Feb 14, 2018

Happy Valentine’s Day to my wonderful supporters! Here’s a little background on our friend Erzsebet and her marriage to Ferenc....

At the age of 11 Erzsebet was engaged to then 15 year old Ferenc Nadasdy, and four years later on May 8th 1575 they wed.  Their wedding was a large affair of 4,500 guests and would have included the most powerful and influential people in the Kingdom of Hungary.  Erzsebet’s social and political standing as a member of the Bathory family was greater than that of her husband and, in a serious break from tradition, she refused to take the Nadasdy name. 

As a wedding gift, Ferenc gave Erzsebet Cachtice Castle, located in the Little Carpathians in what is now Slovakia.  The castle and the surrounding 17 villages were transferred to Erzsebet and it was where her legendary and horrific deeds would be committed.   The remains of the castle today is surrounded by villages and agricultural lands, bordered by outcrops of the Little Carpathians and looks quite similar today as it did when it was given to her.    

While their marriage was most certainly a political arrangement, both Ferenc and Erzsebet were well suited to each other and seemed to have, for all intents and purposes, a happy marriage.  Ferenc would go to battle and learn new torture techniques that he’d bring home to his wife.  Interestingly, however he seemed to have a calming effect on Erzsebet and it was reported that when he was at the castle, the frequency of her torture and murder episodes declined. 

I guess there really is someone out there for everyone.