Vlach (/vlɑːk,vlæk/VLA(H)K), alsoWallachian and many other variants,[1] is a term andexonym used from theMiddle Ages until theModern Era to designate speakers ofEastern Romance languages living inSoutheast Europe—south of the Danube (theBalkan peninsula) and north of theDanube.[2]
Although it has also been used to name present-dayRomanians, the term "Vlach" today refers primarily to speakers of theEastern Romance languages who live south of the Danube, inAlbania,Bulgaria, northernGreece,North Macedonia and easternSerbia. These people include the ethnic groups of theAromanians, theMegleno-Romanians and, in Serbia, theTimok Romanians.[3] The term also became a synonym in theBalkans for the social category of shepherds,[4] and was also used for non-Romance-speaking peoples, in recent times in thewestern Balkans derogatively.[5] The term is also used to refer to the ethnographic group ofMoravian Vlachs who speak a Slavic language but originate from Romanians, as well as forMorlachs andIstro-Romanians.[6]
The wordVlach/Wallachian (and other variants such asVlah,Valah,Valach,Voloh,Blac,Oláh,Vlas,Ilac,Ulah, etc.[1]) is etymologically derived from the ethnonym of aCeltic tribe,[5] adopted into Proto-Germanic*Walhaz, which meant 'stranger', from*Wolkā-[7] (Caesar'sLatin:Volcae,Strabo andPtolemy'sGreek:Ouolkai).[8] ViaLatin, inGothic, as*walhs, theethnonym took on the meaning 'foreigner' or 'Romance-speaker' and later "shepherd', 'nomad'.[8][5] The term was adopted into Greek asVláhoi orBlachoi (Βλάχοι),Albanianvllah,Slavic asVlah (pl. Vlasi) orVoloh,Hungarian asoláh andolasz, etc.[9][10][11] The root word was notably adopted in Germanic forWales andWalloon, and in Switzerland forRomansh-speakers (German:Welsch),[5] and in PolandWłochy or in Hungaryolasz became an exonym for Italians.[8][1] The Slovenian termLahi has also been used to designate Italians.[12] The same name is still used inPolish[13][14] (Włochy, Włosi, włoskie) and Hungarian[15][16] (Olasz, Olaszország) as anexonym for Italy, while in Slovak[17] (Vlach - pl.Vlasi,Valach - pl.Valasi), Czech[18] (Vlachy) and Slovenian[19][20] (Laško,[21]Láh, Láhinja,laško) it was replaced with the endonymItalia.
Other forms which were recognised by linguists to designate the "Vlachs" are:Blaci,Blauen,Blachi found in Western medieval sources,Balachi, Walati found in Western sources derived from medieval German, while the Germanic population from Transylvania used also the variantsWoloch,Blôch. French sources used mostlyValaques while the medievalSong of Roland usedBlos. In English and in modern German the formsWallachians,Walachen appear, respectively. In the Balkan Peninsula various names such asRumer,Tzintzars,Morlachs,Maurovlachs,Armâns,Cincars,Koutzovlachs were used, while Muslim sources speak ofUlak,Ilak,Iflak.[22]
The term 'Vlach' first appeared in medieval sources and was generally used as an exonym for speakers of theEastern Romance languages.[3] But testimonies from the 13th and the 14th centuries show that, although in Europe and beyond, they were calledVlachs orWallachians (oláh in Hungarian,Vláchoi (Βλάχοι) in Greek,Volóxi (Воло́хи) in Russian,Walachen in German,Valacchi in Italian,Valaques in French,Valacos in Spanish), the Romanians used theendonymrumân orromân, from the Latinromānus, meaning 'Roman'.[1][23] Also Aromanians use the endonymarmãn (pl.:armãni) orrãmãn (pl.:rãmãni), fromromānus.[3] From Latinromānus are also the Albanian formsrëmen andrëmër, 'vlach'.[24] Megleno-Romanians designate themselves with theMacedonian formVla (pl.:Vlaš) in their own language.[3]
In historical sources the term "Vlach" could also refer to different peoples: "Slovak, Hungarian, Balkan, Transylvanian, Romanian, or even Albanian".[25] In late Byzantine documents, the Vlachs are sometimes mentioned as Bulgaro-Albano-Vlachs (Bulgaralbanitoblahos), or Serbo-Albano-Bulgaro-Vlachs.[26] According to the Serbian historianSima Ćirković, the name "Vlach" in medieval sources had the same rank as the name "Greek", "Serb" or "Latin".[27]
In theWestern Balkans, during theHigh Middle Ages, the word also acquired a socio-economic component, being used as an internal name for the pastoral population in themedieval Kingdom of Serbia, one that was also often engaged in the transport of goods, colonisation of empty lands, and military service. It will then expand to local interpretations with religious, ethnic, and social status particularities across the wider region, being employed as a name forEastern Romance speaking people,Eastern Orthodox population in opposition to Catholic population, for the rural population of the hinterlands, the Christian population in general as opposed to Muslim population, or a combination of these aspects.[28][29][30] During the early history of theOttoman Empire in the Balkans, there was a military class ofVlachs in Serbia andOttoman Macedonia, made up of Christians who served as auxiliary forces and were exempted of certain taxes until the beginning of the 17th century.[4] In this context, a large part of theDalmatian hinterland was repopulated by Slavic settlers, both Orthodox and Catholic, speaking theShtokavian dialect and called Vlach orMorlach by the inhabitants of the Dalmatian coast and islands. In these areas, the termVlah evolved toVlaj (pl. Vlaji) and is still used as a derogatory term to refer to the rural inhabitants of the hinterland, both Croats and Serbs, as "peasants" and "ignorants".[31] InIstria, the ethnonym Vlach is used by theChakavian-speaking Croatian inhabitants to refer to the Istro-Romanians and the Slavs who settled in the 15th and 16th centuries.[32]
Nowadays, the termVlachs (also known under other names, such as "Koutsovlachs", "Tsintsars", "Karagouni", "Chobani", "Vlasi", etc.[33]) is used in scholarship for theEastern Romance-speaking communities in the Balkans, especially those in Greece, Albania and North Macedonia.[34][35] In Serbia the termVlach (SerbianVlah, pluralVlasi) is also used to refer to Romanian speakers, especially those living in eastern Serbia.[3]
In modernSlovak,Valasi, other than denoting people of Vlachian ethnicity or origin, is synonymously and even more prominently used to describeshepherds, more commonly apprentice shepherds. The term originated following Vlachian arrival in mounts and hills of present-day Slovakia in 14th century and coinciding development in sheep herding and dairy industry.[36] Further west, inCzech Republic, the area of Moravian Wallachia is known asValašsko and the inhabitants as Valaši, names usually translated in English as Wallachia and Wallachians, respectively.[37]
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According to thetheory of Daco-Roman continuity, the ancestors of modern Vlachs and Romanians originated fromDacians.[38] For proponents of this theory, Eastern Romance languages prove the survival of theThraco-Romans in the lower Danube basin during theMigration Period.[39] On the other hand, opponents of this theory say that the Romanians and the Vlachs, including the ancestors of present-day Aromanians, were originally part of the same group of speakers of Eastern Romance languages, and that their origins should be sought in the southern Balkans. Early Romanian-speakers would have then moved northwards from the 12th century onwards.[40][41]
The first likely attestation of Romanian language and implicitly of Vlachs/Romanians comes fromTheophylactus Simocatta Histories, writtenc. 630, narrating an episode fromMaurice's Balkan campaigns:[42]
A beast of burden had shucked off his load. It happened as his master was marching in front of him. But the ones who were coming from behind and saw the animal dragging his burden after him, had shouted to the master to turn around and straighten the burden. Well, this event was the reason for a great agitation in the army, and started a flight to the rear, because the shout was known to the crowd: the same words were also a signal, and it seemed to mean "run", as if the enemies had appeared nearby more rapidly than could be imagined. There was a great turmoil in the host, and a lot of noise; all were shouting loudly and goading each other to turn back, calling with great unrest in the language of the country "torna, torna", as a battle had suddenly started in the middle of the night.[43]
During the Middle Ages, the term "Magna Vlachia" appears in Byzantine documents. This name was used forThessaly and present-day North Macedonia.[44][45]
John Skylitzes mentioned the Vlachs in 976, as guides and guards of Byzantine caravans in the Balkans. BetweenPrespa andKastoria, they met and fought withDavid of Bulgaria. The Vlachs killed David in their first documented battle.[46]
Ibn al-Nadīm published in 998 the workKitāb al-Fihrist mentioning "Turks, Bulgars andBlaghā". According to B. Dodge the ethnonymBlaghā could refer to Wallachians/Romanians.[47][48] It is important to note, however, that the original Arabic text does not contain the word "Blaghā" but rather "البلغار," which translates to "al-Bulghār," the term used in contemporary Arabic texts to refer toVolga Bulgaria.[49] The new Arabic edition also features the word "al-Bulghār" ("البلغار") instead of "Blaghā."[50] Furthermore, the first critical edition edited byGustav Flügel in 1871, which includes the original Arabic text, likewise uses the designation "البلغار" ("al-Bulghār").[51] The word "البلغار" ("al-Bulghār") appears instead of "البلغم" ("al-Blagham") in both the 1971/1973/1988Tehran/Beirut/Cairo critical editions as well.[52] Thus, Bayard's translation is incorrect, as he mistakenly read "البلغار" ("al-Bulghār") as "البلغم" ("al-Blagham"). Therefore, the original Arabic text refers to Volga Bulgaria, not the Vlachs.[49]
A monastic document fromMount Athos mentions that 300 Vlach families live near the mountain, and in their own language they call their settlements "Catuns".[53]
Byzantine writerKekaumenos, author of theStrategikon (1078), writes about a leader,Nikulitsa, who is given command byBasil II over the Vlachs inHellas theme.Nikulitsa switched alliance toSamuel of Bulgaria after the conquest ofLarissa by the Bulgarian Tsar.[54][55]
Mutahhar al-Maqdisi, "They say that in the Turkic neighbourhood there are the Khazars, Russians, Slavs,Waladj, Alans, Greeks and many other peoples."[56] According to other non-Romanian historians, based on the context, the "Waladj" are not the Vlachs, but a people living around theVolga.[57]
Vlachs were present in large numbers, on theChalcidice peninsula around 1000, according to monastic documents fromMount Athos. On the peninsula, the Vlachs were famous for their cheese and meat products. In these texts sometimes they are called "Vlachorynhinii", which may be a mixture of the name "Vlach" and "Rynhini" a Slavic tribe who settled in the same area in the 7th century.[58]
In 1013, a Byzantine document mentions the settlement of "Kimbalongu" in the mountains nearStrumitsa, which was a Vlach settlement.[59]
The namesBlakumen orBlökumenn is mentioned in Nordic sagas dating between the 11th and 13th centuries, with respect to events that took place in either 1018 or 1019 somewhere at the northwestern part of theBlack Sea and believed by some to be related to theVlachs.[60][61]Omeljan Pritsak, however, point out that the texts probably refer to a nomadicTurkic people, since the "Blakumen" in the texts are "non-christian heathens" and nomadic horsemans.[62] Spinei contrasts Pritsak's view by claiming that there are several mentions of theBlakumen orBlökumen in contexts taking place decades before the earliest appearance of the Cumans in the Pontic steppe, and that translating the name to "Black Cumans" is not concordant with the Varangian ethnic terminology.[61]
In 1020, the Archdiocese ofOhrid was founded, which was responsible for "the spiritual care of all the Vlachs".[63]
In 1022, Vlach shepherds from Thessaly and the Pindus mountains provided cheese for Constantinople.[64][65]
In 1025, theAnnales Barenses mentions a people called "Vlach" who live near the riverAxios.[66]
The same chronicle the Annales Barenses describes that in 1027 theByzantine army led by Orestes that tried to recaptureSicily from theArabs, also included many Vlachs recruited fromMacedonia.[67]
Kekaumenos writes about the revolt in 1066 in the region ofThessaly led byNikoulitzas Delphinas, nephew of the homonymous 10th century military commander, and father in law of the writer.[68]
In 1071, a Byzantine document mentions that the herds of the Vlachs and their household spend the months of April to September beyondThessaly, in the high mountains of Bulgaria, where it is very cold. (it is clear from the text that we are talking about the mountains of today'sNorth Macedonia). The same text describes that the homeland of the Vlachs is Thessaly, precisely the part of the region divided by the river Pleres.[53][69][70] Florin Curta adds thatKekaumenos calls Vlachs "migrants from the northern parts", asKekaumenos associates them withDacians orBessi of Antiquity.[71]
AByzantine author,Kekaumenos writes about the Vlachs inGreece in connection about their origin and way of life in theStrategikon in 1075–1078.[72] According to Kekaumenos, the Vlachs wereDacians and Bessi, who lived near and south from theDanube and theSava, where theSerbs live now. They feigned loyalty to the Romans while they were constantly attacked and pillaged, therefore,Trajan launched a war, their leader,Decebalus was also killed, and then the Vlachs were scattered inMacedonia,Epirus andHellas.[73][74]
According to Hungarian historians, Kekaumenos made the Dacians the ancestors of the Vlachs because he knew about the deceitfulness of the Dacians against the Romans, and according to him the Dacians and Vlachs had a perfectly matching nature, treachery and political unreliability, so much that in his opinion they should not be believed even if the Vlachs take an oath.[73][74] Kekaumenos arbitrarily identified the Vlachs with the Dacians according to the archaizing efforts of his time, because the tendency to refer to later peoples with classical names was common in Byzantium at the time of Kekaumenos.[73][72][74] Kekaumenos also confused the Roman provinceDacia Traiana withDacia Aureliana, and even he placed it further west where it actually was, that is why he mentioned the Serbian territory as the homeland,[72][74] the Bessus tribe was a neighbor of the Roman province Macedonia.[72]
Alexius Komnenos mentions that in 1082 he passed through a Vlach settlement called Exeva in Macedonia.[53]
Anna Komnene mentions in herAlexiad that in 1091Emperor Alexios orderedNikephoros Melissenos to raise an army against invadingPechenegs. Melissenos recruited, among others, Bulgarians and "the nomadic tribes called Vlachs in popular parlance".[75]
According to the Alexiad, in 1094–1095, Emperor Alexius Komnenos was notified by a Vlach chieftain called Poudila about the crossing of the Danube by aCuman army, and that to prepare himself for the attack,[76][77] then the Vlachs likewise led the Cumans through the gorges of the Balkan Mountains.[77]
Also in 1094 the first mention of Vlachs inMoglena region is made, the document is kept in the archive of the monastery Great Lavra on Mount Athos. According to this Emperor Alexios I Komnenos replies to the monks of the monastery complaining that people on their domain are not paying taxes. The document contains some of the first Romanian names, such as Stan, Radu cel Şchiop, and Peducel.[78]
In 1097, many Vlachs were resettled from theChalcidice peninsula to thePeloponnese by order of the Byzantine emperor Alexios Komnenos.[79]
In 1099,crusading armies were attacked by Vlachs, in the mountains along the road fromBraničevo toNaissus.[77][68]
ThePrimary Chronicle, writtenc. 1113 states that theSlavs settled beside theDanube, then theVolochi people attacked the Slavs, settled among them and did them violence, leading to the Slavs departing and settling around theVistula under the name ofLeshi.[80] According to the chronicle the Slavs settled there first, and theVolochi seized the territory of the Slavs; later, theHungarians drove theVolochi away, took their land and settled among the Slavs.[81][82] The Primary Chronicle thus contains a possible reference to Romanians.[11][80] Other non-Romanian historians consider theVolochi theFranks, as their country is placed west toBaltic Sea and nearEngland by the author of the work,Nestor the Chronicler.[83][84][85] TheFrankish Empire stretched from theNorth Sea to theDanube.
The Byzantine princess and scholarAnna Komnene, in her bookAlexiad, mentions a Vlach settlement called Ezeba, which was nearLarissa and Androneia. In the same work she also describes the Vlachs as "the nomadic tribes, called Vlachs in popular parlance".[86]
In 1109, monks onMount Athos mention the Vlachs inChalkidiki and that the presence of women disturbed the monachal activities.[87]
TravelerBenjamin of Tudela (1130–1173) of theKingdom of Navarre was one of the first writers to use the wordVlachs for a Romance-speaking population.[88] In his work he mentions that these Vlachs live high up in the mountains ofThessaly, and from there they sometimes come down to plunder, which they do quickly, as swift as deers, for which reasons there is no king to rule them.[89]
In 1167, Vlachs living by the border of thePrincipality of Halych during the reign ofYaroslav Osmomysl, captured Andronicus and returned him toEmperor Manuel.[90]
Byzantine historianJohn Kinnamos described Leon Vatatzes' military expedition along the northern Danube, where Vatatzes mentioned the participation of Vlachs in battles with the Magyars (Hungarians) in 1167.[91][92]John Kinnamos says Vlachs were "colonists brought from Italy".[93]
The uprising of brothers Asen and Peter was arevolt of Bulgarians and Vlachs living in the theme of Paristrion of the Byzantine Empire, caused by a tax increase. It began on 26 October 1185, the feast day of St. Demetrius of Thessaloniki, and ended with the creation of theSecond Bulgarian Empire, also known in its early history as the Empire of Bulgarians and Vlachs.[71]
According toNiketas Choniates, after the ByzantineEmperor Isaac II Angelos lost his wife, he wanted to marry the daughter of Bela III of Hungary, but there was not enough money for the wedding, so he imposed taxes in the regions and cities of theempire, but he angered the "barbarians who dwelt in theHaemos mountains, who were once calledMoesians, but are now called Vlachs".[94]
Mentions of Vlachs inMedieval Bulgaria also come fromNiketas Choniates who writes about a Vlach calledDobromir Chrysos who established an autonomous polity in the upper region ofVardar river andMoglena.[95] A similar event is recorded by the same author in the area ofPhilippopolis where a Vlach calledIvanko, formerly a boyar at theAsen brothers' court was given military command by Emperor Isaac and expanded his rule toSmolyan,Mosynopolis, andXanthi.[96]
According toNiketas Choniates, Thessaly and Macedonia is called "Magna Vlachia",Aetolia and Acarnata are called "Little Vlachia" and north-easternEpirus is called "Upper Vlachia".[97][53]
According to Niketas Choniates, the Vlachs are the barbarians who live in theBalkan mountains, inMoesia.[98]
In 1183 Hungarian documents mention, thatKing Béla III of Hungary, in his campaign against theByzantine Empire, sackedSofia, and among the defenders there were many Vlachs. The King used the opportunity and "... took home a number of these valiant mountain soldiers, and settled them in theSzeben County."[99]
A Byzantine church document mentions that in 1190, "theCumans and the Vlachs take the relics ofSaint Ryli fromSofia toTirnovo with a great pomp."[53]
According to theChronicle of the Priest of Duklja, the authenticity of which is highly disputed by historians,c. 600 AD theAvars conqueredSalona, then, attacking further south, ravagedMacedonia and the "land of the black Latins, now calledMorvlachs".[100]
The first mention of Vlachs in Serbian medieval chronicles is dated from the time ofStefan Nemanjić, most probably 1198–1199, and it is related to a donation act towards restoration ofHilandar monastery with aid from the inhabitants of the area ofPrizren.[101]
TheHistory of the Expedition of the Emperor Frederick mention the Vlachs as people living in the mountains and forests of the Balkans. The chronicle also describes the Vlachs' homeland as being nearThessaloniki. The chronicle describes how the Crusaders captured several Vlachs who told them that the Vlachs live in Macedonia, Thessaly and Bulgaria, and that because they were heavily taxed, they were rebelling.[102]
NumerousSerbian documents from the very end of the 12th century speak of Vlach shepherds in the mountains between theDrina and theMorava.[103]
In theNibelungenlied, written around the year 1200, appears a certain Duke Ramunc of Wallachia (Herzog Ramunc aus dem Walachenland) amongAttila's guests at his wedding with Kriemhild; in another passage, the Vlachs (Wlâchen) are mentioned as well.[104] Romanian historians claim the name of this fictional character could be derived from the Romanian ethnonym itself.[105] According to Pop, the author's anachronistic view that Vlachs were contemporaries with Attila stems from oral tradition noting that Hungarians encountered Vlachs upon arriving in Pannonia. Since Huns were seen as their ancestors, Vlachs were retrospectively placed as Attila’s contemporaries.[106] However, the environment described there is from the 9th-12th centuries. The presence of the Russians, Pechenegs, Poles and Hungarians as contemporary with Attila confirms that.[107]
Kaloyan was given the titleimperator Caloihannes dominus omnium Bulgarorum atque Blachorum ("Emperor Kaloyan, Lord of All Bulgarians and Vlachs") byPatriarchBasil I of Bulgaria[108] and the titleRex Bulgarorum et Blachorum ("King of the Bulgarians and the Vlachs") byPope Innocent II.[109]
In 1204 and 1205Raimbaut de Vaqueiras mentions the Vlachs as enemies ofBoniface of Montferrat.[110]
After 1207Geoffrey of Villehardouin mentions twelve times the Vlachs part of the armies ofKaloyan of Bulgaria, either as defenders againstHenry of Flanders or among theattackers of Adrianopole.[111]
Around the same timeHenry of Valenciennes writes about the country he callsBlasquie ruled byBurile (Borilă).Henry of Flanders conquers this land and awards it toBurile's cousinEsclas (Slav). From there on the country will be known asBlakie la Grant (Great Valachia).[110]
Sándor Timaru-Kast alleges that the Venetian Chronicle refers to the land that would become Wallachia as "Black Cumania", "the colony of black Vlachs who migrated northwards".[97]
According to the medieval Hungarian chronicle, theGesta Hungarorum ("The deeds of the Hungarians"), written in the early 13th century, when theHungarians ofGrand Prince Árpádconquered theCarpathian Basin, at that timeSlavs,Bulgarians andBlachij, and also theshepherds of the Romans (sclauij, Bulgarij et Blachij, ac pastores romanorum) inhabited Pannonia.[112] Most researchers say that theBlachij are the Vlachs,[113] some Hungarian scholars claim that they are theBulaqs, a Turkic people.[114] László Makkai writes that "this hypothesis does not bear the test of scholarly scrutiny".[115] The chronicle's authenticity is in question inhistoriography, because it confuses the peoples living in the area in the 12th century and the peoples of the 9th century. Among others, it includes theCumans inTransylvania, who arrived only centuries later.[116][117][118][41] Romanian historianIoan-Aurel Pop states that some exaggerations and inaccuracies, typical of a chronicle at the time and mostly in favour of theRoyal House, are not a sufficient reason to discredit the entire document as a historical source.[119] It is important to note, however, that the chronicle mentions many rulers, but none of them is mentioned in any other contemporary chronicle.[83] According to Romanian historianFlorin Curta and leading Romanian medievalist Radu Popa, during the 1960–1989 period, the archaeological evidences were manipulated to meet the demands of the nationalist policies of theCeaușescu's regime, and Romanian archaeologists made every possible attempt to prove that theGesta Hungarorum is a reliable source for the Romanian presence in Transylvania prior to theHungarian conquest, however no archaeological evidence was found to prove the subject. Hungarian archaeologist István Bóna also accused Romanian archaeologists of hiding evidence that did not fit their interpretation regarding theGesta Hungarorum during the excavation of the early medieval hillfort atDăbâca asGelou's capital city.[120] Whether archeology supports theGesta or not is disputed among historians.[121] British-Romanian historianDennis Deletant states the analysis of theGesta Hungarorum shows that is too naive to claim it is an immaculate source, just as it is foolhardy to totally discredit its reliability, and the conclusion, the cases for and against the existence ofGelou and the Vlachs simply cannot be proven.[122] British historianCarlile Aylmer Macartney writes in his critical and analytical guide of Anonymus that all Romanian historians refer toAnonymus, but they are not credible in the subject and the chronicle is not evidence for presence of Vlachs in Transylvania.[123] Madgearu attempts to prove that a Vlach-Slav population existed in Transylvania before the arrival of the Hungarians by recounting place names of Slavic origin he believes weren't adopted to Romanian via Hungarian.[121]
In 1213, an army of Vlachs,Saxons andPechenegs, led by theCount of Sibiu,Joachim Türje, attacked theSecond Bulgarian Empire –Bulgarians andCumans in thefortress ofVidin.[124] After this, all Hungarian battles in the Carpathian region were supported by Romance-speaking soldiers from Transylvania.[125]
Stefan the First-Crowned donates 200 families of Vlachs fromProkletije andPeći toŽiča monastery.[126]
In 1220, kingStefan the First-Crowned proclaimed that all Vlachs of his kingdom belonged to theEparchy of Žiča.[127]
A royal chancellery document from 1223, connected to the foundation of theCistercianabbey at Cârța around 1202,[128] which was granted land, mentions it was built in the land of the Vlachs/Romanians.[129] This is also the first mention of the Vlachs in Hungarian documents.[130][131]
In theDiploma Andreanum issued by KingAndrew II of Hungary in 1224, "silva blacorum et bissenorum" was given to theSaxon settlers.[132]
The Orthodox Vlachs spread further northward along the Carpathians to the present day territory ofPoland,Slovakia, andCzech Republic, and were granted autonomy under the ''Vlach law''.[133]
In 1230Constantine Akropolites, in his writing about the conquests of Bulgarian Tsar Ivan Asen, notes that the "Magna Vlachia" is next toAlbania.[134]
Pope Gregory IX wrote several letters to theHungarian king, in which he talks about the conversion of theCumans who lived in the southern part of present-day Romania (Wallachia). In one of his letters he mentions the Vlachs, askingKing Béla IV of Hungary to let them into his country: "for the sake of God, give refuge to those poor Vlachs who tried to escape from their Cuman rulers."[135]
In 1247,Béla IV of Hungary gives the "Land of Severin" to theKnights Hospitallers with two polities (kenezatus ofJohn andFarkas), exceptkenezatus ofvoivodeLitovoi which was left to the Vlachs as they held it.[136] The land ofHateg is excepted, while the voivodate of Seneslaus the king keeps for himself.[137]
In 1252 KingBéla IV of Hungary, for his services in various foreign embassies, donates to Vince, Comes of the Szekler of Sebus, the land called Zek between the territory of the Vlachs of Kyrch, the Saxons of Barasu, and the Szeklers of Sebus, which once belonged to a Saxon estate called Fulkun, but has been uninhabited since the Mongol invasion.[138]
In 1256 KingBéla IV of Hungary, upon the complaint of ArchbishopBenedict ofEsztergom, confirms the right of the archdiocese to tithes from mining wages and from animal taxes collected from the Szeklers and Vlachs to the king or anyone else, among the judicial, accommodation and taxation privileges of the archdiocese, with the exception of land rents from Saxons, but also from Vlachs from everywhere and from anywhere they came.[139]
KingOttokar II of Bohemia reports toPope Alexander IV that aboutthe defeated of KingBéla IV of Hungary on 12 July 1260, on the border between Hungary and Austria, near the castle and town of Hemburg on the Moraua River. Among the people that fought in Béla's army Vlachs, calledWalachorum, are named.[140]
In 1272, KingLadislaus donates the royal lands or villages of Budula and Tohou, also known as Olahteleky, to Simon's son, Nicholas of Brașov.[141]
From 1276 King Ladislaus allows the chapter of Alba Iulia to settle 60 Romanian households (mansiones) on the border of his estates called Fülesd and Enyed, separated from the episcopal lands, and to exempt them from all royal taxes, fiftieth and tithes.[142]
In a grant (around 1280) Queen Helena confirmed the grant given byStefan Vladislav to theVranjina monastery, the Vlachs are separately mentioned, along withArbanasi (Albanians), Latins, and Serbs.[127]
In the 1280s,Simon of Kéza in theGesta Hunnorum et Hungarorum mentions the Vlachs in his work three times: After the land had been conquered by KingAttila, several people leftPannonia, the Vlachs (Blackis) were elected to remain in Pannonia who had been their shepherds and husbandmen. TheSzékelys were settled with the Vlachs (Blackis) in the border mountains, mingling with them, and adopting their alphabet. After the withdrawal of theHuns, the only people left in Pannonia were immigrants, Slavs, Greeks, Germans, Moravians, and Vlachs (Ulahis) who had been servants of Attila.[143][144][145][146] Miskolczy points out that the (Ulahis advenis) "Vlach newcomer", the adjective classifying Romanians as immigrants was omitted from the Romanian translation.[146] Pop on other hand argues that Moravians (Slavs), as well as the Byzantines (Greeks), Germans (Teutons, East Franks), Bulgarians (Messians) and Romanians (Vlachs) are confirmed by other sources as being present in Pannonia or, at least, on its edges in the period preceding the appearance of the Hungarians.[104] Some Hungarian scholars noted that Simon of Kéza used different spellings forBlackis andUlahis, arguing thatBlackis were actually the Turkic peopleBulaqs who were confused with the Vlachs.[147] According to Polish historian Ryszard Grzesik, the Vlachs appeared inTransylvania only in the 12th century, therefore Hungarian chroniclers identified the semi-nomadic lifestyle of the Vlachs as a distinguishing characteristic. Kézai wrote that the Vlachs gave script to the Székelys, but the reality is different, because Kézai wrote about theSzékelys runs, and his opinion was based on the observation that the Vlach shepherds engraved symbols while counting their sheep.[143] Kézai confused the Székely runs with the Cyrillic script which was used by the Vlachs.[146]
Several sources cite that the passes of the Carpathians inTransylvania were defended by the Vlachs together withSzékelys andSaxons during theSecond Mongol invasion of Hungary in 1285.[148][149]
According to the old Russian chronicle,Ladislaus IV of Hungary asked for help fromRome andConstantinople because he feared an invasion by theTartars. Constantinople sent an army of Vlachs from what is nowSerbia, but after the victorious battle, the Vlachs refused to go home and settled in the territory ofMaramures.[150]
Also in 1285,Emperor Andronikos II Palaiologos decides to move the Vlachs fromThrace toAsia-Minor, fearing their possible alliance with theTatars. The same emperor, in 1289, confirms the rights of St. Andrew Monastery fromThessaly over the village Praktikatous or Vlachokatouna.[151]
In 1288, as external threats from the Tatars, Cumans, Saracens, and other pagans arose (omnino Tartarorum vel Cumanum Saracenum vel Meugarium), the universitas of the Vlachs was called to join the other Estates, including Hungarian nobles, Saxons and Szeklers (universisque nobilibus Ungarorum, Saxonibus, Syculis et Volachis), along with Church representatives from Brașov and Sibiu counties. This assembly was convened to defend the Christian faith, as stated in a letter from Lodomer, Archbishop of Esztergom.[152]
According to a legend, in 1290Ladislaus the Cuman was assassinated; the new Hungarian king allegedly drovevoivodeRadu Negru and his people across the Carpathians, where they formedWallachia along with its first capitalCâmpulung, as a Hungarian vassal state.[153]
In 1291Andrew III of Hungary presides over a meeting of "Nobles, Saxons, Szeklers, and Vlachs" inAlba Iulia.[154][155]
In 1292, Andrew III of Hungary allows some Hungarian nobles to invite Vlachs to the country, to their estates called "Ilye", "Szád" and "Fenes".[156][full citation needed]
In 1293,Andrew III of Hungary, publishes an "angry" charter to the Transylvanian nobility, mentions that all the Vlachs were supposed to be settled on the royal crown's property called "Székes", not on their own estates.[59]
In November 1293, King Andrew confirms King Ladislaus's earlier concession to the chapter ofAlba Iulia to keep the 60 households of Romanians (mansiones Olacorum) free from all taxes and services on the lands of Dalya, Ompaycza, Fylesd and Enugd, separated from the episcopal estates. These Romanians should not be forced by any royal tax collector to pay taxes, dues, or fiftieths. The charter, confirmed by a double seal, is dated by the hand ofTheodore, provost of Fehérvár, vice-chancellor.[157]
Stefan Milutin Serbian king donated 6katuns to the church of St. Nikita in Bania.[102]
Stefan Milutin, in another medieval Serbian document, mentions that 30 Vlach families live on a church estate nearPristina.[102]
In 1321 on the island ofKrk, a priest gave land to the church, and the given land extended to the land of Kneže, where Vlachs lived.[158]
In a battle, Vlachs fought alongsideMladen Šubić nearTrogir in 1322.[158]
KingWładysław I Łokietek attacks Brandenburg with neighboring Vlach reinforcements "etiam vicinorum populorum, videlicet Ruthenorum, Walachorum et Lithwanorum stipatusc".[159]
Goods sold by the Vlachs are mentioned in after 1328 by Ragusan documents, among themformaedi vlacheschi, a type of cheese.[160]
First mention of a Vlach calledRadul in 1329, in theIstrian Peninsula.[161]
In 1330Stefan Dečanski gifts toVisoki Dečani monastery the Vlach pastures and katuns along Drim and Lim rivers.[127]
Croatian chronicler Miha de Barbazanis writes that Vlachs from the area ofCetina River fought forMladen II Šubić of Bribir againstCharles I of Hungary and BanJohn Babonić.[162][163]
In thelist of Papal Tithes from 1332–1337 in the Kingdom of Hungary, one settlement mentioned in the source as Romanian: "Căprioara". This Romanian place-name is the first recorded Romanian toponym in theKingdom of Hungary, includingTransylvania.[164][165]
In 1335, a royal commissioner, on the orders of the King of Hungary, arranges for a Vlach voivode named Bogdan to move to the Kingdom of Hungary "with his entire household and people". According to the charter, the settlement of the Vlach voivode and his people lasted from 1 November 1334 to 15 August 1335.[166]
In 1341, a Hungarian royal document notes that the Hungarian Czibak noble family can invite and settle more Vlachs to theirMező-Telegd estate, "from the south".[167][168]
Stefan Dušan styles himself "Imperator Raxie et Romanie, dispotus Lartae et Blachie comes" – Emperor of Rascia and Romania, despot of Arta andispan of Vlachia.[97]
Stefan Dušan donates 320 Vlach families to theBistrica monastery.[102]
A charter, issued byStefan Dušan, mentions that, Dobrodoliane is inhabited by Vlachs.[134]
Morlachs are first recorded in 1344, during the struggle between the counts of theKurjaković andNelipić families, in the regions nearKnin andKrbava, when a region called "Morlacorum" mentioned.[6]
A letter from 1345 from Pope Clement VI to the Hungarian king Louis I, the phrasequod Olachi Romani appears, which can be interpreted as an expression of the papal chancellery's conviction about the Roman origin of the Wallachians.[169]
In 1349, another Hungarian royal charter mentions the Vlachs, allowing theWallachian voivode to send a Vlach priest toTransylvania, thus encouraging more Vlachs to settle in theHungarian kingdom from the south.[167][170]
A Hungarian charter of 1352 states that, the lord lieutenant ofKrassó County Szeri Pósa invited Vlachs to Hungary, to populate the area around the Mutnok stream.[150]
Around 1355,Bogdan of Cuhea, formerVoivode of Maramureș, but now in conflict withLouis I of Hungary, crosses the mountains with other Vlachs fromMaramureș and takes overMoldavia.[171]
In 1359, the King of Hungary allowed a Vlach noble family and their household to settle in the country, first giving them 13 villages, and then 6 years later another 5 villages in theBanat.[166]
Also in 1359, the village of Lakság "nearVárad", reports in a letter to the bishop ofVárad that "the first Vlach inhabitants have arrived".[167][172]
In 1365Balc, son of VoivodeSas of Moldavia, defeated byBogdan, moves to the Kingdom of Hungary and is given byLouis I of Hungary the confiscated domains of his opponent. Later, Balc became the head ofSzatmár(Sătmar),Ugocsa andMáramaros(Maramureș) counties in the Kingdom of Hungary, and he was also invested with the title ofCount of the Székelys.[173]
Vlachs from the domain of Vidčeselo, betweenLika andZrmanja, are rewarded for their military support by theban of Croatia .[174]
In June 1366 King Louis I of Hungary grants through theDecree of Turda special privileges to the Transylvanian noblemen to take measures against malefactors belonging to any nation, especially the Vlachs.[175]
In 1370,Louis I of Hungary decreed that only those Vlach settlers who wereCatholic could receive royal grants.[150]
The village ofWołodź inRuthenia was first documented in 1373 as a Vlach settlement.[176]
In a letter dates to 1374, theCathedral chapter ofVárad complains that he has only 9 Vlach villages, and asks for permission "to invite more Vlachs intothe country" and to "settle them on his estates". Also in the same letter, he asks the "border nobles" that "if strangers come from Wallachia, do not stop them".[167][170]
Papal documents from late 14th century reference the conquest of Medieș fortress "from the hands of schismatic Vlachs" by an unnamed King of Hungary. HistorianIoan-Aurel Pop places this event close to theFourth Council of the Lateran[154]
In 1374, the Cathedral chapter ofVárad complained that the Vlachs living in its territory are not willing to give up their nomadic lifestyle.[167]
In 1374, Bishop László ofVárad obliges his successors not to prevent the Vlachknezes from settle further "foreigners" to the border areas of Bónafalva,Királybányatoplica andKeresztényfalva.[167][170]
In 1376 the ban of Knin is also called "comes Holachorum".[177]
In 1381 Croatian documents fromKnin mention "universitas Valachorum".[178]
In 1383 the so-called "Peace convention of Christian" is signed by Saxons and Romanians (Vlachs) from the area of Sibiu, aimed to ensure the peace between the two communities.[179]
Vlachs are a documented presence inBelz region since the rule ofSiemowit IV, Duke of Masovia, probably as early as 1388.[180]
In the 14th century, royal charters from theKingdom of Serbia included segregation policies stating that "a Serb shall not marry a Vlach".[181][182] However, these laws were not successful and intermarriage between Slavs, Vlachs and also Albanians did take place.[181]
In 1412, the captain ofZadar saved 3000 ducats to organise an army against the lootingMorlachs, who lived in Ostravica, whose castle has even been taken by them. The leader of theMorlahcs was a person called Sandallor.[183]
The biggest caravan shipment betweenPodvisoki inBosnia andRepublic of Ragusa was recorded on 9 August 1428, where Vlachs transported 1500modius ofsalt with 600 horses.[184][185]
In 1433 Vlachknezes,voievodes, and juzi from Croatia vow to respect the property right of the local St. John church.[178]
Vlachs are mentioned in a document of Grand DukeŠvitrigaila, inKremenets, as part of the local population subject to mayor of Busk legal authority.[186]
Nicholas of Ilok styled himself as "Bosniae and Valachiae Rex".[187]
In 1450, the Vlachs are granted a privilege inŠibenik, allowing the Vlachs to enter the town if they call themselvesCroats.[158]
ItalianhumanistPoggio Bracciolini claims in 1450 thatTrajan left a colony among theSarmatians which still retains much of the Latin vocabulary, and that its members say: "oculum, digitum, manum, panem, and many other things, from which it appears that the Latins, who remained there as settlers, used the Latin language."[188]
In 1453,Flavio Biondo notes that "the Dacians or Vlachs claim to have Roman origins and they think this fact is a decoration in itself" and that "when they spoke the language of their common and simple people it scent of a grammatically incorrect peasant Latin".[189]
KingMatthias confirmed the liberties of the Vlachs in an open letter, issued March 31, 1474 in the town ofRužomberok.[190]
Jan Długosz in hisAnnales seu cronici incliti regni Poloniae wrote about Vlachs in Medieval Poland – Małopolska region, theorizing their origin as a population that came from Italy orRome who expelled theRuthenian (Slavic) population from the Danube settlements, and then they themselves settled in the fertile lands there.[169]
An attested reference to Romanian comes from a Latin title of an oath made in 1485 by the Moldavian PrinceStephen the Great to the Polish KingCasimir, in which it is reported that "Haec Inscriptio ex Valachico in Latinam versa est sed Rex Ruthenica Lingua scriptam accepta"—"This Inscription was translated from Valachian (Romanian) into Latin, but the King has received it written in the Ruthenian language (Slavic)."[191][192]
In addition to the ethnic groups of Aromanians, Megleno-Romanians and Istro-Romanians who emerged during the Migration Period, other Vlachs could be found as far north as Poland, as far west as Moravia and Dalmatia.[193] In search of better pasture, they were calledVlasi orValaši by the Slavs.States mentioned in medieval chronicles were:[citation needed]
Regions and places are:
As national states appeared in the area of the formerOttoman Empire, new state borders were developed that divided the summer and winter habitats of many of thetranshumance groups. During the Middle Ages, many Vlachs were shepherds who drove their flocks through the mountains of Central and Eastern Europe. Vlach shepherds may be found as far north as southern Poland (Podhale) and the eastern Czech Republic (Moravia) by following the Carpathians, theDinaric Alps in the west, thePindus Mountains in the south, and theCaucasus Mountains in the east.[200] InSlovak language, the termValasi became a synonym for apprentice shepherds.[36]
Some researchers, such asBogumil Hrabak andMarian Wenzel, theorized that the origins ofStećci tombstones, which appeared inmedieval Bosnia between 12th and 16th century, could be attributed to Vlachburial culture of Bosnia and Herzegovina of that times.[201]
According to Ilona Czamańska "for several recent centuries the investigation of the Vlachian ethnogenesis was so much dominated by political issues that any progress in this respect was incredibly difficult". The transhumance of Vlachs, the heirs of Roman citizens, may be a key for solving the problem ofethnogenesis, but the problem is that many migrations were in multiple directions during the same time. These migrations were not just part of the history of the Balkans and the Carpathians, they exist in the Caucasus, theAdriatic islands and possibly over the entire region of theMediterranean Sea. Because of this, our knowledge concerning primary migrations of the Vlachs and the ethnogenesis is more than modest.[202]
Researcher have also raised a concern aboutcultural appropriation of Vlach heritage in the Balkans, denial of Vlach descend of various groups and personalities, and exclusion from political life.[203]
In some Croatian and Latin redactions of theChronicle of the Priest of Duklja, from 16th century.
Note: The Vlach Connection
The name 'Vlach' was a word used by the Slavs for those they encountered who spoke a strange, usually Latinate, language; the Vlachs' own name for themselves is 'Aromanians' (Aromani). As this name suggests, the Vlachs are closely linked to the Romanians: their two languages (which, with a little practice, are mutually intelligible) diverged only in the ninth or tenth century. While Romanian historians have tried to argue that the Romanian-speakers have always lived in the territory of Romania (originating, it is claimed, from Romanized Dacian tribes and/or Roman legionaries), there is compelling evidence to show that the Romanian-speakers were originally part of the same population as the Vlachs, whose language and way of life were developed somewhere to the south of the Danube. Only in the twelfth century did the early Romanian-speakers move northwards into Romanian territory.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)الكلام على الترك وما جانسهم فأما الترك والبلغر والبلغار والبرغز والخزر واللان وأجناس الصغار الأعين المفرطي البياض فلا قلم لهم يعرف سوى البلغر والتبت فإنهم يكتبون بالصينية والمنانية والحزر تكتب بالعبرانية والذي تادى إلى من أمر الترك ما حدثني به أبو الحسن محمد بن الحسن بن أشناس قال حدثني حمود حرار التركي المكلي وكان من التوزونية ممن خرج عن بلده على كبر وتنفط أن ملك الترك الأعظم إذا أراد أن يكتب إلى ملك من الأصاغر وزيره وأمر بشق نشابه ونقش الوزير عليها نقوشا يعرفها أفاضل الأتراك تدل على المعاني التي يريدها الملك ويعرفها المرسل إليه وزعم أن النقش اليسير يحتمل المعاني الكثيرة وإنما يفعلون ذلك عند مهادناتهم ومسالماتهم وفي أوقات حروبهم أيضا وذكر أن ذلك النشاب المكتوب عليه يحتفظون به ويفون من أجله والله أعلم
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)Original: Waladj, peuples du Volga, English: Waladj, peoples of the Volga
provoking the barbarians who lived in the vicinity of Mount Haimos, formerly called Mysians and now named Vlachs, to declare war against him and the Romans.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)sed siculi, olachi et Saxones omnes vias ipsorum cum indaginibus stipaverunt sive giraverunt et sic (de vita ipsorum omnino sunt de) necessitate cogente ibidem castra eorum sunt metati
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)that in 1550 a foreign writer, the Italian Gromo, called the Banat "Valachia citeriore" (the Wallachia that stands on this side).
