During the last centuries of the Roman Empire, the most important socio-cultural influence on the Romanized populations was without doubt exerted by the Christian religion. This could not, of course, happen without a lasting effect upon the language. In the 3rd century, most of the fundamental terms of Christianity began to be created, mainly on a Greek and Latin basis. In many cases, the new faith required new expressions: AThe new system of thought called for and created not quite a new language, but certainly new forms of expression.@

The religious terms show the changes of Late Latin in all Romance languages, including Rumanian. In Rumanian, they also show some Balkan Latin features, such as the d > dz (z) change (Latin deus > Arumanian dzeu, N. Rum. zeu) and the word basilica > biseric|. This word Ais preserved in the Rumanian, Dalmatian, and Albanian languages, which proves that it was a popular and widely spread word@. Although the word itself is not entirely unknown in the western Romance languages, its use in the sense of �church�is a peculiarity of Balkan Latin.

It is obvious that the religious terms of Latin (and Greek) origin concern many BASIC NOTIONS of the Christian faith. Another, larger, group of religious terms in Rumanian, those of SOUTH SLAVIC ORIGIN, pertain mainly to the ORGANIZATION of the Church. The exact age of these loanwords cannot always be determined, but they are earliest from the end of the 9th century, when the Bulgarians adopted the Christian faith (cf. above, p. 22). Most of these terms were, of course, borrowed later, during the 11th and the following centuries. Many of the corresponding Old Slavic words are found in texts. The direct continuation of Old Slavic (Old Bulgarian) is Middle Bulgarian, the most important variant of Slavonic (in French, slavon, in German, Kirchenslavisch), which dominated in Muntenia and Moldavia during the 14thB16th centuries. The Slavonic texts perserve in general the Old Bulgarian forms.

Mih|il| presented 79 examples of Rumanian religious terms originating from this source. They are divided into the following groups: (1) fundamental notions of Christianity, (2) evil spirits and heathen gods, (3) designations of the saints, (4) Church hierarchy, (5) monastic life, (6) church, monastery, and (7) divine service. Thirtythree of these examples are of Greek origin, 2 are loan translations from Greek, and one derives from Latin.

Some examples: duh �soul; spirit; ghost�, rai �paradise�, idol �idol, image�, iad �hell�, sobor �synod, group of priests; prayer, service�, episcop �bishop�, vladic| �bishop�, pop| �priest�, m|n|stire �monastery, cloister�, jertf| �offering, sacrifice�, prohod �funeral service, requiem, burial�.

It must be added that, besides the rich Christian terminology, several words concerning popular heathen beliefs of the South Slavic populations were also borrowed by Rumanian: N. Rum. vraj| �charm, spell: magic, witchcraft�, basm �fairy-tale� (cf. Slavic bajati �to conjure�), moroi �ghost, phantom�, v�rcolac �werwolf; vampire; ghost�, zmeu �dragon�.

Northern. Rumanian c�rneleag|, Arum. c�rleag| �last but one week of Advent fast� and c��legi �carnival� testify to connections also with the Albanians as regards religious terms. C�rneleag| (< Latin carnem-ligat) means literally �the binding of meat�; these words must be connected with Albanian e lidhura (Gheg e lithmeje) �carnival�, from lidh �to bind�.

L. Common Rumanian (rom�na comun|)

The Northern Rumanian, Istro-Rumanian, Arumanian, and Megleno-Rumanian dialects once formed a single language without any significant dialectal divergences. This language, which is not documented in written texts, was reconstructed on the basis of the present day dialects; it is called Ancient Rumanian (str|rom�n|), Primitive Rumanian (rom�n| primitiv|) or Common Rumanian (rom�n| comun|). The latter term is used here, since it conveys the most important information about this stage of the language.

There are some data which help to define the end of the common period: one is the report by the Byzantine chronicler Cedren about some Vlach wayfarers, who in 976 AD killed David, the brother of Samuil, the Bulgarian co-regent, between Kastoria and the lake Prispa. These Vlachs were southern Rumanians. The other circumstance is the presence of Hungarian words in Northern Rumanian, which do not exist in Arumanian. Assuming that a Hungarian influence was not possible before the 12th century, Coteanu considered that Athe separation of Arumanian from Dacorumanian could not have occurred before the 12th century@.

Common Rumanian was reconstructed on the basis of the present day Rumanian dialects B primarily Northern Rumanian and Arumanian. Every old element found in at least one of the dialects is considered to have been part of the common idiom. Some characteristic features of it will be summarized here, mainly on the basis of descriptions given by Rosetti ILR 1986, pp. 321B159, ILR 1969, pp. 189B212, Tagliavini Lingu Neolat 1969, pp. 365B374, and Caragiu-Mario�eanu Dialectologie 1975, pp. 86B124.

Unstressed Latin a > Rumanian |: Lat. camisia > Arum. c�mea�|, N. Rum. c|ma�| �shirt�. Also unstressed Latin o changed to | in monosyllabic Latin grammatical words, such as Lat. quod > N. Rum, Arum. c|, Latin contra > Arum. c�tr�, N. Rum. c|tr|. In words borrowed from Slavic, -o also changed to | : Old Slavic sito > Arum., N. Rum. sit|, s�to > sut|. As Aa characteristic feature of the Balkan languages@, | appears also in Albanian, Bulgarian and Serbo-Croatian dialects.

Stressed e (Latin �) was diphthongized: ye:

Stressed o followed in the following syllable by e or a was diphthongized: oa . Latin coda > Arum., N. Rum. coad|; also in early Slavic loanwords: Old Slavic kosa > Arum., N. Rum. coas|. Stressed e followed in the next syllable by a (|) or e was diphthongized after the 6th century: Latin herba > Arum., N. Rum. iarb|, Latin petra > Arum. k�atr|, N. Rum. piatr| (Rosetti, 1986, p. 329). These diphthongs Aconstitute the originality of Rumanian, in which e and o have the role of semivowels, as i for example in ia�@.

i | u

The an > |n, am > |m change precedes rhotacism and with some exceptions of very early borrowings from Slavic, does not affect the Slavic loanwords. Later, this | developed into � : Latin manus > Arum., N. Rum. m�n|, (but Istrorum. m|r|), Latin angelus > N. Rum. �nger, etc.

Unstressed Latin o showed a tendency to change to u already inVulgar Latin (o and u are confounded in many texts). This continued in Rumanian: Vulgar Latin oricla > Arum. ureacl�a , N. Rum. ureche �ear�, Latin romanus > N. Rum., Arum. rum�n, Arum. also r|m�n, arr|m|nu, arm�n.

Latin d followed by i in a hiatus changed in the Latin period; in Latin grammar books from the 5th century AD it is written dz, z, or i . In Arum., d > dz if followed by ia, or by unstressed io, iu. In N. Rum. (except a few sub-dialects) dz later changed to z: Latin medius > Arum. �nedz, N. Rum. miez, Latin hordeum > Arum. ordzu, N. Rum. orz. If followed by stressed io, iu d changed to  , later j: Latin deorsum > Arum. (n) os, N. Rum. jos. Latin d + e, i changed similarly, after the 6th century: Latin decem > Arum. dza�e, N. Rum. zece, Latin deus > Arum. dz|u, N. Rum. zeu.

The change of Latin t + i in a hiatus was recorded from the 5th century on. Later development went in two ways: (1) If followed by ia, or by unstressd iu, t changed to ts: Latin matia > Arum. ma�|, N. Rum. ma�e. (2) If followed by stressed io, iu, Latin t changed to �: Latin fetiolus > Arum. fi�or, N. Rum. fecior, Latin titionem > Arum. ti�uni, N. Rum. t|ciune. - The assibilation of Latin t + e, i occurred after the 6th century: Latin terra > Arum., N. Rum. �ar|, Latin teneo > Arum. ��n, N. Rum. �in.

Latin k + i in a hiatus was palatalized in the 2nd century AD. Later, it developed as follows: followed by unstressed io, iu, it changed to ts: Latin socius > Arum., N. Rum. so�. Followed by stressed io, iu, it changed to � : Latin petiolus > Arum. and N. Rum. picior.

The palatalization of k � (+ e, i ) is attested in Latin in the 5th century. In Northern Rumanian, it changed to � : Latin cera > N. Rum. cear|. In Arumanian, the general rule today is ts in this position: �ear|, �er. There are, however, in certain parts of the Arumanian area, reports of the use of � instead of ts, and Rosetti considers that the pronunciation ts is recent.

Latin s followed by i and e in a hiatus, changed to � : Latin camisia > Arum. c�mea�|, N. Rum. c|ma�|, Latin caseus > Arum., N. Rum. ca�.

In the Latin group of consonants: br , b changed to u or disappeared: Latin cibrum > Arum. �ir, Meglenitic �ur, N. Rum. ciur. (This is why Abrud [placename in Transylvania, cf. below, chapter III, p. 181] cannot be inherited from Latin Abruttus but must have been handed down to Rumanian by an other language.)

Latin cl, gl : The l in these groups disappeared in most of the N. Rum. territory, but not in Arumanian and Istrorumanian: Latin clavis > Arum. cl�ae, N. Rum. cheie, Latin glacies > Arum. gl�e�, gl�a�|, N. Rum. ghia�|.

The Latin group st followed by e or i changed to �t: Latin castigare > Arum. c��tigari, N. Rum. c��tiga. Followed by i (e) in a hiatus, st changed to �: Latin pastionem > Arum. p��uni, N. Rum. p|�une. The word christianus is an exception: Arum. cri�tin, N. Rum. cre�tin, Abecause the word penetrated late into the language and was not adapted to the words from the old stock.@ Intervocalic l > r: Latin mola > Arum., N. Rum., Istrorum. moar|, Latin fil(um) > N. Rum. fir. This change did not affect the Slavic loanwords.

As a result of the action of a iot on the preceding consonant, the following new phonemes appeared: /�,/ / / /� /, /  / /� /, / / /l�/.

The phoneme /h/ probably existed in this period in words from the substratum but had a subordinate role until strengthened by /h/ in several Slavic loanwords.

/p/ /b/ /t/ /d/ /c/ /g/ /�/ / / /�/ / / /f/

/v/ /s/ /�/ /n/ /n/ / / /l/ /l/ /l�/ /r/ /r/

The neutre disappeared in Latin and reappeared probably in the period of Common Rumanian. It is expressed with the endings of the masculine nouns in the singular and that of the feminines in the plural, as well as by Latin -ora: N. Rum. scaun �stool�, scaune �stools�; ochi B ochiuri.

For an exhaustive presentation of Common Rumanian, cf. Rosetti ILR 1986, pp. 321B359.

Although this term is not unknown (cf., for example, Bourciez, �l�ments de lingustique romane, 1967, p. 548: Aroumain du Nord@), the designation ADaco-Roman@ has been used generally when speaking about the Rumanian dialect found north of the Arumanians and the Meglenites. However, this term may cause misunderstanding. It is based on the circumstance that the northern dialect of Rumanian is at present, among other areas, also spoken in the territory which between 106 and 275 AD was Roman Dacia. It is, however, also spoken south of the Danube and during the Middle Ages, its Balkan territory was much more extensive. It included large parts of Serbia and Bulgaria; cf. above, p. 22. The most important reason not to use the designation ADaco-Roman@ is that it can be used (and has been used) with the implication that the northern dialect of Rumanian is based on the Dacian language. Thus, for example, C. Daicoviciu (1969) stated categorically that he regarded the term ADaco-Roman@ not only in its geographical sense and continued: AFor us, the term implies, in the first place, the genetic character of the Daco-Romans, i.e., A ROMANCE POPULATION ON A DACIAN ETHNIC BASIS@ (romanitate pe temelia etnic| dacic|). This cannot be regarded adequate, in the first place because our knowledge of possible Dacian elements in the Rumanian language is very scanty. It is uncertain whether such elements exist at all.

An exhaustive presentation of Northern Rumanian was written by Alf Lombard: La langue Roumaine. Une pr�sentation, 1974. In the following survey this, as well as Matilda Caragiu-Mario�eanu�s Compendiu de dialectologie rom�n| (nord- �i sud-dun|rean|), 1975, were used in the first place.

Northern Rumanian is the mother-tongue of more than 20 million people in Rumania, to whom must be added smaller or larger groups living in adjacent countries. It is the most highly developed dialect of the Rumanian language. It is characterized by a tremendous impact of Slavic (cf. above, pp. 98B108). From the 18th and especially the 19th century on, it has absorbed many French, Italian and Classic Latin words. Northern Rumanian also contains, in contrast to Arumanian, a considerable amount of Hungarian and a smaller number of German elements, the result of Rumanian contacts with these peoples in Transylvania. Its Balkan characteristics are the same as those found in the other (southern) Rumanian dialects (cf. above, p. 86). As a result of the various foreign influences, many synonyms are organized to a principle involving a double scale, Latin versus Slavic: timpBvreme �time�, but there are many words included in the synonymic pattern based on a triple scale, for example repedeBiuteBrapid, three words derived from Latin (inherited), Slavic, and French (which borrowed it from Classic Latin), respectively, to express the notion of �fast�.

Miklosich recorded 2953 Istro-Rumanians. The most recent figure from the years 1959 to 1961 (A. Kova�ec) is 1.250 to 1.500. The Istro-Rumanians are all bilingual and are being increasingly assimilated into the surrounding Croatian and Italian populations. Once, they were shepherds, and vestiges of this fact are left in the language of Croatian shepherds in the region of Zadar, who use Rumanian numerals when counting their sheep: d�, p�to, �asto, �op�e, z�ci. The Istro-Rumanians used to call themselves vlå�, vlås; and their language, vlåski. The surrounding populations call them ciribiri.

This group of Vlachs call themselves ar(u)m�nu, rum|nu, r|m|nu (< Latin romanus). Their neighbours call them Vlachs; the Greeks use the designation Koutsoblacoi, which means �limping Vlachs�; the Bulgarians say belivlasi �white Vlachs�. The Albanian name of the Arumanians is r�m�r (from Latin romanus) or  oban. The Serbians call them �in�ars, probably because of the high frequency of � (ts) in the Arumanian dialect.

The Meglenites are a group of speakers of Rumanian who lost their name derived from Latin romanus; they call themselves Vla�i; their neighbours call them Vla�i or Meglenites.

Although the theory that the speakers of these dialects originate from the areas north of the lower Danube has been presented (cf., for example, the discussion by Macrea: ADespre dialectele limbii rom�ne@, Limba rom�n|, V, 1, 1956, pp. 14 B15), there is no evidence for this. It is now generally recognized that they always lived south of the Danube. A survey of the discussion of the question whether Arumanian, Meglenitic, and Istro-Rumanian should be regarded as dialects or separate languages is given by Cazacu (Studii de dialectologie rom�n|, 1966, pp. 9B32). Cazacu�s conclusion is that they must on the basis of genealogic and structural criteria be considered dialects of the same language (Rumanian). Matilda Caragiu-Mario�eanu (Compendiu dial 1975) also presents them as dialects.

Table 4. The ethnic situation of Transylvania (without the Partium) according to the census made in 1850B1851 (shortly after the Freedom Fight against the Habsburgs, in which very many Hungarians were killed or expelled from the country. (After Erd�ly r�vid t�rt�nete, red. B. K�peczi, in an article by Zs. Tr�cs�nyi & A. Miskolczy, p. 371.) Absolute numbers and proportions are given.

When discussing the Rumanian dialects in Transylvania, it must be remembered that in this province, the proportion of the Rumanians was earlier much lower (for example, in the 16th century, only around 30%, see Table 3) and they lived mainly in the mountainous areas of the southern Carpathians, the Transylvanian Alps, and M�ramaros (Maramure�).

The first systematic studies of the sub-dialects of Northern Rumanian spoken north of the lower Danube and in Dobrogea were carried out by Gustav Weigand (1860B1930), whose Linguistischer Atlas des dacorum�nischen Sprachgebietes appeared in 1909 in Leipzig. In general, Weigand�s conclusions have been confirmed by more recent research, although the Rumanian Linguistic Atlas, published in the 1930�s, added much new material.

The different pronunciation of ge (gi) and ci; the preservation of dz (which in Muntenia changed to z), and of -n- in certain words: a �ncuna instead of a �ncuia: the change of ia to ie, of -e to -i, and of o to u|; the palatalization of d, t, n in front of e and i . To this, the following may be added: m�ine instead of m�ini; the velar g in sugit and the velar k in �nkid; the palatalization of the velar c in c|lk��i, etc., the palatalization of f, v (> s, z); the change of -ea to e; the palatalization of the labials; the different treatment of Latin a + n: in Muntenia, �i (c�ine), in Moldavia and other areas, � (c�ne).

(1) a �ncuna, c|lc�ne, etc., are old forms which existed in Common Rumanian and are still found in the dialects south of the Danube. Northern Rumanian, with the exception of the Banat, has innovated (�ncuia, c|lc�i). This innovation is quite recent: in placenames and personal names found in Latin and Slavic documents written in the 15th century, forms in -n- are the rule.

(2) The palatalization of the dentals had occurred in several areas already in the 15th century. This is shown in Hungarian documents from Transylvania, where some Rumanian placenames are recorded: the Rumanian name of a village in Hunyad county (Rum. Hunedoara), C�rne�ti, was written Kernyest (1447 AD); B|de�ti, a former village near Temesv�r (Rum. Timi�oara) > Begyest, etc.

(3) The only phoneme written differently in different areas in the 15th century was, as far as it is known today, z B dz. Documents from Moldavia, the Banat and Transylvania show z , while those from Muntenia have dz.

Of German origin: farb| (< Farbe)�colour,� �naid|r (< Schneider) �tailor,� etc.

Petrovici concludes that Northern Rumanian may be divided into five subdial-ects: that of Muntenia, Moldavia, the Banat, Cri�ana, and Maramure�. This division is chiefly based on differences in the vocabulary and phonetics; of the last-mentioned differences, the pronunciation of ge (gi) is considered the most important.

Table 6. Morphological peculiarities of the Northern Rumanian sub-dialects. (Transylvania, including Maramure�, and Moldavia have no distinctive morphological features.)

(On the basis of Todoran, R., ACu privire la reparti�ia graiurilor dacorom�ne,@ Limba rom�n|, V, 2, pp. 38B50.)

On the basis of phonetic peculiarities in texts from the 16th century, two sub-dialects may be distinguished within Northern Rumanian: a northern area with northern Transylvania, Maramure�, and Moldavia, and a southern area, comprising southern Transylvania and Muntenia. Texts written in the Banat coincide partly with the northern and partly with the southern sub-dialect. The differences in phonetics were in that period probably somewhat more pronounced than today. An investigation of the vocabulary used in the 16th century texts resulted in the delineation of essentially the same areas as those established by phonetic criteria.

N. The way of life of the early Rumanians as reflected by their language

(3) Documents on the shepherd Vlach population in Serbia (12thB15th centuries). (4) Considerable numbers of shepherd terms of Rumanian origin in at leat 12 European languages. (This will be discussed below, see AThe wanderings of the Vlachs outside the Balkan peninsula.@)

(a) �To wean� is expressed by a term taken from the realities of shepherd life: a �n�erca lit. �to put in a fold;� �to wean�. This word contains Latin in- and a word from the substratum: �arc �fold, pen� (cf. above, p. 76). In contrast, in French, for example, �to wean� is expressed by a word the sense of which in Latin is �to separate�: French sevrer �to wean� (< Latin se-parare �to separate�).

(b) arete, from Latin aries �ram�, may in N. Rumanian signify �male destined for reproductive function�, for example: coco�ul acesta l-am l|sat de arete �we have preserved this cock for reproduction�.

(c) The word strung| �sheepfold�, from the shepherd terminology, may also be used in the sense of �gap between two teeth�; (strung|rea�| has only this sense).

(d) chiag �rennet�, from Latin coagulum, is used in such expressions as se �nchiag| un g�nd �a thought is being formed�, lit. �a thought is being coagulated, clotted�; chiagul unei societ|�i �the cement of a society�; a prins chiag may be said of somebody who has consolidated his or her economic situation, etc.

(e) To say that two persons are of the same age, one may say suntem de aceea�i iarb|, lit. �we are of the same grass� B as two lambs which started grazing at the same time. �Don�t occupy yourself with things you don�t understand� may be expressed by pa�te iarba pe care o cuno�ti, lit. �feed upon the grass you know�.

(f) The word for �to graze, to feed� B pa�te B is used in several everyday expressions: ce pa�ti aici? �what do you seek here?, m| pa�te moartea �there is death ahead for me�, m| pa�te norocul �luck is close at hand�, m| pa�te g�ndul �the thought worries me�, etc.

(g) Also oaie �sheep�is used in everyday expressions: o face de oaie �he makes something foolish�, prea e de oaie �it is a very stupid thing�, suge la dou| oi is said of somebody who makes a profit out of two sources, etc.

(2) The names of Northern Rumanian origin in the Balkan peninsula of small villages (c|tun-s), as well as the names of mountains of the same origin, must have been left by a population living in the high mountains. These names were found by the Slavs when they populated the area, before the 8th century (cf. above, pp. 29B32).

(3) Although from a later period (the 12th to the 15th centuries), there also are documentary descriptions of this population: they are mentioned in the earliest deeds of gift from Serbian monasteries known today, and are consistently described as shepherds or carters, often living in symbiosis with Serbians or Albanians (cf. above, pp. 26B29, 38).

Above, pp. 35B37, the protracted wanderings of the Vlachs in almost the entire Balkan peninsula were described. Here I will present their northward migrations to rather distant territories.

In the course of time, part of the Vlach population settled down as peasants. However, large numbers of them continued to be shepherds throughout the Middle Ages and even later, while migrating to new territories. This is, besides historical records, shown by the Rumanian lexical influence on a series of Europen languages: Slovakian, Czech, Polish, Ukrainian, Russian, Hungarian, and Transylvanian Saxon. This is the result of the migrations of the Vlachs to territories north of the lower Danube; the Carpathian mountains, the Mun�ii Apuseni in Transylvania, the sub-Carpathian Ruthenian area, Slovakia, Moravia, southern Poland, the Ukraine, and southern Russia. It must be pointed out that the Vlachs did not borrow shepherd terms from the Slavs or from any other population with the exception of the other par excellence shepherd population of the Balkan peninsula, the Albanians.

In Russian: barbos �bearded�, bryndza and brynza �cheese�, malaj �maize flour�, mamaliga �maize porridge�, placynda �pancake�, urda �soft cheese�, cygeika �sheep�, kalauz �guide�, papu�a �doll puppet�, carina �tilled land�, caranin �peasant�, mors (from Rumanian murs| �beauty-spot; Sch�nheits-pfl�sterchen; Honigwasser�), d�ok �play�, etc.

In Polish: afyra �blueberry�, jefer �blueberry�, bacza �shepherd in charge of a sheepfold�, barda �hatchet�, berbe� �sheep�, bryndza �cheese�, bukat �piece, bit�, kalarasz �horseman�, kalcun �bennet�, koliba �hut�, kornuta �(long)horned�, koszar �barn, stall�, fujara �flute�, kokonica �young woman�, domna �lady�, domnica �princess; sweetheart�, linta and lenta �lentil�, maczuga �club, bludgeon�, malaj �maize flour�, mamalyga �maize porridge�, mierynda �victuals, food�, strygo  �ghost, phantom�, traista �bag�, urda �soft cheese�, dziama �juice�, dzer �whey�.

A systematic study showed 30 terms of Northern Rumanian origin used by the Slovakian shepherds in the north and the northeast of Slovakia and Orova. Macrea mentions the following of these: ghaleta and geleta �bucket�, kl�ag �rennet�, putyra and putina �vat�, merinda �victuals, food�, demikat �soup with crumbed bread�, kornuta �(long)horned�, kulastra and kuljastra �beest(ings)�, carek and carok �fold, pen�, rumegat�i �to chew, to rumigate�, meridzat�i �(from Rumanian a meriza �to let the cattle rest at noon�), murgana � (from Rumanian murgan| �sheep with black streaks�), cigaja �sheep with fine, soft wool�, laja (from Rumanian laie) �black sheep�, strunga �sheepfold, pen�, bryndza �cheese�, urda �soft cheese�, ba�a �shepherd in charge of a sheepfold�.

In Moravia and in Galicia, personal names of Rumanian origin were found by Dr|ganu: Puyne, Bacs, Cerbul, Gropa; in Galicia: Plina, Runkur, Stremtura, Florea, Pascu, Botez, etc.

The total number of Rumanian words in the Slavic languages is about 400. The highest number is found in Bulgarian (almost 200); this language also shows phonetic and structural changes of Rumanian origin (cf. above, pp. 108B110). The Slavic languages north of the Danube show lexical influence only.

Some suggestions regarding the age of these words are given (a) by the rhotacized forms putyra (< putin|), afyra (< afin|) in Ukrainian, Polish, Slovakian, and Czech. Rhotacism was probably widespread in the 10th to the 13th centuries; later, it was restricted to certain smaller areas; (b) by the forms kl�ag in Ukrainean, Polish, and Slovakian, gl�ag in Czech: cl in Latin words changed in N. Rum. to k� before the 16th century; (c) dz in dzeama, dzer, in Ukrainian and Polish, bryndza in all northern and eastern Slavic languages. In Northern Rumanian, the dz > z change was, as shown by the first written texts, almost complete in the 16th century. It should be pointed out that these criteria are not unequivocal, both rhotacism and dz existed also after the 16th century in certain areas of Northern Rumanian. Historical records may give some help: Vlachs are first described in the Balkan peninsula at the end of the 10th century, in Moldavia, at the end of the 11th century, and in Muntenia, somewhat later; in Transylvania, beginning with the 13th century. In Slovakia, Vlach shepherds appeared, according to Dr|ganu, already during the 10th to the 11th centuries (via Pannonia), but their presence there (and in Moravia) is attested by Czech and Slovakian historians only from the 16th century on.

According to Macrea, these Rumanian terms were borrowed Ain the period of great dispersion@ of the Vlachs, Abetween the 10th and the 13th centuries.@

The Vlach population had its own organization, led by its own leaders (cneji, c|tunari, celnici), and had with them everywhere the jus valachicum, developed in Serbia. In the Balkans, many of their leaders attained high ranks in society as administrators, clerks, church leaders, and also as chiefs of their own local state organizations : cf. the AValachies@ described in Byzantine sources, as well as the As|ne�ti-family, the founders of the second Bulgarian empire. The rank and file were, however, mainly shepherds. In the course of time, more and more of them settled down as peasants. In Slovakia, Bohemia, Poland, the Ukraine, and Russia, they were eventually assimilated into the surrounding Slavic populations. The above mentioned Rumanian impact upon the language of these populations is the only memento of them today.

THE ORIGINS OF THE RUMANIANS