Infamous Lady: The True Story of Countess Erzsébet Báthory (21 page)

It is evident that the supreme God, through His Royal Majesty, with the determined wishes and elections of the national occupants and estates of our homeland Hungary, His Grace, through the honor and dignity of the palatinal office, called this summit, so that in the furtherance of the requirements of His office, without regard for the person, to protect the good and innocent, should punish the guilty: so we, the above, who desire to sufficiently accomplish His order have made, among other things, so far a salutary undertaking and fortunately finished this public matter, having heard about and questioned regarding the one who, unheard of from the beginning of the world by the female sex, committed outrageous, inhuman rage and satanic cruelty against Christian blood, the high noble, Lady Erzsébet Báthory, widow of the high-born and high noble Lord Ferenc Nádasdy who, to this kingdom and fatherland, was otherwise a much-deserved man, which she perpetrated, for many years now in a nefarious, inhuman way against her female servants, other women, and other innocent young souls, wretchedly killing an unbelievable number of many of the same. Given such a huge, unspeakable atrocity, this committee in no way wanted to (as one may care to say) see through the finger (i.e., make a rash decision). They set up a much more rigorous investigation, from which evidence could be shown that the Lady Widow Nádasdy had really committed the crimes of which she was accused, according to the confessions of her own servants. After His Grace heard of it, the committee applied His directive from Bratislava to the legal proceedings, and the designated high nobles and gentlemen, Count Nicholas Zrínyi and György Drugeth of Homonnay, relatives of the said Lady Widow, and Mr. Imre Magyeri, guardian of the orphaned Pál Nádasdy, and also a not insignificant number of troops, accompanied him to overtake the castle at Csejthe. Right at the entrance to the manor was the truth of what the witnesses had offered. There, a young lady was found, maiden name of Doricza, miserably killed from beatings and torture, and two others, also tortured to death in different ways in the said manor at Csejthe, by the aforementioned Lady Widow Nádasdy. This inhuman, more than tiger-like ferocity and anger moved His Grace, with the well-mannered advice of the above-mentioned, to hand over the blood-thirsty, highly nefarious Widow Nádasdy, caught in fresh atrocity (i.e., red handed) and to condemn this woman to eternal imprisonment in Castle Csejthe. Janós Ficzkó, however, as well as Ilona, Dorottya, and Katalin, as assistants and murderers of innocent people, knowledgable and participants in such Godless deeds, henchmen in this terrible execution and butcher shop, are set against their Lord Judge and in need of fair punishment for their horrible and nefarious crimes. Specifically, we the Committee, both because it is the sacred course of justice and fairness, as such entails, as well as to send a warning and example to those who have acted, or plan to act, in a similar way; for these, however, who have perpetrated such monstrous deeds, they shall receive the sharpest punishment and eternal shame, based on the document submitted by us, including the legal writings and copies, both of which have been brought against the Widow Nádasdy, as well as the voluntary confessions given by the defendants. After such was publicly read, the defendants individually interviewed on all points of the confessions and, in turn, heard, all being in agreement and nothing from the same confession omitted or modified, but set down just as they had been taken, regarding all that they had commited, in everything they violently perpetrated and forced by threats by their mistress; has the Committee finally determined from the aforementioned testimonies and confessions and also established from witnesses who appeared before us in the following order.

. . . .

As mentioned, a second judicial proceeding was convened, this one on January 7
^th
, involving a ceremonial panel of 18 judges and 13 sworn witnesses. Recorded in Latin, this trial began with a reading of the accomplices’ confessions. It then proceeded to the eye-witness testimonies of the men who were present at the Csejthe raid.

The judges and jury listened in awe as the men described what they had seen the night they entered the manorhouse and castle at Csejthe. The witnesses identified a young servant girl, Doricza,
ex flagris et torturis miserabiliter extinctam
(burned and tortured), including two other girls who died in similar fashion. György Kubanovich claimed witnessing
existens cadaver puellae
(corpses of girls), confirmed by witnesses János Krapmann and András Butora. Upon conclusion of such testimonies, Church authorities waived their right to interrogate (i.e., torture) the four criminal defendants further on charges of occult practices. The document reads as follows:

Transcript of the Witness Interrogatories regarding the cruel deeds which Elizabeth Bathory, wife of Count Ferenc Nádasdy, is accused. 1611. (Decision of No. 31)

The first witness, the honorable György Kubanovich, resident of Csejthe has acknowledged under oath: he was in attendance at Csejthe Castle when he saw the corpse of the last murdered girl, full of blue welts and burn marks and strangled execution-style, carried out in a trough, while the Lady Nádasdy was being taken into custody.

The second witness, Janós Valkó; the third, Martin Jankovich; the fourth, Martin Krsskó; the fifth, Andreas Ukrovich; all residents of Csejthe, have been sworn and testified the same as the first witness.

The sixth, Ladislas Centalovich, residing also in Csejthe, was also been sworn and testified like the others, with the addition: he had seen the girls when they were still alive, and had also seen the welts and burn marks on the shoulders of the same.

The seventh, Tomás Zima of Csejthe testified as the others, and also stated that two female servants of the Lady were buried in the cemetery at Csejthe, while the third was buried at Leszetice, specifically because the preacher at Csejthe challenged the murder.

The eighth, Johann (Janós) Krappmann, church servant at Csejthe, testified as the previous sworn witnesses, and added that, regarding the girl martyred execution-style, he had spoken with one of the assistants while still alive and received this answer: the Lady herself had perpetrated such, with the aid of a certain woman in a green dress which, however, she did not identify.

The ninth, András Butora of Csejthe, in general testified in all things the same as the rest.

. . . .

Throughout history, both prosecutors and defense attorneys alike have enjoyed staging a remarkable surprise near the end of a trial—the so-called “smoking gun”—that one remarkable piece of evidence or witness testimony that virtually assures a verdict and case-closed conclusion. Particularly for show trials, witnesses have often been bribed and evidence forged to assure such a desired outcome. Although we cannot say with certainty that such is the situation here, just such a remarkable event did indeed take place here.

      Near the end of the proceedings, one of the biggest sensations of the entire trial occurred when a young servant girl, a maiden named Szuzanna, was called to testify. While the Csejthe witnesses believed the number of dead to be around 50 or less, and the staff at Sárvár offered numbers of 175 to 200, an amazing testimony followed. It was Szuzanna’s sole declaration that an astounding 650 girls had been killed. These numbers, she claimed, were based on figures written in the Countess’ own hand and kept in a kind of log or register. Steward Jakob Szilvassy had seen this supposed registry in a box in the Countess’ possession. (In the original translation, the word used for this document is equivalent to “register” or “list,” contrary to popular belief today that a diary was used.)

      While a figure of 100 or 200 dead was in line with what prior witnesses had said, Szuzanna somehow had to account for her incredible allegation of over 650 dead. Without the Countess present to cross-examine, more was needed to defeat a claim of hearsay. Thus, the girl had to say that steward Jakob Szilvassy from Cjethe had discovered actual written proof of these murders. Of interest, however, Szilvassy was never called during those proceedings to validate what the girl said and, nearly a year later when he was finally summoned to testify, never mentioned a word, nor was questioned directly, about something as significant as the supposed list of 650 dead. Based on later comments by the king and court, it appears that the authorities ultimately did not give this young girl’s account very much credibility.

      We do not know if Szuzanna or Szilvassy really saw such a list, and it seems unlikely that the document was ever offered into evidence. Some have claimed that the document actually does exist and that it can be found in the National Archives in Budapest; however, given its age and poor condition, it is very difficult to read today. Unfortunately, these commentators do not provide any sort of identification for this document and, to this writer’s knowledge, no one has yet attempted a translation. For this reason, we shall hold our opinion as to whether the document is real or a fabrication created by servants who had either been bribed, desired revenge against the Countess, or were looking for some way to advance themselves personally by this testimony. One even has to wonder if Szusanna was the mysterious “maid” who had been sent by Thurzó’s wife, referenced in the letter shortly before the castle raid.

. . . .

The testimonies continued as follows:

The tenth, Szuzanna, a young girl, was sworn and testified that the executions, which the Widow Nádasdy perpetrated against her handmaidens, was horrifying, and that her execution henchmen were: Ilona, Dorottya, Anna with the surname Darvolya, and Janós Ficzkó, who was also sent out to steal girls and bring them back. Katalin was milder and gentler, but while alive had thrashed the girls enough, but was so merciful that she brought food in secret to the martyred dead. She remembered also that she had heard that Jacob Szilvásy had found a list of the dead girls in a box of the imprisoned Lady, numbered at six hundred and fifty, which number the Widow Lady Nádasdy signed with her own hand.

The eleventh witness, Sara Baranyai, widow of Peter Mártiny, testified the same as the previous girl, Szuzanna, with the addition: she knew for certain that in the previous four years (namely, during her entire time of service), while she was with Lady Nádasdy, over eighty girls in the women’s quarters were killed, which is confirmed by the testimony of a certain Bichierdi (Bichérdy), Warden of Sárvár, which agrees with the number, and that this is completely true, with her claiming conscientiously to repeat several times. Finally, it also strengthens the admissions of the defendants.

Twelfth, Ilona, Widow Kotsis, said under oath: she could comment on so many things over the past three years, namely during her time of service; over 30 girls were killed from multiple torture executions by Lady Nádasdy and her assistants. The Lady Nádasdy was very knowledgeable in magic and the art of poisoning, of which there are many examples but, in particular that, through magic and poisoning, she wanted to take the lives of His Royal Majesty, and the Lord Palatine, and also Imre Megyeri and others, too, against whom she prayed a certain wishing formula/spell. In all ways, she confirmed the confessions of the defendants.

The last witness, Anna, widow of Stephan Geonczy, recounted generally as the previous witnesses regarding the butchery perpetrated by the Lady Nádasdy and her female helpers, and also confesses: among the number of slain victims, was also her ten-year-old daughter, cruelly tortured to death, whom she wanted to visit but, to her greatest pain, was not permitted inside. The rest was the same as the previous.

. . . .

The testimonies concluded, the sentence upon the four defendants was read openly in public and judgment carried out immediately. The document was signed and sealed by the eighteen tribunal magistrates and delivered “to His Excellency, the Palatine, dated 7 January 1611.” The document concluded as follows:

After all that we have heard and considered, we have set forth the following recommendation.

As apparent from the defendants, and also the strong evidence before the present Tribunal, as well as repeated testimonies, but especially the confession of Dorottya, as the one guiltiest of so many cruelties against the innocent blood of the female sex, through her Lady and mistress clearly perpetrating crimes in which she and Ilona, as well as Janós Ficzkó, the secret helper, were not only knowledgable, but also participating in and hushing up such cruel deeds; because of such an obvious suspect and from the defendants themselves who made clear and apparent declarations on suspicious matters, including the overall secret and cruel deeds shown, first and before all others this Dorottya, then Ilona, and finally Janós Ficzkó were taken in for interrogation. The interrogations here are unlike anything contained in the indictment, and the interrogated ones themselves previously acknowledged, including said witnesses who also claimed and strengthened, abbreviated and withdrawn, even more so in view of the ways of the often-named Widow Nádasdy through which was perpetrated terrible slaughter and maltreatment; thus, the following judgment is passed upon the defendants, through us, and publicly pronounced: After the confessions of the defendants, which were given either voluntarily or after torture, as well as the revelations from the witness interrogations regarding the defendants’ crimes and, indeed, crimes which exceed all notions of inhumanity and cruelty consisting of multiple murders, butchery, and sophisticated execution-style torture –- such atrocities require horrible penalties: thus, first, Ilona and Dorottya, as primary participants in so many misdeeds and as tools of such serious, ongoing atrocities perpetrated against Christian blood, shall have the fingers of both hands torn out by the executioner, and shall then be executed and burned.