Bthory was born into prominent Protestant nobility in Hungary. They included no references to blood baths. [3] The use of needles was also mentioned by the collaborators in court. After hearing the accusations, Thurz ultimately charged Bathory with the deaths of 80 girls. The fact that her parents started this sadistic behavior instead of helping her. Elizabeth Bathory, a Hungarian countess, was the daughter of Ann and George Bathory.1 She was born on August 7th, 1590, in Transylvania.2 She came from a wealthy, Protestant family that were significant landowners in Hungary. This too may have been politically motivated, as the death penalty meant that the king could seize her land. One girl even came running out of the castle with a knife still in her foot.14 The king showed no compassion or care for the peasants or servants being killed. These servants denied their culpability in the murders but admitted to burying multiple victims, though the number in their accounts varied between 36 and 51. Bathorys servants, thirteen in total, testified against her. [2] Her family ruled Transylvania as an independent region within the Hungarian kingdom. It turns out that King Matthias II owed Bathorys late husband, and then her, a sizable debt. Elizabeth was born in 1560 to George and Anna Bathory, a baron and baroness. No one living in Bthory's century alleged she was a vampire or a witch. Wikipedia, 2019, s.v. Bthory was the great-great-granddaughter of Barbara Aleksandrwna and Bolesaw IV of Warsaw, and Mikalojus Radvila the Old; the 3rd great-granddaughter of Bolesaw Januszowic; the 4th great-granddaughter of Vladimir Olgerdovich; and the 5th great-granddaughter of Algirdas. Between 1602 and 1604, after rumors of Bthory's atrocities had spread throughout the kingdom, Lutheran minister Istvn Magyari made complaints against her, both publicly and at the court in Vienna. I wouldve expected her to get decapitated or more severely punished. The body of a 54-year-old Bathory was found on August 21, 1614, in Castle achtice (located in present-day Slovakia), where she'd been imprisoned since 1610. Hungarian countess and alleged serial killer, This article is about the Hungarian countess. During her childhood, Bathory had a neurological disorder, and the environment around her only contributed to her sadistic ways. Printable . Those horrific acts of violence and the sometimes-supernatural legends that surround the crimes help define Elizabeth Bathorys terrifying legacy today. Raised in a noble family, Bathory knew a life of privilege from an early age. What was Elizabeth Bthorys childhood like? [1], There are counter-arguments made against this theory. All of Elizabeth's children were cared for by governesses, as Bthory herself had been. After these executions Thurz continued to investigate the countess. That evidence included numerous bodies and dead and dying girls found when the castle was entered by Thurz. How was Elizabeth Bathory caught? There she died in 1614 at age 54. I also did not know that part of the reason for her sadism came from her upbringing and husband. She had received it as a wedding gift from her husband, the famed Hungarian war hero Ferenc Ndasdy. [37], Bthory has been labelled by Guinness World Records as the most prolific female murderer, though the number of her victims is debated.[38]. Her company expanded internationally and changed the face of women's cosmetics. On December 30, 1609, Elizabeth Bthory and her servants were arrested. But as time went on, rumors that Bathory tortured her servants began to spread. According to widespread misbelief, Elizabeth Bthory was one of the most notorious serial killers in history, supposedly murdering over 600 women in her castle during her lifetime. However, she was arrested and detained prior to the discovery or presentation of the victims. The Habsburg court owed her money they didn't want to pay. Thurzo investigated and accumulated hundreds of witnesses, and a few were willing to testify against Bathory. Seeing that from a young age she would laugh at the torment of the servants I think it wouldve been only a matter of time. in order to explain Bthory's cruelty later in her life is that she was trained by her family to be cruel. [35] In his book Hungary and Transylvania, published in 1850, John Paget describes the supposed origins of Bthory's blood-bathing, although his tale seems to be a fictionalized recitation of oral history from the area. The youngest son, Nicolaus III (d. 1506), bishop first of Syrmia and after 1474 of Vc, excelled as a renaissance scholar and served as counselor to King Matthias Corvinus. Login to find your connection. Countess Elizabeth Bthory de Ecsed (Bthory Erzsbet in Hungarian, Albeta Btoriov in Slovak; 7 August 1560 - 21 August 1614) was a countess from the renowned Bthory family of Hungarian nobility. Elizabeth Bathory was the Countess of Ecsed, born on August 7, 1560, in Hungary. [1], In 1279, King Ladislaus IV rewarded Andrew's brother Hodos[2] It is more likely that the stories were made up by rival families. Legend has it that. The Early Life of Elizabeth Bathory. Worst case? Another woman, who'd supposedly used magic to aid Bathory, was also soon killed. The Ecsed branch commonly sided with the Habsburgs: Stephen VII, who had escaped the battle, fled with Louis' widow to Pozsony (now Bratislava), where he organized the election of Ferdinand of Austria as King of Hungary. She was a bloodsucking demon sent from Hell to murder young women. In fact, this prominent family controlled Transylvania. However, this depraved action isn't backed up by contemporaneous witness accounts (which otherwise didn't shy away from gore). Yes, there are descendants of Elizabeth Bathory that are living today. Of Stephen's six sons, Ladislaus V (d. 1474) was supreme count of the counties Szatmr and Zarnd, the second Andrew III (d. 1495) was confirmed in his possession of Bujak. No, Bthory was not a doctor/scientist/midwife. In the way that governments and authorities dont act if something happens to the poor or unprivileged. Today, Elizabeth Bathory is infamously remembered as the "Blood Countess" who killed up to 650 girls and women in the Kingdom of Hungary. If so, login to add it. A 15-year-old Bathory married Nadasdy on May 8, 1575. [34] The story came into question in 1817 when the witness accounts (which had surfaced in 1765) were published for the first time. Elizabeth Bthory (Hungarian Noblewoman and Serial Killer) Elizabeth Bthory or Erzsebet Bathory was a feared Hungarian countess who became infamous as a torturer and a vicious serial murderer. Her uncle, Stephen Bathory, was king of Poland. I really liked your article! Said bloodline was also one of generational inbreeding. 25 of the Most Evil People the World Has Ever Seen. The servants were put on trial in 1611, and three were executed. Although it is commonly believed that Bthory was caught in the act of torture, she was having dinner. Some of Bathory's victims were covered with honey and left outside for insects to devour. Thurz collected evidence from some 300 witnesses who leveled a bevy of truly horrifying charges against the countess. Though previous accounts of the murder of peasant women had apparently been ignored, the claims in 1609 that she had slain women from noble families attracted attention. The Simolin family possessed large estates in Prussia and Courland and members served the Russian Empresses Elizabeth and Catherine as diplomats. Elizabeth Bathory, a Hungarian countess, was the daughter of Ann and George Bathory. In the years after Bathorys husband passed, whispers floated around about Bathorys actions, specifically her killing young girls. The Bthory family belonged to the Gutkeled, a clan of Hungarian nobles, which traced its descent to the Swabian brothers Gut and Kelad, who immigrated into Hungary from the castle Stof (probably Staufen im Breisgau or Hohenstaufen in Wrttemberg) during the reign of King Peter (reigned 10381046), who himself was partly of Venetian descent. It was interesting to read about the impact her family and husband had on her and how they tortured so many women made my skin crawl. Being creative was fun for a while, but, we, at ElizabethBathory.Org, no longer publish educational material, nor details about the portrait for security reasons, just an image of the painting, once lost, then found, without commentary, and at considerably lower resolution. Many of the witnesses who spoke against Bathory were beholden to Thurz, who oversaw the entire investigation. [10], Another branch of the family are the Bthory of Simolin family, which was named after their estate Simony (or Simolin). Thurzo found a dead body of a girl and two other girls wounded. Imprisonment allowed family members to take control of the powerful widow's possessions (her sons-in-law knew beforehand that her arrest was coming). She also supposedly kidnapped local girls in the area who would never have come to the castle of their own free will. Countess Elizabeth Bthory de Ecsed (Hungarian: Bthori Erzsbet, pronounced [batori rebt]; Slovak: Albeta Btoriov; 7 August 1560 - 21 August 1614) was a Hungarian noblewoman and alleged serial killer from the family of Bthory, who owned land in the Kingdom of Hungary (now Slovakia).. Bthory and four of her servants were accused of torturing and killing hundreds of . Vitus killed it with three thrusts of his lance and as a reward received the castle. Elizabeth was raised on Ecsed, an estate in Transylvania. The servants, accused of aiding her in torture and murder, were put on trial in 1611; three were executed. As she was not convicted of a crime, Bathory's holdings passed to family members instead of being seized. What struck me the most was how they had seen a girl run out of her castle with a knife still in her foot but did nothing because she was a peasant and only did something once she killed a noble girl. From 1585 to 1595, Bthory bore four children. Elizabeth (Bathory) Bthory de Ecsed is Notable. However, he may have schooled her in techniques of torture when they were together. Sadistic pleasure is considered a far more plausible motive for Bthory's crimes. During this time, no laws protected servants or peasants from being tortured. Elizabeth Bthory, a Hungarian noblewoman and alleged serial killer from the 16th and 17th centuries, is certainly at the top of the. If all the stories about her are true, then she is likely the most prolific and vicious female serial killer of all time. It is only when problems start affecting the rich that governments actually take action. She sometimes even used scissors to slice open the skin between her victims fingers. This branch, since they retained the possession of Btor, are sometimes called of Btor or, as the younger branch, Nyrbtor (New Bathory).[3]. But as the story goes, Bathory didnt stop there. Elizabeth Bathory was born on August 7, 1560 in modern day Slovakia. Overall, I believe the author did a good job telling a tragic story. The fourth was spared immediate execution; what happened to her afterward is unknown. In 1575 she married Count Ferencz Ndasdy, a member of another powerful Hungarian family, and subsequently moved to Castle Cachtice, a wedding gift from the Ndasdy family. Another indication that I am an irrelevant old fart! At the time of Thurzs investigation, some accused her of being a vampire, while others claimed to have seen her have sex with the Devil. Her mother was Baroness Anna Bthory (15391570), daughter of Stephen Bthory of Somly, also voivode of Transylvania, who was of the Somly branch. The intimate nature of Bathory's attacks suggests a sexual motivation, though it's impossible to know with certainty what compelled her to act. Most of the witnesses testified that they had heard the accusations from others, but did not see it themselves. Due to his youth and the belief that he was less culpable, Jnos jvry was executed by a much less painful method: beheading. As was the custom, the young bride to be left her own home once the betrothal was official and the family of her fiance took over her education. As her husband was a soldier who was often off fighting Ottoman Turks, the couple spent most of their marriage apart. A student organization of St. Marys University of San Antonio, Texas, featuring scholarly research, writing, and media from students of all disciplines. Elizabeth Blackwell was the first woman to graduate from medical school in the United States. [19] In the last month of 1614, she signed her arrangement, in which she distributed the estates, lands and possessions among her children. However, Thurzo ordered her bricked into a windowless room in Cjsethe Castle. There are only secondary accounts of her actions. The Elizabethan era is named for her. Omissions? Just go lie down." Elizabeth Bathory was technically a subject of the Habsburg crown. Two died as infants, but two daughters and a son survived. Lancer's True Name is Elizabeth Bthory (, "Erzsbet Bthory"), the virginal fourteen year old aspect that had yet to become the monster Carmilla like her older aspect. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Elizabeth is 24 degrees from Margaret Atwood, 26 degrees from Jim Carrey, 25 degrees from Elsie Knott, 27 degrees from Gordon Lightfoot, 30 degrees from Alton Parker, 29 degrees from Beatrice Tillman, 27 degrees from Jenny Trout, 23 degrees from Justin Trudeau, 27 degrees from Edwin Boyd, 24 degrees from Barbara Hanley, 33 degrees from Fanny Rosenfeld and 27 degrees from Cathryn Hondros on our single family tree. She was a widow of one of the most powerful and wealthy noblemen of Hungary, she managed enormous estates and was documented to have been very good to her people offering scholarships and running practically a hospital in her castle. Answer (1 of 8): Jesus Christ of Nazareth is God, He is more than a prophet or a saint, He never married because He considered all women as His sisters and daughters and men as His sons and brothers, He is pure hearted and completely innocent unlike people today. The ruse worked. Bthory, though never tried, was confined to Castle Csejte (now Cachtice), reportedly kept in a bricked-in room. Bathory was born in Nyrbtor, Hungary, on August 7, 1560. Great job! She was born in 1560 to Baron George Bathory and Baroness Anne Bathory ("Blood Countess," par. Erzsebet Bathory, known more commonly in the Western world by the anglicised name Elizabeth, was born August 7th, 1560, the daughter of Baron George Bathory and Baroness Anna Bathory. However, it's unlikely Bathory was completely innocent. I find it interesting that she was born in Transylvania, the same place that Vlad Tepes (Vlad Dracula) was born. discoveries. According to the opinions of a majority of historians, legends such as her bathing in the blood of the young women were based on later rumors. I think it wouldve been a little more beneficial to focus on a specific killing story of hers if there was evidence of one. There is a rumor that Elizabeth became pregnant by a peasant right before she married Nadasdy, and he castrated the peasant and gave his body to wild dogs to eat. [16] The threat of attack was significant, for the village of Csejte had previously been plundered by the Ottomans while Srvr, located near the border that divided Royal Hungary and Ottoman-occupied Hungary, was in even greater danger. Stephen VII first proved himself as Count of Temesvr and in 1519 was elected Palatine of Hungary, as which he had to contend with the opposition of the nobility. In the 15th century, Michael's brothers George and Ladislaus, who both died without issue, had sold their heritage to the then-head of the Somly branch, Nicolaus. [8] In a 2018 article for Przegld Nauk Historycznych (Historical Science Review) Aleksandra Bartosiewicz stated that when Bthory was persecuted, the accusations were a spectacle to destroy her family's influence in the region, which was considered a threat to the political interests of her neighbors, including the Habsburg empire.[9]. Ive never heard this story before but it reminded me of the move snow white and the huntsman. Elizabeth Bthory was a Hungarian countess who purportedly tortured and murdered more than 600 young women in the 16th17th century. There is no document to prove that anyone in the area complained about the Countess. [3] Some insist she inspired Bram Stoker's Dracula (1897),[11] although Stoker's notes on the novel provided no direct evidence to support this hypothesis. While I had known that this Elizabeth Bathory character would kill her servant girls for blood, I had no idea that she would delight in torturing them. This witch inspired most of Bathorys brutal and sadistic killings. Tags: elizabeth bathory, fate, fate grand order, fgo, fate elizabeth bathory, fate elizabeth, fate liz. The evidence gathered by Thurz also included 289 witness statements. Better known in the West as Elizabeth Bathory and Vlad Dracula, they were in their own places and ages already infamous, though for different reasons. Countess Elizabeth Bthory de Ecsed (Bthory Erzsbet in Hungarian, Albeta Btoriov in Slovak; 7 August 1560 - 21 August 1614) was a countess from the renowned Bthory family of Hungarian nobility. Considering the mythologized elements of Bathorys alleged crimes, it begs the question of how much of her bloody story was actually true and how much was made up just to take a powerful and wealthy woman down. Elizabeth was not the mother of the youngsters she murdered, yet ''she was related by blood or marriage to nearly all the victims named in the testimonies'' (Thorne 31). For other uses, see. 1). Their hands showed burn marks, or their faces were disfigured. The countess is also known as one of the bloodiest women in . [25], The highest number of victims cited during the trial of Bthory's accomplices was 650, but this number comes from the claim by a servant girl named Susannah that Jakab Szilvssy, Bthory's court official, had seen the figure in one of Bthory's private books. Majorova convinced Bathory to kill noble women because fewer and fewer servants wanted to work for Bathory. [3], The younger branch of the family, the Bthory of Ecsed, were descended from Luke, the youngest son of Briccius. [33] Moreover, Matthias owed a large debt to Bthory, which was cancelled after she was arrested. [31] The location of her body today is unknown but believed to be buried deep in the church area of the castle. Some accounts of her life include her giving birth to an illegitimate child, fathered by another man, before her marriage. A great example of what a bad upbringing can do and the potential of a bad upbringing to not only bring harm to the person involved but the society as well. My jaw dropped the moment I read that she had more than 600 victims. Her trial was not fair by the standards of her time (torturing witnesses, etc.) Her family contributed to her sadism by torturing their servants and peasants.4 One story suggests that after Bathory witnessed a man being sewn into a horses stomach for theft, she laughed at the sight of it.5 Bathory saw her family members torture their servants for fun, and this turned her adolescent self into a full-blown killer. However, it's possible Bathory was not guilty of all the crimes that have been laid at her feet. Bthory's other known children include Orsolya (Orsika) Ndasdy (1590 unknown) who would later become the wife of Istvn II Beny; Katalin (Kata or Katherina) Ndasdy (1594 unknown); Andrs Ndasdy (15961603); and Pl (Paul) Ndasdy (15981650), father of Franz III Ndasdy, who was one of the leaders of the Magnate conspiracy against Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I. [5][6][7] Other writers, such as Michael Farin in 1989 have said that the accusations against Bthory were supported by testimony from more than 300 individuals, some of whom described physical evidence and the presence of mutilated dead, dying and imprisoned girls found at the time of her arrest. After the death of the count on the battlefield in January 1604, horrifying suspicions of torture, murder and vampirism were voiced against Elizabeth. [9] Her older brother, Stephen Bthory (15551605), served as a Judge Royal of Hungary. One witness stated that Bthory herself had listed 650 victims in her papers, though the number of victims varied in other testimonials and the countess' exact death toll remains unknown. Bthory was born into prominent Protestant nobility in Hungary. In 1573,[9] Bthory was engaged to Count Ferenc Ndasdy, a member of the Nadasdy family. In addition to shifting blame to their mistress and each other, they also implicated a deceased servant, Darvulia, who'd served as a maid and governess. As a wealthy noblewoman, Bathory evaded the law until 1610, according to the History Channel. [30] She was buried in the church of Csejte on 25 November 1614,[30] but according to some sources due to the villagers' uproar over having the Countess buried in their cemetery, her body was moved to her birth home at Ecsed, where it was interred at the Bthory family crypt. Elizabeth pleaded her innocence to Thurzo, though he did not believe her, and he eventually arrested her.15 Bathory was only put on house arrest, because they did not want to cause a scene to the public, but rumors were already going around about what she did. After learning about Elizabeth Bathory, the infamous Blood Countess, read about Britains most notorious female serial killer, Myra Hindley. She celebrated 70 years on the throne in June 2022 with her Platinum Jubilee. While I have no doubt she might have reached the sadistic level she was, I believe her upbringing where her parents tortured and mutilated their servants, combined with the sadistic nature of her husband helped her reach that level much quicker. At the age of 13, before her first marriage, Bthory allegedly gave birth to a child. Her parents were both Bthory, her father was Baron George VI Bthory of the Ecsed branch of the Bthory family and her mother was Baroness Anna Bthory. She used tools such as knives, razors, and wax to torture them.12 She would also bite pieces of flesh off of her victims.13 The people who lived in the same town as Bathory saw the girls that she tortured while they ran errands. Elizabeth Bthory (or Erzsbet, to use the Hungarian spelling) was born into a Hungarian noble family on the 7th August, 1560. In the early modern period, the family brought forth several Princes of Transylvania and one King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania (Stephen Bthory). The Bthory family (Polish: Batory) was a Hungarian noble family of the Gutkeled clan. She met Erzsi Majorova soon after, who practiced witchcraft. That said, one witness claimed to have seen a book kept by Bathory herself, where she recorded the names of all of her victims 650 in total. Since the Dragfi estates were legally due to the crown, the Habsburgs forced George to yield the castles and withdrew to Csitsva in Zempln County. The most common motif of these works was that of the countess bathing in her virgin victims' blood to retain beauty or youth. As was the case with many noble families at the time, the family had long been marrying relatives to keep their status; thus, some theorize that Elizabeth's inbred ancestry could have left her vulnerable to mental instability. But Bathorys case may not have been as cut and dry as it seemed. Gyrgy Ndasdy is also supposedly the name of one of the deceased Ndasdy infants, but this cannot be confirmed. High-quality Elizabeth Bathory pillows, tapestries, mugs, blankets, shower curtains, aprons, jigsaw. It pains my mind just to think of it! After the trials concluded, Thurzo founded Bathory guilty, and she stayed in solitary confinement in her castle, Cachtice, for the rest of her life. Bathory was accused of a haunting litany of crimes against both female servants and minor noblewomen who'd come to her for training and education. Transylvania is also infamous for the reputation of . [19] Her family, which ruled Transylvania, sought to avoid the loss of Bthory's property which was at risk of being seized by the crown following a public scandal. She allegedly tortured and murdered these women between 1585 and 1609. That said, families of her stature could pretty much do as they wished provided that they were not overtly disloyal to the crown. As an intelligent, powerful woman who ruled without a man at her side, and as a member of a family whose wealth intimidated the king, his court went on a mission to discredit and ruin her. Perhaps, historians say, the true story of Elizabeth Bathory looks more like this: The countess owned strategically important land that increased her familys already vast wealth. [18] This does not contribute to the notion of a Catholic/Habsburg plot against the Protestant Bthory, although religious tension is still a possible source of conflict, as Bthory was raised Calvinist, not Lutheran. And some say she would later use that power to commit heinous acts. Uncanny parallels between the two. The possible causes were very well documented and the cruelty leaves me to wonder how many innocent people died at the hands of sadistic powerful rulers who enjoyed torture. He reportedly surprised Bathory in the middle of tormenting a victim and in response immediately imprisoned her in her home (her high status meant she would not be jailed as a common criminal). She tried to cover it up by saying the girl committed suicide. This article caught my eye because there is a Swedish extreme Metal band that goes by the same name (Bathory). [citation needed] Some chronicles also indicate that the couple had another son, named Mikls Ndasdy, although this cannot be confirmed, and it could be that he was simply a cousin or died young, as he is not named in Bthory's will from 1610. The third son, Stephen V (d. 1493) excelled as a military commander and was made Voivode of Transylvania, the first of a long line of Bthory rulers of that country. Her family controlled Transylvania, and her uncle Stephen Bthory was king of Poland. Countess Erzsbet Bthory, also known as Elizabeth Bathory, was a member of a powerful family from an estate at the foot of the Carpathian Mountains, the Bathory family. Matthias was not inclined to pay that debt, which historians say may have fueled his move to incriminate the countess in multiple crimes and deny her the opportunity to defend herself in court. and she had complete control over the lives of the peasants living in the . Elizabeth Bthory, Hungarian form Bthory Erzsbet, (born August 7, 1560, Nyrbtor, Hungarydied August 21, 1614, Castle Cachtice, Cachtice, Hungary [now in Slovakia]), Hungarian countess who purportedly tortured and murdered hundreds of young women in the 16th and 17th centuries. The family divided into two major branches, which descended from the sons and grandsons of Yes, there are descendants of Elizabeth Bathory that are living today. [citation needed] The castle had been bought by his mother in 1569 and given to Ndasdy, who transferred it to Elizabeth during their nuptials, together with the Csejte country house and seventeen adjacent villages. Countess Elizabeth Bathory. CONTENT MAY BE COPYRIGHTED BY WIKITREE COMMUNITY MEMBERS. Her relatives included the governor of Transylvania, The king of Poland, and the prince of Transylvania. Her father was Baron George VI Bthory, brother of the voivode of Transylvania, Andrew Bonaventura Bthory. Peasant girls looking for servant work in the Csejte Castle were disappearing, and no one knew why. And when Bathorys husband died in 1604, these views became much more widespread and dramatic. Katarna Benick received a life sentence after evidence showed that she'd been abused by the other women.
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