Something I never understand is why so much of the propaganda against Vlad seems to come from Europe, specifically the Holy Roman Empire.
Vlad was a great enemy of the Turks. The Turks hated him and would certainly want to tell stories about how awful he was. But as far as I know, Turkish sources are not the primary foundation for what we’ve been told about Vlad.
He was a Christian, fighting Islam, trying to preserve his part of Europe from Muslim invasion. And the Holy Roman Empire seems to have hated him for it.
Just seems odd.
Indeed.
He was an adherent to the Eastern rite, which did not acknowledge the supremacy of the Pope. There was no love lost between the sects in the time of the Holy Roman Empire.
Vlad fought against the Holy Roman Empire, siding with the Muslims, turning against Mehmed II only after Mehmed demand he partially reimburse the Muslims for warring against the Catholics. Against the HRE, Vlad had made a regular practice of kidnapping children and slow-motion impaling them up the anus. That other bizarre and inventive torture techniques were attributed to him in no way means he was innocent of the horrific war crimes that made his name synonymous with evil even among his coreligionist Orthodox.
It brings to mind some modern-day situations.
“specifically the Holy Roman Empire”
Well, the Austrians ruled the HRE, and the Austrians also ruled Hungary. And Romania is right on the border of Hungary, in a very key strategic spot, yet the Romanians wanted to remain stubbornly independent instead of acquiescing to Hungarian rule, even as the Ottomans were swallowing up every lord who wouldn’t join the Austrians and Hungarians.