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Dracula The Legend

Vlad III or Vlad the Impaler of Wallachia was known as Dracula, meaning "son of the dragon". He defended Christianity and his homeland against Ottoman invaders. After being betrayed and exiled, he brutally punished his enemies when he regained power, using impalement which left over 20,000 corpses on the road to his capital. Bram Stoker was inspired by Vlad's brutal history when naming his vampire character Count Dracula in his famous novel.

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Gina Paschalidou
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139 views5 pages

Dracula The Legend

Vlad III or Vlad the Impaler of Wallachia was known as Dracula, meaning "son of the dragon". He defended Christianity and his homeland against Ottoman invaders. After being betrayed and exiled, he brutally punished his enemies when he regained power, using impalement which left over 20,000 corpses on the road to his capital. Bram Stoker was inspired by Vlad's brutal history when naming his vampire character Count Dracula in his famous novel.

Uploaded by

Gina Paschalidou
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© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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DRACULA THE LEGEND

This presentation will explore the origin of the character Dracula and explain some of the reasons why it is associated with vampires and the Romanian leader Vlad Tepes or Vlad the Impaler

Historically, the name "Dracula" is the given name of Vlad epe' family, a name derived from a secret fraternal order of knights called the Order of the Dragon, founded by Sigismund of Luxembourg (king of Hungary, Croatia and Bohemia, and Holy Roman Emperor) to uphold Christianity and defend the Empire against the Ottoman Turks. Vlad II Dracul, father of Vlad III, was admitted to the order around 1431 because of his bravery in fighting the Turks and was dubbed Dracul (Dragon) thus his son became Dracula (son of the dragon). From 1431 onward, Vlad II wore the emblem of the order and later, as ruler of Wallachia, his coinage bore the dragon symbol.

After being orphaned, betrayed, forced into exile and pursued by his enemies, he retook control of Wallachia in 1456. He dealt harshly with his enemies, especially those who had betrayed his family in the past, or had profited from the misfortunes of Wallachia. He has been most associated with his use of impalement.

Following the multiple campaigns against the invading ottoman turks. Vlad would never show mercy to his prisoners of war. The road to the capital of Wallachia eventually became inundated in a "forest" of 20,000 impaled and decaying corpses, and it is reported that an invading army of Turks turned back after encountering thousands of impaled corpses along the Danube River.

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Stoker came across the name Dracula in his reading on Romanian history, and chose this to replace the name (Count Wampyr) that he had originally intended to use for his villain. Stoker mentions the Voivode of the Dracula race who fought against the Turks after the defeat of Cossova, and was later betrayed by his brother, historical facts which unequivocally point to Vlad III.

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