\documentclass[11pt,twocolumn]{article}
\title{The Historical Dracula?}
\author{Antoni Diller}
\begin{document}
\maketitle
\noindent
There is growing evidence that Bram Stoker's Count Dracula
was based on the historical figure of Vlad III \c{T}epe\c{s}
(1431--1476) of Wallachia, which is south-east of
Transylvania.  This prince is more commonly known as Vlad the
Impaler, because of a penchant for a particularly unpleasant
form of capital punishment whose precise details are perhaps
best left to the reader's imagination.  In present-day
Romania he is revered as a national hero.
\newpage

Vlad's father was a member of the Order of the Dragon---one
of several semi-military and religious orders of knights then
in existence---and came to be called `Dracul'.  The word
\textit{drac} in Romanian means \textit{dragon} (but it can also
mean \textit{devil}) and the ending {\itshape ul\/} is simply the
definite article.  Vlad the Impaler thus came to be called
`Dracula'.  The final letter {\itshape a\/} in {\itshape dracula\/} is
a diminutive and the whole thing just means
{\itshape son of dracul}.
\end{document}

