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2 entries this month

 

Elizabeth Bathory

11:48 Dec 11 2019
Times Read: 646


Elizabeth Báthory is famed as the ‘Blood Countess,’ an Eastern European aristocrat who tortured and murdered over six hundred girls. However, we actually know little about both her and her alleged crimes, and the general trend in modern history has been to conclude that her guilt may well have been overplayed, and that she was, perhaps, the victim of rival nobles who wished to take her lands and cancel their debts to her. Nevertheless, she remains one of Europe’s most (in)famous criminals and has been adopted by modern vampire folklore.

Early Life
Báthory was born into the Hungarian nobility in 1560. She had powerful connections, as her family had dominated Transylvania and her uncle had ruled Poland. She was relatively well educated, and in 1575 married Count Nádasdy. He was the heir to a rival Hungarian aristocratic family, and was widely viewed as a rising star of the nobility and, later, a leading war hero. Báthory moved to Castle Čachtice and, after some delays, gave birth to several children before Nádasdy died in 1604. His death left Elizabeth the ruler of vast, strategically important estates, whose governance she took on actively and unyieldingly.

Accusations and Imprisonment
In 1610, the Count Palatine of Hungary, Elizabeth’s cousin, began to investigate allegations of cruelty by Elizabeth. A large number of potential witnesses were questioned, and a range of testimonies gathered implicating Bathory in torture and murder. The Count Palatinate concluded that she had tortured and executed dozens of girls. On December 30th, 1610, Báthory was arrested, and the Count claimed to have caught her in the act. Four of Bathory’s servants were tortured, tried, and three were found guilty and executed in 1611. Meanwhile, Báthory was also declared guilty, on the basis she had been caught red-handed and imprisoned in Castle Čachtice until she died.

There was no official trial, even though the King of Hungary pushed for one, just the collection of several hundred statements. Bathory’s death, in August 1614, came before the reluctant Count Palatine could be forced into organizing a court. This allowed Bathory’s estates to be saved from confiscation by the King of Hungary, thus not tipping the balance of power too much, and allowed the heirs—who petitioned, not for her innocence, but for their lands—to keep the wealth. A substantial debt owed by the King of Hungary to Báthory was waived in return for the family’s right to look after her while in prison.

Murderer or Victim?
It may be that Bathory was a sadistic murderer, or that she was a simply a harsh mistress whose enemies turned against her. It could also be argued that Bathory’s position had become so strong thanks to her wealth and power, and a perceived threat to leaders of Hungary, that she was a problem who had to be removed. The political landscape of Hungary at the time was one of major rivalries, and Elizabeth appears to have supported her nephew Gabor Bathory, ruler of Transylvania and rival to Hungary. The act of accusing a wealthy widow of murder, witchcraft, or sexual impropriety to seize her lands was far from unusual during this period.

Some of the Alleged Crimes
Elizabeth Bathory was accused, in the testimonies gathered by the Count Palatine, of killing between a couple of dozen and over six hundred young women. These were almost all of noble birth and had been sent to the court for learning and advancement. Some of the more repeatable tortures include sticking pins into the girls, tearing at their flesh with heated tongs, dousing/submerging them in freezing water and beating them, often on the soles of their feet. A few of the testimonies claim Elizabeth ate the girls’ flesh. The alleged crimes were claimed to have taken place at Elizabeth’s estates across the region, and sometimes on the journey between them. Corpses were supposed to have been hidden in a variety of places—sometimes getting dug up by nosy dogs—but the most common method of disposal was to have bodies secretly buried in churchyards at night.

Adaptation
Bram Stoker tipped his hat to Vlad Tepes in Dracula, and Elizabeth has also been adopted by modern horror culture as a figure of almost equal ghoulish importance. There is a band named after, she has appeared in many films, and she has become a kind of sister or bride to Vlad himself. She has an action figure (well, at least one), involving blood, perfect for the fireplaces of the morbid. All the while, she might not have done any of this at all. Examples of the more skeptical, historical view are now filtering into common culture. It seemed almost impossible to find the latter when this article was first written, but now a good few years later there is a small current.


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Dante Alighieri 1265 – 1321

11:47 Dec 11 2019
Times Read: 648


Dante was instrumental in establishing the literature of Italy, and his depictions of Hell, Purgatory and Heaven provided inspiration for the larger body of Western art.[6][7] He is cited as an influence on John Milton, Geoffrey Chaucer and Alfred Tennyson, among many others. In addition, the first use of the interlocking three-line rhyme scheme, or the terza rima, is attributed to him. He is described as the "father" of the Italian language,[8] and in Italy, he is often referred to as il Sommo Poeta ("the Supreme Poet"). Dante, Petrarch, and Boccaccio are also called the tre corone ("three crowns") of Italian literature.


Nine Circles of Hell
Here are the circles of hell in order of entrance and severity:


Limbo: Where those who never knew Christ exist. Dante encounters ​Ovid, Homer, Socrates, Aristotle, Julius Caesar, and more here.

Lust: Self-explanatory. Dante encounters Achilles, Paris, Tristan, Cleopatra, and Dido, among others.

Gluttony: Where those who overindulge exist. Dante encounters ordinary people here, not characters from epic poems or gods from mythology. The author Boccaccio took one of these characters, Ciacco, and incorporated him into his 14th-century collection of tales called "The Decameron."

Greed: Self-explanatory. Dante encounters more ordinary people but also the guardian of the circle, Pluto, the mythological king of the Underworld. This circle is reserved for people who hoarded or squandered their money, but Dante and Virgil do not directly interact with any of its inhabitants. This is the first time they pass through a circle without speaking to anyone, a commentary on Dante’s opinion of greed as a higher sin.

Anger: Dante and Virgil are threatened by the Furies when they try to enter through the walls of Dis (Satan). This is a further progression in Dante’s evaluation of the nature of sin; he also begins to question himself and his own life, realizing his actions and nature could lead him to this permanent torture.

Heresy: Rejection of religious and/or political “norms.” Dante encounters Farinata degli Uberti, a military leader and aristocrat who tried to win the Italian throne and was convicted posthumously of heresy in 1283. Dante also meets Epicurus, Pope Anastasius II, and Emperor Frederick II.

Violence: This is the first circle to be further segmented into sub-circles or rings. There are three of them—the Outer, Middle, and Inner rings—housing different types of violent criminals. The first are those who were violent against people and property, such as Attila the Hun. Centaurs guard this Outer Ring and shoot its inhabitants with arrows. The Middle Ring consists of those who commit violence against themselves (suicide). These sinners are perpetually eaten by Harpies. The Inner Ring is made up of the blasphemers, or those who are violent against God and nature. One of these sinners is Brunetto Latini, a sodomite, who was Dante’s own mentor. (Dante speaks kindly to him.) The usurers are also here, as are those who blasphemed not just against God but also the gods, such as Capaneus, who blasphemed against Zeus.

Fraud: This circle is distinguished from its predecessors by being made up of those who consciously and willingly commit fraud. Within the eighth circle is another called the Malebolge (“Evil Pockets”), which houses 10 separate bolgias (“ditches”). In these exist types of those who commit fraud: panderers/seducers; flatterers; simoniacs (those who sell ecclesiastical preferment); sorcerers/astrologers/false prophets; barrators (corrupt politicians); hypocrites; thieves; false counselors/advisers; schismatics (those who separate religions to form new ones); and alchemists/counterfeiters, perjurers, impersonators, etc. Each bolgia is guarded by different demons, and the inhabitants suffer different punishments, such as the simoniacs, who stand head-first in stone bowls and endure flames upon their feet.

Treachery: The deepest circle of Hell, where Satan resides. As with the last two circles, this one is further divided, into four rounds. The first is Caina, named after the biblical Cain, who murdered his brother. This round is for traitors to family. The second, Antenora—from Antenor of Troy, who betrayed the Greeks—is reserved for political/national traitors. The third is Ptolomaea for Ptolemy, son of Abubus, who is known for inviting Simon Maccabaeus and his sons to dinner and then murdering them. This round is for hosts who betray their guests; they are punished more harshly because of the belief that having guests means entering into a voluntary relationship, and betraying a relationship willingly entered is more despicable than betraying a relationship born into. The fourth round is Judecca, after Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Christ. This round is reserved for traitors to their lords/benefactors/masters. As in the previous circle, the subdivisions each have their own demons and punishments.

Center of Hell
After making their way through all nine circles of Hell, Dante and Virgil reach the center of Hell. Here they meet Satan, who is described as a three-headed beast. Each mouth is busy eating a specific person: the left mouth is eating Brutus, the right is eating Cassius, and the center mouth is eating Judas Iscariot. Brutus and Cassius betrayed and caused the murder of Julius Caesar, while Judas did the same to Christ. These are the ultimate sinners, in Dante’s opinion, as they consciously committed acts of treachery against their lords, who were appointed by God.


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