History of Vlad Tsepesh (Long) - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

History of Vlad Tsepesh (Long)

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
zombiegleemax
Sep 13, 2004 4:24:58 Preacher of Nothing, objected to my depiction of the historical Vlad Tsepesh, commonly thought to be the inspiration to Brahm Stoker's Dracula. In response to my assertion that he impaled people for pleasure he responded

"What the Hell are you on about my friend?

let me ask you this....have you ever heard of a little thing called psychological warfare mon ami? yes...that's it...in case you didn't know, that's what it was. Don't believe the imbecilic western stories of a blood thirsty sadistic ruler. He was loved by his people and all the choices he made were wel thought off. They weren't the result of a sick mind just liking to see people impaled. The people he freed and kept free were his sole concern, and those that would dare come against him....kill them, and show their comrades what will happen to them. Too much have we suffered. This was his mentality. Don't consider him the wicked man that Stoker made him out to be."

Respectfully I have to disagree. Vlad Tsepesh ("the impaler") was the third ruler of Walachia to bear the name Vlad. His actions almost certainly crossed the line of "psycological warfare". While many in modern day Romania still see him as a strong leader who stood against the Turks, the majority of historical evidence doesn't support this viewpoint.

Most of the material that follows is derived from Dracula:Prince of Many Faces (by Radu Florescu), Vlad the Impaler: In Search of the real Dracula (by M.J. Trow), and (the somewhat dry) Vlad III Dracula: The Life and Times of the Historical Dracula (by Kurt Treptow). The History Channel also put out the (IMO) very good documentary: The Real Dracula. The better of these sources ultimately reference documents transcribed at the Kirill-Belozerk (sp?) monastary in Russia where contempory accounts were recored around 1490. Other material, probably exaggerated to a greater or lesser degree, appeared in pamphelets distributed in Russia and Germany, begining shortly following the invention of the printing press around 1500. Despite the terrible cover the book Vlad the Impaler by Avalanche Press does a fair job of treatment of the historical material in the context of use for a d20 campaign.

I'll first cover the background of his families rise to power, his reign(s) of power and finally historical storries about him that resurface continually but aren't from creditable historical sources.

SETTING THE STAGE
The Basarab dynasty was begun around 1290 when Radu Negru (Ralph/Rudolph the Black) consolidated power in the Principality of Walachia, roughly what is today thought of as south eastern Hungary and part of Romania. A nation originally of eastern orthodox christians they were constantly squeezed between the roman catholic Kingdom of Hungary and the musslim Ottoman Empire. The Basarab dynasty split into two groups springing from the children of Prince Dan II (the Danesti) and the children of Mircea the old (Vlad I). Unlike western Europe and strict rules of succession, the boyars (lower lords) traditonally voted/appointed each the new prince.

Mircea the old fought to maintain the integrity of his state but ultimately was forced to pay tribute to has a son named Vlad (II) who was given, at least initially, as a political hostage to King Sigismund of Hungary who later became the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire in 1410. Emperor Sigismund created the Order of the Dragon to uphold Catholicism and it appears Vlad II joined in 1431. This is probably where the name Vlad Drakul comes from since Drakul means either devil or dragon. In 1431 (through 1435) for sure Vlad II was made the military governor of Transylvania which was then part of Hungary.

Meanwhile Mircea the old/Vlad the first passed away and was replaced by Alexandru of the Danesti faction. Vlad II, not satisfied with being the military governor killed Alexandru in either late 1436 or early 1437 and became Prince of Walachia. This put Vlad II in the "akward" potision of being a vassal of Hungary while paying tribute to the Turks.

In 1442 the Turks invade Transylvania. Hunagry repulses the invasion and deposed Vlad II, blaming him for the invasion. In 1443 Vlad the second retakes Walachia with the aid from the Turks(!) His two youngest sons (Vlad III - the historic dracula - and Radu) are sent to Adrianople as hostages. In 1444 a coalition of Catholic powers rises against turkey led by the Hungarian general Janos Hunyadi (called by some the White Knight). They call for Vlad II to join their crusade. Vlad tries to wiggle out and only sends his oldest son Mircea. The crusade ends badly, Mircea blames Hunyandi, Hunyadi blames Vlad II. In 1447 both Mircea and Vlad II are killed by an uprising of Boyars with peasant levies. The maner of their deaths is unknown but later pamphlets will include burning at the stake, being burried alive and boiled to death. Hunyadi is today suspected of organizing their removal but no direct evidence supports this. Hunyadi does have a direct hand in puting Vladislav II (a Danesti) on the walchian throne.

VLAD III, TSEPESH (the Impaler), aka DRACULA
Disturned by the increase in the power of the Kingdom of Hungary and roman catholicism in the Balkans the Sultan gave Vlad III an army in 1448 in order to restore the suzerainity under Turkish influence. Little is known about Dracula's life in Turkish court (Dracula is the diminutive form of Dracul probably meaning son of the Dragon/Devil). We do know his brother Radu remained there, though wether by choice or as leverage against Dracula is unknown. Though initially triumphant in driving out Vladislav II, his reign only lasted three months before the boyars led a coup against him. He fled to Moldavia where he spent the next 3 years in exile. However when the Prince of Moldavia was assassinated in 1451 he was forced to flee the court and made his way west.

By 1456 things had turned around. Vladislav II had become a supporter of Turkey and Hunyadi regreted putting him on the Walachian throne. Hunyadi and Vlad III jointly invade Serbia and Walachia. Hunyadi dies in Serbia but Vlad III kills Vladislav II starting his second reign.

Vlad Dracula learned from his previous reign and invites 500 war weary boyars to a feast to be reconciled. With his army backing him he impales the old and infirm among them and then puts the rest to work as labor building his fortress at Poenari (which today is still standing and one of several locations claiming to be Castle Dracula). Most of the old boyars die under the castles construction. The lands of the old boyars are given to Vlad's supporters.

Dracula creates a set of draconian civil laws were lying (and most everything else) is punishable by impalement. Vlad gets into the habit of feasting during the execution of criminals. Women and children are often targeted as well either for "infidelity" or as part of punishing some household. In 1459 on the Feast of St. Bartholomew's he sees one of his guests holding an hankerchief over their nose to avoid the smell of the bodies in the courtyard. Vlad has him impaled there instructing his gurads to make sure to raise him higher enough to avoid the "offending odors". Vlad considers impaling an art and impalse soldier who don't do it properly (a proper impaleent can leave the person alive for day or more). Even foreign ambassadors have a rough time in Vlad's court. He has the fezs of two turkish amabassadors nailed to their heads because they don't take them off fast enough when they meet with him. Even accounting for exaggeration by his enemies, by the time he is deposed in 1462, historians estimate he killed between 40,000 and 100,000 of his subjects.

As a result of Vlad's provocations, in 1462 the Turks move against him with an army three times bigger than anything Vlad can field. Desite being an experienced general Vlad is pushed back continually to his capital. Upon reaching the capital they find a "forrest" of impaled people reported at 20,000. Many of the Turks loose heart at the sight but Radu is with them and persuades the boyars to turn against his older brother. Vlad flees Hungary trying to gather support. The new King of Hungary instead imprisons him in a tower. Dracula whiles away the time by impaling rats and birds. Twelve years later Vlad has rehabilitated himself by converting to Roman Catholicism and marring into the Hungarian court. After Radu dies of syphilus in 1475, Vlad agitates to return and in 1476 with the aid of Transylvania and Moldovia he retakes Walchia. He is killed in december that year, possibly by a Turkish spy, possibly by his own soldiers. The Turks cut off his head and take it back to Constantinople to prove that he is really dead.

PERSISTENT RUMORS THAT PROBABLY HAVE KERNALS OF TRUTH
Those boyars taken to build Poenari were not given replacements as their clothing is reduced to rags. Most dies from exposure during the winter.

Upon seeing signs of poverty in Tirgoviste Vlad II invited the old, the sick, the maimed and the destitute to a banquet at one of his manors. Promising to free them from their earthly cares he has the manor boarded shut and set on fire. Afterwards he is reported to say "Now no one is poor in my Realm."

Vlad seems to have a particular interest in impaling women going out of his way to find fault with them. In addition to brutally cutting open his mistress when she lies about being pregnant, he also comes into the habit of flaying the private parts of women before impaling them.

On the positive side crime drops to almost nothing. Part of this is that the many wars in the region have dried up most of the lands non-renewable resources leaving little to steal. Most is due to fear. Vlad is credited with placing a golden cup in the center of Tirgoviste. People are free to use it but are not to take it from the square. People are so afraid of Vlad's punishments no one touches steals it during his second reign.

Another storry says a merchant lost many coins from his pouch and complained to Vlad. Vlad had one of his servants place the lost coins secretly in the merchants pouch plus one extra coin and then made a public proclamation that if the thief did not come forward the whole town would be punished. The next day the merchant found the coins and told Vlad that he had found the coins returned plus one. Vlad then revealed that he had put the coins there, that he had found out who had stolen the coins, that he had impaled the thief and would have impaled the merchant if he had lied about the extra coin.

LAST THOUGHTS
The historical Dracula which inspired Stoker and set fire to Gothic Literature as a whole remains something of a controvertial figure. This is particularly true in the Balkans where many think of him as a strong figure who fought against the Turks. Its might be interesting to note that while German pamphelteers portrayed him as a villianous creature of evil, Russians pamphelteers generally portrayed him as a leader who got things done.

The material here is the truth as best I know it. No flames intended. And if you disagree with me or the sources I've listed you are welcome to offer other material I may not be aware off. I've made something of a minor hobby (within a hobby) of the Basarab history. I personally believe the historical version of Dracula great inspiration for DLs in general and is the inspiration for the RL Darklord Vlad Drakov in particular. (Just as Strahd is based on the Stoker vampire.)

-Eric Gorman
#2
rucht_lilavivat
Sep 13, 2004 8:58:34 This is the version of Vlad the Impaler that I'm most familiar with. And I say this after doing extensive research on him for the Masque of the Red Death d20 book that I worked on.

Eric, your research is sound, from what I can tell. Vlad Tepes was a pretty nasty guy. Historical documents all point to that. We have no reason to suspect otherwise. If someone disputes this, the burden of proof is upon them .
#3
zombiegleemax
Sep 14, 2004 12:25:33 Also a pretty fine read: http://www.crimelibrary.com/serial_killers/history/vlad/index_1.html

Altough it's the site from some US-based TV station, their articles are decent. The source material of that article's writer has some of the same as you.
#4
zombiegleemax
Sep 17, 2004 22:14:05 It seems obvious that Vlad Drakov was based off of the real Vlad Tepes, at leas the accepeted historical figure of Tepes. As a student of history in college I can attest to the fact that much of the mythoogy and legend associated with Tepes is greatly exagerated. He was certainly a cruel ruler and a despot, but so were countless other kings, or barons of lands surrounding Tepes. He gained so much noteriety only for his unusual penchant of execution by impaling, a fact which many people only know him by. He was also an agressive yet effective politician and statesman who resisted the mighty onslaught on the invader Turks and helped to essentially create the Romanian-Hungarian cultural identity. As with any ruler or statesmen his accomplishments have to measured in the vein of how he used his power. I'm certainly not excusing or condoning any of the brutalities he committed but I just hope more people get exposed to the real concrete information that exists about Tepes instead of making judgements based on the Western, Bram Stoker mentality about him. Thats my two cents for what its worth.
#5
zombiegleemax
Sep 19, 2004 22:50:49 Slayergirl I will grant you both that many of the rulers of the time were not nice people at all and that he is currently seen as a strong ruler in modern day Romania due to his opposition to the Turks during his second time in power.

I disagree strongly that he his actions and policies are more or less the same as his contemporaries. Considering that he first came into power in 1443 with the aid of the turks I don't even grant that he was always a spirited opponent to the Ottoman Empire - sometimes he fought with them and was effectively raised by them. His contemporaries also didn't kill 40,000-100,000 of their subjects in a small twelve year period or dine surounded by impaled bodies.

Brahm stokers Dracula is an undead monster that sucks blood on the margins of society. The historical version is almost certainly worse. Both make excellent material to mine for use in RL.

-Eric Gorman
#6
zombiegleemax
Sep 19, 2004 22:58:53
Also a pretty fine read: http://www.crimelibrary.com/serial_killers/history/vlad/index_1.html

Altough it's the site from some US-based TV station, their articles are decent. The source material of that article's writer has some of the same as you.

Very cool site and not just for Vlad. Thanks for the link!

-Eric Gorman

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 zombiegleemax Sep 13, 2004 4:24:58	Preacher of Nothing, objected to my depiction of the historical Vlad Tsepesh, commonly thought to be the inspiration to Brahm Stoker's Dracula. In response to my assertion that he impaled people for pleasure he responded "What the Hell are you on about my friend? let me ask you this....have you ever heard of a little thing called psychological warfare mon ami? yes...that's it...in case you didn't know, that's what it was. Don't believe the imbecilic western stories of a blood thirsty sadistic ruler. He was loved by his people and all the choices he made were wel thought off. They weren't the result of a sick mind just liking to see people impaled. The people he freed and kept free were his sole concern, and those that would dare come against him....kill them, and show their comrades what will happen to them. Too much have we suffered. This was his mentality. Don't consider him the wicked man that Stoker made him out to be." Respectfully I have to disagree. Vlad Tsepesh ("the impaler") was the third ruler of Walachia to bear the name Vlad. His actions almost certainly crossed the line of "psycological warfare". While many in modern day Romania still see him as a strong leader who stood against the Turks, the majority of historical evidence doesn't support this viewpoint. Most of the material that follows is derived from Dracula:Prince of Many Faces (by Radu Florescu), Vlad the Impaler: In Search of the real Dracula (by M.J. Trow), and (the somewhat dry) Vlad III Dracula: The Life and Times of the Historical Dracula (by Kurt Treptow). The History Channel also put out the (IMO) very good documentary: The Real Dracula. The better of these sources ultimately reference documents transcribed at the Kirill-Belozerk (sp?) monastary in Russia where contempory accounts were recored around 1490. Other material, probably exaggerated to a greater or lesser degree, appeared in pamphelets distributed in Russia and Germany, begining shortly following the invention of the printing press around 1500. Despite the terrible cover the book Vlad the Impaler by Avalanche Press does a fair job of treatment of the historical material in the context of use for a d20 campaign. I'll first cover the background of his families rise to power, his reign(s) of power and finally historical storries about him that resurface continually but aren't from creditable historical sources. SETTING THE STAGE The Basarab dynasty was begun around 1290 when Radu Negru (Ralph/Rudolph the Black) consolidated power in the Principality of Walachia, roughly what is today thought of as south eastern Hungary and part of Romania. A nation originally of eastern orthodox christians they were constantly squeezed between the roman catholic Kingdom of Hungary and the musslim Ottoman Empire. The Basarab dynasty split into two groups springing from the children of Prince Dan II (the Danesti) and the children of Mircea the old (Vlad I). Unlike western Europe and strict rules of succession, the boyars (lower lords) traditonally voted/appointed each the new prince. Mircea the old fought to maintain the integrity of his state but ultimately was forced to pay tribute to has a son named Vlad (II) who was given, at least initially, as a political hostage to King Sigismund of Hungary who later became the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire in 1410. Emperor Sigismund created the Order of the Dragon to uphold Catholicism and it appears Vlad II joined in 1431. This is probably where the name Vlad Drakul comes from since Drakul means either devil or dragon. In 1431 (through 1435) for sure Vlad II was made the military governor of Transylvania which was then part of Hungary. Meanwhile Mircea the old/Vlad the first passed away and was replaced by Alexandru of the Danesti faction. Vlad II, not satisfied with being the military governor killed Alexandru in either late 1436 or early 1437 and became Prince of Walachia. This put Vlad II in the "akward" potision of being a vassal of Hungary while paying tribute to the Turks. In 1442 the Turks invade Transylvania. Hunagry repulses the invasion and deposed Vlad II, blaming him for the invasion. In 1443 Vlad the second retakes Walachia with the aid from the Turks(!) His two youngest sons (Vlad III - the historic dracula - and Radu) are sent to Adrianople as hostages. In 1444 a coalition of Catholic powers rises against turkey led by the Hungarian general Janos Hunyadi (called by some the White Knight). They call for Vlad II to join their crusade. Vlad tries to wiggle out and only sends his oldest son Mircea. The crusade ends badly, Mircea blames Hunyandi, Hunyadi blames Vlad II. In 1447 both Mircea and Vlad II are killed by an uprising of Boyars with peasant levies. The maner of their deaths is unknown but later pamphlets will include burning at the stake, being burried alive and boiled to death. Hunyadi is today suspected of organizing their removal but no direct evidence supports this. Hunyadi does have a direct hand in puting Vladislav II (a Danesti) on the walchian throne. VLAD III, TSEPESH (the Impaler), aka DRACULA Disturned by the increase in the power of the Kingdom of Hungary and roman catholicism in the Balkans the Sultan gave Vlad III an army in 1448 in order to restore the suzerainity under Turkish influence. Little is known about Dracula's life in Turkish court (Dracula is the diminutive form of Dracul probably meaning son of the Dragon/Devil). We do know his brother Radu remained there, though wether by choice or as leverage against Dracula is unknown. Though initially triumphant in driving out Vladislav II, his reign only lasted three months before the boyars led a coup against him. He fled to Moldavia where he spent the next 3 years in exile. However when the Prince of Moldavia was assassinated in 1451 he was forced to flee the court and made his way west. By 1456 things had turned around. Vladislav II had become a supporter of Turkey and Hunyadi regreted putting him on the Walachian throne. Hunyadi and Vlad III jointly invade Serbia and Walachia. Hunyadi dies in Serbia but Vlad III kills Vladislav II starting his second reign. Vlad Dracula learned from his previous reign and invites 500 war weary boyars to a feast to be reconciled. With his army backing him he impales the old and infirm among them and then puts the rest to work as labor building his fortress at Poenari (which today is still standing and one of several locations claiming to be Castle Dracula). Most of the old boyars die under the castles construction. The lands of the old boyars are given to Vlad's supporters. Dracula creates a set of draconian civil laws were lying (and most everything else) is punishable by impalement. Vlad gets into the habit of feasting during the execution of criminals. Women and children are often targeted as well either for "infidelity" or as part of punishing some household. In 1459 on the Feast of St. Bartholomew's he sees one of his guests holding an hankerchief over their nose to avoid the smell of the bodies in the courtyard. Vlad has him impaled there instructing his gurads to make sure to raise him higher enough to avoid the "offending odors". Vlad considers impaling an art and impalse soldier who don't do it properly (a proper impaleent can leave the person alive for day or more). Even foreign ambassadors have a rough time in Vlad's court. He has the fezs of two turkish amabassadors nailed to their heads because they don't take them off fast enough when they meet with him. Even accounting for exaggeration by his enemies, by the time he is deposed in 1462, historians estimate he killed between 40,000 and 100,000 of his subjects. As a result of Vlad's provocations, in 1462 the Turks move against him with an army three times bigger than anything Vlad can field. Desite being an experienced general Vlad is pushed back continually to his capital. Upon reaching the capital they find a "forrest" of impaled people reported at 20,000. Many of the Turks loose heart at the sight but Radu is with them and persuades the boyars to turn against his older brother. Vlad flees Hungary trying to gather support. The new King of Hungary instead imprisons him in a tower. Dracula whiles away the time by impaling rats and birds. Twelve years later Vlad has rehabilitated himself by converting to Roman Catholicism and marring into the Hungarian court. After Radu dies of syphilus in 1475, Vlad agitates to return and in 1476 with the aid of Transylvania and Moldovia he retakes Walchia. He is killed in december that year, possibly by a Turkish spy, possibly by his own soldiers. The Turks cut off his head and take it back to Constantinople to prove that he is really dead. PERSISTENT RUMORS THAT PROBABLY HAVE KERNALS OF TRUTH Those boyars taken to build Poenari were not given replacements as their clothing is reduced to rags. Most dies from exposure during the winter. Upon seeing signs of poverty in Tirgoviste Vlad II invited the old, the sick, the maimed and the destitute to a banquet at one of his manors. Promising to free them from their earthly cares he has the manor boarded shut and set on fire. Afterwards he is reported to say "Now no one is poor in my Realm." Vlad seems to have a particular interest in impaling women going out of his way to find fault with them. In addition to brutally cutting open his mistress when she lies about being pregnant, he also comes into the habit of flaying the private parts of women before impaling them. On the positive side crime drops to almost nothing. Part of this is that the many wars in the region have dried up most of the lands non-renewable resources leaving little to steal. Most is due to fear. Vlad is credited with placing a golden cup in the center of Tirgoviste. People are free to use it but are not to take it from the square. People are so afraid of Vlad's punishments no one touches steals it during his second reign. Another storry says a merchant lost many coins from his pouch and complained to Vlad. Vlad had one of his servants place the lost coins secretly in the merchants pouch plus one extra coin and then made a public proclamation that if the thief did not come forward the whole town would be punished. The next day the merchant found the coins and told Vlad that he had found the coins returned plus one. Vlad then revealed that he had put the coins there, that he had found out who had stolen the coins, that he had impaled the thief and would have impaled the merchant if he had lied about the extra coin. LAST THOUGHTS The historical Dracula which inspired Stoker and set fire to Gothic Literature as a whole remains something of a controvertial figure. This is particularly true in the Balkans where many think of him as a strong figure who fought against the Turks. Its might be interesting to note that while German pamphelteers portrayed him as a villianous creature of evil, Russians pamphelteers generally portrayed him as a leader who got things done. The material here is the truth as best I know it. No flames intended. And if you disagree with me or the sources I've listed you are welcome to offer other material I may not be aware off. I've made something of a minor hobby (within a hobby) of the Basarab history. I personally believe the historical version of Dracula great inspiration for DLs in general and is the inspiration for the RL Darklord Vlad Drakov in particular. (Just as Strahd is based on the Stoker vampire.) -Eric Gorman
#2 rucht_lilavivat Sep 13, 2004 8:58:34	This is the version of Vlad the Impaler that I'm most familiar with. And I say this after doing extensive research on him for the Masque of the Red Death d20 book that I worked on. Eric, your research is sound, from what I can tell. Vlad Tepes was a pretty nasty guy. Historical documents all point to that. We have no reason to suspect otherwise. If someone disputes this, the burden of proof is upon them .
#3 zombiegleemax Sep 14, 2004 12:25:33	Also a pretty fine read: http://www.crimelibrary.com/serial_killers/history/vlad/index_1.html Altough it's the site from some US-based TV station, their articles are decent. The source material of that article's writer has some of the same as you.
#4 zombiegleemax Sep 17, 2004 22:14:05	It seems obvious that Vlad Drakov was based off of the real Vlad Tepes, at leas the accepeted historical figure of Tepes. As a student of history in college I can attest to the fact that much of the mythoogy and legend associated with Tepes is greatly exagerated. He was certainly a cruel ruler and a despot, but so were countless other kings, or barons of lands surrounding Tepes. He gained so much noteriety only for his unusual penchant of execution by impaling, a fact which many people only know him by. He was also an agressive yet effective politician and statesman who resisted the mighty onslaught on the invader Turks and helped to essentially create the Romanian-Hungarian cultural identity. As with any ruler or statesmen his accomplishments have to measured in the vein of how he used his power. I'm certainly not excusing or condoning any of the brutalities he committed but I just hope more people get exposed to the real concrete information that exists about Tepes instead of making judgements based on the Western, Bram Stoker mentality about him. Thats my two cents for what its worth.
#5 zombiegleemax Sep 19, 2004 22:50:49	Slayergirl I will grant you both that many of the rulers of the time were not nice people at all and that he is currently seen as a strong ruler in modern day Romania due to his opposition to the Turks during his second time in power. I disagree strongly that he his actions and policies are more or less the same as his contemporaries. Considering that he first came into power in 1443 with the aid of the turks I don't even grant that he was always a spirited opponent to the Ottoman Empire - sometimes he fought with them and was effectively raised by them. His contemporaries also didn't kill 40,000-100,000 of their subjects in a small twelve year period or dine surounded by impaled bodies. Brahm stokers Dracula is an undead monster that sucks blood on the margins of society. The historical version is almost certainly worse. Both make excellent material to mine for use in RL. -Eric Gorman
#6 zombiegleemax Sep 19, 2004 22:58:53	Also a pretty fine read: http://www.crimelibrary.com/serial_killers/history/vlad/index_1.html Altough it's the site from some US-based TV station, their articles are decent. The source material of that article's writer has some of the same as you. Very cool site and not just for Vlad. Thanks for the link! -Eric Gorman