[13] At the time, symptoms relating to epilepsy were diagnosed as falling sickness and treatments included rubbing blood of a non-sufferer on the lips of an epileptic or giving the epileptic a mix of a non-sufferer's blood and piece of skull as their episode ended. Today, Elizabeth Bathory is infamously remembered as the Blood Countess who killed up to 650 girls and women in the Kingdom of Hungary. [3] She was imprisoned within Castle of Csejte. 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. Raised in a noble family, Bathory knew a life of privilege from an early age. During her childhood, Bathory had a neurological disorder, and the environment around her only contributed to her sadistic ways. [12] Nicknames and literary epithets attributed to her include The Blood Countess and Countess Dracula. Elizabeth Bthory was a Hungarian countess who purportedly tortured and murdered more than 600 young women in the 16th17th century. Salem Press Biographical Encyclopedia, 2018, s.v. She was born in 1560 to Baron George Bathory and Baroness Anne Bathory ("Blood Countess," par. I will start with the claims where the evidence is clearest: No, Bthory did not keep a list of her victims/"patients". Elizabeth Bathory, a Hungarian countess, was the daughter of Ann and George Bathory. [27][28], She wrote a will in September 1610, in which she left all current and future inheritance possession to her children. Her brother was a judge royal of Hungary. Ndasdy was the son of Baron Tams Ndasdy de Ndasd et Fogarasfld and Orsolya Kanizsai. Her company expanded internationally and changed the face of women's cosmetics. She remained there until she died. Bthory of Simolin [ edit] https://www.biography.com/crime-figure/elizabeth-bathory. 1 She was born on August 7th, 1590, in Transylvania. Why might Bathory have been subject to outside machinations? After hearing the accusations, Thurz ultimately charged Bathory with the deaths of 80 girls. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Elizabeth-Bathory. 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. Depictions of Bathory often mention her bathing in the blood of virgin victims in an attempt to recapture her lost youth. Zpolya appointed Stephen VIII Voivode of Transylvania, which he governed until his death in 1534. 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! She was born on a family estate in Nyrbtor, Hungary, and spent her childhood at Ecsed Castle. Elizabeth was born August of 1560 to a powerful branch of the royal family in Hungary. Listen above to the History Uncovered podcast, episode 49: Bloody Mary, also available on, true story behind the real-life Bloody Mary. On 13 December 1612, Nikola VI Zrinski confirmed the agreement with Thurz about the imprisonment of Bthory and distribution of the estate. Her mother was Baroness Anna Bthory (15391570), daughter of Stephen Bthory of Somly, also voivode of Transylvania, who was of the Somly branch. No, Bthory was not a doctor/scientist/midwife. Said bloodline was also one of generational inbreeding. [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. [3] The use of needles was also mentioned by the collaborators in court. This branch, since they retained the possession of Btor, are sometimes called of Btor or, as the younger branch, Nyrbtor (New Bathory).[3]. The first mention of Bathory's blood baths came 100 years after her death and thus seems to be an invention. In the way that governments and authorities dont act if something happens to the poor or unprivileged. Elizabeth Bathory was born on the family estate of Nyirbator in eastern Hungary on the 7th of August 1560. According to SyFy, this claim didnt even appear in print until after shed been dead for more than a century. 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. The grateful people honoured him with the names Bthory, meaning "good hero", and animus magnanimus. It is sad to know the number is so high for the number of deaths caused by her, but she was noticeably, permanently ill in the head from a young age. I recognize that most people took little interest in their servants, but I feel like someone would have noticed the mass disappearance of young girls, regardless of their social standing. Those horrific acts of violence and the sometimes-supernatural legends that surround the crimes help define Elizabeth Bathorys terrifying legacy today. Bathory sometimes tortured girls by driving needles into their fingers, cutting their noses or lips or whipping them with stinging nettles. Bthory was born into prominent Protestant nobility in Hungary. After the death of the count on the battlefield in January 1604, horrifying suspicions of torture, murder and vampirism were voiced against Elizabeth. Simon Kezai, Lzl Veszprmy, Frank Schaer (ed. For other uses, see, "Batory" redirects here. [3][6][7][bettersourceneeded] Ancient Origins - Elizabeth Bathory 16th century deranged serial killer or victim of betrayal. Elizabeth Bathory was technically a subject of the Habsburg crown. Elizabeth Carmichael promised to revolutionize the automotive industry with a fuel-efficient car called the Dale, but the vehicle was never manufactured. Elizabeth Bthory (or Erzsbet, to use the Hungarian spelling) was born into a Hungarian noble family on the 7th August, 1560. 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. 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. She has since gone on to become an accomplished activist and author. Countess Dracula: The Life and Times of Elisabeth Bathory, the Blood Countess (Unknown Binding) by. We strive for accuracy and fairness. 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. 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. 2008 - 2022 INTERESTING.COM, INC. She would soon be accused of not only torturing but killing hundreds of girls and women who entered her castle. According to Thurz's letter to his wife, his unannounced visit found one dead girl and another living "prey" girl in the castle,[19] but there is no evidence that they asked her what had happened to her. 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. Secret societies, paranormal elements, and twist and turns galore. The family rose to significant influence in Central Europe during the Late Middle Ages, holding high military, administrative and ecclesiastical positions in the Kingdom of Hungary. In the early 17th century, rumors began to circulate around the village of Trenn in present-day Slovakia. 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. The Elizabethan era is named for her. 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. During this time, no laws protected servants or peasants from being tortured. The two branches of the family positioned themselves on the opposing sides of the conflict. Descendants of Elizabeth Bathory the Blood Queen being hunted by descendants of her supposed victims. 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars. its 1560 not 1590. The best-case scenario is that Bathory abused her servants but came nowhere near the level of violence alleged at her trial. Anna Bthory was the widow of the last descendant of the Dragfi family and George now seized the castles of the Dragfi. [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. Serial Killer Elizabeth Bathory (aka) The Blood Countess, The achtice Countess, was active for 20 years between 1590-1609, known to have ( 80 confirmed / 650 possible ) victims. discoveries. Sadistic pleasure is considered a far more plausible motive for Bthory's crimes. It is not known if Elizabeth was actually caught in the act of harming her servants. She was brought up in the rarefied atmosphere of 16th century elites - her every whim was satisfied, and people from all walks of life fawned over the beautiful aristocrat. Liz Torture Throw Pillow. [33] Moreover, Matthias owed a large debt to Bthory, which was cancelled after she was arrested. This article was incredible! [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). At first, all appeared to have been well under Bathorys leadership. This is the turning point where Bathory began killing sporadically, and it eventually led to her arrest.10. the surrounding dragon being the emblem of the Order of the Dragon. 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. Her father was George VI Bathory, the voivode of Transylvania, the senior government official in this region, approximating to eastern Romania today, but which was then, like Hungary, a constituent part of the broad territories of the Habsburg . 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 ). For other uses, see. Her cousin, Gyrgy Thurz, count palatine of Hungary, was ordered by Matthias, then king of Hungary, to investigate. and it is widely believed that the case was to seize her assets. About Erzsbet Bthory, "The Blood Countess". 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. 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. [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. Her first targets were said to have been poor girls and young women who were lured to the castle with the promise of servant work. The Bthory family (Polish: Batory) was a Hungarian noble family of the Gutkeled clan. [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. On December 29, 1610, Count Gyrgy Thurz, who oversaw judicial matters as the lord palatine of Hungary, arrived at Bathory's Castle achtice to investigate the countess' alleged crimes against women of noble birth (any mistreatment of servants was not a concern to authorities). Bathory is reputed to have killed at least six hundred victims, earning her a Guinness World Record for most prolific female murderer. While facing fraud charges, she was publicly revealed to be a transgender woman. She was initially buried in the crypt on her estate, but her body was likely moved afterward. The evidence against Bathory has flaws: Of 289 witness accounts, more than 250 offered either hearsay or no information whatsoever. Briccius: The elder branch of the family, the Bthory of Somly were descended from John, Count of Szatmr, the first-born son of Briccius, through his eldest son Ladislaus (died 1373). If not, see our friends at Ancestry DNA. Make 2023 the year to let that wonderful you-ness shine. Bthory was a powerful woman, made more so by her control of Ndasdys holdings after his death. Her family lands, dotted across today's Slovakia, were part of the 'Kingdom of Hungary' that was absorbed by the Habsburgs in 1536. Inside her castles, there were torture chambers. Therefore, the idea of evil inside the family bond emerges in the Countess's massacres. Beauty pioneer Elizabeth Arden opened the doors of her first salon in 1910. Elizabeth Bthory, a Hungarian noblewoman and alleged serial killer from the 16th and 17th centuries, is certainly at the top of the. Elizabeth Bthory (born Ecsedi Bthory Erzsbet in Hungarian) came from the noble Protestant family Bthory, who owned land in the Kingdom of Hungary. I find it interesting that she was born in Transylvania, the same place that Vlad Tepes (Vlad Dracula) was born. 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. There are only secondary accounts of her actions. 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. [citation needed] Bthory managed business affairs and the family's multiple estates during the war. In 1602 a priest wrote a letter that discussed the excessive cruelty exhibited by Bathory and her husband towards their servants. 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. 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. Wikimedia CommonsThe ruins of Csejte Castle, where Elizabeth Bathory supposedly committed unspeakable crimes. Her life shifted when she married Ferenc Nadasdy, a noble from Hungary. Bthory was born in 1560 on a family estate in Nyrbtor, Royal Hungary. That evidence included numerous bodies and dead and dying girls found when the castle was entered by Thurz. Elizabeth Bthory (or Erzsbet, to use the Hungarian spelling) was born into a Hungarian noble family on the 7th August, 1560. One of the servants provided a list in Bathorys handwriting of all 650 of her victims. Two died as infants, but two daughters and a son survived. And Bathory's support of her nephew Prince Gbor Bthory of Transylvania, who was in conflict with the ruling Habsburgs, potentially placed her in danger. [citation needed], On 8 May 1575, Bthory and Ndasdy were married at the palace of Vranov nad Topou (Varann in Hungarian). [4] As a young woman, she learned Latin, German, Hungarian and Greek. 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 . He had also received the castle Bujak from King Albert of Habsburg. During the trial, witnesses explained how Bathory would lure in servant girls to kill. [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. Although in modern times she has been labelled the most prolific female serial killer in history, her guilt is debated. 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. Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain was the longest-reigning monarch in British history. 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. [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. Elizabeth I was a long-ruling queen of England, governing with relative stability and prosperity for 44 years. [26], On 25 January 1611, Thurz wrote a letter to King Matthias describing that they had captured and confined Bthory to her castle. 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. This witch inspired most of Bathorys brutal and sadistic killings. Bathory took the advice, which turned out be a mistake for her. 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. [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. After the harsh and fierce battle, Hungary was torn apart by the conflict between the rival royal claims. All of Elizabeth's children were cared for by governesses, as Bthory herself had been. Countess Elizabeth Bathory was a member of the aristocracy in Hungary. They descended from George II, the younger son of John I, through the George's grandson Michael. [31] The location of her body today is unknown but believed to be buried deep in the church area of the castle. Her mother's brother Stephen (or Istvn . 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. 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. Gyrgy Ndasdy is also supposedly the name of one of the deceased Ndasdy infants, but this cannot be confirmed. While Elizabeths husband was away at war, she met a witch named Anna Darvulia. [citation needed], Bthory's daughter, Anna Ndasdy, was born in 1585 and was later to become the wife of Nikola VI Zrinski. According to the contemporary reports and the stories told long after, Elizabeth Bathory tortured girls and young women in unspeakable ways. Her actions resulted in a nickname of the "Blood Countess" and may have been a source of inspiration for Bram Stoker's Dracula. 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 not everyone is convinced of her guilt. When Nadasdy passed away in 1604, he gave his whole estate away to Bathory including his castle, Cachtice, in modern day Slovakia. The Blood Countess, as she would be known in the centuries to come, was born into a prominent family who held power over an ironic region: Transylvania, which was then part of Hungary. 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 is no evidence that she actually committed the crimes she of which she was alleged. Want to Read. Elizabeth Bathory was born on August 7th 1560 in Nyrbtor, Kingdom of Hungary, Habsburg . Great job! [9] Her older brother, Stephen Bthory (15551605), served as a Judge Royal of Hungary. Bthory was born into prominent Protestant nobility in Hungary. with video tutorial . Any remains or signs of her or her body cannot be found today. 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. There were many suspected forms of torture carried out by Bthory. 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. But Bathorys case may not have been as cut and dry as it seemed. Another servant, Erzsi Majorova, initially escaped capture, but was burned alive after being apprehended. And the fact that Bathory's servants were tortured makes their confessions unreliable. Her mother's brother was Stephen Bathory who was a Hungarian nobleman and later became the king of Poland. Bathory was born in Nyrbtor, Hungary, on August 7, 1560. [14][original research? 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 celebrated 70 years on the throne in June 2022 with her Platinum Jubilee. After Nadasdy died in January 1604, Bathory took control of her extensive estates. The ruse worked. 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. The exact circumstances of Elizabeth's final imprisonment are unknown. Leave a message for others who see this profile. She was a bloodsucking demon sent from Hell to murder young women. As she was not convicted of a crime, Bathory's holdings passed to family members instead of being seized. 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). History has a way of turning powerful women into folklore. Extremely well written article. 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. She allegedly expanded her sights and began killing daughters of the gentry who had been sent to Csejte for their education. The Somly branch, on the other hand, supported John Zpolya, whom the greater part of the Hungarian nobility had elected King. Abridged from Female Serial Killers: How and Why Women Become Monsters by Peter Vronsky. She had everything going for her in her life, she was rich, beautiful, and her family was well . Initially, Thurz made the declaration to Bthory's guests and villagers that he had caught her red-handed. On August 7th, 1560, Elizabeth Bthory de Esced ( Bthory Erzsbet in Hungarian) was born to a very powerful Hungarian family. Her relatives included the governor of Transylvania, The king of Poland, and the prince of Transylvania. . I think it wouldve been a little more beneficial to focus on a specific killing story of hers if there was evidence of one. This too may have been politically motivated, as the death penalty meant that the king could seize her land.