Fictional representations of Roma
Encyclopedia
Particularly notable are classics like Carmen
Carmen
Carmen is a French opéra comique by Georges Bizet. The libretto is by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée, first published in 1845, itself possibly influenced by the narrative poem The Gypsies by Alexander Pushkin...
by Prosper Mérimée
Prosper Mérimée
Prosper Mérimée was a French dramatist, historian, archaeologist, and short story writer. He is perhaps best known for his novella Carmen, which became the basis of Bizet's opera Carmen.-Life:...
and adapted by Georges Bizet
Georges Bizet
Georges Bizet formally Alexandre César Léopold Bizet, was a French composer, mainly of operas. In a career cut short by his early death, he achieved few successes before his final work, Carmen, became one of the most popular and frequently performed works in the entire opera repertory.During a...
, Victor Hugo
Victor Hugo
Victor-Marie Hugo was a Frenchpoet, playwright, novelist, essayist, visual artist, statesman, human rights activist and exponent of the Romantic movement in France....
's The Hunchback of Notre-Dame and Miguel de Cervantes
Miguel de Cervantes
Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra was a Spanish novelist, poet, and playwright. His magnum opus, Don Quixote, considered the first modern novel, is a classic of Western literature, and is regarded amongst the best works of fiction ever written...
' La Gitanilla.
The Romani were also heavily romanticized in the Soviet Union, a classic example being the 1975 Tabor ukhodit v Nebo
Queen of the Gypsies
Queen of the Gypsies One of the songs near the introduction of the film had become popular on Youtube as the "Gypsie Song".It was the most attended movie in the Soviet Union in 1976, with 64.9 million tickets sold.-External links:*...
.
A more realistic depiction of contemporary Romani in the Balkans, featuring Romani lay actors speaking in their native dialects, although still playing with established clichés of a Romani penchant for both magic and crime, was presented by Emir Kusturica
Emir Kusturica
Emir Nemanja Kusturica , is a Serbian filmmaker, actor and musician, recognized for several internationally acclaimed feature films...
in his Time of the Gypsies
Time of the Gypsies
Time of the Gypsies is a 1988 Yugoslav film by Serbian director Emir Kusturica. Filmed in Romani and Serbian, Time of the Gypsies tells the story of a young Romani man with magical powers who is tricked into engaging in petty crime...
(1988) and Black Cat, White Cat
Black Cat, White Cat
Black Cat, White Cat is a 1998 Yugoslav romantic comedy film directed by Emir Kusturica. It won the Silver Lion for Best Direction at the Venice Film Festival....
(1998). Another realistic depiction of Romanies in Yugoslavia is I Even Met Happy Gypsies
I Even Met Happy Gypsies
I Even Met Happy Gypsies is a 1967 Yugoslav film by Serbian director Aleksandar Petrović. Its original Serbian title is Skupljači perja, which means The Feather Gatherers. The film is centered around Roma people's life in a village in northern Vojvodina, but it also deals with subtler themes such...
(1967).
Literature
- A Midsummer Night's DreamA Midsummer Night's DreamA Midsummer Night's Dream is a play that was written by William Shakespeare. It is believed to have been written between 1590 and 1596. It portrays the events surrounding the marriage of the Duke of Athens, Theseus, and the Queen of the Amazons, Hippolyta...
by William ShakespeareWilliam ShakespeareWilliam Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
(1596) – Which includes the lines "Sees Helen's beauty in the brow of Egypt", Egypt is used to refer to the Romani people of England. In the context that imagining the face of a lover can make the dark skinned gypsy look like Helen of Troy a great beauty. - As You Like ItAs You Like ItAs You Like It is a pastoral comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1599 or early 1600 and first published in the folio of 1623. The play's first performance is uncertain, though a performance at Wilton House in 1603 has been suggested as a possibility...
a pastoral comedy by William ShakespeareWilliam ShakespeareWilliam Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
(1600) – Shakespear uses the word "dukdame" is a corruption or mishearing of the old Romanichal word dukka me or (I foretell or I tell fortunes). - OthelloOthelloThe Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1603, and based on the Italian short story "Un Capitano Moro" by Cinthio, a disciple of Boccaccio, first published in 1565...
by William ShakespeareWilliam ShakespeareWilliam Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
(1603) – DesdemonaDesdemonaDesdemona is a character in William Shakespeare's play Othello.Desdemona may also refer to:People* Desdemona , a soprano role in the 1816 opera Otello by Gioachino Rossini...
's handkerchief a gift to Othello's mother is a gift from a gypsy "Egyptian charmer" who can almost read the thoughts of people. - The TempestThe TempestThe Tempest is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1610–11, and thought by many critics to be the last play that Shakespeare wrote alone. It is set on a remote island, where Prospero, the exiled Duke of Milan, plots to restore his daughter Miranda to her rightful place,...
by William ShakespeareWilliam ShakespeareWilliam Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
(1611) – The only human inhabitant of the mythical island the character CalibanCalibanCaliban is a character in William Shakespeare's play The Tempest.Caliban may also refer to:* Caliban , a moon of Uranus* Caliban , a metalcore band from Germany* Caliban , an acoustic Celtic folk duo...
is thought to be named after the word Kaliban meaning black or with blackness in the English Romani language. As the first Romani immigrants arrived in England a century before Shakespear wrote The Tempest, it is thought he may have been influenced by their exotic looks. In this time Romanies in England were targeted for discrimination. - 1613: Miguel de CervantesMiguel de CervantesMiguel de Cervantes Saavedra was a Spanish novelist, poet, and playwright. His magnum opus, Don Quixote, considered the first modern novel, is a classic of Western literature, and is regarded amongst the best works of fiction ever written...
' novel La Gitanilla - 1631: Ben JonsonBen JonsonBenjamin Jonson was an English Renaissance dramatist, poet and actor. A contemporary of William Shakespeare, he is best known for his satirical plays, particularly Volpone, The Alchemist, and Bartholomew Fair, which are considered his best, and his lyric poems...
's play Bartholomew Fair. A comedy set in Londons Bartholomew Fair where a band of Romani entertain a crowd. - 18th century: William WordsworthWilliam WordsworthWilliam Wordsworth was a major English Romantic poet who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped to launch the Romantic Age in English literature with the 1798 joint publication Lyrical Ballads....
's Vagrant Muse. A young homeless woman is welcomed by a band of gypsies who take her in and offer her charity and companionship. - 1722: Daniel DefoeDaniel DefoeDaniel Defoe , born Daniel Foe, was an English trader, writer, journalist, and pamphleteer, who gained fame for his novel Robinson Crusoe. Defoe is notable for being one of the earliest proponents of the novel, as he helped to popularise the form in Britain and along with others such as Richardson,...
's Moll FlandersMoll FlandersThe Fortunes and Misfortunes of the Famous Moll Flanders is a novel written by Daniel Defoe in 1722, after his work as a journalist and pamphleteer. By 1722, Defoe had become a recognised novelist, with the success of Robinson Crusoe in 1719...
. Moll's earliest memory is of wandering "among a group of people they call Gypsies or Egyptians" in England. - 19th century: Guy de MaupassantGuy de MaupassantHenri René Albert Guy de Maupassant was a popular 19th-century French writer, considered one of the fathers of the modern short story and one of the form's finest exponents....
's short stories. Romani appear in several short stories by the French writer . - 19th century: John ClareJohn ClareJohn Clare was an English poet, born the son of a farm labourer who came to be known for his celebratory representations of the English countryside and his lamentation of its disruption. His poetry underwent a major re-evaluation in the late 20th century and he is often now considered to be among...
's Vagabond in a Native Place. A selection of poems romanticizing the lives culture, and wanderings of the English gypsy people. - 1815: Jane AustenJane AustenJane Austen was an English novelist whose works of romantic fiction, set among the landed gentry, earned her a place as one of the most widely read writers in English literature, her realism and biting social commentary cementing her historical importance among scholars and critics.Austen lived...
's Emma. Gypsies make a brief appearance in Emma as children who bait Harriet in a lonely lane Austin's description of the Gypsy is romanticised. - 1815: Walter ScottWalter ScottSir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet was a Scottish historical novelist, playwright, and poet, popular throughout much of the world during his time....
's novel Guy ManneringGuy ManneringGuy Mannering or The Astrologer is a novel by Sir Walter Scott, published anonymously in 1815. According to an introduction that Scott wrote in 1829, he had originally intended to write a story of the supernatural, but changed his mind soon after starting...
. - 1831: Victor HugoVictor HugoVictor-Marie Hugo was a Frenchpoet, playwright, novelist, essayist, visual artist, statesman, human rights activist and exponent of the Romantic movement in France....
's novelNovelA novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
The Hunchback of Notre DameThe Hunchback of Notre DameThe Hunchback of Notre-Dame is a novel by Victor Hugo published in 1831. The French title refers to the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, on which the story is centered.-Background:... - 1841: Charles DickensCharles DickensCharles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
's Old Curiosity Shop. Describes the first literary mention of an English Romanichal vardo or wagon. - 1845: Prosper MériméeProsper MériméeProsper Mérimée was a French dramatist, historian, archaeologist, and short story writer. He is perhaps best known for his novella Carmen, which became the basis of Bizet's opera Carmen.-Life:...
's short story "Carmen", upon which the opera was based. - 1847: Emily BrontëEmily BrontëEmily Jane Brontë 30 July 1818 – 19 December 1848) was an English novelist and poet, best remembered for her only novel, Wuthering Heights, now considered a classic of English literature. Emily was the third eldest of the four surviving Brontë siblings, between the youngest Anne and her brother...
's novel Wuthering HeightsWuthering HeightsWuthering Heights is a novel by Emily Brontë published in 1847. It was her only novel and written between December 1845 and July 1846. It remained unpublished until July 1847 and was not printed until December after the success of her sister Charlotte Brontë's novel Jane Eyre...
. HeathcliffHeathcliff (Wuthering Heights)Heathcliff is a fictional character in the novel Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë. Owing to the novel's enduring fame and popularity, he is often regarded as an archetype of the tortured Romantic hero whose all-consuming passions destroy both himself and those around him.Legend has stereotyped...
is described as looking like and guessed to be a Gypsy by several characters, though this is never confirmed or denied. - 1847: Charlotte BrontëCharlotte BrontëCharlotte Brontë was an English novelist and poet, the eldest of the three Brontë sisters who survived into adulthood, whose novels are English literature standards...
's Jane EyreJane EyreJane Eyre is a novel by English writer Charlotte Brontë. It was published in London, England, in 1847 by Smith, Elder & Co. with the title Jane Eyre. An Autobiography under the pen name "Currer Bell." The first American edition was released the following year by Harper & Brothers of New York...
. English Romany visit Thornfield Manor to tell fortune tellers. - 1853: Matthew ArnoldMatthew ArnoldMatthew Arnold was a British poet and cultural critic who worked as an inspector of schools. He was the son of Thomas Arnold, the famed headmaster of Rugby School, and brother to both Tom Arnold, literary professor, and William Delafield Arnold, novelist and colonial administrator...
's "The Scholar Gypsy". A poem based on a legend recounted by Joseph Glanvill in The Vanity of Dogmatizing (1661), on the thoughts and reflections of a gypsies relationship, belief in, and relationship with god. - 1856: Elizabeth Barrett BrowningElizabeth Barrett BrowningElizabeth Barrett Browning was one of the most prominent poets of the Victorian era. Her poetry was widely popular in both England and the United States during her lifetime. A collection of her last poems was published by her husband, Robert Browning, shortly after her death.-Early life:Members...
's poem/novel Aurora LeighAurora LeighAurora Leigh is an eponymous epic novel/poem by Elizabeth Barrett Browning. The poem is written in blank verse and encompasses nine books . It is a first person narration, from the point of view of Aurora; its other heroine, Marian Erle, is an abused self-taught child of itinerant parents...
. Marian Erle is Rom. - 1857: George BorrowGeorge BorrowGeorge Henry Borrow was an English author who wrote novels and travelogues based on his own experiences around Europe. Over the course of his wanderings, he developed a close affinity with the Romani people of Europe. They figure prominently in his work...
's novels LavengroLavengroLavengro: The Scholar, the Gypsy, the Priest is a work by George Borrow, falling somewhere between the genres of memoir and novel, which has long been considered a classic of 19th century English literature. According to the author lav-engro is a Romany word meaning "word master". The historian...
and The Romany RyeThe Romany Rye-The novel:Largely thought to be at least partly autobiographical, it follows on from Lavengro . The title can be translated from Romany as 'Gipsy Gentleman'. On October 18, 1853, Mrs... - 1860: George EliotGeorge EliotMary Anne Evans , better known by her pen name George Eliot, was an English novelist, journalist and translator, and one of the leading writers of the Victorian era...
's The Mill on the FlossThe Mill on the FlossThe Mill on the Floss is a novel by George Eliot , first published in three volumes in 1860 by William Blackwood. The first American edition was by Thomas Y...
. The protagonist Maggie runs away to gypsies, but decides she has gone out of her depth. They do not harm her, but the episode darkly prefigures the steps that she will take in adulthood. - 1875: Georges BizetGeorges BizetGeorges Bizet formally Alexandre César Léopold Bizet, was a French composer, mainly of operas. In a career cut short by his early death, he achieved few successes before his final work, Carmen, became one of the most popular and frequently performed works in the entire opera repertory.During a...
's operaOperaOpera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
CarmenCarmenCarmen is a French opéra comique by Georges Bizet. The libretto is by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée, first published in 1845, itself possibly influenced by the narrative poem The Gypsies by Alexander Pushkin...
. - 1892: Arthur Conan DoyleArthur Conan DoyleSir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle DL was a Scottish physician and writer, most noted for his stories about the detective Sherlock Holmes, generally considered a milestone in the field of crime fiction, and for the adventures of Professor Challenger...
's Sherlock HolmesSherlock HolmesSherlock Holmes is a fictional detective created by Scottish author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The fantastic London-based "consulting detective", Holmes is famous for his astute logical reasoning, his ability to take almost any disguise, and his use of forensic science skills to solve...
story, The Adventure of the Speckled BandThe Adventure of the Speckled Band"The Adventure of the Speckled Band" is one of the 56 short Sherlock Holmes stories written by Scottish author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. It is the eighth of the twelve stories collected in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. It is one of four Sherlock Holmes stories that can be classified as a locked...
. - 1897: Bram StokerBram StokerAbraham "Bram" Stoker was an Irish novelist and short story writer, best known today for his 1897 Gothic novel Dracula...
's DraculaDraculaDracula is an 1897 novel by Irish author Bram Stoker.Famous for introducing the character of the vampire Count Dracula, the novel tells the story of Dracula's attempt to relocate from Transylvania to England, and the battle between Dracula and a small group of men and women led by Professor...
. Features a group of Romanies working for the Count. - 1902: E. NesbitE. NesbitEdith Nesbit was an English author and poet whose children's works were published under the name of E. Nesbit. She wrote or collaborated on over 60 books of fiction for children, several of which have been adapted for film and television...
's Five Children and ItFive Children and ItFive Children and It is a children's novel by English author Edith Nesbit, first published in 1902; it was expanded from a series of stories published in the Strand Magazine in 1900 under the general title The Psammead, or the Gifts. It is the first of a trilogy...
. The children run into a band of English gypsies on the road. - 1908: Kenneth GrahameKenneth GrahameKenneth Grahame was a Scottish writer, most famous for The Wind in the Willows , one of the classics of children's literature. He also wrote The Reluctant Dragon; both books were later adapted into Disney films....
's The Wind in the WillowsThe Wind in the WillowsThe Wind in the Willows is a classic of children's literature by Kenneth Grahame, first published in 1908. Alternately slow moving and fast paced, it focuses on four anthropomorphised animal characters in a pastoral version of England...
. Toad owner of Toad Hall, an impulsive and conceited character, buys a horse-drawn English gypsy vardo. - 1911: SakiSakiHector Hugh Munro , better known by the pen name Saki, and also frequently as H. H. Munro, was a British writer whose witty, mischievous and sometimes macabre stories satirised Edwardian society and culture. He is considered a master of the short story and often compared to O. Henry and Dorothy...
's short story "Esme" (included in The Chronicles of Clovis). Features a degrading depiction of a gypsy child that is used to foreground the heartless nature of the English aristocrats. - 1926: D H Lawrence's The Virgin and the GypsyThe Virgin and the GypsyThe Virgin and the Gypsy is a short story by English author D. H. Lawrence. It was written in 1926 and published posthumously in 1930...
. A young Romani hero is a useful antidote to a rigid social class system. - 1930: Hermann HesseHermann HesseHermann Hesse was a German-Swiss poet, novelist, and painter. In 1946, he received the Nobel Prize in Literature...
's novel Narcissus and GoldmundNarcissus and GoldmundNarcissus and Goldmund is a novel written by the German-Swiss author Hermann Hesse which was first published in German as Narziß und Goldmund in 1930...
. Features a Romani girl called Lisa. - 1943-1978: Malcolm SavilleMalcolm SavilleLeonard Malcolm Saville was an English author born in Hastings, Sussex. He is best known for the Lone Pine series of children's books, many of which are set in Shropshire. His work places emphasis on place, with the books including many vivid descriptions of English countryside, villages and...
's Lone Pine books. A gypsy family (Reuben, Miranda and Fenella) are friends and allies from the Lone Pine Club's members specially from the tomboy girl and the club's vice captain Petronella Sterling. - 1940: Ernest HemingwayErnest HemingwayErnest Miller Hemingway was an American author and journalist. His economic and understated style had a strong influence on 20th-century fiction, while his life of adventure and his public image influenced later generations. Hemingway produced most of his work between the mid-1920s and the...
's For Whom the Bell TollsFor Whom the Bell TollsFor Whom the Bell Tolls is a novel by Ernest Hemingway published in 1940. It tells the story of Robert Jordan, a young American in the International Brigades attached to a republican guerrilla unit during the Spanish Civil War. As an expert in the use of explosives, he is assigned to blow up a...
. Featured a Romani named Rafael. - 1947: The Nancy Drew Mystery Story The Clue in the Old AlbumThe Clue in the Old AlbumAt a doll collector's request for help, Nancy Drew searches for an old album, a lost doll, and a missing gypsy violinist. The Clue in the Old Album is the twenty-fourth volume in the Nancy Drew Mystery Stories series. It was first published in 1947 under the pseudonym Carolyn Keene. The actual...
. Some of the main characters are gypsies. - 1956: Dodie SmithDodie SmithDorothy Gladys "Dodie" Smith was an English novelist and playwright. Smith is best known for her novel The Hundred and One Dalmatians. Her other works include I Capture the Castle and The Starlight Barking....
's The Hundred and One DalmatiansThe Hundred and One DalmatiansThe Hundred and One Dalmatians, or the Great Dog Robbery is a 1956 children's novel by Dodie Smith. A sequel entitled The Starlight Barking continues from the end of the first novel....
. After escaping from Cruella De VilCruella de VilCruella de Vil is a fictional character and the iconic villain in Dodie Smith's 1956 novel The Hundred and One Dalmatians, Disney's 1961 animated film adaptation One Hundred and One Dalmatians, and Disney's live-action film adaptations 101 Dalmatians and 102 Dalmatians. In all her incarnations,...
's country house, the dogs are nearly trapped by an old gypsy woman who wants to sell them. Her horse helps the dogs escape again. - 1957: Ian FlemingIan FlemingIan Lancaster Fleming was a British author, journalist and Naval Intelligence Officer.Fleming is best known for creating the fictional British spy James Bond and for a series of twelve novels and nine short stories about the character, one of the biggest-selling series of fictional books of...
's James BondJames BondJames Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
novel From Russia, with Love. Set in a gypsy encampment in Turkey, features a traditional fight to the death between two gypsy girls vying for the affection of the same man. - 1958: Elizabeth GoudgeElizabeth GoudgeElizabeth de Beauchamp Goudge was an English author of novels, short stories and children's books as Elizabeth Goudge...
's The White Witch. Features a description of the lifestyle of the Romnichals of the UK during the civil war. - 1963: HergéHergéGeorges Prosper Remi , better known by the pen name Hergé, was a Belgian comics writer and artist. His best known and most substantial work is the 23 completed comic books in The Adventures of Tintin series, which he wrote and illustrated from 1929 until his death in 1983, although he was also...
's The Adventures of TintinThe Adventures of TintinThe Adventures of Tintin is a series of classic comic books created by Belgian artist , who wrote under the pen name of Hergé...
comic book The Castafiore EmeraldThe Castafiore EmeraldThe Castafiore Emerald is an album in the classic comic-strip series The Adventures of Tintin by Belgian writer and illustrator Hergé, featuring young reporter Tintin as a hero....
. Features several Romani characters and a few Romani words. This graphic novelGraphic novelA graphic novel is a narrative work in which the story is conveyed to the reader using sequential art in either an experimental design or in a traditional comics format...
is very sympathetic to the Romani characters. - 1967: Gabriel García MárquezGabriel García MárquezGabriel José de la Concordia García Márquez is a Colombian novelist, short-story writer, screenwriter and journalist, known affectionately as Gabo throughout Latin America. He is considered one of the most significant authors of the 20th century. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in...
's One Hundred Years of SolitudeOne Hundred Years of SolitudeOne Hundred Years of Solitude , by Gabriel García Márquez, is a novel which tells the multi-generational story of the Buendía family, whose patriarch, José Arcadio Buendía, founds the town of Macondo, the metaphoric Colombia...
. - 1971, 1972: Martin Cruz SmithMartin Cruz SmithMartin Cruz Smith is an American mystery novelist.-Early life and education:Born Martin William Smith in Reading, Pennsylvania, he was educated at the University of Pennsylvania, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in creative writing in 1964...
's Gypsy in Amber and Canto for a Gypsy. - 1972: Rumer GoddenRumer GoddenMargaret Rumer Godden OBE was an English author of over 60 fiction and nonfiction books written under the name of Rumer Godden. A few of her works were co-written by her sister, Jon Godden, who wrote several novels on her own...
's children's book The DiddakoiThe DiddakoiThe Diddakoi is a 1972 novel for children by Rumer Godden. It won the 1972 Whitbread Award in the Children's Book category. It is the story of an orphan traveller or Romani girl called Kizzy, who faces persecution, grief and loss in a hostile, close-knit village community. This is a moving tale of...
(also published as Gypsy Girl). Winner of the Whitbread Award. Adapted for television by the BBC as Kizzy. - 1975: Roald DahlRoald DahlRoald Dahl was a British novelist, short story writer, fighter pilot and screenwriter.Born in Wales to Norwegian parents, he served in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War, in which he became a flying ace and intelligence agent, rising to the rank of Wing Commander...
's children's book Danny, the Champion of the WorldDanny, the Champion of the WorldDanny, the Champion of the World is a 1975 children's book by Roald Dahl. The plot main centers on a young English boy, Danny, and his father, William, who live in a Gypsy vardo fixing cars for a living and partake in poaching pheasants. The story is based on Dahl's adult short story "Champion of...
. A young boy lives with his father in a traditional English vardoVardo (gypsy wagon)A vardo is a traditional horse-drawn wagon used by British Romani people .The design of the vardo included large wheels running outside the body of the van, which slopes outwards considerably towards the eaves...
, although it is unclear if the protagonist Danny and his father are themselves Romanichal and admire the culture or prefer the lifestyle. - 1978–present: The Star Wars Expanded UniverseStar Wars Expanded UniverseThe Star Wars Expanded Universe encompasses all of the officially licensed, fictional background of the Star Wars universe, outside of the six feature films produced by George Lucas. The expanded universe includes books, comic books, video games, spin-off films like Star Wars: The Clone Wars,...
books. A race of aliens known as the Ryn possess many stereotypical gypsy traits, including clan family structures, wanderer natures, reputations as thieves and more. - 1981, 1988: Robertson DaviesRobertson DaviesWilliam Robertson Davies, CC, OOnt, FRSC, FRSL was a Canadian novelist, playwright, critic, journalist, and professor. He was one of Canada's best-known and most popular authors, and one of its most distinguished "men of letters", a term Davies is variously said to have gladly accepted for himself...
's novels The Lyre of OrpheusThe Lyre of Orpheus (novel)The Lyre of Orpheus, first published by Macmillan of Canada in 1988, is the last of the three connected novels of the Cornish Trilogy by Canadian novelist Robertson Davies...
and The Rebel AngelsThe Rebel AngelsThe Rebel Angels is Canadian author Robertson Davies's most noted novel, after those that form his Deptford Trilogy.First published by Macmillan of Canada in 1981, The Rebel Angels is the first of the three connected novels of Davies' Cornish Trilogy...
. Feature major characters who maintain Romani traditions, including the care and repair of musical instruments, in modern Canada. - 1983: Tim PowersTim PowersTimothy Thomas "Tim" Powers is an American science fiction and fantasy author. Powers has won the World Fantasy Award twice for his critically acclaimed novels Last Call and Declare...
' novel The Anubis GatesThe Anubis GatesThe Anubis Gates is a time travel fantasy novel by Tim Powers. It won the 1983 Philip K. Dick Award and 1984 Science Fiction Chronicle Award.- Plot summary :...
. Features a band of Romanies led by Egyptian magicians and utilizes quite a few expressions from the Romani languageRomani languageRomani or Romany, Gypsy or Gipsy is any of several languages of the Romani people. They are Indic, sometimes classified in the "Central" or "Northwestern" zone, and sometimes treated as a branch of their own....
. - 1984: Stephen KingStephen KingStephen Edwin King is an American author of contemporary horror, suspense, science fiction and fantasy fiction. His books have sold more than 350 million copies and have been adapted into a number of feature films, television movies and comic books...
's novel ThinnerThinner (novel)Thinner is a 1984 novel by Stephen King, published under his pseudonym, Richard Bachman. It would be the last novel which King released under the Richard Bachman pseudonym until the release of The Regulators in 1996 . The photo is claimed to have been taken by Claudia Inez Bachman...
. Includes the classic plot device of the Romani curse. It was also made into a movie. - 1985: Charles de LintCharles de LintCharles de Lint is a Canadian fantasy author and folk musician. He is also the chief book critic for The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction....
's novel Mulengro. Contemporary fantasyContemporary fantasyContemporary fantasy, also known as modern fantasy or indigenous fantasy, is a sub-genre of fantasy, set in the present day. It is perhaps most popular for its sub-genre, urban fantasy.-Definition and overview:...
portrayal of the Romani and their cultural myths. - 1986: Robert SilverbergRobert SilverbergRobert Silverberg is an American author, best known for writing science fiction. He is a multiple nominee of the Hugo Award and a winner of the Nebula Award.-Early years:...
's Star of Gypsies. A Sci-Fi epic about the King of the Romanies searching out the long lost Romany home star system. - 1987: Piers AnthonyPiers AnthonyPiers Anthony Dillingham Jacob is an English American writer in the science fiction and fantasy genres, publishing under the name Piers Anthony. He is most famous for his long-running novel series set in the fictional realm of Xanth.Many of his books have appeared on the New York Times Best...
's Incarnations of ImmortalityIncarnations of ImmortalityIncarnations of Immortality is the name of an eight-book fantasy series by Piers Anthony. The first seven books each focus on one of seven supernatural "offices" in a fictional reality and history parallel to ours, with the exception that society has advanced both magic and modern technology...
series. The latter half of features the Romani in a hugely positive light, most prominent in Being A Green Mother. - 1987: John CrowleyJohn CrowleyJohn Crowley is an American author of fantasy, science fiction and mainstream fiction. He studied at Indiana University and has a second career as a documentary film writer...
's ÆgyptÆgyptÆgypt is a sequence of four novels by John Crowley. The work describes the work and life of Pierce Moffett, who prepares a manuscript for publication even as it prepares him for some as-yet unknown destiny, all set amidst strange and subtle Hermetic manipulations among the Faraway Hills at the...
cycle. Much of the narrative of unfolds from an encounter with a gypsy fortune-teller, and revolves around the question of why people believe Romanies can tell the future. - 1987: Isobelle CarmodyIsobelle CarmodyIsobelle Jane Carmody is an Australian writer of science fiction, fantasy, children's literature, and young adult literature.-Biography:Carmody began work on the highly acclaimed Obernewtyn Chronicles at the age of fourteen...
's Obernewtyn series. A fantasy fiction novel about the land of men and beings destroyed by what they call the "Great White". This story includes many gypsies, and how the townspeople are very jealous of their very good living. - 1988–present: Mercedes LackeyMercedes LackeyMercedes "Misty" Lackey is a best-selling American author of fantasy novels. Many of her novels and trilogies are interlinked and set in the world of Velgarth, mostly in and around the country of Valdemar...
's Valdemar series. Features a fictional race of people based loosely on the Romani, even to the extent of using Romani language; most prominent in the Vows and Honor books. - 199: Bernard AshleyBernard Ashley (author)Bernard Ashley is a British author of children's books. Among his best-known works are The Trouble with Donovan Croft and A Kind of Wild Justice...
's novel "Johnnie's Blitz." - 1992: Joe GoresJoe GoresJoe Gores was an American mystery writer...
's "32 Cadillacs" - 1995-2000: Philip PullmanPhilip PullmanPhilip Pullman CBE, FRSL is an English writer from Norwich. He is the best-selling author of several books, most notably his trilogy of fantasy novels, His Dark Materials, and his fictionalised biography of Jesus, The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ...
's His Dark MaterialsHis Dark MaterialsHis Dark Materials is a trilogy of fantasy novels by Philip Pullman comprising Northern Lights , The Subtle Knife , and The Amber Spyglass...
trilogy. Features a nomadic race called the Gyptians. Gyptians are roughly the equivalent of Gypsies in our universe, with the exception that they use narrowboats in place of caravanCaravan (travellers)A caravan is a group of people traveling together, often on a trade expedition. Caravans were used mainly in desert areas and throughout the Silk Road, where traveling in groups aided in defence against bandits as well as helped to improve economies of scale in trade.In historical times, caravans...
s. Throughout the books they are portrayed as good and kindly people. - 1996-2001: Tad WilliamsTad WilliamsRobert Paul "Tad" Williams, born in San Jose, California, is the author of several fantasy and science fiction novels, including Tailchaser's Song, the Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn series, the Otherland series, and The War of the Flowers....
' OtherlandOtherlandOtherland is a science fiction tetralogy written by Tad Williams and published between 1996 and 2001. The story is set on Earth near the end of the 21st century, probably between 2082 and 2089 , in a world in which...
series of science fiction books. A Romani character and references to Romani appear as nomads who disregard the borders of an advanced virtual reality cyberspace. - 1999: Ana CastilloAna CastilloAna Castillo is a Mexican-American Chicana novelist, poet, short story writer, and essayist.- Life and career :Castillo was born and raised in an inner city barrio of Chicago, Illinois. After completing undergraduate studies, she immediately began teaching college courses...
's novel Peel My Love Like an Onion. - 1999: Thomas HarrisThomas HarrisThomas Harris is an American author and screenwriter, best known for a series of suspense novels about his most famous character, Hannibal Lecter...
' novel HannibalHannibal (novel)Hannibal is a novel written by Thomas Harris, published in 1999. It is the third in his series featuring Dr. Hannibal Lecter and the second to feature FBI Special Agent Clarice Starling. The novel takes place seven years after the events of The Silence of the Lambs and deals with the intended...
. A member of a seemingly Romani band of travellers is hired by Inspector Pazzi to pickpocket Hannibal Lecter, in order to lift a fingerprint. - 2001: Jacqueline CareyJacqueline CareyJacqueline Carey is an author and novelist, primarily of fantasy fiction.-Life:She attended Lake Forest College, receiving B.A.'s in psychology and English literature. During college, she spent 6 months working in a bookstore in London as part of a work exchange program. While there, she decided...
's Kushiel's LegacyKushiel's LegacyKushiel's Legacy is a series of fantasy novels by Jacqueline Carey, comprising the Phèdre Trilogy and the Imriel Trilogy...
series of fantasy novels. Includes the Tsingani, based on the Roma. - 2001: James HerbertJames HerbertJames Herbert, OBE is a best-selling English horror writer who originally worked as the art director of an advertising agency. He is a full-time writer who also designs his own book covers and publicity.-Family:...
's novel OnceOnce (novel)Once is a 2005 children's novel by Morris Gleitzman. It is about a Jewish boy named Felix, who lived in Poland. Although Once is a work of fiction, Gleitzman was inspired by the events of World War II and Hitler's attempt to destroy the Jewish population of Europe...
. A wiccaWiccaWicca , is a modern Pagan religious movement. Developing in England in the first half of the 20th century, Wicca was popularised in the 1950s and early 1960s by a Wiccan High Priest named Gerald Gardner, who at the time called it the "witch cult" and "witchcraft," and its adherents "the Wica."...
n called Nell Quick is described to be alluring and dressed in the manner of a gypsy woman. She is noted for her extremely beautiful looks and raven colored dark hair. The novel never fully explains her origins or if she is connected to the gypsies. - 2005: Isabel AllendeIsabel AllendeIsabel Allende Llona is a Chilean writer with American citizenship. Allende, whose works sometimes contain aspects of the "magic realist" tradition, is famous for novels such as The House of the Spirits and City of the Beasts , which have been commercially successful...
's novel ZorroZorroZorro is a fictional character created in 1919 by New York-based pulp writer Johnston McCulley. The character has been featured in numerous books, films, television series, and other media....
. Features a clan of Romanies who ally themselves with the titular hero in post-Napoleonic Spain. - 2005: Edith Layton's novel Gypsy Lover. Daffyd, the illegitimate son of a noblewoman and a gypsy, returns to England from a penal colony in Botany BayBotany BayBotany Bay is a bay in Sydney, New South Wales, a few kilometres south of the Sydney central business district. The Cooks River and the Georges River are the two major tributaries that flow into the bay...
to pardon and clear the name of his adopted father the Earl of Egremont. - 2006–present: Rob ThurmanRob ThurmanRobyn Thurman, writing under the name Rob Thurman, is the author of the Cal Leandros Series of six novels: Nightlife, Moonshine, Madhouse, Deathwish, Roadkill, and Blackout...
's novel series, The Cal Leandros Series. The lead character, and his brother, are both half-Romani on their mother's side. - 2007: Lisa KleypasLisa KleypasLisa Kleypas is a best-selling American author of historical and contemporary romance novels. In 1985, she was named Miss Massachusetts and competed in the Miss America pageant in Atlantic City.-Biography:...
's novel Mine Till Midnight, and its companion Seduce Me At Sunrise. Feature two half-Romani male protagonists. - 2007: Nikki Poppen's The Romany Heiress. The heir to the Earl of Spelthorne is captivated by the arrival of a beautiful gypsy shows up on his doorstep claiming to be his deceased parents’ long lost daughter.
- 2007: Colum McCannColum McCannColum McCann is an Irish writer of literary fiction. He is a Professor of Contemporary Literature at European Graduate School and Professor of Fiction at CUNY Hunter College's Master of Fine Arts Program in Creative Writing with fellow novelists Peter Carey, twice winner of the Man Booker Prize,...
's novel ZoliZoliZoli is the fourth novel of the Irish-born American writer Colum McCann. It follows the life of Marienka Novotna, nicknamed "Zoli", a Slovak Romani woman, from her childhood in the 1930s, through her exile in the 1950s, to her late adult life...
. Explores the life of a fictional Slovak Romani artist. - 2007: Paulo CoelhoPaulo CoelhoPaulo Coelho is a Brazilian lyricist and novelist.-Biography:Paulo Coelho was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He attended a Jesuit school. As a teenager, Coelho wanted to become a writer. Upon telling his mother this, she responded with "My dear, your father is an engineer. He's a logical,...
's novel The Witch of PortobelloThe Witch of PortobelloThe Witch of Portobello is a fiction work by Brazilian writer Paulo Coelho published in 2007, about a woman born in Transylvania to a Romani mother, who is orphaned and later adopted by a wealthy Lebanese couple.-Style:...
. The character Athena's biological mother is a Gypsy. - 2007: In Sally Gardner's novel The Red NecklaceThe Red NecklaceThe Red Necklace is a children's historical novel by Sally Gardner, published in 2007. It is a story of the French Revolution, interwoven with gypsy magic.-Plot introduction:...
, the main character Yann and his companion Têtu are Gypsy along with the antagonist Kalliovski. - 2007, 2008: Kate Wild's teenage/ya novels FightGame and FireFight. Thrillers with a sci fi overtone featuring a young gypsy protagonist called Freedom Smith.
- 2008: James RollinsJames Rollins* For the American baseball pitcher, see Jim Czajkowski* For the American baseball shortstop, see Jimmy Rollins* For the 19th century American politician from Missouri, see James S. Rollins...
' novel The Last Oracle. Cmdr. Gray Pierce must stop a rogue group in Russia from using autistic savant gypsy descendants from being used as weapons. - 2010: Sonia Meyer's upcoming novel Dosha.
Other media
- In DC Comics' Batman and Nightwing series, Dick Grayson's father is Romany, which makes him half-Romany.
- The Cirque du SoleilCirque du SoleilCirque du Soleil , is a Canadian entertainment company, self-described as a "dramatic mix of circus arts and street entertainment." Based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and located in the inner-city area of Saint-Michel, it was founded in Baie-Saint-Paul in 1984 by two former street performers, Guy...
traveling show "VarekaiVarekaiVarekai is a Cirque du Soleil touring production that premiered in Montréal in April 2002. Its title means "wherever" in the Romani language, and the show is an "acrobatic tribute to the nomadic soul"....
" takes its name from the Romani language and the characters represented on stage are loosely based on the nomadic way of life associated with the Romani people. - A part of the film The Red ViolinThe Red ViolinThe Red Violin is a 1998 Canadian drama film directed by François Girard. It spans three centuries and five countries as it tells the story of a mysterious violin and its many owners...
is with the romani from Vienna, Prussia to Oxford, Victorian England. - The Chilean telenovelaTelenovelaA telenovela is a limited-run serial dramatic programming popular in Latin American, Portuguese, and Spanish television programming. The word combines tele, short for televisión or televisão , and novela, a Spanish or Portuguese word for "novel"...
Romané features the life of the Romani in the north of Chile. - Romani characters are frequently depicted in werewolfWerewolfA werewolf, also known as a lycanthrope , is a mythological or folkloric human with the ability to shapeshift into a wolf or an anthropomorphic wolf-like creature, either purposely or after being placed under a curse...
films, including Maleva the fortuneteller (Maria OuspenskayaMaria OuspenskayaMaria Alekseyevna Ouspenskaya was a Russian actress and acting teacher. She achieved success as a stage actress as a young woman in Russia, and as an elderly woman in Hollywood films.-Life and career:...
) in The Wolf Man and the Romani clan of female werewolves in Cry of the WerewolfCry of the WerewolfCry of the Werewolf, also known as Daughter of the Werewolf, is a 1944 film starring Nina Foch, based on a story by Griffin Jay and directed by Henry Levin.-Plot summary:...
. - The movie, Children of MenChildren of MenChildren of Men is a 2006 science fiction film loosely adapted from P. D. James's 1992 novel The Children of Men, directed by Alfonso Cuarón. In 2027, two decades of human infertility have left society on the brink of collapse. Illegal immigrants seek sanctuary in England, where the last...
(2006) based on the P.D. James novel of the same name, features a gypsy woman called Marichka in the refugee camp. At one point when she is trying to help the mother and baby escape, Marichka and the woman engage in a tug of war with the baby, recalling the stereotype of gypsies stealing babies. - Ashes to AshesAshes to Ashes (TV series)Ashes to Ashes is a British science fiction and police procedural drama television series, serving as the sequel to Life on Mars.The series began airing on BBC One in February 2008. A second series began broadcasting in April 2009...
Series 2 2009 Episode 2 — A British television police drama series set in the 1980s. A police officer tries to clear her name when she is involved in the accidental death of an English Romanichal. She uncovers a pre-meditated plot to murder him. The episode does include some stereotypical elements as the plot unfolds; namely the plot device of an old Romani clairvoyant and friction between the police and the Romani camp. However these stereotypes are turned on their head as the local doctor who was obsessed with the victims wife is found guilty of poisoning and elements of police corruption. A supporting principal character is revealed to be part Romani. - In 2002 the WB television series CharmedCharmedCharmed is an American television series that originally aired from October 7, 1998, until May 21, 2006, on the now defunct The WB Television Network. The series was created in 1998 by writer Constance M...
aired the episode "The Eyes Have It" which depicted Romanies as practicing a magical craft similar to those of modern-day witches. Much like the star witches in the series, Romanies possess supernatural powers and pass down family Books of ShadowsBook of Shadows (Charmed)The Book of Shadows, or simply "the Book", is a fictional book of witchcraft from the TV series Charmed. In the beginning, the book was created by Melinda Warren and was passed down the family to the Charmed Ones. This book contains spells, incantations, potions and information of the evil beings...
. - On the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Romanies in 19th Century Romania place a curse on the vampire Angelus to punish him for the murder of a little Romani girl, by restoring his human soul (and by extension, his conscience) and forcing him to feel guilt for his crimes. Angel was doomed to misery until he could enjoy a moment of pure happiness.
- The Canterville GhostThe Canterville Ghost"The Canterville Ghost" is a popular short story by Oscar Wilde, widely adapted for the screen and stage. It was the first of Wilde's stories to be published, appearing in the magazine The Court and Society Review in February 1887. It was later included in a collection of short stories entitled...
(1974) Television dramatization - Based on the (1887) short story by Oscar WildeOscar WildeOscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish writer and poet. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890s...
. An English gypsy group are suspected of kidapping a girl but are innocent and join in the search. - The videogame Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King features Romani characters Kalderasha, named after the KalderashKalderashThe Kalderash are a subgroup of the Romani people, from the Roma meta-group. They were traditionally smiths and metal workers and speak a number of Romani dialects grouped together under the term Kalderash Romani, a sub-group of Vlax Romani.-Etymology:The name Kalderash The Kalderash (also spelled...
, and his daughter Valentina. - In The Andy Griffith ShowThe Andy Griffith ShowThe Andy Griffith Show is an American sitcom first televised by CBS between October 3, 1960, and April 1, 1968. Andy Griffith portrays a widowed sheriff in the fictional small community of Mayberry, North Carolina...
, episode 183 in the sixth season is titled "The Gypsies". A family of Romanies (one of whom is played by Jamie FarrJamie FarrJamie Farr is an American television, film, and theater actor. He is best known for having played the role of cross-dressing Corporal Maxwell Q. Klinger in the television sitcom M*A*S*H.-Early life:...
) places a curse on the town of MayberryMayberryMayberry is a fictional community in North Carolina that was the setting for two American television sitcoms, The Andy Griffith Show and Mayberry R.F.D. Mayberry was also the setting for a 1986 reunion television movie titled Return to Mayberry...
. - In the Star WarsStar WarsStar Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
New Jedi Order series of books, the Ryn race are inspired by the Roma. - In the anime Blood +, it is implied that the character Haji is Roma. However, he was bought from his caravan at a young age and does not identify as such thereafter.
- In Train de Vie, a group of fleeing Jews meet up with a large group of Roma.
- Lark Rise to CandlefordLark Rise to Candleford (TV series)Lark Rise to Candleford is a British television costume drama series, adapted by the BBC from Flora Thompson's trilogy of semi-autobiographical novels about the English countryside, published between 1939 and 1943. The first episode aired on 13 January 2008 on BBC One and BBC HD in the UK. In the...
, Series 2 Episode 1 — A BBC costume dramaCostume dramaA costume drama or period drama is a period piece in which elaborate costumes, sets and properties are featured in order to capture the ambiance of a particular era.The term is usually used in the context of film and television...
. The village is haunted by the spirit of a young English Romany girl who drowned in the local lake. - MegganMegganMeggan Puceanu is a fictional character, a mutant superhero in the . She first appeared in Mighty World of Marvel #7, , and was created by Alan Moore and Alan Davis....
of the Marvel comics superhero team ExcaliburExcalibur (comics)Excalibur is a Marvel Comics superhero group, an off-shoot of the X-Men, usually based in the United Kingdom. Conceived by writer Chris Claremont and artist/co-writer Alan Davis, the original Excalibur first appeared in Excalibur Special Edition , also known as Excalibur: The Sword is Drawn.The...
was born to a band of Romanies in England. She was expelled when they saw that she was a shapeshifterShapeShifterShapeShifter is an Application Enhancer plugin for Mac OS X developed by Unsanity that allows the user to make system-wide modifications to the appearance of the operating system's graphical interface by applying GUI skins through “injection” into running code and without modifying system files,...
, and believed her to be a demon. - In the anime Cowboy BebopCowboy Bebopis a critically acclaimed and award-winning 1998 Japanese anime series directed by Shinichirō Watanabe, written by Keiko Nobumoto, and produced by Sunrise. Its 26 episodes comprise a complete storyline: set in 2071, the series follows the adventures, misadventures and tragedies of five bounty...
, the character Faye Valentine claims to be one of the Romani people, though this is later dispelled through her own personal flashbacks. - In the BatmanBatmanBatman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...
series of comics, the character Richard GraysonDick GraysonDick Grayson is a fictional superhero that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger and illustrator Jerry Robinson, he first appeared in Detective Comics #38 in April 1940....
(a.k.a Robin and Nightwing) is shown to be of Romani descent. - While the canonical origin of the supervillain Doctor DoomDoctor DoomVictor von Doom is a fictional character who appears in Marvel Comics publications . Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in Fantastic Four #5 wearing his trademark metal mask and green cloak...
has varied over the decades, he is usually of the Romani people, and was driven to his nominally villainous actions as a response to the persecution of his family. As dictator of the fictional nation of Latveria, Doom has taken a special interest in the welfare of Gypsies, as that is his heritage, and often that race is first to be taken care of in a manner similar to Saddam HusseinSaddam HusseinSaddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was the fifth President of Iraq, serving in this capacity from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003...
showering his TikritTikritTikrit is a town in Iraq, located 140 km northwest of Baghdad on the Tigris river . The town, with an estimated population in 2002 of about 260,000 is the administrative center of the Salah ad Din Governorate.-Ancient times:...
i tribe with benefits. - In the HBO series CarnivàleCarnivàleCarnivàle is an American television series set in the United States during the Great Depression and Dust Bowl. In tracing the lives of two disparate groups of people, its overarching story depicts the battle between good and evil and the struggle between free will and destiny; the storyline mixes...
, the characters of Sophie and her mother Apollonia are said to be Roma. - In the web comic The Science Table Comic, Alex, one of the recurring characters, is a gypsy and is adorned in what is stated by another character as his "Traditional native garbs."
- In Jim HensonJim HensonJames Maury "Jim" Henson was an American puppeteer best known as the creator of The Muppets. As a puppeteer, Henson performed in various television programs, such as Sesame Street and The Muppet Show, films such as The Muppet Movie and The Great Muppet Caper, and created advanced puppets for...
's Fraggle RockFraggle RockFraggle Rock is a children's live action puppet television program series created by Jim Henson. The central characters were a set of "Muppet" creatures called Fraggles. The show ran from January 10, 1983, to March 30, 1987, on CBC Television in Canada, ITV in the UK, HBO in the United States,...
, the sentient anthropomorchi Trash Heap refers to herself as a 'gypsy Trash Heap' when she performs her only act of magic. - Twins WandaScarlet WitchThe Scarlet Witch is a fictional comic book character that appears in books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appears in X-Men #4 and was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby...
and Pietro Maximoff, Scarlet WitchScarlet WitchThe Scarlet Witch is a fictional comic book character that appears in books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appears in X-Men #4 and was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby...
and QuicksilverQuicksilver (comics)Quicksilver is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appears in X-Men #4 and was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby...
respectively, of Marvel ComicsMarvel ComicsMarvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
are of Romani ancestry through their biological mother Magda and raised in the fictional Mount Wundagore. During Marvels Mystic ArcanaMystic ArcanaMystic Arcana is a 2007 Marvel Comics storyline published as a series of four one-shot titles. Each book in the series contains an individual main story followed by a back-up story whose plot continues through all four books. The main story in each book focuses upon a different fictional character,...
the Scarlet Witch was one of the prominently featured mystic characters and depicted her Romani childhood and her encounter with other Marvel mystical characters. The Young AvengersYoung AvengersYoung Avengers is an American comic book series written by Allan Heinberg and published by Marvel Comics. It follows a group of young superheroes, each of whom patterns themselves after a member of the long-established Marvel superhero team the Avengers....
WiccanWiccan (comics)Wiccan is a comic book character, a member of the Young Avengers, a team of superheroes in the Marvel Universe. His appearance is patterned on that of Thor and Scarlet Witch....
, Billy Kaplan, and SpeedSpeed (comics)Speed is a fictional character and member of the Young Avengers, a team of superheroes in the Marvel Universe. His appearance is patterned on that of Quicksilver and first appeared in the comic book Young Avengers #10...
, Tommy Shepherd, are believed to be, and accepted as truth by the characters, the reincarnated souls of the Scarlet Witch and the VisionsVision (Marvel Comics)The Vision is the name of three fictional characters that appear in comic books published by Marvel Comics.-Publication history:The first Vision was created by the writer-artist team of Joe Simon and Jack Kirby in Marvel Mystery Comics #13 The Vision is the name of three fictional characters that...
twins and can be classified as Romanies through their mother. - In the videogame PsychonautsPsychonautsPsychonauts is a platform video game created by Tim Schafer, developed by Double Fine Productions and published by Majesco. The game was released on April 19, 2005, for the Xbox, April 26 for Microsoft Windows and June 21 for PlayStation 2. It was released on Steam on Oct 11, 2006, as an "Xbox...
, a rival gypsy circus curses the main character's family to die in water. - In the first season of Car 54, Where Are You, Maureen Stapleton plays a Romani matriarch telling fortunes from a storefront in Toody and Muldoon's precinct. Stereotypical jokes abound. She lifts a guy's wallet, the father is a layabout, the children don't go to school, they pack up and move to another storefront in short order, etc.
- An episode of Dennis the Menace featured a group of Romanies who visited Dennis' town, were accused of theft, and almost inveigled police Officer Murphy into marrying one of their women, to whom he had offered bread at dinner.
- 2001 UK Film Gypsy WomanGypsy WomanGypsy Woman is a 2001 film written by Steven Knight....
starring Jack DavenportJack DavenportJack Davenport is an English actor, best known for his roles in the television series This Life, Coupling and as James Norrington in the Pirates of the Caribbean series. He has also appeared in many other Hollywood films such as The Talented Mr. Ripley...
and Neve McIntoshNeve McIntosh-Early life:Born in Paisley, Neve McIntosh grew up in Edinburgh, where she attended Boroughmuir High School. She moved to Glasgow to attend the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, after which she was in repertory companies at Perth and at The Little Theatre on the Isle of Mull.-Theatre:She...
. - 2007 episode of House, in which House must treat a 16 year old Romani boy with respiratory distress.
- The Fullmetal AlchemistFullmetal Alchemist, is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hiromu Arakawa. The world of Fullmetal Alchemist is styled after the European Industrial Revolution...
movie Conqueror of Shamballa features gypsy women in Germany around World War II. - In the television show Criminal MindsCriminal MindsCriminal Minds is an American police procedural drama that premiered September 22, 2005, on CBS. The series follows a team of profilers from the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit based in Quantico, Virginia. The BAU is part of the FBI National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime...
, the fourth season episode "Bloodlines" depicts a family of Romani who kidnap little girls to marry their sons. - In the anime Kaze to Ki no UtaKaze to Ki no Utais a shōjo manga with yaoi themes by Keiko Takemiya. It was first published by Shougakukan from 1976 to 1984 in the magazine Shōjo Comic. In 1979, it was awarded the prestigious Shogakukan Manga Award for shōnen/shōjo manga. The series is widely regarded as a shōnen-ai manga classic, being one of...
, Serge Battour is the orphaned son of a viscountViscountA viscount or viscountess is a member of the European nobility whose comital title ranks usually, as in the British peerage, above a baron, below an earl or a count .-Etymology:...
and a beautiful Roma woman.
Fantasy role-playing games
Several role-playing games have adapted the stereotypical perceptions of the Romany peoples and has used them, as plot device, characters and non-player characters within the gothic horror, and fantasy genres. Different Romani groups such as the Spanish Romanies, Romanichal, and SintiSinti
Sinti or Sinta or Sinte is the name of a Romani or Gypsy population in Europe. Traditionally nomadic, today only a small percentage of the group remains unsettled...
, as well as eastern European Roma groups as the stereotypical view of the Romanies and Romani culture.
- WarhammerWarhammer Fantasy (setting)Warhammer Fantasy is a fantasy setting, created by Games Workshop, which is used by many of the company's games. Some of the best-known games set in this world are: the table top wargame Warhammer Fantasy Battle, the Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay pen-and-paper role-playing game, and the MMORPG...
Contains groups of Romanies called the Strigany that travel in brightly painted wagons, are fortune tellers who dress in bright coloured clothes and are portrayed as a mysterious and romanticised people. - Blue Rose RPGBlue Rose (role-playing game)Blue Rose is a fantasy role-playing game published by Green Ronin Publishing in 2005. The game is described as being in the romantic fantasy genre — it is inspired by fantasy fiction such as that of Mercedes Lackey and Diane Duane as opposed to Robert E. Howard–style of swords and sorcery...
Similar to the Warhammer where a group of wanderers called the Roamers travel in brightly painted wagons and tell fortunes. - GreyhawkGreyhawkGreyhawk, also known as the World of Greyhawk, is a fictional world designed as a campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy roleplaying game...
Has a race of people called the Rhenee inspired by the gypsies who live on barges. - SpelljammerSpelljammerSpelljammer is a campaign setting for the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, which features a fantastical outer space environment....
The Aperusa are a people based on the European Romani peoples. - TalislantaTalislantaTalislanta is a fantasy role-playing game written by Stephen Michael Sechi, with significant stylistic input by artist P.D. Breeding-Black. Initially released in 1987 by Bard Games, the game quickly gained a reputation as an alternative to Dungeons & Dragons that was both much simpler mechanically...
Has the Sarista people who are wanderers. - RavenloftRavenloftRavenloft is a campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game. It is an alternate time-space existence known as a pocket dimension called the Demiplane of Dread, which consists of a collection of land pieces called domains brought together by a mysterious force known only as "The Dark...
a Dungeons & DragonsDungeons & DragonsDungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...
roleplaying game based in a Gothic world of Ravenloft where a nomadic race of wanderers called the VistaniVistaniThe Vistani are the Gypsies as popularly imagined, represented in the Dungeons and Dragons fantasy role-playing game. Since their introduction in the original Ravenloft module as fortune-tellers, they became a unifying element in the Ravenloft and Victorian Age Red Death campaign settings, which...
are based on horror-film-inspired representation of several Romany groups including Roma, Romanichal and SintiSintiSinti or Sinta or Sinte is the name of a Romani or Gypsy population in Europe. Traditionally nomadic, today only a small percentage of the group remains unsettled...
. The Vistani are the only race of humans that can travel freely between the various realms within the world. - PathfinderPathfinder Roleplaying GameThe Pathfinder Roleplaying Game is a fantasy role-playing game first published in 2009 by Paizo Publishing...
's signature setting of Golarion has the Varisians, who bear a number of similarities to Romani. A large family of Varisians called the Sczarni are a faction of criminals who bear many of the negative 'Gypsy' stereotypes.
Role playing games featuring Romanies or draws on them for inspiration in several publications by White Wolf Game Studio
White Wolf
White Wolf is a publisher of role-playing games, notably the World of Darkness.White Wolf may also refer to:*White Wolf , a location in Yosemite National Park*White Wolf , a Canadian heavy metal band...
, a role-playing company specialising in horror based fantasy gaming. Games including;
- World of DarknessWorld of Darkness"World of Darkness" is the name given to three related but distinct fictional universes created as settings for supernatural horror themed role-playing games. It is also the name of roleplaying games in the second and third settings...
a horror-fiction themed role playing game where a nomadic group called the Gypsies are attributed magical powers. - Vampire: The MasqueradeVampire: The MasqueradeVampire: The Masquerade is a role-playing game. Created by Mark Rein·Hagen, it was the first of White Wolf Game Studio's World of Darkness role-playing games, based on the Storyteller System and centered around vampires in a modern gothic-punk world....
a horror based vampire role-playing game where a group of nomadic vampires called the Ravnos are allegedly the descendants of Gypsies. - Werewolf: The ApocalypseWerewolf: The ApocalypseWerewolf: The Apocalypse is a role-playing game and series of novels from the now defunct World of Darkness line by White Wolf. In the game, players take the role of werewolves known as Garou , as well as other lycanthropes: warriors who are locked in a two-front war against both the spiritual...
a horror based role-playing game cross over with another White Wolf role-playing game Vampire: The Masquerade. Where a group of Romanies in the game are linked to the descendants of a Werewolf clan called the Silent Striders.
Film
| Year | Title | Country | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Drag Me to Hell Drag Me to Hell Drag Me to Hell is a 2009 American horror film, directed by Sam Raimi, with a screenplay by Sam and Ivan Raimi. The plot focuses on loan officer Christine Brown , who tries to impress her boss by refusing to extend a loan to a gypsy woman by the name of Mrs. Ganush... |
Dir. : Sam Raimi Sam Raimi Samuel Marshall "Sam" Raimi is an American film director, producer, actor and writer. He is best known for directing cult horror films like the Evil Dead series, Darkman and Drag Me to Hell, as well as the blockbuster Spider-Man films and the producer of the successful TV series Hercules: The... . Horror. An ambitious bank worker incurs the wrath of an elderly Romani woman, who places an ancient curse on her. |
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| 2009 | Freedom | A Romani family travels the French roads during the Second World War. They learn that a new law forbids them from being nomadic. | |
| 2009 | The Wolfman | Romani fortune-teller. | |
| 2008 | Khamsa | The main character, Marco/Khamsa is half-Romani, half-Algerian. Most of the main characters are his Romani relatives, who live together in a camp in the city. | |
| 2008 | Filth and Wisdom Filth and Wisdom Filth and Wisdom is the first film directed by Madonna, starring Eugene Hütz, Holly Weston, Vicky McClure and Richard E. Grant. It was filmed on location in London, England from May 14 to May 29, 2007 with additional scenes shot in July 2007.... |
Ukrainian Rom lives in London | |
| 2008 | Stone of Destiny (film) Stone of Destiny (film) Stone of Destiny is a 2008 British-Canadian adventure/comedy film directed by Charles Martin Smith. It stars Charlie Cox, Billy Boyd, Robert Carlyle, Kate Mara and Brenda Fricker.... |
Scottish nationalists bury the Stone of Destiny Stone of Scone The Stone of Scone , also known as the Stone of Destiny and often referred to in England as The Coronation Stone, is an oblong block of red sandstone, used for centuries in the coronation of the monarchs of Scotland and later the monarchs of England, Great Britain and the United Kingdom... in a field. They return to find a Romanichal camp and one of them barters with the Romany leader for the stone. |
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| 2006 | Transylvania | Italian lives with Roma in | |
| 2006 | The Indian and the Nurse | Romani nurse and non-Rom in love. | |
| 2005 | Fullmetal Alchemist the Movie: Conqueror of Shamballa Fullmetal Alchemist the Movie: Conqueror of Shamballa is a 2005 Japanese animated film directed by Seiji Mizushima and written by Sho Aikawa, and acts as a continuation of the first Fullmetal Alchemist television series... |
Romani character Noa is pursued by Nazis. | |
| 2001 | Swing | Max becomes friends with Swing, a boyish romani girl, who shows him the nature and takes him to exuberant mucic evenings. | |
| 2000 | Vengo | Two Romanies families locked in an age old struggle for power. | |
| 2000 | The Man Who Cried The Man Who Cried The Man Who Cried is an 2000 Anglo-French film, written and directed by Sally Potter. The film stars Christina Ricci, Cate Blanchett, Johnny Depp, Harry Dean Stanton, and John Turturro.... |
Johnny Depp Johnny Depp John Christopher "Johnny" Depp II is an American actor, producer and musician. He has won the Golden Globe Award and Screen Actors Guild award for Best Actor. Depp rose to prominence on the 1980s television series 21 Jump Street, becoming a teen idol... is Rom in France. |
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| 2000 | Gitano | Romani central characters. | |
| 1998 | Black Cat, White Cat Black Cat, White Cat Black Cat, White Cat is a 1998 Yugoslav romantic comedy film directed by Emir Kusturica. It won the Silver Lion for Best Direction at the Venice Film Festival.... |
Romani central characters. | |
| 1998 | The Red Violin The Red Violin The Red Violin is a 1998 Canadian drama film directed by François Girard. It spans three centuries and five countries as it tells the story of a mysterious violin and its many owners... |
The romani takes the red violin across Europe from Vienna to Oxford over a century. | |
| 1997 | Gadjo dilo Gadjo dilo Gadjo dilo is a 1997 film, directed and written by Tony Gatlif. The title means "Crazy Gadjo [non-Gypsy]" in Romani.Most of the film was shot at the village of Creţuleşti some kilometers from Bucharest and some of the actors are local Romani people.-Plot:... |
French lives with Romanies in Romania. | |
| 1996 | Thinner Thinner (film) Thinner is a 1996 horror film directed by Tom Holland and written by Michael McDowell with the screenplay by Tom Holland. The film is based on the Stephen King novel of the same name.-Plot:... |
Man cursed by Romanies after killing one. | |
| 1995 | Haunted | Starring Aidan Quinn and Kate Beckinsale, an old Romanichal fortune reads the palms of two characters. | |
| 1993 | Latcho Drom | The journey of the Romani people told through musicians and dancers of India, Egypt, Turkey, Romania, Hungry, Slovakia, France and Spain. | |
| 1988 | Time of the Gypsies Time of the Gypsies Time of the Gypsies is a 1988 Yugoslav film by Serbian director Emir Kusturica. Filmed in Romani and Serbian, Time of the Gypsies tells the story of a young Romani man with magical powers who is tricked into engaging in petty crime... |
Telekinetic Romani in realistic community at home, and in Italy. | |
| 1983 | Angelo My Love | All-Romani cast; dir.: Robert Duvall Robert Duvall Robert Selden Duvall is an American actor and director. He has won an Academy Award, two Emmy Awards, four Golden Globe Awards and a BAFTA over the course of his career.... . |
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| 1983 | Les princes | Romanies who decided to settle down in the Paris suburbs. | |
| 1982 | Corre, gitano | Romanies from Grenade and Seville. | |
| 1979 | Tsigan | Romani's child was adopted by a Russian woman; after 17 years, a single old Romani-man appears in the village and gains respect and love of the boy, disturbing the piece in the family (Цыган). | |
| 1978 | King of the Gypsies | Gypsies in New York City come into conflict with modernity as they use ancient traditions to select their new king. Starring: Judd Hirsch Judd Hirsch Judd Hirsch is an American actor most known for playing Alex Rieger on the television comedy series Taxi, John Lacey on the NBC series Dear John, and Alan Eppes on the CBS series Numb3rs.-Early life and education:... , Eric Roberts Eric Roberts Eric Anthony Roberts is an American actor. His career began with King of the Gypsies , earning a Golden Globe nomination for best actor debut. He starred as the protagonist in the 1980 dramatisation of Willa Cather's 1905 short story, Paul's Case... , Susan Sarandon Susan Sarandon Susan Sarandon is an American actress. She has worked in films and television since 1969, and won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in the 1995 film Dead Man Walking. She had also been nominated for the award for four films before that and has received other recognition for her... , and Brooke Shields Brooke Shields Brooke Christa Shields is an American actress and model. Some of her better-known movies include Pretty Baby and The Blue Lagoon, as well as TV shows such as Suddenly Susan, That '70s Show and Lipstick Jungle.... . |
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| 1976 | Rosy Dreams Rosy Dreams Rosy Dreams is a 1977 Czechoslovak film. Despite its whimsical poetic style, it was the first Central European feature film that put the Romani community at the center stage in a realistic manner... |
Romani—non-Romani lovers, societies. | |
| 1975 | Tabor ukhodit v Nebo Queen of the Gypsies Queen of the Gypsies One of the songs near the introduction of the film had become popular on Youtube as the "Gypsie Song".It was the most attended movie in the Soviet Union in 1976, with 64.9 million tickets sold.-External links:*... |
Free-spirited Gypsies central characters; US title: Queen of the Gypsies. | |
| 1967 | I Even Met Happy Gypsies I Even Met Happy Gypsies I Even Met Happy Gypsies is a 1967 Yugoslav film by Serbian director Aleksandar Petrović. Its original Serbian title is Skupljači perja, which means The Feather Gatherers. The film is centered around Roma people's life in a village in northern Vojvodina, but it also deals with subtler themes such... |
Realistic Romani central characters. | |
| 1966 | Sky West and Crooked | Inspired by the novel The Gypsy and the Gentleman by D. H. Lawrence. A young girl played by Hayley Mills Hayley Mills Hayley Mills is an English actress. The daughter of John Mills and Mary Hayley Bell, and sister of actress Juliet Mills, Mills began her acting career as a child and was hailed as a promising newcomer, winning the BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer for Tiger Bay , the Academy Juvenile Award... finds happiness and friendship with a young English Romany played by Ian McShane Ian McShane Ian David McShane is an English actor, director, producer, voice artist, and comedian.Despite appearing in numerous films, McShane is best known for his television roles, particularly the BBC's Lovejoy and HBO's Western drama Deadwood... . |
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| 1965 | Pearls of the Deep | 5 shorts − last: 24-min. Romance with Romani female lead; dir.: Jaromil Jireš. | |
| 1965 | Sheriff Behind Bars | Among prisoners is a Rom. | |
| 1963 | From Russia with Love From Russia with Love (film) From Russia with Love is the second in the James Bond spy film series, and the second to star Sean Connery as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Released in 1963, the film was produced by Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman, and directed by Terence Young. It is based on the 1957 novel of the... |
007 in Gypsy camp in Turkey. | |
| 1963 | Let Him Who Is without Sin... | Romani soldier copes with love, hate. | |
| 1947 | Golden Earrings Golden Earrings Golden Earrings is a 1947 romantic spy film made by Paramount Pictures and starring Ray Milland and Marlene Dietrich. It was directed by Mitchell Leisen and produced by Harry Tugend from a screenplay by Frank Butler, Helen Deutsch and Abraham Polonsky, based on a novel by Jolán Földes. The music... |
Marlene Dietrich Marlene Dietrich Marlene Dietrich was a German-American actress and singer.Dietrich remained popular throughout her long career by continually re-inventing herself, professionally and characteristically. In the Berlin of the 1920s, she acted on the stage and in silent films... is Hungarian Gypsy in Germany, other Romani characters. |
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| 1946 | Caravan | American marries Gypsy in Spain. | |
| 1944 | Cry of the Werewolf Cry of the Werewolf Cry of the Werewolf, also known as Daughter of the Werewolf, is a 1944 film starring Nina Foch, based on a story by Griffin Jay and directed by Henry Levin.-Plot summary:... |
Romani werewolves. | |
| 1943 | For Whom the Bell Tolls For Whom the Bell Tolls (film) For Whom the Bell Tolls is a 1943 film in Technicolor based on the novel of the same name by Ernest Hemingway. It stars Gary Cooper, Ingrid Bergman, Akim Tamiroff and Katina Paxinou. This was Ingrid Bergman's first technicolor film. Hemingway handpicked Cooper and Bergman for their roles. The film... |
Romani character Rafael in Spain. | |
| 1941 | The Wolf Man | Romani fortune-teller. | |
| 1938 | Gypsy Love | Love and jealousy in Gypsy camp. | |
| 1922 | Gypsy Love | Dir.: Thomas E. Walsh. | |
| 1921 | Gypsies | Count's son brought up by Romanies. | |
| 1921 | Jánošík Jánošík (1921 film) Jánošík is a Slovak black-and-white silent film from 1921. It relates the popular legend of the highwayman Juraj Jánošík. It shows the filmmakers' experience with early American movies in camera work, in the use of parallel narratives, and in sequences inspired by Westerns... |
Romani woman helps capture hero. | |
| 1918 | Carmen | Pola Negri Pola Negri Pola Negri was a Polish stage and film actress who achieved worldwide fame for her tragedienne and femme fatale roles from the 1910s through the 1940s during the Golden Era of Hollywood film. She was the first European film star to be invited to Hollywood, and became a great American star. She... is Carmen; dir.: E. Lubitsch Ernst Lubitsch Ernst Lubitsch was a German-born film director. His urbane comedies of manners gave him the reputation of being Hollywood's most elegant and sophisticated director; as his prestige grew, his films were promoted as having "the Lubitsch touch."In 1947 he received an Honorary Academy Award for his... . |
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| 1915 | Carmen | Dir.: Cecil B. DeMille Cecil B. DeMille Cecil Blount DeMille was an American film director and Academy Award-winning film producer in both silent and sound films. He was renowned for the flamboyance and showmanship of his movies... . |
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| 1908 | Drama in a Gypsy Camp | 2-minute scripted story. | |
| 1897 | A Camp of Zingari Gypsies | 1-min. document, Romanies in Hungry. |