Dracula

Matei Cazacu, Ph.D. (1979), Université de Paris, is a research scholar at the National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS), Paris. He has published over twenty books and numerous articles on medieval Balkan, Byzantine, Ottoman, and Romanian history and culture. His most recent book is Ioan Basarab (c. 1310-1352): A Romanian Prince at the Beginnings of Wallachia (2013).Stephen Reinert, Ph.D. (1981), University of California at Los Angeles, is an associate professor of History at Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey. His most recent book is Late Byzantine and Early Ottoman Studies (2014).

• Preface to the 2004 Edition, by Matei CazacuIntroduction to the 2004 Edition, by Matei CazacuIntroduction to the English Translation, by Stephen W. ReinertAbbreviationsList of Illustrations, Genealogies, and MapMap and Genealogies1 Exile as a Way of Life“A Fortress on the Water” The Basarab Dynasty Mircea the Old The Ottoman Danger Wallachia—Strategic and Economic Issues The Succession Crisis of 1420 Vlad Dracul’s Youth Transylvania, Land of Welcome Vlad Dracul, Protector of Transylvanians Finally, the Throne of Wallachia2 A Prince and His Sons (1436–1448)A Peace Treaty with Murad IIThe Remarriage of Vlad DraculMurad II’s 1438 Campaign in TransylvaniaVladislav, King of Poland and HungaryJános Hunyadi, Defender of the Transylvanian FrontierVlad Dracul, Prisoner of the TurksThe Disaster of VarnaThe Campaign of 1445 on the DanubeThe Conflict with János Hunyadi and the Death of Vlad DraculVladislav II Installed on the Wallachian Throne3 First Reign and New Exile (1448–1456)A Transylvanian ChildhoodA Wallachian AdolescenceHostage in Ottoman Territory (1444–1448)Dracula’s First Reign (1448)Exile in MoldaviaThe Accord with János Hunyadi4 The Reign (1456–1462)“Mark of Red Iron”“A Fierce and Dreadful Appearance”The Princely Council of WallachiaWallachian Society in the Fifteenth CenturyVery Restless Neighbors“To Rule and Govern Accordingly”Matthias Corvinus, King of Hungary (1458)Vlad Dracula Alone Against EveryoneBloody Easter“And Beheaded Him Near His Tomb . . .”A Moldavian Danger?5 The Conqueror of ConstantinopleFive Hundred Young MenDracula’s Danubian CampaignAlone Against the TurksWarrior of the NightRadu the Handsome Assumes PowerCrusade or Internal Peace? 6 Propaganda, Exile, and Death (1463–1476)The Improbable TreacheryThe 1463 German PamphletThe Hungarian ManipulationDracula’s Liberation“But He Was Pierced by Many Lances . . .”A Face Covered With a Silk ClothVlad and Mihnea: The Children of “The Devil”The Descendants of the Sons of the Impaler7 Tyrant or Great Sovereign?The Evolving Die Geschicht Dracole Waide (The History of Voievod Dracula)The Incarnation of EvilA Pious Prince?Dracula “The Beloved”Discovery of the Russian Accounts of DraculaThe Tale of Voievod Dracula, A Political Manual Used by Ivan IIILaonikos ChalkokondylesIn the Entourage of Mahmud PashaChalkokondyles’ Disappearance 8 Dracula and Bram StokerOf Bats in General . . .. . . and of Dracula in Particular“Not On the Lips But On the Throat . . .”Stoker a Plagiarist?Marie Nizet and her Captain VampireThe Romanian “Journey” of Marie NizetA Family HistoryBilly the Kid Versus DraculaA New Golden Age9 The Vampire in RomaniaHow to Proceed with a StrigoiThe Vampire’s Identity CardThe Christianization of VampirismVitamin C, Weapon Against VampiresConclusionDead Vampires and Living VampiresAppendixChronologyGeschichte Dracole Waide (Anonymous, 1463)Von ainem wutrich der hies Trakle waida von der Walachei (Michel Beheim, 1416–1474)ΑΠΟΔΕΙΞEΙΣ ΙΣΤΟΡΙΩΝ: Historiarum Demonstrationes (Laonikos Chalkokondyles c. 1423–c.1474)Skazanie o Dracole voevode (Fyodor Kuritsyn 1486)Die Geschicht Dracole Waide (Anonymous, 1488)GlossaryIllustrationsBibliographyIndex

"This book is the new standard for Dracula studies. Summing Up: Essential." W. L. Urban, Monmoth College, in: CHOICE 55.6 (2018). "Bram Stoker’s iconic depiction of Dracula left a lasting mark on portrayals of vampires in popular culture. However, as Matei Cazacu outlines in his careful study of Vlad Tepes III (the Impaler), the biography of the Wallachian prince is far more complex and nuanced than the figure’s portrait in gothic fiction. In Stephen Reiner’s new edited version, which offers a clear, crisp translation of Cazacu’s French original with an updated bibliography, students and scholars alike will find edifying material on the history of Vlad III and the ways in which he appeared in German, Russian, Latin, and Balkan accounts... This first translation of Matei Cazacu’s Dracula conveys the richness of the original and the depth of the source material consulted in the biography of Vlad III. The accuracy devoted to the text by the editor and translators is admirable. Dracula will undoubtedly prove useful in curricula focusing on folklore, history, and medieval studies. It opens to English-readers the complexity of Vlad III’s rule and the ways in which his legacy was utilized in history, literature, and film." Colleen Lucey, Univserity of Arizona, in: The Polish Review 64.1 (2019)."[Cazacu's] intimate knowledge of the primary sources, his impressive command of languages, and his overall erudition are truly impressive. But what makes this book a truly compelling read is the author's skilled storytelling. Cazacu is a raconteur, and the book's appeal and considerable success... is due to its ability to address two audiences at once. The book is academically solid and showcases a wide breadth of scholarship, but it does not shy away from blood and gore... The book is a treat for readers interested in Vlad/Dracula or in the fifteenth-century history of Wallachia". Marian Comaon, in: Renaissance Quarterly 73.4 (2020).