  Mr.  Boswell, 
and  I  ain't  no  Gypsy  woman,  but  I've  know'd  saster  for  a  kettle-stick  since  I 
weren't  no  hijTher  than  one. 

Frampton. — There's  plenty  Gypsies  don't  know  it,  INIrs.  Cuniiinf;ham,  but, 
Gypsy  or  no  Gypsy,  you  're  a  very  old-fashioned  sort  of  a  traveller,  I'm  thinking. 

Old  Eennj  Cunningham  (philosoiihically).— It's  just  like  this,  you  see. 
There's  the  Romany  caint,  and  there's  the  Gaelic  caint  [cant],  and  they're  both  on 
'em  no  better  than  a  jibberidge. 

Myself. — Well,  I'm  not  cpiite  so  certain  of  that.  Gaelic,  of  course  that's  gib- 
berish ;  but  wouldn't  you  say,  Frampton,  Romani  was  a  kind  of  a  language  ? 

Frampton  (authoritatively). — No,  I  shouldn't,  Mr.  Groome.  Leastwise,  it  isn't 
one  of  the  Seven  Languages. 

So  said  Frampton  ;  but  what  he  meant  thereby,  Goodness  alone  knows. 

Francis  Hindes  Groome. 


5. 

The  Sin  of  "  Consultation  with  Witches  "  and  its  Punishment,  in 
Sixteenth-Century  Scotland. 

The  following  is  one  of  several  "  Extracts  from  the  Records  of  the  Kirk-Session 
and  Presbytery  of  Aberdeen  from  1562  to  1657,"  quoted  in  Turreif's  Antiquarian 
Gleanings  from  Ahcnhenshire  Records  (Aberdeen,  1859,  p.  28)  : — 

"  Patrick  Bodie,  tailor,  confessed  that  he  made  enquiry  at  the  Egyptians  for  a 
gentlewoman's  gown  which  was  stolen  out  of  his  booth  ;  and  therefore,  in  respect  of 
his  consultation  with  witches,  the  bishop  and  session  ordain  him  to  compear  before 
the  pulpit  on  Sunday  next,  and  there,  immediately  after  sermon,  before  noon,  sit 
down  on  his  knees  before  the  pulpit,  and  confess  his  oft'ence  in  presence  of  the  con- 
gregation, and  crave  God  and  his  congregation  pardon." 

In  this  we  have  one  of  many  evidences  showing  how  the  Gypsies  have  been 
identified  with  the  practice  of  what  has  become  known  as  "witchcraft." 

David  MacRitchie. 


6. 

The  Gypsy  in  the  Moon. 


The  Athenaeum  of  September  14,  1889,  quotes  from  ^Illusion  of  Dr.  Henry 
Cazalis  (Paris,  1885,  re-issued  in  1888  under  the  pseudonym  of  Jean  Labor),  the 
following  poem  : — 

Le  Tsigane  dans  la  Lune. 

C'est  un  vieux  conte  de  Bohenie  : 

Sur  un  violon,  a  minuit, 
Dans  la  lune  un  Tsigane  bleme 

Joue.  en  faisant  si  peu  de  bruit, 

Que  cette  musique  tres  tendre, 

Parmi  les  silences  du  bois, 
Jusqu'ici  ne  s'est  fait  entendre 

Qu'aux  amoureux  baissant  la  voix. 


376  NOTES    AND   QUERIES. 

Mon  amour,  I'heure  est  opportune  ; 

La  lune  eclaire  le  bois  noir  ; 
Viens  ecouter  si  dans  la  lune 

Le  violon  chante  se  soir  ! 

This  bit  of  Gypsy  folk-lore  may  be  thus  roughly  rendered  : — 

'Tis  a  Romany  tale 

That  up  in  the  moon, 
Each  midnight  a  Gypsy 

Is  playing  a  tune. 

The  melodies  sweet 

From  his  fiddle  that  flow, 
Are  heard  but  by  lovers 

As  silent  they  go. 

Then,  love,  let  us  try, 

While  the  moonlight  is  clear, 

Amid  the  dark  forest 

That  fiddle  to  hear.— William  E.  A.  Axox. 


NOTICES. 

The  Second  Volume  of  the  Journal  will  commence  with  the  January  number 
1890.  With  that  number  Members  will  receive  the  Index,  Title-page,  and  Errata 
of  the  first  volume. 

Owing  to  the  increasing  scarcity  of  the  back  numbers  of  the  Journal,  the  price 
of  each  number  of  Volume  I.  will  be  raised  to  7s.  6d.  (instead  of  5s.,  as  at  present) 
after  31st  December  1889. 


All  Contributions  must  be  legibly  uritten  on  one  side  only  of  the  j^ftper; 
must  bear  the  sender's  name  and  address,  though  not  necessarily  for  jmblica- 
tion;  and  m^ist  be  sent  to  David  MacRitchie,  Esq.,  4  Archibald  Place, 
Edinburgh. 


INDEX. 

The  separate  articles  are  printed  in  italics  under  their  author's  name, 
G.  =  Gypsy;  and  Gs.  =  Gypsies. 


Aberdeexshire,  Gs.  iu,  375. 
Accent,  G.,  62,  96. 
Adriatic,  Gypsying  by  the,  132. 
Afghan  Gs.,  171. 
African  Gs.,  54,  220. 
American-G.  Letter,  174. 

Gs.,  South,  57,  232,  306,  373. 

-armcs,  cryptic  ending,  50. 
Ancona  Gs.,  213. 
Anglo-Romany  Gleanings,  102. 
Arabian  Jugglers,  310. 
Arabic  Elements  in  Romani,  234. 
-asch\  cryptic  ending,  50. 
Asia  Minor,  Gs.  of,  249. 
Austrian  Gs.,  171. 

Romanes,  South,  33,  132. 

Axon,  W.  E.  A.,  reviewed,  167. 
Chingamros  of  Venezuela,  306, 


373. 


375. 


La    Tsifjane   dans   la  Lune, 


Bahram  Gaur,  73. 

Barbu   Constantinescu,    Dr.,    folk-tales, 

25,  345. 
Basques  and  Gs.,  76. 
Bataillard,  Paul,  The  Immigration  of  the 

Gs.,  185,  260,  324. 

"  Egyptian  Days,"  373. 

Bemische,  207. 

Beng,  "devil,"  118. 

Bibliography  of   English  books  on  Gs., 

153. 
Borrow,  George,  102,  150. 
Bosnian-G.  Dialect,  125. 
Brazilian  Gs.,  57,  232. 
Bread  and  Salt,  oath  by,  173. 
Buffaloes,  3. 
Burial,  5,  54. 

Cairds  (Caird,  John,  the  tinkler,  etc)., 

52,  303,  355-6. 
Caldarari,  203. 
Carniola,  Gs.  of,  374. 
Carols,  Christmas,  135. 
Cascarrots,  76. 
Catalonian  Gs.,  35. 
Ceylon,  Gs.  of,  312. 

VOL.  I. 


Charms,  G.,  Ill,  118. 

Chinganeros  of  Venezuela,  306,  373. 

Churi,  "  knife,"  105. 

Ciboure,  Cascarrots  of,  76. 

Colocci,  Marquis,  Gs.  in  the  Marches  of 

Ancona,  213. 

The  Gitanos  of  To-Day,  286. 

reviewed,  241. 

Colour-sense  of  Gs.,  167. 

Constable,  Archibald  (Lucknow),  Gs.  of 

Oudh,  170. 

(Edinburgh),       "  Egyptian 

Days,"  310. 

Corfu,  204. 
Coronation,  G.,  174. 

Crofton,  H.  T.,  Early  Annals  of  the  Gs. 
in  England,  5. 

Additions     to     G.  -  English 

Vocabulary,  46. 

Orthography  and  Accent,  96. 

Hand-list  of  English  Boohs  on 


Gs.,  153. 

Cufic  Coins,  234. 

Dancing,  G.,  79-83. 

Davidson,  T.,  Mr.  Groome's  Theory  of  the 

Diffusion  of  Folk-Tales  by  Gs.,  113. 

review  of  Wlislocki,  242. 

Dayton,  Ohio,  174. 

Devil,  G.  word  for,  118. 

Dialects,  G.     See  Language. 

Djatts.     See  Jats. 

Doms,  71. 

Dowojno-Sylwestrowicz,  The  Lithuanian 

Gs.,  251. 
Dynamitters,  50. 
Dzfka,  "pleasure,"  120. 

"  Egypt"  as  European  i)lace-name,  52. 
"Egyptian  Days,"  310,  372. 
"Egyptians,"  name,  201,  226,  253,  268. 
Elliott,  Ebenezer,  309. 
Elysseeff,  A.,   The   Gs.  of  Asia  Minor, 

249. 
England,  Early  Annals  of  Gs.  in,  5. 
English-G.  dialect,  46,  102. 
-engro,  -eskro,  97. 


378 


INDEX. 


Felkin,  R.  W.,  Central  African  Gs.,  220. 
Folk-lore,  G.,  105,  118,  120. 
Folk-tales,  Diffusion  of,  by  Gs.,  113. 
G.,    from    Roumania,    25,     345  ; 

Poland,   84,   145,    227  ;  Moravia,   89  ; 

Slovak,  258. 
Fortuue-telling,  175,  253,  371. 
Funeral  Rites,  5,  54. 

Gambia,  Lowbeys  of,  54. 

Genitive,  G.,  97. 

German  Gs.,  29,  50,  134. 

Gitanos,  286. 

"Greek"  Gs.,  204. 

Grierson,  G.  A.,  Doras,  JAts,  and  Oriffln 

ofGs.,11. 

G.  Genitive,  97. 

Groome,    F.    H.,    The  Bad   Mother:   A 

Roumanian  G.  Folk-tale,  25. 
The  Princess  and  the  Forester's 

Son :  a  Moravian  G.  Folk-tale,  89. 

Amjlo  -  Romany     Gleanin(js, 


113. 


102. 

Diffusion  of  Folk-tales  hy  Gs., 

The  Red  King  and  the  Witch: 

a  Roumanian  G.  Folk-talc,  345. 
Gurko,  "Sunday,"  169,  245. 
Gutturals,  G.,  45,  96. 

Hair,  colour  of  G.,  368. 
Harpists,  Welsh-G.,  180. 
Hawick,  G.  fray  at,  175. 
Hedgehog,  how  to  cook,  177. 
Hermann,   A.,   Transylvanian  G.  Hongs, 

131. 

G.  Songs  of  Mourning,  289. 

reviewed,  368. 

Hungarian  Gs.,  105,  118,  121,  203,  305, 

367,  368. 
Music,  313. 

Ibbetson,  W.  J.,  Origin  of  the  Gs.,  223. 
Immigration    of    the   Gs.    into   Western 

Europe,  185,  260,  324. 
Indian  Gs.,  71,  170,  224. 
Irish  Tinkers  and  their  Language,  350, 
Italian  Gs.,  213,  248,  308,  358. 
Italian  G.  Song,  212. 

Jats,  71,  191,  225. 
Jesina,  J.,  death  of,  371. 
John,  King,  and  the  Tinkers,  244. 
Joseph,  Archduke,  reviewed,  48. 
Jusserand,  J.  J.,  reviewed,  167. 

Khorasan,  Gs.  of,  171. 

Knapp,  Professor,  174. 

Kopernicki,  I.,  A  Foolish  Brother  and  a 
Wonderful  Bush :  a  Polish-G.  Folk- 
tale, 84. 

—  Bosnian-G.  Dialect,  125. 

A    Girl  luho  loas  sold  to  the 

Devil:  a  Polish  G.  Folk-tale,  145. 


Kopei-nicki,  I.,  A  Wise  Young  Jeio  and 
a  Golden  Hen :  a  Polish  G.  Folk-talc, 
227. 

on  Uniformity  of  Ortho- 
graphy, 169. 

Language,  G.  :  Bosnian,  125. 

• Brazilian,  57. 

English,  46,  1 02. 

Lithuanian,  251. 

Slovak,  160,  235,  296,  362. 

Spanish,  177,  289. 

Leland,    C.    G.,    Revietv     of   Archduke 

Josefs  "  Czigdny  Nyelimtan,"  48. 
Review  of  Her  mannas  ''  Etlino- 

logische  Mitteilungen,"  105. 

G.  Charms,  118. 

A  Letter  from  Hungary,  121. 

All  Itcdian  G.  Song,  212. 

Notes  on  the  Three  Magi,  246. 

Paris    Congress   of   Popular 


Traditions,  317. 
Lithuanian  Gs.,  251. 
Ljuli,  51. 
Luli,  51. 


Luri,  51. 


MacRitchie,  D.,  Gs.  of  Caledonia,  35. 

Review  of  Hermawi's  "  Ethno- 

logische  Mittcilimgen,"  107. 
Christmas  Carols:  the   Three 


Magi,  135. 
Irish  Tinkers  and  their  Lan- 


guage, 350. 
Magi,  The  Three,  135,  246. 
Manasse,  Aaron,  reviewed,  369. 
Marriage,  G.,  177,  179. 
Masaniello  a  G.,  308. 
Mayadds,  170. 
Members,   List    of    (as    at    1st   January 

1889),  181. 
Mesmerism,  42,  370. 
Moor,  Major,  104. 
Moraes,  Mello,  reviewed,  57,  232. 
Music,  G.,  173,  180. 
Transylvanian  G.,  100,  122,  313. 

Nails  of  Crucifixion,  253. 
Norway,  English  Gs.  shipped  to,  11. 

Oaths,  G.,  173,  368. 
Origin  of  Gs.,  71,  223. 
Orthography,  G.,  62,  96,  161,  169. 
Oudh,  Gs.  of,  170. 

Paspati,  Dr.  A.  G.,  Turkish  Gs.,  1. 
Persian  Gs.,  51. 
Physique,  G.,  250,  367. 
Pincherle,  J.,  South   Austrian  Romanes, 
33. 

Gypsying  by  the  Adriatic,  132. 

Italian  Gs.,  308. 


INDEX. 


"-9 


■  >  I 


Polish  G.  Folk-tales,  84,  145,  2-27. 
Prostitutes,  d.,  4,  288. 

Queen,  American  G.,  174. 

RoM.\Nr-CHAL,  meaning  of,  .")(). 
Roumanian  G.  Folk-tales,  25,  .S45. 
Roumelian  Gs. ,  4. 
Rovvmais  or  Rowmani.s,  King  of,  54. 

Scottish  G.  Fray,  175. 

Gs.,  171»,  233,  375. 

John  Banyan,  A,  52. 

Seven  Languages,  the,  374. 

Shelta,  253. 

Shetland,  Gs.  in,  233. 

Sigismund,  Emperor,  2G1. 

Siino,  1 69,  245. 

Slovak  Gs.     See  Sowa. 

Smith,  G.,  of  Coalville,  his  "heirloom," 

176,  311. 
Solf,  Dr.,  on  German  Gs.,  50. 
Songs,  Gs.,  131,  212,  289,  306. 
Sowa,    R.    von,    Staiistkul    Account    of      Weisbach,  A.,  reviewed,  367. 


Statistics,  G.,  29,  120,  134. 
Surrey  G.,  176. 
Switzerland,  Gs.  enter,  275. 

Thewrewk    be   Poxor,    ]•].,    Oriijin   of 

Jfung<t7-ian  MuhIc,  313. 
Tinkers,  52,  244,  309,  350. 
Transylvaaian  Gs.,  242. 

G.  Songs,  131,  349. 

Tent-Os.,  Mdodtcn  (f,  100. 

Turkestan,  Gs.  in,  51. 
Turkish  Gs.,  3. 

Vexetiax  Gs.,  358. 

V^enezuela,  Chinganc'ros  of,  30(),  373. 

Watts,  Theodore,  120. 
Wealthy  Gs..  173,  177. 
Webster,    Wentworth,     Cascarrots     of 

Clbonre,  76. 
ChrUlmas  Varoh :   The,   Three 

Nagi,  135. 

George  Borrow  in  Spain,  150. 


German  Gs.,  29,  134. 

Dialect  of  Brazilian  Gs.,  57. 

Slovak-G.     Vocabulary,    160  ; 

B-CM,  235  ;  Cho-F,  296  ;  G-J,  362. 
0  Minaris  ;  a  Slovak  G.  Tale, 


258. 
Spanish-G.  Vocabulary,  177. 

Gs.,  36,  178,  286,  309. 

Spells,  G.,  Ill,  118. 


Welsh-G.  Harpists,  180. 
Whiter,  Walter,  102. 
Wlislocki,  H.  von,  106-112. 

Laments  for  the  Dead,  293. 

Transylvaniun  -  G.      Ballad, 


349. 


reviewed,  242. 


ZOTTS, 


ERRATA. 


PAGE 


30,  3d  line  from  foot  of  p.    For  "  liave  shooting  galleries,"  read  "are  rat-catchers." 

37,  note  -.     For  "  p,  3,"  read  "  p.  4." 

40,  line  1.     Insert  "the"  at  end  of  line. 

67,  line  IG.     The  examples  naqve,,  naki,  naqui  .should  be  transferred  to  list  at 

foot  of  page,  and  be  inserted  after  chibe,  etc. 
82,  line  25.     For  "  Maurique,"  read  "  Manrique." 
92,  line  16.     For  "  prazki,"  read  "  przazki." 
92,  line  22.     For  "  lie'as,"  read  "  lil'as." 
92,  line  25.     For  "  cheroi,"  read  "  xeroi." 
92,  line  28.     For  "  lelas,"  read  "  lel'as." 
92,  line  29.     For  "kaithar,"  read  "kathar." 
132,  line  5.       For  "Roman,"  read  "Romani." 

134,  line  28.     For  "  Wirtemberg,"  read  "Wiirtemberg." 

135,  line  31.  Add  as  a  note  to  "  It  was  composed  by  le  Sieur  Nicolas 
Saboly"  : — M.  Mary  Lafon  in  his  Tableau  Historique  et  Littdrature  de  la 
langue  imrUe  dans  le  Midi  de  la  France,  Paris,  1842,  in  the  Append  ire  Bihlio- 
graphique,  p.  308,  under  the  name  Puech,  writes:  "His  noels  have  been  joined 
to  those  of  Saboly,  and  are  better,  as  maybe  judged  by  that  of  the  Bohemians, 
which  d'Argens  and  Lametrie  used  to  sing,  en  petit  comitc,  at  the  court  of 
Frederick  the  Great.  Moreover,  Puech  translated  this  song  of  the  Bohemians 
from  the  Spanisli  of  Lope  de  Vega."     The  author  (Puech),  Millin  asserts  was 


380  EKRATA. 

PAGE 

a  beneficier  of  the  Cathedral  of  Aix,  and  that  the  wong  was  composed  in  1680. 
I  have  only  a  few  of  the  voluminous  works  of  Lope  de  Vega,  and  cannot  find 
mention  of  this  song  in  any  of  these. — Wentworth  Webster. 
138,  line  41.     For  "  Seguro,"  read  "  Segarra." 

138,  footnote  K  Add — "No.  71  is  also  a  pretended  Gypsy  ballad,  too  long  to 
quote." 

139,  line  4.       For  "quier  en,"  read  "quieren." 
139,  line  8.       For  "  el,"  read  "  al." 

139,  line  11.     For  "joyous,"  read  "light." 

139,  line  12.     "  Y  vaga  de  baile."    This  line  ought  not  to  be  distinguished  from 

the  three  lines  which  follow  it. 
139,  lines  16  and  17  ought  also  to  be  more  closely  united. 
139,  line  21.     For  "  puestar,"  read  "  puestas." 
139,  line  24.     For  "  alegrad,"  read  "  alegrad." 
139,  line  26  (both  Span,  and  Eug.)  ought  not  to  be  separated  from  the  following 

lines. 
139,  line  36.     For  '•  y-a,"  read  "ya." 
139,  line  39.     For  "  soltar,"  read  "  saltar." 
139,  footnote.  For  "snapping,"  read  "click." 

161,  line  12.     For  "solna,"  read  "Zsolna." 

162,  line  8.       For  "once  only  once  occurring,"  read  "  occurring  only  once." 
164,  line  4  a.   For  "  ahjarav"  read  "  ahjarav." 

164,  line  49  a.  For  "  aU'bo,"  read  "  al'eho:' 

164,  line  24  6.  For  "a?ii  susie,"  etc.,  read  "ajii  tuhc,  mri  2}ii'((''>ii,  basaviben 
n-anavas — I  should  not  even  serenade  thee,  my  beloved. — K." 

164,  line  52  b.   For  "  avl'ais,"  read  "  avl'as." 

165,  line  16  a.  Insert  "  forenoon  "  before  M.W. 

166,  line  30  b.   Insert  "  averjeno  "  before  "  a.,  S.,  adj." 

236,  line  15  6.  For  ''pa,"  read  "^mZ." 

237,  line  1  b.    Insert  "  sit "  after  "  to." 

241,  lines  14, 15  b.     For  "  tobacco,  pipe,"  read  "  tobacco-pipe." 

259,  line  3.       For  "  Irkea,"  read  "  herla."  ^ 

301,  line  23.     For  "  lerga,"  read  "  Jerga." 

360,  lines  4,  5.  For  "  proveder.  L'Andera  parte,"  read  "  proveder  da  nostra 
parte." 

372, lines 5,  6.  For  "the  valuable,"  etc.,  substitute  "the  revision  and  republica- 
tion of  the  valuable  and  now  very  rare  work,  JRomani  Vib  of  P.  Puchmajer 
(Jesina's  version  appearing  in  Bohemian,  1880  ;  3d  ed.  in  German,  1886)." 

374,  note  3.     For  "  Telouc,"  read  "■  Jdouc" 


Printed  by  T.  and  A.  Constable,  Printers  to  Her  Majesty, 
"(  the  Edinburgh  University  Press. 


•Vol.  I. 

No.   I. 

G 

JOURNAL   OF   THE 

YPSY   T-OR 

S  O  C  I  E  1  Y 

JULY     1888. 

K, 

Contents. 

I'AGIC 

PREFACE,              ......         I 

I.  TURKISH     GYPSIES.       By    Dr.    Alexander    G. 

Paspati,  Athens,        .....        3 

II.   EARLY    ANXALS    OF    THE    GYPSIES    IN    ENG- 
LAND.    By  Henry  T.  Crofton,      .           .            .5 

III.  A    ROUMANIAN- GYPSY    FOLK-TALE.      Trans- 

lated FROM  THE   Romany  of  Dr.   Barbu  Con- 
stantinescu.     By  Francis  Hindes  Groome,        .      25 

IV.  ST.4TISTICAL    ACCOUNT    OF    THE     GYPSIES 

LNI    THE   GERMAN    EMPIRE.      By   Professor 
Rudolf  von  Sowa,  Brunn,  .                                         29 

V.   ILLUSTR.VTIONS      OF      SOUTH  -  AUSTRIAN  - 

ROMANES.     By  J.  Pinciierle,  Trieste,  .  „         •       33     . 

VL   THE  GYPSIES  OF  CAT.ALONIA.     P.v  David  Mac  - 

Ritchie,           ...                       .                   ;:, 

VII.  ADDITIONS     TO     GYPSY  -  ENGLISH     VOCABU- 
LARY.    By  Henry  T.  Crofton,      ,            .           .46 

VIII.   REVIEW      OF       THE       ARCHDUKE      JOSEF'S 
'  CZIGANY     NYELVATAN.'      By    Charles    G. 
Leland,                        .                                                 .48 

NOTES  AND  QUERIES,                        .             .             .50 

Prii 

ited  by  T.  &  A.  CONSTABLE,  Printers  to  Her  Maj 
at  the  Edinburgh  University  Press. 

esty 

"  The  career  and  works  of  George  Bonow  are  well  worthy  of  study  ;  he  may  have  been  '  a  vagabond' 
by  taste  and  habit,  but  he  was  eminently  a  Christian  and  a  gentleman,  and  many  men  have  earned 
greater  name  and  fame  without  half  his  claims  to  the  gratitude  of  society." — Saturday  Reviexv. 


Now  Ready,  A  NEW  AND  CHEAPER  RE-ISSUE  of  the  following  Works  of  the  late 
GEORGE  BORROW.    Post  8vo,  2s.  6d.  each. 

I. 

The  Bible  in  Spain  :  Or,  The  Journeys  and  Imprisonments  of  an 
Englishman  in  an  attempt  to  circulate  the  Scriptures  in  the  Peninsula. 
With  Portrait. 

II. 

The  Zincali  :  An  Account  of  the  Gypsies  of  Spain ;  their  Manners, 
Customs,  Religion,  and  Language. 

III. 
LavengrO  :  The  Scholar,  the  Gypsy,  and  the  Priest. 

IV. 

The   Romany   Rye  :  A  Sequel  to  Lavengro. 

V. 

"Wild   Wales  :  Its  People,  Language,  and  Scenery. 


Also,  uniform  with  the  above,  Post  8vo,  5s.    Cloth. 

Romano    LavO-Lil :    With  Illustrations  of  English  Gypsies,   their 

Poetry  and  Habitations. 


LONDON  :    JOHN  MUREAY,  ALBEMARLE   STREET. 


Vol.  I. 


No.   2. 


JOURNAL   OF   THE 

GYPSY   LORE 

SOCIETY 


OCTOBER     1888. 


I. 

Conttnt0* 

PAGE 
THE  DIALECT   OF   THE   GYPSIES  OF  BRAZIL. 
By  Professor  Rudolf  von  Sowa,   .           ,           .57 

II. 

pOMS,     J.ATS.     AND    THE     ORIGIN     OF    THE 
GYPSIE.S.     By  G.  A.  Grierson, 

71 

III. 

THE  CASCARROTS  OF  CIBOURE.     By  the   Rev. 
Wentworth  Webster,         .... 

76 

IV. 

TWO  GYPSY  FOLK-TALES.    By  Professor  Isidore 
KoPERNiCKi  and  Francis  ^HiNDES  Groome, 

84 

V. 

ORTHOGRAPHY     AND     ACCENT.       By     II.      T. 
Crofton,           ...... 

96 

VI. 

THE   GENITIVE   IN  GYPSY.     By  G.  A.  Grierson, 

97 

VII. 

ORIGINAL     POPULAR      MELODIES     OF    THE 
TRANSYLVANIAN  TENT-GYPSIES, 

100 

VIII. 

ANGLO  -  ROMANY    GLEANINGS.       By    FRANCIS 
HiNDES  Groome,        .                       .           .    '       . 

102 

REVIEWS.     By  Charles  G.  Leland,   David  Mac- 
Ritchie,  and  Thomas  Davidson,  . 

i<^5 

NOTES  AND  OT'ERIES,           .... 

118 

riinted  by  T.  &  A.  CONSTABLE,  Printers  to  Her  Majesty 
at  the  Edinburgh  University  Press.  . 


THE    GYPSIES. 

WITH  SKETCHES  OF  THE  ENGLISH,  WELSH,  EUSSIAN,  AND 

AUSTEIAX  EOMANY. 

Including  Papers  on  the  Gypsy  Language. 
By  CHAELES  G.  LELAND. 

Crown  8vo,  red  top,  $2.00. 

"  Since  literature  became  a  profession,  there  has  been  an  increasing  i-arity  of 
those  books  which  bear  internal  evidence  of  the  fact  that  their  writers  enjoyed  writing 
them,  and  that  they  were  written  for  the  sake  of  enjoyment ;  but  Mr.  Leland's  books 
do  provide  such  evidence,  and  they  are  accordingly  very  refreshing.  The  book  is 
crammed  with  interesting  matter.  .  .  .  We  have  no  hesitation  in  saying  that  this  is  tlie 
most  delightful  Gypsy  book  with  which  we  are  acquainted." — The  Spectator,  London. 

"  Mr.  Leland  thoroughly  understands  the  love  of  the  Gypsy  for  the  free  and  pic- 
turesque life  out-of-doors  ;  he  feels  it  too  ;  his  pages  glow  with  it ;  his  fragments  of 
description  borrow  from  it  an  irresistible  charm.  He  brings  therefore  to  the  writing  of 
these  fascinating  chapters  the  rare  qualifications  of  an  exquisite  sympathy  with  his  sub- 
ject and  a  poetic  intuition  of  its  inner  character.  But  his  enthusiasm  is  tempered  by 
his  shrewdness,  and  saved  from  extravagance  by  his  keen  sense  of  humour.  It  is  im- 
possible to  read  such  a  book  without  sharing  the  author's  delight  in  the  queer  and  not 
over  reputable,  but  highly  romantic  company  to  which  it  introduces  us  ;  and  yet  it  is  a 
great  storehouse  of  serious  and  recondite  information." — New  York  Tribune. 


*^*  For  sale  by  all  Booksellers.     Sent  by  mail,  j^ost  paid,  on  receipt  of  price 

by  the  Publishers, 

HOUGHTON,  MIFFLIN  &  CO.,  BOSTON,  U.S.A. 


SOClfiTfi  DES  TRADITIONS  POPULAIRES 


REVUE  DES  TRADITIONS  POPULAIRES 

(S^'"^  annee) 

Eecueil  mensuel  paraissant  par  fascicules  de  48  a  64  pages 
avec  musique  gravee  et  illustrations. 

PUBLIEE  PAR 

M.    PAUL  SEBILLOT, 

Secretaire  general  de  la  Societe. 

Abonnement :  15  fr.  pour  la  France,  17  fr.  pour  I'Union  postale. 
(S'adresser  a  M.  A.  Certeux,  tr^sorier,  167  rue  de  Jacques.) 

La  cotisation  des  Societaires  est  de  15  fr.  sans  distinction  de 
nationalite  :  elle  donne  droit  a  I'euvoi  gratuit  de  la  Eevue  et  de 
I'Annuaire.     Adresser  les  manuscrits  a  M.  S^billot,  4  rue  de  I'Odeon. 


EOIiOE  BOFME^O  MSI. 


"  The  career  and  works  of  George  Borrow  are  well  worthy  of  study  ;  he  may  have  been  'avagabond' 
t>y  taste  and  haliit,  bnt  he  was  eminently  a  Christian  and  a  gentleman,  and  many  men  have  earned 
tireater  name  and  fame  without  halt  his  claims  to  the  gratitude  of  society." — Saturday  Revieiv. 


Now  Ready,  A  NEW  AND  CHEAPER  RE-ISSUE  of  the  fcUowlng  Works  of  the  late 
GEORGE  BORROW.    Post  8vo,  2s.  6d.  each. 

I. 

The  Bible  in  Spain  :  Or,  The  Journe3's  and  Imprisonments  of  an 
Englishman  in  an  attempt  to  circulate  the  Scriptures  in  the  Peninsula. 
With  Portrait. 

II. 

The  Zincali  :  An  Account  of  the  Gypsies  of  Spain ;  their  Manners, 

Customs,  Religion,  and  Language. 

III. 
Lavengro  :  The  Scholar,  the  Gypsy,  and  the  Priest. 

IV. 
The  Romany  Rye  :  A  Sequel  to  Lavengro, 

V. 

"Wild  Wales  :  Its  People,  Language,  and  Scenery. 


Also,  uniform  with  the  above.  Post  8vo,  5s.    Cloth. 

Romano   LavO-Lil :    With  Illustrations  of  English  Gypsies,    their 

Poetry  and  Habitations. 


LONDON:    JOHN  MURRAY,  ALBEMARLE   STREET. 


Vol.  I. 


No.  3. 


JOURNAL   OF   THE 

GYPSY   LORE 

SOCIETY 


JANUARY     1889, 


Conttiit2>. 

I.  A    LETTER  FROM   HUNGARY.     By  Charles  G. 
Leland,  ...... 

II.  THE    DIALECT   OF    THE    BOSNIAN'    GYPSIES. 
By  Pkofkssor  Isidore  Kopernicki, 

III.  TRANSYLVANIAN  GYPSY  SONGS.    By  Professor 

Anton  Herrmann,    ..... 

IV.  GYPSYING  BY  THE  ADRIATIC.    ByJ.  Pincherle, 

V.  SUPPLEMENTARY  NOTES  ON  THE   GERMAN 
GYPSIES.     By  Professor  Rudolf  von  Sovva, 

VI.  CHRISTMAS  CAROLS:  THE  THREE  MAGI.  By 
THE  Rev.  Wentvvorth  Webster  and  David 
MAcRnx;HiE,  ...... 

VII.  TALE  OF    A    GIRL  WHO  W.AS  SOLD   TO    THE 
DEVIL.     By  Professor  Isidore  Koperntcki, 

VIII.  GEORGE   BORROW    IN    SPAIN.      By    the    Rev 
Wentworth  Webster, 

IX.  HAND-LIST  OF  ENGLISH  BOOKS  REL.ATING 
TO  GYPSIES.     Compiled  by  H.  T.  Crofton, 

X.  SLOVAK-GYPSY    VOCABULARY.      By  Professor 
Rudolf  von  Sowa,     ..... 

REVIEWS  :    NOTES  AND  QUERIES, 


I'AGi: 


134 

135 
145 


153 

160 
167 


Printed  by  T.  &  A.  CONSTABLE,  Printers  to  Her  Majesty 
at  the  Eldinburgh  University  Press. 


THE   FOLK-LORE    SOCIETY. 

President — Andrew  Lang. 

Vice-Presidents— RiaUT'KoT^.  TheEarlofStbafvord;  W.  R  S.  Ralston.M.A.  ;  E.B.  Tylor,  LL.D.,  F.R.S. 

Director — G.  Laurence  Gomme.     2Vt<isKrer— Edward  Clodd. 

THIS  Society  was  established  in  1878,  for  the  purpose  of  collecting  and  preserving  the 
fast-pei'ishing  relics  of  Folk-Lore  amongst  our  own  and  other  peoples.  Under 
i  his  general  tenn  is  included  Folk-Tales;  Hero-Tales;  Traditional  Ballads  ami  Songs  ; 
Place  Legends  and  Traditions  ;  Goblindom  ;  Witchcraft  ;  Astrology  ;  Superstitions  con- 
nected witli  material  things  ;  Local  Customs  ;  Festival  Customs  ;  Ceremonial  C'ustoms  ; 
Games  ;  Jingles,  Nursery  Rhymes,  Riddles,  etc.  ;  Proverbs ;  Old  Saws,  rhymed  and 
unrhymed  ;  ^'icknames,  Place-Rhymes  and  Sayings  ;  Folk-Etymology. 

The  first  duty  of  the  Societj'  is  to  collect  the  remains  of  Folk-Lore  still  extant.  There 
is  much  to  be  done  in  our  own  country,  especially  in  the  outlying  parts  of  England  and 
Scotland,  the  mountains  of  Wales,  and  the  rural  parts  of  Ireland.  Mr.  Campbell  only  a 
few  years  ago  collected  orally  in  the  Highlands  a  very  valuable  group  of  stories,  the  ex- 
istence of  wliich  was  quite  unsuspected  ;  and  the  publications  of  the  Society  bear  witness 
to  the  fact  that  in  all  parts  of  our  land  tlie  mine  has  abundant  rich  ore  remaining  unworked. 

In  European  countries  for  the  most  partlhere  are  native  workers  who  are  busy  upon 
the  collection  of  Folk-Lore  ;  but  in  India  and  other  States  und^r  English  dominion, 
l)esides  savage  lands  not  politically  attached  to  this  countiy,  there  is  an  enormous  field, 
where  the  labourers  are  few. 

The  second,  and,  from  a  scientific  stand -point,  the  most  important  duty  of  the  Society, 
is  that  of  classifying  and  comparing  the  various  items  of  Folk-Lore  gathered  into  its 
archives.  A  Special  Committee  has  been  appointed  to  take  in  hand  the  section  of  Folk- 
Lore  devoted  to  Folk-Tales,  and  they  have  prepared  a  scheme  of  tabulation  which  is  being 
extensively  used  both  by  workers  in  the  Society  and  by  other  students.  Another  Com- 
mittee is  dealing  with  customs  and  manners  in  tlie  same  way. 

By  these  means  the  Society  will  doubtless  be  able  to  show  more  conclusively  how  mucli 
knowledge  of  early  man  has  been  lying  hidden  for  centuries  in  popular  traditions  and 
customs,  and  this  object  will  be  quickened  by  the  addition  to  its  roll  of  all  students  in- 
terested in  primitive  culture.  Those  who  cannot  collect  can  help  in  the  work  of 
classification  and  comparison,  and  much  might  be  thus  accomplished  by  a  few  years  of 
hearty  co-operation. 

The  Annual  Subscription  is  One  Guinea,  payable  in  advance  on  the  first  of  January 
in  each  j'ear,  which  will  entitle  Members  to  receive  the  publications  of  the  Society  for 
such  jear.  Members  joming  during  the  present  year,  and  desirous  of  subscribing  for  the 
publications  of  the  Society  already  issued,  several  of  which  are  becoming  scarce,  may  do 
so  by  paying  the  subscriptions  for  the  back  years. 

A.  Ghan-oer  Hutt,  F.S.A.,  8  Oxford  Road.  Kilburn,  N.W.\  Hon. 
J.  J.  Foster,  36  Alma  Square,  St.  John's  Wood,  X.W.         j  Sees. 

M  E  L  U  S  I  N  E 

REVUE  DE  MYTHOLOGIE,  LITTERATURE  POPULAIRE, 
TRADITIONS  ET  USAGES 

FONDEE  PAR  H.  CAIDOZ  &  E.  ROLLAND,  I877-I887 
DIRIGEE  PAR  HENRI  CAIDOZ. 

La  Revue  parait  le  5  de  chaque  mois  par  livraisons  de  12  pages  in-4''. 
PRIX    DE   L'ABONNEMENT  POUR  UN  AN,   PORT  COMPRIS 

France  et  Union  Postale :  12  francs. 

On  s'abonne  pour  la  France  en  envoyant  un  mandat-poste  (ou  un  mandat-carte)  a  M. 
Emile  LECHEVALIER,  39,  quai  des  Grands-Augustins,  Paris. 
Le  talon  du  mandat  servira  de  recu. 

On  s'abonne  pour  I'etranger  en  envoyant  un  mandat-poste  international  ou  par  lin- 
termediaire  d'un  libraire. 

Toutes  les  communications  relatives  a  la  redaction,  lettres,  livres  pour  compte  rendu, 
etc.,  devront  etre  adressees,  franc  de  port,  a  M.  GAIDOZ,  directeur  de  Melusine. 
a  la  librairie  E.  LECHEVALIER,  39,  quai  des  Grands-Augustins,  a  Paris. 


G  E  O  R  G  E     BO  R  R  O  W. 

"The  career  and  works  of  George  Borrow  are  well  worthy  of  study  ;  lie  may  have  been 'a  vagabond  ' 
»py  taste  and  haliit,  but  lie  was  eniineutly  a  Christian  and  a  gentleman,  and  many  men  have  earned 
vreater  name  and  fame  without  halt"  his  claims  to  tlie  gratitude  of  society." — Saturday  litview. 


Now  Beady,  A  NEW  AND  CHEAPER  RE-ISSUE  of  the  following  Works  of  the  late 

GEORGE  BORROW.    Post  8vo,  2s.  6d.  each. 
I. — The  Bible  in  Spain :  Or,  The  Jomnevs  an<l  Imprisonments  of  an 
Englishman  in  an  attempt  to  circulate  the  Scriptures  in  the  Penin- 
sula.    "With  Portrait. 
II. — The  Zincali:  An  Account  of  the  Gypsies  of  Spain;  their  Manners, 
Customs,  lieliirion,  and  Language. 
III. — Lavengro  :  The  Scholar,  the  Gypsy,  and  the  Priest. 
IV. — The  Romany  Rye:  A  Sequel  to  Lavengro. 
V. — Wild  Wales  :  Its  People,  Language,  and  Scenery. 

Also,  uniform  with  the  ahove,  Post  8vo,  5s.    Cloth. 
Romano  LavO-Lil :    With  Illustrations  of  English  Gypsies,   their 

Poetry  and  Habitations. 

LOXDOX :    JOHN  MURRAY,  ALBE^IARLE   STREET. 

THE    GYPSIES. 

WITH   SKETCHES   OF   THE   ENGLISH,   WELSH,   RUSSIAN,   AND 

AUSTRIAN   ROMANY. 

Inchtding  Papers  on  the  Gypsy  Language. 

By    CHARLES    G.    LELAND. 

Croum  8vo,  ml  top,  $2.00. 

"  Since  literature  became  a  profession,  there  has  been  an  increasing  rarity  of  those  books  which  hear 
internal  evidence  of  the  fact  that  their  writers  enjoyed  writing  thera,  and  that  they  were  written  for  tlif 
sHke  of  enjoyment;  but  Mr  Leland's  books  do  provide  such  evidence,  and  they  are  accordingly  veiy 
refreshing.  The  book  is  crammed  with  interesting  matter.  .  .  .  We  have  no  hesitation  in  saying  that  this 
is  the  most  delightful  Gypsy  book  witli  which  we  are  acquainted." — The  S}'Cctator,  Loudon. 

"  Mr.  Leland  thoroughly  understands  the  love  of  the  Gypsy  for  the  free  and  picturesque  life  out-of- 
doors  ;  he  feels  it  too  ;  his  pages  glow  with  it ;  his  fragments  of  description  borrow  from  it  an  irresistible 
<-harm'.  He  brings  therefore  to  the  writing  of  th^'Se  fascinating  chai'ters  the  rare  qualifications  of  an 
exquisite  sympathy  with  his  subject  and  a  poetic  intuition  of  its  inner  character.  But  his  entluisiasm  is 
tempered  by  his  shrewdness,  and  saved  from  extravagance  by  his  keen  sense  of  liumonr.  It  is  impossible 
to  read  such  a  book  without  sharing  the  author's  delight  in  the  queer  and  not  over  reputable,  but  highly 
romantic  company  to  which  it  introduces  us;  and  yet  it  is  a  gieat  storehouse  of  serious  and  recondite 
information." — New  York  Tribtine. 


For  sale  by  all  Booksellers.     Sent  by  mail,  post  paid,  on  receipt  of  price 

by  the  Publishers. 

HOUGHTON,  MIFFLIX  Sc  CO.,  BOSTON,  U.S.A. 


With  Map  and  Two  Illustrations. 

ACCOUNTS     OF    THE    GYPSIES    OF    INDIA 

Collected  and  Edited  by  David  Mac  Ritchie,  author  of  "  Ancient  and  Modern  Britons.  ' 

Crown  8vo,  doth,  3s.  6d. 

"  We  welcome  the  '  Gypsies  of  India  '  as  a  real  contribution  to  Roniaui  Literatui  e. 
— Athe7iaum. 

"Mr.  M"cRitchie's  knowledge  of  what  we  suppose  we  may  call  Gypsiology  is  pro- 
found."— Guardian. 

"  Mr.  David  MacRitchie  has  collected  some  valuable  matter  from  various  sources 
which  throws  considerable  light  upon  the  subject,  and  forms  a  very  readable  and  enter 
raining  book.   .   .  .  Mr.  MacRitchie's  book  is  one  which  commends  itself  to  the  careful 
attention  and  study  of  Englishmen."— J/o»-7t/Hi7  Post. 

"  A  valuable  and  scholarly  book  on  the  subject."— ^'co^snzaH. 


•LONDON  .  KEGAN  PAUL,  TRENCH  &  CO. 


ETKNOLOGISGHE  IV|ITTEILUNGEN  AUS  UNGARN: 

Zeitsclirift  fiir  die  Volkskunde  der  Bewohner  Ungarns  iind  seiner 
Nebenlauder.  Eedigiert  und  herausgegeben  von  Prof.  Dr.  Anton 
Herrmann,  Budapest. 

Of  the  two  parts  of  this  work  which  have  already  appeared,  a  detailed  account  is 
given  in  No.  2  of  the  present  volume  of  the  Gypsy  Lore  Society's  Journal  (p,  105  et  seq. ), 
where  the  varied  and  interesting  nature  of  its  contents  can  be  seen.  The  third  part  will 
appear  this  month.  Tlie  cost  of  each  number  is  two  marks  (or  two  shillings) ;  but  the  sum 
of  five  marks,  paid  in  advance,  secures  the  subscriber  the  first  five  numbers.  The  Editor 
will  gladly  exchange  the  Ethnoloijische  Mitteihingen  cms  Ungarn  with  the  publications 
of  other  similar  Societies  ;  and,  if  requested,  will  send  copies  gratis  to  those  desiring  it. 
He  also  requests  that  all  Authors  and  Societies  dealing  with  this  question  will  be  good 
enough  to  send  him  review  copies  of  their  works. 

Address — 

Prof.  Dr.  Anton  Herrmann,  I.  Attila-utcza  47,  Budapest. 

SOCIETE  DES  TRADITIONS  POPULAIRES 


REVUE  DES  TRADITIONS   POPULAIRES 

(3'^"^«  annee) 

Eecueil  mensuel  paraissant  par  fascicules  de  48  a  64  pages 
avec  miisique  gravee  et  illustrations. 

PUBLIEE  PAR 

M.    PAUL  SEBILLOT, 

Secretaire  general  de  la  Societe. 

Abonnement:  15  fr.  pour  la  Prance,  17  fr.  pour  rUnion  postale. 
(S'adresser  a  M.  A.  Ceeteux,  tresorier,  167  rue  de  Jacques.) 

La  cotisation  des  Societaires  est  de  15  fr  sans  distinction  de 
irationalite  :  elle  donne  droit  a  I'envoi  gratuit  de  la  Eevue  et  de 
TAnnuaire.     Adresser  les  manuscrits  a  M.  Sebiliot,  4  rue  de  I'Odeon. 

ORIENTALISCHE    BIBLIOGRAPHIE 

nnter  stiindiger  Mitwiikung  von  Dr.  Bezzenberger  (Konigsberg). 
Dr.  Gleiniger  (Berlin),  Dr.  Gottheil  (New  York),  Dr.  Z.  Miiller 
(Berlin),  Dr.  Strack  (Berlin),  Dr.  VoUers  (Cairo),  Dr.  Wijnmalen 
(Haag),  und  mit  gelegentlichen  Beitiiigen  von  Mag.  Salemann 
(St.  Petersburg),  P.  Kalemkiar  (AYien),  Schiikri  Efendi  (Constanti- 
nopel),  und  Anderen  herausgegeben  von  Dr.  A.  Miiller  (Konigsberg). 

Jahrlich  4  Hefte  zu  je  5  Bogen  ;  Subscription,  6  M.  p.  A. 

bei  der  Buchhandlung  H.  Reuther,  Berlin,  Charlottenstrassc,  2  ; 

London,  Messrs.  Williams  &  Noegate  ;  New  York,  B.  Westermaxn  &  Co. 

Erschienen  sind  Vol.  I.  (1887) ;  Vol.  II.  (1888),  Heft  1,  2. 

Vol.  II.  Heft  3  erscheint  zum  1  Januar. 

■ledes  Heft  enthalt  einen  Abschnitt  iiber  die  auf  die  Zigeuner  beziigliche  Litteratnr  ; 
die  Bibliographie  umfasst  ausserdem  die  auf  Ethuographie,  Sprache,  Geschichte,  Kunst 
uiid  Litteratur  der  asiatischen,  australisclien  und  atrikanischeu  Viilker  beziiglichen 
Werke  und  Abhandlungen,  welche  zur  Kenntnis  der  llerausgeber  gekommen  sind. 

Zahl  der  angefiihrten  Titel :  Vol.  I.  :  46.35  Xummern  ;  Vol,  II. ,  1,  2  :  2929  Nummeni. 
die  beigefiigten  Angaben  iiber  Recensionen  ungerechnet. 


Vol.  I. 

No.  4. 

G 

JOURNAL    OF   THE 

YPSY   LOR 

SOCIETY 

APRIL     1889. 

1^: 

Contciud, 

I' AGE 

I.   BEGINNING  OF  THE   IMMIGRATION  OF  THE 
GYPSIES     INTO     WESTERN      EUROPE      IN 
THE     FIFTEENTH     CENTURY.       By      Pall 
Bataillard,    .           .            .           .            .           .     1S5 

II.   AN    ITALIAN    GYPSY    SONG.       By    Charlks    G. 

Leland,           .                        .            .            .            .212 

III.  THE  GYPSIES  IN  THE  MARCHES  OF  ANCONA 

DURING    THE    i6th,    17TH,    AND   i8th   CEN- 
TURIES.    By  the  M.\RQUIS  COLOCCI,         .            .     213 

IV.  CENTRAL    AFRICAN    GYPSIES.      By  Dr.    R.  \V. 

Felkin,            ......    220 

V.  THE    ORIGIN    OF    THE    GYPSIES.       By    W.    J. 

Ibbetsox,         ......     223 

VI.   TALE     OF     A     WISE     YOUNG     JEW    AND     A 
GOLDEN  HEN.     By  Professor  Isidore  Koper- 
NICKI,    .             .             .             .             .             .             .227 

VII.   BRAZILIAN    AND     SHETLAND     GYPSIES.      By 

Fr.\ncis  Hindes  Groome,     ....     232 

VUI.   SLOVAK-GYPSY  VOCABULARY:  Z;.^5—CiV/.     By 

Pkoi  essor  Rudolf  von  Sow  a,         .           .           .    235 

REVIEWS  :    NOTES  AND  QUERIES,           .             .     241 

Prii 

ited  by  T.  &  A.  CONSTABLE,  Printers  to  Her  Maj 
at  the  Edinburgh  University  Press. 

est}- 

THE   FOLK-LORE    SOCIETY. 

President— AsDTi.T.w  Lang. 

Vice-Presidents— HigrtHot^.  The  Earl  of  Strafford;  W.  E.  S.  Ralston,  M.  A. ;  E.  B.  Tylor,  LL.D.,F.R.S. 

Director — G.  Laurence  Gomme.    Treasurer — Edward  C>-odd. 

THIS  Society  was  established  in  1878,  for  the  purpose  of  collecting  and  preserving  the 
fast-perishing  relics  of  Folk-Lore  amongst  our  own  and  other  peoples. 
The  Annual  Subscription  is  One  Guinea,  payable  in  advance  on  the  hrst  of  January 
in  each  year,  Wliich  will  entitle  Members  to  receive  the  publications  of  the  Society  for 
such  year.  Members  joining  during  the  present  year,  and  desirous  of  subscribing  for  the 
publications  of  the  Society  already  issued,  several  of  which  are  becoming  scarce,  may  do 
so  by  paying  the  subscriptions  for  the  back  years. 

A.  Granger  Hutt,  P.S.A.,  8  Oxford  Road,  Kilburn,  London,  N.W,  \/ro?i. 
J.  J.  Foster,  36  Alma  Square,  St.  John's  Wood,  London,  N.W.  j.S'ecs. 

M  E  L  U  S  I  N  E 

REVUE  DE  MYTHOLOGIE,  LITTERATURE  POPULAIRE, 
TRADITIONS  ET  USAGES 

FONDEE  PAR  H.  CAIDOZ  &  E.  ROLLAND,  1877-1887 
DIRICEE  PAR  HENRI  GAIDOZ. 

La  Revue  parait  le  5  de  chaque  mois  par  livraisons  de  12  pages  in-4''.  Prix  tie 
I'abonnement  pour  un  an,  port  compris  France  et  Union  Postale  :  12  francs. 

On  s'abonne  pour  la  France  en  envoyant  un  mandat-poste  (ou  un  mandat-carte)  a  M. 
Emile  LECHEVALIER,  39,  quai  des  Grands-Augustins,  Paris.  Le  talon  du  mandat 
servira  de  recu.  On  s'abonne  pour  I'etranger  en  envoyant  un  mandat-poste  international 
ou  par  rintermediaire  d'un  libraire. 

Toutes  les  communications  relatives  a  la  redaction,  lettres,  livres  pour  compte  rendu, 
etc.,  devront  etre  adressees,  franc  de  port,  a  M.  GAIDOZ,  directeur  de  M^lusine, 
k  la  librairie  E.  LECHEVALIER,  39,  quai  des  Grands-Augustins,  a  Paris. 

JOURNAL  OF  AMERICAN  FOLK-LORE. 


THIS  JOURNAL,  published  for  the  AMERICAN  FOLK-LORE  SOCIETY,  is  designed  for 
the   collection   and   publication   of   the   FOLK-LORE  AND   MyTHOLOGY  OF  THE 
AMERICAN  CONTINENT. 

The  JOURNAL  appears  quarterly,  in  the  months  of  February,  May,  August,  and 
September. 

The  Contents  of  the  JOURNAL  for  the  quarter  January — March  1889,  are  as 
follows  : — 

1.  Introduction. 

2.  Death  and  Funeral  Customs  among  the  Omahas. — Francis  La  Flesche. 

3.  Current  Superstitions: 

I.  Omens  of  Death. — Fanny  D.  Bergen  and  W.   W.  Neicell. 

4.  Folk-Lore  of  the  Pennsylvania  Germans  (II.). —  W.  J.  Hoffman. 

5.  Louisiana  Nursery  Tales  (II.). — Alcee  Fortier. 

6.  Reports  of  Voodoo  Worship  in  Hayti  and  Louisiana.— If.   W.  Neivdl. 

7.  Popular  Rimes  from  Mexico. — Albert  S.  Gatschtt. 

8.  Legends  of  the  Cherokees.— //^.  ten  Kate.. 

9.  European  Folk-Lore  in  the  United  States. — Jeremiah  Curtin. 

10.  English  Folk -Tales  in  America  (11. ), 

11.  Waste-Basket  of  Words. 

12.  Folk-Lore  Scrap-Book. 

13.  Notes  and  Queries. 

14.  Records  of  American  Folk-Lore. 

15.  Notices  of  the  Folk-Lore  of  other  Continents. 

16.  Bibliographical  Notes. 

The  JOURNAL  OF  AMERICAN  FOLK-LORE  for  1888  forms  a  volume  of  256  pages, 
8vo.     A  limited  number  of  copies  are  still  to  be  obtained. 

Subscribers  desirous  of  becoming  Members  of  the  Society  are  requested  to  address 
the  Secretary. 

Annual  Subscription,  $3.00.     In  the  British  Isles,  12s.  6d. 

The  JOURNAL  is  pulalished  for  the  Society  by  Houghton,  Mifflin  and  Co.,  Boston 
and  New  York;  London:  Triibner  and  Co.,  57  Ludgate  Hill;  who  will  receive 
subscriptions. 


G  E  O  R  G  E     BO  R  R  O  W. 

"  The  career  ajul  \\orl<s  of  George  Borrow  are  well  worthy  of  si  iidy  ;  he  may  have  been  'a  vaiJiaboiid' 
by  taste  ami  habit,  but  he  was  eniiiiejitly  a  Christian  and  a  p^itleniaii,  and  many  men  have  earned 
greater  name  and  tame  without  half  his  claims  to  the  j^ratitude  of  soeii'ty." — Saturdliij  llcvkw. 

Now  Ready,  A  NEW  AND  CHEAPER  RE-ISSUE  of  the  foUowIng  Works  of  the  late 
GEORGE  BORROW.    Post  8vo,  2s.  6d.  each. 

I-— The  Bible  in  Spain:  Or,  The  Jomncys  and  Imprisonments  of  an 
Englishman  in  an  attempt  to  circulate  the  Scriptures  in  the  Penin- 
sula.    With  Portrait. 
n. — The  Zincali:  An  Account  of  the  Gypsies  of  Spain;  their  Manners, 
Customs,  Religion,  and  Language. 
HI. — Lavengro  :  The  Scholar,  the  Gypsy,  and  the  Priest. 
IV.— The  Romany  Rye  :  A  Sequel  to  Lavengro. 
V. — Wild  Wales  :  its  People,  Language,  and  Scenery. 

Also,  uniform  with  the  above,  Post  8vo,  5s.    Cloth. 
Romano  LavO-Lil :    With  illustrations,  of  English  Gypsies,    their 

Poetry  and  Habitations. 

LONDOX:    JOHN  MURRAY,  ALBEMARLE   STREET. 

THE    GYPSIES. 

WITH   SKETCHES   OF   THE   ENGLISH,   WELSH,    RUSSIAN,    AND 

AUSTRIAN   ROMANY. 

Including  Papers  on  the  Gypsy  Language. 

By    CHARLES    G.    LELAND. 

Grown  Svo,  red  top,  $2.00. 

"Since  literature  became  a  profession,  there  has  been  an  increasing  rarity  of  those  books  which  bear 
inteTnal  evidence  of  the  fact  that  their  writers  enjoyed  writing  tli-eni,  and  that  tliey  were  written  for  the 
saiot!  of  enjoyment ;  but  Mr  Leland's  books  do  provide  sueli  evidence,  and  tliey  are  accordingly  veiy 
refreshing.  The  book  is  crammed  with  interesting  matter.  .  .  .  We  have  no  hesitation  iu  saying  that  this 
is  the  most  delightful  Gypsy  book  with  wlucli  we  are  acquainted." — The  Sjiectator,  London. 

"Mr.  Leiand  thoroughly  understands  the  love  of  the  Gyjisyfor  the  free  and  i]ictnresque  life  out-of- 
doors  ;  he  feels  it  too  ;  his  pages  glow  with  it;  his  fragments  of  dt-scription  borrow  from  it  an  iiresistible 
charm.  He  brings  therefore  to  the  writing  of  these  fascinating  chapters  the  rare  qualifications  of  an 
exquisite  sympathy  with  his  subject  and  a  poetic  intuition  of  its  inner  character.  But  his  enthusiasm  is 
tempered  by  his  shrewdness,  and  saved  from  extravagance  by  his  keen  sense  of  humour.  It  is  impossible 
to  read  such  a  book  without  sharing  the  author's  delight  in  the  queer  and  not  o\-ev  imputable,  but  highly 
romantic  company  to  which  it  introduces  us;  and  yet  it  is  a  great  storehouse  of  serious  and  reconditt- 
information." — Neiv  York  Tribune. 


* 


Fo7'  sale  by  all  Booksellers.     Sent  by  tna'd,  post  paid,  on  receii'^t  of  price 

by  the  Publishers^ 

HOUGHTON,  MIFFLIN  &  CO.,  BOSTON,  U.S.A. 

JVith  Maf  and  Two  Illustrations. 

ACCOUNTS    OF    THE    GYPSIES    OF    INDIA 

Collected  aud  Edited  by  David  MacRitchie,  author  of  "  Ancient  and  Modern  Britons.  " 

Cromi  Svo,  cloth,  35.  M. 

"  We  welcome  the  '  Gypsies  of  India  '  as  a  real  contribution  to  Roniani  Literature.  ' 
— Athenmum. 

"Mr.  MacRitchie's  knowledge  of  what  we  suppose  we  may  call  Gypsiology  is  pro- 
found. ' ' — (yuardiaii. 

•'  Mr.  David  MacRitchie  has  collected  some  valuable  matter  from  various  sources 
which  throws  considerable  light  upon  the  subject,  and  forms  a  very  readable  and  enter 
taining  book.   .  .  .  Mr.  MacRitchie's  book  is  one  wliioh  commends  itself  to  the  carefuJ 
attention  and  study  of  Englishmen." — Morning  PoM. 

"  A  valuable  and  scholarly  book  on  the  subject." — Scotsman. 


LONDON  :  KEGAN  PAUL,  TRENCH  &  CO. 


ETHNOLOGISGKE  IV|ITTEILUNGEN  AUS  UNGARN: 

Zeitschrift  fiir  die  Volkskunde  der  Bewohner  Ungarns  luid  seiner 
ISTebenlander.  Eedigiert  und  herausgegeben  von  Prof.  Dr.  Anton 
Herrmann,  Budapest. 

Of  the  two  parts  of  this  work  which  have  already  appeared,  a  detailed  account  is 
given  in  No.  2  of  the  present  volume  of  the  Gypsy  Lore  Society's  Journal  (p.  lOo  et  seq.), 
where  the  varied  and  interesting  nature  of  its  contents  can  be  seen.  The  third  part  will 
appear  this  month.  The  cost  of  each  number  is  two  marks  (or  two  shillings) ;  but  the  sum 
of  live  marks,  paid  in  advance,  secures  the  subscriber  the  first  five  numbers.  The  Editor 
will  gladly  exchange  the  Ethnoloyische  Mitteilungen  aus  Ungarn  with  the  publications 
of  other  similar  Societies ;  and,  if  requested,  will  send  copies  gratis  to  those  desiring  it. 
He  also  requests  that  all  Authors  and  Societies  dealing  with  this  question  will  be  good 
enough  to  send  him  review  copies  of  their  works. 

Address — 
Prof.  Dr.  Anton  Herrjiann,  I.  Attila-utcza  47,  Budapest. 

SOCIETE  DES  TRADITIONS  POPULAIRES 


REVUE  DES  TRADITIONS   POPULAIRES 

(3^"«  annee) 

Eecueil  mensuel  paraissant  par  fascicules  de  48  a  64  pages 
avec  musique  gravee  et  illustrations. 

publiee  par 
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Secretaire  general  de  la  Societe. 

Abonnement:  15  fr.  pour  la  Prance,  17  fr.  pour  1' Union  postale. 
(S'adresser  a  M.  A.  Certeux,  tresorier,  167  rue  de  Jacques.) 

La  cotisation  des  Societaires  est  de  15  fr.  sans  distinction  de 
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I'Annuaire.  Adresser  les  manuscrits  a  M.  Sebillot,  4  rue  de  rOdeon, 
Paris. 

ORIENTALISCHE    BIBLIOGRAPHIE 

iiuter    standiger   Mitwirkung   von   Dr.    Bezzenberger    (Konigsberg), 

Dr.  Gleiniger   (Berlin),  Dr.  Gottheil  (New  York),  Dr.  Z.  Miiller 

(Berlin),  Dr.  Strack  (Berlin),  Dr.  VoUers  (Cairo),  Dr.  Wijnraalen 

(Haag),   und   mit    gelegeutlichen    Beitragen     von   Mag.    Salemann 

(St.  Petersburg),  P.  Kalemkiar  (Wien),  Schiikri  Efendi  (Constanti- 

nopel),  und  Auderen  herausgegeben  von  Dr.  A.  Miiller  (Konigsberg). 

Jahrlich  4  Hef te  zu  je  5  Bogen ;  Subscription,  6  M.  p.  A. 

bei  der  Buchhandlung  H.  Recther,  Berlin,  Charlottenstrasse,  2 ; 

London,  Messrs.  Williams  &  Norgate  ;  New  York,  B.  Westermaxn  &  Co. 

Erschienen  sind  Vol.  I.  (1887);  Vol.  II.  (1888-89). 

.Jedes  Heft  enthalt  einen  Abschnitt  iiber  die  auf  die  Zigeuner  beziigliche  Litteratur  ; 
die  Bibliographic  umfasst  ausserdem  die  auf  Ethnographic,  Sprache,  Geschichte,  Kunst 
und  Litteratur  der  asiatischen,  australischen  und  afnkanischen  Volker  beziiglichen 
Werke  und  Abhandlungen,  welclie  zur  Kenntnis  der  Herausgeber  gekommen  sind. 

Zahl  der  angefiihrten  Titel :  Vol.  I.  :  4635  Nummern ;  Vol.  IL,  Ilefte  1,2:  2929 
Numraern,  die  beigefiigten  Angaben  iiber  Recensionen  ungerechnet. 


Vol.  I. 


No.  5. 


JOURNAL   OF   THE 

GYPSY   LORE 

SOCIETY 


JULY     1889. 


Conttnt0, 

P.\GE         1 

I. 

THE    GYPSIES   OF    ASI.\    MINOR.      By   Dr.    A. 

Elysseeff,       ...... 

249 

II. 

THE     LITHUANIAN     GYPSIES     AND     THEIR 

LANGUAGE.     By  M.  Dowojno-Sylwestrowicz, 

251 

III. 

0    MI  MARIS:    A    SLOVAK -GYPSY    TALE.       By 

Professor  Rudolf  von  Sovv.\, 

258 

IV. 

THE   IMMIGRATION    OF    THE  GYPSIES   INTO 
WESTERN    EUROPE    IN    THE    FIFTEENTH 

CENTURY— (0«/2>///^a').     By  P.VUL  Bataillard, 

260 

V. 

THE    GITANOS    OF    TO-DAY.      By   the   Marquis 

COLOCCI,             ...... 

286 

VI. 

GYPSY  SONGS  OF  MOURNING— i.   PRISONERS' 
LAMENTS.     By  Professor  Anton  Herrmann. 
2.   LAMENTS  FOR  THE  DEAD.     By  Dr.  Hei.n- 

KICH  VON  WLISLOCKI,                   .... 

289 

VII. 

SLOVAK -GYPSY    VOCABULARY:    CI/O-F.      By 

Professor  Rudolf  von  Sowa, 

296 

REVIEWS  :    NOTES  AND  QUERIES, 

301 

Printed  by  T.  &■  A.  CONSTABLE,  Printers  to  Her  Majesty 
at  the  Edinburgh  University  Press. 


THE   FOLK-LORE    SOCIETY. 

President^AnDnKw  Lang. 

Vice-Presidents — Right  Hon.  TheEarlofStbafford  ;  W.  R.  S.  Ralston,  M.  A. ;  E.  B.  Tylor,  LL.D.,  F.R.S. 

Director — G.  Laurence  Gomme.     Treasurer — Edward  Clodd. 

THIS  Society  was  established  in  1878,  for  the  purpose  of  collecting  and  presei'ving  the 
fast-perishing  relics  of  Folk- Lore  amongst  our  own  and  other  peoples. 
The  Annual  Subscription  is  One  Guinea,  payable  in  advance  on  the  first  of  January 
in  each  year,  which  will  entitle  Members  to  receive  the  publications  of  the  Society  for 
such  year.  Members  joinuig  during  the  present  year,  and  desirous  of  subscribing  for  the 
publications  of  the  Society  already  issued,  several  of  which  are  becoming  scarce,  may  do 
BO  by  paying  the  subscriptions  for  the  back  years. 

A.  Graxoek  Hutt,  F.  S.A.,  8  Oxford  Road,  Kilburn,  London,  N.W.  "\  Ho7i. 
J.  J.  Foster,  36  Alma  Square,  St.  John's  Wood,  London,  N.W.         j  Sexs. 

M  E  L  U  S  I  N  E 

REVUE  DE  MYTHOLOGIE,  LITTERATURE  POPULAIRE, 
TRADITIONS  ET  USAGES 

FONDEE  PAR  H.  CAIDOZ  &  E.  ROLLAND,  1877-1887 
DIRICEE  PAR  HENRI  CAIDOZ. 

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Emile  LECHEVALIER,  39,  quai  des  Grands-Augustins,  Paris.  Le  talon  du  mandat 
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ou  par  I'intermediaire  d'un  libraire. 

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A  la  librairie  E.  LECHEVALIEK,  39,  quai  des  Grands-Augustins,  a  Paris. 

JOURNAL  OF  AMERICAN  FOLK-LORE. 


THIS  JOURNAL,  published  for  the  AMERICAN  FOLK-LORE  SOCIETY,  is  designed  for 
the  collection  and  publication  of  tlie  FOLK-LORE  AND  MYTHOLOGY  OF  THE 
AMERICAN  CONTINENT.  It  appears  quarterly,  in  the  months  of  February,  May,  August, 
and  September. 

The  JOURNAL  for  188S  forms  a  volume  of  256  pages,  8vo.  A  limited  number  of 
copies  are  still  to  be  obtained. 

Subscribers  desirous  of  becoming  Members  of  the  Society  are  requested  to  address 
the  Secretary. 

Annual  Subscription,  $3.00.     In  the  British  Isles,  12s\  6d. 

The  JOURNAL  OF  AMERICAN  FOLK-LORE  is  published  for  the  Society  l)y  Houghton. 
Mifttin  and  Co.,  Boston  and  New  York  ;  London  :  Trubner  and  Co.,  57  Ludgate  Hill ; 
who  will  receive  subscriptions. 

LA       TRAI3ITION. 

INTERNATIONAL  REVIEW  FOR  TALES,  LEGENDS,  SONGS,  MUSIC, 

ARTS,  AND  FOLK-LORE. 

EDITORS:— \m.   E.  BLEMONT  &  HENRY  CARNOY. 

Monthli),  32  to  48  pp.  in  8°  ivith  Music,  Dimvings,  Portraits,  etc. 

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All  Letters,  Essays,  Money -orders,  etc.,  to  be  addressed  to  M.  Heney  C.-vrnot, 
Editor  of  "  La  Tradition,"  33  rue  Vavin,  Paris. 


G  E  O  R  G  E BO  R  R  O  W. 

"  Tlie  career  aiicl  works  of  George  Borrow  are  well  wortliy  of  study  ;  lie  may  have  l)ecii  '  a  vagaljoiKl ' 
by  taste  and  lialiit.  Iml  lie  was  eminently  a  Christian  and  a  gentleman,  ami  many  men  have  earned 
greater  name  ami  lame  without  hall  his  claims  to  the  gratitude  of  society."--.S(^(ri/(((/  Utvinr. 


Now  Ready,  A  NEW  AND  CHEAPER  RE-ISSUE  of  the  fcUowlng  Works  of  the  late 
GEORGE  BORROW.    Post  8vo,  2s.  6d.  each. 

I. — The  Bible  in  Spain :  Or,  The  Journeys  and  Imprisonment.s  of  an 
Eii;^li.slniiaii  in  an  attempt  to  circulate  the  Scriptures  in  tiie  Penin- 
sula.    With  Portrait. 
II. — The  Zincali:  An  Account  of  the  Gj-psies  of  Spain;  their  Manners, 
Customs,  Kelii^ion,  and  Language. 
III. — Lavengro  :  Tlu;  Scholar,  the  Gypsy,  and  the  Priest. 
iV. — The  Romany  Rye:  A  Sequel  to  Lavengro. 
V. — Wild  Wales  :  its  People,  Language,  and  Scenery. 


Also,  uniform  with  the  above,  Post  8vo,  5s.    Cloth. 
Romano  LavO-Lil :    With  Ilhistrations  of  English  Gypsies,    their 

Poetry  and  Habitations. 

LOXDOX :    JOHN  MURRAY,  ALBEMAELE   STREET. 

THE    GYPSIES. 

WITH   SKETCHES   OF  THE   ENGLISH,   WELSH,    RUSSIAN,   AND 

AUSTRIAN   ROMANY. 

Inchiding  Papers  on  the  Gypsy  Language. 

By    CHARLES    G.    LELAND. 

Crown  8vo,  red  top,  $2.00. 

"  Since  literature  became  a  profession,  there  has  been  an  increasing  rarity  of  tliose  books  which  bear 
internal  evidence  ot  the  fa<t  that  their  uriteis  enjojed  writing  them,  and  that  they  were  written  for  the 
sake  of  enjoyment ;  but  Mr.  Leland's  books  do  provide  such  evidence,  and  they  are  accordingly  vei  y 
refreshing.  The  book  is  crammed  with  interesting  matter.  .  .  .  We  have  no  hesitation  iu  sajing  that  this 
is  the  most  delightful  Gypsy  book  with  which  we  are  acfjuainted." — The  Spectator,  London. 

"  Mr.  Leland  thoroughly  understands  the  love  of  the  Gyjisy  for  the  free  and  picturesque  life  out-of- 
doors  ;  he  feels  it  too  ;  his  pages  plow  with  it  ;  his  fragments  of  diScri]ition  borrow  from  it  an  irresistiMe 
charm.  He  brings  therefore  to  the  writing  of  these  fascinating  chapters  the  rare  (lualilications  of  an 
exquisite  sympathy  with  his  subject  and  a  ])oetic  intuition  of  its  inner  character.  Hut  his  eiithusiaMii  is 
tempered  by  his  shrewdness,  and  saved  from  extravagance  by  his  keen  sense  of  humour.  It  is  impossible 
to  read  such  a  book  without  sharing  the  author's  delight  in  the  queer  and  not  over  reputable,  but  highly 
romantic  company  to  which  it  introduces  us  ;  and  yet  it  is  a  great  storehouse  of  serious  and  recondite 
information." — jNest'  York  Tribune. 


*    * 

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For  sale  by  all  Booksellers.     Sent  hi/  mail,  post  paid,  on  receipt  of  price 

by  the  Publishtrs. 

HOUGHTON,  MIFFLIN  &  CO..  POSTON,  U.S.A. 

Wilh  Map  and  Two  Illustrations. 

ACCOUNTS    OF    THE    CYPSIES    OF    INDIA 

Collected  and  Edited  by  David  MacRitchie,  author  of  "  Ancient  and  Modern  Britons. 

Croicn  8vo,  doth,  3s.  Qd 

"  We  welcome  the  '  Gypsies  of  India  '  as  a  real  contribution  to  Roinaui  Literattii c 
—  Athenaum. 

"  Mr.  MacRitchie's  knowledge  of  what  we  suppose  we  may  call  CJypsiology  is  pro- 
found."— Guardian. 

"Mr.  DaNad  MacRitchie  has  collected  some  valuable  matter  from  various  sourct-s 
wliich  throws  considerable  light  upon  the  subject,  and  forms  a  very  rcadalile  and  enter 
taining  book.   .   .   .   Mr.  MacRitchie"s  book  is  one  which  comiiieuds  itself  to  tlie  careful 
attention  and  study  of  Englishmen." — Morning  Post. 

•'  A  valuable  and  scholarly  book  on  the  subject."— .9co/s7nan. 


LONDON  :  KEGAN  PAUL,  TRENCH  &  CO. 


ETHNOLOGISGKE  IV|ITTEILUNGEN  AUS  UNGARN: 

Zeitschrift  flir  die  Volkskunde  der  Bewohner  Ungarns  iind  seiner 
Nebenliinder.  Redigiert  und  lierausgegeben  von  Prof.  Dr.  Anton 
Herrmann,  Budapest. 

Of  the  two  first  numbers  of  this  work,  a  detailed  account  is  given  in  No.  2  of  the 
present  vohime  of  the  Gypsy  Lore  Society's  Journal  (pp.  105  et  seq. ),  where  the  varied  and 
interesting  nature  of  its  contents  can  be  seen.  The  third  number,  issued  in  separate  parts, 
is  now  appearing.  The  cost  of  each  number  is  two  marks  (or  two  shillings) ;  but  the  sum 
of  five  marks,  paid  in  advance,  secures  the  subscriber  the  first  five  numbers.  The  Editor 
will  gladly  exchange  the  EthnoIiM/ische  Mitteilungeji  cms  UngM-n  with  the  publications 
of  other  similar  Societies  ;  and,  if  requested,  will  send  copies  gratis  to  those  desiring  it. 
He  also  requests  that  all  Authors  and  Societies  dealing  with  ethndlogical  and  kindred 
matters  will  be  good  enough  to  send  him  review  copies  of  their  works. 

Address — 

Prof,  Dr.  Anton  Herrmann,  I.  Attila-utcza  47,  Budapest. 

SOCIETE  DES  TRADITIONS  POPULAIRES 


REVUE  DES  TRADITIONS   POPULAIRES 

^3eme  aNNEE) 

Eecueil  mensuel  paraissant  par  fascicules  de  48  a  64  pages 
avec  musique  gravee  et  illustrations. 

publiee  par 
M.   PAUL  SEBILLOT, 

Secretaire  general  de  la  i<ociete. 

Abonnement:  15  fr.  pour  la  France,  17  fr.  pour  I'lJnion  postale. 
(S'adresser  a  M.  A.  Certeux,  tresorier,  167  rue  de  Jacques.) 

La  cotisation  des  Societaires  est  de  15  fr.  sans  distinction  de 
nationalite  :  elle  donne  droit  a  I'envoi  gratuit  de  la  Revue  et  de 
lAnnuaire.  Adresser  les  manuscrits  a  M.  Sebillot,  4  rue  de  I'Odeon, 
Paris. 

ORIENTALISCHE    BIBLIOGRAPHIE 

nnter  stiindiger  Mitwirkung  von  Dr.  Bezzenberger  (Konigsberg), 
Dr.  Gleiniger  (Berlin),  Dr.  Gottheil  (New  York),  Dr.  J.  Miiller 
(Berlin),  Dr.  Strack  (Berlin),  Dr.  Vollers  (Cairo),  Dr.  WijnrDalen 
(Ilaag),  und  niit  gelegentlichen  Beitriigen  von  Mag.  Salemann 
(St.  Petersburg),  P.  Kalemkiar  (Wien),  Schiikri  Efendi  (Gonstanti- 
nopel),  und  Anderen  lierausgegeben  von  Dr.  A.  Miiller  (Konigsberg). 

Jiihrlich  4  Hefte  zu  je  5  Bogen  ;  Subscription,  8  M.  p.  A. 

bei  der  Buchhandlung  H.  Repther,  Berlin,  Charlottenstrasse,  2  ; 

London,  Messrs.  Williams  &  Norgate  ;  New  York,  B.  Westermann  &  Co. 

Erschienen  sind  Vol.  I.  .(1887) ;  Vol.  II.  (1888-89) ;  Vol.  III.,  Fasc.  i.  (1889). 

Jedes  Heft  enthjilt  einen  Abschnitt  iiber  die  anf  die  Zigenner  beziigliche  Litteratur  ; 
die  Bibliographic  umfasst  ausserdem  die  anf  Ethnographic,  Sprache,  Geschichte,  Kunst 
und  Litteratur  der  asiatischen,  australischen  und  afnkanischen  Volker  beziiglichen 
Werke  und  Abhandlungen,  welche  zur  Kcnntnis  der  Herausgeber  gekommen  sind. 

Zahl  der  angefiihrten  Titel :  Vol.  I.  :  4685  Kummern ;  Vol.  II.  :  —6.318  Nummem, 
die  beigefiigteu  Angaben  iiber  Kecensionen  ungerechnet. 


Vol.  I. 

No.  6. 

r^ 

JOURSAL   OF   THK 

V  P  Q  V     T   r^  t) 

1/ 

KJ 

4 

1  r  o  1      \  jKJ 

SOCIETY 

OCTOBER     1889. 

lY 

l\ 

Content^. 

PAGE 

I.  ORIGIN  OF  HUNGARIAN  MUSIC.     By  Pkoi-essor 

Emil  Thewrewk  de  Ponor,            .           .           -313 

II.  THE  PARIS   CONGRESS  OF  POPULAR  TRADI- 
TIONS.    By  Charles  G.  Lei.and,  . 

317 

III.  THE   IMMIGRATION    OF    THE   GYPSIES    INTO 
WESTERN    EUROPE    IN    THE    FIFTEENTH 
CENTURY— (Continued).    By  Paul  Bataillard, 

324 

IV.  THE  RED  KING  AND  THE  WITCH  :  A  ROUMA- 
NIAN GYPSY  FOLK-TALE.     Translated  from  the 
Romani    of    Dr.     Barbu    Constantinescu,     by 
Francis  Hindes  Groome,     .... 

345 

V.  A   TRANSYLVANIAN-GYPSY    BALLAD.      By  Dr. 

Heinrich  vox  Wlislocki,    .           .           . 

340 

VI.   IRISH  TINKERS  AND  THEIR  LANGUAGE.     By 

Daviu  MacRitchie,  .           .            .           . 

350 

VII.  VENETIAN      EDICTS      RELATING      TO      THE 
GYPSIES    OF     THE     SIXTEENTH.     SEVEN- 
TEENTH, AND  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURIES, 

358 

VIII.  SLOVAK-GYPSY  VOCABULARY:   G—/.     By  Pro- 
fessor Rudolf  von  Sovva,    .... 

362 

REVIEWS  :    NOTES  AND  QUERIES. 

367 

Printed  by  T.  &  A.  CONSTABLE,  Printers  to  Her  Maje.st\- 
at  the  h'dinburgh  Uni\'cr.sity  Press, 


THE   FOLK-LORE    SOCIETY. 

President — Andrew  Lang. 

Vice-Presidents — Right  Hon.  The  Earl  of  Strafford  ;  W.  R.  S.  Ralston,  M.A.  ;  E.  B.  Tylor.  LL.D.,  F.R.S. 

Director — G.  Laurence  Gomme.     Treasurer — Edward  Clodd. 

THIS  Society  was  established  in  1878,  for  the  purpose  of  collecting  and  preserving  the 
fast-perishiug  relics  of  Folk-Lore  amongst  our  own  and  other  jieoples. 
The  Annual  Subscription  is  One  Guinea,  payable  in  advance  on  the  first  of  January 
in  each  year,  which  will  entitle.  Members  to  I'eceive  the  pul)lications  of  the  Society  for 
such  year.  Members  joining  during  the  present  year,  and  desirous  of  subscribing  for  the 
publications  of  the  Society  already  issued,  several  of  which  are  becoming  scarce,  may  do 
so  by  paying  the  subscriptions  for  the  back  years. 

A.  Granger  Hutt,  F.S.A.,  8  Oxford  Road,  Kilburn,  London,  N.W. )  Hon. 
J.  J.  Foster,  36  Alma  Square,  St;  John's  Wood,  London,  N.W.        J  Seen. 

IV3  E  L  U  S  1  N  E 

REVUE  DE  MYTHOLOGIE,  LITTERATURE  POPULAIRE, 
TRADITIONS  ET  USAGES 

FONDEE  PAR  H.  GAIDOZ  &  E.  HOLLAND,  1877-1887 
DIRIGEE  PAR  HENRI  GAIDOZ. 

La  Revue  parait  le  5  de  chacjue  mois  par  livraisons  de  12  pages  in-4°.  Prix  de 
Tabonnement  pour  un  an,  port  compris  France  et  Union  Postale  :  12  francs. 

On  s'abonne  pour  la  France  en  envoyant  ud  mandat-poste  (ou  un  mandat-carte)  a  M. 
p]mile  LECHEVALIER,  39,  quai  des  Grands-Augustins,  Paris.  Le  talon  du  mandat 
servira  de  recu.  On  s'abonne  pour  I'^tranger  en  envoyant  un  mandat-poste  international 
ou  par  I'intermediaire  d'un  libraire. 

Toutes  les  communications  relatives  a  la  redaction,  lettres,  livres  pour  compte  rendu, 
etc.,  devront  etre  adressees,  franc  de  port,  a  M.  GAIDOZ,  directeur  de  M^lusine, 
ii  la  librairie  E.  LECHEVALIER,  39,  quai  des  Grands-Augustins,  a  Paris. 

JOURNAL  OF  AMERICAN  FOLK-LORE. 


THIS  JOURNAL,  published  for  the  AMERICAN  FOLK-LORE  SOCIETY,  is  designed  for 
the  collection  and  publication  of  the  FOLK-LORE  AND  MYTHOLOGY  OF  THE 
AMERICAN  CONTINENT.  It  appears  quarterly,  in  the  months  of  February,  May,  August, 
and  Septem1)er. 

The  JOURNAL  for  1888  forms  a  volume  of  256  pages,  8vo.  A  limited  number  of 
copies  are  still  to  be  obtained. 

Subscribers  desirous  of  becoming  Members  of  the  Society  are  requested  to  address 
the  Secretary. 

Annual  Subscription,  $3.00.     In  the  British  Isles,  12«.  6d. 

The  JOURNAL  OF  AMERICAN  FOLK-LORE  is  published  for  the  Society  by  Houghton. 
Mifflin  and  Co.,  Boston  and  New  York;  London  :  Triibner  and  Co.,  57  Ludgate  Hill ; 
who  will  receive  subscriptions. 

JuIL       TRADITION. 

INTERNATIONAL  REVIEW  FOR  TALES,  LEGENDS,  SONGS,  MUSIC, 

ARTS,  AND  FOLK-LORE. 

EDITORS  :~-im.  E.  BLEMONT  &  HENRY  GARNOY. 

Monthly,  32  to  48  ^jp.  in  8"  with  Music,  Drawings,  Portraits,  etc. 

Subscription  :  12  Shillings. 

Members  of  the  Gypsy  Lore  Society  will  receive  "La  Tradition"  for  8  sh.,  and  the 
tiro  first  vols,  for  12.5.  =  £1  for  years  1887-88-89. 

All  Letters,  Essays,  Money-orders,  etc.,  to  be  addressed  to  M.  Henp.y  Carnov, 
Editor  of  "La  Tradition,"  33  rue  Vavin,  Paris. 


W  ith  many  Illustrations,  and  a  Map  showing  Gypsy  Routes  and  Localities  in  Europe. 

G  L  I      Z  I  N  G  A  R  I 

By   ADlilANO   COLOCCI. 


(Ermanno  Loescher,  Turin,   1888.      Svo,  420  pp.  ;   7  fr.  oO.) 

"  This  book  of  Sig.  Colocci's  forms  an  excellent  introduction  to  such  a  study 
("a  scientific  studj- "  of  the  Gypsies].  To  personal  investigation  he  adds  a  close 
knowledge  of  the  already  wide  literature  on  tJie  subject.  .  .  .  Colocci's  book  is  so 
full  of  information  that  it  has  seemed  more  useful  to  describe  it  than  to  discuss  its 
contents.  Those  who  want  to  obtain  the  data  for  a  discussion  of  the  Eoniany  problem 
Mill  find  the  materials  ready  to  their  hand  -in  this  well-printed  and  handsomely 
illustrated  volume."— y/te  Academy,  June  1,  1889. 

„ Gtnc  Iitcrnnf(f)c  9Jcul)cit  liou  ^titfvcffe  itV  G7j  Z//(;/aW  (.©te  3incitiier ').  -SVomi 
d\in  popolo  errauin  (2iiriii,  SofcJ)cr\i  25crlafl),  et!i  vet;;ctil'Ci?  2Bcrf  bc^  riil;mltri)  bcfainiten 
italtciufcf;en  9tetfcnt>en  unt>  @ri)riftftcl(cvj  2)?arcf)cfe  5lbriano  Solocct.  (fg  ift  ein 
2Berf,  «?e(cl)e^  fid)  wcii  anbcrcn  bfffctbcii  G)cnret?  angcncf;m  iinterfdtcibct  bitrrf)  c(c<iaiitcn 
®ti(.  ©ie  ©prari)e  ift  fo  ratuvliri;  itiib  iingcjuniiigcn,  iuic  fctc  fiftftv^ode  AUMU^crfattoii 
cineg  »crncf;mcn  Scltinannci^.  SDJan  mcrft  e^  bem  ^niri^e  an,  bafj  bcr  3.?cvfaiTcr  fciu 
Serf  awi  unrflidKiu  Csi'td'cffc  fiir  btefcn  ctiieiitt;iimlid)cn  imb  ijom  ^^ci'immcr  eiiico 
mi)fttWcn  3flubcri^  umfloffciicn  inel^evlaftcvtcn  33otfk^Pamm  nf^affen.  Unb  u\n"  bcm 
SBerfe  nod)  cincn  bcfonbercn  9iet5  acrldbt,  ifi,  baf  if;m  bcr  Stcnipcf  bcr '-IBal^rbctt  auf 
gebriidt  tft  unb  man  aiiiS  jcbcr  ^iiU  bcut(id)  er!eiuit,  bag  ct?  fctn  Gonfllcnicrat  trcrfcncr 
2)aten,  fonbern  bie  Stcbctiiabe  von  ©clbftcrlcbtcm  ifl,  unb  tnM^  fcince  gvajiofcn  gtils^ 
tiefc^  ©tubiiim  unb  rci.tc^  Stffcn  scrrcitb.  5}ic  Slrbctt  fiidt  cine  Siitfc  auo,  ja,  irao  bic 
SfJeic^baltigfeit  bc»^  2)?atcricil:^  bctrifft,  gcbiibvt  ibr  i-ior  anbcrcn  SScrtcn  bcr  35orrang. 
Sa^  gciftttoUe  'Qv.d)  fci  alien  (^rcunben  auf'^  Siirmfie  cnipfo[;fen."— ^Ve«<e>-  Dresdnn- 
TagrMatt,  Xo.  6,  January  0,  1880. 

"II  Colocci,  nato  nelle  Marche,  dove  gli  Zingari  abbondano  piu  che  in  (pialuncjue 
altra  regione  italiaua,  avendo  poi  molto  viaggiato  nell'  Europa  orieiitale  dove  si  trovano 
le  piu  grandi  agglomerazioni  di  tribu  zingaresche,  tra  potuto  studiare  la  loro  lingua, 
impratichirsi  nei  loro  costumi,  e  raccogliere  poi  le  osservazioni  proprie  e  quelle  dei  piu 
reputati  zingaristi,  in  un  libro  attraentissimo  nel  quale  I'erudizionc  va  di  pari  passo  con 
I'osservazioue  del  vero." — JUustrazione  Italiann,,  1889,  N.  6. 

"  II  libro  del  Colocci  o  uno  di  quclli  che  si  leggono  con  pari  interesse  dagli  eruditi  e 
dai  dilettanti  di  letture  amine  e  ricreative.  II  volume,  riccamente  edito  dal  Loescher, 
contiene  olti-e  la  storia  degli  zingari,  numerose  fine  illustrazioui  di  tipi,  di  costumi,  di 
]«esaggi,  di  ritratti  del  popolo  dcscritto.  V'^  una  raccolta  di  voci  e  frasi  del  dialetto 
zingaro-italiano  ;  un  lessico  italiano  tsiganies,  una  cai-ta  a  colori  della  difl'usione  del 
popolo  zingaresco  in  Europa  e  perfiuo  della  nuisica  di  arie  tzigane." — Corricre  della  Sera, 
1889,  N.  5. 

"  La  bibliografia  italiana  molto  scarsa  di  studi  sulla  origine,  la  lingua,  i  costumi 
degli  zingari,  si  e  arricohita  a  (juesti  giorni  di  un  pregevolissimo  lavoio.  (Jli  eiementi 
])er  compilado,  Tautore  li  tra  raccolti  in  parte  da  una  rieca  erudiziouc,  alia  (juale  puo 
dirsi  che  nulla  sia  sfuggito  di  quanto  fu  scritto  intorno  all'  argomento  in  tutti  gli  idiomi. 
La  sola  Bibliograjia  zinyarenca  che  h  poeta  in  fine  del  volume  e  contiene  non  mcno  di  643 
citazioni,  costituira  di  ])er  se,  un  lavoro  per  il  (juale  gli  studiosi  di  questa  interessajite 
parte  della  storia  naturale  dell'  umanita,  dovrebbero  essere  grati  all'autore. " — La  Tribuna, 
2.5th  December  1888. 

"  L'opera  che  I'egregio  autore  olfre  al  pubblico  italiano  viene  non  solo  a  spargere 
hice  su  di  un  ai'gomento  atto  a  pascere  il  desiderio  e  la  curiosita  dell'  iguoto  ;  ma  anche, 
e  piu  essenzialmente,  a  riempire  una  lacuna  storica  ed  etnologica.  Infatti  si  sono  raccolte 
ed  ordinate  non  solo  le  notizie  piu  accertate  intorno  a^qucsto  '  strano  jiopolo  '  come  il 
Colocci  lo  chiama  ;  ma  per  mezzo  di  opportuni  rafironti  e  con  logica  serrata  e  stringente 
scaturiscono  fucri  dall'  infinita  ma  morta  suppellettile  di  una,  vasta  erudizione  argo- 
menti  efficacissimi  a  sliarazzare  viete  opinioni  e  pregiudizi  sulla  origine,  sulla  difFusione, 
sul  casattere,sulle  costiimaiize  di  un  popolo  disprezzato  e  maltrattato  sempre,  quantunque 
non  sempre  a  ragione. '' — II  isihlioflo,  1889,  No.  1. 


FOLK-LORE 


THE  Journal  of  the  new  "  Ethnographical  Society  of  Hungary  "  will  be  conducted 
by  Professor  Locis  Katona  and  Professor  Anton  Herrmann  (who  will  merge  his 
Ethnolorjische  Mitteilungen  aus  Ungarn  in  the  new  periodical).  FOLK-LORE  will  be 
published  at  Budapest  every  month,  and  it  will  admit  articles  written  in  French, 
English,  German,  Italian,  Spanish,  Russian,  and  Hungarian.  The  yearly  Subscription 
will  be  7  florins  =12  marks  =14  francs  =lls.  3d.  ;  but  to  members  of  all  Societies 
devoted  to  Folk-lore,  Ethnology,  and  kindred  subjects  the  yearly  subscription  will 
only  be  about  one-fourth  of  the  above  sum.  (In  all  cases  outside  of  Austria-Hungary 
the  expense  of  transmission  by  post  will  form  an  additional  charge. ) 

The  Ethnographical  Society  of  Hungary  has  been  formed  xmder  the  Presidency  of 
M.  Paul  Hunfalvy  of  Budapest.  For  further  inforn)ation  with  regard  to  it  (or  to 
Folk-lore)  address  the  Secretary, — 

Prof.  Dr.  Anton  Herrmann,  I.  Attila-utcza  47,  Budapest. 


SOCIETE  DES  TRADITIONS  POPULAIRES 


REVUE  DES  TRADITIONS   POPULAIRES 

(3^»«  annee) 

Eecueil  mensuel  paraissant  par  fascicules  de  48  a  64  pages 
avec  inusique  gravee  et  illustrations. 

PUBLIEE  par 

M.    PAUL  SEBILLOT, 

i<ecretaire  general  de  la  Societe. 

Abonnement:  15  fr.  pour  la  France,  17  fr.  pour  I'llnioii  postale. 
(S'adresser  a  M.  A.  Ceeteux,  tresorier,  167  rue  de  Jacques.) 

La  cotisation  des  Societaires  est  de  15  fr.  sans  distinction  de 
nationalite  :  elle  donne  droit  a  I'envoi  gratuit  de  la  Kevue  et  de 
I'Annuaire.  Adresser  les  nianuscrits  a  M.  Se billot,  4  rue  de  I'Odeon, 
Paris. 


ORIENTALISGHE    BIBLIOGRAPHIE 

unter    standiger   Mitwirkung   von   Dr.    Bezzenberger    (Kouigsberg), 

Dr.  Gleiniger   (Berlin),   Dr.   Gottheil  (New   York),  Dr.  J.  Miiller 

(Berlin),  Dr.  Strack  (Berlin),  Dr.  Vollers  (Cairo),  Dr.  Wijninalen 

(Haag),   und   mit    gelegentlichen    Beitragen     von    Mag.    Salemann 

(St.  Petersburg),  P.  Kalemkiar  (Wien),  Schiikri  Efendi  (Constanti- 

nopel),  und  Anderen  herausgegeben  von  Dr.  A.  Miiller  (Kouigsberg). 

Jahrlich  8  Hefte  zu  je  2  Bogen  ;  Subscription,  8  M.  p.  A. 

bei  der  Buchhandlung  H.  Reuther,  Berlin,  Charlottenstrasse,  2  ; 

London,  Messrs.  Williams  &  Norgate  ;  New  York,  B.  Westermann  &  Co. 

Erschienen  sind  Vol.  I.  (1887);  Vol.  II.  (1888-89);  Vol.  III.,  Fasc.  i.-iv.  (1889). 

Jedes  Heft  enthalt  einen  Abschnitt  iiber  die  auf  die  Zigeuner  beziigliche  Litteratur  : 
die  Bibliographic  umfasst  ausserdem  die  auf  Ethnographic,  Sprache,  Geschichte,  Kunst 
und  Litteratur  der  asiatisclien,  australischen  und  afrikanischen  Volker  beziiglichen 
Werke  und  Abhandlungen,  welche  znr  Kcnntnis  der  Herausgeber  gekommen  sind. 

Zahl  der  angefiihrten  Titel :  Vol.  I.  :  4635  Xummern  ;  Vol.  II.  :  —6318  Nummern, 
die  beigefiigten  Angaben  iiber  Recensionen  uugerechnet. 


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