Vlad's Duels
Here's an experience of mine, and a warning to anyone trying to research Vlad III "Țepeș".
It started with my viewing of this video about a year ago (
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=NA34EZACkWY), where it says that Țepeș fought two duels for the throne of Wallachia. One with Vladislav II, the other with Dan III. I decided to look it up, and started with the Wikipedia article on Vladislav III in Romanian. No mention of a duel. There is one in Wiki English, but no source is provided... so not trust worthy. Even less could be found for Dan III.
The only historical source that I could find was from "Letopisețul Cantacuzinesc - Istoria Țării Rumānești de cānd au descălecat pravoslavnicii creștini" which said:
Quote:
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Vădislav-voievod Bătrānul au venit domn cānd au fost cursul anilor de la Adam 6935. Acesta au făcut bisérica domnească den Tārșor. Și au pierit de sabie, īn mijlocul Tārșorului.
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Which means "
And he (Vladislav) died by the sabre in the middle of Tārșor".
You may be wondering.
"Sabre/sabie"? In 1456? Shouldn't it be "sword/spată". But you see, the text was written in the late 1600s, so nothing to write home about. Thus, no word of a duel. Confirmation for this lack of any duels came only recently with this video by Corpus Draculianum group which clearly states that there is no evidence for these duels happening
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=i6mtzCJWF5Y
Why do I believe them? Because they are the best source of info on Vlad Țepeș that I have found thus far, and recommend them to anybody interested in this topic.
I
can't recommend however the following (anything that uses Florescu and McNally as a source really):
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=MY82EpsvbQ8
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=BtCjc5OwBi4
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=NA34EZACkWY
I
can recommend this part 2
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=9RoBspQiOiE and the Corpus Draculianum channel (audio is in Romanian, but there are English captions).