The Real Dracula

The History of Vlad Tepes

By Elisava Illiesca

A historical/expository essay on the man known as Dracula, Prince Vlad III.

Contents
Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 3 Birth of a Mad Man ....................................................................................................................................... 3 The Order of the Dragon ............................................................................................................................... 3 Imprisonment by the Sultan ......................................................................................................................... 4 A Fathers Murder and a Sons Revenge ....................................................................................................... 4 Vlad Takes the Throne .................................................................................................................................. 5 Wallachia in Chaos: The Torture Begins ....................................................................................................... 5 The Impaler ............................................................................................................................................... 6 Poenari Castle Rebuilt ............................................................................................................................... 6 The Battle with the Ottoman Empire............................................................................................................ 7 The Tale of the Rul Doamnei ................................................................................................................... 7 Imprisonment in Hungary ............................................................................................................................. 8 The Death of the Impaler Prince ................................................................................................................... 8 The Body ................................................................................................................................................... 8 The Stories of Vlad Tepes: Tales of Terror .................................................................................................... 9 (1) The Golden Cup ................................................................................................................................. 10 (2) The Foreign Merchant ....................................................................................................................... 10 (3) The Two Monks ................................................................................................................................. 11 (4) The Polish Nobleman ......................................................................................................................... 11 (5) The Foreign Ambassadors ................................................................................................................. 11 (6) Dracula's Mistress .............................................................................................................................. 12 (7) The Lazy Woman ............................................................................................................................... 12 (8) The Nobleman with the Keen Sense of Smell.................................................................................... 13 (9) The Burning of the Sick and Poor ...................................................................................................... 13 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................................... 13 Bibliography ................................................................................................................................................ 15

Introduction
History has given us a great many military leaders, Princes, and Kings; men who have waged wars against opposing forces attempting to destroy their nations. Each man has his faults, strengths and power bases, and each had stories told about them that may or may not have been true. The latter is true of the subject of this discussion, Vlad III of Wallachia. Vlads name has gone down in history as Vlad Tepes, Vlad the Impaler, or Vlad Dracula (son of Dracul), a Romanian voivode1 who to the Romanian people is a hero and to the rest of the world a basis for the thing that goes bump in the night. Birth of a Mad Man The exact birth date of Vlad III is unknown but scholars place his birth in November of 1430 in Sighisoara, Transylvania. He was the son of Vlad II of Wallachia from the House of Drculeti, a Wallachian voivode family, and Princess Cneajna of Moldavia. Cneajna was the eldest daughter of Alexandru, "the Good" Prince of Moldavia, a member of the Musatin family. Cneajna was primarily responsible for "drilling into the minds of the young heirs the lesson that they were different from ordinary mortals." 2 There are no known portraits of her; nor are they sure when she died or where she was buried. There is no proof to the rumor that she committed suicide and that is more of a Romanian urban legend that has been furthered by Hollywoods films.3 It is more likely that her death is confused with the death of Vlad IIIs first wife, who is believed to have committed suicide during an attack on Vlad IIIs castle. The Order of the Dragon Vlads father joined the Order of the Dragon in 1431 shortly after Vlads birth, and Vlad III was initiated into the order at the age of five. The Order of the Dragon was a Christian chivalric order for selected nobility, created in Hungary in the late Middle Ages 4. Founded in 1408 by Sigismund of the House of Luxemburg, King of Hungary and the son of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV, the Order primarily flourished in Germany and Italy. According to a surviving copy of its statute, the Order required its initiates to defend the Cross and fight the
1

Voivode in English roughly translates to Prince though is more closely related to being a governor over a province. In the Romanian medieval principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia, voivode became part of the official title of the sovereign Prince, showing his right to lead the entire army. The term derives from Slavic voi or voj (warman) + vodi (to lead), and thus originally meant war leader or warlord. - Bla Kpeczi, ed. History of Transylvania, vol. I., 411, 457 and Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary 2 "From the Order of the Dragon to Dracula." Journal of Dracula Studies (Number 1, 1999), pp 3-7- Constantin Rezachevici 3 In Search of Dracula Radu Florescu and Randall McNally Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1994. 4 Dracula, Prince of Many Faces- Radu Florescu and Randall McNally Boston: Little Brown and Company 1989

enemies of Christianity.5 The Order also required that its members wear the dragon insignia at all times. His father used the honorific title Drcul and so his son adopted the moniker Drculea. 6 Drculea (English: Dracula) means son of Dracul, or son of the dragon in the Romanian language.7 Imprisonment by the Sultan Vlad and his younger brother Radu were sent to the Turkish Sultan in order to guarantee Vlad the Elders loyalty in 1444. Vlads father was under considerable pressure from the Ottoman Empire, and agreed to be a vassal to the Sultan to prevent an invasion. Vlad and Radu were placed under house arrest in Egrigoz when Vlad was around thirteen or fourteen years old and Radu was five or six. This period of imprisonment affected Vlad profoundly, and while it provided him with the opportunity to learn the customs and language of what would become his lifelong enemies, his treatment at the hands of the Turks also ingrained a pessimistic attitude towards political matters for the rest of his lifetime. It was during this time of imprisonment that Vlad cultivated a habit of torturing and killing insects and small animals by impaling them. He was often whipped by his Ottoman captors for being stubborn and rude. These influential experiences within the Turkish Sultans court might also have been where Vlad began to have the desire to seek revenge against those who wronged him. He developed a wellknown hatred for Radu and for Mehmed, who would later become the Sultan. He also distrusted his own father for trading him to the Turks and betraying the Order of the Dragon's oath to fight them. A Fathers Murder and a Sons Revenge Sometime in 1443, Vlad was released from his tenure with the Sultan, though his brother remained. Radu was a favorite in the Sultans court, which consisted primarily of young noble boys sent to him by vassals to secure their loyalty. In December 1447, Vlads father and oldest half brother, Mircea, were murdered under the orders of the Hungarian noble Ioande Hundoara, (also known as John Hunyadi, The White Knight of Hungary). Mircea was burned alive after having red hot pokers inserted into his eyes to blind him. These murders left Vlad the successor for the Wallachian throne. This was not to be, as Hundoara had other plans and backed Vladislav II, a distant relative, to take the Princes throne from him. Vlad Dracula did take the throne for a few precarious months before he was

"From the Order of the Dragon to Dracula." Journal of Dracula Studies (Number 1, 1999), pp 3-7- Constantin Rezachevici 6 The suffix "-lea" generally means "son of" in the Slavic languages 7 The Completely Revised Book of the Vampire: The Encyclopedia of the Undead J. Gordon Melton

forced to abdicate and fled to nearby Moldavia. Vlad was seventeen at the time. He remained in Moldavia until 1451 under the protection of his uncle, Bogdan II, the ruler of Suceava. Vlad travelled to Transylvania following the assassination of Bogdan by Petru Aron in October 1451, and was now at the mercy of Hundoara; the same man whod had played a large part in the assassination of his father in the marshes near Blteni and half brother in Trgovite. Although it is difficult to understand why Vlad placed himself in the hands of the very man who had his father killed, scholars believe that is was likely because Vladislav IIs pro-Turkish policies alienated Hundoara, and set into action an uneasy alliance. Vlad Takes the Throne Impressed by Vlad's vast knowledge of the Ottoman Empire, as well as his hatred of the new Sultan Mehmed II, Hundoara pardoned him and took him in as an advisor. 8 He eventually acknowledged Vlads claim to the Wallachian throne before he died of the plague in Belgrade, August 11th, 1456. Following his death, Vlad left Transylvania for Wallachia. On August 20th 1456, under the new King Matthias Corvinus, Hungary invaded Serbia to drive out the Ottomans, and Vlad invaded Wallachia with his own forces, killing the fleeing Prince Vladislav in hand to hand combat, These successful campaigns, as well as Vladislavs death, left him free to take the Wallachian throne and begin what would be a six-year reign. In September, he took both a formal oath to the Hungarian King, Ladislaus V, and an oath of vassalage to the Turkish Sultan, Mehmed II. Wallachia in Chaos: The Torture Begins Prior to the unification of Wallachia and Transylvania, Transylvania was a province of Hungary, situating Wallachia between two Hungarian territories. After the death of Vlad IIIs grandfather, Mircea the Elder in 1418, Wallachia fell into chaos. It was a country wracked with violence, crime, a decrease in agricultural production, and the fall of trade with neighboring countries. Though Vlad III was a native of Wallachia, he spent the majority of his young life in Transylvania. When Vlad ascended the throne of Wallachia in 1456, he faced his first problem; a lack of loyalty from the Boyars. The Boyars were members of the highest rank of the feudal Wallachian aristocracies, comprised mostly of importers, traders and merchants, and were second only to the ruling princes from the 10th through 17th centuries. Important positions in the Princes Council that traditionally belonged to the countrys most powerful Boyars were handed to individuals often unknown or unfamiliar to them. Some of these individuals were of
8

Dracula, Prince of Many Faces- Radu Florescu and Randall McNally Boston: Little Brown and Company 1989

foreign origin, but were loyal to Vlad. For less important positions, Vlad completely ignored the Boyars and instead knighted men from the free peasantry of his country. The Wallachian Boyars received a great amount of their wealth and power from the towns of Transylvania which were inhabited by German settlers (Saxons). Vlad had trade disputes with these settlers, and ordered that towns and villages be burned to the ground and all their inhabitants - men, women and children, be impaled or otherwise executed. Vlad also had issues with neighboring countries and their constant attempts to expanding into his territory. With the Hungarian Kingdom to both sides of him and the Ottoman Empire, Vlad would often play one against the other. He was remarkably successful in doing so, and therefore preserved the independence of his own country. In the winter of 1462, a surprise raid along the southern bank of the Danube River left a swath of blood along the countryside. In Vlads own words "I have killed men and women, old and young 23,884 Turks and Bulgarians without counting those whom we burned alive in their homes or whose heads were not chopped off by our soldiers... 9 This grisly head-count that continued battle after battle was accompanied by two sacks of "samples" (severed heads, noses and ears of those killed) and a request for future military help, all addressed to the Hungarian King. The Impaler At home Vlad attempted to repair the crime and violence that his beloved Wallachia had suffered in an unorthodox, yet wildly successful way. Vlad was given the name the Impaler due to his habit of instilling terror in both his people and in visitors to his country by impaling the bodies of those committed of crimes on large stakes outside of his properties. A Turkish chronicler who was traveling with Sultan Mehmed II, who was conqueror of Constantinople and well-versed in the use of mass terror himself, wrote, upon approaching Dracula's main capital Tirgoviste during 1462, "In front of the wooden fortress where he had his residence he set up at a distance of six leagues two rows of fences with impaled Hungarians, Moldavians and Wallachians. In addition, since the neighboring area was forested, innumerable people were hanging from each tree branch... another chronicler, this time Greek, said, Even the emperor (the Sultan), overcome by amazement, admitted that he could not win the land from a man who does such great things and above all knows how to exploit his rule and that over his subjects in this way."10 Poenari Castle Rebuilt Other than impaling, Vlad had more ways of dealing with the Boyars. On the narrow plateau of a rock overlooking the river near the village of Poenari, Dracula's "eagle's nest" was built in or around 1459 as a place of refuge. The workforce was composed of the Boyars suspected of complicity in the murder of his father and elder brother. "So when Easter day came, while all
9 10

DRACULA: between myth and reality. - Adrian Axinte, Stanford University. DRACULA: between myth and reality. - Adrian Axinte, Stanford University.

the inhabitants (of Trgovite) were feasting and the younger ones were dancing, he surrounded them...he led them together with their wives and children, just dressed up as they were for Easter, to Poenari where they were put to work until their clothes were torn and they were left naked".11 The enslaved Boyars and their families were forced to labor for months, rebuilding the old castle with materials from another nearby ruin and the original stones of the first Poienari Castle. Very few of the old Boyars survived Vlads rebuilding efforts. The list of tortures employed by Vlad, while brutal , were nothing out of the ordinary during his time or location; in actuality, many of the things he did were also carried out by the Turks whom he fought. Some of Vlads methods of torture were: nails in heads, cutting off of limbs, blinding, strangulation, burning, cutting off of noses and ears, mutilation of sexual organs (especially in the case of women), scalping, skinning, exposure to the elements or to wild animals, and burning alive.12 The Battle with the Ottoman Empire Near the end of 1450, likely due to his encompassing hatred of the Turks, Vlad decided to completely side with Hungary. Vlads army was much smaller than Mehmed IIs, whose numbers were estimated to be 60,000 troops and 30,000 irregulars against Vlads 20,000 40,000 men, so instead The Impaler organized small attacks in which Vlad and his men would ambush the Turkish encampments. The most important of these attacks took place on the night of June 17, when Vlad and some of his men entered the main Turkish camp wearing Ottoman disguises and attempted to assassinate the Sultan. Unable to subdue Vlad the Turks left the country leaving Vlad's younger brother, Radu the Handsome who had remained with the Sultan when Vlad had been released years earlier, to continue fighting. Despite Vlad achieving military victories again and again over the Turkish army, his reoccurring issues with alienating the Wallachian nobility was his downfall. The nobles sided with Radu, and by August 1462, Radu struck a deal with the Hungarian King, Matthias Corvinus, and Vlad was imprisoned.13 The Tale of the Rul Doamnei Vlads first wife, whose name is not recorded in history, died during the siege of his castle in 1462. The Turkish army surrounded the Poienari Castle, led by Radu. An archer, having seen the shadow of Vlad's wife behind a window, shot an arrow through the window into Vlad's main quarters, with a message warning him that Radu's army was approaching.14 Local folklore says that the archer was one of Vlad's loyal, former servants who sent the warning, despite
11 12

Dracula, Prince of Many Faces- Radu Florescu and Randall McNally Boston: Little Brown and Company 1989 "The Historical Dracula" by Ray Porter 1992, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. 13 Essays on Romanian History. The Center for Romanian Studies. Radu Florescu, 1999 14 In Search of Dracula: a history of Dracula and Vampires by Radu Florescu and Raymond McNally, 1994

having converted to Islam to escape enslavement by the Turks. Upon reading the message, Vlad's wife threw herself from the tower into a tributary of the Arge River flowing below the castle. According to legend, she remarked that she "would rather have her body rot and be eaten by the fish of the Arge than be led into captivity by the Turks". Today, the tributary is called Rul Doamnei which means Lady River but is sometimes called Princess River. 15 Imprisonment in Hungary Vlad was imprisoned by Matthias in Hungary from 1462 until 1474, although only a small part of that was true imprisonment. Vlad was able to work his way into Matthias good graces and married the Hungarians cousin, the Countess Ilona Szilgyi. The Countess and Vlad III had two sons, Vlad Dracula and another son whose name is not recorded. Vlad also converted from the Eastern Orthodox Church to the Roman Catholic Church, in contrast to his brother who converted to Islam. In the years before his final release in 1474, Vlad resided with his new wife in the Hungarian capital under house arrest and its believed he was mostly allowed to do as he wished. Vlad IIIs sons were approximately ten years old when he reconquered Wallachia in 1476, but never succeeded him in ruling. The younger son died in 1482 while living with the Bishop of Oradea, and Vlad Dracula was heir to the Wallachian throne, but never ruled.16 The Death of the Impaler Prince Prince Vlad III of Wallachia was killed in battle against the Turks near the capital city of Bucharest in December of 1476. To show his people that the Impaler Prince was truly dead, the Sultan had him decapitated and his head preserved in honey so it could be displayed on a stake in Istanbul. 17 The Body History says that Vlads body was interred in the floor of the island monastery of Snagov. When archaeologists in the early 1930's removed the marble slab that was supposed to be covering the Vlad's grave, accounts of what was found varies; some say that the grave was empty, while others say it contained only animal bones. Yet other accounts tell of the exhumation of a richly dressed and decapitated body. Local folklore says that the monks of Snagov buried Vlad elsewhere in the monastery, not in the tomb that is marked as his, to protect his body from being desecrated by the Boyars. Folklore also states if you drink the water from the well in the gardens behind the monastery

15 16

Vlad the Impaler (Dracula) Stefan Andreescu, The Romanian Cultural Foundation Publishing House 1999 The complete Dracula by Radu Florescu and Raymond McNally Acton, Mass: Copley Pub. Group. 1992 17 In Search of Dracula: a history of Dracula and Vampires by Radu Florescu and Raymond McNally, 1994

(known as Dracula's well) you will form a special bond with Snagov Island and will inevitably return. The Stories of Vlad Tepes: Tales of Terror Romanian history tells the story of a strong leader who took ruthless action in a brutal time to defend his country against the forces which were attempting to destroy it. This, however, is not the case with all contemporary accounts. German literature claims that Vlad III was a madman. These manuscripts and pamphlets are believed by some researchers to have been written as propaganda against the dark Prince in an attempt to blacken his story in history. This ill-will harkens to the issues that the German Saxons had with Vlad during the trade disputes. Against this political and cultural backdrop, it is quite easy to understand the hostility towards Vlad. Although there is historic background for the events described in the German stories, many are either exaggerated or even fictitious. The German version of the stories can also be found in the poem of Michel Beheim. The poem called "Von ainem wutrich der hies Trakle waida von der Walachei" ("Story of a Bloodthirsty Madman Called Dracula of Wallachia") was written and performed at the court of Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor during the winter of 1463.18 Corvinus, the King of Hungary, also had political reasons for promoting Vlad's image as an evil bloodthirsty monster. Corvinus had received large amounts of money from Rome and Venice for the war against the Ottomans, but because of a conflict with Holy Roman Emperor, Emperor Frederick III, he couldnt afford the military support for the fight. By making Vlad a scapegoat, Corvinus could create a cover-up of his own actions. He arrested Vlad and then compiled a forged letter in which Vlad announced his loyalty to the Sultan. Corvinus also told horror stories of Vlads actions to the Pope as his reasons for not taking part in the war against the Ottomans. In 1462 and 1463, the court in Buda fostered the stories of and capitalized on the horrors attributed to him.19 Russian literature of the time places Vlad in a more positive light. There are 19 anecdotes in The Tales of Prince Dracula which are longer and more constructive than the German stories. This tome can be divided into two sections; the first 13 are non-chronological events related more closely to the original folklore about Vlad. The last six are thought to have been written by a scholar who collected them, because they are chronological and seem to be more structured. The stories begin with a short introduction and an anecdote about the nailing of hats to the heads of ambassadors, and end with Vlad's death, as well as information about his family. In the Russian stories, Vlad is seen as a strong leader and a just Prince. Some
18 19

"Beheim and the Dracula Connection Elizabeth Miller, Journal of Dracula Studies 2003, #5. Vlad the Impaler (Dracula) by Stefan Andreescu -The Romanian Cultural Foundation Publishing House. ISBN 973-577-197-7

elements of the anecdotes were later added to Russian stories about Ivan the Terrible of Russia.20 Despite the differences in interpretation, the literature of Germany, Russia and Hungary agree remarkably well on some events, leading most historians to believe that these actually occurred. Several stories occur not only in all of the publications, but have also been passed down through Romanian folklore. Specific details and locations vary, but the general course of events usually agrees. For example; in some versions of the hat nailing anecdote, the foreign ambassadors received by Dracula at Tirgoviste are Florentine, while in others they are Turkish. The nature of their offense against the Prince also varies from version to version. However, all versions agree that Vlad, in response to some real or imagined slight, had their hats nailed to their heads. Some of the sources view Dracula's actions as justified; others view his acts as crimes of insanity and cruelty. There are nine anecdotes, taken from the German and Russian literature, that are almost identical and are listed below. (1) The Golden Cup Dracula was known throughout his land for his fierce insistence on honesty and order. Thieves seldom dared practice their trade within Dracula's domain; they knew that the stake awaited any who were caught. Dracula was so confident in the effectiveness of his law that he placed a golden cup on display in the central square of Tirgoviste. The cup was never stolen and remained entirely unmolested throughout Dracula's reign. (2) The Foreign Merchant A merchant from a foreign land once visited Wallachias capital of Tirgoviste. Aware of Dracula's reputation for honesty, he left a treasure-laden cart unguarded in the street overnight. Returning to his wagon in the morning, the merchant was shocked to find 160 golden ducats missing. When the merchant complained of his loss to the Prince, Dracula assured him that his money would be returned and invited him to remain in the palace that night. Dracula then issued a proclamation to the city find the thief and return the money, or the city will be destroyed. During the night, he ordered that 160 ducats plus one extra be taken from his own treasury and placed in the merchant's cart. On returning to his cart in the morning and counting his money, the merchant discovered the extra ducat. The merchant returned to Dracula and reported that his money had indeed been returned, plus an extra ducat. Meanwhile, the thief was captured and turned over to the Prince's guards, as well as the stolen money. Dracula ordered the thief impaled, and then informed the merchant that if he had not reported the extra ducat, he would have been impaled alongside the thief.

20

"The Image of Ivan the Terrible in Russian folklore" Maureen Perrie 1987

(3) The Two Monks There are several versions of this anecdote; in some, the two monks were from a monastery in Wallachia, or wandering monks from a foreign land. In either case, the Roman Catholic monks would be viewed as representatives of a foreign power by Dracula. In other versions of the story, the monks were from a Romanian Orthodox establishment (the native church of Wallachia). All versions of the story agree that two monks visited Dracula in his palace at Tirgoviste. Curious to see the reaction of the churchman, Dracula showed them rows of impaled corpses in the courtyard. When asked their opinions of his actions by the Prince, one of the monks responded, "You are appointed by God to punish evil-doers." The other monk had the moral courage to condemn the cruel Prince. In the version of the story most common in the German pamphlets, Dracula rewarded the sycophantic monk and impaled the honest monk. In the version found in Russian pamphlets and in Romanian verbal tradition, Dracula rewarded the honest monk for his integrity and courage and impaled the sycophant for his dishonesty. (4) The Polish Nobleman Benedict de Boithor, a Polish nobleman in the service of the King of Hungary, visited Dracula at Tirgoviste in September of 1458. At dinner one evening, Dracula ordered a golden spear brought and set up directly in front of the royal envoy. Dracula then asked the envoy why he thought this spear had been set up. Benedict replied that he imagined that some Boyar had offended the Prince and that Dracula intended to honor him with the display of the Boyar being killed for his crimes. Dracula then responded that he had, in fact, had the spear set up in honor of Benedict de Boithor, but that it was not for another Boyar but for Benedict himself. The Polish noblemen then responded that had he done anything to deserve death that Dracula should do as he thought best. He further asserted that should that happen, then Dracula would not be responsible for his death; rather, he would be responsible for his own death for incurring the displeasure of the Prince. Dracula was greatly pleased by this answer and showered the man with gifts while declaring that had he answered in any other manner he would have been immediately impaled. (5) The Foreign Ambassadors There are at least two versions of this story in the literature. As with the story of the two monks, one version is common in the German pamphlets and views Dracula's actions unfavorably while the other version is common in Eastern Europe and sees Dracula's actions in a much more favorable light. In both versions, ambassadors of a foreign power visit Dracula's court at Tirgoviste and when granted an audience with the Prince, refuse to remove their hats as was the custom. Angered at this sign of disrespect, Dracula had the ambassadors' hats nailed to their heads so that they might never remove them.

In the German version of the story, the envoys are Florentine, and refused to remove their hats to demonstrate their superiority. When Dracula asked the ambassadors why they wouldn't remove their hats, they responded that such was not their custom and that they wouldn't remove their hats, even for the Holy Roman Emperor. Dracula immediately had their hats nailed to their heads so that they might never come off and had the ambassadors ejected from his court. In Germany and in the West, where the concept of diplomatic immunity was at least given token agreement, this was held to be an act of barbarity against the representatives of a friendly power. In the version of the story common in the East, the envoys are Turkish. When ushered into the presence of the Prince, the Turks refused to remove their Phrygian caps. When questioned, they answered that it was not the custom of their fathers to remove their hats. Dracula then ordered their hats nailed to their heads with three nails so that they might never have to break such an excellent tradition. The envoys were then sent back to the Sultan. In the East, this was held to be a courageous act of defiance in the face of the Ottoman Sultan. It should also be noted that the nailing of hats to heads of those who displeased a monarch was not an unknown act in Eastern Europe. This method was The Princes of Moscow occasionally used this method of punishment when faced by unpleasant envoys. (6) Dracula's Mistress Dracula once had a mistress who lived in a house in the back streets of Tirgoviste. This woman apparently loved the Prince to distraction, and was always anxious to please him. Dracula was often moody and depressed, and the woman made every effort to lighten her lover's burdens. Once, when Dracula was particularly depressed, the woman dared tell him a lie in an effort to cheer him up; she told him that she was with child. Despite Draculas warning not to joke about such matters and her knowledge of the Princes feelings about dishonesty, she insisted that she told the truth. Dracula had the woman examined by the bath matrons to determine the veracity of her claim. When informed that the woman was lying, Dracula drew his knife and cut her open from the groin to her breasts, all while proclaiming his desire for the world to see where he had been. Dracula then left the woman to die in agony. (7) The Lazy Woman Dracula once noticed a man working in the fields while wearing a too short caftan. The Prince stopped and asked the man whether or not he had a wife. When the man answered in the affirmative, Dracula had the woman brought before him and asked her how she spent her days. The poor, frightened woman stated that she spent her days washing, baking, and sewing. Despite her husband's protestations that he was well-satisfied with his wife, the Prince pointed out her husband's short caftan as evidence of her laziness and dishonesty, and ordered her impaled. Dracula then ordered another woman to marry the peasant, but admonished her to work hard or she would suffer her predecessor's fate.

(8) The Nobleman with the Keen Sense of Smell On St. Bartholomew's Day in 1459, Dracula caused thirty thousand of the merchants and nobles of the Transylvanian city of Brasov to be impaled. In order that he might better enjoy the results of his orders, the Prince commanded that his table be set up and that his Boyars join him for a feast amongst the forest of impaled corpses. While dining, Dracula noticed that one of his Boyars was holding his nose in an effort to alleviate the terrible smell of clotting blood and emptied bowels. Dracula then ordered the sensitive nobleman impaled on a stake higher than all the rest so that he might be above the stench. In another version of this story, the sensitive nobleman is an envoy of the Transylvanian cities of Brasov and Sibiu sent to appeal to the cruel Wallachian to spare those cities. While hearing the nobleman's appeal, Dracula walked amongst the stakes and their grisly burdens, some of whom still lived. Nearly overcome by the smell of blood and human waste, the nobleman asked the Prince why he walked amidst the awful stench. Dracula then asked the envoy if he found the stench oppressive. The envoy, seeing an opportunity to ingratiate himself with Dracula, responded that his only concern was for the health and welfare of the Prince. Dracula, angered at the nobleman's dishonesty, ordered him impaled on the spot on a very high stake so that he might be above the offending odors. (9) The Burning of the Sick and Poor Dracula was very concerned that all his subjects work and contribute to the common welfare. He once noticed that the poor, vagrants, beggars and cripples had become very numerous in his land. Consequently, he issued an invitation to all the poor and sick in Wallachia to come to Tirgoviste for a great feast, claiming that no one should go hungry in his land. As the poor and crippled arrived in the city, they were ushered into a great hall where a fabulous feast was prepared for them. The Prince's guests ate and drank late into the night, when Dracula himself made an appearance. "What else do you desire? Do you want to be without cares, lacking nothing in this world? asked the Prince. When they responded positively, Dracula ordered the hall boarded up and set on fire. None escaped the flames. Dracula explained his action to the Boyars by claiming that he did this, "in order that they represent no further burden to other men so that no one will be poor in my realm." Conclusion To most of the modern world that is shocked and appalled by blatant displays of violent behavior, Vlad the Impaler is a monster; a brutal torturer whose motives we cannot understand. Others believe that Dracula is nothing more than a myth created by Bram Stoker, a creature that comes in the night and bites young women on the neck to drink their blood, has to sleep in a coffin and will burn in the sunlight. In Romania, Vlad Tepes is revered as a hero, with statues and memorials erected in his memory. He will always be remembered for defending the country against the invading forces of the Turks, who enslaved or killed the

Romanians in their conquest for Eastern European lands. Vlad Tepes is considered one of the greatest leaders in the country's history, and was voted one of"100 Greatest Romanians" in the "Mari Romni" (Great Romanians) television series that aired in 2006.21 Many have speculated that Vlad Tepes suffered from mental illness, which was the root cause of his cruel and sadistic behavior. Examination of his family tree shows that it is very likely that he was mentally ill, as there are marked notations of it throughout his genealogy. It is more likely, however, that his behavior was a byproduct of his environment in his developing years. The first time that Vlad saw someone impaled on a stake, it was at the hands of his Turkish captors. During the Communist reign in Romania, Vlad was often used by then -ruler Nicolae Ceausescu as an example of a strong Romanian leader. As early as 1964, Vlad Tepes was described as one of the most shining figures from the history of our country. 22 By 1970, he was once again being evoked in heroic terms when one Romanian historic paper described Vlad as a remarkable man of state and a leader devoted to the defense of the independence of his country. 23 Ceausescu is reported to have stated, in reference to Vlads earlier regime, that a man such as me comes along every 500 years. 24 This celebration of Vlad Tepes has continued even after the fall of the Communist reign in Romania, and the government continues to this day to make efforts to honor the countrys most infamous citizen and long-gone hero by attempting to restore his homes, castles and lands.

21 22

http://www.mariromani.ro/primapagina.php Popescu, Grigore. Vlad epe. Bucureti: Editura tiinific, 1964. Radford, Tim. Pilgrimage to Castle Dracula. The Guardian (CD-Rom). 29 May 1995: G2. 23 Oetea, Andrei., I. Popescu-Puuri, I. Nestor, M. Berza, and V. Maciu, eds. Istoria poporului romn. Bucureti: Editura tiinifica, 1970. 24 Radford, Tim. Pilgrimage to Castle Dracula. The Guardian (CD-Rom). 29 May 1995: G2.

Bibliography Florescu, Radu R.; McNally, Raymond T. (1989). Dracula: Prince of Many Faces. Little Brown and Company. ISBN 0-316-28655-9. Florescu, Radu R.; McNally, Raymond T. (1994). In Search of Dracula. Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 0395-65783-0.
Radu Florescu is a Romanian academic who holds the position of Emeritus Professor of History at Boston College. He was Director of the East European Research Center at Boston College, and also a professor of history. Raymond T McNally (1931 - 2002) was a professor of Russian and East European History at Boston College in the USA and an author. He specialized in the history of horror and wrote many books around the subject. Together Florescu and McNally have been Vlad Tepes primary historians, documenting most of the information used on the subject.

Treptow, Kurt W. (2000). Vlad III Dracula: The Life and Times of the Historical Dracula. Center for Romanian Studies. ISBN 973-98392-2-3
One of the better books on Draculas history out there, this book is full of footnotes and an extensive bibliography of resources used to gather the material which seems to be lacking when it comes to Tepes history. Treptow doesnt romance the story of Tepes and avoids using the unconfirmed stories about him. He also doesnt go into the mythology of Vampires and just tells the story of the historical man, Vlad Tepes.

Andreescu, Stefan. Vlad the Impaler (Dracula). Romania: The Romanian Cultural Foundation Publishing House, 1999. Print. Florescu, Radu, and Raymond T. McNally. The complete Dracula . Acton, MA: Copley Pub. Group, 1992. Print.