Vlad III, Prince of Walachia (1431-1476), "Vlad the Impaler"

[meganjoston]

Recently I've been reading about the modern-day Prince Dracula. Does anyone have any thoughts or info on him?

 

[Zara04]

Really? I wasn't aware there was one.....My mother is a descendent of the Vlad Dracul.

 

[Danielle]

http://www.royalty.nu/Europe/Balkan/Dracula.html

 

[Danielle]

I found this off a website, but it's really hard to see, so I have posted it here.
From: http://www.qsl.net/w5www/dracula.html
________________

DRACULA (VLAD THE IMPALER)


The name "Dracula" is often synonymous with the term "vampire". Just what is a vampire? According to The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language (fourth edition by the Houghton Mifflin Company), a vampire is described as any of the following:

1)-A reanimated corpse that is believed to rise from the grave at night to suck the blood of sleeping people.
2)-A person, such as an extortionist, who preys upon others.
3)-A vampire bat.

Prince Vlad Dracula was born in Schässburg (now called Sighisoara), a small town in former Transylvania (now known as northern Romania) in 1431. The house in which he was born, still stands intact in Sighisoara. It was no castle, but just a simple three-storied house.

He was named after his father Vlad Dracul, who belonged to the Order of the Dragon. This was an order formed by the Holy Roman Emperor for the purpose of defeating the Turks, who tried to conquer Europe at the time. The name "Dracul" which means dragon or devil, was taken on by his father, when he joined the order, the same year prince Vlad was born. He later added the -a on his son's name, which means "Son of the Dragon". But as the young prince grow older, he became more known as "Son of the Devil".

His father ruled over the area of Southern Romania known as Wallachia, and to keep his power, he had to be allied with powerful people. But he was a very unreliable master, that changed his allies constantly. To begin with he was against the Turks, later he suddenly changed policy and joined them for a short period. Perhaps this unreliable behavior was the reason why the Turkish Sultan ordered the capture of his two sons, prince Dracula and his little brother.

In 1447 prince Vlad Dracula's father was killed by some of his own men, and the year after, the prince, now age seventeen, was released from his imprisonment. He was sent back home to rule Wallachia, but in return he had to obey the Sultan in Constantinople. But he was overthrown, by a rival and had to escape, before he in 1456 could claim the throne back again. The first thing he did, was to build a stronghold for safety. With the help of several hundred noble families captured in his realm, who had to work as simple slaves, he got his stronghold build high up in the mountains, close to the northern Wallachian town of Tirgoviste.

Now six years of terror began. First he revenged his fathers death, then he got rid of all his enemies in a boundless carnage. Several thousand people was killed in Wallachia and the neighboring countries. But prince Dracula didn't just kill people, he liked to see them suffer. His favorite method of torturing someone to death, was impalement.

Impalement was a gruesome from of execution. The victim was impaled between the legs upon a large sharpened stake, with the width of a man's upper arm and hoisted upright in the air. Then the weight of the body would begin to drag them downwards, causing the sharpened end of the stake to pierce their internal organs very slowly. Vlad especially enjoyed mass executions, where several victims were impaled at once. In order to better enjoy these brutal acts, Vlad would place the impaled victims, in front of a banquet table and would then enjoy and commonly dine in his "forest of the impaled", to the sounds of the dying. It was these incredibly brutal acts, that got him the nickname "Tepes", which in Romanian means "Impaler".

It is alleged that prince Vlad Tepes was responsible for the death, of over a hundred thousand people within a few years. This figure, is including the twenty-five thousand people, who died due to Impalement.

In 1462, because of his enemies, Vlad Tepes had to flee again. He escape to Hungary, over the Transylvanian Alps, in hope of getting some help from the Hungarian king Corvinus. But instead of getting some sort of assistance, he was convicted on some false charges to prison for twelve years. When he was released again, he married a sister to the Hungarian King, and in November 1475, he finally got the assistance to regain control in Wallachian.

But only a month later, Dracula was killed in battle against the Turks near Bucharest. After his death, the feared and no doubt brave warrior was then decapitated. Just to make people sure that he really was dead, his head was put on display in Constantinople. Later his body was buried in a monastery near Snagov in Romania. In a book called "Dracule", from 1488, written only thirteen years after Vlad the Impaler died, he was descried as a vampire! An author by the name of Bram Stoker wrote a number of short stories and novels, but Bram Stoker is primarily remembered for only one, that of his tale of vampires which was titled "Dracula". Dracula was originally published in 1897. Dracula was an immediate success, and is one of the best-known and most popular horror stories ever written.

 

[Danielle]

I found this website with photos of Sighisoara, where Prince Vlad was born.

http://www.thereaTRFansylvania.com/journeys.html#3

N.B. The website won't work now because the letters l t r were changed to trf. If you can just 'manually' change the letters, you will be able to see it.

 

[richardsw]

What happen to the man whom some years ago claimed to be the adopted heir to the descendants of Prince Vlad? Could Prince Vlad have some claim to some castles in Romania?

 

[Despodov]

Really? I wasn't aware there was one.....My mother is a descendent of the Vlad Dracul.

It's interesting. How did you understand this?

What happen to the man whom some years ago claimed to be the adopted heir to the descendants of Prince Vlad? Could Prince Vlad have some claim to some castles in Romania?

About your last question - I think no, because he can't prove it. It's impossible.

 

[chaz]

DO NOT READ IF EASILY UPSET OR OFFENDED ...... Chaz

The practice of impalement was first seen in use by the Mongols of the Khanate of the Golden Ordu, of Timur the Lame and practically everywhere they rode the practice was adopted. The Turks, originally another Steppe people, were practicioners.

The Mongols were said not to use any form of punishment that drew blood on persons of noble birth. A noble would be wrapped in carpets and beaten to death thereby avoiding the shedding of blood. Those distinctions were lost on the people of eastern europe who adopted the practice, using impalement against anyone they chose. So you see impalement was not invented by Vlad Tepes at all.

Many people think sharp stakes were used in impalement,not so, the eastern Europeans would use large diameter rounded stakes inserted in the victims anus. All this was in the spirit of "I want him to Know he is dying" this operation would last several hours.

 

[vonSyra]

About your last questin - I think no, because he can't prove it. It's impossible.

A member of the Habsburg family is the owner of the Vlad's castle.

Vlad Dracul was a "vasal" of the Hungarian kings and the Order of the Dragon was a Hungarian Order,which founded Emperror Sigmund ( The Hungarian king) and the members of it were members of the Hungarian nobility.

 

[chaz]

Vanguard Vampire?

The word Vampire comes from the same Linguistic root as the word Vanguard.

 

[dalia]

Quite an interesting thread! Here are two sites that could be useful:-

Vlad Dracula - Vlad the Impaler - Dracula Info

VLAD TEPES - The Historical Dracula

 

[iakynthi]

It's a really interesting thread.It's a pity I don't have anything more to add.But I'm sure Menarue could enlighten us about Dracula and his descendants

 

[Cory]

Vlad Tepes(the Impaler) was a romanian hero who foght against the troops of Sultan Mehmed II El Fatih.Strangely Vlad's brother, Radu the Handsome was very close to the sultan.

 

[norenxaq]

minor point... the impaler was Vlad IV NOT III

 

[Cory]

Prince Vlad the Implae was the son of Vlad II Dracul...so he was Vlad III.

 

[Vasillisos Markos]

The legend of Vlad as Dracula is so intriguing. I cannot think of another country which lends itself so well to this vampire lore as Romania: rocky crags, forbidding castles and fortresses, wooded hillsides, etc. I would love to see it first hand.

 

[nascarlucy]

A couple of years ago there was a man who claimed that he was a descendent of Vlad VI on a television program about vampires. Are they any persons living today that are directly or indirectly descented from Vlad IV?

 

[anastasia ana]

I think it is about :

Ottomar Rodolphe Vlad Dracula Prince Kretzulesco

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Ottomar Rodolphe Vlad Dracula Prinz Kretzulesco, born Ottomar Berbig (October 10, 1940[1] – November 2007) was a flamboyant German socialite who achieved fame through a claim of adopted lineage from Vlad Dracula, the inspiration for Count Dracula.
Berbig was an antiques dealer in West Berlin in 1978 when an elderly woman entered his store wanting to sell heirlooms. The woman was Romanian princess Catherine Caradja (also known as Princess Caradja-Kretzulesco), who claimed to be a blood relative of Vlad Dracula. The two became friends, and the princess was keen to adopt Berbig as her family had no male heirs to carry the family name.[2]
Once formally adopted, the newly renamed 'Prince Kretzulesco' proved adroit at exploiting his 'Dracula lineage'. From his 46-room palace located in the town of Schenkendorf (Brandenburg), he organized so-called "blood-sucking parties" in conjunction with the German Red Cross at which guests were invited to donate blood. Likewise he entertained numerous other charity events including medieval festivals and ghost story-telling evenings.[3]
He also set up a wine business, marketing under the Castle of Dracula label, and became a local councillor, at one time proclaiming the town of Schenkendorf 'Dracula's Principality'.[3]
Kretzulesco died in Königs Wusterhausen of a brain tumor during the weekend of November 17-18, 2007. His son and heir, Ottomar Dracula Junior or 'Otti', celebrated his first birthday in December 2007.[3]

 

[nascarlucy]

I just finished watching on the History channel a very interesting show about Dracula. A Romanian historian who can trace his family back centuries was trying to see if there was a possible link between his family and Vlad. Supposedly his ancestors had fought against Dracula or this had been a story handed down. Very interesting program. His family had done some research on this. He continued the research.

The castle where Vlad lived was high up in the mountains. Those who tried to go up there often suffered misfortune. These two researchers were able to get up there and on a full moon slept in one of the towers. Brave men, if you tell me. Around midnight a bright red light came up to where the castle was and then vanished. Paranormal activity. Considering what happened there, it's not surprising that you had paranormal activity.

This is a creepy story but it's true. I can't remember whether it was Halloween or Christmas (I think it was Christmas) but our dorm floor in college decided to decorate our doors for various holidays. The Christmas decorations were supposed to be of Christmas scenes, Christmas traditions or other customs of Christmas around the world. Most people chose the country or countries in Europe where their ancestors came from.

The two women that lived next door to me who were not of Romanian ancestry decorated their doom with a artist drawing of the castle where Dracula lived. It said "Welcome to Transylvania." Then it said "Enter at your own Risk." When I saw first saw this artist drawing of the castle, my hair went up on end (I didn't know why). This was supposed to be a joke but sadly a couple of months later one of these women got very ill and died from bacterial meningitis.

Of course when I mentioned this, people rolled their eyes at me. Just a very wierd thing is all I can say about this.

 

[MPD1]

A couple of years ago there was a man who claimed that he was a descendent of Vlad VI on a television program about vampires. Are they any persons living today that are directly or indirectly descented from Vlad IV?

Isn't the Queen of England a descendant or maybe another royal clan from Britain if not the Windsors. So I heard u can correct me .

 

[Lenora]

Isn't the Queen of England a descendant or maybe another royal clan from Britain if not the Windsors. So I heard u can correct me .

QEII is not direct descendant of Vlad

 

[Marc23]

Here is the line from Dracula's father to Queen Elizabeth II:



Vlad II Dracul,"Vlad the Dragon",Duke of Wallachia,ruled from 1430-1446
I
Vlad IV ''the Monk",Duke of Wallachia,lived from 1435-1495
I
Radu IV "the Great",Duke of Wallachia,lived from 1467-1508
I
Mircea III "the Shepherd",Duke of Wallachia,died in 1559
I
Princess Stanca Basarab of Wallachia
I
Semphira Logofat de Szaszebes,died in 1602
I
Adam Racz de Galgo
I
Peter Racz de Galgo
I
Christina Racz de Galgo
I
Katalin Kuun de Osdola
I
Agnes Kendeffy de Malomviz,born in 1727
I
Baron Gregor Inczédy de Nagy-Varad,died in 1816
I
Baroness Agnes Inczedy de Nagy Varad,lived from 1788-1856
I
Countess Claudine Rhedey de Kis-Rhede,lived from 1812-1841
I
Duke Franz von Teck,lived from 1837-1900
I
Princess Victoria Mary of Teck,lived from 1867-1953
I
King George VI of Great Britain,lived from 1895-1952
I
Elizabeth II,Queen of Great Britain,born in 1926

 

[MPD1]

QEII is not direct descendant of Vlad

Lenie, it's hard to find direct descendants of a medieval royal . See Marc's post ? I was right in a way.

 

[Marc23]

QEII is not direct descendant of Vlad

True,she is a descendant of his father,Vlad the Dracul!

 

[Cory]

Vlad Dracul as other romanian Princess of the period had also not legitimate sons.

 

[Lenora]

Vlad Dracul as other romanian Princess of the period had also not legitimate sons.

How about illegitimate ones?

 

[Cory]

Beginning with the XIVth century even the illegitimate sons could pretend the trone in Vallachia and Moldavia because they were considered "princely bone".

 

[pacomartin]

Here is the line from Dracula's father to Queen Elizabeth II:



Vlad II Dracul,"Vlad the Dragon",Duke of Wallachia,ruled from 1430-1446
Vlad IV ''the Monk",Duke of Wallachia,lived from 1435-1495
...
Countess Claudine Rhedey de Kis-Rhede,lived from 1812-1841
Duke Franz von Teck,lived from 1837-1900
Princess Victoria Mary of Teck,lived from 1867-1953
King George VI of Great Britain,lived from 1895-1952
Elizabeth II,Queen of Great Britain,born in 1926

There were actually three different bloodlines from Dracula to Countess Claudine through three of her four grandparents. You are only showing one of them.

Countess Claudine was a beautiful woman and Duke Alexander of Württemberg loved her very much. Her tragic death at age 29 (the most commonly told story is that she was trampled by a team of horses at an exhibition) sent him into a lifetime of mourning and sadness.

Due to the German laws relating to the line of succession, she was viewed as being of non-Royal rank and the marriage was declared morganatic. She was denied the title of Duchess. A morganatic marriage is different than an illegitimate relationship. The children are considered legitimate on other counts and the prohibition of bigamy applies

Countess Claudine is ethnically considered pure Transylvanian. Since she is four generations from QEII that makes QEII 1/2^4 or 1/16 Transylvanian. While not a dominant part of the ethnic makeup of QEII it is larger percentage than her Irish, Scottish, French, Dutch, Danish, Belgian, Swedish, or Bohemian ancestry.

 

[Cory]

The countess was a hungarian aristocrat from Transylvania, a province with romanian majority even during that period.

 

[Marc23]

QEII it is larger percentage than her Irish, Scottish, French, Dutch, Danish, Belgian, Swedish, or Bohemian ancestry.

Danish,Dutch,Swedish,Belgian and some of her Bohemian ancestry = German!