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The Reputation of Vlad Ţepeş
The reputation of Vlad Ţepeş was considerably darker
in Western Europe than in Eastern Europe and
Romania. In
the West, Vlad III Ţepeş has been characterized as an
exceedingly cruel madman.
Narcissus in Chains by
Laurell K. Hamilton
The number of his victims
ranges from 40,000 to 100,000. Much of the
information about his atrocities and cruelty comes from
the German stories written about him, which were for the
most part politically, religiously and economically
inspired propaganda against Vlad Ţepeş.
Although some of
the stories have some basis in reality, most of them are
either fictional or exaggerated. According to the German
stories the number of victims he had killed was at least
80,000. In addition to the 80,000 victims mentioned he
also had whole villages and fortresses destroyed and
burned to the ground.
These numbers are most likely
exaggerated. For example in one episode in the German
stories Vlad impaled 600 merchants from Braşov and
confiscated all their goods. A document written by
Vlad’s rival Dan III in 1459 mentions that forty one
merchants were impaled. It is highly unlikely that a
rival of Vlad’s would have reduced the number of Vlad's
victims.
Dracula - Vlad III the Impaler
The atrocities made by Vlad in the German stories
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