A major development
in the gestation of what is currently known as flamenco
would take place at the same time: the arrival into Spain
of the European gypsies. The oldest document stating this
migrating wave, signed by Alfonso The Magnanimous, dates
back to 1425. The possibility that they penetrated before,
via Africa, is not ruled out, this would support the theory
that they came from Egypt and would also explain the etymological
origin of the word. According to the most accepted theories,
gypsies come from Punjab, a region in northwest India, from
where they started a long exodus (between the 7th and 14th
century) due to unknown reasons. This migration resulted
in the scattering of groups of these nomads all over the
Old Continent.
