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{{Short description|Term for a Christian community}}
{{Main|Vlachs in the history of Croatia}}
{{Other uses|Morlachs (disambiguation)}}
[[File:Valerio - Paysan Morlaques des environs de Spalato, 1864.jpg|thumb|250px|Morlach peasant from the [[Split, Croatia|Split]] region (of modern [[Croatia]]). Théodore Valerio (1819–1879), 1864.]]

'''Morlachs''' ({{lang-sh-Latn-Cyrl|Morlaci|Морлаци}}; {{langx|it|Morlacchi}}; {{langx|ro|Morlaci}}) is an [[exonym]] used for a rural [[Christians|Christian]] community in [[Herzegovina]], [[Lika]] and the [[Dalmatian Hinterland]]. The term was initially used for a bilingual [[Vlachs of Croatia|Vlach]] pastoralist community in the mountains of [[Croatia in the union with Hungary|Croatia]] from the second half of the 14th until the early 16th century. Then, when the community straddled the [[Republic of Venice|Venetian]]–[[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] border until the 17th century, it referred only to the Slavic-speaking people of the Dalmatian Hinterland, [[Eastern Orthodoxy|Orthodox]] and [[Catholic Church|Catholic]], on both the Venetian and Turkish side.<ref>Davor Dukić; (2003) ''Contemporary Wars in the Dalmatian Literary Culture of the 17th and 18th Centuries'' p.132;  Journal of Ethnology and Folklore Research (0547–2504) '''40''' [https://hrcak.srce.hr/33095]</ref>

The exonym ceased to be used in an [[ethnic]] sense by the end of the 18th century, and came to be viewed as derogatory, but has been renewed as a [[social anthropology|social]] or [[cultural anthropology|cultural anthropological]] subject. As the nation-building of the 19th century proceeded, the Vlach/Morlach population residing with the Croats and Serbs of the Dalmatian Hinterland espoused either a [[Croats|Croat]] or [[Serbs|Serb]] ethnic identity, but preserved some common sociocultural outlines.

==Etymology==
The word ''Morlach'' is derived from the [[Italian language|Italian]] ''Morlacco'' ({{plural abbr|''Morlacchi''}}),{{sfn|Cosma|2011|p=121}} used by the [[Republic of Venice|Venetians]] to refer to the [[Vlachs in the history of Croatia|Vlachs]] from [[Dalmatia]] since the 15th century.{{sfn|Caciur|2020|p=30}} The name ''Morovlah'' appears in [[Dubrovnik]] records in the mid-14th century, while in the 15th century, the abbreviated form ''Morlah'', ''Morlak'' or ''Murlak'' is found in both Dubrovnik and Venice archives.{{sfn|Mirdita|2001|p=18}} Two main theories have been put forward to explain the origin of the term.{{sfn|Caciur|2020|p=30}}

The first one has initially been proposed by the 17th-century Dalmatian historian [[Johannes Lucius]], who suggested that Morlach would have been derived from the [[Byzantine Greek]] Μαυροβλάχοι, ''Maurovlachoi'', meaning "Black Latins" (from {{langx|el|μαύρο}}, ''mauro'', meaning "dark", "black"), that is "Black Vlachs".{{sfn|Mirdita|2001|pp=17-18}}{{sfn|Caciur|2020|p=30}} Lucius based his theory on the ''[[Chronicle of the Priest of Duklja|Doclean Chronicle]]'', which he published and promoted. He explained that the choice made by the Venetians to use this name was made to distinguish the Morlachs from the ''White Latins'', who would  have been the inhabitants of the former [[Roman Empire|Roman]] coastal cities of Dalmatia.{{sfn|Caciur|2020|p=30}} This theory has had a strong echo in [[Romanians|Romanian]] historiography,{{sfn|Caciur|2020|p=30}} and Romanian scholars such as {{ill|Cicerone Poghirc|ro}} and Ela Cosma have suggested that the term "Morlachs" also meant "Northern Vlachs", derived from the Indo-European practice of indicating [[Cardinal direction#The Colors in world cultures of the Cardinal directions|cardinal directions]] by colors.<ref>{{cite book |chapter=Romanisation linguistique et culturelle dans les Balkans. Survivance et évolution |trans-chapter=Linguistic and cultural Romanization in the Balkans. Survival and evolution |title=Les Aroumains |trans-title=The Aromanians |last=Poghirc |first=Cicerone |publisher=[[Institut national des langues et civilisations orientales|INALCO]]| location=Paris| year=1989 |page=23}}</ref>{{sfn|Cosma|2011|p=124}} [[Petar Skok]] suggested that while the [[Latin]] ''maurus'' is derived from the Greek ''μαύρος'' ("dark"), the diphthongs ''au'' > ''av'' indicates a specific [[Dalmatian language|Dalmato-Romanian]] lexical remnant.<ref>{{cite book |last=Skok |first=Petar |author-link=Petar Skok |title=Etimologijski rječnik hrvatskoga ili srpskoga jezika |trans-title=Etymological dictionary of the Croatian or Serbian language |publisher=[[Yugoslav Academy of Sciences and Arts]] |location=Zagreb |volume=II |year=1972| pages=392–393}}</ref>

The other theory, mostly suggested by [[Croatian historiography]] of the previous centuries, states that ''Morlachs'' means "Vlachs near the sea", from the [[Serbo-Croatian]] ''more'' ("sea"), and ''vlah'' ("vlach").{{sfn|Caciur|2020|p=31}} The first reference to this theory comes from the 18th-century priest [[Alberto Fortis]], who wrote extensively about the Morlachs in his book ''[[Viaggio in Dalmazia]]'' ("Journey to Dalmatia", 1774).{{cn|date=July 2024}}

==Origin and culture==
[[Image:Valerio - Musiciens Morlaques (Salone), 1864.jpg|thumb|200px|Morlach musicians from [[Solin|Salona]] (in modern Croatia), Théodore Valerio, 1864]]

The Morlachs are first mentioned in Dalmatian documents from the 14th century, but after the [[Ottoman wars in Europe|Ottoman conquest]] of [[Bosnia and Herzegovina|Bosnia]] in 1463 and especially from the 16th century onwards, "Morlach" was used by the Venetians to refer usually to the Ottoman population from the Dalmatian hinterland, across the border from [[Venetian Dalmatia]], regardless of their ethnic, religious or social belonging.{{sfn|Wolff|2002|p=127}}<ref>{{cite book |last=Bracewell |first=Catherine Wendy |title=The Uskoks of Senj: Piracy, Banditry, and Holy War in the Sixteenth-Century Adriatic |date=2011 |publisher=Cornell University Press |location=Ithaca and London |isbn=9780801477096 |pages=17–22}}</ref> While their name could imply some relation to the [[Romance languages|Romance-speaking]] [[Vlachs]], travel accounts from the 17th and 18th century attest that the Morlachs were linguistically [[South Slavs|Slavs]].{{sfn|Wolff|2002|pp=13,127–128}} The same travel accounts indicate that the Morlachs were mostly of the [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Eastern Orthodox]] faith, though some were also [[Roman Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]].{{sfn|Wolff|2002|p=128}} According to Romanian historian Dana Caciur, in Venetian eyes the Morlach community could represent a mixture of Vlachs, Croats, Serbs, Bosnians and other people as long as they shared lifestyle.<ref>Dana Caciur; (2016) ''Considerations Regarding the Status of the Morlachs from the Trogir's Hinterland at the Middle of the 16th Century: Being Subjects of the Ottoman Empire and Land Tenants of the Venetian Republic,'' p. 97; Res Historica, [https://www.researchgate.net/publication/332519845]</ref>

They made their living as [[shepherd]]s and merchants, as well as soldiers.{{sfn|Lovrić|1776|p=170–181}}{{sfn|Vince-Pallua|1992}} They neglected agricultural work, usually did not have gardens and orchards besides those growing naturally, and had for the time old farming tools, Lovrić explaining it as: "what our ancestors did not do, neither will we".{{sfn|Lovrić|1776|p=174}}{{sfn|Vince-Pallua|1992}} Morlach families had herds numbering from 200 to 600, while the poorer families around 40 to 50, from which they received milk, and made various dairy products.{{sfn|Lovrić|1776|p=170-181}}{{sfn|Vince-Pallua|1992}}

Contemporary I. Lovrić said that the Morlachs were Slavs who spoke better Slavic than the [[Republic of Ragusa|Ragusans]] (owing to the growing Italianization of the Dalmatian coast).{{sfn|Fine|2006|p=360}} Boško Desnica (1886–1945), after analysing Venetian papers, concluded that the Venetians undifferentiated the Slavic people in Dalmatia and labeled the language and script of the region as "Illirico" ([[Illyrian (Slavic)|Illyrian]]) or "Serviano" ["Serbian", particularly when referring to the language of the Morlachs or Vlachs in Dalmatia]. Language, idiom, characters/letters are always accompanied by the adjective Serb or Illyrian, when it is a matter of the military always is used term "cavalry (''cavalleria'') croata", "croato", "militia (''milizia'') croata" while the term "Slav" (''schiavona'') was used for the population.{{sfn|Fine|2006|p=356}} Lovrić made no distinction between the Vlachs/Morlachs and the Dalmatians and Montenegrins, whom he considered Slavs, and was not at all bothered by the fact that the Morlachs were predominantly Orthodox Christian.{{sfn|Fine|2006|p=361}} Fortis noted that there was often conflict between the Catholic and Orthodox Morlachs.<ref>{{cite book|title=Narodna umjetnost|volume=34|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZP7ZAAAAMAAJ|year=1997|publisher=Institut za narodnu umjetnost|page=83|quote="It is usual that there is perfect disharmony between the Latin and the Greek religions; neither of the clergymen do not hesitate to sow it: each side tells thousands of scandalous stories about the other" (Fortis 1984:45)}}</ref> Croatian Roman Catholic bishop [[Mile Bogović]] concluded based on records of that time that the entire population along the Ottoman-Venetian border in Dalmatia was designated Morlachs, the only difference within the community was religious affiliation.<ref>{{cite book|author=Mile Bogović|title=Katolička crkva i pravoslavlje u dalmaciji za vrijeme mletačke vladavine|trans-title=The Catholic Church and Orthodoxy in Dalmatia during the Venetian rule|year=1993|url=https://docplayer.it/68017892-Katolicka-crkva-i-pravoslavlje.html|pages=4–5}}</ref>
 [[File:Valerio - Paysannes Morlaques des environs de Spalato, 1864.jpg|thumb|Morlach peasant women from around [[Spalato]] (in modern Croatia), 1864]]
In his book, ''Viaggio in Dalmazia'', Fortis presented the poetry of the Morlachs, publishing several specimen of Morlach songs.<ref>Larry Wolff, Rise and fall of Morlachismo. In: Norman M. Naimark, Holly Case, Stanford University Press, Yugoslavia and Its Historians: Understanding the Balkan Wars of the 1990s, {{ISBN|978-0804745949}} pp. 41, 44.</ref> Fortis spotted the physical difference between Morlachs; those from around [[Kotor]], [[Sinj]] and [[Knin]] were generally blond-haired, with blue eyes, and broad faces, while those around [[Zadvarje]] and [[Vrgorac]] were generally brown-haired with narrow faces. They also differed in nature. Although they were often seen by urban dwellers as strangers and "those people" from the periphery,<ref>{{harvnb|Wolff|2002|p=126}}; {{Cite book| first=Richard| last=Brookes| publisher=F.C. and J. Rivington| year=1812| title=The general gazetteer or compendious geographical dictionary (Morlachia)| page=501}}</ref> in 1730 ''[[provveditore]]'' Zorzi Grimani described them as "ferocious, but not indomitable" by nature, [[Edward Gibbon]] called them "barbarians",{{sfn|Naimark|Case|2003|p=40}}{{sfn|Wolff|2002|p=348}} and Fortis praised their "[[noble savage]]ry", moral, family, and friendship virtues, but also complained about their persistence in keeping to old traditions. He found that they sang melancholic verses of epic poetry related to the Ottoman occupation,{{sfn|Beller|Leerssen|2007|p=235}} accompanied with the traditional single-stringed instrument called ''[[gusle]]''.{{sfn|Beller|Leerssen|2007|p=235}} Fortis gave translation of folk song ''[[Hasanaginica]]'' at the end of his book. Manfred Beller and [[Joep Leerssen]] identified the cultural traits of the Morlachs as being part of the South Slavic and Serb ethnotype.{{sfn|Beller|Leerssen|2007|p=235}} Fortis' work started a literary movement in [[Italian literature|Italian]], [[Ragusan literature|Ragusan]] and [[Venetian literature]]: [[Morlachism]], dedicated at the Morlachs, their customs and several other aspects of them.<ref>{{cite thesis|url=https://era.library.ualberta.ca/items/0d19d195-6047-4425-8a14-ebf60e87e70d|title=Imagining the Morlacchi in Fortis and Goldoni|first=Branislava|last=Milić Brett|publisher=[[University of Alberta]]|type=PhD|pages=1–213|year=2014|doi=10.7939/R3MM45}}</ref>

==History==

===Early history===
The use of ''Morlachs'' is first attested in 1344, when ''Morolacorum'' are mentioned in lands around [[Knin]] and [[Krbava]] during the conflict between the counts of the [[Kurjaković noble family|Kurjaković]] and [[Nelipić]] families.{{sfn|Mužić |2010|p=10, 11|ps=: ''Et insuper mittemus specialem nuntium.... Gregorio condam Curiaci Corbavie,.... pro bono et conservatione dicte domine (Vedislave) et comitis Johannis,....; nec non pro restitutione Morolacorum, qui sibi dicuntur detineri per comitem Gregorium...; Exponat quoque idem noster nuncius Gregorio comiti predicto quod intelleximus, quod contra voluntatem ipsius comitis Johannis nepotis sui detinet catunos duos Morolacorum.... Quare dilectionem suam... reget, quatenus si quos Morolacos ipsius habet, placeat illos sibi plenarie restitui facere...''}} The first mention of the term ''Morlachs'' is simultaneous with the appearance of [[Vlachs of Croatia|Vlachs]] in the documents of [[Croatia in the union with Hungary|Croatia]] in the early 14th century; in 1321, a local priest on the island of [[Krk]] granted land to the church ("to the lands of Kneže, which are called Vlach"), while in 1322 Vlachs were allied with [[Mladen II Šubić of Bribir|Mladen Šubić]] at the [[Battle of Bliska|battle]] in the hinterland of Trogir.{{sfn|Mužić|2010|p=10}} According to Mužić in those early documents there is no identifiable differentiation between the terms Vlach and Morlach.{{sfn|Mužić|2010|p=14-17}} In 1352, in the agreement in which [[Zadar]] sold salt to the [[Republic of Venice]], Zadar retained part of the salt that ''Morlachi'' and others exported by land.{{sfn|Mužić|2010|p=11:''Detractis modiis XII. milie salis predicti quolibet anno que remaneant in Jadra pro usu Jadre et districtu, et pro exportatione solita fi eri per Morlachos et alios per terram tantum...''}} In 1362, the ''Morlachorum'',  settled, without authorization, on lands of [[Trogir]] and used it for pasture for a few months.{{sfn|Mužić|2010|p=12:''quedam particula gentis Morlachorum ipsius domini nostri regis... tentoria (tents), animalia seu pecudes (sheep)... ut ipsam particulam gentis Morlachorum de ipsorum territorio repellere... dignaremur (to be repelled from city territory)... quamplures Morlachos... usque ad festum S. Georgii martiris (was allowed to stay until April 24, 1362).''}} In the Statute of [[Senj]] dating to 1388, the [[House of Frankopan|Frankopan]]s mentioned ''Morowlachi'' and defined the amount of time they had for pasture when they descended from the mountains.<ref>{{cite journal| url=http://hrcak.srce.hr/index.php?show=clanak&id_clanak_jezik=67009| author=L. Margetić| title=Senjski statut iz godine 1388.| trans-title=Statute of Senj from 1388| journal=Senjski zbornik| location=Senj| volume=34| issue=1 |date= December 2007| pages=63, 77| format=PDF| language=la, hr| quote=§ 161. Item, quod quando Morowlachi exeunt de monte et uadunt uersus gaccham, debent stare per dies duos et totidem noctes super pascuis Senie, et totidem tempore quando reuertuntur ad montem; et si plus stant, incidunt ad penam quingentarum librarum.}}</ref> In 1412, the ''Murlachos'' captured the [[Ostrovica Fortress]] from Venice.{{sfn|Mužić|2010|p=13''Cum rectores Jadre scripserint nostro dominio, quod castrum Ostrovich, quod emimusa Sandalo furatum et acceptum sit per certos Murlachos, quod non est sine infamia nostri dominii...''}} In August 1417, Venetian authorities were concerned with the "Morlachs and other Slavs" from the hinterland, who were a threat to security in [[Šibenik]].{{sfn|Fine|2006|p=115}} Authorities of Šibenik in 1450 gave permission to enter the city to Morlachs and some Vlachs who called themselves Croats who were in the same economic and social position at that time.{{sfn|Mužić|2010|p=208}}

According to historian [[John Van Antwerp Fine Jr.|Fine Jr.]], the early Vlachs probably lived on Croatian territory even before the 14th century, being the progeny of romanized [[Illyrians]] and pre-Slavic Romance-speaking people.{{sfn|Fine|2006|p=129}}{{refn|group="nb"|Among surnames held to be of Romance roots, according to Božidar Ručević, editor of ''Rodoslovlje'', are Abras(ević), Anzul(ulović), Bandul(a), Barut, Basar(ić), Basta(sić), Bazina, Beara, Bokul(ić), Botun, Brbat, Brbatović, Bulat, Bumbak, Buza(j), Buzancic, Dančul(o), Domin, Drakul(ić), Džakul(a), Gavela, Kacan, Katul(ić), Kekez, Kožul(j), Mamula, Marul(ić), Mastela, Matavulj, Sanader, Šerbula, Štedul, Šugar, Šuker, Vatav, Vrsal(o), Žužul.<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.rodoslovlje.hr/istaknuta-vijest/vlasi-u-nama-svima| title=Vlasi u nama svima| author=Božidar Ručević| date=2011-02-27| publisher=Rodoslovlje| language=hr}}</ref>{{not in citation|date=July 2025}} Croatian linguist [[Petar Šimunović]] (1933–2014) identified surnames with Romance word roots in the Croatian onomasticon.<ref>{{cite book| author=[[Petar Šimunović|P. Šimunović]], F. Maletić| title=Hrvatski prezimenik| publisher=Golden marketing| location=Zagreb| year=2008| volume=1| pages=41–42, 100–101| language=hr}}</ref><ref>{{cite book| last=Šimunović| first=Petar| author-link=Petar Šimunović| title=Uvod U Hrvatsko Imenoslovlje| publisher=Golden marketing-Tehnička knjiga| location=Zagreb| year=2009| pages=53, 123, 147, 150, 170, 216, 217| language=hr}}</ref>}} Kosovan historian [[Zef Mirdita]] (1936–2016) regarded pastoralism as specific to ethnic Romance Vlachs.{{refn|group="nb"|He views pastoralism as specific for Vlachs as seen in the third chapter of eight book in ''[[Alexiad]]'', 12th-century work by [[Anna Komnene]], where along Bulgars are mentioned tribes who live a nomadic life usually called ''Vlachs''.<ref name="Zef">{{cite journal| author=Zef Mirdita| title=Balkanski Vlasi u svijetlu podataka Bizantskih autora| journal=Povijesni prilozi| url=http://hrcak.srce.hr/index.php?show=clanak&id_clanak_jezik=157940| publisher=Croatian History Institute| location=Zagreb| year=1995| volume=14| issue=14| pages=65, 66, 27–30| language=hr}}</ref> The term "Vlach" was found in many medieval documents, often mentioned alongside other ethnonyms, thus, [[Zef Mirdita]] claims that this was more an ethnic than just a social-professional category.<ref name="Zef"/> Although the term was used for both an ethnic group and pastoralists, P. S. Nasturel emphasized that there existed other general expressions for pastors.<ref name="Zef"/>}} According to Croatian historian Ivan Mužić (1934–2021), the Romance Vlachs who practiced shepherding first inhabited the [[Velebit]]-[[Dinara]] and then descended in the 14th and 15th centuries into the valleys and mixed with the agricultural Croats, losing their Romance language.{{sfn|Mužić|2010|p=73}} Mužić believed that a part of them still spoke Romance or were bilingual in the 15th century, while he viewed the [[Istro-Romanians]] (those of [[Lake Čepić]] in Istria, and [[Krk]]) as descendants of this Velebit-Dinara group.{{sfn|Mužić|2010|p=73}} He also claimed that Croats of the Dinara, Svilaja, Promina, below the Velebit, in Bukovica and in Moseć adopted shepherding and became "Morlachs" upon the Ottoman rule in the region, by this time the Romance language having been lost in the area and the only "Vlach" element being [[pastoralism]], with the joining of ''[[martolos]]'' organization finalizing it.{{sfn|Mužić|2010|pp=80-81}} In the 15th century [[Ćićarija]] was settled by migrants from southeast of Velebit, and in the period of 1555–1650 Istria was settled by migrants from Venetian [[Zadar County|Zadar area]], both communities today still speaking the Shtokavian-Chakavian dialect with Ikavian accent.{{sfn|Mužić|2010|p=89}}<ref>{{cite book| author=Josip Ribarić| title=O istarskim dijalektima: razmještaj južnoslavenskih dijalekata na poluotoku Istri s opisom vodičkog govora| publisher=Josip Turčinović| location=Zagreb| year=2002| language=hr}}</ref>{{page needed|date=July 2025}} There were  shepherds from [[Bukovica, Dalmatia|Bukovica]] that tended on Velebit and were Slavic-speaking but counted sheep in Romance in the 1970s and 1980s.<ref name=Troselj>{{cite journal|author=Mirjana Trošelj|title=Mitske predaje i legende južnovelebitskog Podgorja|trans-title=Mythical Traditions and Legends from Podgorje in southern Velebit|publisher=Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts|location=Ljubljana|page=346|journal=[[Studia Mythologica Slavica]]|volume=14|year=2011|url=http://sms.zrc-sazu.si/pdf/14/sms-14-22_troselj.pdf|language=hr}}</ref><ref name=Vinscak>{{cite journal|author=Tono Vinšćak|title=Kuda idu "horvatski nomadi"|journal=Studia ethnologica Croatica|volume=1|issue=1|location=Zagreb|publisher=University of Zagreb|page=90|date=June 1989|url=https://hrcak.srce.hr/75816|language=hr}}</ref>{{refn|group="nb"|The "Vlach" or "Romanian" traditional system of counting sheep in pairs ''do'' (two), ''pato'' (four), ''šasto'' (six), ''šopći'' (eight), ''zeći'' (ten) has been preserved in some mountainous regions of [[Zagora (Croatia)|Dalmatian Zagora]], [[Bukovica, Croatia|Bukovica]], [[Velebit]], and [[Ćićarija]] according to Jelka Vince-Pallua (1992).{{sfn|Vince-Pallua|1992}} Recordings of individual cases were made in the 1970s and 1980s among Bukovica shepherds on the Velebit.<ref name=Troselj/><ref name=Vinscak/> }}

The Istro-Romanians, and other Vlachs (or Morlachs), had settled Istria (and mountain [[Ćićarija]]) after the various devastating outbreaks of the [[Black Death|plague]] and wars between 1400 and 1600,<ref name="Franceschi">{{cite book| author=[[Carlo De Franceschi|Carlo de Franceschi]]| title=L'Istria: note storiche| url=https://archive.org/details/listrianotestor00frangoog| publisher=G. Coana (Harvard University)| year=1879| pages=355–371| language=it}}</ref> reaching the island of Krk. In 1465 and 1468, there are mentions of "Morlach" judge Gerg Bodolić and "Vlach" peasant Mikul, in Krk and [[Crikvenica]], respectively.{{sfn|Mužić|2010|p=14, 207|ps=: ''Jesu prišli tužiti se na Vlahov, kojih jesmo mi postavili u konfi ni od rečenoga kaštel Mušća (Omišalj) na Kras, kadi se zove v Orlec imenujući Murlakov sudca Gerga Bodolića i sudca Vida Merkovića (...) Darovasmo crikvi sv. Marije na Crikvenici Vlaha, po imenu Mikulu, ki Vlah budući va to vrieme naš osobojni, koga mi dasmo crikvi sv. Marije na Crikvenici sa svu ovu službu, ku je on nam služil budno na našej službi.''}} In the second half of the 15th century the island of [[Krk]] was settled by mostly Catholic Croatian Vlachs migrating from the area of southern [[Velebit]] and [[Dinara]], together with some [[Eastern Romance languages|Eastern Romance-speaking population]].<ref>Spicijarić Paškvan, Nina; (2014)  ''Vlasi i krčki Vlasi u literaturi i povijesnim izvorima''  ''(Vlachs from the Island Krk in the Primary Historical and Literature Sources)'' p. 349; Studii şi cercetări – Actele Simpozionului Banat – istorie şi multiculturalitate, [https://bib.irb.hr/datoteka/926881.studii_si_cercetari_2014.pdf]</ref> The Venetian colonization of Istria (and Ćićarija) occurred not later than the early 1520s,<ref name="Franceschi"/> and there were several cases when "Vlachs" returned to Dalmatia.{{sfn|Mužić |2010|p=76-79, 87-88}} According to Italian philologist Alvise Andreose, the Istro-Romanians may be a residual branch of the ''maurovalacchi'' Romance shepherds "that were mentioned in Bosnia, Serbia and Croatia in the Late Middle Ages" and mentioned in Istria in the 15th and 16th centuries.<ref name=Andreose>{{cite journal|title=Sullo "stato di salute" delle varietà romene all'alba del nuovo millennio|first=Alvise|last=Andreose|journal=Lengas. Revue de sociolinguistique|volume=79|year=2016|issue=79 |language=it|doi=10.4000/lengas.1107|doi-access=free}}</ref>

===16th century===
Although the first [[Ottoman wars in Europe|Ottoman invasion]] of Croatia took place in the early 15th century, the threat to Dalmatian towns began only after the conquest of [[Bosnia and Herzegovina|Bosnia]] in 1463. During the [[Ottoman–Venetian wars|Ottoman–Venetian war of 1499-1502]], a considerable demographic shift took place in the Dalmatian hinterland, leading to the abandonment of many of the region settlements by their previous inhabitants.{{sfn|Juran|2014|p=130}} During the years following the Ottoman conquest of [[Skradin]] and [[Knin]] in 1522, local Ottoman rulers started to resettle the depopulated areas with their Vlach subjects.{{sfn|Juran|2014|p=131}} Referred to as Morlachs in the Venetian records, the newcomers to [[Šibenik]] hinterland ({{langx|sh|Zagora}}) came from [[Old Herzegovina|Herzegovina]] and among them, three Vlach clans ([[Katun (community)|katuns]]) predominated: the Mirilovići, the Radohnići, and the Vojihnići.{{sfn|Juran|2014|p=150}} 

At the same time, the [[Austrian Empire]] established the [[Military Frontier]], which served as a buffer zone against Ottoman incursions.{{sfn|Suppan|Graf|2010|p=55-57}} Thus, other Vlachs, Slavicized Vlachs and Serbs fled the Ottomans and settled in this area.<ref>{{cite book |last=Stoianovich |first=Traian |title=Balkan Worlds: The First and Last Europe |date=1992 |publisher=Routledge |location=Armonk |isbn=9781563240324 |page=152}}</ref> As a consequence, Vlachs{{refn|group="nb"|"[[Vlachs]]", referring to pastoralists, since the 16th century was a common name for Serbs in the Ottoman Empire and later.<ref name=LING>{{cite journal |url=http://facta.junis.ni.ac.rs/pas/pas2003/pas2003-02.pdf |title=Elements of ethnic identification of the Serbs |last=Gavrilović |first=Danijela |journal=Facta Universitatis, Series: Philosophy, Sociology, Psychology and History |year=2003 |volume=2 |issue=10}}</ref> Tihomir Đorđević points to the already known fact that the name "Vlach" didn't only refer to genuine [[Vlachs of Croatia|Vlachs]] or [[Serbs of Croatia|Serbs]] but also to cattle breeders in general.<ref name="LING"/> In the work ''About the Vlachs'' from 1806, Metropolitan Stevan Stratimirović states that Roman Catholics from Croatia and Slavonia scornfully used the name "Vlach" for ''"the Slovenians (Slavs) and Serbs, who are of our, Eastern confession (Orthodoxy)"'', and that ''"the Turks in Bosnia and Serbia also call every Bosnian or Serbian Christian a Vlach"'' (T. Đorđević, 1984:110).<ref name=LING/>}} were used by both the Ottomans on one side, and Austria and Venice on the other.{{sfn|Suppan|Graf|2010|p=52, 59}}

From the 16th century onwards, the name "Morlach" became specifically used by the Venetians to refer the any inhabitant of the hinterland, as opposed to those of the coastal towns, in an area stretching from the north of [[Kotor]] to the [[Kvarner Gulf]] region. In particular, the area around the [[Velebit]] mountain range was largely populated by Morlachs, to the extent that the Venetians called it ''Montagne della Morlacca'' ("mountain of the Morlachs"), while they used the name ''Canale della Morlacca'' to designate the [[Velebit Channel]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Enciklopedija Leksikografskog zavoda: Majmonid-Pérez |editor-last1=Kostrenčić |editor-first1=Marko |editor-last2=Krleža |editor-first2=Miroslav |publisher=Jugoslavenski leksikografski zavod |location=Zagreb |year=1961 |page=268 |url=https://bopks.google.com/books?id=Mwg8o8bBtxQC}}</ref>

Between the end of the [[War of Cyprus]] in 1573 and the start of the [[Cretan War (1645-1669)|Cretan War]] in 1645, trading relations between the Venetian Republic and the Ottoman Empire improved significantly. As the border region between the two, Dalmatia became a dynamic center of these relations. In particular, Morlachs from the hinterland played an important role in trade, bringing corn, meat, cheese and wool to towns like Šibenik, and buying fabrics, jewelry, clothing, delicacies and, above all, salt.{{sfn|Juran|2015|p=47}} During this period, a significant number of Morlachs immigrated to the Venetian side near Šibenik, either temporarily or permanently. These migrations were mainly in search of employment as soldiers or servants, or through "mixed" marriages. Most of these Morlach migrants came from the areas of Zagora, [[Petrovo Polje (Croatia)|Petrovo Polje]], the [[Miljevci, Dalmatia|Miljevci plateau]] and the [[Cetina|Cetina valley]].{{sfn|Juran|2015|p=48}}

In 1579, several groups of ''Morlachs'' immigrated and requested to be employed as military colonists.<ref name="Rothenberg1960">{{cite book|author=Gunther Erich Rothenberg|title=The Austrian military border in Croatia, 1522–1747|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g701AAAAIAAJ|year=1960|publisher=University of Illinois Press|page=50|quote=<!--Morlachs, a Serbian tribe-->}}</ref>{{Better source needed|reason=Morlachs were not necessarily Serbs, this source from 1960 is largely outdated|date=July 2024}} Initially, there were some tensions between these immigrants and the established [[Uskoks]].<ref name="Rothenberg1960"/> In 1593, ''[[provveditore]] generale'' (Overseer) Cristoforo Valier mentioned three nations constituting the Uskoks: the "natives of Senj, Croatians, and Morlachs from the Turkish parts".{{sfn|Fine|2006|p=218}}

===17th century===
{{See also|Morlachs (Venetian irregulars)}} [[Image:Morlachia.jpg|thumb|right|"[[Morlachia]]" in the 17th century, map by [[Thomas Jefferys]] (1785).]]
At the time of the [[Cretan War (1645–69)]] and [[Morean War|Morean War (1684–99)]], a large number of ''Morlachs'' settled inland of the Dalmatian towns, and [[Ravni Kotari]] of Zadar. They were skilled in warfare and familiar with local territory, and served as paid soldiers in both Venetian and Ottoman armies.<ref>{{cite book|last=Roksandić|first=Drago|title=Etnos, konfesija, tolerancija (Priručnik o vojnim krajinama u Dalmaciji iz 1783. godine)|location=Zagreb|publisher=SKD Prosvjeta|pages=11–41|year=2004|language=hr|url=https://www.ffzg.unizg.hr/pov/zavod/triplex2/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/ROKSANDIC_1999.pdf}}</ref> Their activity was similar to that of the [[Uskoks]]. Their military service granted them land, and freed them from trials, and gave them rights which freed them from full debt law (only 1/10 yield), thus many joined the so-called "Morlach" or "Vlach" armies.<ref name="Tusculum 2">{{cite journal|author=Milan Ivanišević|title=Izvori za prva desetljeća novoga Vranjica i Solina|location=Solin|journal=Tusculum|volume= 2| issue =  1 September|page=98|year=2009|language=hr|url=http://hrcak.srce.hr/index.php?show=clanak&id_clanak_jezik=78147}}</ref>

At the time, some notable Morlach military leaders{{refn|group="nb"|The head leaders in Venice, Ottoman and local Slavic documents were titled as ''capo'', ''capo direttore'', ''capo principale de Morlachi'' (J. Mitrović), ''governatnor delli Morlachi'' (S. Sorić), ''governator principale'' (I. Smiljanić), ''governator'' (Š. Bortulačić), ''gospodin serdar s vojvodami'' or ''lo dichiariamo serdar;'' [[Serdar (Ottoman rank)|serdar]], and [[harambaša]].<ref name=Sučević1952>{{cite journal|last=Sučević|first=Branko|title=Ocjene i prikazi: Boško Desnica, Istorija kotarski uskoka|journal=Historijski zbornik|volume=V|issue=1–2|publisher=Povijesno društvo Hrvatske|pages=138–145|location=Zagreb|year=1952|url=http://www.historiografija.hr/hz/1952/HZ_5_12_SUCEVIC.pdf}}</ref>}} who were also enumerated in epic poetry, were: [[Janko Mitrović]], Ilija and [[Stojan Janković]], Petar, Ilija and Franjo [[Smiljanić family|Smiljanić]], Stjepan and Marko Sorić, [[Vuk Mandušić]], [[Ilija Perajica]], Šimun Bortulačić, Božo Milković, [[Stanislav Sočivica]], and Counts Franjo and Juraj Posedarski.<ref name=Sučević1952/>{{sfn|Roksandić|2003|pp=140, 141, 151, 169}} Divided by religion, the Mitrović-Janković family were the leaders of Orthodox Morlachs, while the Smiljanić family were leaders of Catholic Morlachs.<ref name=Sučević1952/>

After the dissolution of the [[Republic of Venice]] in 1797, and loss of power in Dalmatia, the term Morlach would disappear from use.

== Legacy ==
During the time of [[Age of Enlightenment|Enlightenment]] and [[Romanticism]], Morlachs were seen as the "model of primitive Slavdom",{{sfn|Wolff|2002|p=13}} and the "spirits of [[pastoral]] [[Arcadia (utopia)|Arcadia]] ''Morlacchia''".{{sfn|Naimark|Case|2003|p=41}} They attracted the attention of travel writers like 17th-century [[Jacob Spon]] and [[Sir George Wheler]],{{sfn|Wolff|2002|p=128}}<ref>{{cite book|author1=Wendy Bracewell|author2=Alex Drace-Francis|title=Under Eastern Eyes: A Comparative Introduction to East European Travel Writing on Europe|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YZipk3ZEJJwC&q=morlachs|publisher=Central European University Press|year=2008|pages=154–157|isbn=978-9639776111}}</ref> and 18th-century writers [[Johann Gottfried Herder]] and [[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe]], who labeled their poems as "Morlackisch".{{sfn|Wolff|2002|p=190}}{{sfn|Naimark|Case|2003|p=42}} In 1793, at the carnival in Venice, a play about Morlachs, ''Gli Antichi Slavi'' ("antique Slavs"), was performed, and in 1802 it was reconceived as a ballet ''Le Nozze dei Morlacchi''.{{sfn|Naimark|Case|2003|p=42}} At the beginning of the 20th century, still seen as relics from the primitive past and a byword for barbarous people, they may have inspired science fiction novelist [[H. G. Wells]] in his depiction of the fictional [[Morlock|Morlocks.]]{{sfn|Wolff|2002|p=348}} [[Thomas Graham Jackson]] described Morlach women as half-savages wearing "embroidered leggings thet give them the appearance of [[Native Americans in the United States|Indian]] [[squaw]]s".{{sfn|Naimark|Case|2003|p=47}} In the 20th century, [[Alice Lee Moqué]], as did many other women travelers, in her 1914 travelogue ''Delightful Dalmatia'' emphasized the "barbaric gorgeousness" of the sight of Morlach women and men in their folk costumes, which "made [[Zadar|Zara]]'s Piazza look like a stage setting", and regretted the coming of new civilization.{{sfn|Naimark|Case|2003|p=47}}

In the Balkans, the term became derogatory, indicating people from the mountains and backward people, and became disliked by the Morlachs themselves.<ref name="Baerlein">{{cite book|author=Henry Baerlein|title=The Birth of Yugoslavia (Complete)|year=1922|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zrerfGc7kUoC&pg=PT20|publisher=Library of Alexandria|isbn=978-1-4655-5007-1|pages=20–}}</ref>{{sfn|Naimark|Case|2003|p=46}} 

Italian cheese [[Morlacco]], also named as Morlak, Morlach, Burlach, or Burlacco, was named after Morlach herders and woodsmen who lived and made it in the region of [[Monte Grappa]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Formaggio Morlacco|website=venetoagricoltura.org|language=it |access-date=12 November 2015|url=https://www.venetoagricoltura.org/upload/pubblicazioni/E455%20Atlante%20tradizionali/Formaggio%20Morlacco.pdf}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Morlacco del Grappa|website=venetoformaggi.it|language=it|access-date=12 November 2015|url=https://www.venetoformaggi.it/it/formaggi/morlacco-del-grappa.php}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Grappa Mountain Morlacco|website=fondazioneslowfood.com|publisher=[[Slow Food]]|access-date=12 November 2015|url=https://www.fondazioneslowfood.com/en/slow-food-presidia/grappa-mountain-morlacco/}}</ref> "[[Morlacchi]]" remains attested as an Italian family name.{{cn|date=August 2024}}

== See also ==

* [[Morlacchi]]
* [[Vlachs in the history of Croatia]]
* [[Statuta Valachorum]]
* [[Morlachs (Venetian irregulars)]]
* [[Vlachs (social class)]]

==Annotations==
{{Reflist|group="nb"}}

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==Sources==
;Primary sources
* {{cite book |last=Fortis |first=Alberto |author-link=Alberto Fortis |title=Travels Into Dalmatia: Containing General Observations on the Natural History of that Country and the Neighboring Islands; the Natural Productions, Arts, Manners and Customs of the Inhabitants |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UMxGO1j5vC4C |year=1778 |publisher=J. Robson |location=London}}
* {{cite book |last=Lovrić |first=Ivan |author-link=Ivan Lovrić |title=Osservazioni sopra diversi pezzi del Viaggio in Dalmazia del signor abate Alberto Fortis coll'aggiunta della Vita di Soçivizça |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1dovAAAAYAAJ |year=1776 |publisher=Presso Francesco Sansoni |location=Venice |language=it}}

;Books
* {{cite book|last1=Beller|first1=Manfred|last2=Leerssen|first2=Joseph Theodoor|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5Qh-HUwbtpwC|title=Imagology: The Cultural Construction and Literary Representation of National Characters|year=2007|publisher=Rodopi|isbn=978-9042023178}}
* {{cite book |last=Cosma |first=Ela |chapter=Vlahii Negri. Silviu Dragomir despre identitatea morlacilor |trans-chapter=Black Vlachs. Silviu Dragomir about the identity of the Morlachs |publisher=[[University of Oradea]] |location=Oradea |title=Silviu Dragomir – 120 de ani de la naştere |trans-title=Silviu Dragomir – 120 years anniversary |editor-last1=Pop |editor-first1=Ion-Aurel |editor-last2=Şipoş |editor-first2=Sorin |year=2011 |url=https://centrulslavici.uvvg.ro/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Ioan%20Aurel%20Pop,%20Sorin%20SipoS%20SILVIU%20DRAGOMIR%20-%20120%20DE%20ANI%20DE%20LA%20NASTERE.pdf |pages=107–128}}
* {{cite book|last=Fine|first=John Van Antwerp Jr.|title=When ethnicity did not matter in the Balkans|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wEF5oN5erE0C|publisher=University of Michigan Press|date=2006|isbn=0472025600}}
* {{cite book|last=Mužić|first=Ivan|url=http://www.muzic-ivan.info/vlasi_u_starijoj_hrvatskoj_historiografiji.pdf|title=Vlasi u starijoj hrvatskoj historiografiji|year=2010|publisher=Muzej hrvatskih arheoloških spomenika|language=hr|location=[[Split (city)|Split]]|isbn=978-953-6803-25-5}}
* {{cite book|last1=Naimark|first1=Norman M.|last2=Case|first2=Holly|title=Yugoslavia and Its Historians: Understanding the Balkan Wars of the 1990s|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=u5tUbUyXtToC&pg=PA38|year=2003|publisher=Stanford University Press|isbn=978-0-8047-4594-9}}
* {{cite book|last=Roksandić|first=Drago|title=Triplex Confinium, Ili O Granicama I Regijama Hrvatske Povijesti 1500–1800|year=2003|location=Zagreb|publisher=Barbat|pages=140, 141, 151, 169|language=hr|url=https://www.ffzg.unizg.hr/pov/zavod/triplex2/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/ROKSANDIC,%20Triplex%20confinium.pdf}}
* {{cite book|last1=Suppan|first1=Arnold|last2=Graf|first2=Maximilian|title=From the Austrian Empire to the Communist East Central Europe|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RPD_5vMCRroC|year=2010|publisher=LIT Verlag Münster|isbn=978-3-643-50235-3}}
* {{cite book|last=Wolff|first=Larry|title=Venice and the Slavs: The Discovery of Dalmatia in the Age of Enlightenmen|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=B2LFRiT1nfYC|year=2002|publisher=Stanford University Press|isbn=0804739463}}

;Journals
* {{cite journal |title=Tko su Maurovlasi odnosno Nigri Latini u "Ljetopisu popa Dukljanina" |trans-title=Who are the Maurovlachs or Nigri Latini in the "Chronicle of the Priest of Duklja" |last=Mirdita |first=Zef |author-link=Zef Mirdita |url=https://hrcak.srce.hr/file/162525 |journal=Croatica Christiana Periodica |language=hr |location=Zagreb |volume=47 |year=2001 |issue=47 |pages=17–27}}
* {{cite journal |last=Caciur |first=Dana |date=2020 |title=(Re)searching the Morlachs and the Uskoks: The Challenges of Writing about Marginal People from the Border Region of Dalmatia (Sixteenth Century) |url=https://oajournals.fupress.net/index.php/cromohs/article/view/12193 |journal=Cromohs - Cyber Review of Modern Historiography |volume=23 |pages=28–43 |doi=10.36253/cromohs-12193 |issn=1123-7023|doi-access=free }}
* {{cite journal |last=Juran |first=Kristijan |date=2014 |title=Doseljavanje Morlaka u opustjela sela šibenske Zagore u 16. stoljeću |trans-title=The settlement of Morlachs in the deserted villages of the Šibenik hinterland in the 16th century |url=https://hrcak.srce.hr/file/186957 |journal=Povijesni prilozi |language=hr |volume=46}}
* {{cite journal |last=Juran |first=Kristijan |date=2015 |title=Morlaci u Šibeniku između Ciparskoga i Kandijskog rata (1570. – 1645.) |trans-title=Morlachs in Šibenik between the Cypriot and Cretan Wars (1570-1645) |url=https://hrcak.srce.hr/file/224704 |journal=Povijesni prilozi |language=hr |volume=49}}
* {{cite journal|last=Vince-Pallua|first=Jelka|title=Tragom vlaških elemenata kod Morlaka srednjodalmatinskog zaleđa|journal=Ethnologica Dalmatica|volume=1|issue=1|publisher=University of Zagreb|location=Zagreb|pages=137–145|year=1992|url=https://hrcak.srce.hr/109133}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Morlachs}}
* {{cite web|title=Morlaci|publisher=Croatian Encyclopaedia|year=2011|url=https://www.enciklopedija.hr/clanak/morlaci}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Morlachs| ]]
[[Category:Eastern Romance peoples in Croatia]]
[[Category:Eastern Romance people]]
[[Category:Historical ethnic groups of Europe]]
[[Category:Republic of Venice people]]
[[Category:South Slavic history]]
[[Category:History of Dalmatia]]
[[Category:Military Frontier]]
[[Category:Combat occupations]]
[[Category:16th century in Croatia]]
[[Category:17th century in Croatia]]
[[Category:Cretan War (1645–1669)]]
[[Category:Venetian period in the history of Croatia]]
[[Category:Communities in medieval Bosnia]]