Word: vlad
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...wife and I were very pleased to see the article on Dracula. We met almost under the shadow of Vlad Tepes' birthplace on one of the first Dracula tours, and it was love at first bite...
...Vlad the Impaler. In fact, the historical Prince Vlad Dracula is scarcely an improvement over the legendary Count Dracula. In his day, the prince was known as Vlad Tepes (pronounced Tsep-pesh) or Vlad the Impaler. Reason: his favorite method of killing enemies was to impale them on wooden poles. He was fond of dining outdoors, surrounded by a veritable forest of impaled men, women and children. According to one account, Vlad remarked, "Oh, what great gracefulness they exhibit!" as he watched his victims writhe in their death agonies...
Contemporary chronicles testify to Vlad's many ingenious cruelties. When envoys from the Turkish Sultan refused to remove their turbans in Vlad's presence on the ground that this was not their custom, Vlad replied: "I would like to reinforce your custom." He thereupon ordered the turbans nailed to the Turks' heads. Vlad once gathered a "multitude" of sick and poor citizens in a castle, then bolted the doors and burned them alive so "there should be no more poor in my realm, leaving only the rich...
Despite these excesses, Rumanian historians note, Vlad effectively maintained law-and-order in his realm and ably defended it against foreign aggression. It so happens that Vlad's virtues, not his vices, are similar to those attributed to Rumania's present-day dictator. While ironhandedly ruling his country, Ceausescu credits himself with keeping both Western imperialism and Soviet expansionism at bay. Summing up the lessons of Vlad's reign, one Rumanian historian notes, "The country can only prosper under authoritarian rule." More turgidly, another Communist analyst contends that Vlad exemplifies "love for the fatherland, undaunted support...
...Vlad met a fitting end not always stressed by Rumanian historians. After being captured by Turks in 1476, he was decapitated. His head was sent to Constantinople, where it was publicly displayed on a stake-the impaler impaled. Dracula's headless body is said to be buried in the monastery of Snagov, near Bucharest. It was there last week that a party-line-conscious priest observed of Rumania's new hero: "Vlad was a good Christian and he loved the truth. If he impaled people it was just to put a stop to injustice by noblemen at home...