The Massacre of Saxons

Tepes' animosity for the Saxons was brought on by a split between the Hunyadi family and the Hapsburg ruler of Hungary. The Saxons backed the king of Hungary, whereas Tepes supported the Hunyadi who had assisted him in seizing the throne. Tepes was driven by loyalty rather than irrational hatred, notwithstanding the Saxon propaganda against him.

When Tepes launched a war on the Saxons, he quickly set fire to several villages and the homes of Vlad the Monk's allies. Tepes destroyed the village of Bod while advancing against Dan III's followers at Brasov and captured some people he had impaled at Targoviste. According to modern German accounts, Tepes destroyed Talmes and had the inhabitants "hacked to pieces like cabbage." He impaled any Saxon traders who broke his trade rules back in Wallachia and had some of them cooked in a big cauldron. Additionally, he impaled 41 Saxon students who he believed were spying.

An envoy from the Saxons who had been dispatched to talk to Tepes was entertained at a table with impaled bodies. Tepes torched farmland near Brasov and had people impaled and chopped to bits while Dan III was eating dinner to drive off his supporters. He is believed to have been observed dipping bread into the blood of the victims, which he claimed gave him courage. This narrative may have caught Bram Stoker's eye. In 1460, Tepes finally managed to arrest Dan, who was then beheaded after being made to dig his own grave as a priest recited the funeral rites.