#cd shorts

[vladdocs]

Don't forget about the 180+ Corpus Draculianum shorts!

Your question was most likely answered in one of them:

Corpus Draculianum

The first complete collection of all documents from and about the historical Dracula. Educational videos about Dracula's times, Wallachia, a

They are in Romanian but most of them have English subtitles

[vladdocs]

CD SHORTS: Who lied the most about Vlad the Impaler?

There have been so many lies told about Vlad the Impaler that it is easier to find something true in Russian propaganda shows than to decide who told the most outrageous lie about the voivode. Although we doubt that the Transylvanian Saxons are the authors of the "Stories about Voivode Dracula," the Germans, in general, played a decisive role in spreading the myth of the tyrant. For 80 years after the voivode's death, the Germans printed numerous editions of these stories solely for commercial purposes. A German was also the author of the longest and most deceitful creation about Vlad the Impaler. This was Michel Beheim, a poet who wrote heroic epics for anyone who paid him well. In over 1,000 verses, he depicts an orgy of crimes and sadism attributed to the ruler. Only a third of what he recounts is documented elsewhere. So, practically, out of 3 words, 2 were untrue, deserving as much trust as a tabloid newspaper. For more information:

[vladdocs]

CD SHORTS: What did Bram Stoker know about Vlad the Impaler?

Is there any Romanian who dislikes the country's vampire brand? Any connection to Vlad the Impaler? Hence the question: what did Bram Stoker, the Irish writer of the novel "Dracula" that started Romania's vampirism, actually know about the real Wallachian voivode? The answer is hardly surprising: Stoker knew next to nothing about Țepeș. The Irishman made a few notes (preserved today in his personal archive) from the book by William Wilkinson, a former British ambassador to the Romanian Lands. Wilkinson had written a short history of the Romanians in 1820, in which only one page was dedicated to Țepeș. There it was mentioned that he fought against the Ottomans and that his name means "dragon" in Romanian. This last detail fascinated Stoker! He moved the action of the novel from Steiermark to Transylvania and changed the name of the vampire count to Dracula. Stoker knew absolutely nothing about the impalements, the reputation of a cruel tyrant, or the medieval German stories about "Dracula", although these would have increased the dramatic substance and authenticity of his main character.

Corpus Draculianum

The first complete collection of all documents from and about the historical Dracula. Educational videos about Dracula's times, Wallachia, a

[vladdocs]

CD SHORTS: Explaining the nickname "DRĂCULEA"

Not Țepeș, but Drăculea was the oldest and most widespread nickname of Voivode Vlad III. Coined during his father's lifetime, Drăculea was the nickname that he himself used after his rehabilitation following his release from captivity. In the letters from his last year of life (1475-1476), Vlad always signs as Ladislaus Drakulya. The oldest of these is a letter sent to the mayor of Sibiu on October 13, 1475 (CD no. 26). After the anti-Ottoman battles of 1462, the name Dracula had become - let's say - a kind of international brand, which Vlad willingly assumed. However, this nickname was applied to him much earlier. The pretender Dan, his enemy and claimant to the Wallachian throne, calls him Drakule in April 1459 (CD no. 15), a name that he directly links to the devil whom Vlad supposedly follows. On an international level, the first to call him by this name is the bailo, that is, the Venetian ambassador in Constantinople, Domenico Balbi, on July 28, 1462 (CD no. 161). Balbi's letter proves that this name was known at that time both in the Ottoman Empire and in Venice. Strangely, however, no Ottoman chronicler calls him Drakula, which remains the name of his father, Vlad II, but Kazikli, that is, Țepeș. Finally, his descendants who remained in Transylvania formed the Dracula family of Sintești, ennobled in 1535.

Corpus Draculianum

The first complete collection of all documents from and about the historical Dracula. Educational videos about Dracula's times, Wallachia, a

[vladdocs]

CD SHORTS: Did the Hungarians make Vlad the Impaler a hero?

The Hungarian royal court spread a very negative image of Vlad the Impaler. We've all heard that. King Matthias Corvinus claimed to the Vatican in 1463 that Vlad had tortured and killed 40,000 Romanians. However, this propaganda campaign was just an episode of about 2 years in the voivode's three-decade political career. After realizing it was better to have him in the political and military reserve of the kingdom, the Hungarians released Vlad from the fortress of Visegrád. He was given forced residence near the royal court in Buda. When the Ottomans attacked Hungary again, Vlad was rehabilitated and presented to the Catholic world as "cruel and ruthless, yet just" and an tireless enemy of the Ottomans. Thus, the same Hungarians who had tarnished his reputation a decade earlier washed away the negative image, presenting an heroic portrayal of him in the last years of his life. How he became a Hungarian Ottoman-slaying machine, find out here:

[vladdocs]

CD SHORTS: How can we find the descendants of Vlad the Impaler?

The Drăculești line of the Basarab dynasty has long since died out. However, it is likely that there are illegitimate descendants still around today. These individuals can be identified through new technologies. DNA collected from the graves of "Dracula's relatives" is compared with commercial genetic databases that show the degree of relatedness to millions of people. Which graves are we talking about? The grave in Sibiu of Mihnea the Bad, Vlad the Impaler's son, was emptied of bones by the 18th century. The graves of his sons in Hungary are unknown, and the claims of kinship by some Hungarian nobles are dubious or based solely on adoption. The only chance is Putna. Maria Voichița, the wife of Stephen the Great, was the daughter of Radu the Handsome, Vlad's brother. Her remains and those of her son, Bogdan III, are the only ones that contain Drăculești DNA. Now, all that is missing is the permission from the Romanian Orthodox Church (BOR) to open these graves. More about Vlad the Impaler's grave and his relatives…

[vladdocs]

CD SHORTS: What did the Hungarians order Vlad Țepeș to do in the spring of 1462?

After numerous impalements and beheadings, Matthias Corvinus, the King of Hungary, became convinced that Vlad was a powerful ruler and allied with him. They promised to mutually support each other against Ottoman attacks. What exactly was Țepeș obligated to do in the face of the Ottoman invasion of 1462? He was supposed to defend 3 strategic Hungarian points:

the fortress of Severin, with access from the west to Transylvania;

the passes of Turnu Roșu and Bran towards southern Transylvania;

the fortress of Chilia at the mouth of the Danube, of great strategic and economic importance. How well did Vlad fulfill his task? The answer is simple: impeccably. Not a single Ottoman soldier set foot in Transylvania or came close to the Carpathian passes. The Ottoman supply lines were cut by the Wallachian army. At Chilia, the Ottomans suffered losses and retreated, leaving Stephen the Great alone and seriously wounded as he tried to take the fortress. The Akıncı did not manage to change the situation.

Corpus Draculianum

The first complete collection of all documents from and about the historical Dracula. Educational videos about Dracula's times, Wallachia, a

[vladdocs]

CD SHORTS: Vlad the Impaler Did Not Build Poenari Castle Alone

One of the few authentic Romanian traditions about Vlad the Impaler claims that the voivode built Poenari Castle. The Chronicle of the Land also states this.

Is it true?

Yes and no.

In its current form, ruined and unrepaired after an earthquake in the 16th century, it is partially the merit of Țepeș. One of his successors, possibly Radu the Handsome, made some additions.

Archaeological excavations in the 1960s revealed that the square tower had already been built in the 14th century.

We can only speculate who built it: Vlaicu-Vodă or Mircea the Old.

The limited dimensions meant that the tower had more of a surveillance function. Added to this was the political function, thus marking the voivode's control over the region.

Vlad Țepeș transformed the fortification into a solid refuge, capable of protecting him and his treasure in case his rule was threatened.

He probably made a serious mistake in the autumn of 1462 when he did not go there, but to Brașov, in the hands of the King of Hungary.