Elizabeth Báthory (Báthory Erszébet in Hungarian, Alžbeta Bátoriová-Nádašdy in Slovak, August 7?, 1560 - August 21, 1614), the Bloody Lady of Csejte, born approximately 84 years after Vlad III Dracula died, was a Hungarian countess. She is considered the most famous serial killer in Slovak and Hungarian history. She and four collaborators were accused of torturing and killing numerous girls and young women (20 - 2000 victims, depending on the source). In 1610, she was imprisoned in solitary confinement, where she stayed until her death four years later. Her nobility permitted her to avoid an immediate execution, however her alleged collaborators were executed. Her guilt has neither been confessed nor ever proven. August 7 is the 219th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (220th in leap years), with 146 days remaining. ... Events February 27 - The Treaty of Berhick, which would expel the French from Scotland, is signed by England and the Congregation of Scotland The first tulip bulb was brought from Turkey to the Netherlands. ... August 21 is the 233rd day of the year (234th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... Events April 5 - In Virginia, Native American Pocahontas marries English colonist John Rolfe. ... Portrait of Vlad III Vlad III Dracula (Also known as Vlad Ţepeş /TSE-pesh/ in Romanian or Vlad the Impaler), November/December, 1431 – December 1476, and reigned as Prince of Wallachia 1448, 1456-1462 and 1476. ... Serial killers are individuals who have a history of multiple slayings of victims who were usually unknown to them beforehand. ... Events January 7 - Galileo Galilei discovers the Galilean moons of Jupiter. ...

Various legends about her life, including the unsubstantiated rumors that she bathed in or drank the blood of servant girls, are thought by some to have been a major influence on numerous vampire myths, the Dracula story, and the trope of the sexually sadistic vampiress in particular. Count Orlok from Nosferatu A vampire is a mythical or folkloric creature said to subsist on human and/or animal blood often having magical powers and the ability to transform. ... Bela Lugosi as Dracula United States stamp Dracula is a fictional character, arguably the most famous vampire in fiction. ... Another meaning of Trope is Jewish cantillation. ... Flogging demonstration at Folsom Street Fair 2004. ...

The Báthory lineage

The ancestors of Elizabeth (the Hun Gutkeled clan) came to the Hungarian Kingdom from Scandinavia in the mid-11th century. They held power in what is now Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, and Romania. The Hun Gutkeled emerged to assume a role of relative eminence by the early 13th century and assumed the name Báthory (according to one of their estates Báthor [today Nyírbátor] meaning "valiant") in 1279. Their power peaked during the mid-16th century, was virtually gone by 1658, and they died out in 1680 (with the death of the wife of George Rákóczi II). Scandinavia, Fennoscandia, and the Kola Peninsula. ... (10th century - 11th century - 12th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 11th century was that century which lasted from 1001 to 1100. ... (12th century - 13th century - 14th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 13th century was that century which lasted from 1201 to 1300. ... (15th century - 16th century - 17th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 16th century was that century which lasted from 1501 to 1600. ... Events January 13 - Edward Sexby, who has plotted against Oliver Cromwell, dies in Tower of London February 6 - Swedish troops of Charles X Gustav of Sweden cross from Sweden to Denmark over frozen sea May 1 - Publication of Hydriotaphia, Urn Burial and The Garden of Cyrus by Thomas Browne September... Events First Portuguese governor was appointed to Macau The Swedish city Karlskrona was founded as the Royal Swedish Navy relocated there. ...

Her parents were from two branches of the Báthory family, the brother of Elizabeth’s mother was the Polish king Stephen Báthory. István) see: István Báthory Reign From December 9, 1575 until December 12, 1586 Elected On December 9, 1575 in Wola, today suburb of Warsaw, Poland Coronation On May 1, 1576 in the Wawel Cathedral, Kraków, Poland Noble Family Bathory Parents Stephen Bathory Catherine Telegdi Consorts Anna Jagiellonka Children none Date...

Life

She was born in Nyírbátor in present-day Hungary on August 7? 1560 and died on August 21, 1614 in Csejte in present-day Slovakia. August 7 is the 219th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (220th in leap years), with 146 days remaining. ... Events February 27 - The Treaty of Berhick, which would expel the French from Scotland, is signed by England and the Congregation of Scotland The first tulip bulb was brought from Turkey to the Netherlands. ... August 21 is the 233rd day of the year (234th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... Events April 5 - In Virginia, Native American Pocahontas marries English colonist John Rolfe. ...

She spent her childhood at the Ecsed Castle; details from this period are unknown. At the age of 11 she was forced to become engaged with the noble and successful warrior Francis Nádasdy and moved to the Sárvár Castle. In 1575, she married Nádasdy in Vranov, who in 1578 became the chief commander of Hungarian troops in their war against the Turks. He was known as a very brave, but also very cruel person. The Turks feared him and called him the Black Beg. Events February 13 - Henry III of France is crowned at Reims February 14 - Henry III of France marries Louise de Lorraine-Vaudémont August 5 - Henry Sidney is appointed Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. ... Vranov nad Topľou (German: Vronau an der Töpl, Hungarian: Varannó) is a city of approximately 23,000 inhabitants in eastern Slovakia, situated near Kosice and Presov. ...

Nádasdy’s wedding gift to Elizabeth was his home, the Čachtice Castle (situated in the Carpathians in present-day western Slovakia near Trencin —- then part of the Kingdom of Hungary) together with the Čachtice country-house and with 17 adjacent villages. The castle was surrounded by a peasant village and rolling agricultural lands, interspersed with outcroppings of the Carpathians. In 1602, Elizabeth’s husband definitively bought the castle from the emperor Rudolf II, so that it became a property of the Nádasdys. Since battles with the Turks occupied her husband, Elizabeth became the lady of the castle. At this time she was able to read and write in four languages. Elizabeth had 5 children; two of them died at an early age. Her husband died in 1602 or 1604, murdered by a harlot in Bucharest, to whom he owed money. This is about the terrestrial mountain range. ... Trenčín (German Trentschin, Latin (Roman period) Laugaricio, Hungarian Trencsén) is a town in western Slovakia (close to the Czech border) at the Váh river. ... This is the history of Hungary. ... Events February 14 - William Shakespeare First performance of Twelfth Night on Candlemas March 20 - The Dutch East India Company is established as The United East India Company by the Dutch States-General May 15 - Bartolomew Gosnold becomes the first European to discover Cape Cod. ... Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II Rudolf II Habsburg was an emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, king of Bohemia, and king of Hungary. ... Events February 14 - William Shakespeare First performance of Twelfth Night on Candlemas March 20 - The Dutch East India Company is established as The United East India Company by the Dutch States-General May 15 - Bartolomew Gosnold becomes the first European to discover Cape Cod. ... Events January 14 – Hampton Court conference with James I of England, the Anglican bishops and representatives of Puritans September 20 - Capture of Ostend by Spanish forces under Ambrosio Spinola after a three year siege. ... Prostitution is the sale of sexual services (typically manual stimulation, oral sex, sexual intercourse, or anal sex) for cash or other kind of return, generally indiscriminately with many persons. ... Bucharest (population 2. ...

It is unknown when Elizabeth started to kill young women, but she was doing so for certain from 1585 to 1610. Both her husband and her relatives knew about her sadistic inclination, but they did not intervene. She was constantly improving her torturing methods and her brutality was increasing. The people living around her castle hated her so much that she only left the castle under an armed escort. However, she did torture some girls at her properties in Sárvár and Keresztúr. Her victims were initially local female peasants, but later she also killed daughters of lower gentry, who were sent to her castle by their parents to learn noble manners. In the early 17th century, parents of substantial position often wished their daughters to be educated in the social graces and etiquette. When it became known in the surroundings what she was (probably) doing, she had to send “assistants“ to bring young women from more distant regions. As rumours spread throughout the Hungarian Kingdom, she had to have girls kidnapped in order to get them. Events January 12 - The Netherlands adopts the Gregorian calendar Beginning of the Eighth War of Religion in France (also known as the War of the Three Henrys) August 8 - John Davis enters Cumberland Sound in quest for the North West Passage. ... Events January 7 - Galileo Galilei discovers the Galilean moons of Jupiter. ... (16th century - 17th century - 18th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 17th century was that century which lasted from 1601-1700. ...

But it was only after the parish priest of Čachtice and even the monks in (relatively) nearby Vienna had lodged several complaints with the ruling class in Vienna about cries from the castle that the (new) emperor Matthias II assigned George Thurzo, the palatine of Hungary, to investigate the complaints. Thurzo and his men invaded Čachtice in the morning of December 29, 1610 and caught Elizabeth in the act in the Čachtice country-house – she was torturing several girls. She and her four collaborators were charged with sadistic torture and mass murder. Elizabeth was sealed into a closet of her castle without a trial and died there on August 21, 1614. For her collaborators see below. Holy Roman Emperor Mathias Mathias, Holy Roman Emperor (1612-1619) was born in Vienna on February 24, 1557 and died in Vienna on March 20, 1619. ... See Palatine Hill for geography of Rome. ... December 29 is the 363rd day of the year (364th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 2 days remaining. ... Events January 7 - Galileo Galilei discovers the Galilean moons of Jupiter. ... August 21 is the 233rd day of the year (234th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... Events April 5 - In Virginia, Native American Pocahontas marries English colonist John Rolfe. ...

Guilt

More than 300 people were interrogated before her death between 1611 and 1614. Despite several interventions by the emperor, a regular trial never took place and the whole case remained open. The reason for this might have been that the palatine Thurzo did not want a trial against a member of the high gentry (with which he was reproached at the time). Moreover, Elizabeth’s nephew Gabriel Báthory was the ruler of Transylvania and Thurzo did not want to get into troubles with Transylvania. And finally, Thurzo’s properties were adjacent to those of Elizabeth and Thurzo was interested in her properties.

Many scholarly sources mention the strong possibility that she was falsely convicted by the political opponents of the family, mainly because the Báthory family owned large areas of land and were wealthy. The existing historical documents show lack of investigation, omitted evidence and decisions kept in tight local political circles. Some of the most dramatic charges against her, that of Satanism and vampirism, are thought to have been either deliberate falsehoods or folklore that grew up around an unliked figure. Some people claim that the vampire legends could have been exaggerations of actual medical help provided for peasants; at that age it was very unusual that a noble cared about the health of her servants, and bloodletting was practiced by medical authorities for many years. Modern supporters of the vampire legends attached to her life are either unaware of or choose to ignore historical documents and letters that would possibly ruin the otherwise dramatic tales. The Báthory (Polish Batory) was a Hungarian aristocratic family of significant influence in late mediæval Central Europe. ...

Motives

Her deviation might have genetic reasons, because many of both her father’s and her mother’s ancestors were very brutal individuals (e. g. the Transylvanian ruler Sigismund Báthory who liked to have his retainers killed). Legends, however, say that she was killing the girls in order to bathe in their blood and, thus, stay forever young or improve her complexion. Alternatively, it is believed that the Báthory family was inbred and that this may have helped cause various psychotic disorders that the family was known to have. Sigismund Bathory (1572-1613) (Báthory Zsigmond in Hungarian), Prince of Transylvania and of the Holy Roman Empire, was the son of Christopher, prince of Transylvania, and nephew of the Stefan Batory, elected king of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. ... Incest among humans is sexual activity between close family members. ... Psychosis is a psychiatric classification for a mental state in which the perception of reality is distorted. ...

It should be noted, however, that brutality was relatively widespread at the time. People arrested under suspicion of crimes and sometimes even witnesses were tortured for their confessions, and punishment of the poor or of political enemies was often death.

Collaborators

Elizabeth’s collaborators were Dorottya Szentes, János Ujváry (called Fickó), Ilona Jó and Katarína Benická. Except for Katarína (whose guilt could not be proven), they all were executed (burned alive) at Bytča on January 7, 1611. Bytča (Hungarian: Nagybiccse) is a city in northwestern Slovakia. ... January 7 is the 7th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Events November 1 - At Whitehall Palace in London, William Shakespeares romantic comedy The Tempest is presented for the first time. ...

Their confessions and testimony against Báthory were taken under torture by Thurzo.

Legends

The following lists some of the best known legends about Elizabeth Báthory. Although they are partly based on statements made by those interrogated after 1610, their truthfulness cannot be verified.

Torture

While interrogating Turks, her husband employed a device of torture: articulated claw-like pincers of silver; which, when fastened to a whip, would tear and rip the flesh to such an obscene degree that he abandoned the apparatus in disgust and left it at the castle. The Iron Maiden of Nuremberg was a famous torture device Torture is the infliction of severe physical or psychological pain as an expression of cruelty, a means of intimidation, deterrent or punishment, or as a tool for the extraction of information or confessions. ... General Name, Symbol, Number silver, Ag, 47 Chemical series Transition metals Group, Period, Block 11, 5, d Density, Hardness 10490 kg/m3, 2. ...

Aware of Báthory's preoccupations, her aunt had introduced her to the flagellation of others, a taste she quickly acquired. Equipped with her husband's silver claws, she generously indulged herself, whiling away many lonely hours at the expense of forlorn Slavic debtors. She preferred to whip her subjects on the front of their nude bodies rather than their backs, so that she could watch their faces contort in horror at their fate. Whipping on a post Flagellation is the act of whipping (Latin flagellum, whip) the human body. ... The Slavic peoples are the most numerous ethnic and linguistic body of peoples in Europe. ...

Vampirism and Satanism

Báthory began to gather those who claimed to be witches, sorcerers, seers, wizards, alchemists, and those who would practice the most depraved deeds in league with Satan. This article is part of the Witchcraft series. ... A sorcerer (from Old French sorcier; fem. ... Seer has several possible meanings: A fortune teller or prophet The fictional character on the television series Charmed The Seasonal energy efficiency ratio standard for air conditioning appliances This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Albus Dumbledore, from the Harry Potter series, is a traditional wizard. ... Look up Alchemist in Wiktionary, the free dictionary Alchemist may refer to— a person who practices alchemy. ... Gustave Dores depiction of Satan from John Miltons Paradise Lost Satan (שָׂטָן Standard Hebrew Satan, Latin Sátanas, Tiberian Hebrew Śāṭān; Aramaic שִׂטְנָא Śiṭnâ: both words mean Adversary; accuser) is an angel, demon, or minor god in many religions. ...

She also reportedly became obsessed with youth and vitality, desiring to acquire political power. According to the most famous legend, she struck a servant girl and drew blood when her pointed nails raked the girl's cheek. The wound was serious enough that some of the blood got onto Báthory's skin, and she became convinced that it had improved her complexion. Alchemists informed her that the blood of a young virgin just might have such effects. Báthory reasoned that if she bathed in the blood of young virgins — and in the case of especially pretty ones, drank their blood — then she would become gloriously beautiful and strong. Báthory began to roam the countryside by night, hunting for suitable girls. Each batch of young girls would be hung upside-down by chains, wrapped around their ankles. Their throats would be slit and their blood drained for a bath or shower. Occasionally, she would drink blood - at first from a golden flask, but later directly from the dying body.

After five years, Báthory began to realize that the blood of peasant girls was having little effect on the quality of her skin. In 1609, she established an academy in the castle, offering to take 25 girls at a time to finish their educations. Assisted by Dorottya Szentes and Anna Darvulia (a woman thought to be her lover), these students were killed by Báthory. However, during a frenzy of lust, four bodies were thrown off the castle walls. Events April 4 – King of Spain signs an edit of expulsion of all moriscos from Spain April 9 – Spain recognizes Dutch independence May 23 - Official ratification of the Second Charter of Virginia. ...

References

• McNally, Raymond T.: Dracula was a woman: in search of the blood countess of Transylvania. New York: McGraw Hill, 1983. ISBN 0070456712
• Hungarian sources:
  • Várkonyi Gábor: Újabb források Báthory Erzsébet életéhez (http://epa.oszk.hu/itk/00008/varkonyi.htm) (Newer sources on Erszébet Báthory's life)
  • Szádeczky-Kardoss Irma: A kiábrándító igazság - Koncepciós bűnper a 17. században (http://www.3szek.ro/021010/peris.htm) (The disillusioning truth - a show trial in the 17th century)
• Codrescu, Andrei.: The Blood Countess. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1995 (fiction). Also available on cassette tape from Simon & Schuster AudioWorks.
• Thorne, Tony.: Countess Dracula: The Life and Times of Elisabeth Báthory, the Blood Countess. Bloomsbury Publishing Plc. 1997 (fiction).
• Daughters of Darkness (film) 1971. VHS and DVD. (loosely based on Erszébet Báthory)

External links

• Website of a possible relative of Erszébet Báthory (http://www.bathory.org/)
• The Straight Dope on Erszébet Báthory (http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_131.html)