Dracula - Between Legend And History

Dracula - Between Legend And History

Dracula (Vlad the Impaler)
Between Legend and History

The history of Vlad Tepes is surrounded by both mystery and legend. The truth is that where legend ends and history begins, nobody knows. Since Vlad was not only a historic character, but also a character of literature and heritage, the prince was chosen by the writer Bram Stoker as the main character of his 1897 novel, Dracula. Ever since then, Dracula and Transylvania - the land that safeguards the mysterious castle full of phantoms and vampires - have become the subject of many movies, documentaries and novels. The fact that prince Dracula was associated with the bloodsucking, diabolic vampire is all due to the ingenious minds of story tellers and film makers. What is the truth about Dracula? Well, let’s take a leap into history and present the other side of Dracula’s story; let’s analyse the process that could have caused this transformation.
Vlad Tepes was born in Transylvania in 1431 and later became the prince of Wallachia. His father, Vlad Dracul (Vlad the Devil), was a knight in the Order of the Dragon - a chivalry order from Eastern Europe whose main purpose was to stop the extension of the Ottoman Empire. His son was Vlad II, also known as DRACULA; the A from the end of the word "Dracul" was just a way to establish affiliation – Dracula, the son of Dracul (“History of the Romanian People” – Class Study X – XII).
The nickname Tepes, meaning The Impaler, was given to him after his death in 1476 because of the way he used to punish noblemen, thieves, criminals, Turks, Transylvanian Saxons, and anyone who would conspire against him. Vlad Tepes was not the only one who used this kind of punishment; the German and the Spanish princes would resort to impaling as well (“History of the Romanian People” – Class Study X – XII). Impaling was a way of cruel execution, the victims having a spear as thick as a man’s arm put through them. It is said that Vlad enjoyed mass executions,...