Dracula - history or legend? (Part 3)

Alexandru Vlahuta best illustrates the cruelty with which he punished his adversaries, in a book called "From our Past". In it, he recalls an episode when one of Wallachia's royal claimants, who went by the name of Dan, is chastised for nurturing sedition: "he (Vlad) catches young Dan and, in order that he is cured of his yearning to rule, he lays him between torches that were lit on the margins of a hole in the ground that was big enough to fit him, gets priests to say prayers and wailers to wail him, and then he chops his head of and tosses his body in the eternal resting place."2

The same author recalls the cruelty with which he punishes the people of Brasov for disobedience and for having given his adversaries shelter: "he overruns the Barsa County, plunders and sets fire to its villages and to the Brasov citadel, and there, in a bay of blood pouring out of bodies that were put to the stake and much wailing of these unfortunates that were struggling to die, Vlad sits happy at the top of the table and enjoys himself with his most valiant soldiers whose hand trembles each time they raise their glass for at such a feast, in such a place, and with such a lord at the top of the table, each drink could be their last"3.

There are many legends asserting his unequivocal dislike for half-truths and lies. One of those recounts how a trader on his way to trading his goods asked for his protection. Vlad had told him to leave his dray under the open skies for he should fear no thieves. Yet, the next morning, the trader finds his 160 gold pieces missing and he tells Vlad about this. Upon hearing this, Vlad sends his men to find the thief, which they do and the thief is immediately caught and quickly impaled. Vlad then summons the trader to give him the money back and slips in an extra gold piece. The trader counts the money and finds the extra coin and tells Vlad about this. Vlad spares his life for his honesty, as he would have impaled him too had he not told him the truth.