This page is intended to give easy access to the various pictures of Gypsies and other counter-culture peoples. I make no claims as to the authenticity of any of the "gypsies" portrayed herein.
Gypsies on the road. These 'Egyptians' also known as 'the offspring of Ptolemy' and 'Moon men', 'be light fingered and use picking, they have little manner and evil lodging and yet they be pleasant dancers'. From The Elizabethan Underworld.
Wandering gypsies, with their strange dress, language, culture and habits, were viewed with such suspicion by the Elazabethan world that statutes were even passed condemning them. From The Elizabethan Underworld
Morris dancers, from the frontispiece of Kemps nine daies wonder. Thomas Dekker describes the appearance of gypsies with that of Morris dancers, '...the men wear scarves of calico or any other base stuff...'. From The Elizabethan Underworld
Gypsy children on horseback from the Roxburghe ballads. They often rode more than one to a horse. Riding was learned early in their lives and was a useful skill for people who often needed to make a quick getaway.
This page is by no means complete, you never know what I haven't found yet. Anyone who has a picture of a "real" gypsy from before 1650, email me and perhaps I will put your source in.
This page is maintained by Madonna Contessa Ilaria Veltri degli Ansari, who in the real world is Lynda Fjellman, just because the subject is fun.
