Romanians: Famous & Historical Trivia

1. Vlad the Impaler is better known to the Western world by the name of Dracula. What does this name mean?

From Quiz Vlad the Impaler

Answer: Son of Dracul

Vlad III was known as Vlad Tepes (meaning impaler, a name given after his death) or Vlad Dracula (Draculea). The name Dracula was derived from his father's name, Vlad II Dracul. "Drac" means "devil" in modern Romanian but at the time when these men occupied it also meant "dragon".

From Quiz Vlad Tepes

Answer: Transylvania

Vlad Tepes was born in the town of Sighisoara, which was located in Transylvania in central Romania. The town was a settlement of ethnic Germans who had migrated to Romania, and was called Schassburg in German. Vlad was the second son of Prince Vlad II Dracul, who was a claimant to the throne of Wallachia, a principality of Romania at the time. Vlad was born in either 1428 or 1431.

From Quiz Vlad the Impaler

Answer: Kaziglu Bey

There are many arguments on the name 'Dracula'. The name is undoubtely related to Dracula's father's sobriquet 'Dracul'. Drac in Romanian means devil and 'ul' is the definitive article. Hence, 'Dracul' literally means 'the devil.' The ending 'ulea' means 'the son of.' Under this explanation Dracula becomes Vlad III, son of the devil. The connoisseurs who support this explanation usually argue that Vlad II earned his devilish nickname by his crafty,however clever, political tactic.

From Quiz Vlad the Impaler

Answer: 1431

He was born in Sighisoara, Transylvania in 1431. The identity of his mother is uncertain, but the common beliefs are that she was a Moldavian princess or a Translyvanian noblewoman. His father Vlad II was of royal lineage.

From Quiz Vlad Tepes

Answer: His father and older brother were murdered

Vlad's father assumed the Wallachian throne in 1436. Vlad and his younger brother, Radu, were sent to the Ottoman court as hostages in 1442. In 1447, the Hungarian regent, John Hunyadi, invaded Wallachia and murdered Vlad's father and older brother, installing Vlad's cousin Vladislav II as Prince. Vlad reigned briefly in 1448, but had to flee. He courted both Ottoman and Hungarian support to regain his throne, which he finally won back in 1456.

From Quiz Vlad the Impaler

Answer: Transylvania

Dracula was born in Transylvania, at the time when it was ruled by Hungary. He was born in the town of Sighisoara, the second son of Vlad Dracul, the Prince of Wallachia. The country of Wallachia was a principality, indicating that it was ruled by a prince, rather than a king. Dracul was a member of The Order of the Dragon. The Order of the Dragon was a group of Slavic leaders who were dedicated to defend the Christian faith by fighting the Turks of the Ottoman Empire. At that period of history Wallachia was on almost continuous wars.

From Quiz Vlad the Impaler

Answer: Prince of Wallachia

Vlad actually reigned three times, in 1448, 1456-1462 and lastly 1476. He was known for exceptionally cruel punishments. After the death of Vlad's grandfather the region of Wallachia had fallen into disarray. It was constantly at war, crime was on the rise and their trade partners were disappearing. It is believed that the harsh punishments were meant to restore order.

From Quiz Vlad Tepes

Answer: Had thousands of people impaled

To consolidate his position, Vlad rounded up those who had supported his cousin and had them impaled, in at least one documented case, while he ate his dinner. He was known as Vlad the Impaler after this event. Impalement was a form of execution wherein the victim has a stake, stood upright in the ground, thrust into the rectum and into the bowels. The pain would have been excruciating, and it would take hours or even days for the victim to die.

From Quiz Vlad the Impaler

Answer: On three separate occasions.

He first took the throne in 1448 with Turkish support and he ruled for only two months (October-November) before being driven out by a member of the Danesti supported by Hungary. Dracula lived in exile for several years. He returned to Wallachia and kill the Danesti prince, Vladislov II, to claim again the Wallachian throne with the support of Hungary. Dracula reigned for second time from 1456 to 1462. During that period Dracula had his greatest battles against the Turks and also committed his most grisly crimes.In 1462 Dracula went to Transylvania to ask the assist of the King of Hungary when a Turkish army engulfed Wallachia. The Hungarian king, instead of offering his aid, imprisoned Dracula. Dracula managed to regain the esteem of the Hungarian king and in 1476 he once again invaded Wallachia. Dracula possessed the throne in November 1476 until December 1476 when he was killed in a battle against the Turks near Bucharest.

From Quiz Vlad the Impaler

Answer: Voivode

The term "voivode" is Slavic in origin. The crown of Wallachia did not necessarily get passed from father to eldest son. At the end of a reign the new leader was elected by "boyars", who choose from those with "voivode blood". Boyars were a class of people just below that of royalty. They would be of noble origin, be land owners with serfs and would have a position with military/administration function. Even then they had to have the position bestowed by the prince. Mircea was actually the name of Vlad III's grandfather, Mircea the Elder.

From Quiz Vlad Tepes

Answer: Six years

Vlad refused to pay tribute to the Ottoman sultan, even murdering two Ottoman envoys. He invaded Ottoman territory in 1462, and the Sultan sought to replace Vlad with his younger brother, Radu. Vlad fled to Hungary to seek support from the Hungarian King, Matthias Corvinus, who imprisoned him when presented by Wallachian nobles with letters allegedly written by Vlad to the Ottoman sultan Mehmed II, offering Vlad's support to the Ottomans.

From Quiz Vlad the Impaler

Answer: Mihnea the Evil

Vlad also had two children by his second wife, after his first wife supposedly committed suicide by jumping off a tower. His first-born son succeeded in becoming Prince of Wallachia.

From Quiz Vlad Tepes

Answer: Twelve years

In 1475, after being imprisoned in the castle of Visegrad for 12 years, Prince Stephen of Moldavia asked that Vlad be released to help drive the Ottomans out of Wallachia and Bosnia. Vlad fought in the Hungarian army in Bosnia, and then he and his allies drove the Ottoman puppet Besarab from Wallachia. Vlad's success was short-lived, as Besarab returned with Ottoman troops and re-took the throne. Vlad was killed in battle in January 1477.

From Quiz Vlad Tepes

Answer: The Order of the Dragon

The Order of the Dragon was founded in 1408 by Sigismund of Luxembourg, who was the King of Hungary at the time. Modeled on the Crusader-era military orders, the members were sworn to defend Christianity and the Cross, and to fight the enemies of the King of Hungary, mainly the Ottoman Empire. Vlad's father was a member of this order, as was Vlad by right of birth. The order lost most of its power and influence after Sigismund died in 1437.

From Quiz Romanians Away from Home

Answer: Angela Gheorghiu

Angela Gheorghiu was born in 1965 and she graduated from Bucharest Music Academy in 1989, the year when Romanian Revolution overthrew the Communist regime. This event made it possible for this talented and promising soprano to seek an international career. She has a particular affinity for the operas of Verdi and Puccini, some of the well known characters she played in her career being Violetta ("La Traviata"), Mimì ("La Bohème"), Juliette ("Roméo et Juliette"). One of her most frequent roles is Marguerite in "Faust". She was recently chosen the 74th most beautiful woman in the world by the magazine FHM - not necessarily a great pride, but an interesting fact. Lucia Popp and Maria Jeritza are sopranos too but not of Romanian origin. Nadia Comaneci is a Romanian gymnast.

From Quiz Vlad Tepes

Answer: Radu fought for the Sultan

Radu III, also known as Radu the Fair, converted to Islam during his captivity and later became a member of the Imperial Court. It was rumored that he had an intimate relationship with the Sultan. Radu led a cavalry unit in the Ottoman army and fought against his brother, becoming Prince of Wallachia on four different occasions from 1462-1475. Radu died in January 1475.

From Quiz Vlad the Impaler

Answer: Ilona

It seems that Corvinus made an aggreement with Vlad to help him regain his throne. To strengthen the bond, Vlad was offered a royal bride. Vlad's wife was left with his three sons after his death. Mihnea, the eldest, was from his first marriage. He had two sons by his Hungarian wife -- Vlad, and a second whose name is unknown. Only Mihnea succeeded in gaining the Wallachian throne and ruled from 1508 to 1509. It is believed that he could be a comparable successor to his infamous {father;} known as 'Mihnea the Bad,' he had the reputation of cutting off the noses and lips of his political enemies. He was killed in 1510 on the steps of a church in Sibiu.

From Quiz Vlad the Impaler

Answer: Because the death was slow.

Impalement was and is one of the most horrible ways of dying conceivable. There was usually a horse attached to each of the victim's legs while a sharpened stake was slowly forced into the body. The end of the stake was usually oiled and care was taken that the stake not be too {sharp;} else the victim might die too rapidly from shock. Normally the stake was inserted into the body through the buttocks and was forced through the body until it came out from the mouth. Death by impalement was slow and painful. Victims sometimes endured for hours or days. It appears that Vlad was determined at times to change it in ways that would ensure the longest possible period of suffering for the victim.

From Quiz Vlad the Impaler

Answer: Elizabeth Bathory

Elizabeth Bathory was known as the "Blood Countess". She was believed to be among the most prolific serial killers in history. It is said, in popular horror culture, that she bathed in the blood of virgins "to retain her youth". Though she was born in Hungary and her family had ties to the ruling class of Translyvania. (The exact number of her victims is not known). She is said to have tortured her victims before their deaths. It is thought that Bram Stoker's Dracula borrows from the stories of Elizabeth Bathory and Vlad III Dracula. Bathory's supposed 'pastimes' give rise to the idea of the thirst for blood.

From Quiz Vlad Tepes

Answer: 40,000-100,000

While executions for almost any crimes were common in Wallachia at the time of Vlad's rule, Vlad took revenge on anyone that he suspected of aiding his enemies, especially people from the noble classes. It is thought that he had some 40,000 to 100,000 people put to death during his reigns, mostly by impalement.

From Quiz Vlad the Impaler

Answer: A national hero

The name of Dracula was never linked with the myth of the vampire, outside of Stoker's novel. Although he was famous for his atrocities, in Romania, Dracula is remembered as a national hero who resisted the Turkish conquerors and defended Romanian national autonomy against the powerful Hungarian kingdom.

From Quiz Vlad Tepes

Answer: As a hero

Romanians today hold celebrations in Vlad's honor. He is regarded as a patriot who fought off the Ottomans and kept the country free. Many of the accounts of Vlad's cruelty come from the Ottomans and the ethnic German inhabitants of medieval Romania, who Vlad fought against for most of his life. While the tales of Vlad's behavior may be biased and embellished, he was probably no more cruel than his contemporaries.

From Quiz Vlad the Impaler

Answer: He was buried in a monastery.

Some sources claim that he was beheaded, and his head was taken back to the Sultan in Constantinople and displayed as a trophy. According to the tradition, his body was taken by monks to the Snagov Monastery and buried there close to the altar, in recognition of the fact that he had supplied funds for the monastery years earlier. However, excavations on the site during the early 1930s failed to reveal a burial site. Some suggest that he was buried elsewhere on the monastery site where indeed remains were found but have since disappeared. Others say that he is buried near the altar, but at a greater depth than was excavated. Yet others suggest he may have been buried in a different monastery altogether. No one knows for sure.

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Last Updated Apr 26 2025 5:52 AM

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