Infamous Lady: The True Story of Countess Erzsébet Báthory (27 page)

The fourteenth witness was the noble Ladislaus Saary, residing here in Újhely, about 50 years old, sworn and interrogated; he said that once, Stephanus Pesti, servant of the Lord István Dóczy, told him he had heard the mistress, Lady Widow Nádasdy, once gave such a strong beating to a girl that it caused very heavy bleeding. After that, she rubbed the girl with nettles, then tied the outstretched hands of the nude girl to a pole and let cold water pour over her. She was made to stand there until the water froze. Furthermore, the same witness heard from people living in Kosztolány that in winter, around the time of the Sunday Invocation, she left Csejthe and traveled out to the other side of the Danube river where her property was located, staying over here in Kosztolány; a girl had angered her was taken and forced to completely disrobe and was submerged into the frozen stream that flows through the city, after a hole had been hewn into the ice.

The fifteenth witness was the honorable Janós Morawczyk, subject of the above Rattkay, 35 years old, sworn and interrogated; he said, he heard from a certain Mazalak, servant of said Lady Widow Nádasdy, who told him, and then recounted the same again under oath, that Lady Widow Nádasdy had killed a girl and that the witness himself was compelled, at the command of the Lady Widow, in winter, to bring naked girls in the cold, and pour cold water over them; the same witness added that when he went to Liptov to buy salt, he heard from the salt merchants that Lady Widow Nádasdy, during her trip to the property of the late Count István Báthory, had buried two girls here in Lipov.

The sixteenth witness, the honorable Janós Mezar, about 50 years old, subject of the above Rattkay, resident of the said Újhely, was sworn and interrogated; he said he knew nothing about the cruelty of the Lady Nádasdy, except for that which is known by hearsay; she has abused living girls in her
Gynaecaeum
with blows, and that these naked girls were made to roll on the floor scattered with nettles; and he had also heard that after the wedding ceremony of her daughter, two girls died and were buried in Csejthe.

The seventeenth witness, the noble Janós Pesty, about 35 years old, resident of the said market town of Újhely, was sworn and interrogated; he said that he knew nothing.

The eighteenth witness was the honorable Nicolaus Csíszár, about 30 years old, residing in the market town of Újhely, sworn and interrogated; he said he knew nothing but that he had heard rumors that Mrs. Nádasdy is very cruel and that she had some girls killed.

The nineteenth witness was the honorable Janós Benkó, about 50 years old, subject of the aforementioned Peter Rattkay, residing in the market town of Újhely, sworn and interrogated; he said he knew nothing, except from the stories told by many, that each crime, as is generally claimed, really was committed by the Lady Widow Nádasdy.

The twentieth witness was the honorable Janós Kraychowych, about 33 years old, subject of the aforementioned Dániel Pongrácz, residing in Újhely, sworn and interrogated; he said a certain carpenter named Nicolaus Krestyan, who is now established in the market town of Galgocz, had told him that he once worked at the court in the city of Csejthe, owned by the Lady Widow Nádasdy, and there he heard from the staff of the Lady Widow Nádasdy that this Lady Widow had so cruelly whipped and tortured two girls that they were dying; the same witness had also heard that Lady Widow Nádasdy had killed two girls in the market town of Beckov on her way to the more northerly parts of the Kingdom and buried them somewhere along the way without funeral ceremony.

The twenty-first witness was the honorable György Maidanek, about 40 years old, subject of the above Rattkay, residing in Újhely, sworn and interrogated; he said that he knew nothing more except that which he heard: Lady Widow Nádasdy had killed some girls in a cruel way.

The twenty-second witness was the honorable Janós Hlavach, about 30 years old, subject of the above Rattkay, residing in Újhely, sworn and interrogated; he said that he had heard from different people what Lady Widow Nádasdy did to the girls under her care in her
Gynaecaeum
; namely, that she stuck needles under their nails and submerged some naked girls in ice-cold water. He had also heard that she killed some girls.

The twenty-third witness was the honorable Nicolaus Kleko, about 30 years old, subject of Franciscus Magochy, residing in Újhely, sworn and interrogated; he said he knew nothing except what he heard from others; namely, that Lady Widow Nádasdy, on her way into the more northerly parts of the country last year, killed a girl who had fled, and buried her in Kosice; regarding her atrocities, he replied as the previous witnesses.

The twenty-fourth witness was the honorable Pál Kwachkowy, about 28 years old, subject of the aforementioned Dániel Pongrácz, residing in Újhely, sworn and interrogated; he said the same as the third witness, György Predmerczky.

The twenty-fifth witness, the honorable György Hladny, about 40 years old, subject of the above Franciscus Magochy, residing in Újhely, was sworn and interrogated; he said that he knew nothing except that he heard that, at the time of the wedding celebration of Lord György Homonnay, Lady Widow Nádasdy had whipped and tortured two girls so much that they died and that they were finally buried in Kosztolány; by whom he had heard this, his recollection is no longer accurate, because this rumor was generally in circulation.

The twenty-sixth witness was the honorable Stephanus Mokor, about 60 years old, subject of the aforementioned Dániel Pongrácz, residing in Újhely, sworn and interrogated; he said that he heard both in Csejthe as well as in Verbo, and also in Kosztolány from various and numerous people that Lady Widow Nádasdy was very cruel, as is generally said, that she methodically processed living maidens in her
Gynaecaeum
; he had also heard that at the time of the wedding of Mr. György Homonnay, two girls were killed by whippings and torture and were buried without funeral ceremony.

The twenty-seventh witness was the honorable Nicolaus Drebnyczky, about 50 years old, subject of the aforementioned Dániel Pongrácz, residing in Újhely, sworn and interrogated; he said he knew nothing and saw nothing, but he had heard many of the Lady Widow Nádasdy’s atrocities perpetrated on the living maidens and girls in her
Gynaecaeum
.

The twenty-eighth witness was the honorable Martinus Komarek, about 30 years old, subject of the aforementioned Dániel Pongrácz, residing in Újhely, sworn and interrogated; he said he knew nothing and heard nothing of which was brought into circulation about the Lady Widow Nádasdy.

The twenty-ninth witness was the honorable György Chaba, about 20 years old, subject of the aforementioned Dániel Pongrácz, residing in Újhely, sworn and interrogated; he said he knew nothing except what he heard about her.

The thirtieth witness was the honorable Georgius Zlaty, about 40 years old, subject of Dániel Pongrácz, residing in Újhely, sworn and interrogated; he said he definitely knew nothing except that he heard from many regarding the atrocities of the Lady Widow Nádasdy which she perpetrated on living virgins and girls in her
Gynaecaeum
virgins.

The thirty-first witness was the honorable György Zamochnyk, about 40 years old, subject of Dániel Pongrácz, residing in Újhely, sworn and interrogated; he said he heard about the cruelty of the Lady Widow Nádasdy, but does not know whether all of this was true. The same witness also said that at the time of the wedding ceremony an official said Lady Widow Nádasdy brought him a boot to be fitted with an iron. As the witness was asked whether it was true if Lady Widow Nádasdy murdered girls, he, the witness, replied that this was perfectly true, and now two were dead. The same official also recounted that, prior to the wedding, when she went from Sárvár to Csejthe, two had been killed and buried along the way. Furthermore, this witness had heard from Adam Pollio, residing in the city of Verbo, that, once when he was working as a craftsman for the Lady Widow, he saw a naked girl with her feet shackled to a table, and that this girl was then never seen again.

The thirty-second witness was the honorable Ladislas Holechny, about 55 years old, subordinate to the aforementioned Franciscus Magochy, sworn and interrogated; he said that he knew nothing except that he had heard from many, that this Lady Widow Nádasdy would perpetrate cruel deeds.

The thirty-third witness was the honorable Michael Haleman, about 40 years old, subject of the aforementioned Peter Rattkay, sworn and interrogated; he recounted the same as György Zamochnyk, the thirtieth witness.

The thirty-fourth witness was the venerable Michael Fabri, pastor in the city of Kosztolány and who, in the purity of his conscience, testified that it was well known that after the wedding ceremony in Csejthe, two girls died; afterwards they were brought to Kosztonány and were buried without funeral ceremonies, and were laid into the grave wearing only the clothes in which they supposedly died. He also heard from others in earlier years that, when coming from Csejthe to Kosztolány, a girl was undressed in winter and submerged naked in a frozen brook after the ice was removed, and that after her death, she was buried here in the cemetery. He had also heard that many were killed by her; recently, an injured girl, bound and with a knife in her foot, had escaped and told many in Kosztolány that she would have died if she didn’t flee, and she reported unprecedented butchery.

About which we are faithfully informed, the above notary of record gives these, our letters of testimony of our investigation, under our judicial seal on the general judicial interrogatory. Given at Bratislava, on the 5th Weekday after the Feast of the Raising of the Cross (Sept. 19) in the year of the Lord 1610.

REPORT OF MÓZES CZIRÁKY

(18 WITNESS STATEMENTS)

OCTOBER 27, 1610

After he had received this assignment, the master, our notary public, reported to us, faithfully fulfilling his duty in the following manner, as set forth over the following days in accordance with the contents of our letter and issued orders for the below-mentioned witnesses under acceptance of the usual fixed oath, thus carrying out the subsequent witness interviews and interrogations.

And as the first, the notable Benedictus Bicsérdy, Castellan (warden) of Castle Sárvár, said under oath: since he had been Castellan of Sárvár, 175 dead girls and women were taken out from the house of the Lady in Sárvár; as to how they died, he could not know because, unless she called for him, he was not permitted to go into the house of the Lady; in such a case, however, where it might be possible to see something that had happened previously, it remained hidden from his eyes and everything had been re-adjusted. Once he saw that the wall was bloody, and he could think of nothing other than that this was the blood of some people who had been tortured. He knows that the girls were so cruelly beaten that if he were walking around the castle, he could hear the slapping noises of a lashing coming from inside the castle through the walls, and, previously, such a beating could continue sometimes for up to six hours. He also said that the mistress kept a kind of “secret house” in the interior of the house itself where the tortured people were kept hidden, but he had no access to that because the doors were guarded, and he definitely had no desire to go in there.

Gregor Paisjártó, Vice Castellan of the same Sárvár Castle, said under oath that he is not permitted in the house of the mistress, and cannot testify to anything wrong about the conditions and practices inside there. He knows, however, that one girl was taken out in a coffin in order to bury her, but could not say anything on whether it was an illness or the cause of her death, because he was not allowed to enter the mistress’ house without being called, and had also not seen anything.

Benedict Zalay, Paymaster at the same castle, said that his function and his ofice is to be concerned with ensuring supplies, which he performs, that he does not pay attention to such incidents and regarding it cannot say anything.

Gergely Balás said under oath that he had seen girls taken out on the cart, accompanied by the scholars singing, but he does not know how they died.

Ambrus Barbély said under oath that he entered the mistress’ house when she called for him but would not be there otherwise, and when he gave a sick girl medicine, he only saw the face and mouth but not the rest of the body, and he does not know whether the girls were beaten or tortured or not, because he has not seen such, and did not notice any signs of it on them.

Michael Zvonaric, preacher at the same castle, said that if he or someone else went into the house of the Lady, everything was cleaned and there was nothing to see, and that she demanded great care to be taken by her people; the outer door was guarded by Drabont, and no one could enter without his knowledge. Inside again, there was a separate "secret house" in which she, as the witness has heard from others, had the girls tortured; he could not see anything; just once, the news went around that three girls had been nailed together in a coffin and that they were thus transported to the Sárvár church for the funeral. When he heard this, accordingly under his office as preacher, he could not remain silent, but had gone into the castle to complain to the mistress; and when he had asked her what was the reason why she buried the three girls in a single coffin -- because before the whole world, she already had a bad reputation because of such deeds, and even those who belonged to the servant status would therefore suffer ignominy, and he also sought the will of God to ask the reason behind such statements and shame by seeking out a better explanation – the Lady replied that it was not the truth because she had not nailed three but only two girls in a coffin, and this had been done so because they saw that a girl was already dead and the other would die not much later, and so they waited to take two out in the same coffin rather than two coffins in quick succession such that even more gossip would arise.