The Image of the Prince Vlad III. Ţepeş (Dracula) in Literature

This bachelor thesis focuses on an important historical character, the Wallachian prince, Vlad the III. Tepes, otherwise known as Dracula. Vlad III. was a prominent figure in the Romanian history and its literature. One of the oldest Romanian literary works is partly about his person, mainly a celebration of his reign and himself. Some works, also covered in this thesis, make it difficult to fully understand his role as they depict the ruler as a vampire and a negative figure in the fictional literature and the history of Romania. The introduction of this work focuses on the life and reign of this ruler. The second part examines literature with Vlad III. as a protagonist. Works of different genres and origins (English, Romanian, Czech) will be used as examples. The last part establishes a comparison between these literary works and also a comparison of documented historical facts against myths and superstitions. The chosen works are, Bram Stoker: Dracula, Ion Budai-Deleanu: Ţiganiada, Corneliu Leu: Plângerea lui Dracula a Jaroslav Tichý: Kníže Dracula a jiné hradní pověsti. A characteristics of the work, analysis of characters and the storylines, the circumstances behind the origins of each work and its possible future influences on the other works will be stated