Biography of Elizabeth Bathory  (1560-1614)

  Hungarian Countess Elizabeth Bathory  is believed to have murdered hundreds of young women in the early 17th century.

  Who is Elizabeth Bathory ?

Count Elizabeth Bathory , or Elizabeth Bathory, was a wealthy and powerful Hungarian prince whose relations included an uncle who was king of Poland and a nephew who was a prince of Transylvania.  In 1610, he was convicted of a series of heinous murders and imprisoned in his home in Castle Čachtice, where he remained until his death.  Bathory  is famous for killing at least six hundred victims, setting a Guinness World Record for the most female murderers.  His actions resulted in the nickname "Blood Counts'' and may have inspired Bram Stoker's Dracula.  However, Bathory is not guilty of all the crimes he committed.

  Early life and marriage

  Bathory was born on August 7, 1560, in Nyar Potter, Hungary.  At the age of 11, Bathory, considered a beautiful and well-educated woman, became engaged to Count Frank Natassey.  Before marriage, giving birth to another illegitimate child is also included in some accounts of her life.

  The 15-year-old priest married Natasti on May 8, 1575.  The couple's first child was born in 1585, 10 years later.  Bathory gave birth to five children.  Two children died, but two daughters and a son survived.Since her husband was a soldier fighting with the Ottoman Turks, the couple avoided most of their marriage.  However, he may have studied her in the techniques of torture when they were together.  After Natasti's death in January 1604, Patari took control of his extensive plantations.

  Crimes

  Bathory was accused of harassing both female staff and nobles who came to her for training and education.  Most of his attacks and murders took place after he became a widow in 1604. Some of the victims of the plague were covered with honey and left outside to swallow the insects.  In colder parts of the year young women may be stripped naked and forced into deadly ice baths.  Bathory sometimes tortures little girls by swinging them with their fingers, cutting off their noses or lips, or beating them with piercing nettles.  She would bite her shoulders and breasts, as well as burn the flesh, including the genitals of some of the victims.  The intimate nature of Bathory .The attacks indicate a sexual motivation, although it is not certain what motivated her to act.Bathory's depictions often refer to her bathing in the blood of victims of the Virgin in an attempt to regain lost youth.  However, this heinous act was not supported by contemporary witness accounts (which is no different shame).  The first reference to Bathory's bloodbath came 100 years after his death, so it seems to be an invention.

  Capture

  On December 29, 1610, Count Georgie Durze, who had been overseeing judicial matters as Lord Palatine of Hungary, came to Bathory Castle Čachtice to investigate the Countess' allegations against classic birth women (misconduct by staff was not a concern for the authorities).  In the midst of harassing the victim, he is said to have surprised the priest and immediately imprisoned her in his home in response (her high status means she will not be imprisoned as a common criminal).Four of Bathory's staff - three women and a man - were later arrested, interrogated and tortured.  Their court proceedings began in early January 1611.  These employees denied their guilt in the killings, but admitted to burying several victims, although the number in their accounts varies between 36 and 51.  Not only did they exchange blame for their mistress and each other, but they also served as maid and governor for the deceased servant Darvolia.  Two of the female and male employees were sentenced to death, which was carried out quickly.  The fourth was immediately executed;  Then she had no idea what had happened.  Another woman who allegedly used magic to help the priest was soon killed. After these executions, Dursey continued to interrogate Countess.  According to one witness, Bathory  listed 650 victims in his documents, although the number of victims differed from other evidence and the exact death toll of the count was unknown.  The evidence collected by Dursey also includes 289 witness statements.

  Isolation

  As a member of a powerful family, the character is not subject to trial.  Instead, he was isolated - perhaps up to the wall - in Fort Čachtice, where he remained until his death in 1614.Since he was not convicted of a crime, the reserves of the vessel were given to family members instead of being seized.

  Innocent or guilty?

  Evidence against the character is flawed: Of the 289 witness accounts, more than 250 provided no hearing or any information.  Evidence that Bathory has listed 650 victims is the second calculation made by a court official - yet the officer who allegedly saw this information did not testify.  Several witnesses who spoke out against Bathory  noticed Durza, who oversaw the entire investigation.  The fact that the staff of the pottery was tortured makes their confession unbelievable. Why might the vessel be subjected to external manipulations?  Imprisonment allowed family members to control the possessions of the powerful widow (even before her nephews knew her arrest was coming).  The Habsburg court owed them money they did not want to pay.  Bathory's support for his son-in-law, Prince Coper Bathory of Transylvania, who clashed with the ruling Habsburgs, could put him in danger.However, it is not possible that the vessel is completely innocent.  In 1602 a priest wrote a letter discussing the extreme cruelty that the priest and his husband had shown to their servants.  The testimony against the priest may have contained true stories of how harshly he behaved with the lower classes.  Such acts were not illegal at the time - only the priest was punished because his victims were said to include nobles - but the priest would still be responsible for many of the ruined lives.

  Death

 The body of Bathory, 54, was found on August 21, 1614, in Fort Čachtice (present-day Slovakia), where he had been imprisoned since 1610.  Initially she was buried in a ditch in her garden, but her body may have been moved later.