The countries of western Europe already had strong trades and artisan guilds that resented Romani artisan interlopers and requested the rulers to get rid of them.
They drove the Romanies into the hinterlands where they obtained some protection from the nobility who appreciated their services on their vast estates.
Thus, the Western-European Romanies were forced into commercial nomadism, which eventually evolved into their traditional way of life.
Artisan work, entertainment, middle-men activities, horse trading, fortune telling by the women, begging and other nomadic professions were augmented by smuggling, a widespread practice among non-Roma during this period supported by people in high places and were lumped with the “masterless men and their wenches.