Vlad Țepeș – Der wahre Dracula? Mensch, Mythos, Pfähler? Die ganze Geschichte!

On October 14, 1488, Marcus Ayrer printed a pamphlet in Nuremberg that electrified Europe: "The Story of Dracole Waide." The title page featured a woodcut—a crowned prince dining among impaled victims. It was one of the first mass media sensations in history. And it marked the birth of a myth that continues to fuel Halloween celebrations to this day. But who was the man behind the pamphlet really? In this in-depth series, I'll take you on a journey through the life of Vlad III Drăculea—Vlad Țepeș, the Impaler. We'll follow him from his time as an eleven-year-old hostage at the Ottoman court, through the Easter Massacre of Târgoviște, the construction of the Poenari fortress on the bones of the boyars, the legendary Danube campaign, and the "Forest of the Impaled," which forced Sultan Mehmed II to turn back. We see how his own brother Radu betrayed him, how he spent twelve years as a prisoner of war in Hungary – and how his head was ultimately sent to Constantinople in a barrel of honey. Above all, we unravel the myth: why German pamphlets turned him into a monster, why the Russian "Skazanie o Drakule voivode" declared him a just ruler, why Ceaușescu staged him as a national hero in 1976 – and why Bram Stoker, contrary to popular belief, knew practically NOTHING about the real Vlad when he created his Count Dracula. Human or monster? Hero or tyrant? The honest answer defies categorization. This episode picks up directly after the Strigoi episode – if you haven't seen that one yet, you might want to watch it first. SOURCES & FURTHER READING: – Matei Cazacu, "Dracula" (English edition, Brill 2017) – Kurt W. Treptow, "Vlad III Dracula: The Life and Times of the Historical Dracula" (2000) – Radu Florescu & Raymond McNally, "In Search of Dracula" (1972) and "Dracula: Prince of Many Faces" (1989) – "Die Geschicht Dracole Waide", Marcus Ayrer, Nuremberg, October 14, 1488 (Duchess Anna Amalia Library Weimar, Inc 609a) – Bartholomäus Ghotan, "Van deme quaden thyranne Dracole wyda", Lübeck, ca. 1485 – "Skazanie o Drakule voivode" (attributed to Fyodor Kuritsyn, 1486; oldest surviving copy by a monk) Efrosin, 1490) – Laonikos Chalkokondyles, "Historiarum Demonstrationes" (c. 1465–1470) – Vlad's letter to Matthias Corvinus, February 11, 1462 – William Wilkinson, "An Account of the Principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia" (1820) – Robert Eighteen-Bisang & Elizabeth Miller, "Bram Stoker's Notes for Dracula" (McFarland 2008) – Duncan Light, "The Status of Vlad Țepeș in Communist Romania" (Journal of Dracula Studies, 2007) – William Layher, "Horrors of the East: Printing Dracole Wayda in 15th-century Germany" (Daphnis 37, 2008) If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe to the channel and give it a thumbs up. Write in the comments: Hero or monster – what do YOU ​​think of Vlad Țepeș? And which castle have you ever been sold as "Dracula's Castle"? Until the next episode. Sleep well. If you can. — Blank Horror #VladTepes #BlankerHorror #Dracula #History #Wallachia ---- Become a channel member and support me:    / @blankerhorror   ----- Author: Cris Frickenschmidt More about "Blank Horror": www.blankerhorror.de