Vlad the Impaler, the Truth Behind the Myth: His Youth and Fight Against the Ottoman Empire

Abstract

Vlad Țepeș “the Impaler” is the most famous figure of the Romanian Middle Ages. Sadly, his world fame is due to Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel. For over 120 years, imagination proved to be stronger for the public at large than historical truth. We do not wish to get into an argument regarding the myth of the cruel, bloodthirsty or even vampiric prince. It is neither the place nor our role to venture onto such moving sands. What we have been concerned with is the openness with which Romanian specialists have dealt with this hero of the Middle Ages, whom they have thoroughly explored. Still, the enthusiasm and willingness to turn Vlad the Impaler into a hero, into a man of moral probity beyond his epoch, have made historians treat the first part of his life tersely and even insufficiently interpret aspects of his glorious moments, i.e. the confrontations with the Ottoman Empire. His period is therefore a puzzle whose pieces must still be arranged. That is what we are going to do in this study, namely to bring forward some additional facts of his tumultuous existence by reviewing some of the most important hypotheses issued in historiography and by permanently relating to the foreign context of his policy.