ShortHand: Vlad the Impaler - The Real Dracula
RedHanded
The RedHanded ShortHand episode examines the brutal reign of Vlad III, known as Vlad the Impaler or Vlad Dracula, tracing his transformation from a traumatized hostage to a ruthless ruler of Wallachia. Hosts
Key takeaways
- Vlad III spent five years as a hostage to Sultan Murad II after his father refused Ottoman demands, where he learned warfare, philosophy, and the psychological utility of torture.
- He exacted brutal revenge on Wallachian nobles (Boyars) who murdered his father and brother, first by impaling over 500 guests at a banquet and later by burning hundreds of poor/elderly people alive to 'eliminate poverty'.
Main topics
- Vlad the Impaler's early life and Ottoman captivity
- Revenge campaigns and banquet massacres
Notable quotes
"I did this so no one will be poor in my realm."
Conclusion
Listeners gain a clear distinction between the historical warlord's documented
Transcript preview
Speaker 1 (0:00) For many of us, going further isn't a choice. It's a feeling we can't ignore because ambition has a way of outgrowing where it began. Speaker 1 (0:11) Turning dreams into direction. Speaker 1 (0:17) Every journey brings us closer to the life we imagine. Speaker 1 (0:23) So, where will your journey take you? Etihad. Beyond borders. Speaker 3 (0:43) across Speaker 2 (0:43) the road and I realised, I was like, oh my god, my Speaker 3 (0:45) neck. Oh god, what have you done? I have no idea. Speaker 2 (0:47) My head felt weird this morning when I woke up. Like, the back of my head. I was trying to figure it out and I was like, oh my god, did I fall over? Speaker 1 (0:52) Like, what's happened? Speaker 2 (0:53) And then I realised, no, I was in the hairdresser's yesterday. And it's from the, like, sink. I Speaker 3 (0:57) see. Speaker 2 (0:58) But I was very relieved when I woke that up. Speaker 3 (0:59) Well, there you go. Speaker 2 (1:00) Well, anyway, hello everybody. Hello and welcome to... Cold open. Yes. A cold open from two warm women. So warm. Because it is balmy in Speaker 3 (1:12) London today. I know you are listening to this in October, but we are recording this in September. Yes. But don't let it dash the illusion of the festive spirit. No, I'm feeling it. We are here. We're doing this in September because for once in our fucking Speaker 2 (1:27) lives, Speaker 3 (1:28) we continue to remain ahead of the game. Speaker 2 (1:31) And also Speaker 3 (1:32) because Speaker 2 (1:32) we just love October. Speaker 3 (1:33) Spooky month here at Red Handed. So if you have been listening, you will know that we have already covered. All myriad of fucking exorcisms. We Speaker 2 (1:41) have, Speaker 3 (1:41) yeah. Witches, more exorcisms, and even occult-obsessed Nazi soldiers in an ancient castle in the Black Forest. So to cap it all off on this spookiest of all days, because today, Hannah, the day that our beautiful listeners are listening to this, is in fact Halloween Day. Speaker 2 (1:59) All Hallows' Eve. All Hallows' Eve. Speaker 3 (2:02) So, happy Halloween everybody, and let's get into it because today we are going to be talking about one of the most sinister, bloodthirsty people in all of human history. Speaker 2 (2:12) And I'm pumped, because we are talking about Dracula. Hooray! Speaker 3 (2:16) And no, we are not talking about the pale, slightly camp, garlic-averse count in a cape. We're talking about Vlad Tshepesh, Voivod of Wallachia, otherwise known to his mates as Vlad the Impaler, or, eventually, Vlad Dracula. And unlike the vampiric Count, who waits patiently outside to be invited in, this Dracula didn't wait for an invitation to tear through Central Europe, inflicting untold suffering as he went. He is believed Speaker 2 (2:47) to have impaled tens of thousands Speaker 3 (2:50) of his writhing enemies onto spikes while they were still alive. Now that's the real deal when it comes to spooky shit. So here is your final terrifying shorthand. Speaker 1 (3:02) Hannah and I have, in fact, Speaker 3 (3:04) a few years ago, been to Romania, very specifically to Transylvania, and very specifically to Vlad the Impaler's house. Yes. Well, his castle. Speaker 2 (3:13) Well, no. So I think we went to Sigishwara because that's where he was born. Yes. And there was like an insignia on the door of the dragon. Yeah. And then the castle we went to, I think, is just the castle that the castle in Dracula is based on. And it actually was really boring. It was some princess or something. Oh Speaker 3 (3:30) my God, it was so Speaker 2 (3:30) boring. Speaker 3 (3:31) But we did have great soup. Speaker 2 (3:32) Fantastic soup, but no good pictures. Because the only place you can take a picture of that castle is some really grim car park. We tried so hard. It was a fucking Speaker 3 (3:42) cool castle as well. But yeah, so we did have the very intense pleasure of going to Romania. We had a fantastic time. Transylvania lived up to all expectations and Sighisoara was absolutely beautiful. Speaker 2 (3:53) Anyway, we're well off track. This is not under the duvet. Let's get back to it. Let's get back to it and let's get back to the start, which is the start of the 15th century, where the country we now know as Romania was actually three informal principalities. Moldavia, Wallachia and the most famous, Transylvania. Speaker 1 (4:13) And, uh... Speaker 2 (4:14) The Moldavians, the Wallachians and the Transylvanians all had a pretty rough time defending their land. They were stuck slap bang in between Christian Europe and the Muslim Ottoman Empire and they just couldn't catch a break. These were sites of endless power struggles and ideological clashes and plenty of bloodshed. Now Vlad, the guy we're talking about today, Vlad III, was, surprise surprise, son of Vlad II, ruler of Wallachia. Vlad II came from a respected line of leaders, the founders of Wallachia, in fact. He belonged to a crusading Christian order, which marched under the banner of a dragon and became known, because he lives in Game of Thrones, apparently, as the Order of the Dragon. And as the leader, Vlad II earned the nickname Dracul, which, no points for guessing, means dragon. Yeah. Speaker 3 (5:05) Since Wallachia was Christian and big buddy, big pals with Hungary, and the rest of Europe. Their original enemy was, of course, the Muslim Speaker 2 (5:14) Ottomans. I only very, this is very embarrassing for me, I only very recently learned that Attila the Hun was from Hungary. Speaker 3 (5:21) Oh, there you go. I didn't know that. Speaker 2 (5:22) I think I get confused with Genghis Khan. Genghis Khan, yeah, Speaker 3 (5:25) yeah, yeah, yeah. So yeah, Wallachia, they're mates with Hungary, they're not so interested in hanging out with the Ottomans, but Vlad Sr. was only interested in one thing, and it wasn't ideology, it was power. He was known to be fickle and would switch sides on a penny if he thought his team was starting to lose. And he had three sons, Mercia, Vlad III, and Radu, who would go on to be known as Radu the Handsome. Which is a much better name to go down in history than the Impaler, like his bro. But most people probably haven't heard of Rowdy the Handsome, have they? I wish I had. I have because I'm a dork and I've watched this documentary so many times. Speaker 3 (6:08) Now Vlad III was born in the small mountain town of Sigishvara in Transylvania. Humble beginnings for one of history's most savage warlords. But to be fair to him, it was a rocky start. His father's land was constantly at war. And young Vlad would often accompany Vlad Sr. on diplomatic missions across the state. And one of these meetings would have a devastating Speaker 2 (6:32) impact on the young boy. When young Vlad was but 11, his father headed out to Constantinople, the capital of the Ottoman Empire, now Istanbul. And Vlad II had decided not to join the Ottomans