Monday, July 11, 2005
Shiverrrrrr
Two of the blogs I read have reviewed 'The Historian'. Apparently it's all about Vlad Tepes (or Tepys), famous for winning several polls for most charming person in the Dark Ages. I must borrow a copy soon.
The most chilling story I read about the good Count - also known as Dracula or Dragul from the family's obsession with dragons, such charming pets - was about his grave.
In Transylvania, north-west of Bucharest, lies the region of Wallachia.
In Wallachia there is a lake called Snagov.
In the lake there is an island.
On the island there is a monastery.
In the monastery there is a grave.
A single grave, where they buried the man who had the monastery built.
A man called Vlad Tepes.
Some years ago the grave was opened.
It was empty except for some animal bones.
Dracula walks.
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16 comments:
From what I always understood about Vlad “the Impaler”, it always amazed me that any embellishment to his persona was needed. It actually detracts from horrors of the real entity. Perhaps when a man’s legend grows beyond himself it takes on a life of it’s own, or in Vlad’s case, an afterlife of it’s own.
As for the DH vs. GW showdown, I have not traditionally been one in favor of “regime change” style of politics except for extreme cases. This is quickly becoming one in my opinion. Although, at this point, I’m leaning more to the “hands on” approach. (boy, I’m using a lot of quotation marks today). The problem is that nutbag fanatic rulers generally have nutbag fanatical followers (i.e. Hitler’s Nazis, Stalin’s hard line communists, and presently Saddam’s Bathest insurgence). You remove the head and the body doesn’t die. (Doesn’t decapitation at least kill a vampire/). So as history has taught us, these methods, how ever savory they may seem, just don’t get the job done.
How is the weather there? We just had a Hurricane. YEA!
shiver.....hmmm..this is interesting. any pointers to read up on this tuff more, JAP?
Dear Mr. Prufrock,
I'm afraid you've got it horribly wrong. "Dragul" has nothing to do with dragons. It comes from the Slavic root "Draga" which means Dear (hence Slavic names like Dragos, Dragomir, etc.). It is one of the many Slavic words incorporated into the Romance language that Romanian is. One of the Romanian expressions of endearment is "Ce draga!"
So now you see, the Western perceptions of Vlad and his legacy are very different from how he is perceived by the Romanians themselves. And on a visit to Vlad's castle in Bran, I saw no evidence whatsoever of the family's apparent love of dragons. Yes, all in Bram Stoker's imagination!
Anyway, I'm actually glad that even under the guise of the Dracula stories, tourists visit Romania and discover what a breathtakingly beautiful country it is.
Ok, so I figured out the problem. The name should be spelt as "Dracul" and not "Dragul", as "Drac" is dragon in Romanian. And Dracul was the senior Vlad, Tepes' father. The son is Dracula, meaning son of Dracul in Romanian. But yet there is no dragon obsession, only an allegiance to some medieval crusading Order of the Dragon.
No dragons perhaps, but...
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,6903,1509755,00.html
Bhegoo Bhai, try the link from my post. Can't vouch for authenticity, but interesting read.
Dan, thanks for the link. Creepy. And sensationalist.
Mikra, you didn't pick on the line about Vlad winning charm contests? Lighten up, young lady!
J.A.P.
Prufrock-da,
What is the comments section for, if not nitpicking?
yes yes, nitpicking is a must. let me also say that dracula doesnt always walk, he glides/flies too. maybe those animal bones were of a bat or a wolf. does that mean he is finally dead and we can sleep in peace.
ps: i see you and young kashyapeya have formed a little boys club. not becoming of your age, sir. mcp's, hmph!
pps: i spotted mr tangree at a coke sponsored function. when he walked by, i thought he was one of the guys who was unloading the crates of cola from the truck. then imagine my horror when he walked up to the mike and began speaking :}
ppps: as for 'fundae', if we accept oed that funda is now a valid english word, then like most english words ending in 'a' following a consonant, its plural should end with 'ae', dont you think?
Aieeeeeeee...... -locks windows, doors, wears garlic, carries crucifix, bathes in holy water-
vishnupriya,
Agendum becomes agenda. Would funda be the plural form of fundum? :-P
vishnupriya,
to nitpick further, while funda might have become part of the OED, one must essentially recognise that it is a word that was adapted from the English language to suit the structure of Hindi. (That it has now gone back to its mother language is a different matter altogether). So while i agree, phonetically speaking, with your characterization of the plural, I believe it should be spelt fundey,just as the plural of unda (egg) would be spelt undey, and not undae. :)
This discussion veers towards the fundus rather than the mens (as distinct from mentos), thus revealing a flaw in the funda-ment.
Given that the average man is more interested in the fundament than in the mentality of pluralities, we should perhaps cease banalities. Or dive into them with glee, adopting the "ando ka funda".
Ye Gods and little fishes!
J.A.P.
@ vishnupriya,
and in continuation of my comments on my blog, it's kaashyapeya, for chrissake.who in bob's name is kashyapeya? puh-leeez.
tee hee
YEEKS!!! first time here and am scared!! lol
NOMOSHKAR!!
erm....ok now i wont sleep !!
something about this thread reminds me of Amartya Sen's "The Argumentative Indian".
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