Elizabeth Bathory
Countess Elizabeth Bathory (1560-1614), often referred to by her Hungarian name, Erzsebet, was a Hungarian noblewoman, born to one of Hungary's wealthiest and most influential families. As with most European aristocratic dynasties, the Bathory clan was fraught with mental illness resulting from a long tradition of inbreeding. King Stephan of Poland ranks as one of Elizabeth's more memorable relatives; the less savory included a bisexual, sadistic aunt and a schizophrenic uncle. Small wonder, then, that Elizabeth began suffering from epileptic fits at the age of four or five. The young Countess was a spoiled child, raised by a string of governesses employed to cater to her every need. Though her erratic fits and stand-offish personality were bothersome, she was generally regarded as an intelligent and capable young woman.
At the age of eleven (or fifteen, by some accounts) Elizabeth became engaged to twenty-six-year-old Count Fernencz Nadasdy, a renowned war hero whose sadistic flair would ultimately earn him fame as "The Black Hero of Hungary." As was not uncommon in aristocratic circles, the marriage was a purely political union engineered by Elizabeth's opportunistic mother. The Nadasdy clan also climbed a few rungs on the social ladder - the Bathorys were a more powerful family with greater seniority. Though much speculation has been published with regard to the Countess' marriage, Fernencz's frequent absences were a hard fact. The first few years of their marriage produced few children, and it was during these long periods of solitude that Elizabeth's sadistic nature took rein.
Before we explore any further, I must mention an incident from the Countess' childhood that clearly influenced her brutal actions as an adult. At a young age, Elizabeth witnessed the execution of a traitorous gypsy; the accused was stuffed in the dissected belly of a live horse and sewn inside. The gypsy's death was presented as a public spectacle (one...
View Full Essay