The massacre of the boyars

History condemned him for killing many (about 500) of the nobility who did not like or agree with him. The poet Michael Beheim, wrote about the impaling of the 500 nobles. The book "Povestirile Slavone" tells how Vlad the Impaler (Dracula) impaled anyone who was found guilty, nobles, soldiers and priests - no exceptions. The same book indicates he was trying to eliminate from society, people in poverty. He announced to all, the blind, handicapped, elderly, poor, etc., an invitation to a party (similar to a charity dinner) in a special house. All of the people invited, entered the house, ate and drank. After, Vlad the Impaler asked them if they wanted to cease to be a burden to their loved ones and end their poverty. All the people present agreed. When he heard that, he ordered the house set on fire and all the people were killed.

His first major act of revenge was aimed at the boyars of Tirgoviste for for not being loyal to his father. On Easter Sunday he invited all the boyar families who had participated at the princely feast. He asked them how many princes had ruled in their lifetimes. They said they had lived through many reigns. Shouting that this was their fault because of their plotting, Vlad the Impaler had them all arrested on the spot. He impaled the older ones on stakes while forcing the others to march from the capital to the town of Poenari. This fifty-mile trek was quite grueling and no one was permitted to rest until they reached destination. Vlad the Impaler then ordered boyars to build him a fortress on the ruins of an older outpost overlooking the Arges River. Many died in the process, and therefore Vlad the Impaler succeeded in creating a new nobility and obtaining a fortress for future emergencies. What is left today of the building is identified as Poenari Fortress (Cetatea Poenari).

A German story about Brasov, a real massacre, says that Vlad the Impaler was sitting at a table filled with food and drink. In front of him, on a hill, some of his soldiers began to impale a number of the Saxon traders simply because of his dislike for them, and because of their attempts to remove him from the throne of Valachia. Another story, described the impaled bodies looking like a forest. Many German stories of that time, indicated that Vlad the Impaler caused many people to suffer. There are manuscripts dating from 1462 telling of impaling as his way of serving justice.