King of the Gypsies

The extent of the power associated with the title varied; it might be limited to a small group in a specific place, or many people over large areas.

The Gypsy King is associated with mythical powers of being able to part water with his sword, a spade, and his head, after it had been cut off, according to tales collected in 1981 from the Romani people in Bulgaria.

[4] "Alias king of the Gypsies", from the St Margaret's Westminster, was tried at the Old Bailey on 28 August 1700 for theft with violence and highway robbery.

Langdale's "Topographical Dictionary of Yorkshire" (1822), says: "In the church yard, was a stone, the two ends of which are now remaining, where was interred the body of James Bosvill the King of the Gypsies, who died 30 January 1708.

For a number of years, it was a custom of Gypsies from the south, to visit his tomb annually, and there perform some of their accustomed rites; one of which was to pour a flagon of ale upon the grave."

This is similar to the ritual of "stalling the rogue" mentioned by Thomas Harman and in The Beggars Bush and by Bampfylde Moore Carew.

A tradition was reported of annual visits to the grave of Charles Boswell near Doncaster for more than 100 years into the 1820s, including a rite of pouring a flagon of hot ale into the tomb.

[10] "King of the Gypsies" died in 1760 at the age of 90 and was buried at Ickleford near Hitchin, Hertfordshire at the church of St. Catherine, as were his wife and granddaughter.

In the Burial Register he is described as a "Traveller aged 42" – "This man known as the King of the Gypsies was interred in the presence of a vast concourse of spectators".

[21] The Manchester Times reported he had been elected as King in the first half of the 19th century and was accorded special burial rites, with the ceremony attended by traveller families from twelve camps.

[22] He was a well-known fiddler in the local area, often playing at wakes and celebrations and had a daughter, Beatta Smith, a renowned beauty whose portrait was displayed at Belvoir Castle.

[21] Taught the Romani language in the 1870s to Charles Godfrey Leland (1824–1903), the American folklorist and founder of the Gypsy Lore Society.

[26] Louis Welch of Darlington was described by British media as the "King of the Gypsies", a title given to the best bare-knuckled boxer in the Romanichal who was mainly from the UK and France community.

He refused to give evidence against his attackers, saying it was "against the travellers' code of honour", and a retrial was ordered after the jury failed to reach a verdict.

"[30] This "King of the Gypsies" is suggested as a possible model for "A Grotesque Head" of the sketches of human physiognomy by Leonardo da Vinci, dated to (c.1503-07).

[32] In 1990, while most of the family was serving prison time, Polykarp's grandson Martin Erik Karoli proclaimed himself "King of One Million Gypsies", claiming to be slated for a centuries-old coronation in Central Europe.

[34] Was conferred the title "King of the Gypsies" by the Polish Royal Chancery in 1652, after the death of Janczy who had previously served as the head of the Roma.

[35] In the Interwar Period the Kwiek family became almost a "royal dynasty" of the Roma of Poland with some recognition by local police and government officials.

One member of the dynasty, Janusz Kwiek, was formally recognised by the Archbishop of Warsaw in 1937 and was subsequently crowned as Janos I in the National Army Stadium before thousands of people, with several European heads of state invited.

Reports in 2003 that Cioabă, a Pentecostal Minister, had married off his own daughter at the age of 12 (or 14) caused uproar in the western media.

[47] His death at Colingham is recounted by William Smith, the Baillie at Kelso, who states that "When old Will Faa was upwards of eighty years of age, he called on me in Kelso, in his way to Edinburgh, telling me that he was going to Edinburgh to see the laird... before he died," and also that after successfully completing this visit "he only got the length of Colingham, when he was taken ill and died.

The Kelso Mail carried his obituary entitled "Death of a Gypsy King", which said he was "always accounted a more respectable character than any of his tribe, and could boast of never having been in gaol during his life."

Following a gap of several years in 1898 one of her sons Charles Rutherford was persuaded to accept the office and a ceremonial Gypsy Coronation was held in 1898.

Between the death of Esther Faa Blyth in 1883 and the accession of Charles II in 1898, there was no Gypsy royalty crowned at Kirk Yetholm.

Tom Miller made a brief cameo in the movie Angelo My Love directed by Robert Duvall, a film showcasing life in Roma America in the 1970s.

[2] A document found in the Lauderdale County Department of Archives and History says she was born in Brazil, Known for being horse dealers, the Stanleys are Romanichal and arrived in the United States from England in 1857 on a ship called the SS Kangaroo.

The classic daytime gothic television series Dark Shadows featured a fictional King of the Gypsies named Johnny Romano during the 1897 arc.