Before John Polidori—Lord Byron’s doctor—wrote The Vampyre (incidentally, it began at the same retreat where Mary Shelly conceived of Frankenstein), the idea of vampires as nobles who can pass among humans basically didn’t exist. They were more akin to zombies or werewolves, prior to that. Polidori’s Lord Ruthven was a British nobleman based in no small part on Lord Byron. Then a few decades later you get Carmilla, another upper class vampire, this time female. And then just a couple of decades after that, on the cusp of the 20th century, Bram Stoker writes Dracula, the first time we get a vampire who is not just noble but royal, and we get the full furnishings we associate with vampires today. The foreign accent, the castle, the wine (though interestingly, the wine Dracula serves is actually a white wine, not the blood-red we usually think of).
Also fun note: this Saturday marks the start date of Dracula. Over in !vampires@lemmy.zip I’m planning a read-through in real-time, if anyone wants to join me.
Yeh that’s right. But if we go off the idea that Dracula is meant to be Vlad III (which, I’ll admit, is actually something Stoker tacked on right before publication), well…he was royal.
Transylvania at the time of Dracula? It was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, so it would be Franz Joseph I (yes, that Emperor Franz Joseph). Romania has a very tumultuous history, having been stuck on the frontier between Austria-Hungary and the Ottomans for most of the modern era. In Vlad III “Dracula” 's life alone it switched sides multiple times, and he was made Voivode of Wallachia and deposed at least 3 times. Voivode being roughly equivalent to Prince.
Before John Polidori—Lord Byron’s doctor—wrote The Vampyre (incidentally, it began at the same retreat where Mary Shelly conceived of Frankenstein), the idea of vampires as nobles who can pass among humans basically didn’t exist. They were more akin to zombies or werewolves, prior to that. Polidori’s Lord Ruthven was a British nobleman based in no small part on Lord Byron. Then a few decades later you get Carmilla, another upper class vampire, this time female. And then just a couple of decades after that, on the cusp of the 20th century, Bram Stoker writes Dracula, the first time we get a vampire who is not just noble but royal, and we get the full furnishings we associate with vampires today. The foreign accent, the castle, the wine (though interestingly, the wine Dracula serves is actually a white wine, not the blood-red we usually think of).
Also fun note: this Saturday marks the start date of Dracula. Over in !vampires@lemmy.zip I’m planning a read-through in real-time, if anyone wants to join me.
There’s also “Dracula Daily” which starts at the same time and is a great way to micro-dose the novel.
https://draculadaily.com/
That’s what inspired me!
I decided to do that, and then when someone started the vampires community I thought…why not see if anyone wants to chat about it with me.
A count is just a title, nothing to do with royal blood. Anyone nobleman could be made a count, earl, baron, duke, etc. Right?
Yeh that’s right. But if we go off the idea that Dracula is meant to be Vlad III (which, I’ll admit, is actually something Stoker tacked on right before publication), well…he was royal.
Ok but that then begs the question, who are the king/queen?
Who are which King/Queen? Dracula is set mostly in England in 1897, so it would be Queen Victoria. But I’m guessing that might not be what you meant?
Around the time Victoria established Torchwood, but yes I meant the monarchs of Transylvania. Who bestows the title of Count upon him?
Transylvania at the time of Dracula? It was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, so it would be Franz Joseph I (yes, that Emperor Franz Joseph). Romania has a very tumultuous history, having been stuck on the frontier between Austria-Hungary and the Ottomans for most of the modern era. In Vlad III “Dracula” 's life alone it switched sides multiple times, and he was made Voivode of Wallachia and deposed at least 3 times. Voivode being roughly equivalent to Prince.