It’s not entirely clear whether Bram Stoker’s Count Dracula character took inspiration from Vlad III. Vlad III was a 15th-century Romanian prince known for impaling his enemies (especially his rivals). The Irish author barely mentions his famous vampire past, but it’s well established. That means interest in the CEIBS boss has been the subject of much research, not just historically but scientifically as well.
A final report suggested that Vlad may have suffered from a respiratory ailment, a skin condition and hematuria, a condition that left him crying blood. Or rather, bloody tears, as explained by Sergio Eguiza, a specialist at the Institute of Clinical Ophthalmology and Surgery (ICQO) in Bilbao: “It is due to tumors, Changes in the lacrimal duct due to bacterial conjunctivitis or pregnancy hormones. Blood vessels burst and tears are stained with blood.”
The authors of the study titled “The Count Dracula Resurrected: Proteomic Analysis of the Vlad III Impaler Files by EVA Technology and Mass Spectrometryrecently published in the journal American Chemical Society. It is the first investigation of its kind to shed light on the health of the impaler, Vlad Dracula.
To reach these conclusions, they analyzed three letters written by Romanian leaders in 1457 and 1475. For this, they used a special plastic film called EVA (that is, ethylene-vinyl acetate), which allowed them to extract 100 peptides (proteins): of human origin, without damaging the paper.
They then analyzed the samples using mass spectrometry, emphasizing the most degraded samples because they were assumed to be the oldest and thus more likely to come from Vlad than the newer proteins and to be less degraded , possibly from someone else who handled the sample. Checked in recently. They concluded that Vlad III likely suffered from respiratory and/or skin inflammation and hematuria at least in the final stages of his life. “It’s a more dramatic disease than serious. In ancient times, it was associated with mysticism and bleeding virgins,” Eguiza noted.
Born around 1428, Vlad III was known as Tepes the Impaler for his aforementioned habit of impaling his opponents. He was the son of Vlad II, and along with his brother was held hostage by his father’s many rivals, for whom he cared little. The situation was important, and he managed to get out of it unscathed.
The powerful state in the region at the time was the Ottoman Empire, which occupied Greece, Serbia, and Bulgaria throughout the 14th century. The fall of Constantinople in 1453 was a great milestone. Facing this giant, the Kingdom of Hungary and some principalities such as Wallachia, Vlad III was prince or count of Wallachia three times between 1448 and 1476.
In this context, violence is the norm: wars, murders, executions. He is said to have murdered some 100,000 people in just seven years of ruling the principality. Chronicles of the time highlight his brutality.
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