Liz Torture Throw Pillow. Two of the women and the male servant were sentenced to death, which was quickly carried out. Any remains or signs of her or her body cannot be found today. She was raised at the family castle in Ecsd. [9], In 1578, three years into their marriage, Ndasdy became the chief commander of Hungarian troops, leading them to war against the Ottomans. There is no evidence that she actually committed the crimes she of which she was alleged. [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. After the death of the count on the battlefield in January 1604, horrifying suspicions of torture, murder and vampirism were voiced against Elizabeth. 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. 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. Bathory herself was spared from execution due to her status as a noble. Tony Thorne. As a child, Bthory had multiple seizures that may have been caused by epilepsy. Katarna Benick received a life sentence after evidence showed that she'd been abused by the other women. [4][6][24] Two trials were held in the wake of Bthory's arrest: the first was held on 2 January 1611, and the second on 7 January 1611. At the age of 13, before her first marriage, Bthory allegedly gave birth to a child. Elizabeth Bathory Home & Living. By mid -1596, we know that Erzsbet Bthory had three living children: daughters Anna, Orsolya (Orsika), and Katalin (Kata), and that Erzsbet was pregnant with son Andrs. Elizabeth Bthory, Hungarian form Bthory Erzsbet, (born August 7, 1560, Nyrbtor, Hungary-died 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. discoveries. Elizabeth Bthory, or Bthory Erzsbet in her native Hungarian, was born in Nyrbtor on August 7, 1560. Rate this book. The fact that her parents started this sadistic behavior instead of helping her. While facing fraud charges, she was publicly revealed to be a transgender woman. Descendant of both the Ecsed and Somly branches of the Bathory family. Her family controlled Transylvania, and her uncle Stephen Bthory was king of Poland. The most famous relative was Istvan (ISHT-vahn) Bathory (1533-86). Some of Bathory's victims were covered with honey and left outside for insects to devour. As a wealthy noblewoman, Bathory evaded the law until 1610, according to the History Channel. (726) $5.00. However, it's unlikely Bathory was completely innocent. Her mother was Baroness Anna Bthory (15391570), daughter of Stephen Bthory of Somly, also voivode of Transylvania, who was of the Somly branch. Elizabeth was born August of 1560 to a powerful branch of the royal family in Hungary. Wikimedia CommonsMany modern Hungarian scholars believe that the accusations against Elizabeth Bathory were exaggerated. According to the contemporary reports and the stories told long after, Elizabeth Bathory tortured girls and young women in unspeakable ways. Vitus killed it with three thrusts of his lance and as a reward received the castle. She allegedly tortured and murdered these women between 1585 and 1609. A student organization of St. Marys University of San Antonio, Texas, featuring scholarly research, writing, and media from students of all disciplines. Great job! Likewise, some historians say that witnesses probably provided the incriminating yet contradictory testimonies under duress and that the king called for the death penalty before Bathorys family could intervene on her behalf. There is no document to prove that anyone in the area complained about the Countess. You can see in the photo that II. Highly interesting and indulging article that I enjoyed reading. She was born into one of the noble families of Hungary, the Bathory family which uses the fang of a dragon as its crest. IMPORTANT PRIVACY NOTICE & DISCLAIMER: YOU HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY TO USE CAUTION WHEN DISTRIBUTING PRIVATE INFORMATION. [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. 25 of the Most Evil People the World Has Ever Seen. Elizabeth Warren is a Democrat from Massachusetts who was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2012 and ran for her party's presidential nomination in 2020. Ndasdy was the son of Baron Tams Ndasdy de Ndasd et Fogarasfld and Orsolya Kanizsai. For other uses, see. However, he may have schooled her in techniques of torture when they were together. The evidence against Bathory has flaws: Of 289 witness accounts, more than 250 offered either hearsay or no information whatsoever. Bathory gave birth to five children. Another servant, Erzsi Majorova, initially escaped capture, but was burned alive after being apprehended. Make 2023 the year to let that wonderful you-ness shine. Bathorys husband enjoyed killing so much, especially during wars, that he received the nickname Black Knight of Hungary.7 Nadasdy taught Bathory new techniques or tricks when torturing her servants. Others reported having seen traces of torture on dead bodies, some of which were buried in graveyards, and others in unmarked locations. Transylvanian Countess Elizabeth Bthory "The Blood Countess" (1560-1614) is often described as the first atypical and very rare, pathological hedonist lust female serial killer, as opposed to the more typical profit-motivated "black widows . Hungarian countess and alleged serial killer, This article is about the Hungarian countess. History has a way of turning powerful women into folklore. [citation needed], On 8 May 1575, Bthory and Ndasdy were married at the palace of Vranov nad Topou (Varann in Hungarian). [9] The marriage resulted in combined land ownership in both Transylvania and the Kingdom of Hungary. However, it's possible Bathory was not guilty of all the crimes that have been laid at her feet. Her company expanded internationally and changed the face of women's cosmetics. But Bathorys case may not have been as cut and dry as it seemed. I was also struck by the punishment she got because from everything she did, I would have thought she would have gotten a stricter punishment. 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. 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. After the harsh and fierce battle, Hungary was torn apart by the conflict between the rival royal claims. The testimony against Bathory could have included true tales about how harshly she acted with lower classes. Some accounts of her life include her giving birth to an illegitimate child, fathered by another man, before her marriage. Many modern Hungarian scholars believe that the accusations against Elizabeth Bathory were exaggerated. The testimony that Bathory had listed 650 victims was a secondhand accounting of what a court official had discovered yet the official who'd supposedly seen this information didn't testify. This is thought to be one of the reasons she became obsessed over blood. The Chilling Story Of Simon Monjack, The 'Disturbed' Husband Of Brittany Murphy, Michael Hutchence Was One Of The World's Biggest Rock Stars Then He Choked Himself To Death In A Sydney Hotel, What Stephen Hawking Thinks Threatens Humankind The Most, 27 Raw Images Of When Punk Ruled New York, Join The All That's Interesting Weekly Dispatch. There is no evidence that she actually committed the crimes she of which she was alleged. While Nadasdy taught her how to torture, yet another person in her life would teach her how to kill. How did they find each other? [citation needed] Thurz, along with Paul and her two sons-in-law, originally planned for Bthory to be sent to a nunnery, but as accounts of her actions spread, they decided to keep her under strict house arrest.[22]. [31] The location of her body today is unknown but believed to be buried deep in the church area of the castle. And the fact that Bathory's servants were tortured makes their confessions unreliable. the surrounding dragon being the emblem of the Order of the Dragon. Bthory of Simolin [ edit] 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. [3] The use of needles was also mentioned by the collaborators in court. It is not known if Elizabeth was actually caught in the act of harming her servants. Bthory was born into prominent Protestant nobility in Hungary. Have you taken a DNA test? From that time, he never fully recovered, and in 1603 became permanently disabled. In a way, things that happened back then are still happening now. Want to Read. During the trial, witnesses explained how Bathory would lure in servant girls to kill. Although in modern times she has been labelled the most prolific female serial killer in history, her guilt is debated. George strengthened his alliance to Stephen by marrying his sister Anna, uniting the branches. Elizabeth's father was George VI Bthory, who was from the Bthory family's Esced branch. Elizabeth Bathory was technically a subject of the Habsburg crown. 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. However, this depraved action isn't backed up by contemporaneous witness accounts (which otherwise didn't shy away from gore). She also supposedly kidnapped local girls in the area who would never have come to the castle of their own free will. 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. Istvan Magyari, a Lutheran minister, filed a complaint about Bathory. ], A proposal made by some sources[who?] Afterwards, his body was burned on the same pyre as J and Szentes. To cure her epilepsy, her family took blood from servants and put it on her lips. In this time period, if someone was harmed, or someone even stole a chicken, a letter of complaint was written. During her childhood, Bathory had a neurological disorder, and the environment around her only contributed to her sadistic ways. [4], The case of Elizabeth Bthory inspired numerous stories during the 18th and 19th centuries. 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). In 1526, he fought in the disastrous Battle of Mohcs against the Ottomans, in which King Louis II fell. It pains my mind just to think of it! During the time she lived, she was one of the most powerful women in Hungary.21 She gained notoriety and received the nickname Blood Countess through her deviant acts.22 Bathory is known today for being one of the worst female, serial killers. 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. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. Why might Bathory have been subject to outside machinations? [18] In 1610, Matthias II assigned Gyrgy Thurz, the Palatine of Hungary, to investigate. The investigation into Bthory's crimes was sparked by complaints from a Lutheran minister, Istvn Magyari. And when Bathorys husband died in 1604, these views became much more widespread and dramatic. Elizabeth Bathory was born on August 7th 1560 in Nyrbtor, Kingdom of Hungary, Habsburg . She was forty-three at the time of Ferencz's death and known to be terrified of growing old and losing her beauty. Luke possessed wide estates in Szatmr and was granted by King Charles Robert the lordship of Ecsed, where he built the castle called Hsg (loyalty). Anna was born roughly in the year 1585, and Katalin approximately 1594. In the early part of the 17th century, a Hungarian countess named Elizabeth Bathory was accused of murdering some 650 women across what is today known as Slovakia. The servants confessed under torture, which is not credible in contemporary proceedings. It is only when problems start affecting the rich that governments actually take action. [2] She was from a very important family that included kings, cardinals, knights, and judges. She had received it as a wedding gift from her husband, the famed Hungarian war hero Ferenc Ndasdy. If not, see our friends at Ancestry DNA. [14][original research? Elizabeth Bathory (1560-1614) was a countess who lived in Transylvania, then a part of the Kingdom of Hungary. [clarification needed] She was detained in the castle of Csejte for the remainder of her life, where she died at the age of 54. When Nadasdy passed away in 1604, he gave his whole estate away to Bathory including his castle, Cachtice, in modern day Slovakia. The Bathory Nadasdy family agreed to cancel Matthias's debts- and Matthias decided that Elizabeth Bathory would disappear behind the walls of her castle. Through her mother, Elizabeth was the niece of the Hungarian noble Stephen Bthory (15331586), the King of Poland, the Grand Duke of Lithuania of the PolishLithuanian Commonwealth, and Prince of Transylvania. Craft, Kimberly, "Infamous Lady: The True Story of Countess Erzsbet Bthory." 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. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. That's because of digital content theft! [citation needed], Bthory's daughter, Anna Ndasdy, was born in 1585 and was later to become the wife of Nikola VI Zrinski. CONTENT MAY BE COPYRIGHTED BY WIKITREE COMMUNITY MEMBERS. Worst case? 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. Her family lands, dotted across today's Slovakia, were part of the 'Kingdom of Hungary' that was absorbed by the Habsburgs in 1536. Simon Kezai, Lzl Veszprmy, Frank Schaer (ed. 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. Omissions? The fact that a large debt owed by Matthias to Bthory was canceled by her family in exchange for permitting them to manage her captivity suggests that the acts attributed to her were politically motivated slander that allowed relatives to appropriate her lands. However, Thurzo ordered her bricked into a windowless room in Cjsethe Castle. 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. its 1560 not 1590. According to witnesses, Bathorys crimes took place between 1590 and 1610, with most of the vicious murders happening after her husbands death in 1604. Her family betrothed Bathory to Count Ferencz Ndasdy when she was 11 or 12. A powerful terror ruled over lands in Hungary in the 16th century. Elizabeth Bthory (born Ecsedi Bthory Erzsbet in Hungarian) came from the noble Protestant family Bthory, who owned land in the Kingdom of Hungary. [citation needed] Bthory managed business affairs and the family's multiple estates during the war. It is also interesting to note that the King of Hungary only took notice or sent someone to investigate the disappearances of young girls when it was young noble girls disappearing. 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars. [10] Legends describing her vampiric tendencies, such as the tale that she bathed in the blood of virgins to retain her youth, were generally recorded years after her death and are considered unreliable. Raised in a noble family, Bathory knew a life of privilege from an early age. She told her guard that her hands were cold, and the next day the guard found her dead.20 She was buried somewhere around her castle, Cachtice. A late 16th-century copy of the now-lost portrait of Elizabeth Bathory, painted in 1585 when she was 25 years old. Elisabeth Sherman is a writer living in Jersey City, New Jersey. 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