Radu Florescu

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Radu Florescu (born October 23, 1925 in Bucharest , † May 18, 2014 in Mougins , France) was a Romanian historian who established connections between Bram Stoker's fictional character Count Dracula and the bloodthirsty aristocrat Vlad III, who actually existed in the 15th century . Drăculea , who was known under the name of Vlad Țepeș (Vlad, the Impaler), "discovered". Stoker's novel Dracula , first published in 1897 , took place in real areas like Transylvania or the Tihuța Pass (Borgo Pass), and even the railroad connections in the book were correct. For this reason, Florescu concluded that the main character of the novel must also be based on facts. Vlad Țepeș, who was known for slaughtering numerous Transylvanian Saxons and Ottomans and had a penchant for impaling his enemies on stakes, was therefore the logical choice for Dracula's example. In his bestseller In Search of Dracula (1972), which Florescu co- authored with Raymond T. McNally (1931-2002), he claimed that the brutal Vlad III, voivode of the Principality of Wallachia , was Stoker's inspiration. After all, Vlad was a member of the House of Drăculeşti , commonly known as Dracula. The book has been translated into 15 languages. Their findings and the subsequent series of creepy books, many of which were written by themselves, proved beneficial to the Romanian tourism industry. This went so far that tourist groups traveled to Vlad III's ancestral palace, Bran Castle , and drank pink liquor.

Life

Escape from Romania and university professor in Boston

Florescu left Romania after the outbreak of World War II and traveled to London , where his father worked as Romania's acting ambassador before resigning after the fascist marshal Ion Antonescu came to power . After leaving school, he received a scholarship for a study of Historical Sciences at Christ Church of University of Oxford and heard, among other things lectures by William Deakin (1913-2005). He graduated from Indiana University Bloomington , where he received a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) .

He then began an academic career as a professor of history at Boston College , a private research university on Chestnut Hill . There he met his colleague, Professor Raymond T. McNally, who was not only an expert on the intelligentsia of Russia , but also on Dracula. At the beginning of his teaching activity in the 1960s he also wrote several books on the history of Romania such as The struggle against Russia in the Romanian principalities, 1821–1854 (1962) or The Column about the Ciumesti helmet found between 1962 and 1965 in Ciumesti .

In addition, he often created a diplomatic bridge between the USA and Romania. He not only advised US Senator Edward Kennedy on Balkan affairs , but also provided support for the White House press staff during the 1969 state visit by US President Richard Nixon to Romania.

Dracula Research

In Search of Dracula : Theory of Vlad III. Drăculea and Count Dracula

In his bestseller In Search of Dracula (1972), which Florescu co-authored with Raymond T. McNally, he claimed that the brutal Vlad III, voivode of the Principality of Wallachia, was Stoker's inspiration. After all, Vlad was a member of the House of Drăculeşti , commonly known as Dracula. Stoker's novel Dracula , first published in 1897 , was set in real areas such as Transylvania or the Tihuța Pass (Borgo Pass), and even the railroad connections in the book were correct. For this reason, Florescu concluded that the main character of the novel must also be based on facts. Vlad Țepeș, who was known for slaughtering numerous Transylvanian Saxons and Ottomans and had a penchant for impaling his enemies on stakes, was therefore the logical choice for Dracula's example. The book has been translated into 15 languages. Their findings and the subsequent series of creepy books, many of which were written by themselves, proved beneficial to the Romanian tourism industry. This went so far that tourist groups traveled to Vlad III's ancestral palace, Bran Castle, and drank pink Dracullina liqueur.

Critics saw In Search of Dracula in part as a revival of a serious investigation into the vampire myth , which other critics denied. The New York Times dismissed the "nice rhetorical questions " ( "cute rhetorical questions").

In the period that followed, Florescu and McNally published numerous others on the same subject, such as Dracula: A Biography of Vlad the Impaler, 1431–1476 (1973) and The Essential Dracula: A Completely Illustrated and Annotated Edition of Bram Stoker's Classic Novel (1979).

He also wrote monographs on literary figures such as Frankenstein with In search of Frankenstein (1975) or the Pied Piper of Hameln with In Search of the Pied Piper (2005). In In Search of Frankenstein , Florescu theorized that the German theologian , alchemist , anatomist and doctor Johann Konrad Dippel was the model for Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein , and he speculated that Mary Shelley visited Frankenstein Castle during her travels on the Rhine with Percy Shelley visited as well as learned about local legends about Dippel.

In 1986, Florescu founded the East European Research Center at Boston College and remained its director until his retirement in 2008.

Fight against the Disneyfication of Dracula and honorary consul of Romania

Florescu himself later regretted some of the consequences of his claims, particularly the Disneyfication of historical evidence. At the first World Dracula Congress in 1995 in Bucharest, he said: "I wanted to spike the Hollywood vampire" ("I want to spike the Hollywood vampire"). His lecture was entitled “What has the Dracula Renaissance done for Romania?”, While other Dracula researchers discussed topics such as the parallels between Vlad III. and the deposed Stalinist dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu , who moreover banned any mention of Bram Stoker's fictional vampire. McNally claimed:

“Ceausescu, the old dictator, admired his own Dracula and he modeled himself on Vlad the Impaler. Ironically, 513 years to the day after Prince Vlad was assassinated, Ceausescu was killed at Tirgoviste, in a military barracks right across from Vlad's Palace. "

“As the aging dictator, Ceaușescu admired Dracula and created himself as Vlad the Impaler. Ironically, it was 513 years to the day after the assassination of Vlad III. Ceauşescu shot dead in Târgovişte , in a military camp in the immediate vicinity of Vlad's castle. "

Florescu was a strong supporter of the new form of government after the Romanian Revolution in 1989 and was Honorary Consul for New England between 1996 and 2004 , making him the first to hold such a position in the United States by the Romanian Foreign Office. In this function he was also responsible for the voting of Romanian emigrants for the elections in Romania.

Florescu, who died of complications from pneumonia , was the father of entrepreneur John M. Florescu.

Publications

  • The struggle against Russia in the Romanian principalities, 1821-1854. 1962, new edition 1997
  • Capidava. 1965
  • Manastirea Govora. 1965
  • Arta Dacilor. 1968
  • Ghid archeologic al Dobrogei. 1968
  • Ion Miclea, Radu Florescu: The column. Co-author Ion Miclea, 1971
  • In search of Dracula. Co-author Raymond T. McNally, 1972
  • Adamclisi. 1973
  • Dracula. 1973
  • In search of Frankenstein. 1975
  • Magyar culture in Socialist Romania. 1976
  • Tezaure transilvane. 1979
  • Dicționar enciclopedic de artă veche a României. 1980
  • The complete Dracula. 1985
  • The art of Dacian-Roman antiquity. 1986
  • Dracula, prince of many faces. 1989
  • Histria =. 1989
  • In Search of the Pied Piper. 2005
  • General Ioan Emanoil Florescu. 2007

In German language

  • Romans in Romania. Heidelberg 1969
  • The art of the Dako-Roman antiquity. Bucharest 1986
  • In Dracula's footsteps. The story of the prince and the vampires. Co-author Raymond T. McNally, Berlin 1996, ISBN 3-550-07085-3

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Florescu, Radu
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Romanian historian and university professor
DATE OF BIRTH October 23, 1925
PLACE OF BIRTH Bucharest
DATE OF DEATH May 18, 2014
Place of death Mougins , France