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Vlad Tepes
Most accept that there is a link between Bram Stoker's Count Dracula and the historical figure of Vlad
Tepes, the 15th century ruler of Wallachia, known for his ruthlessness and his bloody atrocities, who was also known as Dracula. A debate rages though about how closely Stoker modeled his vampire after Vlad
Tepes. Some point out numerous similarities between Count Dracula and Vlad Tepes and claim that Stoker deliberately used Vlad Tepes as his model for Dracula. But Professor Elizabeth Miller maintains that Bram Stoker merely made use of a name he found in a book by William Wilkinson, entitled An Account of the Principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia. In his notes Stoker commented on a footnote from the book, "Dracula in Wallachian language means Devil." She states he liked the name and used it without knowing much about the original Dracula. For a good summary of this debate, check out
http://www.donlinke.com/drakula/vlad.htm
and of course Dr. Elizabeth Millers -- Dracula's Homepage http://www.ucs.mum.ca/~emiller
My opinion on the debate -- as a writer, I can well imagine Stoker being attracted to the name Dracula, a great name is a great name, and believe me Dracula is a great name. I'm always looking for interesting names, watching the credits at ends of movies, reading phone books. In fact, I sometimes wonder if Dracula would have been as popular without the name. After all, do we remember the name of John Polidori's vampire? Or would it be the same if it was Count
Tepes? Yes, I tend to agree with Professor Miller, I think Stoker used the name without trying to write about a historical figure because it is a lot easier to make up a character than be tied to a need for historical accuracy.
Then you have a few facts, first, Vlad Tepes was Vlad III, a Prince (Voivode), the ruler of
Wallachia. He was not a count, nor was he from Transylvania, although the vampire legends, the hysteria that had spread across Europe in the late 1700s and early 1800s was from Transylvania. Then we have Vlad's atrocities. He was, depending on who was writing the accounts, either a cruel barbarian who impaled 10,000 to 30,000 people at a time, whose cruelty included women and children and such senseless acts as nailing hats to ambassador's heads, or he was a great warrior who fought the Turks, took away the power of the boyars and raised up the common people, whose harsh punishment created a kingdom without crime, and who hated lies and awarded honesty. His acts though excessive were no more than what others were doing at the time. He was not known as a vampire or a drinker of blood. Stoker's Dracula, though evil, did not revel in thousands dying. Today in Romania, Vlad Tepes is considered a national hero and Stoker's Dracula is a banned book.
For a good and concise history check out Ray Porter's The Historical Dracula: Vlad III Tepes (1431-1476) which was posted to the alt.vampyres list in April 1992. This history has become one of the standards and can be found on several sites and quoted extensively. It is a good place to start finding out about the real Vlad
Tepes.
http://www.nat.vu.nl/~radu/vlad.html and http://www.eskimo.com/~mwirkk/vladhist.html
Of course, Bram Stoker wasn't the only one who has written about Dracula. Most modern writers who write about Dracula link him to Vlad
Tepes. These include: Jeanne Kalogridis, in her series The Diaries of Family
Dracul. Fred Saberhagen's 9 books series, including Holmes-Dracula File, which bring Holmes and Dracula together. Saberhagen also co-authored the adaptation of the movie Francis Coppola's Bram Stoker's Dracula, which definitely links Dracula and Vlad
Tepes. And Kim Newman in his alternate history series which started with Anno Dracula, where Dracula survives, marries Queen Victoria, and brings forth a whole new race of vampires.
You can find out more at these authors' homepages.
Jeanne Kalogridis
http://www.opa.com/vampire/Dracula.html
Jeanne's site includes some interesting pictures and a brief history as well as information about her series.
Fred Saberhagen
http://www.berserker.com/FredsDracula.html
Kim Newman's Official Site - Dr. Shade's Laboratory
http://indigo.ie/~imago/newman.html
You can also read Newman's online novella about Coppola filming Dracula in Romania
Coppola's Dracula
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/iplus/stories/coppola.htm
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