When you say Dracula, you refer to a legend. But saying Dracula, you actually refer to the historical, literary and folkloric character Vlad Tepes.
This legend it’s based on a tradition of those time, for the winners to quench their thirst with the blood of the slain ones.
Wallachian prince Vlad Tepes was born in Sighisoara and in 1431. His father, Vlad Dracula, was a knight in The Dragon’s Order, order that aim Ottoman expansion. His son had on all the flags, coins and seals the crest of the Order of the Dragon- a dragon and a cross (sign of Christianity).
Given his reputation, Vlad Tepes was chosen by writer Bram Stoker as the main character of his work in 1897. He said about Transilvania and the Castle of Dracula, as being surrounded by dark forests. This legend was the subject of over 750 films, the fame of Vlad Tepes (who impaled) being actually bigger all over America that in his own country.
Vlad Tepes, being Dracula or not, was a cruel tyrant, famous for his way of punishing his subjects. Impaling was a very gruesome execution, the victim being held by a pale as thick as a human arm. His meaness has its roots in his infancy, spending most of it as a prisoner of the Turks. His family was murderes, while someone was telling him the tortures his parents bore.
The prince was highly respected by his subjects, his strategies against the Turks being very effective. He was also a person who could not tolerate injustice and who built throughout his reign many monasteries.
Dracula’s death remains unclear, weaving many legends around it. The most popular hypothesis is that he was killed in a battle with the Turks in Bucharest in December 1476. It is also said that he has fallen into the trap of Wallachian boyars, being killed by them. But what happened with his body?
Historians attest that his body was buried at Snagov Monastery, but beheaded, his head was brought to Constantinople as proof of the end of dreaded reign of Tepes.
