He was not very tall, but very stocky and strong, with a cruel and terrible appearance, a long

straight nose, distended nostrils, a thin and reddish face in which the large wide-open green eyes
were enframed by bushy black eyebrows, which made them appear threatening. His face and chin
were shaven but for a moustache. The swollen temples increased the bulk of his head. A bull's neck
supported the head, from which black curly locks were falling to his wide-shouldered person.
Nicholas of Modrussa

Vlad Tepes Dracula

Count Vladimir III (Vlad epe ['tsepe] in Romanian, also known as Vlad Dracula) was born in November or
December, 1431 and died in December 1476. He was Prince (voievod) of Wallachia. Wallachia used to be a state which
is now part of Romania.
Vlad is best known for the legends of the very cruel punishments he gave. These punishments may have given ideas for
the vampire main character in Bram Stoker's popular Dracula novel.
His Romanian surname, Drculea, comes from his father's name, Dracul. The word "dracul" means "the Devil" in
Romanian. The Latin word Draco means "dracul" and "dragon" as well. He also got the name epe, which means
"Impaler". He was called this because of the way that he would kill his enemies, impalement. He had an older brother
Mircea and a younger brother Radu, the Handsome.
Vlad's father was under considerable political pressure from the (turkish) Ottoman sultan. He gave a promise to be the
vassal of the Sultan and gave up his two younger sons as hostages to prove that he would keep his promise. Vlad
suffered much at the hands of the Ottoman, and was locked up in an underground prison. These years had a great
influence on Vlad. They shaped Vlad's character. He was often whipped by the turks for being stubborn and rude. He
developed a well-known hatred for Mehmed, who later became sultan.
In 1456, Vlad became Prince of Wallachia. Soon, he was at war against the Turks and showed great cruelty. He lost the
battle against Mehmed's army in 1462, and escaped to Hungary, where he was imprisoned. He was set free in 1474.
There are several variants of Vlad III the Impaler's death. Some sources say he was killed in battle against the Turks
near Bucharest in December of 1476. Others say he was accidentally killed by one of his own men. Vlad's body was
decapitated by the Turks and his head was sent to Istanbul preserved in honey. The sultan had it displayed on a stake as
proof that Vlad Tepes was dead.
adapted version from the simple English Wikipedia article Vlad III the Impaler
http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vlad_III_the_Impaler
Vocabulary
stocky: trapu, rabl
nostrils: narines
were enframed by: taient encadrs par (a frame: un cadre)
reddish: rougetre, tirant sur le rouge (brownish: bruntre, yellowish: jauntre...)
bushy: pais, broussailleux
eyebrows: sourcils
threatening: menaant (threaten: menacer)
shaven: ras (shave: se raser)
swollen: enfl (swell: enfler)
locks: mches de cheveux
wide-shouldered: with wide/big shoulders
pressure: pression
give up: abandonner
much: a lot
shaped: formed (a shape: une forme)
whipped: beaten with a whip (fouet)
stubborn: ttu
well-known: connu (know: savoir, connatre)
hatred: haine (= hate)
his own men: ses propres hommes
displayed: shown (show: montrer)
stake: pique, poteau
Methodology: how to write a summary (rsum)
1. Find 10 to 15 words that are very important in this text about Vlad III the Impaler's life.
2. Note down the key dates in his life.
3. Write a short paragraph about Vlad's life in your exercise book. Do not look at the text!
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