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Romanian
folklore
It should be taken into account that Romanian
folklore and poetry paints Vlad Ţepeş as a hero,
anything but a vampire.
Blood Noir by Laurell
K. Hamilton
His favorite weapon being the
stake, coupled with his reputation in his native country
as a man who stood up to both foreign and domestic
enemies, gives Dracula the virtual opposite symbolism of
Bram Stoker's vampire.
For this reason, the association
of his name with vampirism does not make sense to
Romanians. In Romania he is still considered by some to
be a "savior" to the people of his country. He is also
considered one of the greatest leaders and defenders of
Romania and was voted one of "100 Greatest Romanians" in
the Mari Români television series aired in 2006.
A good description of Vlad Dracula survives courtesy
of Nicholas of Modrussa, who wrote: He was not very tall, but very stocky and strong,
with a cruel and terrible appearance, a long straight
nose, distended nostrils, a thin and reddish face in
which the large wide-open green eyes were enframed by
bushy black eyebrows, which made them appear
threatening. His face and chin were shaven but for a
moustache. The swollen temples increased the bulk of his
head. A bull's neck supported the head, from which black
curly locks were falling to his wide-shouldered person.
Dracula - Vlad III the Impaler -
Innsbruck's Ambras Castle
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