The Role of the Vlachs in the Bogomils’ Expansion in the Balkans

Abstract

Paper approaches an old idea about the contribution of Vlachs to the spread of Bogomilism in Balkans. Vlachs and Slavs had the greatest contribution to the spread of Bogomilism. The paper presents only data in connection with the Vlachs. After Slavs’ invasion and Christianization, the majority of Vlachs had passed to Slavic churches and later to the Paulician heresy, mainly known as Bogomilism in the Balkans. The Bogomil period of the Vlachs was approximately between the 11th century and the 16th century in Western Balkans. When the Paulicianism arrived in the Balkans, the heresy started to spread mainly along the main Roman Empire routes, areas dwelled until today by Vlachs (Aromanians) and Slavs. There are data that converted Vlachs spread the Bogomilism in Serbian, Montenegrinian, Bosnian, Dalmatian and Croatian lands. The main material heritages of the Bogomil Vlachs are the necropolises with decorations in Western Balkans. The Bogomils arrived even in Romanian lands, but their influence was only in apocryphal literature.

Keywords

• Bogomilism
• Vlachs
• Balkans
• spreading.

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