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Vlad III Dracula was considered a hero to some and a madman to others. Vlad ruled as prince, or voivode, of Wallachia, Hungary three times during the mid 1400s A.D. During his second reign, Vlad used several different tactics against the Ottoman Turks and other opponents. He expertly employed psychological and torture techniques; his most famous method was impalement. Vlad’s tactics were unconventional, but proved in keeping Wallachia safe for his people and leading a crusade against the Turks.
Vlad III Dracula, or Vlad the Impaler, was born, in December 1431 A.D., in Sighisoara, Hungary located in what is now the center of modern Romania. Vlad spent a portion of time being educated physically in the Spartan style and by Christian tutors, as their father Vlad II Dracul sought a position higher than military governor. It was during that time that signs of a disturbed young Vlad were first noticed. Radu R. Florescu and Raymond T. McNally in Dracula Prince of Many Faces: His Life and His Times noted, “local traditions insist that the young boy showed, even at that early stage in life, a morbid curiosity for watching, from his first floor bedroom, criminals being led from the small jail in the Councilmen’s Square to the Jewelers’ Donjon, the usual place of execution by hanging.” In 1436 A.D., Dracul moved his family to Tirgoviste, the capital city of Wallachia, Hungary where he became voivode.
Dracul had also joined a Christian order, called the Order of the Dragon. Dracul was allied with the Muslim Turkish Sultan Murad II, but his loyalty wavered. It is most likely that Dracul was contemplating changing his loyalty due to his new position in the Order of the Dragon, where he had sworn to protect Christianity. Murad took Vlad...
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...e seemed to be effective even against one of history other sadistic leaders, Sultan Mehmed II. During Vlad’s reign as voivode, he provided peasants with a sense of security that still lingers in the hearts of Romanians today.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Florescu, Radu R., and Raymond T. McNally. Dracula Prince of Many Faces: His Life and His Times. Boston: Black Bay, 1989.
Leblanc, Benjamin H. “Vlad Dracula: An Intriguing Figure in the Fifteenth Century.” Journal of the Dark, no. 5 (n.d.): Accessed November 8, 2013. http://www.htspweb.co.uk/fandf/romlit/specnew/vlad/archive2/leblanc.htm
Miller, Elizabeth. “Dracula: The History of Myth and the Mystery of History.” Journal of the Dark 9 (1996): Accessed November 9, 2013. http://www.ucs.mun.ca/~emiller/myth.html
Romano, Will. “Vlad Dracula’s War on the Turks.” Military History 20, no. 4 (2003): 58-65. EBSCOhost.
Vlad would punish his enemies for not only war crimes but for crimes against God for not remaining pure such as cutting off the breasts of women for not remaining virgins. This was an extreme version of what the Victorian era was about, despite his drastic measures, Vlad and most of the society during this era had the same values. Stoker used the identity of Vlad Dracula to create this monster who lusts for women and men alike for their blood as a way to let out his own sexual frustration. As he was unable to let them out himself due to the type of society he was placed in, where he would be chastised and judged he did this in his own way to let out the inner battle he was facing within himself. From being a war hero in Romania to being a sadist, Vlad Dracula was a real person who became the model of what the Victorian era could use to scare people into remaining
Carol A. Senf uses a critical theory lens when she picks apart Bram Stoker’s Dracula. The majority of literary critics interpret this popular myth to be the opposition of good and evil, they turn a blind eye to the more specifically literary matters such as method of narration, characterization, and style. Carol Senf’s critical essay “Dracula: the Unseen Face in the Mirror” she believes that Stokers novel “revolves, not around the conquest of Evil by Good, but on the similarities between the two” (Senf 421). Her argument is as follows:
Both monarchs had a royal background and were put in power with high expectations to continue the stability that the country possessed. Citizens aspire for all government officials to keep the peoples best interest in mind. But sadly, due to Ivan’s brutal childhood, he grew up observing and learning from the mannerisms of the corrupt elite. Ivan predominately gained power through fear and with this tactic was the first to exercise a despotism in Russia. One example of this is the story of the peasants who disturbed Ivan during one of his retreats. They came to him to complain of their governor who they believed was unjust but Ivan was so upset that they had troubled him with such a petty matter that he punished them. The men had their hands tied behind their backs, boiling hot alcohol poured on their heads and then their beards lit on fire with a candle. Apprehension and terror were Ivan’s main tools for keeping his people under control. Despite his totalitarian state of mind, Ivan believed that his decisions were still best for the country and the only way to keep it safe was by leaving it in constant fear. Although not always the most rational, the czar still made the suitable choices to keep the kingdom together. Similar to Ivan, Charles was not always under the influence of his mental disability. During his 42
Florescu, Radu, and McNally, R. T., Dracula: A Biography of Vlad the Impaler, 1431-1476 (1973)
The presence of racial stereotypes and commentary on the interaction of different races is a cornerstone of the Dracula narrative. In Stoker’s novel, Count Dracula is representative of the growing European culture of xenophobia and anti-Semitism which would rise to near hysteria in the coming decades. The concept of race was not limited to skin color or nationality in the nineteenth century, and was a means of categorizing people by “cultural as well as physical attributes” (Warren 127). Dracula is described as being covetous of ancient gold and jewels, childlike and simple in his malice, and more animalistic than human, traits frequently attributed to the Jewish people by Christian society (Newman). His material appearance is distinguished by extremely pale skin, dark features, a nose with a “high bridge…and peculiarly arched nostrils,” and “bushy hair that seemed to curl of its own profusion.” Stoker’s audience would have recognized...
In the novel Dracula, by Bram Stoker, there is much evidence of foreshadowing and parallels to other myths. Dracula was not the first story featuring a vampire myth, nor was it the last. Some would even argue that it was not the best. However, it was the most original, using foreshadowing and mood to create horrific imagery, mythical parallels to draw upon a source of superstition, and original narrative elements that make this story unique.
Vlad Tepes or Vlad III Draculea or commonly known as Vlad the Impaler, because of his habit of impaling his enemies through large wooden stakes. He was the former ruler of Walachia and a ruthless man and a folk hero to his people. The full history of Vlad is one filled with death and war, as he embark on multiple campaigns of war. Vlad was born as the second son of four male children, his sobriquet draculea meaning “son of dracul,” was derived the latin draco “dragon” after his father induction into the order of the dragon. Vlad had moved to Walachia in 1436 when his father gained leadership of the walachian. After a few years his father and brother was assassinated by walachian nobles, after that he begun a long series of campaigns to regain
1) The author of this book, Alan Palmer, is a reliable historian educated at Oxford University. He is an expert in European History and even headed the History Department in Highgate School. He left his post of sixteen years to concentrate on historical writing and research. He went on to publish eighteen books on numerous leaders and empires of Europe. His work includes, Napoleon in Russia, Alexander I: Tsar of War and Peace, The Decline and Fall of the Ottoman Empire and many more.
While studying the diabolical figures in the devil, the idea of presenting Dracula came to mind. Dracula represents the devil in many similar ways. Dracula remains as a character in many diabolical movies and films. For instance, Van Helsing provides a good interpret of how Dracula remains noticed in the past and in present day. Although Dracula’s character obtains different views in every movie and film, he plays an important role in Stephen Sommers Van Helsing movie. In the movie, he acts as many different things. Demonstrating both the kind and evil inside, Dracula portrays his character as a mystery. Different views of Dracula throughout the movie include harsh, strong, powerful, evil, the devil, and unstoppable. The studies of Dracula
Bram Stoker took the legend of Vlad Tepes and used it as an idea for Dracula. He was the ruler of an old country called Wallachia. He is most famous for impaling his enemies on sticks around his castle. He taught himself how to miss vital organs in the body, causing the victim to die a slow painful death. This is why people consider him an ancient vampire. What people don’t know about him is that the rich loved him, but the poor hated him. To anyone that didn’t have to seal to make it by he was great. But to the poor people who couldn’t buy food, they were always in fear of him. He was abused as a child, and this is what is thought to have caused his behavior. (Melton 1053)
‘Dracula’ is a novel that probes deeply into people’s superstitions, fears and beliefs of the supernatural. The creature Dracula is an evil being with no concern for others, he kills for his own ends and cannot be stopped, and this is what makes ‘Dracula’ truly frightening.
(5) Kurlander, E. (2012). Hitler’s Monsters: The Occult Roots of Nazism and the Emergence of the
Though while some of the leaders were incompetent and maybe even slightly “defective”, there were many great leaders of the Ottoman Empire, such as Suleyman who was known as “The Magnificent” and brought the empi...
Podonsky, Amanda . "Bram Stoker's Dracula: A Reflection and Rebuke of Victorian Society." RSS. Student Pulse: The International Student Journal, 1 Jan. 2010. Web. 6 May 2014. .
Stevenson, John Allen. A Vampire in the Mirror: The Sexuality of Dracula. 2nd ed. Vol. 103. N.p.: Modern Language Association, 1988. JSTOR. Web. 6 Jan. 2014. .