Șchei (
Bulgarian: шкеи, shkei) was an old
Romanianexonym referring to the
Bulgarians, especially in
Transylvania and northern
Wallachia. As a name, it has been preserved in the names of towns colonized in the 14th century by Bulgarians, in
toponyms (Dealu Schiaului near
Rășinari), hydronyms (Schiau River, tributary to the
Argeş River), surnames (Schiau, Șchiau).[1] The word is thought to derive from
Latinsclavis, a popular designation for the
South Slavs (Bulgarians and
Serbs in particular) that is still used in
Albanian (in the form
shkja and various dialectal variants[2]).[3]
Șchei villages in Transylvania
Among the towns or neighbourhoods bearing that trace of Bulgarian settlement are:[1]
^Гюзелев, Боян (2004).
Албанци в Източните Балкани(PDF) (in Bulgarian). София: Международен център за изследване на малцинствата и културните взаимодействия. p. 13.
ISBN954-8872-45-5. Archived from
the original(PDF) on 2011-07-24. Retrieved 2008-09-01.