Infamous Lady: The True Story of Countess Erzsébet Báthory (28 page)

On April 3
^rd
, Adam Zelesthey from the area of Dienesfalva was sworn and interrogated and said that he heard that the daughter of Mrs. István Szoltay and the two daughters of Gábor Sittkey were put to death under cruel torture. He had also heard from one of her coachmen named Peter, when he returned from Ecsed, that she tortured a child there, the daughter of a noble, for so long that she died. She was then buried midway on the same trip. He also knows that when she went to the last coronation (i.e., in Bratislava) came, she so victimized a girl with a knife and burned her with the fire iron, that she was brought back from Bratislavas in a very miserable condition. She could hardly stand on her feet and had to remain at home for days because of the great pain; nonetheless, she was moved to Keresztúr. He also knows that not long ago, a respectable German woman was with her who, from the very beginning, stood well in her favor. Once, however, when he was entering the foyer of the mistress’ house, she had fainted from being seriously ill. When he asked who she was, she answered by giving him her name; this was the German woman, but she did not have it easy. Also, he had heard from others that she was one of those who had been burned on the abdomen with a hot burning iron, so that she would suffer a terrible death.

Ferenc Török was sworn and interrogated and said that the Lady would not have been so open in front of him as with the others in this matter that he saw and heard. He knows, however, that the first time she traveled to Ecsed after István Báthory’s death, two girls had died because of the cruelty of Her Grace; they carried the corpses for three days in the freight car, and finally buried them somewhere between Branyicska and Sirok. And evenso, the daughter of a nobleman was obliged to her court; when she came back home, she killed the girl at Keresztúr through much torment. When they traveled the second time to Füzér, the Lady made them stay over in Sirok, and the relatives of the girl went to her and asked where their relative was, whereupon the Lady said she could not deny that she died of typhoid. On the first trip, when she was staying over at Veranno, she also tortured a girl severely; as the witness had gone hare hunting, upon his return, the officials told him: Mr. Ferenc, the girl that you saw tortured yesterday may not otherwise have died, were she not (killed) in the Turkish manner. A young woman from Bratislava who was no longer a servant at her court, whom she had taken to Varanno, was forced to dress in the manner of a girl. The young woman apologized, “But certainly, my dear high and gracious lady, I cannot be a girl, since I already have a little son, my little Ferenc.” In her anger she went and brought her a piece of wood and commanded her to suckle it, even put the stick in diapers and made her carry it around the castle, saying, "Suckle your child, you whore. Don’t let it cry.” She woke her up in the night, violently forcing the piece of wood to her breast as though it were a child. Later, as he heard from others, she departed the world after much suffering. And not long ago, before the wedding of Homonnay, she hid two dead girls in the inner chamber at Csejthe and then buried them at night. The witness has often seen wounds on the girls from torture and burnings, and he has also heard that they were burned on the abdomen with a fire iron. Moreover, he heard from the servants of the inner house, that she has already killed two hundred. From Sittkey’s wife and many others he knows with certainty that they have not died from disease, but that they were taken from this world by torture. Regarding the manner and type of torture, he had seen some of them with their arms tied up such that their hands were blue and blood came from the fingers. Only the Lord God can count up all of her atrocities.

The notable Balthasar Poky (Poby), the other warden of Castle Sárvár, was sworn and interrogated, and said that the number of those from the Lady’s court that have been buried are now much more than two hundred, if not already amounting to nearly three hundred. And he had also heard from others that they had died because of many tortures.

István Waghy (Vagy) was sworn in and said that he knew by hearsay that she had killed many with her torturing. In addition, she possessed a cake of gray color, like a pretzle, which she was obsessed with, which contained a wafer (host) in the middle; then she put it before her and looked into it, whereupon she prayed both against the Palatine, as well as against our King, and also against the judge of the county. The words of the prayer in turn went in this manner: “Herein show me (whereupon at this point she said the name against whom she prayed), so that I cannot be seen by you, so that you cannot cause any harm against me.” And she muttered more such prayers, sometimes continuing for up to an hour.

Another citizen of the market town of Sárvár, István Chiszar, Deputy Mayor, says that he has not seen anything but has heard from others that she tortured and martyred the girls, and that they themselves had suffered death, but he only heard from others and never saw anything.

Emericus Zabó, Judge, says the same as the previous witness.

The noble Michael Zabo confessed under oath that he had heard from a German woman that she had forced her to dress up and act like a girl; thereupon she apologized that she was not a girl, because she already had a child; but when she came back from Upper Hungary, (the woman) died from the many tortures.

Georgius Csizmadia
auditu audivit eadem, quam praecedens testis.
(Georgius Csizmadia has heard the same as the previous witness.)

Lucas Vargha (Varga)
nihil scit, neque audivit
. (Lucas Vargha knows nothing and has heard nothing.

Peter Kowach was sworn and said that he had heard that girls from the court had been buried, but he does not know for certain, nor has he heard with certainty, how and if this happened.

Janós Szücs knows nothing and has heard nothing.

Andreas Lakatjáró, teacher, was sworn in and said that he had heard that the girls were tortured through a woman named Anna, who was also called Darvolia, and also the younger sister of Máté Fekete was killed through her and several others.

The noble Ferenc Bornemissze was sworn and interrogated, and said that one day, at the end of his sermon to the congregation, the preacher, István Magyari, asked her to wait a moment because he had something else to say: “It is said about us as preacher that we know other people complain, but that Your Grace is not reproached. Therefore, I cannot conceal it, it must be even moreseo announced that, regarding the girl, Your Grace should not have so acted, because it offends the Lord, and we will be punished if we do not complain to and criticize Your Grace. And in order to confirm that my speech is true, we need only exhume the body, and you will find that the marks identify the way in which death occurred.” Says the mistress: “You will soon see, Preacher István, that I will make you pay for this; my husband and I have relatives who will not tolerate it, that you bring such shame on me and denounce me so; and I will also write to my husband.” The Preacher replied: “If Your Grace has relatives, then I also have a relative: the Lord God. But for better proof of what I say, let us dig up the bodies, and then we will see what you have done.” And after she got back to the castle, the Lady wrote her husband, because the Lord was in Vienna at the time. He did not see anything further, since he was frequently employed by the Lord, except that once, as he arrived into the house of the Lady, he witnessed the girls with their hands bound, wrapped with rein straps and hanging from the iron lattice at the window by their hair. From a scholar named János, his clerk, he probably had their names and numbers (i.e., how many victims there were) but, since then, he has forgotten them. And this servant is still with him.

The highly literate Paul Beöd, Vice Warden of said Sárvár Castle, was sworn in, interrogated, and said that he had often seen how the scholars carried the girls from the Lady’s house with singing and procession to the funeral. But as to how they died, of course he cannot know from his own knowledge, because he did not enter into the inner chambers of the mistress. Also, he had heard from others that it was said the deaths happened due to the cruelty of the mistress, but he himself has never seen anything like this. At another time, the blessed János Mogyoróssy and Gergely Jánossy who, at the time, were senior professors at Sárvár and had criticized the mistress quite heavily, were also with the preacher, István Magyary, and they were talking amongst themselves: “It is feared that the Lord God will punish us, along with you; let us rather go away from here, or you, good Mr. István, since you are a man of the church, and would be guilty, you must warn her, and if she does not stop, then you must announce her deeds down from the pulpit, because it offends the Lord God, and he will not tolerate it.” And so he then talked to her after the sermon; the preacher laid the burden upon the poor Lord Count, who was then still alive and had returned very quickly from Vienna, but it was not very long before the preacher and the Lord reconciled.

Super qua quidem attestatione, Pressburg in profesto Beatorum Simonis et Judae apostolorum anno Domini millesimo sexcentesimo decimo
(October 27, 1610).

ZRÍNYI’S LETTER TO THURZÓ

DECEMBER 12, 1610

The gracious God should abundantly bless Your Grace’s desires. At your command, I sent my main men and servants to Csejthe so that Mrs. Nádasdy can remain there in peace, as we have agreed with you. Also so that no harm will come to the property and that the Royal Treasury cannot assess anything against it, and above all, so that no further injustice will be added to the family. For all this time off, we feel as you do, Your Grace, regarding your advice on Csejthe, in this sense, the problem should resolve. However, I would like to remind you that we have not yet agreed concerning the allocation of property – indeed, it may not even happen quickly, and I would object to that. I do not know in which way Your Grace will decide; in any case, I am convinced that I am to receive an equal share along with the other relatives, and I also want the same part of the property on this side as well as the other side of the Danube. I am aware of Your Grace’s benevolence certainly, and in my heart, I hope that you are pleased with my advantage.
God grant that I can serve Your Grace my entire life; this is also my desire. God should let you live long with all of your property. Monyoròkerék, 12 December anno 1610

Count Nicolaus de Zrínyi (manu propria/written by his own hand)

PONIKENUSZ’S LETTER TO ÉLIAS LANYÍ

JANUARY 1, 1611

(Lanyí is a famous theologian at Bitca, also the religious superintendent of the counties of Trencén, Arva and Liptov)

To us is born and sent Emmanuel (Jesus Christ), the Redeemer, favorable to our salvation and my office. I greet your venerable and worthy glory with all my soul.

Long live, long live the radiant Lord, the Lord Viceroy, our protector, to God the best and most desirable. From him, namely, the Palatine, there is truth, and justice shines from the sky, peace and mercy kiss; all this should not only be present in Hungary at this time, but forever! Let us pray. God’s will be done. Amen.

The devil has exercised in the sons and daughters his mighty works of unbelief, but he is overcome by one more powerful, our Savior. But what am I talking about, noble man? The pious are never lacking in war and fighting.

And when man struggles, you always sense his devotion. On the first Sunday of Advent, as I read the Scripture in the Vesper, Andreas Priderovith revealed to me - me? No, by the Holy Ghost! - a tool of Satan; during which he declared with a clear voice: "Is this pastor preaching the truth? I do not understand it!" I showed him the New Testament and said: ‘See, here is the text’; but when I wanted to say something about the text, A.P. says: “It only annoys me!” and leaves the church amidst numerous insults. On the next day, a nobleman greets me at a wedding without reason: "You whore’s son of a pastor, I will see you out of this parish, grabbed by the hair and dragged out like a dog." (May chaste ears be spared), whereupon I left. I referred the matter to the domestic magistrate at the Synod of Tolna, who promised me full assistance.

But, good God, what a change beyond expectation! Signs and miracles have happened: Our Jezebel (I mean, Erzsébet Báthory) receives the punishment according to her crimes. She will be led into the keep (tower) and into eternal prison, walled in, locked up. What more? After I had considered my occupation, I called on one of the brothers so that we could comfort her with prayers and support so that she does not fall into temptation. No sooner are we in the Godless one’s presence, she welcomes us and says that her situation is our fault; specifically: "You two priests are the cause of my captivity." The venerable Mr. Zacharias, pastor of Leszetice, apologized in Hungarian. His apology calmed her down, and she says: "If you're not (at fault), then the pastor of Csejthe.” And she was excited by her words about me. Mr. Zacharias replied: "Your Grace should not believe this.” She said: "I can prove with witnesses that it is so." I reply, "I have preached God's word, and if it caused Your Grace to examine your conscience once, I have nothing to do with it, because I never named you." The prisoner replied:" You, you will die first, then Mr. Megyeri. You two have brought all this trouble upon me and are the cause of my arrest. What," she said," don’t you believe me that because of this situation a revolt will soon take place? The Hajduk (Transylvanian farmer soldiers), who have already gathered beyond the Theiss, have written to me yesterday that even the Prince of Transylvania will avenge my wrong." I remained silent as this was spoken; my interpreter did not tell me everything that she spoke in Hungarian. However, when she wished to send off letters and called for a knight, she said nothing, and she was also not questioned about it. I think it was someone from her entourage, whom she called. After she was imprisoned, however, much more came to light. First, however, the following should not be missed: On the 29
^th
of December, 1610, before she was taken, she was given a magic spell, issued by the Mistress from Miava. While this happened, a scribe was summoned so that he could immediately take down the words heard from her mouth. Both women, engaged in the magic arts, would not immediately speak, but as expected, after the last half of the night had passed, they considered the stars and watched the clouds, then took the floor and called the writer to write: