Facts About Vlad Tepes
-Dracul means “Devil” in Romanian. Dracula means “son of Dracul” and therefore “son of the Devil”.
-According to some members of Dracula’s castle (now non-existent, see below), Dracula was said to make a meal out of the blood and flesh that he collected from his impaled victims.
-Dracula’s castle is often said to be Bran Castle. Now we know for certain that even though Dracula stayed there a couple of times, his real castle, now in ruins, is located at Poenari only attracting a few devote fans of Dracula. It was built in a very strategical position surrounded by numerous trees which makes it very difficult to reach.
-Vlad’s first wife committed suicide, his brother was buried alive and his father was assassinated. Vlad was surrounded with tragedy which probably propelled his desire for blood.
-It is a documented fact that Vlad’s head was cut and taken to Constantinople to ensure the Turkish population that the reign of Vlad was truly over.
Stories of Dracula
The Honest Merchant
A merchant from a foreign land once visited Dracula’s castle proclaiming that someone had pilfered his cart. The merchant was shocked to find that 160 golden ducats were missing. Dracula soothed the poor man and assured him that the thief would be caught and his money would be recovered. He then graciously insisted that the merchant spend the night in the castle. Immediately, Dracula order soldiers to place 160 ducats plus 1 into the merchants cart. When the merchant returned to his cart the next morning he counted his money and discovered that 161 ducats had been returned. He went back to Dracula and told him that the money had been returned and in fact, the thief had added an extra ducat to the pot. Meanwhile, the real thief had been caught and was order to be impaled. Dracula informed the merchant of the true story of the return of his gold and indicated that if he had not reported the extra ducat, he would have been impaled alongside the thief.
Hall on Fire
One good day when Vlad was a prince, he noticed how many beggars, cripples and people with mental disabilities lived upon his land. He then offered all of them a feast in the great hall of Tirgoviste. Many old people attended too. As the story goes, when the feast was at its climax, Vlad made an appearance. He asked whether they wanted to live comfortably for the rest of their lives without having to work anymore – as they clearly couldn’t. When all of them cheered, Vlad smiled and left the room. He ordered it burnt. Nobody survived.
The Golden Cup
Vlad was so confident about his Kingdom’s honesty that he placed a golden cup in the center of a public plaza. Thousands used the plaza daily and the cup remained there throughout Vlad’s reign. The punishment for a thieve was impalement.
The Kids
One time, a group of kids was caught stealing apples. They were reported to Vlad himself who, obsessed with honesty, ordered them buried alive with holes for air and some water so they could “eat each other and live longer”. He ordered that the last survivor be set free and given some gold.
The Diplomats
To ensure a long and lasting relation between the Turks and Vlad, two ambassadors visited Vlad’s castle and were granted an audience. When Vlad asked them to remove their Phrygian caps, both ambassadors refused stating that it was their fathers’ tradition and they couldn’t break it. Vlad was angered and ordered their caps nailed to their heads so they could never again break such an excellent tradition.
The Dracul Family:
The historical Dracul family begins with Basarab the Great (1310 – 1352) who ruled the province of Wallachia. Wallachia is located in Romania, bordered by Transylvania to the north and Bulgaria to the South.
From here, history splinters itself. We know that by the 1400′s, the Basarab clan had split into two rival factions. One was led by Prince Dan and the other by Prince Mircea the Old. During these times battles amongst the rival families became quite bloody. Assassination and massacres were the order of the day.
Prince Mircea the Old became known as Vlad I. His son was known as Vlad Dracul II with the Dracul portion of his name being derived from the phrase ‘son of the Dragon’. Vlad Dracul II’s son, born in 1431, inherited his father’s name and was called Vlad Dracul III. His name further expanded to Vlad Tepes which translated to English means Vlad the Impaler. The shocking derivation of this name is noted below as Vlad Dracul III is the focus of our story.
Vlad Dracul Tepes
Little is known of Vlad Dracul Tepes’s family. It is believed that his father died violently during war. His brother, Mircea and younger brother, Radu also dies untimely deaths (it is rumored that Mircea was buried alive by his enemies).
In 1448, Vlad Dracul Tepes, whom we’ll call Dracula from this point on, took over the thrown of Wallachia briefly. Remember, during this time ownership of the thrown was not dictated by inheritance but rather by how effective you were in taking control by whatever means necessary. After only 2 months in control, Dracula was forced to surrender the thrown to a man known as Vladislav II. Around 1456, Dracula regained his kingdom by killing Vladislav in bloody combat.
Dracula’s Rule
Dracula’s primary rule extended from 1456 through 1462. He ruled the land with a iron hand, believing that the only way to keep the civilians and merchants in line was to strike fear in their hearts. Any acts of dishonesty by local merchants meant severe and painful death. Not surprisingly, Dracula was respected by his subjects as a warrior and a stern ruler.
The Horrors
Impalement was Dracula’s favorite method of punishment. Not only was this method of punishment extremely painful, but Dracula seemed to derive sick pleasure from watching his people being tortured. In fact, wood cuttings from this time period indicate that Dracula often dined surrounded by the decaying bodies of the dead.
Impalement was initiated by by taking a oiled stake about as wide as a burly man’s arm, and inserting it through the victims buttocks, often until it protruded from their mouths. The stake was purposefully kept dull to keep the victims from dying too soon from shock. The victims legs were tied to two horses while the stake was placed in position. Upon command the horses slowly pulled the victim’s legs until the stake was impaled into the victims body. Mother’s often had additional stakes driven through their chests with their children and infants impaled on the extended portion of the stake. After the stakes were in place, they were driven into the ground and placed around the outside perimeter of Vlad’s castle. Bodies were left in these positions for months, the stench of rotting bodies permeating throughout the kingdom.
It was reported that the invading Turkish army turned back in horror when it encountered twenty thousand decaying corpses along the banks of the Danube river. Their leader proclaiming “how could we possibly fight a monster that could do such atrocities”.
Massive impalements such as the one the Turkish army stumbled upon, were by no means uncommon. 10,00 were impaled in the Transylvanian city of Sibiu. on St. Bartholomew’s Day, Dracula had 30,000 merchants impaled in the city of Brasov.
Although impalement seemed to provide sick pleasure for Dracula, it was not the only method of punishment utilized. Reports indicate that tortures included nails in the head, cutting off of limbs, strangulation, burning, cutting off of noses and ears, mutilation of sexual organs, scalping, skinning, exposure to the elements or wild animals, and boiling alive. No one was immune from these horrors – men, woman, children, lords and ambassadors from foreign powers were all reported to have died at the hands of Dracula.
The End of the Era
Finally, in 1462 the Turks invaded Wallachia and overthrew Dracula. He was imprisoned for 12 years during which time he somehow managed to father two sons. During this time it was reported that he still practiced his favorite pastime. He often captured mice and birds which he proceeded to torture and mutilate. Some of these creatures were beheaded or tarred-and-feathered and released. Most were impaled on tiny spears.
He was released in 1474 at which time he once again regained control of Wallachia. He ruled for two years until 1476 when he was killed by the Turks. It is rumored that he was decapitated by the Turks and his head sent to Constantnople where it was displayed on a stake as proof of his death. He was reported buried in Snagov, an island monastery located near Bucharest.
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