WeWriWa 2/9/2020 - Draculesti Dynasty - Torture Chamber

 Welcome back to this week's excerpt for the Weekend Writing Warriors weekly blog hop! We are deep in the throes of my reader letter, which precedes my newest novel, Defender of the Faith, book #1 in the Draculesti Dynasty series.

To get back to the other amazing authors featured on this weekly blog hop, click the sword and feather icon!  ----->

Without further ado . . . let's journey into the torture chamber.

So how do we make the jump from Defender of the Faith to Vlad the Impaler? Vlad’s battlefield tactics of impaling people on stakes are legendary and make us cringe today, but history tells us that Vlad’s were tactics worked against the Turks – an enemy that utilized equally brutal tactics, as seen in Vlad’s early life and years of captivity. He beat the Turks at their own game in terms of sensationalistic brutality. Would anything less monstrous, by today’s standards, have worked against an enemy so brutal? Vlad didn’t think so – and the stories that have swirled down through history about his time(s) on the Wallachian throne proves he was right.

While Vlad is characterized as a bloodthirsty sadist remembered namely for his methods of execution, we must remember that torture and execution were very popular during the Middle Ages and were carried out almost as an art.

Public hangings and public beheadings were festival-like occasions, with people streaming into town from miles around to witness the bloody spectacle as excitedly as we might sit down in our living rooms with our families to binge a new Netflix series. Hangings and beheadings were the tamer counterparts to other torture and execution methods of the day, such as being dragged through the streets, hanged until half dead, cut down, genitalia cut off with red-hot blades, gutted while still alive, then hopefully beheaded before being torn into four sections, or quarters. No matter how death was dealt out, families watched and cheered and added to the hype and hysteria, always turning out in droves.

Thank you for stopping by! Check out some of my new releases on my website. If you're in the Houston area, check out the ABOUT ME section on my website to see a list of my upcoming appearances and book signings!

Out of the Shadow of Count Dracula . . . When Vlad III was Sold into Slavery

Welcome back to this week's edition of Out of the Shadow of Count Dracula. Last week, we looked at what the Order of the Dragon - a special, noble, chivilric society that was designed to protect Christendom (in those pre-Church-split days #CoughCoughThanksHenryVIII #MartinLutherYouGetPropsToo, Christendom was solely Catholic and Orthodox) from Ottoman (Muslim) takeover.

We learned also how Vlad III got his infamous name - Dracula. His father, Vlad II, took the name to honor the Order of the Dragon when he himself entered. In those medieval Romanian days, Dracul meant Dragon. Today, language has shifted (as language does . . . I mean, can you imagine someone in Vlad's time talking like my teenage daughter? Bro, that new edict you issued is delicious, frfr). Today, Dracul in modern Romanian means devil. What a way to get your reputation on the wrong path just through the shifting sands of history and language translation fads.

This week, let's look at Vlad III's childhood and examine when and why his father, Vlad II, sold him into slavery. 

Vlad II

Vlad III was born to his father, Vlad II of Wallachia, House of Draculesti, and his mother Eupraxia of Moldova. She was said to be his second wife, though Vlad II took many mistresses, and still not much is known about his legitimate wife other than she was a Moldavian noblewoman. 

Vlad II had a slew of children, the oldest legitimate child being Mircea - who was set to rule when Vlad II could no longer do so - and then came our beloved and historically notorious Vlad III. His little brother, Radu, came next, then a daughter, Alexandra - who also is difficult to track down historiographically. A couple of illegitimate children are in the Draculesti mix as well, one being the eldest of all, Vlad the Monk (whose cruelty, in my research, surpasses even Vlad III's . . .) and another child named Mircea. Strange . . . lots of the same names, lots of different mothers. Oh well, it is what it is. 

Radu the Fair, or Radu the Handsome

Vlad II, pictured above, wanted to rule and live a life of luxury, and he didn't think twice about selling out to do so. Actually not selling out . . . but selling his sons. But which ones should he sell? Not Mircea the heir, no no no. How about the littlest legitimate ones, Vlad III (our Vlad) and his little brother Radu (pictured to the left). Vlad III was 11 or 12 when he was sold by his father into Ottoman hands, and Radu was only 7.

As we know from the English language, to sell means to give something to someone in order to get something in return. So what did Vlad's Dad get in return for selling his sons to an empire of known pedophiles?

Peace. He got peace.

The Ottomans promised to help Vlad II regain his rightful throne and furthermore, they promised not to attack Wallachia if Vlad II supplied them with two of his sons plus a yearly supply of gold, a deal to which he readily agreed.

Without a second thought, Vlad III and Radu were dealt away like pawns by their father, ruler of the Wallachia - and into the hands of an enemy who had a well-known lust for young boys. What makes this even more disturbing is that the practice of selling young boys to the Ottoman Empire in exchange for the Ottoman's promise not to attack was commonplace at the time, with many, many countries doing the very same thing. These young boys, sold into Ottoman slavery, were numerous enough to make an army. This army even had a name - the Janissary Army - made up of young, European boys who turned from their European ways and were now loyal to the Turkish cause.

What happened once the boys arrived to Tokat Castle in modern day Turkey? Find out more next Thursday, same time, same place. 

Out of the Shadow of Count Dracula . . . The Order of The Dragon

Welcome back to this week's edition of Out of the Shadow of Count Dracula. 

Today, we're going to delve into The Order of The Dragon. 

What was it? How does it have anything to do with Vlad Draculea III? 

Let's go see, shall we?

What was The Order of The Dragon? 

The Order of The Dragon was founded in 1408 by The King of Hungary, Sigismund von Luxembourg. Interestingly but not surprisingly, von Luxembourg later became The Holy Roman Emperor.

The Crest of The Order of The Dragon

The Order of The Dragon was a monarchical chivalric order made up of knights and fashioned after the Catholic Crusades, which we all know and love. Membership was by strict invitation only, and those invited were only those of noble and Catholic blood.

The sole reason for the establishment of The Order of The Dragon was to protect Christendom, which was solely Catholic and Orthodox in the days before Martin Luther's and King Henry VIII's splitting of the church, from the threat of invading Ottoman's.

What does The Order of The Dragon have to do with Vlad?

Vlad III's country, Wallachia (modern day Transylvania) was one of the handful of countries allowed membership into the noble order, which also included Aragon and Hungary. They were loyal to The Holy See (The Pope) and The Holy Roman Empire.

Vlad's father was the original member of The Order of The Dragon. 

The word DRAGON is an Old (medieval) Romanian word that translates Dragon from the word Dragul. Modern Romanian, however, translates Dragul -- the name Vlad's dad took to honor the Pope's holy, chivalric Order -- today translates to DEVIL. Which doesn't do Vlad any favors.

Symbolism in the Crest 

The flag of St. George rests on the dragon's curved back. The cross featured here is strikingly similar to the cross commonly associated with The Knights Templar . . . I'll let you draw your own conclusions there.

Only one dragon crest survives in its entirety and that's in the Bavarian National Museum. However, many coins, art, and writings from Vlad's time depict the dragon.

It also boasts a Latin phrase . . . O Quam Misericors est Deus, Pius et Iustus . . . which translates to O how merciful is God, faithful and just.

The ceremonial sword belonging to The Order of The Dragon 

Thank you for journeying back to medieval Romania with me today.  Until next Thursday . . . <3