Anna Bthory was the widow of the last descendant of the Dragfi family and George now seized the castles of the Dragfi. 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. I think it wouldve been a little more beneficial to focus on a specific killing story of hers if there was evidence of one. She spent her childhood at Ecsed Castle. Elizabeth's father was George VI Bthory, who was from the Bthory family's Esced branch. [1], There are counter-arguments made against this theory. Any remains or signs of her or her body cannot be found today. 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. Secret societies, paranormal elements, and twist and turns galore. Elizabeth Bthory (born Ecsedi Bthory Erzsbet in Hungarian) came from the noble Protestant family Bthory, who owned land in the Kingdom of Hungary. Even then, the punishment Bathory faced was nowhere near as cruel as what she did to these young girls. Matthias was not inclined to pay that debt, which historians say may have fueled his move to incriminate the countess in multiple crimes and deny her the opportunity to defend herself in court. 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. Thurz ordered two notaries, Andrs Keresztry and Mzes Czirky,[19] to collect evidence in March 1610. Many of the witnesses who spoke against Bathory were beholden to Thurz, who oversaw the entire investigation. 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. For the 1982 song by Venom, see, Copy of the lost 1585 original portrait of Elizabeth Bthory, The references used may be made clearer with a different or consistent style of, Lengyel Tnde, Vrkonyi Gbor: Bthory Erzsbet - egy asszony lete / Life of a woman, Letters from Thurz to both men on 5 March 1610, printed in, A letter from 12 December 1610 by Elizabeth's son-in-law Zrnyi to, Szdeczky-Kardoss Irma - Bthory Erzsbet igazsga / The truth of Elizabeth Bthory (10 years of research using contemporary correspondence), Infamous Lady the true story of Countess Erzsebet Bathory Kimberly L. Craft 2009 p.298, Learn how and when to remove this template message, "The Bloody Countess? In addition to shifting blame to their mistress and each other, they also implicated a deceased servant, Darvulia, who'd served as a maid and governess. Highly interesting and indulging article that I enjoyed reading. MINIATURE framed painting art. 1590 is when she was said to have started her crimes. The Bthory family (Polish: Batory) was a Hungarian noble family of the Gutkeled clan. Elizabeth Blackwell was the first woman to graduate from medical school in the United States. Tony Thorne. ), Hodos was the ancestor of the Szokolvi family, see, Moritz Wertner, "Urgeschlechter in Siebenbrgen. 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 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. This page has been accessed 12,844 times. On December 30, 1609, Bthory and her servants were arrested. 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. Ancient Origins - Elizabeth Bathory 16th century deranged serial killer or victim of betrayal. I never new much about Elizabeth Bathory other than her obsession with Virgin blood and the occult, but boy did some of these accounts just turn my stomach. She met Erzsi Majorova soon after, who practiced witchcraft. Gabriel Bthory, the younger brother of Stephen XII, was the last male member of the Ecsed line. Her brother was a judge royal of Hungary. Imprisonment allowed family members to take control of the powerful widow's possessions (her sons-in-law knew beforehand that her arrest was coming). She had several siblings. 2023 Biography and the Biography logo are registered trademarks of A&E Television Networks, LLC. 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. Her family controlled Transylvania, and her uncle, Stephen Bthory, was king of Poland. Countess Elizabeth Bathory was a member of the aristocracy in Hungary. [15] The woman was paid for her actions, and the child was taken to Wallachia. . 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. [4], The charges leveled against Bthory have been described by several historians as a witch-hunt. 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. 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). Although it is commonly believed that Bthory was caught in the act of torture, she was having dinner. [citation needed], Bthory's daughter, Anna Ndasdy, was born in 1585 and was later to become the wife of Nikola VI Zrinski. Also known as Bthori Erzsbet, Elizabeth Bathory was born to an incredibly powerful family on August 7, 1560, in Hungary. Great job! Elizabeth Bthory., College of Arts, Humanities, & Social Sciences. [3] She was imprisoned within Castle of Csejte. 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 . Their court proceedings began early in January 1611. Updates? In this time period, if someone was harmed, or someone even stole a chicken, a letter of complaint was written. For other uses, see. It pains my mind just to think of it! The intimate nature of Bathory's attacks suggests a sexual motivation, though it's impossible to know with certainty what compelled her to act. and she had complete control over the lives of the peasants living in the . [35] In his book Hungary and Transylvania, published in 1850, John Paget describes the supposed origins of Bthory's blood-bathing, although his tale seems to be a fictionalized recitation of oral history from the area. The citizens of Hungary did not even speak Bathorys name for hundreds of years.18 Conspiracy theories argue that Bathory was actually innocent. Elizabeth I was a long-ruling queen of England, governing with relative stability and prosperity for 44 years. After the harsh and fierce battle, Hungary was torn apart by the conflict between the rival royal claims. Hambly. Her company expanded internationally and changed the face of women's cosmetics. Elizabeth Bathory's Chilling Secret to Eternal Youth. This is the turning point where Bathory began killing sporadically, and it eventually led to her arrest.10. The King of Hungary, King Matthias II, ordered Gyorgy Thurzo, Palatine of Hungary, to look into the rumors and accusations about Bathory. But although this story is by far the most memorable, its also extremely unlikely to have been true. Just one grandparent can lead you to many Instead, she was isolated perhaps walled up in Castle achtice, where she remained until her death in 1614. Katarna Benick received a life sentence after evidence showed that she'd been abused by the other women. Elizabeth Bathory portrait - Bloody Countess, medieval serial killer print, poster (DIGITAL DOWNLOAD) ArtisMortisGallery. The palatine also coordinated the steps of the investigation with the political struggle with the Prince of 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. For years, citizens were frightened of Elizabeth Bathory. Her mother was Baroness Anna Bthory, daughter of another voivode of Transylvania. American serial killer Israel Keyes is thought to have murdered at least 11 people before his 2012 arrest. Depictions of Bathory often mention her bathing in the blood of virgin victims in an attempt to recapture her lost youth. She suffered from epilepsy as a child, possibly from familial inbreeding. discoveries. 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. Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain was the longest-reigning monarch in British history. 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 . I was researching about it today and I found a family tree of her husband Ferenc Nadasdy. She was 25 when the original portrait -- the only known image of her -- was painted. Soon after her arrest, Bathory attended the trial against her. You can see in the photo that II. 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. No, Bthory was not a doctor/scientist/midwife. [21], Thurz debated further proceedings with Bthory's son Paul and two of her sons-in-law, Nikola VI Zrinski and Gyrgy Drugeth. Wertner, Moritz, "Urgeschlechter in Siebenbrgen. [36] It is difficult to know how accurate his account of events is. Her relatives included the governor of Transylvania, The king of Poland, and the prince of Transylvania. People grew more suspicious after she killed one noble girl. The most famous relative was Istvan (ISHT-vahn) Bathory (1533-86). On August 7th, 1560, Elizabeth Bthory de Esced ( Bthory Erzsbet in Hungarian) was born to a very powerful Hungarian family. Raised in a noble family, Bathory knew a life of privilege from an early age. By . The book was never revealed and Szilvssy never mentioned it in his testimony. While documents from the 1611 trial supported the accusations made against her, modern scholarship has questioned the veracity of the allegations. 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. Although in modern times she has been labelled the most prolific female serial killer in history, her guilt is debated. [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). [23] Ilona J and Dorottya Szentes had their fingers torn out with a pair of red-hot pincers and were then burned alive. Impressed by Stephen, George VI Bthory, of the Ecsed branch, was persuaded to change his allegiance from the Habsburgs to Zpolya, for which the Habsburg king deprived him of his castle Bujak. In a way, things that happened back then are still happening now. Elizabeth (Bathory) Bthory de Ecsed is Notable. 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. Wikimedia CommonsThe ruins of Csejte Castle, where Elizabeth Bathory supposedly committed unspeakable crimes. [34] The story came into question in 1817 when the witness accounts (which had surfaced in 1765) were published for the first time. Hungarian countess Elizabeth Bathory is thought to have murdered hundreds of young women in the early 17th century. (2009). This Serial Killer was active in the following countries: Slovakia. The theory is consistent with Hungarian history at that time, which included religious and political conflicts, especially relating to the wars with the Ottoman Empire, the spread of Protestantism and the extension of Habsburg power over Hungary. It turns out that King Matthias II owed Bathorys late husband, and then her, a sizable debt. I have never heard of this story, it was very interesting to read and learn about! [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. Inside her castles, there were torture chambers. I really liked your article! Thurzo investigated and accumulated hundreds of witnesses, and a few were willing to testify against Bathory. Although in modern times she has been labelled the most prolific female serial killer in . Login to find your connection. 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. Better known in the West as Elizabeth Bathory and Vlad Dracula, they were in their own places and ages already infamous, though for different reasons. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. 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. [2][13][16] Born into a privileged family of nobility, Bthory was endowed with wealth, education and a prominent social rank.[17]. 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] Countess Elizabeth Bthory de Ecsed (Hungarian: Bthori Erzsbet, pronounced [batori rebt]; Slovak: Albeta Btoriov; 7 August 1560 - 21 August 1614) was a Hungarian noblewoman and alleged serial killer from the family of Bthory, who owned land in the Kingdom of Hungary (now Slovakia).. Bthory and four of her servants were accused of torturing and killing hundreds of . Elizabeth received a strong education, and she became fluent in several languages.3 Although she seemed to be a regular noble woman, there was a dark truth behind her family and her. After all, legend has it that she bathed in the blood of at least 650 servant girls she had tortured and killed. 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. WIKITREE PROTECTS MOST SENSITIVE INFORMATION BUT ONLY TO THE EXTENT STATED IN THE TERMS OF SERVICE AND PRIVACY POLICY. The best-case scenario is that Bathory abused her servants but came nowhere near the level of violence alleged at her trial. [8][9] Some scholars have suggested that she served as one of Bram Stoker's influences for writing the novel Dracula but the evidence to support this is slim. 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). Bathory took the advice, which turned out be a mistake for her. 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. Both her parents' side were nobility and this they had achieved from small beginnings. Majorova convinced Bathory to kill noble women because fewer and fewer servants wanted to work for Bathory. Orsika's year of birth was probably some time between that of Anna and Katalin, around 1590. The ruins of Csejte Castle, where Elizabeth Bathory supposedly committed unspeakable crimes. A legendary account, placing the Bthorys' origin in the year 900 (preceding the advent of the Gutkeled clan), relates how a god-fearing warrior called Vitus (a namesake of a member of the first generation of the Gutkeled clan) set out to fight a dragon, which lurked in the swamps next to the castle of Ecsed (actually built only in the 14th century) and harassed the countryside. Instead, she was diagnosed as criminally insane.17. A late 16th-century copy of the now-lost portrait of Elizabeth Bathory, painted in 1585 when she was 25 years old. 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