SAVING SOUTH AMERICA IBD

Sinopsis

The notion as to which historical figure if any, was used by Bram Stoker as the original model for his fictional character Count Dracula, has never been adequately resolved for some fans. Some argue it was his boss at LondonâÇÖs Lyceum Theatre whilst others show cause why it was a composite of the landlord class during IrelandâÇÖs Potato Famine.áááááá Sean Robert Curran however, the expert in Celtic history and folk-lore who lectured at the University of Ulster, stated Dracula was probably based on the fifth century Celtic Chieftain Abhartach from Derry, who drank tainted blood and subsequently died. According to Dr. Curran, Abhartach supposedly rose from his grave as an undead and demanded bowls of blood from his subjects. The word for tainted blood in Gaelic is âÇÖdrochâÇÖfhoulaâÇÖ pronounced âÇÖdrocâÇÖolaâÇÖ (Agence France-Presse).ááááá Since at a young age BramâÇÖs mother introduced him to Irish folk-lore and later he became a student of history, thereâÇÖs every chance he would have known about Abhartach.áááááááá Whoever the original model was, it is later explained in BramâÇÖs novel when, in the second entry in Mina HarkerâÇÖs journal of September 30, Van Helsing is quoted thus '. . . I shall then make it known to you something of the history of this man . . .'á '. . . I have asked my friend Arminius of Buda-Pesth University, to make his record . . .'ááááááá The reply Van Helsing received from Arminius, as recorded in Mina HarkerâÇÖs journal, was: 'He must indeed, have been that voivode (military ruler) Dracula . . .' '. . . for centuries after he was spoken of as the cleverest and the most cunning, as well as the bravest of the sons of the âÇÖland beyond the forestâÇÖ (Tran(s)-sylvania) . . .' 'The DraculasâÇÖ were,' says Arminius, 'a great and noble race.'áááááááá Historically this fits the blood-thirsty Vlad III Tepes (one of the meanings of Tepes was Impaler), aka Vladislaus Dracula (or to be patronymically correct, DrÄâculeşti) whom in Eastern Europe was a knight whom following on from his father, was a member of the Sacred Order of the Dragon.ááááááá The word Drac in 15th century Romanian had two meanings, one was dragon and the other was devil. Some suggest that StokerâÇÖs Dracula refers to the Devil. They also assert that he was modelled off the Tepes DrÄâculeşti family, they canâÇÖt have it both ways. This prominent dynasty fought under the Christian banner of a Sacred Order. No such order would have tolerated a name which meant devil. So the Tepes family surname of DrÄâculeşti, definitely meant dragon and never devil.ááááá