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The House of Báthory () was an old and powerful Hungarian noble family of the Gutkeled clan. The family rose to significant influence in
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during the
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, holding high military, administrative and ecclesiastical positions in the
Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from 1000 to 1946 and was a key part of the Habsburg monarchy from 1526-1918. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coro ...
. In the
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, the family produced several Princes of Transylvania and one
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 Royal elections in Poland, free election of monarchs made it a uniquely electab ...
and
Grand Duke of Lithuania This is a list of Lithuanian monarchs who ruled Lithuania from its inception until the fall of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 1795. The Lithuanian monarch bore the title of Grand duke, Grand Duke, with the exception of Mindaugas, who was crown ...
(
Stephen Báthory Stephen Báthory (; ; ; 27 September 1533 – 12 December 1586) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania (1576–1586) as well as Prince of Transylvania, earlier Voivode of Transylvania (1571–1576). The son of Stephen VIII Báthory ...
).


Origins

The Báthory family belonged to the '' Gutkeled'', a clan of Hungarian Kingdom nobles, which traced its descent to the
Swabia Swabia ; , colloquially ''Schwabenland'' or ''Ländle''; archaic English also Suabia or Svebia is a cultural, historic and linguistic region in southwestern Germany. The name is ultimately derived from the medieval Duchy of Swabia, one of ...
n brothers ''Gut'' and ''Kelad'', who immigrated into the Kingdom of Hungary from the castle ''Stof'' (probably Staufen im Breisgau or
Hohenstaufen The Hohenstaufen dynasty (, , ), also known as the Staufer, was a noble family of unclear origin that rose to rule the Duchy of Swabia from 1079, and to royal rule in the Holy Roman Empire during the Middle Ages from 1138 until 1254. The dynast ...
in
Württemberg Württemberg ( ; ) is a historical German territory roughly corresponding to the cultural and linguistic region of Swabia. The main town of the region is Stuttgart. Together with Baden and Province of Hohenzollern, Hohenzollern, two other histo ...
) during the reign of King Peter (reigned 1038–1046), who himself was partly of Venetian descent.Simon Kezai, Lázló Veszprémy, Frank Schaer (ed.), ''Gesta Hungarorum: The Deeds of the Hungarians'' (Central European Medieval Texts). Central European University Press, 1999. In 1279, King Ladislaus IV rewarded Andrew's brother Hodos and Andrew's sons George (d. 1307), Benedict (d. 1321) and Briccius (d. 1322) for their military services by granting them Bátor in the county of Szabolcs. Bátor had been the estate of Vajda son of Lángos, who had married a relative of Andrew but died without issue.Moritz Wertner, "Urgeschlechter in Siebenbürgen.", in ''Archiv des Vereins für siebenbürgische Landeskunde''. Neue Folge, Bd. 29, Heft 1 (1899), Hermannstadt 1899, pp. 156-235 - also excerpted in Farin, ''Heroine des Grauens'', p. 356-358. In 1310, Bátor came into the sole possession of Briccius when he reached an agreement with his nephew Michael and his cousin Vid to divide the joint possessions. After this, Briccius and his descendants named themselves ''Báthory'', i.e. "of Bátor".


Branches

The family divided into two major branches, which descended from the sons and grandsons of Briccius: The elder branch of the family, the Báthory of Somlyó were descended from John, Count of Szatmár, the first-born son of Briccius, through his eldest son Ladislaus (died 1373). Ladislaus, Count of Szabolcs, married Anna Meggyesi and received Somlyó as dowry. Ladislaus' younger brother George II is the ancestor of the Simolin family, later called Báthory of Simolin (see
below Below may refer to: *Earth *Ground (disambiguation) *Soil *Floor * Bottom (disambiguation) *Less than *Temperatures below freezing *Hell or underworld People with the surname * Ernst von Below (1863–1955), German World War I general * Fred Belo ...
). A further division occurred under the great-grandsons of Ladislaus (latter half of the 15th century): John and Stephen dropped the name Báthory and founded the Szaniszlófi family, while Nikolaus continued the Somlyó branch. The younger branch of the family, the Báthory of Ecsed, were descended from Luke, the youngest son of Briccius. Luke possessed wide estates in Szatmár and was granted by King Charles Robert the lordship of Ecsed, where he built the castle called ''Hűség'' (loyalty). This branch, since they retained the possession of Bátor, are sometimes called ''of Bátor'' or, as the younger branch, ''Nyírbátor'' (New Bathory).


Legend and coats of arms

A legendary account, placing the Báthorys' origin in the year 900 (preceding the advent of the Gutkeled clan), relates how a god-fearing warrior called Vitus (a namesake of a member of the first generation of the Gutkeled clan) set out to fight a dragon, which lurked in the swamps next to the castle of Ecsed (actually built only in the 14th century) and harassed the countryside. Vitus killed it with three thrusts of his lance and as a reward received the castle. The grateful people honoured him with the names ''Báthory'', meaning "good hero", and ''animus magnanimus''. In Hungarian the word ''bátor'' means "brave". The Báthory
coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...
, granted in 1325 to the sons of Briccius, was styled in reference to this legend: three horizontally placed teeth surrounded by a dragon biting its own tail, Christian von Stramberg, ''Das Haus Báthory in seinen Verzweigungen bis auf den heutigen Tag'', Berlin: Manuscript für Freunde des Hauses, 1853 - quoted in Farin, ''Heroine des Grauens'', p. 354-356, 359-362. the surrounding dragon being the emblem of the
Order of the Dragon The Order of the Dragon (, literally "Society of the Dragonists") was a Chivalric order#Monarchical or dynastical orders, monarchical chivalric order only for selected higher aristocracy and monarchs,Florescu and McNally, ''Dracula, Prince of M ...
.


Further history

The Ecsed branch first rises to prominence with the sons of Luke's grandson John V. His eldest son Bartholomew I fell in 1432 fighting against the
Hussites upright=1.2, Battle between Hussites (left) and Crusades#Campaigns against heretics and schismatics, Catholic crusaders in the 15th century upright=1.2, The Lands of the Bohemian Crown during the Hussite Wars. The movement began during the Prag ...
. The second son, Stephen III rose to become Palatine of Hungary and in 1444 fell in the Battle of Varna as flag-bearer of Władysław, King of Poland and Hungary. He had also received the castle Bujak from King Albert of Habsburg. Of Stephen's six sons, Ladislaus V (d. 1474) was supreme count of the counties Szatmár and Zaránd, the second Andrew III (d. 1495) was confirmed in his possession of Bujak. The third son,
Stephen V Stephen V may refer to: *Pope Stephen IV, aka Stephen V, Pope from 816 to 817 *Pope Stephen V (885–891) *Stephen V of Hungary (born before 1239 – 1272), King of Hungary and Croatia, Duke of Styria *Stephen V Báthory (1430–1493), Hungarian co ...
(d. 1493) excelled as a military commander and was made
Voivode of Transylvania The Voivode of Transylvania (;Fallenbüchl 1988, p. 77. ;Zsoldos 2011, p. 36. ; ) was the highest-ranking official in Transylvania within the Kingdom of Hungary from the 12th century to the 16th century. Appointed by the King of Hun ...
, the first of a long line of Báthory rulers of that country. The youngest son, Nicolaus III (d. 1506), bishop first of
Syrmia Syrmia (Ekavian sh-Latn-Cyrl, Srem, Срем, separator=" / " or Ijekavian sh-Latn-Cyrl, Srijem, Сријем, label=none, separator=" / ") is a region of the southern Pannonian Plain, which lies between the Danube and Sava rivers. It is div ...
and after 1474 of
Vác Vác (; ; ; ) is a thousand-year old city in Pest county in Hungary with approximately 35,000 inhabitants. The archaic spelling of the name is ''Vácz''. Location Vác is located north of Budapest on the eastern bank of the Danube river, below t ...
, excelled as a
renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...
scholar and served as counselor to King
Matthias Corvinus Matthias Corvinus (; ; ; ; ; ) was King of Hungary and King of Croatia, Croatia from 1458 to 1490, as Matthias I. He is often given the epithet "the Just". After conducting several military campaigns, he was elected King of Bohemia in 1469 and ...
. Stephen VII first proved himself as Count of Temesvár and in 1519 was elected Palatine of Hungary, as which he had to contend with the opposition of the nobility. In 1526, he fought in the disastrous
Battle of Mohács The Battle of Mohács (; , ) took place on 29 August 1526 near Mohács, in the Kingdom of Hungary. It was fought between the forces of Hungary, led by King Louis II of Hungary, Louis II, and the invading Ottoman Empire, commanded by Suleima ...
against the
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, in which King Louis II fell. After the harsh and fierce battle, Hungary was torn apart by the conflict between the rival royal claims. The two branches of the family positioned themselves on the opposing sides of the conflict. The Ecsed branch commonly sided with the Habsburgs: Stephen VII, who had escaped the battle, fled with Louis' widow to Pozsony (now
Bratislava Bratislava (German: ''Pressburg'', Hungarian: ''Pozsony'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Slovakia, Slovak Republic and the fourth largest of all List of cities and towns on the river Danube, cities on the river Danube. ...
), where he organized the election of Ferdinand of Austria as King of Hungary. In the 1550s, when Ferdinand briefly gained control of Transylvania in 1551, he installed Stephen's nephew Bonaventura as his lieutenant to govern the country. The Somlyó branch, on the other hand, supported
John Zápolya John Zápolya or Szapolyai (; ; ; ; 1487 – 22 July 1540), was King of Hungary (as John I) from 1526 to 1540. His rule was disputed by Archduke Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor, Ferdinand I, who also claimed the title King of Hungary. He wa ...
, whom the greater part of the Hungarian nobility had elected King. Zápolya appointed Stephen VIII
Voivode of Transylvania The Voivode of Transylvania (;Fallenbüchl 1988, p. 77. ;Zsoldos 2011, p. 36. ; ) was the highest-ranking official in Transylvania within the Kingdom of Hungary from the 12th century to the 16th century. Appointed by the King of Hun ...
, which he governed until his death in 1534. Later, the interest of the Zápolyas were represented at the Habsburg court by the Voivode's son Stephen IX, who would go on to become
Prince of Transylvania The Prince of Transylvania (, , , Fallenbüchl 1988, p. 77.) was the head of state of the Principality of Transylvania from the late-16th century until the mid-18th century. John Sigismund Zápolya was the first to adopt the title in 1 ...
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 Royal elections in Poland, free election of monarchs made it a uniquely electab ...
. Impressed by Stephen, George VI Báthory, of the Ecsed branch, was persuaded to change his allegiance from the Habsburgs to Zápolya, for which the Habsburg king deprived him of his castle Bujak. George strengthened his alliance to Stephen by marrying his sister Anna, uniting the branches. Anna Báthory was the widow of the last descendant of the Dragfi family and George now seized the castles of the Dragfi. Since the Dragfi estates were legally due to the crown, the Habsburgs forced George to yield the castles and withdrew to Csitsva in
Zemplén County Zemplén (, , , ) was an administrative county (Comitatus (Kingdom of Hungary), comitatus) of the Kingdom of Hungary. The northern part of its territory is now situated in eastern Slovakia (Zemplín (region), Zemplín region), while a smaller so ...
. George and Anna Báthory produced the most infamous member of the family, Elizabeth, a widow Countess who was eventually tried and found guilty in a show trial of murdering hundreds of young peasant girls over the course of twenty years. She was sentenced to life imprisonment in one of the Báthory castles. According to the opinions of a majority of historians, legends such as her bathing in the blood of the young women were based on later rumors; the charges themselves were most likely false, trumped up in order to steal her lands from her. Some scholars have suggested that she served as one of
Bram Stoker Abraham Stoker (8 November 1847 – 20 April 1912), better known by his pen name Bram Stoker, was an Irish novelist who wrote the 1897 Gothic horror novel ''Dracula''. The book is widely considered a milestone in Vampire fiction, and one of t ...
's influences for writing the novel ''
Dracula ''Dracula'' is an 1897 Gothic fiction, Gothic horror fiction, horror novel by Irish author Bram Stoker. The narrative is Epistolary novel, related through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. It has no single protagonist and opens ...
'', but the evidence to support this is slim.


Notable members of the Somlyó branch

* Stephen VIII Báthory (1477–1534), Voivode of Transylvania. * Stephen IX Báthory (1533–1586), youngest son of Stephen VIII, 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 Royal elections in Poland, free election of monarchs made it a uniquely electab ...
and
Grand Duke of Lithuania This is a list of Lithuanian monarchs who ruled Lithuania from its inception until the fall of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 1795. The Lithuanian monarch bore the title of Grand duke, Grand Duke, with the exception of Mindaugas, who was crown ...
. * Christopher Báthory (1530–1581), son of Stephen Báthory of Somlyó and elder brother of the King of Poland, administered Transylvania as voivode during the absence of his brother. * Sigismund Báthory (1572–1613), son of Christopher, Prince of Transylvania. * Cardinal Andrew Báthory (1562/63–1599), cousin of Sigismund, Prince of Transylvania, Grand Master of the
Order of the Dragon The Order of the Dragon (, literally "Society of the Dragonists") was a Chivalric order#Monarchical or dynastical orders, monarchical chivalric order only for selected higher aristocracy and monarchs,Florescu and McNally, ''Dracula, Prince of M ...
. * Gabriel I Báthory (1589–1613), nephew of Andrew, Prince of Transylvania. * Sophia Báthory (died 1680), niece of Gabriel Báthory, married to George II Rákóczi uniting the families of the Báthory and the
Rákóczi The House of Rákóczi (older spelling Rákóczy) was a Hungarian nobility, Hungarian noble family in the Kingdom of Hungary between the 13th century and 18th century. Their name is also spelled ''Rákoci'' (in Slovakia), ''Rakoczi'' and ''Rako ...
, supported the
Counter-Reformation The Counter-Reformation (), also sometimes called the Catholic Revival, was the period of Catholic resurgence that was initiated in response to, and as an alternative to or from similar insights as, the Protestant Reformations at the time. It w ...
.


Notable members of the Ecsed branch

* Stephen III Báthory (died 1444), Palatine of Hungary *
Stephen V Báthory Stephen Báthory of Ecsed (, ; ; 1430–1493) was a Hungarian people, Hungarian commander, 'dapiferorum regalium magister' (1458–?), judge royal (1471–1493), and voivode of Transylvania (1479–1493). He rose to power under K ...
(died 1493),
Voivode of Transylvania The Voivode of Transylvania (;Fallenbüchl 1988, p. 77. ;Zsoldos 2011, p. 36. ; ) was the highest-ranking official in Transylvania within the Kingdom of Hungary from the 12th century to the 16th century. Appointed by the King of Hun ...
* Barbara Báthory, daughter of Andrew III, married Palatine Emericus de Perén * George V Báthory, son of Andrew III, Agazonum regalium magister, supreme count of Sümegh * Stephen VII Báthory (died 1530), son of Andrew III, Hungarian commander, Palatine of Hungary * Andrew IV Báthory, son of Andrew III, Ban of Belgrad, supreme count of Szatmár, married Catherine of Rozgon, which brought him the castles of Csitsva, Cserép, Rozgon and Thora. * Bonaventura Báthory (also called Andrew by his soldiers) (d. 1566), first-born son of Andrew IV, supreme count of Szatmár and Szabolcs, later ''tabernicorum regalium magister'' and royal judge. He married twice without having issue. * Nicolaus VI Báthory (died 1585), son of Andrew IV, a royal judge, he is described as "a man of rare honesty, powerful in possessions and influence east of the river Theiss", he died after falling from a chariot. * George VI Báthory, son of Andrew IV, turned on the Habsburgs. Father of Elizabeth Báthory. * Stephen XII Báthory (died 1605), son of George VI, royal judge in the counties Sümegh and Szatmár and supreme count of Szabolcs, opened the doors of his castle Ecsed to Stephen Bocskay in his rebellion against the Habsburg, dies shortly afterward. *Gabriel Báthory, the younger brother of Stephen XII, was the last male member of the Ecsed line. It is unclear whether he died before or after his sisters Elizabeth and Sophia. *
Elizabeth Báthory Countess Elizabeth Báthory of Ecsed (, ; ; 7 August 1560 – 21 August 1614) was a Hungarian noblewoman and alleged serial killer from the powerful House of Báthory, who owned land in the Kingdom of Hungary (now Slovakia). Báthory and fo ...
(died 1614), daughter of George VI and through her mother, niece of the Polish King Stephen Báthory. Descendant of both the Ecsed and Somlyó branches of the Bathory family.
Ferenc Nádasdy Count Ferenc II Nádasdy de Nádasd et Fogarasföld (6 October 1555 – 4 January 1604) was a Hungarian nobleman and a distinguished soldier. His family, the Nádasdy family, was one of the wealthiest and most influential of the era in Hung ...
's wife, and after his death, the wealth and properties were inherited by her.


Báthory of Simolin

Another branch of the family are the Báthory of Simolin family, which was named after their estate ''Simony'' (or ''Simolin''). They descended from George II, the younger son of John I, through the George's grandson Michael. In the 15th century, Michael's brothers George and Ladislaus, who both died without issue, had sold their heritage to the then-head of the Somlyó branch, Nicolaus. The Simolin family possessed large estates in Prussia and
Courland Courland is one of the Historical Latvian Lands in western Latvia. Courland's largest city is Liepāja, which is the third largest city in Latvia. The regions of Semigallia and Selonia are sometimes considered as part of Courland as they were ...
and members served the Russian Empresses Elizabeth and
Catherine Katherine (), also spelled Catherine and Catherina, other variations, is a feminine given name. The name and its variants are popular in countries where large Christian populations exist, because of its associations with one of the earliest Ch ...
as diplomats. In the 19th century, long after the demise of the other branches, the family claimed name and title of ''Counts Báthory'', since their ancestor Michael had never consented to the sale conducted by his brothers, and in 1852 the Russian government confirmed the legitimacy of their claims.Stammtafel nach Alexander von Simolin - printed in Farin, ''Heroine des Grauens'', p. 357, 361.Meyers Konversationslexikon: Simolin


See also

* List of titled noble families in the Kingdom of Hungary * Bakunin family


Notes


Literature

*Craft, Kimberly, "Infamous Lady: The True Story of Countess Erzsébet Báthory." (2009). . *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, pp. 156–235.


External links

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