“Man ought to have shame of other people and fear of God”, goes the popular saying. A short phrase, indeed, but it renders in great precision one of the most important unwritten laws of the Bulgarians in the patriarchal world. Once, the name that the family community and the ‘father of the house’ enjoyed used to be the most important esteem one could receive. Back then the word of an honest and decent fellow had the power of a contract. Actually, this continues to be true nowadays, too. In today’s Folk Studio we are going to tell you more about the written and unwritten laws of the Bulgarian people. Through proverbs, sayings and songs we shall look into the popular beliefs on trust, lawfulness and justice as reflected in the Bulgarian folklore heritage.

The Bulgarians had their written laws as early as the 9th century. They were created by Khan Krum, who was one of the greatest Bulgarian rulers famous for his iron hand as regarded home affairs and the numerous victories on the battlefield on the international scene. During his reign (803-814) Bulgaria was a powerful state and had steadfast positions in the Balkans and in Europe. Legend has it that before he compiled his laws, Khan Krum gathered the noblemen among the Avar prisoners of war. The Bulgarian ruler asked the captives what had brought on the demise of their state. It is believed that the answers they gave laid the foundations of the legislation, known as Krum’s laws. Thus, very strict sanctions were provided for those who threatened private property, and the law punished mercilessly thieves, slanderers and drunkards. Later in history, the ways of Bulgarian lawmakers varied depending on the historical situation until under Ottoman domination private property deals were arranged by the local administration, i.e. the municipalities, the unions of craftsmen and the clergy, which played the role of official representation of the Orthodox Christians before the Ottoman government. In other words, some of the legal issues were resolved within a tiny community, where everyone knew everybody else well enough. Were the father labelled ‘dishonest’, the son would invariably carry the stigma, and vice versa, if one kept one’s word, the posterity was blessed with great trust.

The given word had the power of an oath, no matter whether on material or moral grounds. “Once you’ve given a word, you can’t take it back”, says a young hero to his mother, replying to her entreaties to return home, throw a wedding party, and have offspring. But he only reminds her of his oath to be a rebel, and fight against the Ottoman oppressors, and have the forest as his home.

“What good are laws without good manners,” goes the Latin saying, but it has a myriad of Bulgarian folklore equivalents. “A debt unsettled is a like a sin unpardoned”; “If you have not given a word, don’t, but if you have – stick to it” goes another saying. Prior to 1878, the year of Bulgaria’s liberation from Ottoman domination, wills, donations and the like were arranged only in the presence of witnesses. It was enough just to write down the will of the person, who managed the property, the money, etc. That guaranteed the fact that the lands or other material possessions would be handed down the generations as he wished. Even the simplest of bets were executed regardless of the informal nature of the pledge, because people believed that “he who has lied once, will not be trusted again, even if he spoke the truth a hundred times after that.”

“You have my word” is a short phrase with the significance of a signature under a contract. Actually, the meaning of the word ‘dogovor’ (meaning ‘deal’, ‘contract’, ‘agreement’) comes from the power of the given word. At least, that is what National Revival period enlightener Nayden Gerov wrote in his multiple volume dictionary of the Bulgarian Language at the end of the 19th century. “The word means reaching an agreement, and also, giving someone your own word”. 

English version by Radostin Zhelev