Vlad Dracul - Tumblr Posts
(Opens the door and peeks in)
Hello! What trustworthy descriptions of Vlad do we have? In terms of describing what he looked like.
We have Nicholas of Modruš's description from De bellis Gothorum (page 1v)
“In fact, he was not very tall, but with large limbs, which impressed of power. His stern look was terrifying; нe had a large and aquiline nose with distended nostrils; on his thin and slightly reddish face were planted his wide open gray-green eyes* with prominent lashes hat were framed by thick black eyebrows, which made his appearance look threatening. Besides that, his cheeks and chin were shaved, except the upper lip (mustache). The swollen forehead increased the size of his head. A bull’s neck was supported by broad shoulders upon which swung his dark curly hair, which fell down from his head.”
*It is very difficult to translate nuances for colors because they changed from one era to another. What is turquoise for us today, for some it was green, and for others blue. For now, The CD team proposes "Graugrün", so greenish gray. Also this description is a lot more detailed than it meets the eye if you know the anecdotes of that time: aquiline nose = royal blood. prominent lashes = Good looking.
slightly reddish face = He was angry. large limbs, which impressed of power, A bull’s neck was supported by broad shoulders = He is describing him like having the features of a warrior.
2. Contemporary portraits: Oldest from late 1460s/early 1470s (In this one he is portrayed as the bad guy so his features are portrayed uglier)
Second and third oldest from late 1470/early 1480: (those are also portraying him negatively but without the ugly features)
3. His seal from his third reign:
I know what you think, "Isn't the guy from the left Vlad Tepes?" That's what I thought at first too, the CD team as well and most likely everyone who will ever see this seal. But nop, Vlad is the bearded one. "THEN HOW ABOUT VLAD DRACUL'S FRESCO FROM CASA DRACUL!?"
Casa dracul was completely destroyed in the great 1676 fire and rebuilt after. the respective fresco represents Ali Pasha from Timisoara, together with Mihaly Apafi and the mayor of Sighisoara, very probably during the first visit to the city in 1662. You can learn more about it + Where Vlad truly lived here:
So that's it, as a bonus here is how Vlad looked in battle:
My favorite depictions of Vlad (All from Dan Ianos):
My least favorite depiction of Vlad:
The Massacre of the Innocent (with an alleged and highly disputed cryptoportrait (physically degraded)) with Vlad as Herod the Great on a South German church fresco