One of the best depictions of Vlad III, Prince of Wallachia (a principality, now a region in present-day Romania), comes from a 15th century woodblock print depicting him having his supper in front of a forest of impaled victims. He looks on with content while his victims suffer a slow and painful death.
At first, this woodblock - which was used for printing pamphlets – was thought to be propaganda from Vlad’s many enemies. Yet, documentation from several sources has confirmed that such an incident in Vlad’s life did occur, many times.
This was the legacy of the man known as Vlad “Tepes” or Vlad the “Impaler” as well as Dracula. Born 1431 in Schatburg, Transylvania (now Romania), Vlad ruled no more than eight years inconsecutively over a 28 year period.
Most people around the world don’t know him as a prince; however, they know him as the inspiration to Bram Stoker’s “Dracula.” In fact, the name Dracula (meaning son of the dragon) became his surname. Yet, unlike the supernatural vampire who hid in the shadows, this real-life monster displayed his evil in front everyone who dared to cross his path.
It didn’t matter who the condemned were; nobody was spared during Vlad’s reign of terror. Even the men, women, and children of his little kingdom were not spared the humiliating and unusually cruel method of execution he favored. Fueled by a troubled past, Vlad became a sadist who derived pleasure from the pain he inflicted.
TROUBLED CHILDHOOD
To understand Vlad Dracula, one must examine his past. Vlad’s father, Vlad II Dragul (“Dragon”) belonged to a group of knights known as the Order of the Dragon (Vlad III joined it when he was five). They were in league with the Holy Roman Emperor of Hungary, and were devoted to keeping the Ottomans and their religion out of Europe. However, in the complicated game of politics, Vlad II was ousted from power in 1442 by a rival faction in league with Hungary. Thus, he sought help from his sworn enemies, the Ottomans, to regain his throne. He did this by agreeing to pay tributes to the Sultan by sending his two younger sons, Vlad and Radu, to the Ottoman court, to serve as hostages.
The stay was less than hospitable. First, Vlad III attempted to kill some Ottoman soldiers. His action failed and he was locked up in prison where he was systematically abused, physically and sexually.
His stay in the Ottoman Empire would have profound effects on him. His deep hatred for the Ottoman started. So did his hatred for his little brother Radu; he had converted to Islam and rose through the ranks of the Ottoman to become a member of the royal court. He also despised his father for trading him to the Turks and betraying the Order of the Dragon’s oath to fight them (However, believing he was rehabilitated, the Ottoman released Vlad from jail and educated him in its finest schools, as well as training him for the military).
IMPALEMENT
Also, while a hostage of the Ottoman, he learned the “art” of impalement. Vlad was first exposed to this form of capital punishment by seeing prisoners of the Turks executed in this fashion. Also, the pent up anger and hatred that was growing inside him needed an outlet. Legend has it he began impaling bugs and rats in his prison cell.
Impalement is a humiliating and vicious way to torture and kill a person. Vlad’s method was to use a crude wooden stake with a dull tip and a greased shaft. The stake was inserted through the victim’s anus, and - while still alive - the victim and the shaft would be erected in an open court for all to see. Death was slow, the victim’s weight and the grease on the stake would eventually cause them to slowly slide down the pole, puncturing their organs along the way. Sometime, the death was quick. Most times, however, it was agonizingly slow, lasting several days.
When Vlad III came to power, he didn’t immediately use this cruel device; he used other methods to kill his enemies. In one account, Vlad invited all the boyars (nobles of Transylvania) to the ruins of Poienari Castle where he had a special surprise for them; he forced them to rebuild them. The boyars were responsible for his father’s overthrow and death, and the blinding of his older brother. He worked most of them to death. And of those who didn’t die of exhaustion, they were impaled.
Another incident culminated from his love/hate relationship with Ottoman Turks (the very people who tortured him during his youth, then helped him to come to power in his homeland). Two Turkish emissaries came to visit Vlad on a diplomatic mission. By custom and religion, the Turks were not allowed remove their turbans. That didn’t matter to Vlad, who insisted all guests adhered to his rule – one of which was to take off their hats in his presence. However, Vlad made some concession on this matter; he allowed the Turks to keep their head gear. And to assure this, he had them nailed to their heads.
Also, not everyone who became a victim to Vlad’s wrath had committed crimes against his state or him. In one case, a mass impalement of men, women, and children was done to impress upon Mehmed II’s invading Janissary force of what type of enemy they were going to face. On top of that, 20,000 of those impaled were from Mehmed’s previous army. When the invaders saw this horrific spectacle; they turned around and left Wallachia for good.
There’s even an account in which Vlad - enjoying his meal as he watched the impaled suffer - condemned a servant who had reacted in horror upon seeing a child being impaled.
LEGACY
Not everyone loathed him. Some tolerated or hailed him as a hero. Much of Christian Europe considered him a hero for keeping the Ottomans in check. The Russian account of Vlad’s life is somewhat favorable. Even today in present-day Romania there are those who see him as a national hero for taking on the Turks and establishing strict laws to cut down on crime.
Vlad also found a way to stay in power. His first reign of power (1448) lasted for one year before being overthrown and forced into exile by a group in league with Hungary. He came back, killing this group’s chosen leader, Vladislav II in hand-to-hand combat in 1456. This second reign would last six tumultuous years in which he turned against the Ottoman and allied himself with his other enemy, the Hungarians. That reign ended when he was arrested by the Hungarians and imprisoned for high treason. Also, about this time, the Turks took control of Wallachia.
Finally, in 1476, Vlad’s fortune changed again, this time, with the support of Hungary. He invaded Wallachia and briefly wrested power from the Ottomans. This third reign didn’t last long, however. Two month in, he was killed. No one is sure who killed him. What is known is that the Ottomans found his body near a battlefield; they decapitated his head andsent it back to Mehmed as proof of his demise.
Death, on the other hand, didn't end Vlad's grip on Europe or the world. In 1897, Vlad Dracula simply became Dracula in Bram Stoker’s novel and play. Later, in 1931, Dracula made it to the big screen in which the vampire – not the inspiration – became an iconic character in horror.
When one examines the life of Vlad, the fictional Dracula cannot compare to the scope of evil that the “Son of the Dragon” inflicted in a tiny kingdom.
REFERENCES
“Vlad III (retrieved 2010)”: Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vlad_III_the_Impaler
Vlad the Impaler (retrieved 2010): http://www.vladtheimpaler.com/
“Vlad Tepes: Vlad the Impaler, The Historical Dracula (retrieved 2010)”: Don Linke.com: http://www.donlinke.com/drakula/vlad.htm
“Vlad The Impaler: Brief History (retrieved 2010)”: Dracula’s Hompage: http://www.ucs.mun.ca/~emiller/vlad.html