Elisabeth Báthory

Erzsébet Báthory

Erzsébet Báthory at the age of 25

Elisabeth Báthory (married Elisabeth Nádasdy ; Hungarian Báthory Erzsébet [Bátori ɛrʒeːbɛt] Slovak Alžbeta Bátoriová / Báthoryová * 7. August 1560 in Nyírbátor , Hungary , † 21st August 1614 on čachtice castle (Schächtitz), Kingdom of Hungary , now Slovakia ) was a Hungarian countess from the house of the Báthory von Ecsed . Her conviction as a serial killer in 1611 gave rise to the development of the legend of a "blood countess" who provided the material for numerous artistic adaptations.

Life

Youth and marriage

Franz Nádasdy

Elisabeth Báthory was born in 1560 as the daughter of the aristocratic military officer Georg Báthory von Ecsed (Hungarian: Báthory György) and Anna Báthory von Somlyós , the older sister of the ruling Polish King Stephan Báthory (Hungarian: Báthory István) . Georg was the third of Anna Báthory's four spouses. Elisabeth had an older brother, Stefan (born in 1555, Hungarian Istvan ), and the younger sisters Sofia and Klara. She grew up in Ecsed and learned Latin, German and Greek. In 1571, at the age of eleven, she was betrothed to Franz Nádasdy von Fogarasföld , five years her senior . Two years earlier, his mother Ursula had bought Čachtice Castle as a dowry for him and died in the year of the engagement. The wedding took place on May 9, 1575 when Elisabeth was 14 years old. Báthory changed her surname to Báthory-Nádasdy. The marriage is said to have been the reason for her conversion to Lutheranism .

The couple Báthory-Nádasdy lived at Castle Čachtice (German: Schächtitz , Hungarian. Cséjthe ) between Piestany and Neustadt an der Waag in the area of Neutra (Hungarian. Nyitra, Slovak. Nitra). Franz was often away from home and fought as a commander in royal Hungary against the Ottomans (Long Turkish War from 1593 to 1606). He took part in the reconquests of Esztergom , Vác , Székesfehérvár , Visegrád and Győr , was knighted and earned the nickname “Black Knight” through his tough approach.

Elisabeth Báthory ran the castle's household. She administered the Kanizsay and Nádasdy inheritance for her husband. The Kingdom of Hungary under the rule of the House of Habsburg borrowed heavily from the Nádasdy to finance the war. In 1585, at the age of 25, Báthory gave birth to her first child, daughter Anna. A painting by Báthory was made in the same year. From 1586 to 1594 she had Ursula and Andreas, who both died as children, and then Katharina. Báthory was 38 years old when their son Paul - the couple's main heir - was born in 1598.

Her brother Stephan, heir to the Báthory von Ecsed , had remained childless, so he considered Elisabeth Báthory in his will in 1600. In 1601 her husband Franz Nádasdy fell ill in Pressburg (Hungarian Pozsony , Slovakian Bratislava).

In 1602 there were activities of clergy against Franz and Elisabeth in Keresztúr .

After marriage

Čachtice Castle

Franz died of an illness on January 4, 1604, and Báthory inherited all of his property. After she had inherited her brother Stephan in 1605, great power clenched in her hand. She owned fiefs, goods and real estate from Transylvania to Austria, but mainly in Northern Hungary, today's Slovakia : Castle and Village Čachtice , Castle Beckov , Castle and City Sárvár , Castle Leka , Ecsed (today in the small area of ​​Mátészalka ), Kanizsa (heritage of Kanizsay), castle and town Illava , Lendva , vineyards at Tokaj , Sopronkeresztur , Kapuvár (today in the small area Kapuvár-Beled ) Egervar (today in the small area Zalaegerszeg ), Nagycenk , castle Füzér , Devin Castle (from the legacy of her brother Stephan) and townhouses in Vienna , Sopron , Trnava and Piestany . Many of the castles were strategically important, especially Devín on the Danube above Pozsony (now Bratislava). On March 27, 1606 there were Heiducken of the insurgent István Bocskay in Čachtice.

Báthory acted as the head of the family, which was unusual for a woman at the time. In 1604 she married her daughter Anna to Miklós Zrinyi . She had her son and heir Paul raised by Count Emmerich Megyéry the Red. Her daughter Katharina was engaged to Georg Drugeth von Homonna, the wedding took place on January 6, 1610 in Čachtice. Due to the death of her brother Stephan, he was unable to take care of the great-nephew of her mother Gabriel Báthory von Somlyó and his sister Anna. In 1608 Gabriel Báthory became voivode of Transylvania .

The process and its consequences

Undisputed facts

Count Georg Thurzo of Bethlenfalva

On the orders of King Matthias II (Hungarian Mátyás) of Hungary, Count Georg Thurzo von Bethlenfalva , Palatine of Hungary since 1609 and cousin of Báthory, stormed and searched the castle of Čachtice on December 29, 1610. Báthory was placed under house arrest in 1611 for the multiple murders of servants. Two trials were held in Bitcse , one in Hungarian and one in Latin. Since Báthory was not allowed to take a position himself, the trial consisted only of questioning co-defendants and witnesses. The former were various servants of the countess:

• Helena (Hungarian Ilona) Jó, the wet nurse of Báthory's children,
• Johannes (ung. János) Ujváry, called Ficzkó, their caretaker,
• Katharina Beneczky, widow of Johann Boda, worked as a laundress at the castle for ten years,
• Dorothea (ung. Dorottya) Szentes, called Dorkó, widow of Benedict Scöcs, five years maid of the countess.

According to the trial documents, the statements of these co-defendants were given once voluntarily and once again under torture . Anna Darvula was also considered to be the perpetrator, but had died before the castle was stormed.

As a result of the trial, Dorothea and Helena had their anterior phalanxes severed and both then burned alive. Johannes was beheaded and his body burned at the stake. Katharina was left in custody and not convicted because she was partially exonerated by testimony. King Matthias demanded the death sentence against Countess Báthory, but Thurzo did not agree. Báthory was imprisoned in her castle Čachtice until the end of her life. Statements that she was walled up in one of her tower rooms are not documented.

At the end of January 1611, Georg Drugeth visited Báthory by Homonna, the husband of her daughter Katharina, who asserted inheritance claims on her behalf. On October 8, there was a meeting between him and his son Paul to discuss the division of the inheritance.

On July 31, 1614, Báthory made her will, which provided for an even division of her property among her children and Paul appointed him as the family owner. On August 18, Paul and Homonna negotiated the inheritance. Elizabeth Báthory died on August 21 after four years in prison and was buried on November 25 in the church in Čachtice. On August 13, 1615, their daughter Anna died childless and fell out as an heir, so that Paul and Homonna agreed on March 9, 1616 on the division of the inheritance.

Interpretations

Báthory as a cruel serial killer

The trial documents show that Báthory lured many young girls to their castles in order to torture them naked to death in many ways. According to the trial files, Thurzo is said to have found the first girl's bodies immediately after entering the Čachtice Castle. According to the statements, Báthory and her servants practiced the following torture methods: bondage, beatings and flogging to the point of death, cuts with scissors, sticks with needles, burns with hot iron and water, pouring water over them in the frost, burning oil paper between them Toes, slaps and knife wounds.

Dorothea said she knew about 36 girls killed. Another witness stated that, to her knowledge, over 80 girls were killed at Sárvár Castle.

Michael Farin , who as editor of the current German-language source collection on Báthory documented both the contemporary sources and the emergence of the later Báthory legend, does not consider the historical Báthory to be innocent, as does György Pollák.

A variation on this view states that Báthory's behavior was merely more excessive than that of other high nobility. As a result, she was only accused because she was not satisfied with peasant girls, but ultimately also killed girls from the lower nobility of Hungary, including the singer Helene (Hungarian Ilona) Harczy, whom she met in Vienna, where she also killed numerous girls have.

Báthory as the victim of a political intrigue

The opinion of Báthory's innocence, first represented by László Nagy in 1984, sees the action against Báthory as a political intrigue on the part of the House of Habsburg . Habsburgs and Báthories had long been enemies. The conflict between the two houses began in 1571, when Stefan Báthory, with Ottoman help, prevailed against the Habsburg candidate as voivode of Transylvania. Stefan then prevailed against Emperor Maximilian II as King of Poland in 1575 . The Habsburgs were Catholic and introduced the Counter Reformation in Austria in 1580 . In Transylvania, on the other hand, the evangelical voivod Sigismund Báthory , a successor to Stefan, had the Jesuits expelled in 1588 and the Unitarians immigrated from Poland in 1592 . In 1597–1602 there was a dispute between Sigismund Báthory and Rudolf von Habsburg about rule over Transylvania, in which the Habsburg was able to prevail. Rudolf's commissioner Georg Basta confiscated the property of various Hungarian nobles and took action against the Evangelicals, so that in 1604 the uprising of István Bocskay broke out again, which made Transylvania again independent from the Habsburgs.

Thus in 1608 Gabriel Báthory could become Voivode of Transylvania. In the event of a possible campaign by Gabriel Báthory against Wallachia, which was allied with King Matthias (or across Hungary, as was the case in 1605), the Protestant Elisabeth Báthory could have sent armed men to her relatives from her castles scattered all over the country. This was prevented when it was established in 1610. Organizing a trial against them with numerous purchased witnesses would, according to the thesis, have been easier than the numerous war activities of the Habsburgs against the Báthories.

The level of detail and nature of the allegations speak against this hypothesis in a way that has never been seen before. The intrigues and calumnies of the aristocrats of that time usually did not require any particular plausibility or ingenuity. In 1611 Melchior Khlesl , Chancellor of Matthias von Habsburg and active supporter of the Counter Reformation, undertook a campaign against Transylvania after a failed attempt to murder Gabriel Báthory. After Gabriel was overthrown and murdered in 1613, his predecessor Sigismund Báthory died in Prague in 1613, so that the Habsburgs successfully eliminated a competing dynasty.

Tony Thorne , director of the Language Center at King's College, University of London, which researches alternative subcultures and cults, past and present, traveled to Eastern Europe and discussed with Eastern European scholars who held controversial positions about the guilt of Báthory: Katalin Peter , Agnes R. Varkonyi , Pal Ritook , Borbala Benda , Zsuzsana Bozai and Tibor Lukacs in Budapest , Beata Havelska from the Music and Theater Academy in Bratislava , Pavol Stekauer , Stefan Franko from the Art Faculty of the Pavol-Jozef-Šafárik University in Košice , Slovakia , Jozef Kocis , archivist in Bytča Castle , Irma Szadeczky-Kardoss , lawyer. He added these conversations to his 1997 documentary Countess Dracula. The life and times of the Blood Countess, Elisabeth Báthory .

Thorne puts forward the following arguments for the presumption of innocence:

1. After the death of her husband Nádasdy, Báthory was defenseless. Georg Thurzo had already sidelined noble widows in order to deprive them of their property, which Báthory mentioned in a letter to him in which she wrote that she would not be an easy victim in the same way.
2. Corporal punishment was common in the treatment of servants of the lower class by the high nobility at that time and was also carried out by Georg Thurzo himself.
3. The medical procedures of the time, which were practiced by the aristocratic women on their servants, were as well developed as the jurisprudence of the time.

Legends

In 1729, the Jesuit László Turóczi, in his work, Ungaria suis cum regibus compendio data, which was shaped by the spirit of the Counter-Reformation, dealt with the conviction of Báthory from the standpoint of the court and added some crucial, apparently fictitious details: Báthory had some blood splatters while torturing a girl and felt a significant rejuvenation of her skin on the stained area. She therefore decided to systematically kill young women and bathe them in their blood in order to keep their own skin youthful and attractive. Helena and Dorothea were witches . The Jesuit Turóczi also gave her conversion to Lutheranism for the first time as the cause of Báthory's madness.

Alleged Iron Maiden of Báthory (Bermann 1868)

Turóczis is the oldest writing about Báthory, which, apart from the aforementioned additions, is based on the original files. His claims were repeated by later authors, e.g. B. 1742 by Matthias Bel , and often further embellished. The publication of the trial files in 1817 did not break the legends. A new narrative element was e.g. B. an iron maiden in Báthory's torture chamber. The real Báthory was forgotten.

In addition to pseudo-historical descriptions, there were purely fictional works without any claim to truth, for example Leopold von Sacher-Masoch wrote a work inspired by the legends about Báthory.

In particular, through the legend that Báthory bathed in the blood of the murdered girls or drank it in order to keep themselves young, Báthory was given the nickname "Blood Countess". Whether Bram Stoker was inspired by the Báthory legend and used it for his novel Dracula is controversial. A connection between the blood countess and blood-drinking vampires was first made in 1970 to promote a film. It is now a typical topic in the vampire genre. In a number of works dealing with the legends about the "Blood Countess", the name Báthory is no longer mentioned.

Cultural references to Elisabeth Báthory

Literature, picture, computer games

• Ernst Raupach published the story Let the dead rest in 1823 . In it, the thirst for blood of the title character, who is by the way identical to Báthory, is traced back to a resurrection from the dead, and Báthory is walled up in a basilica at the end.
• Fascinated by the blood bath legend, Leopold von Sacher-Masoch wrote his novella Ewige Jugend (1886).
• Valentine Penrose wrote the book Die Bloody Countess Erzsébet Báthory (Verlag der Europäische Bücherei, 1965 Bonn, English: The Bloody Countess , 1970 London, French original: La Comtesse Sanglante , 1957 Paris), which also contains a chapter on Gilles de Rais .
• The author Hugh Walker (aka Hubert Straßl ) published in 1973 in the series of novels Vampir Horror-Roman (Pabel Moewig Verlag) as volume 20 the title Die Blutgräfin about the person of Elisabeth Báthory, which was re-published in 1990 as Demon Land No. 12 (Bastei Verlag) was launched.
• In the novel The Bloodbath of the Countess of the science fiction series Zeitkugel in the 1970s, this topic was also taken up.
• The French draftsman Georges Pichard portrayed Erzsébet Báthory in the comic La Comtesse rouge (published 1985 by Editions Dominique Leroy, Paris). He relied on the text by Masoch (the short story Ewige Jugend ), which he adapted for the comic JM Lo Duca (and wrote the foreword).
• The myths about Báthory also influenced the lesbian erotic photographer Krista Beinstein .
• The manga series Vampire Princess Yui shows the princess bathing in blood.
• In the first act of the computer game Diablo 2 by Blizzard Entertainment , the player has the task of destroying the evil countess, who was bathed in the blood of virgins, in a side quest and receives the countess's treasure as a reward.
• In mid-2010, this served as a template for the 9th boss (Blood Queen Lana'thel) in the World of Warcraft Raid instance Icecrown Citadel.
• In Kai Meyer's novel The Banned - The Alchemist III (2012) , one of the characters is exposed as Elisabeth Báthory using old records.
• In the novel Die Blutgräfin by Wolfgang Hohlbein (6th part of the series: The Chronicle of the Immortals ), Elisabeth Báthory serves as a template for a lady of the castle who is accused of murdering and kidnapping young girls. The fictional character is a vampire who needs the girls' blood to stay strong himself.
• In the horror radio play series Faith van Helsing , the countess appears as an opponent of the main heroine.
• In the Japanese light novel series Akuryō (悪 霊 シ リ ー ズ) by Fuyumi Ono , on which both the manga and the anime Ghost Hunt are based, the legend of the blood countess serves as a model for the actions of the character "Kaneyuki Miyamas".
• In the video game Fate / Extra CCC , the protagonist takes part in the fight for the Holy Grail and competes against 14-year-old Elizabeth Báthory, among others. She is a recurring character in other offshoots of the Fate series.
• The Countess embodies the character of Lady Arabella March in the mystery radio play series “ Die Schwarze Sonne ” by Günter Merlau.

Movie

Among the numerous films that revolve around Elisabeth Bathóry, a distinction has to be made between two main directions: on the one hand, "historical" films, which, once more, sometimes less strive for authenticity, deal with the historically transmitted character and biography of the "blood countess" On the other hand, films of the “fantastic” genre (especially horror films ), which are often set in the present and in which Elisabeth Bathóry mostly appears as a vampire, a kind of female counterpart to Dracula . Of course there are also mixed forms, for example the first biographical film, Comtesse des Horens (see below), also contains elements of the horror film.

Historical films (selection):

• 1971: Comtesse des Horens (Countess Dracula) by the Hungarian-born director Peter Sasdy , produced by Hammer Filmstudios , is heavily inspired by the life of Báthory. Ingrid Pitt plays Elisabeth Nádasdy, a Hungarian noblewoman who bathes in the blood of young women in order to stay young and attractive forever. The film mixes historical with horror elements - despite the original title alluding to Dracula, the countess is not portrayed as a vampire, but the rapid aging and rejuvenation process that is portrayed can clearly be assigned to the realm of the fantastic.
• 1973: The Legend of Blood Castle ( Ceremonia sangrienta ), Spanish film by Jorge Grau, with Lucia Bosè as Erzebeth Bathory. Despite some changes and additions (for example a husband who fakes his death and pretends to be a vampire to divert suspicion from his wife) is more interested in the historical figure than in horror elements.
• 1974: A portrayal of Báthory as a blood countess is included in the episode film Immoral Stories by Walerian Borowczyk . The Picasso daughter Paloma bathes in blood as a blood countess.
• 1980: The Czechoslovak cartoon The Bloody Lady ( Krvavá pani ) by Viktor Kubal depicts the life of Elisabeth Báthory, almost without language and with slightly fairytale features.
• The film Bathory - The Blood Countess about the Blood Countess, played by Anna Friel , was released in 2008 in Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Austria in a Czech-Slovak co-production from 2005 to 2007 . Directed by Juraj Jakubisko . Actors are u. a. Franco Nero and Bolek Polívka .
• In 2008 Julie Delpy filmed the life story of Báthory with herself in the lead role and u. a. Daniel Brühl as her young lover. The film The Countess premiered at the Berlinale in February 2009.
• 2008: The Czech-Canadian film Blood Countess by LLoyd Simandl depicts a day in the life of Elisabeth Bathóry, but the plot is primarily a pretext for various lesbian soft sex scenes. That same year, the same director made a sequel, Blood Countess 2: The Mayhem Begins .
• 2014: Documentary film 400 years of Elisabeth Bathory - The secret behind the secret , director and camera Pavel Novotny
• 2015: In the film The Dark Countess with Svetlana Chodtschenkowa as Countess Elisabeth Báthory and Isabelle Allen as Gypsy girl Aletta, a fictional story is told about the last year of the Countess' reign, in which a childlike sibling couple gets caught in their clutches.
• 2018: The US mystery series "Lore" deals in season 2, episode 2 with the life of Elisabeth Báthory and portrays her as the "most successful serial killer" described in the Guinness Book of Records .

Horror and fantastic films (selection):

• 1971: In the gambling in the present horror film Daughters of Darkness by Harry Kümel embodies Seyrig Countess Bathory who receives a youthful appearance, by drinking the blood of virgins.
• 1971: In the horror film Night of the Vampires by León Klimovsky with Paul Naschy as Wolf Man Waldemar Daninsky, one of the main characters is the vampire "Countess Wandesa Dárvula de Nadasdy" (played by Patty Shepard ), in whom Elisabeth Bathóry can be clearly recognized. Other Waldemar Daninsky films with Naschy, in which Elisabeth Bathóry, from now on under her real name, also played a role, were The Death Claw of the Cruel Wolf ( El retorno de Walpurgis , 1973, director: Carlos Aured), The Werewolf ( El retorno del Hombre Lobo , 1981, directed by Paul Naschy) and Tomb of the Werewolf (2004, directed by Fred Olen Ray ).
• 1993: The episode Blood Moon (season 5 / episode 15) of the series Back to the Past refers to a Count Báthory. The description of his atrocities and especially his death shows clear parallels to the myth of the blood countess.
• 2004: In the Canadian horror film Eternal by Wilhelm Liebenberg and Federico Sanchez (with Caroline Néron and Victoria Sanchez ), Báthory is up to mischief under the code name Elizabeth Kane in what is now Montréal .
• 2006: The horror film Stay Alive by director William Brent Bell takes up the myth of the blood countess, but here the castle is in the USA.
• In 2007 the German-Hungarian vampire film Metamorphosis was shot. Elisabeth Báthory herself only has a short appearance here, the rest of the film revolves around her (fictional) daughter and takes place in the present. Actor Christopher Lambert u. a., directed by Jenö Hodi.
• 2007: In the horror film Hostel 2 , a Mrs. Bathory kills a virgin and bathes in her blood.
• 2013: Fright Night 2 - Fresh Blood shows Bathóry as a vampire in today's Romania, bathing in the blood of virgins and looking for redemption.
• In the horror comedy Chastity Bites from 2013, Elisabeth Báthory murders under the cryptonym Liz Bartho virgin students in an American high school, from whose blood she wins a cosmetic for eternal beauty.

music

• On the 1982 album Black Metal by the British band Venom , a piece was called Countess Bathory .
• The band Bathory , founded in 1983, named themselves after the Countess and dedicated a piece to her on their album Under the Sign of the Black Mark with Woman of Dark Desires .
• The name of the German gothic rock band Lady Besery's Garden is also a linguistic reference to Erzsébet Báthory.
• In 1988 the Hungarian black metal band Tormentor was inspired by Báthory in the piece Elisabeth Bathory .
• In 1989 the British band Clock DVA released the track "The Sonology Of Sex II (Le Comtesse De Sang)", inspired by the legend of Elisabeth Báthory, as the B-side of their single "Sound Mirror".
• The Czech hard / gothic rock band XIII. With the title Elizabeth in 1998, Století also devoted himself to Elisabeth Báthory.
• The opera Sötskolan (The Beauty School; German publisher's title Die Schönheitsfalle ) by the Swedish composer Karin Rehnqvist based on the Bathory story was written in 1999.
• The British dark metal band Cradle of Filth released the album Cruelty and the Beast in 1998, which is based entirely on the myth of Elisabeth Báthory .
• The American power metal band Kamelot dedicated three tracks to the Blood Countess on their album Karma in 2001 .
• In 2005 the song Bloody Countess by the German thrash metal band Witchburner came out.
• In addition, a title on the album Black One from 2005, the US drone doom band Sunn O))) is entitled Báthory Erzsébet .
• In 2006, the German band Undead dealt with the figure of the Blood Countess and implemented her legend in the concept album of the same name, The Blood Countess .
• The German dark metal band Nachtblut also released a song entitled Die Blutgräfin on their album Antik in 2009 , which tells their legend .
• In addition, the song The Bleeding Baroness by the doom metal band Candlemass on their album Death Magic Doom from 2009 could be interpreted as an allusion to the blood countess.
• Cruel Force released the song Queen of Heresy in 2010 , which refers to Erzsébet Báthory's actions.
• The Swedish heavy metal band Ghost released a song of the same name on their first single Elizabeth in 2010 , which is also aimed at Báthory. On the debut Opus Eponymus there is a new recording of the song.
• The Italian heavy metal / hard rock band Viper Kiss released the song Lady Liz in 2012 , which refers to Erzsébet Báthory's deeds.
• The Austrian band Serenity released the song Wings of Madness in 2013 , which revolves around Báthory. In the accompanying music video she is portrayed by Clémentine Delauney .
• The band Dissection released the song Elizabeth Bathory , a cover version of the 1988 song by the band Tormentor .
• Slayer released the song Beauty Through Order on the album World Painted Blood in 2009 , which describes the myth of Bathory in the lyrics.
• The opera “Elizabetta” by Gabriel Prokofiev, inspired by the legend of the Blood Countess, premiered in 2019 at the Regensburg Theater

Historical and scientific literature

On the history of Hungary

• Ervin / Barta, I. u. a. Pamlenyi, The History of Hungary , Corvina Publishing House, Budapest 1971
• Peter Hanak, The History of Hungary from the Beginnings to the Present , Corvina-Verlag, Budapest 1988
• Theodor Schieder (Ed.): Handbook of European History , Volume 3: The emergence of modern Europe , Klett-Cotta, 1971 Stuttgart.

To Erzsébet Báthory until the early 20th century

• László Turóczi: Ungaria suis cum Regibus Compendio data . Tyrnavia 1729, pp. 188-193.
• Georg Závodsky: Diarium Rerum per Hungarium, ad Anno MDLXXXVI, usque ad Annum MDCVVIV. In: Matyas Bel: Apparatus ad Historiam Hungariae, sive collectio miscella, Monumentorum ineditorum partim; partim editorum, sed fugientium, Posonii, Typis Joannis Paulli Royer, A. MDCCXXXV . P. 366f. and 370.
• László Turóczi: Tragica historia (1729). In: Matthias Bel: Castle and City of Csejte (1742).
• Matyas Bel: Notitia Hungaria novae historico geographica, divisa in partes quator , Tomus quartus, Viennae Austriae, Impensis Straubii Bibliopolae, Typis Iohannis Petri van ghelen, Typographie Regnii, Anno MDCCXLII, pp. 468–475.
• Anonymous: The Countess Nadasdi, or: What advise old women do not . 1795.
• Michael Wagner (Ed.): Beauty Addiction, a Source of Inhuman Cruelty (1796). In: Contributions to anthropology and related sciences, Joseph Stahl and Compagnie , Vienna 1796, pp. 268–272.
• Acta Societatis Jablonovianae nova , Edition I, Leipzig 1802 - two magazine articles about the entire Báthory family with family tables.
• Ernst Johann Daniel Bornschein: Isidore Countess von Nadasdi, Vice Queen of Hungarn, twelve-fold murderess out of vanity (around 1805).
• [Alois] Freiherr von M [ednyansk] y: A true story . In: Hesperus, a national paper for educated readers [magazine], Prague, October 1812, Vol. 2, No. 59, pp. 470–472.
• Copy of the interrogation of the witnesses regarding the cruel deed which Elisabeth v. Báthory, wife of Count Franz Nádasdy is accused . 1611. In: Hesperus , Vol. 1, No. 31, June 1817, pp. 241-248 and Vol. 2, No. 34, July 1817, pp. 270-272.
• Brothers Grimm : After a Viennese flying leaf , 1815.
• Freyherr von My: Elisabeth Báthory. A true story , 1812.
• Ignaz A. Fessler: The criminal Elisabeth Báthory , 1824.
• A. Marienburg: Elisabeth Báthori. Narrative taken from historical sources , 1838.
• Michael Dionys Doleschall: Another thing about Elisabeth Báthori , 1838.
• Johann Nepomuk Vogl: The castle woman at Cseitha , 1836,
• Moritz Gans: Elisabeth Bathory - The secrets of Schachtizburg , 1854.
• Moritz Bermann: Dark stories from Austria . R. v. Waldheim, Vienna 1868, pp. 66–79.
• Constantin von Wurzbach : Nádasdy-Fogáras, Elisabeth . In: Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich . 20th part. Imperial-Royal Court and State Printing Office, Vienna 1869, p. 13 f. ( Digitized version ).
• Leopold von Sacher-Masoch: Eternal youth. 1611 , 1874.
• Karl Kucera: Elisabeth Nadasdy , 1884.
• R. von Elsberg: The blood countess Elisabeth Bathory . Wroclaw 1894.
• András Komáromy: Chronicles of Csejthe . In: Történelmi Tár , Budapest 1899.
• RA v. Elsberg [Ferdinand Strobl von Ravelsberg]: Elisabeth Báthory (The Blood Countess) . Schlesische Verlags-Anstalt v. S. Schottlaender, Breslau 1904.
• Carl Felix von Schlichtegroll: Ores Báthory , 1901.
• Hans Rau (pseud. A. Sper): Elisabeth Bathory: The "Blood Countess" and related phenomena . Bratislava / Pressburg around 1907.

To Erzsébet Báthory from the late 20th century

• Gerald Axelrod, The Secrets of the Blood Countess Elisabeth Báthory. Your life with photographs from Slovakia, Austria and Hungary . Verlagshaus Würzburg GmbH & Co. KG 2011, ISBN 978-3-8003-4603-5 .
• Kimberly Craft, Infamous Lady: The True Story of Countess Erzsébet Báthory , 2009, ISBN 1-4495-1344-1 .
• József Antall, Károly Kapronczay: Elisabeth Báthori , 1973.
• Laszlo Nagy: A Rossz Hirü Bathoryak . Budapest 1984.
• Michael Farin : Heroine of horror: Life and work of Elisabeth Báthory in letters, testimonies and fantasy games . P. Kirchheim Verlag, Munich 1989, ISBN 3-87410-038-3 .
• Tony Thorne : Countess Dracula, The life and times of the Blood Countess, Elisabeth Báthory . Bloomsbury, London 1997, ISBN 0-7475-2900-0 .
• Andreas Varesi: The secret of the Báthory . Facility Management and Publishing Dresden Ltd., 2005, ISBN 3-00-017216-5 .
• Raymond T. McNally: Dracula was a woman: in search of the blood countess of Transylvania . McGraw Hill, New York 1983, ISBN 0-07-045671-2 .
• Maurice Perisset: La comtesse de sang . Pocket, ISBN 2-266-11950-8 .
• Peter & Julia Murakami: Lexicon of Serial Killers . 10th edition. Ullstein Buchverlage GmbH, Berlin 2012, ISBN 978-3-548-35935-9 , p. 30-32 .

ancestors

Andreas Báthory ()

Andreas Báthory ()

Juliana Drágfi by Béltek ()

Georg Báthory from Ecsed ()

Catharina of Rozgon ()

Elisabeth Báthory

Nicolaus Báthory (1462–1500)

Stephan Báthory of Somlyó (1477–1534)

Sophia von Lossoncz ()

Anna Báthory of Somlyó (1539–1570)

Stephan Telegdi († 1514)

Katherina Telegdi (1492-1547)

Margit Bebek de Pelsõcz

Web links

Commons : Elisabeth Báthory  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Wikisource: Elisabeth Báthory  - Sources and full texts

• Literature by and about Elisabeth Báthory in the catalog of the German National Library
• Elizabeth Bathory: The Opera with photos of the castle and bibliography
• Entry about Elisabeth Báthory in the Hungarian Biographical Lexicon (MEK) of the National Széchényi Library (Hungarian)
• Erzsébet Báthory , in: A Pallas Nagy Lexikona (Hungarian)
• The Blood Countess Erzsébeth Báthory - The legend of Lockenhaus Castle

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Elizabeth Bathory | Biography & Facts .
2. ^ Michael Kirchschlager: Historical serial killers , Arnstadt 2007, p. 97, ISBN 978-3-934277-13-7
3. ↑ VICE, In the castle ruins of the world's most notorious serial killer , interview with Tony Thorne, linguist at King's College London
4. ↑ Michael Farin: Heroine of Horror. Elisabeth Báthory . 3rd edition Kirchheim, Munich 1999, p. 11
5. ↑ György Pollák: felelötlensége Az irástudók . In: Kritika. Müvelödéspollitikai és kritikai lap . Budapest January 1986, pp. 21-22
6. ↑ László Nagy: A rossz hirü Báthoryak . Kossuth Könyvkiadó, Budapest 1984
7. ↑ Tragica Historia . In: Ungaria suis cum regibus compendia data , Typis Academicis Soc. Jesus per Fridericum Gall. Anno MCCCXXIX. Mense Sepembri The 8th p. 188-193, quoted by Farin.
8. ↑ Notitia Hungariae novae historico geographica, divisa in partes quator, […] Tomus quartus . Vienna Austriae, Impensis Paulli Straubii Bibliopolae. Typis Iohannis Petri van Ghelen, Typographie Regii, Anno MDCCXLII, p. 468-475. Quoted by Farin, pp. 21-27.
9. ↑ Hesperus , Prague, June 1817, Vol. 1, No. 31, p. 241-248 and July 1817, Vol. 2, No. 34, p. 270-272
10. ↑ Eternal youth. 1611. In: Leopold von Sacher-Masoch: Ewige Jugend and other stories , R. Jacobsthal, Berlin 1886, pp. 5-43.
11. ↑ Elizabeth Miller: Bram Stoker, Elizabeth Báthory and Dracula . In Dies .: Dracula - Sense and Nonsense . Desert Island Books, 2006, ISBN 1-905328-15-X
12. ↑ Bonnie Zimmerman: Daughters of Darkness - Lesbian vampires . In: Jump Cut , no. 24-25, March 1981, pp. 23-24
13. ↑ Becoming the sons of the bloodcountess . The story of naming the band , accessed August 18, 2013.
14. ^ Bathory - Under the sin , accessed August 18, 2013.
15. ↑ ^{a b c} genealogy.euweb.cz; Teledgi F3 accessed on June 26, 2012