Although his actual birth date is unknown, historians estimate
that Vlad Tepes (the Impaler) was born in 1430 in Schaassburg, a town in
Transylvania. His father, Vlad Dracul, was the Prince of Wallachia.
Vlad was imprisoned (along with his family) by the Turks in 1438. This was meant
to guarantee his father's loyalty to the sultan. It was during this imprisonment
that he developed the "cynicism so evident in his approach to life and infused
in him a Machiavellian attitude toward political matters."
After his father's death in 1447, Vlad was unable to take the throne that was
rightfully his thanks to the political machinations of the governor of Hungary
and other ruling families in Wallachia. Eventually, though, he would retake the
throne and rule Wallachia for several years.
During this time he fought against the Turks as well as built Castle Dracula
with slave labour. However, it was his brutal methods of seeking revenge against
his enemies that earned him the title of the Impaler. Battlefields would become
littered with bodies of dead and dying turks, impaled on a long stake that was
driven into the ground.
Other brutal acts only served to heighten his reputation as a savage dictator.
People were burned, impaled, and tortured - often without good reason, according
to some. "He had a good meal prepared for all the beggars in his land. After the
meal he had them locked up in the sheds in which they had eaten, and burned them
all. He felt they were eating the people's food for nothing and could not repay
it."
After death, Vlad has continued to fascinate. Although there is some uncertainty
about its historical accuracy, Vlad is believed to have been buried at the
Snagov monastery. Not all historians believe this, however. "His headless body
was buried at Snagiv, near Bucharest, but tales persisted that the grave was
empty, Vlad having risen."
Vlad's reputation grew even larger when historians and scholars began to
speculate that Bram Stoker used the historical figure of the Impaler as the
basis for the main character in his novel, Dracula. This topic has stirred a
great deal of debate between scholars. It is a commonly held belief that
Stoker's character shares at least some traits (particularly geography) with the
famous villain, Dracula. In the film, Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992), director
Francis Ford Coppola went to great lengths to portray the early Dracula as Vlad
the Impaler himself.
Whether Stoker actually used Vlad as a template for his character or not may
always be in debate. But as the historical character becomes embroiled in the
debate, his story passes forever into the annals of vampire lore.
