Games & Entertainment

Tepes Dracula

Dracula – Between Myth and Reality

Dracula or Vlad the Impaler was the son of Vlad Dracul (1436-1442, 1443-1447) and grandson of Mircea the Elder (1386-1418). Vlad Dracul was dubbed a knight of the Order of the Dragon, King of Hungary. All members of the order had a dragon on his coat of arms, and that's what brought him the nickname Dracul (the Devil). Vlad the Impaler used to sign or Draculya Tepes – the son of the devil – a name that was distorted into Dracula.

Dracula's reputation reached the West through the Saxons of Transylvania the cities of Brasov (Kronstadt) and Sibiu (Hermannstadt), who often gave shelter to those who claimed the throne of Wallachia. To escape the danger of losing his throne, Vlad would punish the Saxons. Sibiu and the surrounding area were looted and burned by Vlad, and many Saxons were impaled. The same happened to the Saxon merchants who came to companies for Targoviste.

In fact, Vlad was called Tepes (the Impaler) only after his death (1476). He ruled in Wallachia between 1456-1462 and 1476. In 1462, after being defeated by the Turks, Vlad took refuge in Hungary. In 1476, with the help of the Hungarian King Matia Corvin and the Moldavian Prince Stephen the Great, Vlad took over the throne of Wallachia again for a month. A battle, during which Vlad was killed. His body was buried in the church of the monastery of Snagov, an island near Bucharest. His body is in front of the altar. In 1935, a wealthy dressed but beheaded corpse was exhumed at Snagov, a fate known to have overtaken Dracula, whose head was supposedly wrapped, perfumed and dispatched as a gift to the Turkish Sultan.

They say it was one of Dracula's impalling favorite punishment, but he was not the only one who made use of it at the time. Other German and Spanish princes would do the same. He used the method of the boyars, thieves and criminals, Turks, Saxons and those who conspired against him, more than once happened that a whole forest of sharp stakes with enemies heads increase Targoviste around the capital of Wallachia in time.

Horrified by these atrocities, the Saxons printed books and pamphlets that told about Vlad's cruelty. These booklets also reached Germany and Western Europe, where Dracula became known as a bloodthirsty tyrant.

In 1897, the Irish writer Bram Stoker published Dracula, which made Vlad the Impaler famous throughout the world. Stoker read the stories of Dracula printed in the 15th and 16th centuries and was struck by their acts of cruelty. Decided do it its character, also read several books about Transylvania (a name of Latin origin, meaning "The country beyond the forest") and thought that this "exotic" land would be an appropriate setting for the events of Dracula.
In fact, Stoker used Vlad only as a source of inspiration, since in his novel Dracula is not prince Vlad the Impaler, but a Transylvanian count living in a mysterious castle where he lured his victims. His story unfolds in the area of Bistrita, and the castle is located near Bargau step (in the Carpathian Mountains). As Stoker had never visited Transylvania, most places and events were pure fiction.

Legend and true history about Dracula intermingle and are kept alive by tourist destinations like the Monastery of Snagov, near Bucharest, or Bran Castle near Brasov

About the Author

Medieval Day Yay! Boo Oral Report. Help?

I have to choose a character from the Middle Ages. I need anyone besides the usual: Ricardo Joan of Ark Anyone Lionheart issued with King Arthur tried Vlad Tepes (Dracula), but do not know … Was it really "medieval"? Help please I'm doomed!

A large list and the place to start. Choose someone who knows little about and learn something. Roger Bacon, John Hus, etc http://www.middle-ages.org.uk/middle-ages-people.htm