Introduction

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Most authorities believe the character of Dracula in Bram Stoker s novel was base
d upon the historical figure Vlad Tepes (pronounced tse-pesh), who intermittentl
y ruled an area of the Balkans called Wallachia in the mid 15th century. He was
also called by the names Vlad III, Vlad Dracula and Vlad the Impaler. The word T
epes stands for "impaler" and was so coined because of Vlad s propensity to punish
victims by impaling them on stakes, then displaying them publicly to frighten h
is enemies and to warn would-be transgressors of his strict moral code. He is cr
edited with killing between 40,000 to 100,000 people in this fashion.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------Origin of the name "Dracula"

King Sigismund of Hungary, who became the Holy Roman Emperor in 1410, founded a
secret fraternal order of knights called the Order of the Dragon to uphold Chris
tianity and defend the Empire against the Ottoman Turks. Its emblem was a dragon
, wings extended, hanging on a cross. Vlad III s father (Vlad II) was admitted to
the Order around 1431 because of his bravery in fighting the Turks. From 1431 on
ward Vlad II wore the emblem of the order and later, as ruler of Wallachia, his
coinage bore the dragon symbol.
Dragon Emblem
Order of the
Dragon Emblem
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The word for dragon in Romanian is "drac" and "ul" is the definitive article. Vl
ad III s father thus came to be known as "Vlad Dracul," or "Vlad the dragon." In R
omanian the ending "ulea" means "the son of". Under this interpretation, Vlad II
I thus became Vlad Dracula, or "the son of the dragon." (The word "drac" also me
ans "devil" in Romanian. The sobriquet thus took on a double meaning for enemies
of Vlad Tepes and his father.)
Historical Background
To appreciate the story of Vlad III it is essential to understand the social and
political forces of the region during the 15th century. In broad terms this is
a story of the struggle to obtain control of Wallachia, a region of the Balkans
(in present-day southern Romania) which lay directly between the two powerful fo
rces of Hungary and the Ottoman Empire.
Europe 1560
Europe, circa 1560
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For nearly one thousand years Constantinople had stood as the protecting outpost
of the Byzantine or East Roman Empire, and blocked Islam s access to Europe. The
Ottomans nonetheless succeeded in penetrating deep into the Balkans during this
time. With the fall of Constantinople in 1453 under Sultan Mohammed the Conquero
r, all of Christendom was suddenly threatened by the armed might of the Ottoman
Turks. The Hungarian Kingdom to the north and west of Wallachia, which reached i
ts zenith during this same time, assumed the ancient mantle as defender of Chris
tendom.

The rulers of Wallachia were thus forced to appease these two empires to maintai
n their survival, often forging alliances with one or the other, depending upon
what served their self-interest at the time. Vlad III is best known by the Roman
ian people for his success in standing up to the encroaching Ottoman Turks and e
stablishing relative independence and sovereignty (albeit for a relatively brief
time).
Another factor influencing political life was the means of succession to the Wal
lachian throne. The throne was hereditary, but not by the law of primogeniture.
The boyars (wealthy land-owning nobles) had the right to elect the voivode (prin
ce) from among various eligible members of the royal family. This allowed for su
ccession to the throne through violent means. Assassinations and other violent o
verthrows of reigning parties were thus rampant. In fact, both Vlad III and his
father assassinated competitors to attain the throne of Wallachia.
History of Wallachia Prior to Vlad III
Fortress of Belgrade
Fortress of Belgrade
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Wallachia was founded in 1290 by Radu Negru (Rudolph the Black). It was dominate
d by Hungary until 1330, when it became independent. The first ruler of the new
country was Prince Basarab the Great, an ancestor of Dracula. Dracula s grandfathe
r, Prince Mircea the Old, reigned from 1386 to 1418. Eventually, the House of Ba
sarab was split into two factions Mircea s descendant s, and the descendants of anothe
r prince named Dan (called the Danesti). Much of the struggles to assume the thr
one during Dracula s time were between these two competing factions.
In 1431 King Sigismund made Vlad Dracul the military governor of Transylvania, a
region directly northwest of Wallachia. (Vlad III was born during this time, in
the latter part of 1431.) Vlad was not content to serve as mere governor, and s
o gathered supporters for his plan to seize Wallachia from its current occupant,
Alexandru I, a Danesti prince. In 1436 he succeeded in his plan, killing Alexan
dru and becoming Vlad II. (Presumably there was an earlier prince also named Vla
d.)
For six years Vlad Dracul attempted to follow a middle ground between his two po
werful neighbors. The prince of Wallachia was officially a vassal of the King of
Hungary and Vlad was still a member of the Order of the Dragon and sworn to fig
ht the infidel. At the same time the power of the Ottomans seemed unstoppable. V
lad was forced to pay tribute to the Sultan, just as his father, Mircea the Old,
had been forced to do.
In 1442 Vlad attempted to remain neutral when the Turks invaded Transylvania. Th
e Turks were defeated, and the vengeful Hungarians under John Hunyadi the White Kn
ight of Hungary--forced Vlad Dracul and his family to flee Wallachia. In 1443 Vl
ad regained the Wallachian throne with Turkish support, but on the condition tha
t Vlad send a yearly contingent of Wallachian boys to join the Sultan s Janissarie
s. In 1444, to further assure to the Sultan his good faith, Vlad sent his two yo
unger sons--Vlad III and Radu the Handsome--to Adrianople as hostages. Vlad III
remained a hostage in Adrianople until 1448.
In 1444 Hungary broke the peace and launched the Varna Campaign, led by John Hun
yadi, in an effort to drive the Turks out of Europe. Hunyadi demanded that Vlad
Dracul fulfill his oath as a member of the Order of the Dragon and a vassal of H
ungary and join the crusade against the Turks, yet the wily politician still att
empted to steer a middle course. Rather than join the Christian forces himself,
he sent his oldest son, Mircea. Perhaps he hoped the Sultan would spare his youn
ger sons if he himself did not join the crusade.

The results of the Varna Crusade are well known. The Christian army was utterly
destroyed in the Battle of Varna. John Hunyadi managed to escape the battle unde
r inglorious conditions. From this moment forth John Hunyadi was bitterly hostil
e toward Vlad Dracul and his eldest son. In 1447 Vlad Dracul was assassinated al
ong with his son Mircea. Mircea was apparently buried alive by the boyars and me
rchants of Tirgoviste. (Vlad III later exacted revenge upon these boyars and mer
chants.) Hunyadi placed his own candidate, a member of the Danesti clan, on the
throne of Wallachia.
On receiving news of Vlad Dracul s death the Turks released Vlad III and supported
him as their own candidate for the Wallachian throne. In 1448, at the age of se
venteen, Vlad III managed to briefly seize the Wallachian throne. Yet within two
months Hunyadi forced him to surrender the throne and flee to his cousin, the P
rince of Moldavia. Vlad III s successor to the throne, however Vladislov II unexpected
ly instituted a pro-Turkish policy, which Hunyadi found to be unacceptable. He t
hen turned to Vlad III, the son of his old enemy, as a more reliable candidate f
or the throne, and forged an allegiance with him to retake the throne by force.
Vlad III received the Transylvanian duchies formerly governed by his father and
remained there, under the protection of Hunyadi, waitng for an opportunity to re
take Wallachia from his rival.
In 1453, however, the Christian world was shocked by the final fall of Constanti
nople to the Ottomans. Hunyadi thus broadened the scope of his campaign against
the insurgent Turks. In 1456 Hunyadi invaded Turkish Serbia while Vlad III simul
taneously invaded Wallachia. In the Battle of Belgrade Hunyadi was killed and hi
s army defeated. Meanwhile, Vlad III succeeded in killing Vladislav II and takin
g the Wallachian throne.
Vlad III then began his main reign of Wallachia, which stretched from 1456-1462.
It was during this period that he instituted his strict policies, stood up agai
nst the Turks and began his reign of terror by impalement.

The Life of Vlad III (1431-1476)

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Vlad III was born in November or December of 1431 in the Transylvanian city of S
ighisoara. At the time his father, Vlad II (Vlad Dracul), was living in exile in
Transylvania. The house where he was born is still standing. It was located in
a prosperous neighborhood surrounded by the homes of Saxon and Magyar merchants
and the townhouses of the nobility.
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Little is known about the early years of Vlad III s life. He had an older brother,
Mircea, and a younger brother, Radu the Handsome. His early education was left
in the hands of his mother, a Transylvanian noblewoman, and her family. His real
education began in 1436 after his father succeeded in claiming the Wallachian t
hrone by killing his Danesti rival. His training was typical to that of the sons
of nobility throughout Europe. His first tutor in his apprenticeship to knighth
ood was an elderly boyar who had fought against the Turks at the battle of Nicol
opolis. Vlad learned all the skills of war and peace that were deemed necessary
for a Christian knight.
In 1444, at the age of thirteen, young Vlad and his brother Radu were sent to Ad
rianople as hostages, to appease the Sultan. He remained there until 1448, at wh
ich time he was released by the Turks, who supported him as their candidate for
the Wallachian throne. Vlad s younger brother apparently chose to remain in Turkey

, where he had grown up. (Radu is later supported by the Turks as a candidate fo
r the Wallachian throne, in opposition to his own brother, Vlad.)
As previously noted, Vlad III s initial reign was quite short (two months), and it
was not until 1456, under the support of Hunyadi and the Kingdom of Hungary tha
t he returned to the throne. He established Tirgoviste as his capitol city, and
began to build his castle some distance away in the mountains near the Arges Riv
er. Most of the atrocities associated with Vlad III took place during this time.
Atrocities of Vlad Tepes
More than anything else the historical Dracula is known for his inhuman cruelty.
Impalement was Vlad III s preferred method of torture and execution. Impalement w
as and is one of the most gruesome ways of dying imaginable, as it was typically
slow and painful.
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Vlad usually had a horse attached to each of the victim s legs and a sharpened sta
ke was gradually forced into the body. The end of the stake was usually oiled an
d care was taken that the stake not be too sharp, else the victim might die too
rapidly from shock. Normally the stake was inserted into the body through the bu
ttocks and was often forced through the body until it emerged from the mouth. Ho
wever, there were many instances where victims were impaled through other body o
rifices or through the abdomen or chest. Infants were sometimes impaled on the s
take forced through their mother s chests. The records indicate that victims were
sometimes impaled so that they hung upside down on the stake.
Vlad Tepes often had the stakes arranged in various geometric patterns. The most
common pattern was a ring of concentric circles in the outskirts of a city that
was his target. The height of the spear indicated the rank of the victim. The d
ecaying corpses were often left up for months. It was once reported that an inva
ding Turkish army turned back in fright when it encountered thousands of rotting
corpses impaled on the banks of the Danube. In 1461 Mohammed II, the conqueror
of Constantinople, a man not noted for his squeamishness, returned to Constantin
ople after being sickened by the sight of twenty thousand impaled Turkish prison
ers outside of the city of Tirgoviste. This gruesome sight is remembered in hist
ory as "the Forest of the Impaled."
Thousands were often impaled at a single time. Ten thousand were impaled in the
Transylvanian city of Sibiu in 1460. In 1459, on St. Bartholomew s Day, Vlad III h
ad thirty thousand of the merchants and boyars of the Transylvanian city of Bras
ov impaled. One of the most famous woodcuts of the period shows Vlad Dracula fea
sting amongst a forest of stakes and their grisly burdens outside Brasov while a
nearby executioner cuts apart other victims.
Although impalement was Vlad Dracula s favorite method of torture, it was by no me
ans his only method. The list of tortures employed by this cruel prince reads li
ke an inventory of hell s tools: nails in heads, cutting off of limbs, blinding, s
trangulation, burning, cutting off of noses and ears, mutilation of sexual organ
s (especially in the case of women), scalping, skinning, exposure to the element
s or to wild animals, and burning alive.
No one was immune to Vlad s attentions. His victims included women and children, p
easants and great lords, ambassadors from foreign powers and merchants. However,
the vast majority of his victims came from the merchants and boyars of Transylv
ania and his own Wallachia.

Many have attempted to justify Vlad Dracula s actions on the basis of nascent nati
onalism and political necessity. Many of the merchants in Transylvania and Walla
chia were German Saxons who were seen as parasites, preying upon Romanian native
s of Wallachia. The wealthy land owning boyars exerted their own often capriciou
s and unfaithful influence over the reigning princes. Vlad s own father and older
brother were murdered by unfaithful boyars. However, many of Vlad Dracula s victim
s were also Wallachians, and few deny that he derived a perverted pleasure from
his actions.
Vlad Dracula began his reign of terror almost as soon as he came to power. His f
irst significant act of cruelty may have been motivated by a desire for revenge
as well as a need to solidify his power. Early in his main reign he gave a feast
for his boyars and their families to celebrate Easter. Vlad was well aware that
many of these same nobles were part of the conspiracy that led to his father s as
sassination and the burying alive of his elder brother, Mircea. Many had also pl
ayed a role in the overthrow of numerous Wallachian princes. During the feast Vl
ad asked his noble guests how many princes had ruled during their lifetimes. All
of the nobles present had outlived several princes. None had seen less then sev
en reigns. Vlad immediately had all the assembled nobles arrested. The older boy
ars and their families were impaled on the spot. The younger and healthier noble
s and their families were marched north from Tirgoviste to the ruins of his cast
le in the mountains above the Arges River. The enslaved boyars and their familie
s were forced to labor for months rebuilding the old castle with materials from
a nearby ruin. According to the reports they labored until the clothes fell off
their bodies and then were forced to continue working naked. Very few survived t
his ordeal.
Throughout his reign Vlad continued to systematically eradicate the old boyar cl
ass of Wallachia. Apparently Vlad was determined that his own power be on a mode
rn and thoroughly secure footing. In the place of the executed boyars Vlad promo
ted new men from among the free peasantry and middle class; men who would be loy
al only to their prince.
Vlad Tepes atrocities against the people of Wallachia were usually attempts to en
force his own moral code upon his country. He appears to have been particularly
concerned with female chastity. Maidens who lost their virginity, adulterous wiv
es and unchaste widows were all targets of Vlad s cruelty. Such women often had th
eir sexual organs cut out or their breasts cut off, and were often impaled throu
gh the vagina on red-hot stakes. One report tells of the execution of an unfaith
ful wife. Vlad had the woman s breasts cut off, then she was skinned and impaled i
n a square in Tirgoviste with her skin lying on a nearby table. Vlad also insist
ed that his people be honest and hard working. Merchants who cheated their custo
mers were likely to find themselves mounted on a stake beside common thieves.
The End of Vlad III
Although Vlad III experienced some success in fending off the Turks, his accompl
ishments were relatively short-lived. He received little support from his titula
r overlord, Matthius Corvinus, King of Hungary (son of John Hunyadi) and Wallach
ian resources were too limited to achieve any lasting success against the powerf
ul Turks.
The Turks finally succeeded in forcing Vlad to flee to Transylvania in 1462. Rep
ortedly, his first wife committed suicide by leaping from the towers of Vlad s cas
tle into the waters of the Arges River rather than surrender to the Turks. Vlad
escaped through a secret passage and fled across the mountains into Transylvania
and appealed to Matthias Corvinus for aid. The king immediately had Vlad arrest
ed and imprisoned in a royal tower.
There is some debate as to the exact length of Vlad s confinement. The Russian pam

phlets indicate that he was a prisoner from 1462 until 1474. However, during thi
s period he was able to gradually win his way back into the graces of Matthias C
orvinus and ultimately met and married a member of the royal family (possibly th
e sister of Corvinus) and fathered two sons. It is unlikely that a prisoner woul
d be allowed to marry a member of the royal family. As the eldest son was about
10 years old at the point Vlad regained the Wallachian throne in 1476, his relea
se probably occurred around 1466.
Note: The Russian narrative, normally very favorable to Vlad, indicates that eve
n in captivity he could not give up his favorite past-time; he often captured bi
rds and mice and proceeded to torture and mutilate them. Some were beheaded or t
arred-and-feathered and released. Most were impaled on tiny spears.
Another possible reason for Vlad s rehabilitation was that the new successor
e Wallachian throne, Vlad s own brother, Radu the Handsome, had instituted a
pro-Turkish policy. The Hungarian king may have viewed Dracula as a possible
didate to retake the throne. The fact that Vlad renounced the Orthodox faith
adopted Catholicism was also surely meant to appease his Hungarian captor.

to th
very
can
and

In 1476 Vlad was again ready to make a bid for power. Vlad Dracula and Prince St
ephen Bathory of Transylvania invaded Wallachia with a mixed contingent of force
s. Vlad s brother, Radu, had by then already died and was replaced by Basarab the
Old, a member of the Danesti clan. At the approach of Vlad s army Basarab and his
cohorts fled. However, shortly after retaking the throne, Prince Bathory and mos
t of Vlad s forces returned to Transylvania, leaving Vlad in a vulnerable position
. Before he was able to gather support, a large Turkish army entered Wallachia.
Vlad was forced to march and meet the Turks with less than four thousand men.
Purported tomb
of Vlad Tepes
Click to Enlarge Vlad Dracula was killed in battle against the Turks near the t
own of Bucharest in December of 1476. Some reports indicate that he was assassin
ated by disloyal Wallachian boyars just as he was about to sweep the Turks from
the field. Other accounts have him falling in defeat, surrounded by the ranks of
his loyal Moldavian bodyguard. Still other reports claim that Vlad, at the mome
nt of victory, was accidentally struck down by one of his own men. The one undis
puted fact is that ultimately his body was decapitated by the Turks and his head
sent to Constantinople where the sultan had it displayed on a stake as proof th
at the horrible Impaler was finally dead. He was reportedly buried at Snagov, an
island monastery located near Bucharest.
Historical Evidence
In evaluating the accounts of Vlad Dracula it is important to realize that much
of the information comes from sources that may not be entirely accurate. With ea
ch of the three main sources there is reason to believe that the information pro
vided may be influenced by local, mainly political, prejudices. The three main s
ources are as follows: (1) Pamphlets published in Germany shortly after Vlad s dea
th, (2) pamphlets published in Russia shortly after the German pamphlets, and (3
) Romanian oral tradition.
1.German Pamphlets
At the time of Vlad Dracula s death Matthias Corvinus of Hungary was seeking to bo
lster his own reputation in the Holy Roman Empire and may have intended the earl
y pamphlets as justification of his less than vigorous support of his vassal. It
must also be remembered that German merchants were often the victims of Vlad Dr
acula s cruelty. The pamphlets thus painted Vlad Dracula as an inhuman monster who
terrorized the land and butchered innocents with sadistic glee.

The pamphlets were also a form of mass entertainment in a society where the prin
ting press was just coming into widespread use. The pamphlets were reprinted num
erous times over the thirty or so years following Vlad s death strong proof of their
popularity.
2.Russian Pamphlets
At the time of Vlad III the princes of Moscow were just beginning to build the b
asis of what would become the autocracy of the czars. Just like Vlad III, they w
ere having considerable problems with the disloyal, often troublesome boyars. In
Russia, Vlad Dracula was thus presented as a cruel but just prince whose action
s were intended to benefit the greater good of his people.
3.Romanian Oral Tradition
Legends and tales concerning Vlad the Impaler have remained a part of folklore
among the Romanian peasantry. These tales have been passed down from generation
to generation for five hundred years. As one might imagine, through constant ret
elling they have become somewhat garbled and confused and are gradually being fo
rgotten by the younger generations. However, they still provide valuable informa
tion about Vlad Dracula and his relationship with his people.
Vlad Dracula is remembered as a just prince who defended his people from foreign
ers, whether those foreigners were Turkish invaders or German merchants. He is a
lso remembered as a champion of the common man against the oppression of the boy
ars. A central part of the verbal tradition is Vlad s insistence on honesty in his
effort to eliminate crime and immoral behavior from the region. However, despit
e the more positive interpretation of his life, Vlad Dracula is still remembered
as an exceptionally cruel and often capricious ruler.
Despite the differences between these various sources, there are common strains
that run among them. The German and Russian pamphlets, in particular, agree rema
rkably as to many specifics of Vlad Dracula s deeds. This level of agreement has l
ed many historians to conclude that much of the information must at least to som
e extent be true.
Anecdotes
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There are about nine anecdotes that are almost universal in the Vlad Dracula lit
erature. They include the following:
1.The Golden Cup
Vlad Dracula was known throughout his land for his fierce insistence on honesty
and order. Thieves seldom dared practice their trade within his domain, for they
knew that the stake awaited any who were caught. Vlad was so confident in the e
ffectiveness of his law that he laced a golden cup on display in the central squ
are of Tirgoviste. The cup was never stolen and remained entirely unmolested thr
oughout Vlad Dracula s reign.
1.The Burning of the Sick and Poor
Vlad Dracula was very concerned that all his subjects work and contribute to the
common welfare. He once notice that the poor, vagrants, beggars and cripples ha
d become very numerous in his land. Consequently, he issued an invitation to all
the poor and sick in Wallachia to come to Tirgoviste for a great feast, claimin
g that no one should go hungry in his land. As the poor and crippled arrived in
the city they were ushered into a great hall where a fabulous feast was prepared
for them. The guests ate and drank late into the night. Vlad himself then made
an appearance and asked them, "What else do you desire? Do you want to be withou
t cares, lacking nothing in this world?" When they responded positively Vlad ord
ered the hall boarded up and set on fire. None escaped the flames. Vlad explaine
d his action to the boyars by claiming that he did this "in order that they repr
esent no further burden to other men, and that no one will be poor in my realm."

1.The Foreign Ambassadors

Although there are some discrepancies between the German and Russian pamphlets i
n the interpretation of this story, they agree to the following: Two ambassadors
of a foreign power visited Vlad s court at Tirgoviste. When in the presence of th
e prince, they refused to remove their hats. Vlad ordered that the hats be naile
d to their heads, such that they should never have to remove them again.
Note: The nailing of hats to the heads of those who displeased a monarch was not
an unknown act in eastern Europe and by the princes of Moscow.
1.The Foreign Merchant
A merchant from a foreign land visited Tirgoviste. Aware of the reputation of Vl
ad Dracula s land for honesty, he left a treasure-laden cart unguarded in the stre
et over night. Upon returning to his wagon in the morning, the merchant was shoc
ked to find 160 golden ducats missing. Then the merchant complained of his loss
to the prince, Vlad assured him that his money would be returned. Vlad Dracula t
hen issued a proclamation to the city find the thief and return the money or the c
ity will be destroyed. During the night he ordered that 160 ducats plus one extr
a be taken from his own treasury and placed in the merchant s cart. On returning t
o his cart the next morning and counting his money the merchant discovered the e
xtra ducat. The merchant returned to Vlad and reported that his money had indeed
been returned plus an extra ducat. Meanwhile the thief had been captured and tu
rned over to the prince s guards along with the stolen money. Vlad ordered the thi
ef impaled and informed the merchant that if he had not reported the extra ducat
he would have been impaled alongside the thief.
1.The Lazy Woman
Vlad once noticed a man working in the fields while wearing a caftan (shirt) tha
t he adjudged to be too short in length. The prince stopped and asked to see the
man s wife. When the woman was brought before him he asked her how she spent her
days. The poor, frightened woman stated that she spent her days washing, baking
and sewing. The prince pointed out her husband s short caftan as evidence of her l
aziness and dishonesty and ordered her impaled, despite her husband s protestation
s that he was well satisfied with his wife. Vlad then ordered another woman to m
arry the peasant but admonished her to work hard or she would suffer the same fa
te.
1.The Nobleman with the Keen Sense of Smell
On St. Bartholomew s Day in 1459 Vlad Dracula caused thirty thousand of the mercha
nts and nobles of the Transylvanian city of Brasov to be impaled. In order that
he might better enjoy the results of his orders, the prince commanded that his t
able be set up and that his boyars join him for a feast amongst the forest of im
paled corpses. While dining, Vlad noticed that one of his boyars was holding his
nose in an effort to alleviate the terrible smell of clotting blood and emptied
bowels. Vlad then ordered the sensitive nobleman impaled on a stake higher than
all the rest so that he might be above the stench.
1.Vlad Dracula s Mistress
Vlad Dracula once had a mistress that lived in a house in the back streets of Ti
rgoviste. This woman apparently loved the prince to distraction and was always a
nxious to please him. Vlad was often moody and depressed and the woman made ever
y effort to lighten her lover s burdens. Once, when he was particularly depressed,
the woman dared tell him the lie that she was with child. Vlad had the woman ex
amined by the bath matrons. When informed that the woman was lying, Vlad drew hi
s knife and cut her open from the groin to her breast, leaving her to die in ago
ny.
1.The Polish Nobleman
Benedict de Boithor, a Polish nobleman in the service of the King of Hungary, vi

sited Vlad Dracula at Tirgoviste in September of 1458. At dinner one evening Vla
d ordered a golden spear brought and set up directly in front of the royal envoy
. Vlad then asked the envoy if he knew why this spear had been set up. Benedict
replied that he imagined some boyar had offended the prince and that Vlad intend
ed to honor him. Vlad responded that the spear had, in fact, been set up in hono
r of his noble, Polish guest. The Pole then responded that if he had done anythi
ng to deserve death that Vlad should do as he thought best. Vlad Dracula was gre
atly pleased by this answer, showered him with gifts, and declared that had he a
nswered in any other manner he would have been immediately impaled.
1.The Two Monks
There is some discrepancy in the telling of this anecdote. The various sources
agree, however, as to the basic story. Two monks from a foreign land came to vis
it Vlad Dracula in his palace at Tirgoviste. Curious to see the reaction of the
churchmen, Vlad showed them rows of impaled corpses in the courtyard. When asked
their opinions, the first monk responded, "You are appointed by God to punish e
vil-doers." The other monk had the moral courage to condemn the cruel prince. In
the version of the story most common in the German pamphlets, Vlad rewarded the
sycophantic monk and impaled the honest one. In the version found in Russian pa
mphlets and in Romanian verbal tradition Vlad rewarded the honest monk for his i
ntegrity and courage and impaled the sycophant for his dishonesty.
The Origins of the Vampire Myth
It is certainly no coincidence that Bram Stoker chose the Balkans as the home o
f his famous vampire. The Balkans were still basically medieval even in Stoker s t
ime. They had only recently shaken off the Turkish yoke when Stoker started work
ing on his novel and the superstitions of the Dark Ages were still prevalent.
The legend of the vampire was and still is deeply rooted in the Balkan region. T
here have always been vampire-like creatures in the mythologies of many cultures
. However, the vampire, as he became known in Europe and hence America, largely
originated in the Slavic and Greek lands of Eastern Europe.
A veritable epidemic of vampirism swept through Eastern Europe beginning in the
late seventeenth century and continuing through the eighteenth century. The numb
er of reported cases rose dramatically in Hungary and the Balkans. From the Balk
ans the plague spread westward into Germany, Italy, France, England and Spain. T
ravelers returning from the Balkans brought with them tales of the undead, ignit
ing an interest in the vampire that has continued to this day.
Philosophers in the West began to study the phenomenon. It was during this perio
d that Dom Augustin Calmet wrote his famous treatise on vampirism in Hungary. It
was also during this period that authors and playwrights first began to explore
the vampire myth. Stoker s novel was merely the culminating work of a long series
of works that were inspired by the reports coming from the region.
Did Bram Stoker base his Dracula
upon the historical Dracula?
First Ed. of
DRACULA
Constable, 1897
Click to Enlarge Although it is widely assumed, even among scholars, that Bram
Stoker based his novel upon the historical figure of Vlad Tepes, there is at lea
st one prominent scholar who challenges this assumption. Her name is Elizabeth M
iller, a professor with the Department of English at Memorial University of Newf
oundland. (http://www.ucs.mun.ca/~emiller/owner.htm) Her primary argument is tha
t Bram Stoker kept meticulous notes of his references in creating Dracula, and n
one of the references contain specific information about the life and/or atrocit

ies of Vlad Tepes.

There is fairly strong evidence the two Draculas are connected. Arguments in fav
or of this position include the following:
The fictional Dracula and the historical Dracula share the same name. There can b
e no doubt that Bram Stoker based his character upon some reference to Vlad Drac
ula.
Stoker researched various sources prior to writing the novel, including the Libra
ry at Whitby and literature from the British Museum. It is entirely possible tha
t his readings on Balkan history would have included information about Vlad Tepe
s.
Stoker was the friend of a Hungarian professor from Budapest, named Arminius Vamb
ery, who he met personally on several occasions and who may have given him infor
mation about the historical Dracula.
Some of the text of Stoker s novel provides direct correlations between the fiction
al Dracula and Vlad Tepes (e.g., the fighting off of the Turks--also, the physic
al description of Dracula in the novel is very similar to the traditional image
of Vlad Tepes.).
Other references in the novel may also be related to the historical Dracula. For
example, the driving of a stake through the vampire s heart may be related to Vlad s
use of impalement; Renfield s fixation with insects and small animals may have fo
und inspiration in Vlad s penchant for torturing small animals during his period o
f imprisonment; and Dracula s loathing of holy objects may relate to Vlad s renuncia
tion of the Orthodox Church.
Professor Miller counters each of these arguments. In particular she notes the o
nly reference provided by Stoker in his notes that contains any information abou
t Vlad Tepes is a book by William Wilkinson entitled An Account of the Principal
ities of Wallachia and Moldavia (1820), which Stoker borrowed from the Whitby Pu
blic Library in 1890 while there on vacation. The book contains a few brief refe
rences to a "Voivode Dracula" (never referred to as Vlad) who crossed the Danube
and attacked Turkish troops. Also, what seems to have attracted Stoker was a fo
otnote in which Wilkinson states "Dracula in Wallachian language means Devil." S
toker apparently supplemented this with scraps of Romanian history from other so
urces. Professor Miller argues that The Principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia
is the only known source for Stoker s information on the historical Dracula, and
that everything else is mere speculation.
As far as
that the
ere is no
ia during

Stoker s acquaintance with the Hungarian professor Vambrey, Miller notes

record only documents two meetings between the two individuals, and th
evidence that Vambrey ever spoke of Vlad Tepes, vampires or Transylvan
their visits.

As far as any likeness between the historical Vlad Dracula and descriptions prov
ided in the novel, professor Miller notes that it is most likely Stoker drew his
description of Count Dracula from earlier villains in Gothic literature, or eve
n from his own employer, Henry Irving.
In conclusion, Miller makes an assumption of her own: In the novel Stoker provid
es thorough historical detail obtained from his various references. Had he known
about the atrocities of Vald Tepes, Miller argues, surely he would have include
d such information in his novel.
For a more detailed argument by professor Miller, see http://www.ucs.mun.ca/~emi
ller/kalo.htm.
Bibliography
Most of the information provided on this site was obtained from a
document entitled "The Historical Dracula," by Ray Porter. See http://www.eski

mo.com/~mwirkk/vladhist.html for more information.

Additional information was obtained from the following Web sites:
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Aegean/7545/Dracula.html
http://www.mediaport.org/~eric/dracula/history/history.html
http://www.ucs.mun.ca/~emiller/owner.htm

Few online universities and online schools offer Medieval studies courses. More
courses at online universities on Medieval studies, and history in general, wo
uld benefit students who are interested in Vlad Tepes and Eastern European his
tory.