Criminal Masterminds

by Anne Williams

  a brief history

  Vlad the Impaler, otherwise known as Vlad III, Dracula, Drakulya, or Tepes, was born in late 1431 in the town of Sighisoara, Transylvania. He was the second son of Vlad II, or Dracul, who was the military governor of the principality of Wallachia. Vlad Dracul was also a knight in the Order of the Dragon, which was a secret fraternity created in 1387 by the emperor. The Order was a group of Slavic rulers and warlords who were sworn to uphold the Christian faith by defending their empire against the Turks of the Ottoman Empire.

  Vlad Dracul was not happy to simply serve as the governor of Wallachia and started to gather supporters in 1431 with the aim of taking over control from Alexandru I, the residing Danesti prince. Five years later, Vlad Dracul succeeded with his plan and killed Alexandru and became Prince Vlad II. He took up residence in the palace of Tirgoviste, which is where the young Vlad Tepes had his first taste of the luxurious lifestyle that he grew to love.

  After two years of his reign, Vlad II betrayed the Order of the Dragon by forming an alliance with the Turks. His next move probably had a devastating effect on his sons, as he offered Vlad Tepes and his younger brother, Radu, as security that he would not attack the Turks. However, in 1447, Vlad II was assassinated by one of his own relatives, John Hunyadi, who had devoted his life to the Order and did not approve of Vlad II’s defiance. Despite the fact that Hunyadi tried to persuade Vlad II to join his Christian forces, he continued to remain neutral and sent his eldest son, Mircea, instead. The Christian army was completely destroyed in the Battle of Varna, although Hunyadi managed to escape. Hunyadi felt hostile towards Vlad II and Mircea and arranged for them both to be assassinated.

  Although Vlad Tepes was granted his freedom after his father’s death, Radu decided to stay on and support the Turks. While Vlad Tepes was still in captivity, he learned that his elder brother, Mircea, was buried alive after his eyes were gouged out by the boyars of Tirgoviste, and he started to plot his own revenge.

  a brief reign

  The throne of Wallachia, which rightfully belonged to Vlad Tepes, was now occupied by the boyars. With the help of the Turkish cavalry, the now seventeen-year-old Vlad Tepes, managed to briefly seize the Wallachian throne, and became Vlad III. His reign was to be very short, because within two months, Hunyadi forced Vlad III to relinquish his throne and he fled to his cousin, the Prince of Moldavia. Hunyadi appointed Vladislov II to the post, but he unexpectedly set in motion a pro-Turkish policy, which Hunyadi could not accept. Vlad III turned to Hunyadi, despite the fact that he was his father’s old enemy, and forged an allegiance with him to try and retake the throne by force.

  In 1453, the Christian world suffered when Constantinople fell to the Turks. Hunyadi built up his strength and prepared for battle, but the attack on Turkish Serbia did not take place until 1456. While Hunyadi attacked the Turks, Vlad III invaded Wallachia, defeating Vladislav II, to reclaim his throne. Hunyadi was killed at the Battle of Belgrade and his army defeated, news of which pleased the new ruler. Little did the citizens of Wallachia realise that this was to be the start of Vlad III’s reign of blood and terror.

  vlad the impaler

  As soon as Vlad III was back on the throne, he set about getting his revenge, not only for his father’s and brother’s deaths, but also on those who usurped his power. He started by building himself a lavish home, Poenari Castle on the Arges River. The building of the castle was strenuous work and many of the slaves – the boyers responsible for kiling his father and brother – died in the process. Condemned to a life of slavery, their health suffered and many were forced to work naked as their clothes literally fell to pieces. Vlad III, did not see the slaves as human beings and treated them worse than animals. He hated weakness of any kind and he devised methods of torture to punish any insubordinatation.

  Vlad III established his capital at Tirgoviste and one day he decided he wanted to cleanse his empire of those people who he considered to be lazy, unproductive, sick, handicapped or simply because they were born into poverty. He sent out a proclamation stating that no one should go hungry in his empire and invited all his poor and unfortunate subjects to a banquet in the great hall at Tirgoviste. There was much excitement as the guests gathered in the hall, completely unaware that this was just Vlad’s way of eliminating anyone who he considered tainted his ideal concept of what society should be. There was much joviality as the guests filled themselves with food and drink enjoying the luxuries provided to them by their generous prince. When everyone had taken their fill and were feeling complacent, Vlad made his appearance and stood in front of the crowd. The crowd cheered and raised their glasses in thanks. Vlad then asked them if they would enjoy never having to feel the pain of hunger ever again and if they would like to be free of any further worries. Of course, the crowd were enthusiastic, imagining a future life of constant luxury.

  Vlad ordered his soldiers to board up the hall with all of his subjects still inside and then set it ablaze – not one person escaped. As if his treatment of his subjects wasn’t bad enough, the atrocities he carried out against his enemies and anyone who disobeyed him, were far worse. He created an extremely harsh code of conduct for the citizens of Wallachia and anyone who broke the code was impaled and left in view as a warning. On St. Bartholomew’s Day, he had impaled as many as 30,000 merchants who he said had disobeyed his trade laws. Their bodies were left to rot outside the city walls as a reminder of what would happen if anyone else dared to flout his rules.

  Vlad soon became infamous for his inhumane cruelty and rumours spread about his empire that he ate the flesh and drank the blood of his victims. Vlad was very proud of his work and liked to arrange his victims in geometric patterns, using the length of the stake to determine their rank. Because he loved to see his victim’s suffer, Vlad used impalement as his preferred method of torture as it was one of the most gruesome and painful ways to die. He carried out his torture in various ways, but he usually had a horse attached to each of the victim’s legs and then a sharpened stake was gradually forced into the body. Vlad made sure that the end of the stake was not too sharp so that his victim would die slowly, and it was forced up the anus until it came out of the mouth. The impaled would then be hoisted up so that their own weight literally dragged them down onto the thick stakes.

  Other hapless victims had their eyes gouged out, were decapitated, skinned alive, boiled, burned, dismembered, eviscerated and even simply disfigured just for Vlad’s own entertainment. Turkish ambassadors who refused to remove their turbans in his presence were asked why they insulted the prince in such a manner. When they told him that it was their custom to leave their hats on, he repaid them by having them nailed permanently to their heads. Vlad watched in delight as the men writhed in agony as large nails were driven into their skulls.

  Vlad was obsessed with a moral code and was particularly concerned with female chastity. Women who lost their chastity or were unfaithful to their husbands, were subjected to Vlad’s cruelty. He went as far as having his own mistress disembowelled in public because she lied about bearing his child. In fact. Vlad loved to torture women, it gave him some sort of sadistic pleasure. He often had their breasts and sexual organs mutilated and it was rumoured that he forced mothers to eat their own babies.

  It wasn’t long before Vlad’s tyranny was such that no one dared to oppose his laws. In fact his subjects were so scared that he flaunted his authority by leaving a gold cup on permanent display in the middle of the central square of Tirgoviste. The cup remained untouched as everyone was fully aware of what the consequences would be.

  Many historians have tried to justify Vlad’s actions on the basis of political necessity, although in reality it was probably his desire for revenge and a lust for overwhelming power. Throughout his reign Vlad continued his efforts to eradicate the old boyar classes out of Wallachia, determined to introduce his more modern approach and to gain a firm and respected footing in his empire. As he got rid of the boyars he replaced them with new, middle-
class men – men he knew would be loyal to him.

  beaten by the turks

  For the most part, Wallachia had been free from attack from the Turks during the reign of Vlad III. However, a new sultan came to power in 1461 and the Ottoman Empire once again turned their attentions to Wallachia. Vlad was informed of the approaching Turkish army, and knowing that his army would be greatly outnumbered, he planned a daring venture. He waited until it was the middle of the night before leading a small elite force into the Turkish camp. His aim was to catch the sultan off guard and kill him in the hope of demoralising his troops. Due to the element of surprise and Vlad’s knowledge of the rough terrain around the camp, his mission was almost successful, although they only managed to wound the sultan.

  His attack on their camp only succeeded in making the Turks more determined and Vlad prepared to flee from Targoviste. His wife, who believed that escape from the Turks was impossible, committed suicide by jumping into a river from one of the battlement towers. Vlad managed to escape through a secret passage, with a few guards and his infant son, and fled across the mountains. Not wishing to leave anything for the sultan and his army, he ordered for his kingdom to be completely destroyed. Village after village was razed to the ground and the wells were poisoned.

  When the Turks arrived at Targoviste they were shocked to find thousands of dead Turkish prisoners impaled on stakes outside the ruined city’s walls. The stench of the decomposing bodies filled the air, which nauseated the sultan’s army.

  As Vlad and his party escaped through the forest on horseback, he was hit by tragedy for the second time. The servant who was carrying his young son dropped him by mistake, but the Turks were too hot on their heels for them to stop and pick him up. They were forced to leave him behind which meant that Vlad had lost two members of his family in one day. Seeking refuge, Vlad turned to King Matthias Corvinus of Hungary for help. King Matthias was fully aware of Vlad’s evil reputation and as soon as he arrived he was thrown into prison in Visegrad, the Hungarian capital.

  years of confinement

  Although it is uncertain exactly how long Vlad III was held in confinement, it has been indicated that he was a prisoner from 1462 until 1474. It is rumoured that Vlad continued his lust for blood during his years of internment, finding small animals such as rats, cats, birds and insects to impale on sticks just for the fun of it.

  Over time Vlad was gradually able to win back favour with King Matthias. He also caught the eye of the king’s sister, Ilona, who used her influence on her brother to allow Vlad to have his freedom. Although the king allowed them to marry, he told Vlad he had to remain within the constraints of the city. He was given his own rooms within the palace, which was a far cry from the musty dungeon he was used to. Vlad’s new wife bore him a son and slowly, he managed to gain the confidence of the king until he was eventually granted full freedom.

  return to the throne

  During his years of confinement, Vlad’s brother Radu had occupied the throne of Wallachia. Radu was not very popular with the people of Wallachia and had made an enemy of King Matthias through his treachery to the Order of the Dragons. Surprisingly, Vlad still had supporters among some of his former subjects because, despite his cruelty, he had managed to create an orderly society that was totally free of crime. Vlad decided it was time to reclaim the throne and joined forces with King Matthias and Prince Stefan Bathory of Transylvania.

  Vlad and his 5,000-strong Christian army were successful in defeating the sultan, but he never had the satisfaction of dethroning his brother, who had died of syphilis two years earlier. Radu had been succeeded by Prince Basarab the Old, a member of the Danesti clan. When Basarab heard of Vlad’s approaching army, he fled along with his cohorts, leaving Vlad to take the throne of Wallachia for the third and final time. Although Vlad was back in power, things would never be the same again. Shortly after taking the throne, Prince Bathory and the majority of Vlad’s forces returned to Transylvania, which left Vlad in a vulnerable position. Before he was able to build up a new army, a large Turkish army marched its way into Wallachia. Vlad, who had less than 4,000 men, was forced to march and meet the Turks.

  Vlad, the ever fearless warrior, fought against all odds, refusing to accept defeat. Vlad died in this final battle against the Turks, although there is much speculation as to how he lost his life. Some reports say that he was assassinated by disloyal Wallachian boyars, while others have him falling in defeat. Another report claims that he was killed by one of his own men in error, as he was mistaken for a Turk while disguised in one of their uniforms. The one undisputed fact is that his body was ultimately decapitated by the Turks and his head sent to Constantinople. The sultan had it displayed on the top of a stake as proof that the vile Vlad the Impaler had finally met his death.

  Gilles de Rais

  Gilles de Rais is a fascinating historical figure with a Jeckyl and Hyde character. He was a brave and skilful soldier who, as France’s military chief was a celebrated wartime companion of Joan of Arc, and yet this same energy and drive compelled him to commit sinister acts. It is hard to believe that the man who had helped save France from utter defeat during the Hundred Years War, kidnapped, tortured and murdered hundreds of peasant children – mostly young boys – in search of sexual thrills. His quest for more wealth to maintain him in his extravagant lifestyle would ultimately lead to his downfall.

  growing up

  Guy de Rais married Marie d’Craon purely for political and financial reasons, and there is little evidence that they ever loved each other. Nine months after they were married, Marie bore two sons, Gilles (in 1404) and two years later Rene. The early years of Gilles life were relatively uneventful being raised among the gentry in the château of Machécoul on the borders of Brittany. As the son of one of the wealthiest men in  France, he was brought up by nursemaids and expected to behave like a miniature adult. He rarely saw either of his parents and it wasn’t until he reached the age of seven – which is the age reason in French society – that he started his training to become a nobleman. He was trained in the classic arts and learned to read and write Latin and Greek. In addition, he was trained in military arts and the ways of the royal court. Gilles excelled at his military training, but when it came to his political skills, he was a little rough around the edges.

  Marie de Rais died in 1415 and a short while later Guy de Rais was killed whilst out hunting boar in the woods near one of the family’s large estates. Before Guy died, he had left a will giving instructions that his sons were to be raised by a cousin, Jean Tournemine de la Junaudaye. He left strict instructions that they were not to be raised by his father-in-law, Jean d’Craon, who was renowned for his bad temper. However, the terms of his will were ignored and the two boys were sent to live with their grandfather. Jean d’Craon’s own son had been killed at the battle of Agincourt in 1415, which meant that Gilles became sole heir to the vast family fortune.

  Jean d’Craon was a powerful lord with no ethics and was a poor influence on the two de Rais boys. Where once they had been closely supervised and educated in morals, ethics and religion, in their new home at Champtoce castle, Gilles and Rene were allowed to run free. Once lesson that Gilles did learn from his grandfather, and one that was to have a great influence on his later life, was the fact that as heir to one of the largest fortunes in France, he was above the law. It was these years in Champtoce that the young Gilles developed the demons that were to haunt him in his adult life.

  Jean d’Craon had no scruples about using Gilles to increase his own fortune, and when he was just thirteen years old, his grandfather negotiated a marriage between Gilles and Jeanne Peynel, the daughter of Lord de Hambye of Normandy. This unison would have made the d’Craons the most powerful family in France, but the French parliament forbade the marriage until Jeanne Peynel reached the legal age.

  Ten months later, d’Craon tried to arrange a marriage between Gilles and Beatrice de Rohan, who was the niece of the Duke of Brittany, but again he m
et with no success.

  When Gilles was sixteen, the subject of marriage was raised again and this time, with the help of his grandfather, he abducted his cousin, Catherine de Thouars. They were married in 1420, which meant that the de Rais fortune was now greatly increased.

  gilles the soldier

  For the sake of brevity, Gilles’ military career has been shortened to a few paragraphs. The insanity of Charles VI, and the power struggle which ensued, was the root of French problems. In 1420, Charles VI (controlled by his wife) disinherited his son, the Dauphin Charles VII, allowing a peace treaty with England that named Henry V as heir to the French throne. However, this was an unpopular decision. Many people in France considered the Dauphin to be the rightful heir to the throne, due to his father’s insanity. Among the Dauphin’s supporters were Jean d’Craon and Gilles de Rais. Gilles was Prince Regent at Chinon at the time and benefitted from the support of the Dauphin.

  In 1429, a seventeen-year-old peasant girl called at Chinon demanding to see the Dauphin. She was a strange girl who claimed to have heard the voices of saints telling her she must go and relieve the besieged city of Orleans and deliver the throne to Charles. This young girl was Joan of Arc. Despite the fact that Charles thought she was mad, he decided it was worth a try and gave her an army. Charles told Gilles to accompany Joan on her mission, possibly because he noticed that Gilles seemed infatuated by the girl’s boyish figure.