I’ll tell you how Vlad the Impaler died. Judging by his name, one would make assumptions about the events surrounding his death. Most likely, they would be correct.
But first, let’s get his name right. It was Vlad Dracul. That’s right. He is most famously known by his family name. Dracula. Of course, this inspired the name of the vampire Count Dracula in Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel “Dracula.” But that is where the similarity ends, mostly.
He was also Vlad III. A military ruler. A warlord. In his country, this was called a “Voivode.” Vlad the Impalers was Voivode of Wallachia three times between 1448 and his death in 1476/77.
Vlad III is often considered one of the most important rulers in Wallachian history and a national hero of Romania. Today is his birthdate, born November 8, 1431.
I’m not going to get into all the details of his life because it all centers on wars and fighting. The long and short of things is this. Other countries and people wanted control of Romania / Wallachia. And Romania, in turn, wanted control of the other countries. So, they waged battle after battle where hundreds of people were killed each time, all because of lines drawn in the sand.
But to his credit, Vlad the Impaler was good at defending Wallachia all throughout his life. He earned his nickname doing so — his savage signature way of killing those who went against him.
Getting back to the circumstance of his death. I didn’t make an error in typing. The date of his death is often listed as 1476 / 77 because there are basically several different stories about how it went down.
Those on Vlad’s side of things say he was killed while fighting fiercely in a battle. The second story comes from the other side, saying that he was murdered by a Turkish assassin at a base camp and beheaded. Vlad’s head was given to some guy named Mehmed II. And unfortunately, they placed his head on a high stake in Constantinople. They chopped the rest of him to pieces. What was left of Vlad’s corpse was later discovered in the marshes of Snagov by some monks.
So there it is — half dozen of one, six of the other. No pun intended.
The thing of this, once again, is the telling of the history. This story comes from 550 years ago. Several different accounts exist, depending on which side of the fence the historian was standing on.
The exact same thing can be seen today, depending on which side of the aisle someone is standing on, as we have seen in the attempted overthrowing of an election and a failed takeover of our government.
But, the side of the fence you are standing on is sometimes affected by the circumstances you are in. Take the recent tornados that have swept across the states of Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri, Mississippi, and Tennessee. I can’t help but notice that many of those states are Red States, and as such, they are not big on the “socialism” of government aid. But, I wonder now, as they are writing their new histories, if their opinion of this will change, as they are in need of assistance.
Anyway. Back to the mystery of Vlad. We will never know. It reminds me of a quote I once read by Maya Angelou. “There’s a world of difference between truth and facts. Facts can obscure the truth.”
I questioned her meaning when I first came across this. But perhaps she was speaking to situations such as this, when different “facts” are coming from different “sources,” and in the fray, the absolute truth is being hidden.
The most difficult thing about all of this? Each one of us sees with different eyes. We come from different lives, and our perception is guided by our past experiences. Yet, we must realize that in many cases — facts truly are facts. For instance, if someone doubts this, they should go stand under the falling boulder and prove to me that the properties of gravity are not absolute fact.
And once we agree, we can thank Vlad — Dracula — the Impaler, for bringing all this to light.
=========
“Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passion, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.”
― John Adams, The Portable John Adams
==========
“Sometimes, some lies that spoken with high confidence
could be more receptive than facts that spoken with doubt.”
― Toba Beta, Master of Stupidity
=========
“Your assumptions are your windows on the world. Scrub them off every once in a while, or the light won’t come in.”
― Isaac Asimov
=========
Vlad. Dracula. Impaler. Hero. Depending.
