Facts About Vlad Dracula

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Vlad Dracula is a Romanian national interdependence ruler who fought against the Ottomans. Also known as Vlad the Impaler, Vlad is considered a national hero in Romania.

Fact 1. Vlad was born in November, 1431 in the fortress of Sighisoara, Romania. The surname ‘œDracula originated from his father who was a member of the Order of the Dragon. The order was a semi-military religious society created by the Holy Roman Emperor in 1387. ‘œDracul’ meant dragon and Vlad became known as the son of the

Fact 2.  The symbol of the Order of the Dragon, the dragon was the symbol of the devil. The main intention of the fraternal order was to protect Catholicism against the Muslim Ottomans.

Fact 3.    In 1442, Dracula and his younger brother became hostages of the Sultan Murad the Second based upon an agreement between the Sultan and Dracula’s father in protecting the region against invasion from the Turks.

Fact 4.  Dracula ruled Walachia and Transylvania from 1448 until his death in 1476. He faced challenges toward his throne including from his brother Vadu. As a defender of Christianity, he found favour with the Vaticans albeit the Vatican did not approve of some of his methods of managing his enemies.

Fact 5.  Dracula was killed during a battle against the Turks in December of 1476. Dracula’s body was decapitated and his head was to Constantinople where it was displayed as a proof of his death. His body was buried at Snagov near Bucharest.

Fact 6. Dracula was also infamously associated with the nickname of “Vlad Tepes”  which means ‘˜Vlad the Impaler’. This was due to Dracula’s method of torturing people by impaling and leaving them to die on stakes. As a reminder to others, the bodies would remain on the stakes as birds pecked at the rotting flesh.

Fact 7.  It has been reported that during one battle, Dracula retreated into the mountains leaving behind a trail of impaled people. The Turkish army was halted in their advance due to the stench of rotting flesh.

Fact 8.  To overcome the effects of sin from impaling people, Dracula surrounded himself with religious officials and undertook the building of monasteries. Dracula is noted for having founded five monasteries. Over a period of 150 years, his family is famous for having established 50 monasteries.

Fact 9. Dracula’s place of burial at the isolated Snagov Monastery near Bucharest was also used as a prison and torture chamber. Prisoners who prayed before the Blessed Virgin Mary found the trap door below them opening onto sharp stakes below.

Fact 10. In 1931, archaeologists found a casket partially covered in a purple shroud embroidered with gold. The pieces of silk brocade matched with the shirt worn on an old painting of Dracula. The casket also contained a cloisonné crown with turquoise stones and a ring similar to those worn by the Order of the Dragon. The contents were taken to the History Museum in Bucharest but have since disappeared without a trace.

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One Response

  1. Chris Montana

    August 11, 2013 8:37 pm

    FIRST, the picture you are showing is Vlad II Dracul, Vlad III Dracula’s father. Not a very good likeness at all.

    Fact #1 While this is true, it is also true that Vlad’s father was as cunning and ruthless as Vlad. Long before given the Ser name Dracul he was called ‘Vlad the Dragon’ because it was said of him that he was as fierce as a dragon. So, think it likely there were a lot of reasons for his receiving that name. His enemies meant it as an insult since Dracul also means ‘the Devil’ which would antagonize the church.

    Fact #2 While the Orthodox and Catholic Churches may have identified the symbol of the Dragon as that of the Devil, and it was certainly how their enemies characterized it, it was not how the Order, itself, viewed the symbol.

    Fact #5 is wrong. After Vlad’s victorious battle against the Ottoman Turks, Vlad was ambushed and assassinated by partisians of his rival Basarab Laiota cel Batran between Giurgiu and Bucharest near the 1st Comana Monastery founded by Vlad in 1461 and for which he personally gave instructions for its design and construction. It was here that he was unceremoniously buried minus his head which was sent to the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II as proof of Vlad III Dracula’s death. This also makes Facts # 9 and #10 completely wrong as far as the researchers wrongly thinking Snagov was where the great hero was buried.

    Fact #4 Wrongly states that Vlad’s younger brother was named Vadu. His name was Radu III and most often referred to as Radu the Handsome.

    Fact #7 The Turkish army WAS NOT stopped by the stench of rotting corpses during any campaign. What stopped them was pure fear. The Turkish troops became so fearful of their enemy that any fear of what the Turkish commanders might do to them if they deserted vanished as Vlad kept returned their missing men by impaling them along their route. Fearing their forces would, literally, desert in the dark of night the armies would withdraw. Mehmed II, himself, more ruthless and cruel than any other ruler of his time was cowed by Vlad Dracula when he advanced to within yards of the Wallachian capital and was confronted by thousands of impaled turkish soldiers. He turned around and returned to Constantinople saying he could not defeat a man who could do this. He had the good sense to be very afraid of Prince Vlad III Dracula.

    Fact #8 It is incorrect that Vlad Dracula built churches to atone for his sins and further demonstrates the biased ignorance and deliberate mischaracterization of the great hero. His impaling of criminals, traitors, spies, hypocrites and liars was well justified. He would not tolerate any of them. He also did not tolerate being disrespected nor dishonesty. He built the churches to garner favor from his people to some extent, but mainly from the Orthodox Church and later the Roman Catholic Church the latter was one of the conditions of his release by the Hungarian King. By the standards of his day he was a fair, but strict ruler. His ONLY sin was trying to save his country, his people and, in fact, all of Christian Europe from the complete take over by the fundamentalist islamic Ottoman Turks using means his weaker counterparts were not willing or not able to use even though they knew their enemies would not hesitate to use those very same tactics against them.

    Main Sources:
    Dracula, Prince of Many Faces: His Life and His Times by Radu R. Florescu and Raymond T. McNally
    Vlad The Impaler and the Turkish Envoys by the Charles River Editors
    Wikipedia was the start point of much of my research and the resource materials listed there.

    Just sick to death of seeing a great man so badly mistreated and mischaracterized by the misguided and deliberately ignorant.

    Reply

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