ABSTRACT
The history of the relationship between the Roma and non-Roma is intricately linked to the alphabetic practices of the dominant group. This relationship has largely been defined by the public and official writings about Gypsies that started to appear in Western Europe during the fifteenth century. The chapter demonstrates how this relationship has evolved through time and how these stereotypes contributed to the politics of marginalisa-tion, exclusion and, later, assimilation enacted against the Romani population in Europe.
