Gypsies on the move: the vanguard

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:31:28 +0000

This engraving by Jacques Callot (1592-1635) belongs to the series of four etchings known as Les Bohémiens, produced between 1621 and 1625. Classified as number two of the set, the print emphasises the warlike character of the gypsies. Impeccably dressed, heavily armed with firearms, mounted on splendid horses, wearing feathered hats and moustaches, they are the spitting image of the arrogant military man. Numerous examples of Gypsies as mercenaries have been recorded; to Bishop Sigismund, defender of the city of Funfkiirchen, they provided muskets, bullets and war harnesses, displaying their knowledge of the art of metalworking. It is also known that in the 16th century Henry IV of France had a battalion of 400 Gypsies in his service, and that during the Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648) the Swedes had a Gypsy leader among their troops. In 1773, a decree of the tsar ordered the formation of two cavalry regiments by recruiting Gypsy men. Another later example can be found in 1780 in the Hungarian detachments of Orosaish and Jalaish, where there was one Gypsy for every eight soldiers.

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The gypsies on the move: the rearguard

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:31:21 +0000

The series of four etchings by Jacques Callot (1592-1635) stands out in the iconography of the wandering life of the gypsies. It is known as Les Bohémiens and was published between 1621 and 1625. The first print is entitled The Gypsies on the March: The Rearguard, and offers a warlike vision of the male Gypsies. This is not the skilled gypsy who works with metal or the shaman who deals with animals, but the fully armed professional warrior who offers himself as a mercenary. They wear jackets, high soft boots and wide-brimmed hats with feathers. Like so many of them, he travels with his family, duly accommodated in a wagon with spoked wheels that largely solved their housing problem. They carried blankets, rugs, barrels, clothes and other kitchen utensils. The image is also a reminder that the Gypsy people are actually made up of many different tribal-like groups that can properly be considered as clans. The leadership they know almost always refers to an older person who is usually, but not always, a man. This picture shows three generations of gypsies, the most comfortable place being for the elders. An old man with no military attributes, perhaps the patriarch, drives the cart mounted on a penco. The oldest woman rides in the carriage while the others are divided up: some on old nags, others on donkeys and the rest, even if they are pregnant, walk. Some of the women are covered with striped cloaks and all are barefoot, surrounded and embraced by countless children on their backs, on their laps or on their chests. The little ones carry animals in their arms, have learned to walk barefoot and are busy playing, either with their father’s hat or some utensil on their heads. The couplet that can be read at the top of the engraving limits itself to saying indulgently what they are, poor beggars, and to making a sceptical statement about what is expected of them, future promises, good fortune: “These poor beggars laden with good fortune/bring nothing but future things”.

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Les Bohémiens - History Lab

Gypsies on the move: the vanguard

The gypsies on the move: the rearguard