[6] A further division occurred under the great-grandsons of Ladislaus (latter half of the 15th century): John and Stephen dropped the name Bthory and founded the Szaniszlfi family, while Nikolaus continued the Somly branch. Transylvania is also infamous for the reputation of . While historical documents seem to support the accusations against her, modern research indicates that Bthory, a powerful woman, might have been the target of politically motivated slander that allowed relatives to appropriate her lands. In fact, this prominent family controlled Transylvania. 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. [2] She was from a very important family that included kings, cardinals, knights, and judges. Ladislaus, Count of Szabolcs, married Anna Meggyesi and received Somly as dowry. discoveries. She was raised at the family castle in Ecsd. Elizabeth Bathory was born in 1560 to Baron George VI Bathory and Baroness Anna Bathory in Nyirbator, Hungary. I have never heard of this story, it was very interesting to read and learn about! If all the stories about her are true, then she is likely the most prolific and vicious female serial killer of all time. In an attempt to maintain her vast network of servants and victims, she began luring peasant girls to her estate with the promise of work. Elizabeth Bthory was born in 1560 to Protestant nobility in Hungary. Although the exact nature of the illness which led to his death is unknown, it seems to have started in 1601, and initially caused debilitating pain in his legs. 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. [17] To support Bthory's innocence, the testimony of around 300 witnesses[citation needed] and the physical evidence collected by the investigators have to be addressed or disputed. 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. In 1602 a priest wrote a letter that discussed the excessive cruelty exhibited by Bathory and her husband towards their servants. Elizabeth was born in 1560 to George and Anna Bathory, a baron and baroness. Stories about Bthory quickly became part of national folklore. Witnesses claimed that Bathorys favorite method of torture was using scissors to mutilate her victims bodies and faces. [34] The story came into question in 1817 when the witness accounts (which had surfaced in 1765) were published for the first time. Initially, Thurz made the declaration to Bthory's guests and villagers that he had caught her red-handed. 2008 - 2022 INTERESTING.COM, INC. Her father was Baron George VI Bthory, brother of the voivode of Transylvania, Andrew Bonaventura Bthory. [31] The location of her body today is unknown but believed to be buried deep in the church area of the castle. Elisabeth Sherman is a writer living in Jersey City, New Jersey. There are only secondary accounts of her actions. I also find intriguing that Bathory was not charged with something more serious. Great job! Her family controlled Transylvania, and her uncle Stephen Bthory was king of Poland. 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. Stammtafel nach Alexander von Simolin - printed in Farin, Voivode (and later Prince) of Transylvania, List of titled noble families in the Kingdom of Hungary, "Bram Stoker, Elizabeth Bathory and Dracula", "A genealogy of the founders of the Bthory family", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bthory_family&oldid=1105322508, Articles lacking reliable references from August 2012, Short description is different from Wikidata, All articles with specifically marked weasel-worded phrases, Articles with specifically marked weasel-worded phrases from February 2019, Pages using infobox family with unknown parameters, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0. Elizabeth Smart spent nine months in captivity after being abducted from her home at age 14 in 2002. Highly interesting and indulging article that I enjoyed reading. This role usually included responsibility for the Hungarian and Slovak people, providing medical care during the Long War (15931606), and Bthory was charged with the defense of her husband's estates, which lay on the route to Vienna. 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. Bathory sometimes tortured girls by driving needles into their fingers, cutting their noses or lips or whipping them with stinging nettles. [9] Her older brother, Stephen Bthory (15551605), served as a Judge Royal of Hungary. Actress Elizabeth Taylor starred in films like 'Cat on a Hot Tin Roof' and 'Butterfield 8' but was just as famous for her violet eyes and scandalous love life. 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. Zpolya appointed Stephen VIII Voivode of Transylvania, which he governed until his death in 1534. Afterwards, his body was burned on the same pyre as J and Szentes. The servants and Majorova who helped gather young women for Bathory to kill were all killed by either burning or beheading as a result of the trial.16 Elizabeth did not face a harsh death sentence. 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. . The family divided into two major branches, which descended from the sons and grandsons of [9], Ndasdy's wedding gift to Bthory was his household, Castle of Csejte,[9] situated in the Little Carpathians near Vg-Ujhely and Trencsn (present-day Nov Mesto nad Vhom and Trenn, Slovakia). When the trial ended, Bathorys alleged accomplices one of whom had worked as a wet nurse for the countess children were convicted of witchcraft and burned at the stake. How was Elizabeth Bathory caught? There is no evidence that she actually committed the crimes she of which she was alleged. Anna was born roughly in the year 1585, and Katalin approximately 1594. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Abridged from Female Serial Killers: How and Why Women Become Monsters by Peter Vronsky. By 1578, Ndasdy had become the chief commander of the Hungarian army and embarked on a military campaign against the Ottoman Empire, leaving his wife in charge of his vast estates and the governing of the local populace. Countess Elisabeth Bthory (August 7, 1560 - August 21, 1614) was a Hungarian noblewoman who has become renowned as a pre-modern Serial Killer, allegedly kidnapping, torturing, and murdering dozens of young peasant girls. Bthory was born into prominent Protestant nobility in Hungary. What was Elizabeth Bthorys childhood like? Bathory took the advice, which turned out be a mistake for her. She was initially buried in the crypt on her estate, but her body was likely moved afterward. This page has been accessed 12,844 times. Raised in a noble family, Bathory knew a life of privilege from an early age. Printable . Her relatives included the governor of Transylvania, The king of Poland, and the prince of Transylvania. There is still no physical evidence to this day that proves she is innocent or guilty. Corrections? George and Anna Bthory produced the most infamous member of the family, Elizabeth, a widow Countess who was eventually tried and found guilty of murdering hundreds of young peasant girls over the course of twenty years, making her the most prolific serial killer in history. George strengthened his alliance to Stephen by marrying his sister Anna, uniting the branches. The countess is also known as one of the bloodiest women in . 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. She met Erzsi Majorova soon after, who practiced witchcraft. This family was literally so powerful, they had multiple branches. 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. I also did not know that part of the reason for her sadism came from her upbringing and husband. [citation needed], Several authors, such as Lszl Nagy and Dr. Irma Szdeczky-Kardoss, have argued that Elizabeth Bthory was a victim of a conspiracy. [3][6][7][bettersourceneeded] Many of the witnesses who spoke against Bathory were beholden to Thurz, who oversaw the entire investigation. Elizabeth Bathory Home & Living. In Hungarian the word btor means "brave". The citizens of Hungary did not even speak Bathorys name for hundreds of years.18 Conspiracy theories argue that Bathory was actually innocent. As her husband was a soldier who was often off fighting Ottoman Turks, the couple spent most of their marriage apart. Bathory, a scion of a powerful Hungarian family and the product of inbreeding between Baron George Bathory and Baroness Anna Bathory, called the Csejte Castle home. 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). Even then, the punishment Bathory faced was nowhere near as cruel as what she did to these young girls. I really liked your article! 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. Others reported having seen traces of torture on dead bodies, some of which were buried in graveyards, and others in unmarked locations. 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. It is not known if Elizabeth was actually caught in the act of harming her servants. She allegedly burned her victims with hot irons, beat them to death with clubs, stuck needles under their fingernails, poured ice water over their bodies and left them to freeze to death outside in the cold, covered them in honey so that bugs could feast on their exposed skin, sewed their lips together, and bit off chunks of flesh from their breasts and faces. If not, see our friends at Ancestry DNA. After taking a lover at age 13 and giving birth to a secret love child, Elizabeth was married shortly before turning 15 to a nobleman named Ferenc Nadasdy. So, Hungarian King Matthias II sent his highest-ranking representative, Gyrgy Thurz, to investigate the complaints against her. After these executions Thurz continued to investigate the countess. The investigation into Bthory's crimes was sparked by complaints from a Lutheran minister, Istvn Magyari. The Bthory family (Polish: Batory) was a Hungarian noble family of the Gutkeled clan. Bathory Erszabet and Vlad III Tepes are separated by more than a century, but united in the reputation they developed outside of Eastern Europe for cruelty, brutality, and bloodthirstiness. [19] On 31 December, Thurz went to Csejte Castle and arrested Bthory along with four of her servants, who were accused of being her accomplices: Dorotya Semtsz, Ilona J, Katarna Benick and Jnos jvry ("Ibis" or Fick). Hambly. [15] The child, said to have been fathered by a peasant boy, was supposedly given away to a local woman who was trusted by the Bthory family. I will start with the claims where the evidence is clearest: No, Bthory did not keep a list of her victims/"patients". How did they find each other? The Csejte church and the castle of Csejte do not bear any markings of her possible grave. Omissions? Her family betrothed Bathory to Count Ferencz Ndasdy when she was 11 or 12. In 1526, he fought in the disastrous Battle of Mohcs against the Ottomans, in which King Louis II fell. [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. There is no evidence that she actually committed the crimes she of which she was alleged. 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. Descendant of both the Ecsed and Somly branches of the Bathory family. Elizabeth Bathory was born on August 7th 1560 in Nyrbtor, Kingdom of Hungary, Habsburg . Both her parents' side were nobility and this they had achieved from small beginnings. That's because of digital content theft! Imprisonment allowed family members to take control of the powerful widow's possessions (her sons-in-law knew beforehand that her arrest was coming). Although in modern times she has been labelled the most prolific female serial killer in history, her guilt is debated. But before long, many locals began to point their fingers at Countess Elizabeth Bathory. George and Anna were both Bathorys by birth; he a member of the Ecsed branch of the family and of the Somlyo. 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 Serial Killer was active in the following countries: Slovakia. Updates? (2009). And the fact that Bathory's servants were tortured makes their confessions unreliable. Elizabeth Bthory was born on a family estate in Nyrbtor, Royal Hungary in 1560 or 1561, the daughter of Baron George VI Bthory and Baroness Anna Bthory. 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. Elizabeth Bthory, or Bthory Erzsbet in her native Hungarian, was born in Nyrbtor on August 7, 1560. [9] The marriage resulted in combined land ownership in both Transylvania and the Kingdom of Hungary. I was researching about it today and I found a family tree of her husband Ferenc Nadasdy. Two died as infants, but two daughters and a son survived. 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. She was born into a powerful and very well connected Transylvanian family. She suffered from epilepsy as a child, possibly from familial inbreeding. During the trial, witnesses explained how Bathory would lure in servant girls to kill. There were several instances where Bthory intervened on behalf of destitute women, including a woman whose husband was captured by the Ottomans and a woman whose daughter was raped and impregnated. 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. 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. For years, citizens were frightened of Elizabeth Bathory. and it is widely believed that the case was to seize her assets. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. [15] The woman was paid for her actions, and the child was taken to Wallachia. I wouldve expected her to get decapitated or more severely punished. A real person, born in 1560, died in 1614. As Gyrgy Thurz wrote, Elizabeth Bthory was locked in a bricked room, but according to other sources (written documents from the visit of priests, July 1614), she was able to move freely and unhindered in the castle, more akin to house arrest. An Examination of the Life and Trial of Erzsbet Bthory", "The falling sickness. Bathory herself was spared from execution due to her status as a noble. A history of epilepsy from the Greeks to the beginnings of modern neurology", "Bthory Erzsbet Bthory Erzsbet: Short FAQ", "No Blood in the Water: The Legal and GenderConspiracies Against Countess Elizabeth Bathory in Historical Context", "The Early Ottoman Period, Including Royal Hungary, 15261606", "Elizabeth Bthory Drop of Blood Festival: 16 August 2014", "A genealogy of the Ndasdy family, including her descendants", A complete genealogy of all descendants Elizabeth Bthory (17th-20th century), https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Elizabeth_Bthory&oldid=1132822934, Wikipedia articles needing page number citations from March 2018, Short description is different from Wikidata, Wikipedia references cleanup from March 2021, Articles covered by WikiProject Wikify from March 2021, All articles covered by WikiProject Wikify, Articles containing Hungarian-language text, All articles that may contain original research, Articles that may contain original research from October 2021, All articles with specifically marked weasel-worded phrases, Articles with specifically marked weasel-worded phrases from October 2021, Articles with unsourced statements from September 2021, Articles with unsourced statements from October 2017, Articles with unsourced statements from October 2021, Wikipedia articles needing clarification from October 2021, Articles with unsourced statements from May 2021, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 10 January 2023, at 19:35. 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