The House of Drăculești () were one of two major rival lines of

Wallachia Wallachia or Walachia (; ; : , : ) is a historical and geographical region of modern-day Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and south of the Southern Carpathians. Wallachia was traditionally divided into two sections, Munteni ...

voivode Voivode ( ), also spelled voivod, voievod or voevod and also known as vaivode ( ), voivoda, vojvoda, vaivada or wojewoda, is a title denoting a military leader or warlord in Central, Southeastern and Eastern Europe in use since the Early Mid ...

s of the

House of Basarab The House of Basarab (sometimes spelled as Bazarab, ) was a ruling family that established the Principality of Wallachia, giving the country its first line of List of rulers of Wallachia, Princes, one closely related with the House of Bogdan-Mu ...

, the other being the House of Dănești. These lines were in constant contest for the throne from the late fourteenth to the early sixteenth centuries. Descendants of the line of Drăculești would eventually come to dominate the

principality A principality (or sometimes princedom) is a type of monarchy, monarchical state or feudalism, feudal territory ruled by a prince or princess. It can be either a sovereign state or a constituent part of a larger political entity. The term "prin ...

, until its common rule with

Transylvania Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a List of historical regions of Central Europe, historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and ...

and

Moldavia Moldavia (, or ; in Romanian Cyrillic alphabet, Romanian Cyrillic: or ) is a historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester River. An initially in ...

by Mihai Viteazul in 1600.

Etymology

The line of the Drăculești began with

Vlad II Dracul Vlad II (), also known as Vlad Dracul () or Vlad the Dragon (before 1395 – November 1447), was Voivode of Wallachia from 1436 to 1442, and again from 1443 to 1447. He is internationally known as the father of Vlad the Impaler, or Dracula. Bo ...

("the Dragon"), son of one of the most important rulers of the Basarab dynasty,

Mircea the Elder Mircea the Elder (, ; 1355 – 31 January 1418) was the Voivode of Wallachia from 1386 until his death in 1418. He was the son of Radu I of Wallachia and brother of Dan I of Wallachia, after whose death he inherited the throne. After the dea ...

. The name is the

patronymic A patronymic, or patronym, is a component of a personal name based on the given name of one's father, grandfather (more specifically an avonymic), or an earlier male ancestor. It is the male equivalent of a matronymic. Patronymics are used, b ...

of , which according to most historians is derived from the 1431 membership of Vlad II in the

Order of the Dragon The Order of the Dragon (, literally "Society of the Dragonists") was a Chivalric order#Monarchical or dynastical orders, monarchical chivalric order only for selected higher aristocracy and monarchs,Florescu and McNally, ''Dracula, Prince of M ...

() that had been founded in 1408 AD by

Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans (disambiguation), Emperor of the Romans (; ) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period (; ), was the ruler and h ...

Sigismund Sigismund (variants: Sigmund, Siegmund) is a German proper name, meaning "protection through victory", from Old High German ''sigu'' "victory" + ''munt'' "hand, protection". Tacitus latinises it ''Segimundus''. There appears to be an older form of ...

. Another proposal holds that Vlad II earned the nickname "Dracul" (at the time also meaning "Devil") by Romanians, who associated the dragon imagery on the Order's

insignia An insignia () is a sign or mark distinguishing a group, grade, rank, or function. It can be a symbol of personal power or that of an official group or governing body. An insignia, which is typically made of metal or fabric, is a standalone sy ...

with a demon. The Order's purpose was to defend the Hungarian royal house, where Sigismund ruled, as well as the Catholic Church. It created a strong solidarity among central and southeastern Europe's Christians, in their fight against Ottoman and Tartar (from the

Golden Horde The Golden Horde, self-designated as ''Ulug Ulus'' ( in Turkic) was originally a Mongols, Mongol and later Turkicized khanate established in the 13th century and originating as the northwestern sector of the Mongol Empire. With the division of ...

and

Crimean Khanate The Crimean Khanate, self-defined as the Throne of Crimea and Desht-i Kipchak, and in old European historiography and geography known as Little Tartary, was a Crimean Tatars, Crimean Tatar state existing from 1441 to 1783, the longest-lived of th ...

) Muslims. Vlad II's son became known as Vlad Dracula () which meant "son of the Dragon", i.e. of Dracul.

Members of the Drăculești line

Members of the Drăculești line who held the throne of Wallachia include the following: ''Trașcă Drăculescu'' – Wallachian boyar, inhabitant of

Oltenia Oltenia (), also called Lesser Wallachia in antiquated versions – with the alternative Latin names , , and between 1718 and 1739 – is a historical province and geographical region of Romania in western Wallachia. It is situated between the Da ...

, the "last legitimate" descendant of the dynasty, who died in the 18th century.fictitious character laid out by Romanian writer, columnist and lawyer Păstorel Teodoreanu File:MirceatheElder.jpg, File:Vlad Dracul.jpg, File:Vlad Ţepeş, the Impaler, Prince of Wallachia (1456-1462) (died 1477).jpg, File:MihaiViteazul.jpg, File:AlexandruCoconul.jpg, Alexandru V, Coconul

Etymology

Members of the Drăculești line

See also

Notes

Sources

External links