Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume VIII.djvu/370

 356 GYMNOSOPHISTS GYPSIES Ravenstein and Hulley, " Gymnastics and Ath- letics " (London, 1867). GYMNOSOPIIISTS (Gr. yv/ivdf, naked, and ootaTfc, a philosopher), a sect of ancient In- dian philosophers, so called by the Greeks be- cause they went naked, or almost naked. They were also called ppaxpavai, Brahmans. They dwelt in the woods, and lived on the wild products of the earth. They were re- markable for their contempt of death, and practised suicide by burning. In this way Calanus sacrificed himself at Babylon, in the presence of Alexander the Great, and Xari- marus at Athens, in that of Augustus. The gymnosophists had a great reputation for wis- dom and learning. Their most prominent tenet was the doctrine of the immortality and transmigration of the soul. GYMHTOTUS. See ELECTRIC FISHES. GYONGYOS, a town of Hungary, in the county of Heves, 44 m. N. E. of Pesth ; pop. in 1869, 15,830. It is situated at the foot of the Matra range, contains a fine castle in which is an in- teresting collection of armor, four Catholic churches, a Franciscan monastery, town house, and gymnasium. It has extensive manufacto- ries of woollen stuffs, several tanneries and mills, an active trade in cattle and cheese, a weekly market, and numerous well frequented fairs. Near it are silver and copper mines. GYPSIES, Gipsies, or Gipseys (a corruption of the word Egyptians), a vagabond people now found in most parts of the world. The names given to them by other nations are : Zingari in Italy, Gitanos in Spam, Zigeuner in Ger- many, Cziganyok in Hungary, Tzigani in Slavic countries, Tchinganeh in Turkey, Bohemienrs in France (as they pretended to come from Bo- hemia), &c. They are also nicknamed Mattois, Gueux, Cagoux, and their language Blesquin in France; Zieh-Gauner (wandering rogues) in Germany, heathens in Holland, Tartars in Sweden, &c. They call themselves Kale or Mellele (the black), Mellelitchel (black people), Sinde or Sinte (probably from the Sanskrit Saindhanas, people of the Indies), but more commonly by some word signifying " people" in the various gypsy dialects, as Manush, Rom, feminine Romni. As they are ignorant of their origin, and as history has failed to record their migrations, there are very many opinions on the subject. Hasse and Schirak attempted to connect them with the Siybvvat of Herodotus, north of the lower Ister (Dan- ube), reported to be of Median origin. Butt- ner, Rudiger, Bacmeister, Pallas, and Grell- niann consider them to have come from India, whence they were driven by the ravages of Tamerlane (1398), and where they belonged to the Soodra caste, or to the Pariahs. Hiob Ludolf (Commentariu* ad Historiam jfithi- opicam, 1691) gave a list of words supposed to be Egyptian, but which are rather Slavic. There are many roving tribes in India and Persia which resemble the gypsies. In north- ern Persia they are known as Karatchi, and in Kermanshah and Kurdistan as Kauli and Sus- mani. The Zingarro or Chungur of the Pun- jaub are also a wandering race. Vigne holds that modern gypsies are descendants of Cash- mere Hindoos who fled from persecution to- ward the end of the 14th century. Arab Shah, who lived at Samarcand in 1422, says hi his "Life of Timour" that the gypsies were probably descendants of Buddhists who emigra- ted about 300 B. C., when persecuted by Nara. In a paraphrase of the book of Genesis, writ- ten by an Austrian monk in 1122, similar vagrants were noticed as being Ishmaelites; but organized bands of gypsies first appeared in the Danubian provinces in 1417. They numbered about 14,000 in Italy as early as 1422. On Aug. 17, 1427, arrived at Paris a band of 120 strangers, claiming to be Chris- tians of Lower Egypt who had been expelled Bohemian Gypsies. by the Saracens. They said they had last come from Bohemia. They professed the gifts of fortune-telling and palmistry, and were great thieves. They were expelled from Paris, but continued to wander in France, and other bands succeeded them. They appeared in Spain in 1447, in England about 1506, and in Sweden in 1514. Wherever they came they practised the arts of thieving and deception. Severe laws were passed against them, but these measures, not being simultaneous in the various states, failed of their effect. Spain exiled them in 1492, and about a century later renewed the decree of banishment. In Eng- land, Henry VIII. issued in 1530 a procla- mation, subsequently renewed by Elizabeth, which made their stay in England for ovef a month a capital felony. The Scottish kings pursued a different policy, and seem to have