Bohemian

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For other uses, see Bohemian (disambiguation).

The term Bohemians has two distinct meanings, having little to do with each other - one refers to the people of Bohemia, in the Czech Republic, the other can describe any person who lives an unconventional artistic life.

[edit] Bohemian as an ethnic and geographical term

In its original meaning, "Bohemians" referred to the people of Bohemia, in the Czech Republic, inhabitants of the former Kingdom of Bohemia, located in the modern day Czech Republic. The name derives from the Latin term for the Celtic tribe inhabiting that area, the Boii, who were called Boiohaemum in the early Middle Ages. The word "Bohemians" was never used by the local Czech population. In Czech, the region since the early Middle Ages has been called only "Čechy" (Bohemia) or "Království české" (Kingdom of Bohemia), and its mainly Czech-speaking inhabitants were called "Češi".

In other European vernaculars and in Latin (as Bohemi), the word "Bohemian" or a derivate was used to designate all inhabitants of Bohemia. If the Czech ethnic origin was to be stressed, combinations like "Bohemian of Bohemian language", "a real Bohemian" etc. were used.

It was not until the 19th century that other European languages began to use the word "Czechs" (in English — Tschechen in German, tchèques in French) in a deliberate (and successful) attempt to distinguish between ethnic Czechs and other inhabitants of Bohemia. Currently, "Bohemians" is still used when there is need to distinguish between inhabitants of the western part of the Czech Republic (Bohemia), and the eastern part (Moravia).

[edit] Modern use of the term as a social phenomenon

Main article: Bohemianism

Its secondary meaning (see Bohemianism) comes from the French word bohémien for a member of the Roma people, as the French believed for a period beginning in the fifteenth century that the Romani originated from Bohemia, because they travelled through it. [1]

In modern usage, the term "bohemian" no longer refers to the Roma but can describe any person who lives an unconventional artistic life, where self-expression is their highest value; art (acting, poetry, writing, singing, dancing, painting, etc.) is a serious, if not central, part of their life. The term was applied particularly to the poets and writers of Carmel-by-the-Sea and the Bloomsbury Group in the first half of the 20th century, and, early in the 21st century, to a style of female fashion ("boho-chic").^{[original research?]}^{[citation needed]}