Two court officials claimed that they personally witnessed Báthory torture and kill young servant girls. The daughters of local peasants, these victims had been lured to the estate by offers of work as maids or servants in the castle.īáthory was said to have tortured and killed hundreds of young women at Čachtice Castle.
Her victims were mainly young girlsĪccording to the testimonies, Báthory’s initial targets were servant girls aged between 10 and 14. The stories of Báthory’s murders were further verified by physical evidence of mutilated, dying or dead victims at the time of her arrest. In 1610, King Matthias assigned György Thurzó, count palatine of Hungary (and coincidentally Báthory’s cousin) to investigate the claims.īetween 16, Thurzó took depositions from people living in the area surrounding her estate, including the testimony of more than 300 witnesses and survivors. There had been earlier accounts of peasant women being murdered, but it was not until 1609 that rumours that she had killed noblewomen attracted attention. More than 300 witnesses gave testimony against herĪfter her husband’s death, rumours of Báthory’s cruelty began to surface. Dan talks to her about the ways in which these women were far more violent and aggressive than previously assumed, and the ways they fought for power in a patriarchal world.
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Suzannah Lipscomb's latest work unearths the lives of women in 16th and 17th century through a series of court sources that few have looked through. Nádasdy died in 1604 after developing a debilitating pain in his legs eventually becoming permanently disabled. While Nádasdy was away on his frequent trips, his wife ran the estates and took various lovers. The young couple lived in the Nádasdy castles in Hungary at Sárvár and Csetje (in present-day Slovakia). Nádasdy is said to have had the lover castrated and torn to pieces by dogs. Approximately 4,500 guests were invited to their wedding.īefore marrying Nádasdy, Báthory had given birth to a baby by a lower-order man. In 1575, Báthory married Ferenc Nádasdy, the son of a baron and another member of the aristocracy. As a child, Báthory suffered from multiple seizures that may have been caused by epilepsy. Image Credit: Public Domain, via Wikimedia CommonsĮlizabeth was born on a family estate in Nyírbátor and spent her childhood at Ecsed Castle. Engraving by Gottfried Prixner (1746-1819)
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