Prince Vlad “The Impaler” Tepes Dracula (1431-1476)
“When a man or a lord is strong and powerful he may make
peace as he wills, but when he is powerless, one more
powerful will descend upon him and do as he will.”
Sorry, but
Prince Vlad was never a vampire. There were rumors that
Tepes would sit amongst his gruesome lawn ornaments and
drink his victims’ blood from a goblet while dining on their
entrails. There was even a woodcut carved by Matth Hupfuff
that depicted this abominable behavior. However, this was
part of a propaganda smear campaign by Vlad’s enemies. There
is no other proof that he engaged in the drinking of blood
or eating of flesh. Locals of Transylvania, part of the old
Wallachian realm, still regard Prince Vlad Tepes as a
national hero and an effective ruler. They believe he did
the best with what he had. His reign is a short, but harsh,
saga. Following is just a short version of his multiple
reigns.
Romania has always been invaded by migratory people, and the
Turkish Ottomans were no different, especially is the 10th-11th
Centuries. At the time, Romania was divided into three
principalities: Moldavia, Transylvania and Wallachia.
In the fifteenth century, the Ottoman Empire continued to
expand, destroying Constantinople and appearing on the
Europeans borders. In order to keep peace, the ruler of
Wallachia, King Vlad Dracul (Vlad “the Impaler’s” Father)
agreed to pay tribute to the Ottomans. The Ottomans grew
suspicious of Wallachia’s relationship with Transylvania
and, in 1442, summoned Vlad Dracul, along with two of his
sons to Porte. He was accused of treason and all three were
imprisoned. Vlad Dracul was released in 1443. However, in
order to guarantee his continued obedience, his sons, Vlad
Dracula and Radu were retained as hostages.
In 1448 Vlad Dracul and his oldest son, Mircea, were
murdered by Vladislav, another claimant to the throne.
After this, Vlad Dracula was allowed to return home to claim
the throne. His younger brother Radu, however, remained
hostage.
Vlad Dracula’s reign lasted only until the autumn of that
same year, when he was usurped by Vladislav. In exile, Vlad
Dracula took refuge in Transylvania under the protection of
Iancu of Hunedoara, supreme captain of the Hungarian army.
Eventually, Iancu charged Vlad Dracula with the protection
of the intra-Carpathian passage and Southern Transylvania.
In 1456, Vlad Dracula crossed the mountains, attacked
Vladislav and regained his Wallachian throne. He forced the
boyards, who’d buried his brother Mircea alive, to march to
Poenari in the Arges Pass and forced to build a fortress
with their bare hands. Vlad Dracul organized the state and
army. This is when he began impaling those he considered
enemies and law breakers, and thus received the name “The
Impaler”.
This cruel form of torture was the best way he could think
of controlling his people and keeping his enemies at bay. He
had a personal security guard and created an army using the
local populous, only when there was extreme necessity.
Otherwise, the army consisted of mercenaries. His army was
not large, but very effective at the method of impalement.
The wooden shaft (dulled so it wouldn’t kill them quickly by
puncturing any vital organs) was inserted up the rectum and
shoved up through their bodies. The spike was then planted
in the ground where the weight of the victim would slowly
finish the impalement. This could last several days,
creating extreme agony until death. This method was used on
state enemies as well as anyone breaking the law, thieves,
liars, swindlers…
However, few people know that he also reconstructed the
Curtea Domneeasca of Bucharest (church) and the Monastery of
Snagov (originally built by his grandfather Mircea I),
founded several churches and monasteries, including the
churches of Comana, Strejnicu and Targusoru Vechi. He also
had the full backing of the Papacy (Roman Catholic Church)
and the Senate of the Republic of Venice in his protection
against the Ottoman invasion.
He also took excellent care of the merchants of Wallachia.
He was known to be very fair and supportive of the locals,
although, even they would succumb to his ruthless punishment
if they didn’t treat their customers properly. He realized
that his merchants were being taken advantage of by the
Transylvanian merchants. They were given special privileges
that the Wallachian merchants didn’t have in Transylvania.
However, the Hungarian king, Matei Corvin, was more
interested in his own country’s trade interest, so he
dropped his alliance with Prince Vlad Dracula and supported
another claimant to the Wallachian throne, Dan II, who Vlad
Dracula defeated.
Also, when he regained the throne, Prince Vlad the Impaler
refused to pay the tribute to the Ottomans. As the amount
owed grew and remained unpaid, the sultan grew angry and
demanded that Vlad be removed from the throne, by trick if
needed. The Prince of Nicopolis called Prince Vlad to the
Danube for negotiations. Vlad discovered their plan to
assassinate him and he turned the table on his enemies and
captured the Turks who were to kill him. Knowing there would
be retaliation, Prince Vlad asked aid from Matei Corvin. The
assistance was never sent. Even so, Prince Vlad and a small
army infiltrated the Ottoman army at night and attacked from
within. The sultan escaped in the night. When what was left
of the Turkish army returned to the Danube, they were met
with a “forest of splinters”. All of the hostages were
impaled and awaiting the arrival of their fellow soldiers.
The sultan then conceived of a new plan. He used Radu the
Beautiful, Vlad Dracula’s younger brother, to usurp the
Wallachian throne. With the aid of the boyars (Romanian
noblemen), Radu claimed the throne. To retain peace, Radu
once again initiated the tribute paid to the Turks.
Vlad was exiled again. He was given refuge by Matei Corvin.
Eventually, the pressures placed on him by his merchants and
the surrounding politics, Matei Corvin gave in and a forged
letter was sent to Pope Pius II in Venice stating that Vlad
Dracula had committed treason. Actually, the money sent to
support Prince Vlad’s campaign against the Turkish army sent
by the Pope was stolen by Matei Corvin. Vlad Dracula was
placed under arrest and spent the next twelve years in the
dungeons of the Hungarian king. After his release, Matei
Corvin gave his daughter in marriage to Vlad Dracula.
Once more Vlad Dracula returned to his country to conquer
the capital city of Bucharest and proclaimed himself the
Prince of Romania. At the age of 45 Prince Vlad the Impaler
Tepes Dracula lost his life, and his head. There are
conflicting stories as to how it happened. Some say he was
killed in another Ottoman conflict, and others think it was
another political conspiracy set up by the boyards.
Part of the tale of his death includes the belief that his
head was taken to Constantinople and presented to the Pope.
His body is said to be buried in a sacred chamber under the
small chapel in the monastery on the tiny island of Snagov.
It is richly decorated as befitting a Prince and is still
revered. However, when some archeologists asked to examine
the grave for his remains, no bones were found.
How then did his name become synonymous with evil and the
heroic details of his life protecting his country and
countrymen get left out? It’s said that it was all started
by the Saxons, the Capuchin and Benedictine monks, along
with Matei Corvin. Prince Vlad’s law imposed limitations on
the monopoly of the Saxon trades. Matei Corvin was trying to
justify his stealing of the Papal funds sent to Prince Vlad.
So, he put the blame on Vlad. Many chronicles sprang up
extolling the Prince’s darker side and adding exaggerations.
They were also sure to exclude any patriotic sense he
extolled. The Turkish Chronicles saying that when he was
their hostage as a boy he would impale mice on splinters of
wood just for fun of it. This was picked up by the Russian
Chronicles and spread throughout their country. The
German Tales were infused with woodcuts that illustrated
in detail the Prince’s enjoyment of the agony of his
victims. This was taken from the Transylvanian Saxons who
made sure he was portrayed as a monster who drank the blood
and ate the entrails of his victims as he sat amongst their
rotting corpses. One advocate of the Prince, The Slavonic
Tales of the Voievod Dracula, writes of his sense of
justice in a difficult time, explaining that he had no
patience for any one to live who was not just.
Stories
One tale goes that there was a golden chalice set on the
edge of the well in the city of Targoviste. It was never
stolen and remained there until long after his death.
Another story is about a merchant traveling through the city
and asks for lodging for the night. Prince Vlad tells him to
leave his wagon uncovered. The next morning the merchant
says that money was stolen from his wagon over the night.
The thief is quickly found and taken away for punishment
(impalement was the only punishment). Prince Vlad adds an
extra coin into the money as it is returned. When the
merchant returns the extra coin, he is told that had he kept
the extra coin, he too would have been punished.
Family Tree:
Mircea I
(Vlad’s Grandfather)
-
Vlad
Dracul (Vlad’s Father)
-
Mircea
(Vlad’s older Brother) (1st son)
-
Vlad
“The Impaler” Dracula (2nd son)
-
Radu
“The Beautiful” (Vlad’s younger Brother) (3rd
son)
-
Vlad
the Monk (Vlad’s youngest Brother) (4th son)
-
PrinceVlad
“The Impaler” Dracula
Married
2nd
Daughter of Iancu de Hunedoara
also
Married
1st Cousin of
Matei Corvin (King of Hungary)
Grotesques
