Vlad the Paler

In one such judicial tradition, the rapist was to be placed in an open grave, and the rape victim was ordered to make the three first strokes on the stake herself; the executioners then finishing the impalement procedure. His clothes were taken off, and he was placed on his back. His arms and legs were stretched out, each secured to a pole. Then a stake was driven through his navel down into the ground. Thereafter, people left him to die. Cases of longitudinal impalement can be found typically in the context of war or as a punishment of robbers , the latter being attested as practice in Central and Eastern Europe.

Individuals perceived of collaborating with the enemy have, on occasion, been impaled. For example, in during the Thirty Years' War , the German officer Fuchs was impaled on suspicion of defecting to the Swedes , [64] a Swedish corporal was likewise impaled for trying to defect to the Germans.

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Finally, Emperor Leopold I had had enough of the mutual bloodshed, and banished Kops in order to establish a needed cessation of hostilities. One parish priest who exhorted his parishioners to kill the Germans is said to have broken into joy when a German soldier arrived at his village, exclaiming that a whole eight days had gone by since he had last killed a German, and shot the soldier off his horse. The priest was later impaled. On their side, the imperial troops got hold of Horea 's year-old son, and impaled him. That seems to have merely inflamed the rebel leader's determination, although the revolt was quashed shortly afterwards.

Occasionally, individual murderers were perceived to have been so heinous that standard punishments like beheading or to be broken on the wheel were regarded as incommensurate with their crimes, and extended rituals of execution that might include impalement were devised. He underwent a particularly gruelling execution procedure: A pamphlet that purports to give Wasansky's verbatim confession, does not record how he was apprehended, nor what means of torture was used to extract his confessions.

Other such accounts of "heinous murderers" in which impalement is a prominent element include cases in and , [74] the murderer nicknamed Puschpeter executed in for killing thirty people, including six pregnant women whose unborn children he ate in the hope of thereby acquiring invisibility, [75] the head of the Pappenheimer family in , [76] and an unnamed murderer executed in Breslau in , who under torture had confessed to 96 acts of murder by arson.

During the 15th century, Vlad III "Dracula" , Prince of Wallachia , is credited as the first notable figure to prefer this method of execution during the late medieval period, [78] and became so notorious for its liberal employment that among his several nicknames he was known as Vlad the Impaler. He dealt harshly with his enemies, especially those who had betrayed his family in the past, or had profited from the misfortunes of Wallachia.

Though a variety of methods were employed, he has been most associated with his use of impalement.

Vlad the Impaler

The liberal use of capital punishment was eventually extended to Saxon settlers, members of a rival clan, [80] and criminals in his domain, whether they were members of the boyar nobility or peasants, and eventually to any among his subjects that displeased him. Following the multiple campaigns against the invading Ottoman Turks , Vlad would never show mercy to his prisoners of war. He let children be roasted; those, their mothers were forced to eat.

And he cut off the breasts of women; those, their husbands were forced to eat. After that, he had them all impaled. Longitudinal impalement is an execution method often attested within the Ottoman Empire, for a variety of offenses, it was done mostly as a warning to others or to terrify. The Ottoman Empire used impalement during, and before, the last siege of Constantinople in One Venetian captain, Antonio Rizzo, sought to defy the ban, but his ship was hit by a cannonball.

The surrendered soldiers, some 40 individuals from each place, were impaled.

The Real Dracula: Vlad the Impaler

For some periods at least, executions for civil crimes were claimed to have been rather rare in the Ottoman Empire. For example, Aubry de La Motraye , lived in the realm for 14 years from to and claimed that he hadn't heard of twenty thieves in Constantinople during that time. As for highway robbers, who sure enough had been impaled, Aubry heard of only 6 such cases during his residence there. If a Christian spoke or acted out against the "Law of Mahomet", or consorted with a Turkish woman, or broke into a mosque, then he might face impalement unless he converted to Islam.

The real Dracula

Highway robbers were still impaled into the s, but one source says the practice was rare by then. All of them, however, had been strangled prior to impalement. Impalement of pirates , rather than highway robbers, is also occasionally recorded. In October , for example, Hassan Bey, who had preyed on Turkish ships in the Euxine Sea for a number of years, was captured and impaled, even though he had offered , ducats for his pardon.

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During the Ottoman rule of Greece , impalement became an important tool of psychological warfare , intended to put terror into the peasant population. By the 18th century, Greek bandits turned guerrilla insurgents known as klephts became an increasing annoyance to the Ottoman government. Captured klephts were often impaled, as were peasants that harbored or aided them.

Victims were publicly impaled and placed at highly visible points, and had the intended effect on many villages who not only refused to help the klephts, but would even turn them in to the authorities. Impalement was, on occasion, aggravated with being set over a fire, the impaling stake acting as a spit , so that the impaled victim might be roasted alive.

For example, Thomas Smart Hughes , visiting Greece and Albania in —13, says the following about his stay in Ioannina: Here criminals have been roasted alive over a slow fire, impaled, and skinned alive; others have had their extremities chopped off, and some have been left to perish with the skin of the face stripped over their necks. At first I doubted the truth of these assertions, but they were abundantly confirmed to me by persons of undoubted veracity.

Some of the most respectable inhabitants of loannina assured me that they had sometimes conversed with these wretched victims on the very stake, being prevented from yielding to their torturing requests for water by fear of a similar fate themselves. Our own resident, as he was once going into the serai of Litaritza, saw a Greek priest, the leader of a gang of robbers, nailed alive to the outer wall of the palace, in sight of the whole city.

During the Greek War of Independence — , Greek revolutionaries or civilians were tortured and executed by impalement. A German witness of the Constantinople massacre April narrates the impalement of about 65 Greeks by Turkish mob. Impaling perceived rebels was an attested practice in other parts of the empire as well, such as the quelling of a Bosnian revolt, [] and during the Serbian Revolution — against the Ottoman Empire, about Serbs were impaled in Belgrade in Reid, [] in his Crisis of the Ottoman Empire: Prelude to Collapse — , notes several instances of later use, in particular in times of crises, ordered by military commanders if not, that is, directly ordered by the supreme authority possessed by the sultan.

He notes late instances of impalement during rebellions rather than cases of robbery like the Bosnian revolt of , during the Cretan insurrection of —69 , and during the insurrections in Bosnia and Herzegovina in — Impalement during the Assyrian and Armenian genocides has also been purported. Aurora Mardiganian , a survivor of the Armenian genocide of —, claimed sixteen young Armenian girls were " crucified " by Ottomans. The film Auction of Souls , which was based on her book Ravished Armenia , showed the victims nailed to crosses. However, almost 70 years later Mardiganian claimed that the scene was inaccurate: The Turks made little pointed crosses.

They took the clothes off the girls. They made them bend down, and after raping them, they made them sit on the pointed wood, through the vagina. That's the way they killed - the Turks. Americans have made it a more civilized way. They can't show such terrible things. A Russian clergyman visiting ravaged Christian villages in northwestern Persia claimed to find the remains of several impaled people. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. For other uses, see Impale disambiguation. Extremely detailed description of the execution of Archbishop Serapheim in Vaporis , pp.

The regrettably highly partisan "Aiolos " , notes on methods partly from Guer, see for example, Guer , p. Recollection 20 years after second-hand narration, Massett , p. The Bridge on the Drina 9. A literary rendition in The Casket, from , Purser , p. Koller , p. For law text, see for example, Koch p. For a fourth description plus drawing, see Schweigger , p.

Alexander Russell, from s Aleppo knew of instances of "gaunching", but said those were rare, compared with other types of capital punishment. Examples of other such acerbic notes: Ramesside inscriptions translated and annotated: Merenptah and the late Nineteenth Dynasty. A History of the Persian Empire , p. Darnach liess er sie all spissen. Crisis of the Ottoman Empire: Prelude to Collapse In Greek language Yannis Makrygiannis — was a general and politician, hero of the Greek Revolution.

June , 10 Greeks at Bucharest, Fick p. The offer of capitulation was declined by the besieged Greeks. Alison , p. The Bridge on the Drina. University Of Chicago Press. Des Herrn von Arvieux Der Mensch in der Geschichte. He put the people in the cauldron and put their heads in the holes and fastened them there; then he filled it with water and set a fire under it and let the people cry their eyes out until they were boiled to death.

And then he invented frightening, terrible, unheard of tortures. He ordered that women be impaled together with their suckling babies on the same stake. The babies fought for their lives at their mother's breasts until they died. Then he had the women's breasts cut off and put the babies inside headfirst; thus he had them impaled together.

There are more than twenty manuscripts written between the 15th and 18th centuries [] which preserved the text of the Skazanie o Drakule voievode The Tale about Voivode Dracula. The nineteen anecdotes in the Skazanie are longer than the German stories about Vlad. The mass murders that Vlad carried out indiscriminately and brutally would most likely amount to acts of genocide and war crimes by current standards.

Most Romanian artists have regarded Vlad as a just ruler and a realistic tyrant who punished criminals and executed unpatriotic boyars to strengthen the central government. You must come, O dread Impaler, confound them to your care. Split them in two partitions, here the fools, the rascals there; Shove them into two enclosures from the broad daylight enisle 'em, Then set fire to the prison and the lunatic asylum. In the early s, the painter Theodor Aman depicted the meeting of Vlad and the Ottoman envoys, showing the envoys' fear of the Wallachian ruler.

Since the middle of the 19th century, Romanian historians have treated Vlad as one of the greatest Romanian rulers, emphasizing his fight for the independence of the Romanian lands. Giurescu remarked, "The tortures and executions which [Vlad] ordered were not out of caprice, but always had a reason, and very often a reason of state.

The stories about Vlad made him the best-known medieval ruler of the Romanian lands in Europe. Stoker "apparently did not know much about" Vlad the Impaler, "certainly not enough for us to say that Vlad was the inspiration for" Count Dracula, according to Elizabeth Miller. Vlad's bad reputation in the German-speaking territories can be detected in a number of Renaissance paintings.

Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna. His face and chin were shaven, but for a moustache. The swollen temples increased the bulk of his head. A bull's neck connected [with] his head from which black curly locks hung on his wide-shouldered person. A woodcut depicting Vlad on the title page of a German pamphlet about him, published in Nuremberg in A engraving from Bamberg , Germany, depicting Dracole wayda. Calvary of Christ, , Maria am Gestade , Vienna.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. This is the latest accepted revision , reviewed on 13 December This article is about Vlad Dracula, a medieval ruler of Wallachia. For the fictional vampire , see Count Dracula. Ancestors of Vlad the Impaler [] [] Nicholas Alexander of Wallachia 8. Radu I of Wallachia Mircea I of Wallachia 9. Vlad II of Wallachia 1. Alexander I of Moldavia? National awakening of Romania. The Third Letter []. Dracula in popular culture. Nosferatu word and Count Dracula.

Terrorism and the Illuminati: Retrieved 21 November The Histories Book 9, chapter 90 , p. Michel Beheim, German Meistergesang, and Dracula.

Journal of Dracula Studies, Number 5. The image of Ivan the Terrible in Russian folklore. Carey, Lexington Books, , Romania Since Politics, Economics, and Society , p. Postbyzantinische und osmanische Autoren. In Treptow, Kurt W. Mehmed the Conqueror and His Time. I received a complimentary copy of this title from the author or publisher for review purposes.

Why I'm giving 5 stars? A lot happened, there are many characters and I loved them all! Each one is unique, and everyone will surprise the reader. I read many, and I must admit if the narrator is annoying you can't go on, and will quit it. Well, it's not the case of this story! I laugh so many times! I'm not kidding, not just smile, I really laugh aloud.

I must be honest and say it's not a perfect story Why I'm giving 5 stars? I must be honest and say it's not a perfect story view spoiler [one example is the vampire reflection in the cars mirror, when their are in a cab Loved it, and the view spoiler [magic touch at the end of the story was perfect! I think I was in a romantic mood, and not in sappy mood One applause for the "evil" plan that start all the mess I was catch by surprise, knowing what was behind the incident. May 20, elyse rated it liked it Shelves: Vlad was just looking for a little bit of fun in the form of a makeout session in the back alley of a club.

Unfortunately he met Troy, a vampire who turned him and left him behind a dumpster. Now Vlad is looking for Troy but first he needs some help. That help comes in the form of an old friend who becomes his "Girl Friday the 13th", a LOTR cosplayer who might just be his soulmate and a few others. Overall it was a fun read. I liked Vlad, he was funny and his relationship with his "minions" was Vlad was just looking for a little bit of fun in the form of a makeout session in the back alley of a club.

I liked Vlad, he was funny and his relationship with his "minions" was well set up. Catchy dialogue and fun pop culture references. Unfortunately the pacing of the book was not smooth and there were times when it seemed to be too self aware which threw me out of the story. It's almost as though the author had enough plot ideas for several books but they sort of shoved them all into one novel. Apr 24, ManOhMan rated it really liked it Shelves: This book was definitely not what I expected.

I thought it would be another serial book about vampires, but I was pleasantly surprised by the charming if somewhat quirky characters and the witty dialogue. The story follows the newly turned "Vlad" as he goes on his search for the vampire who turned him "Troy". What starts out as a quest for revenge turns somewhat into a journey of self discovery as Vlad re-connects with old friends and makes new ones along the way.

All the charac Reviewed by Ana: All the characters are well written and add warmth and humor to the story making it stand out among so many of the paranormal stories out these days. Definitely a book I would recommend to anyone who likes the paranormal, but is looking for something different. I look forward to more by this author.

May 21, Brannan Black rated it really liked it.

It had me laughing at times and then gripping the edge of my seat to find out how it worked out. It has an unusual style that breaks many rules we authors are taught and yet, I couldn't put it down and find myself wanting more. Don't worry, the book wraps up nicely with a HEA; just saying I liked it so much, I would love to see more of these characters. And now that I've tracked you down, Ms Malthea, I'll be checking out wo 4. And now that I've tracked you down, Ms Malthea, I'll be checking out works under your alter ego. Regardless of style, this book made me feel and that comes from engaging writing.

Dec 21, Paws rated it really liked it. Good snark, great asides and a vast array of sidekicks make this one of the more unique books I've read in a long time. Someone's been watching a lot of True Blood Cyrus, aka Vlad constantly breaks the fourth wall to let you in on what's going on in the story, or just in his head. Low on the smut scale, but high on sarcasm. Give it a go! Mar 08, Sania rated it really liked it. Awwwwwww i loved this book Malthea's voice was so unique i can hear Vlad's voice in my head and everything he said either gave the giggles or the swoons.

Witty humor enthralling characters and a lead that really does say what he thinks and thinks with the perfect blend of sarcasm and self-chastising. Jan 11, Shay rated it did not like it. Mar 18, Michael rated it really liked it Shelves: Definitely deserves more than the 3.

Don't let the unfortunate choice of title put you off. Determined to track down Troy, the bloodsucker who turned him, Cyrus takes the name Vlad Don't let the unfortunate choice of title put you off. What a wonderful quirky story! I went into the book thinking that was going to be a tough read but I promised I would read it so figured I should struggle thru..

Boy was I wrong, the story was unique, the humour cutting and the characters wonderful. I couldn't put it down. This book is going onto my "favorites" shelves and I hope this author will write more Oct 06, DeeNeez rated it it was amazing Shelves: What an absolute hoot! And I'm one of them! The humor could be a bit juvenile at times, but what the hey, Vlad is 21 and entitled to it. The entire story is told in first person by Vlad.

And true, the tale is way over the top of unbelievable, but entirely entertaining. This book moved really fast in the beginning and used a lot of slang that made sense in the world the author was creating but I wasn't sure I was going to be able to finish it; however, I stuck it out and it didn't take long to get into it and the writing smoothed out and I ended up really enjoying the story. Jan 15, Sylvie rated it really liked it. A funny vampire story. I liked id very much and will keep this author on my look out list for other books. Aug 07, Shelley rated it liked it Shelves: Jul 23, Roclaf Alter -Ego rated it liked it.

A fun read but the narrator can sometimes get to be too much especially early in the book. Feb 28, Andrea rated it did not like it. I finished reading it only because that's what I do. I love vamps but not this book.