Vlachs

Vlachs (also called Wlachs, Wallachs, Olahs) is a blanket term covering several distinct modern Latin peoples descending from the Latinised population in Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe. Groups that have historically been called Vlachs include modern-day Romanians, Aromanians, Meglenites and Istro-Romanians, but since the creation of the Romanian state, the term has mostly been used for those living south of the Danube river.

Although most linguists agree that their languages share a common origin, the origins of the Vlachs themselves are disputed, as is the notion that all Vlach groups have the same ethnic origins. According to the dominant theory, they are descended from the Roman colonists and/or the Romanised Dacian, Thracian and Illyrian local populations (see Origin of Romanians for more about the dispute about the origin). Some scholars also include the Greeks among their possible ancestors, especially in regards to the Aromanians.

Etymology

Main article: Etymology of Vlach

The word Vlach is of Germanic origin, sharing this origin with the words "Welsh" and "Walloons" in other parts of Europe. Slavic peoples initially used the name Vlachs when referring to Romanic peoples in general. Later on, the meaning got narrower or just different. For example Italy is called Włochy in Polish, and Olaszország in Hungarian. The term was originally an exonym, as the Vlachs used various words derived from romanus to refer to themselves (români, rumâni, rumâri, aromâni, arumâni etc). Only the Meglenites adopted the term Vlashi to describe themselves.

Wallachia

Many Vlachs were shepherds and they always looked for better pastures. This explains the pockets of Vlachs that could be found all over the Balkans and as far north as Poland and as far west the Czech Republic, and Croatia. These regions inhabited by Vlachs were called "Wallachia" or "Vlashka" by the Slavs.

• Ungro-Wallachia, later Wallachia ("Ţara Românească") - between the Southern Carpathians and the Danube
  • Vlaşca - part of southern Wallachia
  • Lower Wallachia ("Oltenia") - west of the Olt river
• Moldo-Wallachia ("Moldavia") - between the Carpathians and the Dnister
• Upper Wallachia - in Epirus
  • Moscopole
• Great Wallachia ("Megale Vlachia") - in Thessaly
• Small Wallachia - in Etolia, Acarnania, Dorida, Locrida
• Old Wallachia ("Stara Vlaška") - in Bosnia
• White Wallachia - in Moesia
• Black Wallachia ("Morlachia") - in Dalmatia
• Sirmium Wallachia - on the Sava river
• Moravian Wallachia ("Valašský") - in the Beskidy Mountains of the Czech Republic

Peoples

1. Daco-Romanians known by that name due to their possible Dacian origin. They are divided into:

• Romanians (speaking Romanian language), which living in:
  • Romania - 20.5 millions
  • Ukraine - 500,000; in southern Bessarabia and northern Bukovina
  • Hungary - 70,000 (0.7% of the total population)
  • Serbia and Montenegro - 34,000 (mainly in Vojvodina)
  • Slovakia - 9,000
  • Bulgaria - 1,088 according to the last census
• Moldovans (speaking Moldovan language), which living in:
  • Moldova - 2.8 millions
• Vlachs of Serbia (speaking Vlach language), which living in:
  • Serbia and Montenegro - 40,000

2. Aromanians (speaking Aromanian), living in:

• Greece, mainly in the Pindus Mountains - 65,000

Note: the Greek government does not recognise any ethnic divisions, so there are no exact statistics. See Demographics of Greece.

• Romania - about 50,000, mainly in Dobruja
• Albania - between 10,000 and 40,000
• Republic of Macedonia - 9,695 (0.5% of the total population)
• Bulgaria - 4,000

3. Meglenites (speaking Meglenitic language), living in northern Greece - 20,000

4. Istro-Romanians (speaking Istro-Romanian language) are living in Croatia, with a population of 1,200.

Culture

Just like the language, the cultural links between the Northern Vlachs (Romanians) and Southern Vlachs (Aromanians) were broken by the 10th century, and since then, there were different cultural influences:

• Romanian culture was influenced by the Slavs and later by the Hungarians and Germans (mainly in Transylvania). The 19th century saw an important opening toward Western Europe and cultural ties with France.
• Aromanian culture developed initially as a pastoral culture, later to be greatly influenced by the Byzantine and Greek culture.

Religion

The religion of the Vlachs is predominantly Eastern Orthodox Christianity, but there are some regions where they are Catholics and Protestants (mainly in Transylvania) and a few are even Muslims (former converts from Greece, living in Turkey since the 1923 exchange of populations).

History

(to be written)

• History of Vlachs
• History of Romanians

See also

• List of Vlachs
• List of Romanians

Further reading

• Koukoudis, Asterios I. - The Vlachs: Metropolis and Diaspora, 2003, ISBN 9607760867

External links

• State statistical office, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
• Studies on the Vlachs, by Asterios Koukoudis