Влашкото население в България (Разпространение, произход и топопимия)
Wallachians in Bulgaria (Distribution, Origin and Toponymy)

Summary/Abstract: This work by the late Professor Maxim S. Mladenov, PhD, was written in 1985 and was an attempt at a general presentation of the then available data about Wallachians in Bulgaria, mostly in view of the data offered by linguists. The work was not written for publications but as an inhouse subject for consideration. After the introduction, which outlines the objectives that the author had set himself, comes the first chapter dedicated to the Wallachian population of the regions along the Danube. The number and distribution by districts of the Wallachian population is considered according to statistics taken more than 100 years ago and the data have been compared to the present-day situation. As to the origin of that population, the view is upheld that it has come from the lands North of the Danube during the late 18th century, and the causes underlying that migration have been discussed. Different groups of that population have been identified and the available literature on its dialects and folklore has been pointed out. Finally the author deals with the current state of the language and anthroponymy of the Wallachian population in the lands along the Danube. The second part is devoted to the so-called Aromanian population. The ethnonyms whereby that population is called or calls itself have been discussed as well as its spread and numbers in the late 19th century and today. The author considers in short that part of the population engaged in transhumance. The third part is devoted to the Wallachian population, which is part of the Gypsies (Kopanars, Vretenars, Lingourars), of which there is scanty information. The fourth part presents the generalized results of the investigation of Bulgarian onomasticians on the Romanian elements in Bulgarian toponymy, of which two basic hypotheses exist: 1) that they are a relic of the old Romanian population assimilated by the Bulgarian Slavs; and 2) that the toponyms are a trace of the temporary stay of Wallachian nomad groups of shepherds in the high mountainous regions of the Bulgarian lands. The final conclusion is that the problem of the traces of Wallachian presence in Bulgarian toponymy is very complicated and its association with the Wallachian population in the Bulgarian lands during the past few centuries is highly tenuous.

• Details
• Contents