Moravian Wallachia - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Moravian Wallachia is a mountainous region located in the easternmost part of Moravia

Moravia

Moravia is a historical region in Central Europe in the east of the Czech Republic, and one of the former Czech lands, together with Bohemia and Silesia. It takes its name from the Morava River which rises in the northwest of the region...

, Czech Republic

Czech Republic

The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....

, near the Slovakia

Slovakia

The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...

n border. The name Wallachia was formerly applied to all the highlands of Moravia and neighboring Silesia

Silesia

Silesia is a historical region of Central Europe located mostly in Poland, with smaller parts also in the Czech Republic, and Germany.Silesia is rich in mineral and natural resources, and includes several important industrial areas. Silesia's largest city and historical capital is Wrocław...

, although in the nineteenth century a smaller area came to be defined as ethno-cultural Moravian Wallachia. The traditional dialect (rarely heard these days) represents a mixture of elements from Czech and Slovak, and has a distinct lexicon of Romanian and Balkan origin relating to the pastoral economy of the highlands.

The name comes from the exonym of the Romanian

Romanians

The Romanians are an ethnic group native to Romania, who speak Romanian; they are the majority inhabitants of Romania....

shepherd migrants (see Vlachs

Vlachs

Vlach is a blanket term covering several modern Latin peoples descending from the Latinised population in Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe. English variations on the name include: Walla, Wlachs, Wallachs, Vlahs, Olahs or Ulahs...

), who advanced along the Carpathian

Carpathian Mountains

The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians are a range of mountains forming an arc roughly long across Central and Eastern Europe, making them the second-longest mountain range in Europe...

range between the 14th and 17th centuries. On their way they gradually lost their original language with the exception of some Romanian words they use in their Czech and Slovak dialect, but they preserved much of their culture (especially folklore, songs and costumes) and economic base, namely sheep breeding.

Culture

A remarkable aspect of Vlachs found everywhere along the western Carpathian Mountains

Carpathian Mountains

The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians are a range of mountains forming an arc roughly long across Central and Eastern Europe, making them the second-longest mountain range in Europe...

is that the traditional Romanian culture remained the same despite the evolution in language, especially the traditions regarding sheepherding and rural architecture, essentially identical along the entire belt of the Carpathian Mountains from Moravia to Romania and then along the adjacent mountains into Serbia and Bulgaria. As with those aspects of language associated with animal husbandry, this cultural aspect of the Vlachs likely did not change because there was no competing culture. Although animal husbandry was long associated with agriculture practiced in the lowlands adjacent to the Western Carpathians, the Vlach methods and associated rituals of sheep and goat tending were unique and newly introduced by them, as were the introduction of grazing in the highlands and the emphasis upon the production of milk and cheese (bryndza

Bryndza

Bryndza is a sheep milk cheese made in Central and Eastern Europe. Recipes differ slightly across the countries.-Etymology:Brânză or brînză is the generic word for "cheese" in Romanian, there is no special type of cheese associated with it...

). Variants of the traditional Romanian costume

Romanian dress

Romanian dress refers to the traditional clothing worn by Romanians, who live primarily in Romania and Moldova, with smaller communities in Ukraine and Serbia. Today, a strong majority of Romanians wear Western-style dress on most occasions, and the garments described here largely fell out of use...

are still important elements of the ethnography of the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Poland. The music of the area was also influenced by the Vlachs (e.g. see Lachian Dances

Lachian Dances

The Lachian Dances was the first mature work by the Czech composer Leoš Janáček. Originally titled Wallachian Dances after the Moravian Wallachia region, Janáček later changed the title when the region's name also changed, since it reflects folk songs from that specific area.- Background :Janáček...

).

A clear example of the influence of the Vlachs on Slovak

Slovaks

The Slovaks, Slovak people, or Slovakians are a West Slavic people that primarily inhabit Slovakia and speak the Slovak language, which is closely related to the Czech language.Most Slovaks today live within the borders of the independent Slovakia...

culture is the 1755 didactic poem Valašská škola (Wallachian School) of the Franciscan monk Hugolín Gavlovič

Hugolín Gavlovic

Hugolín Gavlovič was a Slovak Franciscan priest who authored religious, moral, and educational writings in the contemporary West Slovak vernacular, and was a prominent representative of baroque literature in Slovakia.He wrote didactical-reflexive poetry...

. It offered a Christian-Catholic moral perspective on the lives and the interaction with God and society. Three themes dominate the poem: Slovak national consciousness, eighteenth century religious and secular culture, and pastoral life as a life model. It is in the third theme that the Wallachian legacy appears, giving the poem particular significance.

History

Since they appeared, in the Late Middle Ages

Late Middle Ages

The Late Middle Ages was the period of European history generally comprising the 14th to the 16th century . The Late Middle Ages followed the High Middle Ages and preceded the onset of the early modern era ....

, the Valachs continued to have a separated political life than that of the rest of the population. An example of this is the use of the so called Lex Antiqua Valachorum
Lex Antiqua Valachorum
Lex Antiqua Valachorum, meaning "Ancient Wallachian Law", also called Jus Valahicum/Valachorum , represents a collection of the Romanian pre-statal judicial system, with afferent juridical rituals, customs and traditions, kept and transmitted from generation to generation.-In the Romanian...

(the "Ancient/Old Wallachian Law").
The first widespread reference to Valachs occurred during the Thirty Years' War

Thirty Years' War

The Thirty Years' War was fought primarily in what is now Germany, and at various points involved most countries in Europe. It was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history....

, when these privileges were in danger of being abolished. The subsequent events profoundly changed the Vlach culture, and would set the stage for the next wave of Valach immigration, following the ones of the 14th and 15th century. Jan Amos Comenius wrote in 1620: "Moravians of the mountains around Vsetín, called Wallachians, are a warlike people… they refused to accept the Habsburg yoke and for three whole years defended their freedom with the sword". Later, in 1624, he wrote: "the inhabitants of the lordship of Vsetín
Vsetín
Vsetín is a town in Zlín Region of the Czech Republic. It has around 28,500 inhabitants and lies on the Vsetínská Bečva river.The area around Vsetín, called Vsetínsko, is spread out on the foothills of the Vsetín, Hostýn and Vizovice Highlands around the Bečva River...

and the mountains thereabout (who are called Wallachians) continued to resist with arms and could not be brought to deny their faith or offer submission".
Some continued to practice Orthodox Christianity

Romanian Orthodox Church

The Romanian Orthodox Church is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church. It is in full communion with other Eastern Orthodox churches, and is ranked seventh in order of precedence. The Primate of the church has the title of Patriarch...

, most converted to Protestantism

Protestantism

Protestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...

, while on the whole, resisting any attempts of the Jesuit missionaries to convert them to Catholicism. Due to this politics, in 1632 the Catholic Church and the Habsburg Empire took coercive measures: "the inhabitants of Valašsko were Valachs and hence utterly infractory". Zlín town records from 1621 refer to "the Wallachians, who are the local rabble". Albrecht von Wallenstein

Albrecht von Wallenstein

Albrecht Wenzel Eusebius von Wallenstein , actually von Waldstein, was a Bohemian soldier and politician, who offered his services, and an army of 30,000 to 100,000 men during the Danish period of the Thirty Years' War , to the Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II...

, Habsburg Military lord of Vsetín, wrote in 1621 about the expected uprising and referred to them as Wallachians against whom he did not have sufficient support to mount a campaign. A Habsburg commissioner in 1622, writing about the local Moravians, stated that: "the people are inclined more to the enemy and the Wallachians".
Valach warfare against the Habsburgs consisted of raids, including those against Malenovice

Malenovice

Malenovice is a village in Frýdek-Místek District, Moravian-Silesian Region, Czech Republic. It has a population of 499 . It is located near Lysá hora mountain, majority of village's area is a part of Beskydy Landscape Protected Area. It lies in the historical region of Cieszyn Silesia...

, Zlín

Zlín

Zlín , from 1949 to 1989 Gottwaldov , is a city in the Zlín Region, southeastern Moravia, Czech Republic, on the Dřevnice River. The development of the modern city is closely connected to the Bata Shoes company...

, and Valašské Meziříčí

Valašské Mezirící

Valašské Meziříčí is a town in the Zlín Region, the Czech Republic. The town has 27,960 inhabitants.Vsetínská Bečva and Rožnovská Bečva rivers join in the town to form the Bečva River.-Main sights:* The Kinský Chateau...

. Wallenstein stated that the Valachs fought as a “horde” and Valach forces were victorious against the Habsburgs during the initial years of the war. During portions of these initial years as well, Valachs were joined by Protestant Hungarians, and by 1621 all of Moravia

Moravia

east of the Morava River was controlled by Valachs. Hungarian forces, however, were defeated by the Habsburgs at Olomouc

Olomouc

Olomouc is a city in Moravia, in the east of the Czech Republic. The city is located on the Morava river and is the ecclesiastical metropolis and historical capital city of Moravia. Nowadays, it is an administrative centre of the Olomouc Region and sixth largest city in the Czech Republic...

in late 1621 and withdrew from Moravia in 1622. Valach forces were subsequently subdued in 1623, accompanied by a series of public executions.

Renewed Valach attacks on Vsetín

Vsetín

Vsetín is a town in Zlín Region of the Czech Republic. It has around 28,500 inhabitants and lies on the Vsetínská Bečva river.The area around Vsetín, called Vsetínsko, is spread out on the foothills of the Vsetín, Hostýn and Vizovice Highlands around the Bečva River...

occurred in late 1623. The Hungarians, now aided by the Ottomans

Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...

, reentered the War, and fighting occurred as far west as Brno

Brno

Brno by population and area is the second largest city in the Czech Republic, the largest Moravian city, and the historical capital city of the Margraviate of Moravia. Brno is the administrative centre of the South Moravian Region where it forms a separate district Brno-City District...

. However, the Valachs did not join their former allies, the Hungarians because the Turks were an older enemy of the Valachs, from as early as the 14th and 15th century, when the first Ottoman attacks took place against Wallachia

Wallachia

Wallachia or Walachia is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Danube and south of the Southern Carpathians...

, Moldavia

Moldavia

Moldavia is a geographic and historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester river...

and Transylvania

Transylvania

Transylvania is a historical region in the central part of Romania. Bounded on the east and south by the Carpathian mountain range, historical Transylvania extended in the west to the Apuseni Mountains; however, the term sometimes encompasses not only Transylvania proper, but also the historical...

, their original homes. A second peace between Hungary and the Habsburgs was signed in 1624. The Habsburgs seized this opportunity to attack the Vlachs in March 1624 in the mountains west of Vsetín

Vsetín

, but the Valachs prevailed in what was described as a "slaughter" of Habsburg forces. Valachs captured Lukov

Lukov

Lukov is a village and municipality in Bardejov District in the Prešov Region of north-east Slovakia.-History:In historical records the village was first mentioned in 1264 The timber Church of Saints Cosmo and Damian was built in 1708....

in 1626, and joined by Danes

Denmark

Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...

, who had entered the war against the Habsburgs, also captured Hranice

Hranice

Hranice may refer to several towns in the Czech Republic:* Hranice , town in Moravia; see: Hranice * Hranice , town in northern Bohemia; see: Hranice u Aše...

in 1626.

In 1627, Wallenstein’s counter-attack forced the withdrawal of the Danish army from Moravia, and sent the Valachs into retreat. By 1630, Valachs controlled only their Carpathian strongholds. The final Valach uprising occurred in 1640 when the Swedes

Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

invaded Moravia to do battle with the Habsburgs. Combined Valach-Swede forces won back portions of Moravia, but then the Swedes withdrew in 1643 to concentrate on a war with Denmark.

In January 1644, a massive Habsburg raid was conducted against the Valachs in the mountains east of Vsetín

Vsetín

, The Habsburg rout was completed by this time with a battle that culminated in the burning of Valach villages (e.g. Hovězí

Hovězí (Vsetín District)

Hovězí is a village and municipality in Vsetín District in the Zlín Region of the Czech Republic. The name of the village, translated to English, is literally "beef"....

, Huslenky

Huslenky

Huslenky is a village and municipality in Vsetín District in the Zlín Region of the Czech Republic.The municipality covers an area of , and has a population of 2,114 ....

, Halenkov

Halenkov

Halenkov is a village and municipality in Vsetín District in the Zlín Region of the Czech Republic.The municipality covers an area of , and has a population of 2,398 ....

, and Zděchov

Zděchov

Zděchov is a village and municipality in Vsetín District in the Zlín Region of the Czech Republic.The municipality covers an area of , and has a population of 635 ....

), disarming of the Valachs, destruction of the fields and livestock, and an estimated 20 percent of the males of Vsetín were killed or later executed. Valachs who fled the area were pursued by the Habsburgs as far as into Hungary. Ultimately, about one third of the total Valach population was killed. With the Conscription of Valašsko on February 16, 1644, a complete registration of the remaining Valachs occurred. Execution or oath of allegiance to Habsburg and conversion to Catholicism were the choices. Many Valachs were executed during the infamous executions of 1644 in Vsetín. By March 1644, essentially all the remaining Valachs who had taken refuge in the high Carpathians had been pursued and killed. Plague then struck the region in September 1644.

External links

Wallachian sheep & cattle farming
http://www.eliznik.org.uk/RomaniaHistory/Vlach-poland.htm Vlachs and Wallachians in Poland
http://www.radhost.cz/english.htm Wallachian song and dance ensemble Radhost, Czech Republic
http://www.vsacan.cz/en/ Wallachian song and dance ensemble Vsacan, Czech Republic

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Culture

History

See also

External links