Vlad III Tepes Dracula

Vlad III Tepes Dracula

Overview: Wallachian Society

Bram Stoker’s vampire villain inspiring over seven hundred films

shares a connection with a historic prince. Stoker’s prototype is

believed to be based on Vlad III Dracula a fifteenth century viovode

(prince) of Wallachia. An understanding of Vlad may aid in

appreciating Stoker’s protagonist. Vlad came from the princely House

of Basarab. Wallachia is situated in Eastern Europe, the lands of the

vampire legend, and shares a northern border with Transylvania. To the

east is the Black Sea and to the south is Bulgaria. Wallachia emerged

as a political power in the late thirteenth century from the ashes of

the Eastern Roman Empire. Wallachia’s first monarch was Basarab the

Great (1310-1352).The throne of Wallachia was hereditary although the

boyars of the nobility had the right to elect various members of the

royal family. Common of European elective monarchies during the middle

Ages the power of the government tended to be shared among the nobles.

Assassination or murder was a common method of moving up the feudal

society, therefore Wallachian politics contained much bloodshed.

Towards the end of the 15th century the House of Basarab had split

into two bitter clans. Descendants of Prince Dan formed the Danesti

while Dracula and his father, Vlad II Dracul, were ancestors of Prince

Mircea the Old.

The Wallachians were accustomed to be influenced by powerful

neighbours. The fall of the Byzantine Empire in 1453, which had

defended Europe from Islamic access for nearly one thousand years,

fell to the Ottoman Turkish Empire under the leadership of Sultan

Mohammed the Conqueror. Pr...

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...His reign of terror came to prominence

upon taking up the throne. Women and children were not sparred.

Dracula was concerned with female chastity and often cut women’s

sexual organs or breast off, who had committed adultery. Some sources

narrate stories of women impaled through the vagina on hot stakes.

Despite these acts of cruelty, Dracula insisted Wallachians to be

honest and hard working. Scholars believe Dracula’s actions may indeed

be interpreted as efforts to strengthen and sustain the government

while ensuring the security and productivity of his people.

Bibliography:

The Historical Dracula, Ray Porter,

http://www.eskimo.com/~mwirkk/castle/vlad/vladhist.html, 16/10/04

Vlad Dracula: An intriguing figure in the fifteen century, Benjamin H.

Leblanc, http://members.aol.com/johnfranc/drac05.htm, 20/11/04