Where are you planning to set this story -- that is going to make the biggest difference as far as to what extent he's going to experience prejudice. In big chunks of Eastern Europe Roma were quite literally slaves during this period (in fact, the treatment of Roma in Romania is one of the few direct parallels for the type of chattel slavery practiced in the American South...) many of them actually 'belonged' to Monasteries, although these were nearly exclusively Orthodox, rather than Catholic.
Most of my research re: the Roma centers on Romania, but I can tell you that in most of Western Europe, they were still subject to Ethnic Cleansing, expulsion, forced labor, and physical assault into the early 1900s. Realistically, my feeling is that if you want him to be able to go out in general European society and function outside of possibly Poland and Russia, you're going to have to give him the ability to 'pass' as a non-Roma.
Most of his story is set around the cities of Munich, Vienna, and Prague, so not quite as far east as Romania.
Do you think he would be able to get about without having to 'pass' if he had some kind of documentation from a government official stating he had particular permission to enter this city/use this train/whatever I have him doing? Or do you think it might still be a case of attack first, ask questions later? Although that was probably a bit of a daft question because the average person on the street isn't going to ask him for his papers first.
Not directly applicable but the Gypsy Lore Society was founded toward the end of the 19th century and may have something useful for you: http://www.gypsyloresociety.org/
If he has been raised by a Roman Catholic institution since he was 'very young', then how much Romani heritage is he actually going to have? He'll presumably speak German (or French, if he was raised in France) rather than Romany, his religion will be Roman Catholic, he probably won't know anything about Romany hygiene or purity laws, he'll dress in whatever clothes his carers gave him, he won't be living in a caravan... about the only thing that will distinguish him might be slightly darker skin, though even then, after centuries of living in Europe many Gypsies don't look especially different from the surrounding population
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That is true, he won't have the typical trappings of gypsy life going with him whenever he wanders around, and will be on his own rather than in a large group. However, he would likely still come across as a vagrant because he doesn't have a settled life or any sign of a house and respectable job. So that might raise a few more eyebrows than average, but maybe not as many as I initially thought.
I don't know about the situation in Europe, but in Britain at that time there were incridible numbers of young men roaming the country working to build the canals and railways. Have a row with the foreman, give up that job, move on to another job on another site. The settled population didn't like having the navvies around but didn't have any choice.
That's one reason why, until relatively recently, "gypsies" were not regared as an ethic group by the British population in general but as a remnant of the itinerant workforce of navvies.
I beta-read a friend's dissertation earlier this month, and it's about actors and their status in the eyes of the law from the medieval age onwards.
One reason vagrants were not wanted (aside from automatically being considered thieves etc) was that by that time, there was a social security net, and the cities wanted to make sure that it only benefited their own people, not strangers.
So everyone traveling had to have papers stating who they were and where they were from, so they could be forcibly sent back there if necessary. You can probably have whoever he is working for provide him with a cover, but it's something he's going to run into.
Generally, Roma and Sinti are still rather badly-regarded by many in Austria today, especially in the country-side. However, Vienna was a huge melting pot during the Austro-Hungarian empire, so it would be easy for him to pass as non-Roma.
It might be relevant (because you mentioned not knowing what term to use) that "gypsy" is considered a slur by many Romani people, although others have tried to reclaim it. It's been compared to the use of the n-word in reference to black people.
I did know it's often considered a slur (although I didn't know it was quite on the same level as the n word) but since its still used fairly widely I thought it only sensible to use it in my searching.
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Most of my research re: the Roma centers on Romania, but I can tell you that in most of Western Europe, they were still subject to Ethnic Cleansing, expulsion, forced labor, and physical assault into the early 1900s. Realistically, my feeling is that if you want him to be able to go out in general European society and function outside of possibly Poland and Russia, you're going to have to give him the ability to 'pass' as a non-Roma.
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Do you think he would be able to get about without having to 'pass' if he had some kind of documentation from a government official stating he had particular permission to enter this city/use this train/whatever I have him doing? Or do you think it might still be a case of attack first, ask questions later? Although that was probably a bit of a daft question because the average person on the street isn't going to ask him for his papers first.
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That's one reason why, until relatively recently, "gypsies" were not regared as an ethic group by the British population in general but as a remnant of the itinerant workforce of navvies.
Reply
One reason vagrants were not wanted (aside from automatically being considered thieves etc) was that by that time, there was a social security net, and the cities wanted to make sure that it only benefited their own people, not strangers.
So everyone traveling had to have papers stating who they were and where they were from, so they could be forcibly sent back there if necessary. You can probably have whoever he is working for provide him with a cover, but it's something he's going to run into.
Generally, Roma and Sinti are still rather badly-regarded by many in Austria today, especially in the country-side. However, Vienna was a huge melting pot during the Austro-Hungarian empire, so it would be easy for him to pass as non-Roma.
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