Under the Yoke for Half a Millennium: A Legal-Historical Perspective on Romani Slavery in Wallachia and Moldavia Cover Image

Rabigán fél évezreden át: a roma rabszolgaság vizsgálata Havasalföldön és Moldvában jogtörténeti szempontból
Under the Yoke for Half a Millennium: A Legal-Historical Perspective on Romani Slavery in Wallachia and Moldavia

Author(s): Bence Zsolt Kovács
Subject(s): Law, Constitution, Jurisprudence, History of Law, Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, Labour and Social Security Law
Published by: Scientia Kiadó
Keywords: Romani; slavery; legal status; Wallachia; Moldavia;

Summary/Abstract: The Romani community experienced a unique and overlooked chapter in world history through their enslavement in the two Romanian principalities, a status that persisted from their arrival until the mid-19th century. This phenomenon is currently unknown to the larger Romanian society as well as the majority of the descendants of the liberated Romanis. The article presents a comprehensive legal-historical examination of this nearly 500-year period of enslavement, exploring the theories surrounding the emergence of this legal institution, the various criteria used to classify the Romanis, the norms that governed their enslavement, their legal status, and their eventual legal emancipation at the dawn of the modern era.

  • Issue Year: VII/2024
  • Issue No: 1
  • Page Range: 33-58
  • Page Count: 26
  • Language: Hungarian
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