This article was incredible! And the fact that Bathory's servants were tortured makes their confessions unreliable. For years, citizens were frightened of Elizabeth Bathory. Printable . They included no references to blood baths. During colder parts of the year young women might be stripped naked and forced into deadly ice baths. WIKITREE PROTECTS MOST SENSITIVE INFORMATION BUT ONLY TO THE EXTENT STATED IN THE TERMS OF SERVICE AND PRIVACY POLICY. 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. [citation needed], Ferenc Ndasdy died on 4 January 1604 at the age of 48. In 1610 she was accused of gruesome acts of serial murder and confined to her home of Castle achtice, where she remained until her death. [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. Wikimedia CommonsMany modern Hungarian scholars believe that the accusations against Elizabeth Bathory were exaggerated. She pled innocent to each crime. Instead, she was diagnosed as criminally insane.17. discoveries. If all the stories about her are true, then she is likely the most prolific and vicious female serial killer of all time. There is no document to prove that anyone in the area complained about the Countess. Extremely well written article. [21], Thurz debated further proceedings with Bthory's son Paul and two of her sons-in-law, Nikola VI Zrinski and Gyrgy Drugeth. Elizabeth Bthory (or Erzsbet, to use the Hungarian spelling) was born into a Hungarian noble family on the 7th August, 1560. Ndasdy was the son of Baron Tams Ndasdy de Ndasd et Fogarasfld and Orsolya Kanizsai. with video tutorial . 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. As a wealthy noblewoman, Bathory evaded the law until 1610, according to the History Channel. Yes, there are descendants of Elizabeth Bathory that are living today. It is crazy to think someone could find pleasure in killing and torturing other people, but crazier to find somebody you marry that have the same interests! Thurz ordered two notaries, Andrs Keresztry and Mzes Czirky,[19] to collect evidence in March 1610. In 1575 she married Count Ferencz Ndasdy and moved to Castle Csejte (now in Cachtice, Slovakia), a wedding gift from Ndasdys family. The servants were put on trial in 1611, and three were executed. Legend has it that. 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. 1 She was born on August 7th, 1590, in Transylvania. For example, he instructed her to strip her servants naked, cover them in honey, and let bugs eat at them.8 Elizabeths husband, Nadasdy, was yet another influence to why she became obsessed with torturing her servants. The best-case scenario is that Bathory abused her servants but came nowhere near the level of violence alleged at her trial. [3] She was well- educated, beautiful and wealthy. Elizabeth I was a long-ruling queen of England, governing with relative stability and prosperity for 44 years. Countess Elizabeth Bthory de Ecsed (Hungarian: Bthori Erzsbet, pronounced[batori rebt]; Slovak: Albeta Btoriov; 7 August 1560 21 August 1614)[1] was a Hungarian noblewoman and alleged serial killer from the family of Bthory, who owned land in the Kingdom of Hungary (now Slovakia). Katarna Benick received a life sentence after evidence showed that she'd been abused by the other women. Hungarian royal family prominent in Central Europe from the 13th to 17th centuries, This article is about the Hungarian noble family. [29][7][contradictory] On the evening of 20 August 1614, Bthory complained to her bodyguard that her hands were cold, whereupon he replied "It's nothing, mistress. [2] Her family ruled Transylvania as an independent region within the Hungarian kingdom. 2023 Biography and the Biography logo are registered trademarks of A&E Television Networks, LLC. 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. 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. Then, discover the true story behind the real-life Bloody Mary. Her relatives included the governor of Transylvania, The king of Poland, and the prince of Transylvania. About Erzsbet Bthory, "The Blood Countess". But although this story is by far the most memorable, its also extremely unlikely to have been true. 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. [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]. 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. Bthory and four of her servants were accused of torturing and killing hundreds of girls and women between 1590 and 1610. In the way that governments and authorities dont act if something happens to the poor or unprivileged. From that time, he never fully recovered, and in 1603 became permanently disabled. She was born into a powerful and very well connected Transylvanian family. 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. 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. Her mother's father had been the Voivod (or Prince) of Transylvania, as had her father's brother - in fact, her parents came from two branches of the Bthory family. 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. Tags: elizabeth bathory, fate, fate grand order, fgo, fate elizabeth bathory, fate elizabeth, fate liz. MINIATURE framed painting art. 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. Anna was born roughly in the year 1585, and Katalin approximately 1594. It is more likely that the stories were made up by rival families. Due to his youth and the belief that he was less culpable, Jnos jvry was executed by a much less painful method: beheading. Uncanny parallels between the two. While Elizabeths husband was away at war, she met a witch named Anna Darvulia. In fact, this prominent family controlled Transylvania. Her life shifted when she married Ferenc Nadasdy, a noble from Hungary. After this, Briccius and his descendants named themselves Bthory, i.e. Afterwards, his body was burned on the same pyre as J and Szentes. Elisabeth Sherman is a writer living in Jersey City, New Jersey. Elizabeth Bthory, or Bthory Erzsbet in her native Hungarian, was born in Nyrbtor on August 7, 1560. Great job! Majorova convinced Bathory to kill noble women because fewer and fewer servants wanted to work for Bathory. In the 1550s, when Ferdinand briefly gained control of Transylvania in 1551, he installed Stephen's nephew Bonaventura as his lieutenant to govern the country. Elizabeth Bathory may have had a secret love child At the age of 11, Elizabeth's family betrothed her to 15-year-old Ferenc Nadasdy, the son of the then Palatine of Hungary. A 15-year-old Bathory married Nadasdy on May 8, 1575. He had also received the castle Bujak from King Albert of Habsburg. [8] Szdeczky-Kardoss argues that the physical evidence was exaggerated and Thurz misrepresented dead and wounded patients as victims of Bthory, as disgracing her would greatly benefit his political state ambitions. Ladislaus, Count of Szabolcs, married Anna Meggyesi and received Somly as dowry. 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 was born in 1560 to George and Anna Bathory, a baron and baroness. According to the contemporary reports and the stories told long after, Elizabeth Bathory tortured girls and young women in unspeakable ways. 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. and it is widely believed that the case was to seize her assets. She spent her childhood at Ecsed Castle. 1590 is when she was said to have started her crimes. Raised in a noble family, Bathory knew a life of privilege from an early age. Bathory sometimes tortured girls by driving needles into their fingers, cutting their noses or lips or whipping them with stinging nettles. 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars. 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. [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. Four of Bathory's servants three females and one male were then arrested, questioned, and subjected to torture. Elizabeth Bathory portrait - Bloody Countess, medieval serial killer print, poster (DIGITAL DOWNLOAD) ArtisMortisGallery. I wonder if she wouldve grown up to be different if all these people in her life wouldnt have helped her torment her servants. Her father was Baron George VI Bthory of the Ecsed branch of the family, brother of Andrew Bonaventura Bthory, who had been voivode of Transylvania. She was 25 when the original portrait -- the only known image of her -- was painted. It is interesting to read how her childhood and husband shaped her into the serial killer that she became. Although it is commonly believed that Bthory was caught in the act of torture, she was having dinner. Countess Elizabeth Bthory, (Erzsbet Bthori in Hungarian), was born in 1560 in Nyrbtor in Royal Hungary. My jaw dropped the moment I read that she had more than 600 victims. Elizabeth Bathory, a Hungarian countess, was the daughter of Ann and George Bathory. While she lived unharmed by any authority for years, many young girls went missing or ended up dead. The family divided into two major branches, which descended from the sons and grandsons of As a child, Bthory had multiple seizures that may have been caused by epilepsy. "use strict";(function(){var insertion=document.getElementById("citation-access-date");var date=new Date().toLocaleDateString(undefined,{month:"long",day:"numeric",year:"numeric"});insertion.parentElement.replaceChild(document.createTextNode(date),insertion)})(); Subscribe to the Biography newsletter to receive stories about the people who shaped our world and the stories that shaped their lives. The Bthory coat of arms, granted in 1325 to the sons of Briccius, was styled in reference to this legend: three horizontally placed teeth surrounded by a dragon biting its own tail,[4] Her actions resulted in a nickname of the "Blood Countess" and may have been a source of inspiration for Bram Stoker's Dracula. Depictions of Bathory often mention her bathing in the blood of virgin victims in an attempt to recapture her lost youth. She did this by saying she would give them a higher salary.11 The testimonies included how she killed the girls by mutilating their bodies, starving them, freezing them, and torturing them. One day, Thurzo showed up to Bathorys castle with armed guards. It is unclear whether he died before or after his sisters Elizabeth and Sophia. That evidence included numerous bodies and dead and dying girls found when the castle was entered by Thurz. Elizabeth Bthory (died 1614), daughter of George VI and through her mother niece of the Polish King Stephen Bthory. Those horrific acts of violence and the sometimes-supernatural legends that surround the crimes help define Elizabeth Bathorys terrifying legacy today. The couple's first child was born 10 years later, in 1585. [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. [31] The location of her body today is unknown but believed to be buried deep in the church area of the castle. Today, Elizabeth Bathory is infamously remembered as the "Blood Countess" who killed up to 650 girls and women in the Kingdom of Hungary. However, she was bricked up and isolated in a room at Csejte Castle, where she remained under house arrest for four years until her death in 1614, according to History Today. But as the story goes, Bathory didnt stop there. 2008 - 2022 INTERESTING.COM, INC. In the years after Bathorys husband passed, whispers floated around about Bathorys actions, specifically her killing young girls. No, Bthory was not a doctor/scientist/midwife. Make 2023 the year to let that wonderful you-ness shine. People grew more suspicious after she killed one noble girl. She was born in 1560 to Baron George Bathory and Baroness Anne Bathory ("Blood Countess," par. She eventually was put on trial. While documents from the 1611 trial supported the accusations made against her, modern scholarship has questioned the veracity of the allegations. Elizabeth Bthory (1560 - 1614 AD) was a countess from the renowned Bthory family of nobility in the Kingdom of Hungary and cousin of the Hungarian noble Stefan Bthory, King of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and Duke of Transylvania. Countess Elizabeth Bathory, or Erzsbet Bthory, was a wealthy and powerful Hungarian noblewoman whose relations included an uncle who was king of Poland and a nephew who was prince of Transylvania. It seems most likely that the claim of Thurz's discovering Bthory covered in blood has been the embellishment of fictionalized accounts. The most common motif of these works was that of the countess bathing in her virgin victims' blood to retain beauty or youth. There is no evidence that she actually committed the crimes she of which she was alleged. 2 She came from a wealthy, Protestant family that were significant landowners in Hungary. She had several siblings. Elizabeth Bathory Home & Living. [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). Two died as infants, but two daughters and a son survived. But Bathorys case may not have been as cut and dry as it seemed. and Andrew's sons George (d. 1307), Benedict (d. 1321) and Briccius (d. 1322) for their military services by granting them Btor in the county of Szabolcs. The Simolin family possessed large estates in Prussia and Courland and members served the Russian Empresses Elizabeth and Catherine as diplomats. its 1560 not 1590. Most of her alleged assaults and murders took place after she was widowed in 1604. Darvulia supposedly implanted in Bathorys mind that if she killed young virgins and bathed in their blood, she could maintain her youth.9 Bathory confided in Darvulia and took interest in learning more about witchcraft and Satanism. After all, legend has it that she bathed in the blood of at least 650 servant girls she had tortured and killed. The second son, Stephen III rose to become Palatine of Hungary and in 1444 fell in the Battle of Varna as flag-bearer of Wadysaw, King of Poland and Hungary. [citation needed], Bthory's daughter, Anna Ndasdy, was born in 1585 and was later to become the wife of Nikola VI Zrinski. The Countess came from a very influential family. Her family had many powerful relatives -- a cardinal, princes, and a cousin who was prime minister of Hungary are among these relatives. The King of Hungary, King Matthias II, ordered Gyorgy Thurzo, Palatine of Hungary, to look into the rumors and accusations about Bathory. . The investigation into Bthory's crimes was sparked by complaints from a Lutheran minister, Istvn Magyari. 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. Elizabeth Bthory (or Erzsbet, to use the Hungarian spelling) was born into a Hungarian noble family on the 7th August, 1560. The accusations of murder were based on rumors. The Csejte church and the castle of Csejte do not bear any markings of her possible grave. Bthory was born into prominent Protestant nobility in Hungary. At the age of 11, Bathory, who was considered a beautiful and well-educated girl, became engaged to Count Ferenc Nadasdy. and she had complete control over the lives of the peasants living in the . 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. It has been said that over hundred young women were among her victims. the surrounding dragon being the emblem of the Order of the Dragon. [15] The woman was paid for her actions, and the child was taken to Wallachia. The Somly branch, on the other hand, supported John Zpolya, whom the greater part of the Hungarian nobility had elected King. Nadasdy moved Bathory to his estate in Savar. The Early Life of Elizabeth Bathory. The Bathory Nadasdy family agreed to cancel Matthias's debts- and Matthias decided that Elizabeth Bathory would disappear behind the walls of her castle. Their hands showed burn marks, or their faces were disfigured. CONTENT MAY BE COPYRIGHTED BY WIKITREE COMMUNITY MEMBERS. While facing fraud charges, she was publicly revealed to be a transgender woman. Elizabeth Bathory was born in 1560 to Baron George VI Bathory and Baroness Anna Bathory in Nyirbator, Hungary. [citation needed]. If you see something that doesn't look right, contact us! However, it's unlikely Bathory was completely innocent. Elizabeth Bthory, a Hungarian noblewoman and alleged serial killer from the 16th and 17th centuries, is certainly at the top of the. Bthory was born into prominent Protestant nobility in Hungary. [3], The younger branch of the family, the Bthory of Ecsed, were descended from Luke, the youngest son of Briccius. Countess Elizabeth Bthory de Ecsed ( Hungarian: Bthory Erzsbet, pronounced [batori rebt]; Slovak: Albeta Btoriov ; 7 August 1560 - 21 August 1614) [1] was a Hungarian noblewoman from the family of Bthory, who owned land in the Kingdom of Hungary (now Hungary, Slovakia and Romania ). After learning about Elizabeth Bathory, the infamous Blood Countess, read about Britains most notorious female serial killer, Myra Hindley. [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. Wikimedia CommonsThe ruins of Csejte Castle, where Elizabeth Bathory supposedly committed unspeakable crimes. 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. Ancient Origins - Elizabeth Bathory 16th century deranged serial killer or victim of betrayal. For other uses, see, "Batory" redirects here. There is no evidence that she actually committed the crimes she of which she was alleged. Overall, I believe the author did a good job telling a tragic story. She had everything going for her in her life, she was rich, beautiful, and her family was well . The ruins of Csejte Castle, where Elizabeth Bathory supposedly committed unspeakable crimes. In the early 17th century, rumors began to circulate around the village of Trenn in present-day Slovakia. Instead, she was isolated perhaps walled up in Castle achtice, where she remained until her death in 1614. The grateful people honoured him with the names Bthory, meaning "good hero", and animus magnanimus. is that there is "a 400-year-old war between the uncanny descendants of "Blood Countess" Elizabeth Bathory, the most prolific female serial killer of all time, and a . The Ecsed branch first rises to prominence with the sons of Luke's grandson John V. His eldest son Bartholomew I fell in 1432 fighting against the Hussites. Her family controlled Transylvania, and her uncle Stephen Bthory was king of Poland. I was researching about it today and I found a family tree of her husband Ferenc Nadasdy. [20] By October 1610 they had collected 52 witness statements;[19] by 1611, that number had risen to over 300. In the 19th century, long after the demise of the other branches, the family claimed name and title of Counts Bthory, since their ancestor Michael had never consented to the sale conducted by his brothers, and in 1852 the Russian government confirmed the legitimacy of their claims.[6][11][12]. This witch inspired most of Bathorys brutal and sadistic killings. In Hungarian the word btor means "brave". She had received it as a wedding gift from her husband, the famed Hungarian war hero Ferenc Ndasdy. They descended from George II, the younger son of John I, through the George's grandson Michael. She was raised at the family castle in Ecsd. One of those children (Pl) had two children. Bthory was born into prominent Protestant nobility in Hungary. 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. [citation needed] He had been married to Bthory for 29 years. Stories about Bthory quickly became part of national folklore. On August 7th, 1560, Elizabeth Bthory de Esced ( Bthory Erzsbet in Hungarian) was born to a very powerful Hungarian family. This is the turning point where Bathory began killing sporadically, and it eventually led to her arrest.10. She also supposedly kidnapped local girls in the area who would never have come to the castle of their own free will. Bthory was a powerful woman, made more so by her control of Ndasdys holdings after his death. Her cousin, Gyrgy Thurz, count palatine of Hungary, was ordered by Matthias, then king of Hungary, to investigate. Simon Kezai, Lzl Veszprmy, Frank Schaer (ed. Her family lands, dotted across today's Slovakia, were part of the 'Kingdom of Hungary' that was absorbed by the Habsburgs in 1536. George strengthened his alliance to Stephen by marrying his sister Anna, uniting the branches. 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. No one living in Bthory's century alleged she was a vampire or a witch. . If so, login to add it. [14][original research? Wertner, Moritz, "Urgeschlechter in Siebenbrgen. Her father was Baron George VI Bthory, brother of the voivode of Transylvania, Andrew Bonaventura Bthory. 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. Elizabeth's father was George VI Bthory, who was from the Bthory family's Esced branch. 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. But not everyone is convinced of her guilt. 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. 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. He was allegedly as into dark stuff as his wife, cruelly torturing Ottoman captives and sticking pieces of paper between his servants' toes and setting them on fire. Descendant of both the Ecsed and Somly branches of the Bathory family. Corrections? Secret societies, paranormal elements, and twist and turns galore. Its really interesting to learn about women serial killers because they are less common than men. [27][28], She wrote a will in September 1610, in which she left all current and future inheritance possession to her children. While Nadasdy taught her how to torture, yet another person in her life would teach her how to kill. 25 of the Most Evil People the World Has Ever Seen. [4][32] Nagy argued that the proceedings against Bthory were largely politically motivated, possibly due to her extensive wealth and ownership of large areas of land in Hungary, which increased after the death of her husband. Despite being a noblewoman, she was a famous serial killer. 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. [clarification needed] She was detained in the castle of Csejte for the remainder of her life, where she died at the age of 54. Salem Press Biographical Encyclopedia, 2018, s.v. 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. 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