Stephen VIII Báthory ( hu, Báthory István, ) (1477–1534) was a

Hungarian noble The Hungarian nobility consisted of a privileged group of individuals, most of whom owned landed property, in the Kingdom of Hungary. Initially, a diverse body of people were described as noblemen, but from the late 12th century only high- ...

. He was a son of Nicholas Báthory (1462–1500) of the Somlyó branch of the

Báthory family The Báthory family ( pl, Batory) was a Hungarian noble family of the Gutkeled clan. The family rose to significant influence in Central Europe during the Late Middle Ages, holding high military, administrative and ecclesiastical positions in ...

, and of Sophia Bánffy de Losoncz. He was appointed in 1521 adjoin (deputy) of the

Voivode of Transylvania The Voivode of Transylvania (german: Vojwode von Siebenbürgen;Fallenbüchl 1988, p. 77. hu, erdélyi vajda;Zsoldos 2011, p. 36. la, voivoda Transsylvaniae; ro, voievodul Transilvaniei) was the highest-ranking official in Transylvania wit ...

, and served under the Voivode

John Zápolya John Zápolya or Szapolyai ( hu, Szapolyai/ Zápolya János, hr, Ivan Zapolja, ro, Ioan Zápolya, sk, Ján Zápoľský; 1490/91 – 22 July 1540), was King of Hungary (as John I) from 1526 to 1540. His rule was disputed by Archduke Ferd ...

. After the

Battle of Mohács The Battle of Mohács (; hu, mohácsi csata, tr, Mohaç Muharebesi or Mohaç Savaşı) was fought on 29 August 1526 near Mohács, Kingdom of Hungary, between the forces of the Kingdom of Hungary and its allies, led by Louis II, and thos ...

in 1526, Stephen supported Zápolya's claim to the Kingship of Hungary and in 1529 was made Voivode of Transylvania. He fathered eight children with his wife

Catherine Telegdi Catherine Telegdi ( Hungarian: Katalin Telegdi) (1492–1547) was a Hungarian noble lady, the daughter of royal treasurer Stephen Telegdi and his wife Margit Bebek de Pelsőcz. Family Telegdi married the deputy voivode of Transylvania Stephen ...

. *Nicholas *Catharine *Andrew, father of

Stephen Stephen or Steven is a common English first name. It is particularly significant to Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; ...

, Balthasar and

Andrew Báthory Andrew Báthory ( hu, Báthory András; pl, Andrzej Batory; 1562 or 1563 – 3 November 1599) was the Cardinal-deacon of Sant'Adriano al Foro from 1584 to 1599, Prince-Bishop of Warmia from 1589 to 1599, and Prince of Transylvania in 1599. His ...

*Sophia *Anna (? –1570), born after her father's death, the mother of

Elizabeth Báthory Countess Elizabeth Báthory de Ecsed ( hu, Báthori Erzsébet, ; sk, Alžbeta Bátoriová; 7 August 1560 – 21 August 1614) was a Hungarian noblewoman and alleged serial killer from the family of Báthory, who owned land in the Kingdom of ...

. *Elizabeth (? –1562), who apparently was born well after her father's death *

Christopher Christopher is the English language, English version of a Europe-wide name derived from the Greek language, Greek name Χριστόφορος (''Christophoros'' or ''Christoforos''). The constituent parts are Χριστός (''Christós''), "Jesus ...

(1530–1581), who governed Transylvania in the absence of his younger brother Stefan. *

(1533–1586), who became Voivode (and later Prince) of Transylvania and

King of Poland Poland was ruled at various times either by dukes and princes (10th to 14th centuries) or by kings (11th to 18th centuries). During the latter period, a tradition of free election of monarchs made it a uniquely electable position in Europe (16t ...

Literature

*Farin, Michael, ''Heroine des Grauens. Elisabeth Báthory''. Munich: P. Kirchheim, 2003. . * Wertner, Moritz, "Urgeschlechter in Siebenbürgen.", in ''Archiv des Vereins für siebenbürgische Landeskunde''. Neue Folge, Bd. 29, Heft 1 (1899), Hermannstadt 1899, p. 156–235. Voivodes of Transylvania Stephen 08 1477 births 1534 deaths 16th-century Hungarian people {{europe-noble-stub