In 1560, a woman was born, hailed by posterity as a bloody monster and suspected of vampirism. Her character has become an inspiration for writers, film screenwriters, musicians, and even computer game developers. Who are we talking about? About the niece of our honorable king, Elizabeth Bathory.
Preserving youth and beauty for eternity has been the dream of many women since the dawn of time. Ancient dandy rubbed their faces with powder from crocodile excrement, bathed in goat's and donkey's milk, or lipstick their lips. Arab beauties knew the beneficial effects of herbal face masks, and the Chinese invented nail polish. Women have always cared about their beauty, but no one else suffered from it, except for the cosmetics manufacturers, who put up with the whims of their clients and clients - who abolished the chemical composition of these products. Until…
Elżbieta enters the scene
Hungarian countess Elizabeth Bathory was born into one of the European dynastic families. In her time, relatives were married extensively in order to keep her blood pure. For this reason, in powerful families there were mental disorders, psychoses, blood disorders, and other genetic conditions that increased with each generation. According to scientists, Elżbieta also suffered from this kind of ailments. Even in her youth, she had bouts of unbridled anger and aggression. Moreover, she had epilepsy symptoms.
Portrait of 30-year-old Elizabeth by an unknown artist.
At the age of fifteen, our heroine married Ferenc Nádasdy (she had previously given birth to a daughter out of wedlock, devoted to upbringing by peasants; some researchers suggest that this aggravated her mental disorders). It turned out that she had a lot to do with her husband. Nádasdy was a famous commander who, after returning from the war, hid himself in his castle and devised the most elaborate methods of torturing his enemies. The young spouse bravely gave him a second in this, at the same time finding time for an orgy with whom he fell (be it ladies or gentlemen - she was not picky).
The young noblewoman revealed a whole range of sadistic tendencies. She mistreated the servants and the peasants and indulged in the practices of sorcery. She created an entourage whose members were remarkably out of order. Together with them, she indulged in macabre games, but this is a longer story ...
Čachtice. So much was left of Elizabeth's beauty salon…
Beauty is fleeting
Elizabeth Bathory was famous for her beauty. She had enormous, beautiful eyes, an alabaster complexion and long, black hair, soft as velvet. She could sit in front of a mirror for hours. In the flickering candlelight, she admired her beauty. According to legend, one day, however, she noticed that thin cobwebs of delicate wrinkles began to run in the corners of her eyes, and the skin of her hands was slowly sagging. The Countess was terrified.
To make matters worse, one time the servant brushing her hair accidentally tugged at it and pulled out a few. Elizabeth fell into a rage and began hitting the unfortunate woman with all her might, splashing her blood in the process. A few days later, Countess Batory made an extraordinary discovery - in the place splashed with the blood of her servant, the skin became smooth and radiant. What if you were to try and get more blood? Legends suggest that Elizabeth believed that thanks to the blood of virgins, she would be able to maintain her youthful appearance. Who knows, she wondered, maybe she will even gain eternal youth? It was a turning point in her "career".
You are dark about your work
The Countess and members of her entourage began to search her estate in search of young, beautiful and unsuspecting girls. She offered the chosen ones service in her castle, for which the candidates happily decided (it was an opportunity and considerable ennoblement for them). If only they knew…
Elizabeth Bathory and brought her virgins. Painting by Istvan Csok from 1895.
The most beautiful servants regularly disappeared from the estate, and their bodies, drained of blood, were regularly found. Legends circulated that the girls fell victim to a vampire. In fact, their blood served the Countess instead of a cream for wrinkles. The applications also contain information that Elżbieta took rejuvenating baths in it.
Our angel-faced monster decided that peasant blood was not enough. To stop time and preserve her beauty, she needed blue blood. That is why the countess decided to open an academy for young ladies.
The neighbors who heard about this idea probably applauded with delight. In their opinion, the mansion of the powerful and educated magnate was an ideal place for young noblewomen who wanted to improve their fate, adopt etiquette and establish the desired contacts. The courtyard of the countess's castle was swarmed with carriages with young ladies who later died in the castle under mysterious circumstances.
"Hungarian monster"
The palatine of Hungary - Count Turzo - knew about everything that happened in the castle. He turned a blind eye, not wanting to tarnish the opinion of the Batory family, with whom he was related. Eventually, however, came the time when it was no longer possible to cover up the matter. The Palatine Hill organized a raid on the Countess's castle and discovered its dark secrets. Apparently, heaps of decaying bodies were found, women dying in agony, girls waiting in the dungeons for torture ... According to legend, the countess took part in one of her orgies, sprinkled with alcohol and blood at the time of the attack.
An incredible thing happened, that a representative of the Hungarian nobility was brought to trial. As a result of the trial Countess Elizabeth Bathory was found guilty of eighty murders . She could not be sentenced to death, so it was decided that the moment of passing the sentence should be postponed indefinitely. During this time, Elizabeth was kept in one of the chambers of her castle, surrounded by treasures and mirrors. There was a small opening in the door to a small room through which food was passed to her.
Fragment of a poster promoting the movie "Bathory" with Anna Friel as Elizabeth.
During the trial, the countess proved, as I have already mentioned, only eighty murders. The actual number of her victims is unknown. According to legend, while traveling around the country, investigators found traces of another bloody crimes of the "Hungarian monster", as Elizabeth was called. The journal of the countess was also disclosed in court. It had six hundred and fifty names of women . Were they the victims of the macabre practices of the beautiful and mad countess? It was definitely only she who knew.
One thing is beyond doubt. Elizabeth Bathory was one of the cruelest psychopathic murderers in history. Well, fortunately, the Polish king from the same family inherited slightly better genes ...
Source:
This article is based on the book "Bad Women" by Jan Stradling, published by Demart (read our review).