Dark Angels V: Erzsebet Bathory - Part II

Again, here is my good friend Theresa Elizabeth Bathory with Part II of the Dark Angel entry on Elizabeth Bathory!


Help me, O Clouds.
O Clouds, stay by me.
Let no harm come to me.
Let me remain healthy and invincible.

Send, O send, you powerful Clouds, ninety cats.
I command you, O King of the Cats, I pray you.
May you gather them together,
even if you are in the mountains,
or on the waters,
or on the roofs,
or on the other side of the ocean.
May these ninety cats appear to tear and destroy
the hearts
of kings and princes,
And in the same way
the hearts
of teachers and judges,
so they shall harm me not.
Holy Trinity, protect me.

~Prayer Erzsabet Bathory kept on her until her death


Bathory, the name holds so much mystery, darkness, and sadistic vampirism but is her reputation deserved? In part one of my essay on the Countess I reviewed the “historical” account and legend that is generally accepted as “fact.” In this part I will offer an alternative theory on the infamous, yet little known, Erzsabet Bathory.

Unfortunately, no one can prove this theory because the official court transcripts and documents are still locked away by the Hungarian government, which raises curiosity and suspicion as to why. All we know comes from accounts by those who attended the trials and their accounts are suspect as well as most were on the side of the prosecution.

We do know from their accounts that the witnesses all gave fantastic accounts of torture, sadism, and “witchcraft”. Those who were prosecuted, and some who testified, were, by spectator’s accounts, tortured, meaning that the interrogations must have been harsh enough to be apparent even to observers. This has to raise doubt then as to the validity of the testimony given.

The infamous register that was testified to by Zusanna that recorded the number of victims killed and the manner of each death was never introduced as evidence because no one knew the whereabouts of the document. It could not be produced and the contents of this register only exist as testimony from a tortured defendant.

Let’s look at that number of victims -- purportedly from 600 to 650 maidens. Consider that, in 1526, shortly before the Battle of Mohacs, the total population of all the Hungarian territories taken together (including Transylvania and Croatia) amounted to 3,500,00 – 4,000,000. The country had some 30-35 royal free cities (civitates) that comprised about 100,000 inhabitants. Besides, these there were some 800-850 rather agrarian oppida that were controlled by feudal lords, Given the average number of their inhabitants did not exceed 500-600*1 one can see the impact 600 to 650 maidens’ deaths would have. We are talking about the population of an entire area in less than a 20 year period.

Consider also the fact that Erzsabet was not allowed to attend either of her own two trials; she was not allowed even to submit testimony by writing and, even then, was not found guilty at either trial. Subsequent attempts to bring her to trial by King Matthias II were met with opposition by the Bathorys and finally Erzsabet was walled up in her bedroom with a slit large enough to pass food through to her.

So then what other reason then would there be to try and imprison her if she was not the mass-serial killer she was charged with being? Let us consider Erzsabet herself. First she was a woman who headed the most powerful family in Eastern Europe. As a family head, she was successful – she increased the Bathory’s holdings three-fold. She was an intelligent woman and well spoken by all accounts, able to speak and read three languages when most of the aristocracy could not even write their own names. She was widowed and beautiful; in short she was a threat to the male-dominated patriarch of the times.

Just as other powerful women in history have been maligned (Cleopatra purportedly gave head to Caesar’s entire legion in one night and Catherin the Great was said to have slept with her horse), it is not hard to imagine that Erzsabet Bathory was also victim to the same slanderous and scandalous attacks. There is another reason, as well, one that is extremely compelling. The King of Hungary, King Matthias II, owed the Bathory family more money than he could ever hope to repay and Erzabet, and her family, were next in line to the throne. Stefan Bathory was king of Poland (1575-1586) and considered one of Poland’s greatest kings and is still considered a hero.

If Erzsabet Bathory had been found guilty of the crimes with which she was charged, especially witchcraft, all her holdings would have become property of the crown. This would have eliminated Matthias’s debt to the Bathory’s and also helped to ensure his throne’s safety from the family. By removing Erzsabet, by imprisoning her in the castle’s room, the Bathory family might have stopped further repeated attempts by the King to bring her to trial.

Does this mean she was innocent? Perhaps not, since her alleged murder of peasants was the type of act the aristocracy could get away with without fear of punishment. Was it possible that she was as history has depicted her? Yes, but is it probable? We will likely never really know and, because of that, her legend is both infamous and compelling while the truth, as usual, may lie somewhere in between.

Devoid of all breath in the air
Even Death paled to compare
To the taint of Her splendour
So rare and engendered
'Pon the awed throng gathered
There...
~Beneath the Howling Stars – Cradle of Filth



*1 Urban Societies in East-Central Europe by Jaroslav Miller

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Posted by Angela Caperton at 7/2/2009 9:44 PM
Categories: Dark Angels
Tags: Elizabeth Bathory Sadism Dark Angels Witchcraft
 

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