Vlad III Dracula: A Madman and Hero

            Vlad III Dracula was considered a hero to some and a madman to others. Vlad ruled as prince, or voivode, of Wallachia, Hungry three times during the mid 1400s. During his second reign, Vlad used several different tactics against the Ottoman Turks and other opponents. He expertly employed psychological and torture techniques; his most famous method was impalement. Vlad’s tactics were unconventional, but proved in keeping Wallachia safe for his people and leading a crusade against the Turks.
            Vlad III Dracula, or Vlad the Impaler, was born, in December 1431 A.D., in Sighisoara, Hungary located in what is now the center of modern Romania. Vlad spent a portion of time being educated physically in the Spartan style and by Christian tutors, as his father Vlad II Dracul sought a position higher than military governor. It was during that time that signs of a disturbed young Vlad were first noticed. Radu R. Florescu and Raymond T. McNally in Dracula Prince of Many Faces: His Life and His Times noted, “local traditions insist that the young boy showed, even at that early stage in life, a morbid curiosity for watching, from his first floor bedroom, criminals being led from the small jail in the Councilmen’s Square to the Jewelers’ Donjon, the usual place of execution by hanging.”[1] In 1436 A.D., Dracul moved his family to Tirgoviste, the capital city of Wallachia, Hungary where he became voivode.

            Dracul had also joined a Christian order, called the Order of the Dragon. Dracul was allied with the Muslim Turkish Sultan Murad II, but his loyalty wavered. It is most likely that Dracul had contemplated changing his loyalty due to his new position in the Order of the Dragon, where he had sworn to protect Christianity.[2] Murad took Vlad and his younger brother, Radu, captive and held them in Turkey, as insurance that Dracul would not betray him.
            During their imprisonment a wedge was forged between Vlad and Radu. Murad and Muad's son, Mehmed II, had turned Radu against Vlad by favoring Radu. It is also said that Mehmed and Radu had eventually became lovers, while Vlad was mistreated and beaten.[3] Benjamin Leblanc in Vlad Dracula: An Intriguing Figure in the Fifteenth Century suggested, “this Turkish captivity surely played an important role in Dracula’s upbringing; it must be at this period that he adopted a very pessimistic view of life.”[4] Vlad may have been mistreated, but he learned from the Muslim tutors in subjects such as military tactics. 
            Vlad and Radu were released from captivity in 1448 A.D., after news of the death of Dracul and their older brother, Mircea. Radu remained with the Turks, because of his relationship with Mehmed. Vlad sought to become voivode of Wallachia in honor of his father. Will Romano in Vlad Dracula’s War on the Turks reported, “the 17-year-old, having vowed to ascend to the throne of his homeland, got backing from the sultan in 1448 for an invasion of Wallachia.”[5] Vlad began in first reign in 1448, which lasted only a couple of months before he was forced to flee. 

            During his second reign, Vlad sought revenge on the boyars, or noblemen, of Hungary who had been responsible for overthrowing and murdering his father and Mircea. On Easter 1459 A.D., Vlad exacted revenge on the boyars, and their families, who had participated in the murder of Dracul. According to Florescu and McNally, the old were impaled outside Tirgoviste, while the young were marched fifty miles and forced to build the Poenari Castle [Castle Dracula], located northwest of Tirgoviste.[6] Vlad’s tactics only grew more violent afterwards.
            Pope Pius II gave Vlad more opportunities to expand his techniques of torture and warfare. Will Romano in Vlad Dracula’s War on Turks stated , in September 1459 A.D. during the Congress of Mantua in Italy, Pope Pius II called for a Crusade in response to the Turkish control of Constantinople.[7] Vlad was one of the only European princes to uphold his vow to the Pope by assembling an army. That vow was to protect Christianity.
            Part of the vow he made meant forming an alliance with the man he had vowed to kill, John Hunyadi, voivode of Transylvania. Vlad had been in a confrontation with Hunyadi, due to his involvement in the death of Dracul and Mircea. Vlad also chose to ally himself with John Hunyadi, because he knew he had to choose a side, or be destroyed. “It would be difficult enough fighting the Turkish army, which would outnumber his own three to one, without having to worry about an attack from the west by the Germans of Transylvania or their allies.”[8] John Hunyadi was the logical choice for an ally, since he was a voivode and fighting against the Muslim Turks.
            Vlad answered the Pope’s call and prepared to face his former captor’s son and recently crowned sultan, Mehmed II. Vlad’s brother, Radu remained an ally of the Turks and accompanied Sultan Mehmed to war. At this point Turkish Sultan Mehmed II was putting together forces to march on Hungry, to follow in his father, Murad II’s footsteps. Mehmed’s goal was to conquer all of Europe and Asia.[9] These events set into motion the man who would become known to the Turks as the “Impaler Prince.”[10]
            Vlad employed a series of torture and murder techniques on his military campaign against the Turks. Leblanc stated, “Vlad became quite known for his brutal punishment techniques; he often ordered people to be skinned, boiled, decapitated, blinded, strangled, hanged, burned, roasted, hacked, nailed, buried alive, stabbed, etc. He also liked to cut off noses, ears, sexual organs and limbs.”[11] His most popular choice was impalement, which he utilized in ways to either cause longer lasting pain or instant death. To some, Vlad’s fascination with impalement could be considered a fetish.[12]
            During the summer of 1462 A.D., Mehmed pursued Vlad through Hungry and in response; Vlad implemented a tactic referred to as “scorched earth.” Vlad cleared the land in his path of all life. He took the villagers and livestock into the mountains to safety. As they made their way to safety, they burned the villages and fields, poisoned and diverted the water supply, and set traps.[13] Mehmed’s army starved and thirsted as they followed, while Vlad’s army continued their psychological warfare through small guerrilla style skirmishes.
            Vlad had made his way to Tirgoviste and hid safely behind the city walls. Mehmed had planned to besiege the city, but was emotionally broken from Vlad’s brutal tactics and the scene he witnessed around the city. “In a mile-long ditch surrounding the city, the remains of Turkish prisoners…were rotting away on stakes.”[14] Mehmed had a trench dug around the camp for fear that Vlad might attack them while they slept.[15] Afterwards, Mehmed wanted nothing to do with Tirgoviste, so he and his army fled. Vlad’s horrific tactics had done the job. 
           Radu was left to deal with Vlad following Mehmed’s retreat. Afterwards, Vlad retreated to Castle Poenari, where Radu trapped him. Vlad secretly fled for his life with the aid of the peasants. In November 1462 A.D., Vlad was betrayed by Matthias Corvinus, son of John Hunyadi, and held captive for approximately ten to twelve years.[16] During his time in captivity, Vlad shows his obsession with impalement. Several accounts indicate that Vlad tortured and impaled mice during his time as captive.[17] In 1476 A.D., after Vlad was released from captivity, Corvinus aided Vlad in becoming voivode once again. Two months later Vlad was killed near Bucharest, the current capital of Romania, located in the southern portion of the country. 
            Vlad employed a series of horrible acts throughout his time as voivode, but he kept Wallachia safe during this portion of the Ottoman-Hungarian Wars. Elizabeth Miller in Dracula: The History of Myth and the Mystery of History emphasized, “Romanian folk narratives (still told in villages near his fortress of Poenari) present a very different Vlad: a supporter of the peasants against the treacherous boyars, and upholder of law and order in lawless times, and a valiant defender of his small principality against the might of the Ottoman Empire.”[18] Vlad also successfully prevented the boyar class from becoming too powerful and greedy. Historians often compare him to Robin Hood.[19] Wallachia was so safe that Vlad could leave a golden chalice by a fountain in Wallachia without fear of it being stolen. [20] Perhaps it is this reason that Romanians still consider Vlad to be a national hero. It could also be due to the fierce loyalty of his supporters.

            During Vlad’s second reign his military personnel found him to be inspirational and a leader of peasants. “Dracula’s objectives in using terror at home thus included ending feudal anarchy through the subjugation of the boyar class; preventing disorders wrought by thieves, gypsies, and vagabonds and ensuring the security of merchants and their goods at a time when roads were hazardous, to say the least.”[21] In this way we see Vlad as a capable leader, looking out for the interests of his subjects. It is possible for a man capable of horrific deeds, against those who oppose him, and to still be an effective ruler.

            Vlad’s life circumstances may have created one of the most violent rulers in history. “Estimates range from a minimum of 40,000 victims to a maximum of 100,000, a calculation made by the papal nuncio, the bishop of Erlau, near the end of Dracula’s career in 1475…”[22] He employed many methods of torture and was effective in the use of psychological warfare. Despite his acts, Vlad also maintained peace and prosperity within the principality of Wallachia.

            Insight into Vlad’s childhood may provide factors that created a mass murderer with a fetish for impalement. He tortured and killed his victims, mostly the Turks, in often creative ways. Vlad’s use of psychological warfare seemed to be effective even against one of history's other sadistic leaders, Sultan Mehmed II. During Vlad’s reign as voivode, he provided peasants with a sense of security that still lingers in the hearts of Romanians today.

ENDNOTES

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[1] Radu R. Florescu and Raymond T. McNally, Dracula Prince of Many Faces: His Life and His Times. (Boston: Black Bay, 1989), 47.
[2] Ibid., 53.
[3] Ibid., 55-57.
[4] Benjamin H. Leblanc, “Vlad Dracula: An Intriguing Figure in the Fifteenth Century,” Journal of the Dark, no. 5 (n.d.), accessed November 8, 2013, 1http://www.htspweb.co.uk/fandf/romlit/specnew/vlad/archive2/leblanc.htm
[5] Will Romano, “Vlad Dracula’s War on the Turks,” Military History 20, no. 4 (2003): 60. EBSCOhost.
[6] Leblanc, “Vlad Dracula, An Intriguing Figure in the Fifteenth Century.”
[7] Romano, “Vlad Dracula’s War on the Turks,” 61.
[8] Florescu and McNally, Dracula Prince of Many Faces, 125
[9] Ibid., 125.
[10] Ibid., 163.
[11] Leblanc, “Vlad Dracula, An Intriguing Figure in the Fifteenth Century.”
[12] Florescu and McNally, Dracula Prince of Many Faces, 163.
[13] Ibid., 143-144.
[14] Romano, “Vlad Dracula’s War on Turks,” 64.
[15] Florescu and McNally, Dracula Prince of Many Faces, 149.
[16] Romano, “Vlad Dracula’s War on Turks,” 65.
[17] Florescu and McNally, Dracula Prince of Many Faces, 163.
[18] Elizabeth Miller, “Dracula: The History of Myth and the Mystery of History,” Journal of the Dark 9 (1996): accessed November 9, 2013. http://www.ucs.mun.ca/~emiller/myth.html
[19] Florescu and McNally, Dracula Prince of Many Faces, 99.
[20] Ibid., 103.
[21] Florescu and McNally, Dracula Prince of Many Faces, 103.
[22] Ibid., 167.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Florescu, Radu R., and Raymond T. McNally. Dracula Prince of Many Faces: His Life and His Times. Boston: Black Bay, 1989.

Leblanc, Benjamin H. “Vlad Dracula: An Intriguing Figure in the Fifteenth Century.” Journal of the Dark, no. 5 (n.d.): Accessed November 8, 2013. http://www.htspweb.co.uk/fandf/romlit/specnew/vlad/archive2/leblanc.htm

Miller, Elizabeth. “Dracula: The History of Myth and the Mystery of History.” Journal of the Dark 9(1996): Accessed November 9, 2013. http://www.ucs.mun.ca/~emiller/myth.html

Romano, Will. “Vlad Dracula’s War on the Turks.” Military History 20, no. 4 (2003): 58-65. EBSCOhost.

 
Note from the author: There is a lack of reliable information on the internet regarding Vlad III Dracula, because of the Dracula myth and Bram Stoker’s Dracula. The majority of the websites and articles I came across all relayed to the mythical Dracula, not the historical figure. The information in this paper is believed to be true, based on the few peer-reviewed articles and books I found to be credible. There also seems to be a lack of primary sources available over the internet, other than pictures of portraits and coins with Dracula’s likeness. I highly suggest reading Dracula Prince of Many Faces: His Life and His Times, if you want an in-depth discussion of Dracula, the historical figure. The book provides so much information on who Dracula was, as well as used what seems to be reliable sources which cannot be accessed online.

Beethoven: Possible Factors that Inspired a Musical Genius

One of greatest composers during the early 1800s was Ludwig van Beethoven. Beethoven’s music was bold and powerful, combining several different styles in a single composition. There are several theories that could provide very different ideas on what drove Beethoven to be inspired to create so many masterpieces and to continue composing after his deafness began. Beethoven may have been influenced by many aspects of his life: including love, family drama, medical conditions, and depression among other things. 

Theories on Inspiration

            There are several theories which might shed light into what gave Beethoven the drive to create music throughout his life. According to Amy Stevens in The Wall Street Journal, “His ailments have prompted some wonder whether painkillers had something to do with his creativity…. So far, though, his tests haven’t turned up any morphine, the principal painkiller of the early 1800s.”[1] Still, other theories suggest that Beethoven was an alcoholic. Other theories suggest his deafness itself inspired him to create music. Also, his personal relationships may have played a part.

Since there are many theories it is also possible that each hold part of the truth. An article in The Economist discussing Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3 Eroica suggests, “Perhaps all these elements combined to produce the critical mass from which the symphony erupted. We cannot know. We can only hear the results.”[2] It could be that all of the events of his life inspired him, despite what they may have entailed. Both the good and the bad may have influenced Beethoven to become the man he was, as well as to create the music that he did.

Background

            Beethoven was born in Bonn, Germany on December 16, 1770. His grandfather and father were both gifted with musical talent. It only seems natural that Beethoven would inherit the family talent. His father forced him to take piano lessons, at four years old, with the hope that Beethoven would become the next great composer of his time. From there Beethoven’s love for music and genius only grew. At the age of eight he held his first concert and at the age of thirteen he published several pieces of music.  

When Beethoven was seventeen he visited Vienna, Austria for the first time to perform for Mozart in 1792. He was later invited to live in Vienna as a student. Beethoven accepted and moved to Vienna at the age of twenty-two and found a home in the city. He continued to compose numerous pieces of music; such as concertos, symphonies, operas, quartets, cannons, and much more. Beethoven became the first composer to work independently, instead of for a wealthy family. A few of his friends had insisted that he be allotted a yearly salary to continue to compose.

Personality

            Beethoven’s friends and acquaintances knew that he had mood swings; sometimes he joked and quickly became downright bitter. As J. S. Shedlock describes him in Beethoven’s Letters a Critical Edition, “From many of Beethoven’s works one can perceive that he was a man of varied moods, also of sudden changes of mood.”[3]  During Beethoven’s composition some of these changes took place. The music often changes from light and airy to quick and harsh throughout several of his symphonies, most notably Symphony Number 9.

His different moods can be seen throughout his correspondence. In a letter to his friend and publisher, Sigmund Anton Steiner, an exchange of nicknames can be seen. Beethoven is often referred to as a devil.[4] This is the wisecracker that many of his close friends knew. Beethoven also had his brutal moments. Angrily Beethoven scribbled obscenities over a letter of resignation from his personal copyist, Ferdinand Wolanek.[5]

Friends

As his fame continued to grow so did his number of friends and acquaintances. Beethoven’s friends were often influences for his music as well. Beethoven occasionally sent cannons to friends along with his letters and told them of how much he valued their friendship. In one of his letters Beethoven shows how his friendships even invaded his dreams. Beethoven told his friend, Tobias Haslinger, about a dream in which a Bible came to him with Tobias’s name and the tune. After waking he recreated the tune as a cannon.[6] This is only one instance which Beethoven had dreams of friends, and other things, which inspired his music.

            Beethoven’s friends continuously inspired him. Beethoven wrote to his childhood friend Franz Gerhard Wegeler, “I can think that… my lines will astonish you—and yet, although you do not have written evidence, you are always in my liveliest memory—For a long time, among my manuscript, there is one that is meant for you and which you will certainly receive this summer.”[7] In this letter from 1810 Beethoven wrote of his excitement to send his friend Wegeler information on his new music. Wegeler was a constant friend and correspondent to Beethoven throughout his life.

Another one of Beethoven’s letters shows how profound an inspiration those around him were to his creations. In 1815 Beethoven wrote a famous singer, Anna Milder. He apologized that he needed to cancel an audition of Leonore, which she was to sing in.[8] Beethoven wrote the part of Leonore especially for Anna to sing, in his Leonore Symphony Number 3.  Beethoven was inspired by other women in his life as well.

Love

            Like many artists love is an enormous source of inspiration for their creations. Beethoven was often infatuated with his students and acquaintances. One of his many loves was Josephine Deym. They had a romance that lasted approximately three years. In a letter to Josephine, Beethoven sends his feelings for her.[9] Beethoven was intensely passionate and sometimes even inconsolable with his feelings. In 1806, Josephine responded to Beethoven, after several years of correspondence, telling him of her disapproval of his ignorant and jealous behavior.[10] Beethoven’s relationship with Josephine came to an end during this time.

            Beethoven wrote to his friend, Gerhard Wegeler in his hometown on Bonn regularly. In one particular letter, in 1812, he asked Wegeler for his baptismal record.[11]  It is speculated that the reason for his request is, because he may have had thoughts of proposing marriage. One large problem for Beethoven was that he often fell in love with women above his station. This means that most of the women around him were above his social class. It is here in Beethoven’s often changing love life that it is realized that his music was his only constant love; Beethoven never married. Despite his various love interests, on and off, he was inspired by one to write the famous “Immortal Beloved” letters. The “Immortal Beloved” letters were a collection of love letters written to an unknown recipient.

Family

            Beethoven did not have a good personal relationship with everyone in his life. Beethoven’s family was somewhat dysfunctional. His father, Johann van Beethoven, married his mother, Maria Magdelena Keverich. Beethoven’s parents gave him five siblings, two of which survived to adulthood Kaspar and Johann. Beethoven and his father had an estranged relationship from the time of Beethoven’s childhood and on. Instead, during Beethoven’s childhood he idolized his grandfather, whom he was named after. Beethoven’s mother was the family’s head of the household, since his father was continuously in his drink. Beethoven had loved his mother a great deal. At the age of seventeen Beethoven’s mother died, followed only several months later by his baby sister.

After his mother’s death his father continuously tried to find ways to make Beethoven feel guilty. He schemed to use Beethoven to make a profit, often just by begging for money. In some ways Beethoven enabled him with this behavior. His father died when Beethoven was twenty-two years old, soon after he moved to Vienna. After his father’s death the family problems did not cease.

Beethoven’s younger brother, Kaspar, also became a source of financial trouble. Kaspar even sold some of Beethoven’s compositions, which were already promised to a publisher. Kasper died in 1812, leaving behind his widow and son for Beethoven to look after. Afterward, Beethoven was often in court with his sister-in-law, Johanna, fighting for custody of his nephew, Karl.

He eventually won custody of Karl, in 1816. Maynard Solomon discussed Beethoven’s feelings that may have inspired his later work, “In actuality, Beethoven’s feelings of guilt at separating Karl from his mother were a constant source of concern and pain to him.”[12] Beethoven tried to keep Karl from his mother afterward, but was unsuccessful. Karl often ran away to his mother. In 1826, Beethoven discovered his nephew’s plans to committee suicide. Beethoven tried to stop him, but Karl attempted to end his life. He was hospitalized and after a period of time Beethoven returned him to his mother.

Deafness

            Beethoven’s sorrows were increased by health problems. Beethoven began losing his hearing sometime between ages twenty-four and twenty-eight. Amanda Chan of Huffington Post wrote, “Beethoven’s deafness is attributed to severe tinnitus, which is a sensation of ringing or noise in the ears.”[13] It eventually led to his complete deafness by the time he wrote Symphony Number 9, in 1817. Beethoven confessed his secret in a letter to his friend Carl Amenda. He told Carl, “Please keep as a secret what I have told you about my hearing; trust no one, whoever it may be, with it.”[14] Not only did he try to keep the condition a secret, but he began to withdraw from people as well. He often secluded himself away from everyone. At one point he even took time in the country to be away from everything.

            As he withdrew from society even more he wrote friends asking them to do his daily tasks. In a letter to friend and fellow composer, Nikolaus Zmeskall in 1809, he asked for quills for writing his compositions.[15] It is unimaginable how a man of such great musical talent felt when he began to lose the ability to hear what was most important to him. As his deafness worsened and he withdrew more it gives a hint to something far deeper happening to Beethoven.

Depression

            Despite Beethoven’s success in the music world he lived a very unhappy and lonely life. He sank into a depression as a result of his worsening deafness. In 1801, he confides in his friend Gerhard Wegeler, “You cannot believe how lonely, how sad I have spent my life for the last two [sic] years, like a ghost, my weak hearing followed me everywhere, and I fled [sic] people, I had to appear as a misanthrope to them.”[16] Beethoven’s sorrows do not end here. Beethoven became much worse in the following year.

            In 1802, Beethoven became so depressed that he had considered committing suicide. After he spoke to a friend he was advised to rest in Heiligenstadt, Germany. There Beethoven decided to write about his feelings in a letter to his brothers, Johann and Kaspar. This letter is now called the “Heiligenstadt Testament."

But what a humiliation when one stood beside me and heard a flute in the distance and I heard nothing, or someone heard the shepherd singing and again I heard nothing, such incidents brought me to the verge of despair, but little more and I would have put an end to my life - only art it was that withheld me, ah it seemed impossible to leave the world until I had produced all that I felt called upon me to produce, and so I endured this wretched existence - truly wretched, an excitable body which a sudden change can throw from the best into the worst state.[17]

Stomach Problems

            Beethoven suffered from medical conditions other than deafness and depression. Beethoven constantly fell ill from stomach problems. An article in The Lancet stated, “There is enough evidence to suspect that Beethoven’s gastrointestinal complaints were secondary to inflammatory bowel disease, Crohn’s disease being more likely than ulcerative colitis”[18] It is also suspected that he may have suffered from kidney stones. Beethoven’s stomach and hearing problems were often the topic of discussion throughout his correspondence with close friends.

            Beethoven was often wroth with pain and it occasionally impaired his ability to live a normal life. He did not stop composing altogether, even with the continuous complications. Anton Schindler spoke of this in his biography. “It is necessary, therefore, to warn the reader that from this time [approximately 1809] until the close of the second period [approximately 1813], of Beethoven’s life was marked by very few noteworthy events. We must accustom ourselves to find him chained to his work-table almost constantly for the next years, although his seriously impaired health should have required frequent periods of repose.”[19] Perhaps Beethoven’s constant physical ailments caused the bold and often angry feeling of his symphonies.

Alcohol

            Throughout his depression, deafness, and other issues it can be assumed that he may have used alcohol abundantly as an escape from both physical and mental pain. Beethoven enjoyed drinking wine, and it is suspected that he may have become an alcoholic. He often drank heavily and this could possibly be another resulting factor in the changes throughout the compositions. It is the underlying issues that make it a likely scenario for him to seek out his drink.

As seen from his father, Johann’s addiction, it is suspected that alcohol abuse may have been inherited from his father. The author of an online blog raised the question, “While it seems to be in question whether or not Beethoven was an alcoholic, there is no doubt that he was an abusive drinker—a  trait that led to his eventual demise.”[20] Beethoven was knowledgeable enough to require an autopsy to be preformed upon his death. Though, it was not a common practice for most people at the time; he wanted his friends to find out the source of many of his many medical problems. After his death on March 26, 1827, an autopsy was performed. Evidence suggests that he died, in part, from cirrhosis of the liver.

World Events

Of all of the events in his life both personal and medical, world events cannot be left out as a musical inspiration. J. S. Shedlock explained one major event Beethoven witnessed Napoleon’s attack on Vienna. “Of the horrors of war he had personal experience…. In 1805, Vienna was occupied by French troops, and again in 1809 the city of Vienna was bombarded and then occupied by Napoleon. The events of 1805 were unfavorable to the success of his opera Fidelio, while those of 1809 greatly worried him…. How far these and other events may have interfered with his art-creations is difficult to determine; but the great works which he produced were surely in part owing to the excitement of those times.”[21]

            At first Beethoven was inspired by Napoleon, though they had never met. Beethoven admired many of Napoleon’s ideals. Erocia had originally been dedicated to Napoleon. After Napoleon took over Vienna things changed in the way Beethoven viewed him, and it is said he removed the dedication from the Erocia manuscript. His symphony Leonore was also revised during Napoleon’s control of Vienna and eventually became known as Fidelio. John Gardener discussed Beethoven’s feelings, “If Leonore could be said to spring from that self which continually searches for the ideal in the face of fear, Fidelio by contrast, represents Beethoven’s more settled, static response to the tyranny and injustice, freedom and self-sacrifice.”[22] His experiences during the French takeover changed the opera into something far more dramatic.  

            Beethoven was inspired by many things, which inspired him to continue his work. Beethoven’s personality and its varied moods in itself could have driven him to create such music. His friends may have inspired him through their devotion to him. Love may have inspired him as it does with artists of all kinds. His family sorrows may have caused him to bring forth so much emotion anguish. Beethoven’s worsening deafness may have itself been a factor. His depression and suicidal thoughts may have impacted his musical style. His stomach problems may have created so much agony that he used music as an escape. Alcohol may have also been an important factor. Last, but not least events that took place with Napoleon in Vienna may have also been an inspiration.

Not one aspect of Beethoven’s life was solely responsible for his musical inspiration. There were many things that changed Beethoven along the way. In the American Record Guide it is thought that, “There is more than one Beethoven. Maybe that is the reason for his popularity.”[23] When listening to his compositions it is seen that there is a change. Beethoven must have been inspired by various different things.

Evidence suggests Beethoven was inspired by all areas of his life. Things from medical issues, personal relationships, and events took place to create a man of such great musical genius. It did not matter what Beethoven faced throughout his life; he continued to write music until his final days. In the end the man that was inspired from so much, continues to inspire many others. His inspiration can be felt today in the rock bands that are heard on the radio, as well as many different musical genres. His inspiration is felt everywhere that music is heard.
                                                       ENDNOTES

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[1] Amy Stevens, “Beethoven’s Curls May Sing His Secrets on a Grand Scale,” Wall

Street Journal, May 29, 1996.

[2] “Moreover: 1804: The Eroica,” The Economist, December 31, 1999, 108.

[3] J. S. Shedlock, Beethoven’s Letters a Critical Edition (London: J. M. Dent, New York: E. P. Dutton), Internet Archive, accessed June 8, 2012. http://www.archive.org/stream/beethovensletter01beet/beethovensletter01beet_djvu.txt

[4] Ludwig van Beethoven, Ludwig van Beethoven, Billet an Sigmund Anton Steiner, Wien, 29. Mai 1815, Autograph, Beethoven-Haus Bonn Digital Archive, Das Digital Beethoven-Haus, accessed June 1, 2012.  http://www.beethoven-haus-bonn.de/sixcms/detail.php?id=15260&template=dokseite_digitales_archiv_en&_eid=1507&_ug=Cheerful%20Beethoven&_dokid=b513&_mid=Written%20documents%20by%20Ludwig%20van%20Beethoven%20and%20other%20people&suchparameter=&_seite=1

[5] Ferdinand Wolanek and Ludwig van Beethoven, Ferdinand Wolanek, Brief an Ludwig van Beethoven, Wien, zwishchen dem 23. und 26. Marz 1825, mit Anmerkungen und einem Antwortentwurf Beethonvens, Autograph, Beethoven-Haus Bonn Digitial Archive, Das Digital Beethoven-Haus, accessed June 1, 2012. http://www.beethoven-haus-bonn.de/sixcms/detail.php?id=15262&template=dokseite_digitales_archiv_en&_eid=1507&_ug=Beethoven's%20professional%20world&_dokid=b39&_mid=Written%20documents%20by%20Ludwig%20van%20Beethoven%20and%20other%20people&suchparameter=&_seite=1

[6] Ludwig van Beethoven, Ludwig van Beethoven, Brief an Tobias Haslinger, Baden, 10. September 1821, Autograph, Beethoven-Haus Bonn Digital Archive, Das Digital Beethoven-Haus, accessed June 1, 2012. http://www.beethoven-haus-bonn.de/sixcms/detail.php?id=15260&template=dokseite_digitales_archiv_en&_eid=1507&_ug=Cheerful%20Beethoven&_dokid=b24&_mid=Written%20documents%20by%20Ludwig%20van%20Beethoven%20and%20other%20people&suchparameter=&_seite=1

[7] Ludwig van Beethoven, Ludwig van Beethoven, Brief an Franz Gerhard Wegeler in Koblenz, Wien, 2. Mai 1810, Autograph, Beethoven-Haus Bonn Digital Archives, Das Digital Beethoven-Haus, accessed June 1, 2012. http://www.beethoven-haus-bonn.de/sixcms/detail.php?id=15257&template=dokseite_digitales_archiv_en&_eid=1507&_ug=Famous%20letters%20as%20a%20short%20biography&_dokid=b203&_mid=Written%20documents%20by%20Ludwig%20van%20Beethoven%20and%20other%20people&suchparameter=&_seite=1

[8] Ludwig van Beethoven, Ludwig van Beethoven, Brief an Anna Milder-Hauptmann, Wien, vor dem 27. Februar 1814, Autograph, Beethoven-Haus Bonn Digital Archive, Das Digital Beethoven-Haus, accessed June 1, 2012. http://www.beethoven-haus-bonn.de/sixcms/detail.php?id=15262&template=dokseite_digitales_archiv_en&_eid=1507&_ug=Beethoven's%20professional%20world&_dokid=b1053&_mid=Written%20documents%20by%20Ludwig%20van%20Beethoven%20and%20other%20people&suchparameter=&_seite=1

[9] Ludwig van Beethoven, Ludwig van Beethoven, Brief an Josephine Deym, Abschrift, Auszug, Beethoven-Haus Bonn Digital Archives, Das Digital Beethoven-Haus, accessed June 1, 2012. http://www.beethoven-haus-bonn.de/sixcms/detail.php?id=15257&template=dokseite_digitales_archiv_en&_eid=1507&_ug=Famous%20letters%20as%20a%20short%20biography&_dokid=b654&_mid=Written%20documents%20by%20Ludwig%20van%20Beethoven%20and%20other%20people&suchparameter=&_seite=1

[10] Josephine Deym, Josephine Deym, Brief an Ludwig van Beethoven, Wien, vermutlich April 1806, Autograph, Konzept, Beethoven-Haus Bonn Digital Archives, Das Digital Beethoven-Haus, accessed June 1, 2012. http://www.beethoven-haus-bonn.de/sixcms/detail.php?id=15374&template=dokseite_digitales_archiv_en&_eid=1507&_ug=Friends%20in%20Vienna&_dokid=b657&_mid=Written%20documents%20by%20Ludwig%20van%20Beethoven%20and%20other%20people&suchparameter=&_seite=1

[11] Beethoven, Ludwig van Beethoven, Brief an Franz Gerhard Wegeler.

[12] Maynard Solomon, Beethoven, Revised Edition (New York: Schirmer Trade, 2001), 325.

[13] Amanda L. Chan, “Beethoven’s Deafness May Have Influenced His Music Throughout the Years: Study,” Huffington Post, December 25, 2011. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/25/beethoven-deafness-music_n_1163636.html

[14] Ludwig van Beethoven, 1770-1827; Alfred Christlieb Kalischer, 1842-1909, Beethoven’s Letters a Critical Edition, trans.  J. S. Shedlock (London: J. M. Dent, New York: E. P. Dutton), Internet Archive, accessed May 31, 2012. http://www.archive.org/stream/beethovensletter01beet/beethovensletter01beet_djvu.txt

[15] Ludwig van Beethoven, Ludwig van Beethoven, Billet an Nikolas Zmeskall, Wien, moglicherweise 1809, Autograph, Beethoven-Haus Bonn Digital Archive, Das Digital Beethoven-Haus, accessed June 1, 2012.  http://www.beethoven-haus-bonn.de/sixcms/detail.php?id=15259&template=dokseite_digitales_archiv_en&_eid=1507&_ug=Beethoven's%20household&_dokid=b539&_mid=Written%20documents%20by%20Ludwig%20van%20Beethoven%20and%20other%20people&suchparameter=&_seite=1

[16] Ludwig van Beethoven, Beethoven and His Bonn Friend Franz Gerhard Wegeler, trans. Frederick Noonan, Ludwig van Beethoven: The Magnificent Master, Raptus Association for Music Appreciation, last modified March 18, 2011. http://raptusassociation.org/beetfriends_e.html

[17] Ludwig van Beethoven, “Heligenstadt Testament,” Ludwig van Beethoven’s Biography, trans. Hannah Salter, accessed June 7, 2012. http://www.lvbeethoven.com/Bio/BiographyHeiligenstadtTestament.html

[18] Adam K. Kubba and Madeline Kim, “Ludwig van Beethoven: A Medical Biography,” The Lancet 247, no. 8995 (1996): 170. http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy1.apus.edu/docview/198978046/136C3A0106F192350AE/2?accountid=8289

[19] Anton Schindler, Beethoven As I Knew Him, trans. Constance S. Jolly (New York: Dover Publications), 154.

[20] “Famous Alcoholics: Beethoven?” The Discovering Alcoholic, last modified December 17, 2008. http://discoveringalcoholic.com/famous-alcoholics/famous-alcoholics-beethoven

[21] Shedlock, Beethoven’s Letters, 88.

[22] John Eliot Gardener, Program Booklet (New York: 1996), quoted in Lewis Lockwood, “Beethoven’s Leonore and Fidelio,” Journal of Interdisciplinary History (MIT Press, 2006), 474.

[23] Donald Vroon et al., “Overview: Beethoven Symphonies and Concertos,” American Record Guide, May 1995, 60. 

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