The fifteenth witness was the honorable Janós Morawczyk, subject of the above Rattkay, 35 years old, sworn and interrogated; he said, he heard from a certain Mazalak, servant of said Lady Widow Nádasdy, who told him, and then recounted the same again under oath, that Lady Widow Nádasdy had killed a girl and that the witness himself was compelled, at the command of the Lady Widow, in winter, to bring naked girls in the cold, and pour cold water over them; the same witness added that when he went to Liptov to buy salt, he heard from the salt merchants that Lady Widow Nádasdy, during her trip to the property of the late Count István Báthory, had buried two girls here in Lipov.
The sixteenth witness, the honorable Janós Mezar, about 50 years old, subject of the above Rattkay, resident of the said Újhely, was sworn and interrogated; he said he knew nothing about the cruelty of the Lady Nádasdy, except for that which is known by hearsay; she has abused living girls in her Gynaecaeum with blows, and that these naked girls were made to roll on the floor scattered with nettles; and he had also heard that after the wedding ceremony of her daughter, two girls died and were buried in Csejthe.
The seventeenth witness, the noble Janós Pesty, about 35 years old, resident of the said market town of Újhely, was sworn and interrogated; he said that he knew nothing.
The eighteenth witness was the honorable Nicolaus Csíszár, about 30 years old, residing in the market town of Újhely, sworn and interrogated; he said he knew nothing but that he had heard rumors that Mrs. Nádasdy is very cruel and that she had some girls killed.
The nineteenth witness was the honorable Janós Benkó, about 50 years old, subject of the aforementioned Peter Rattkay, residing in the market town of Újhely, sworn and interrogated; he said he knew nothing, except from the stories told by many, that each crime, as is generally claimed, really was committed by the Lady Widow Nádasdy.
The twentieth witness was the honorable Janós Kraychowych, about 33 years old, subject of the aforementioned Dániel Pongrácz, residing in Újhely, sworn and interrogated; he said a certain carpenter named Nicolaus Krestyan, who is now established in the market town of Galgocz, had told him that he once worked at the court in the city of Csejthe, owned by the Lady Widow Nádasdy, and there he heard from the staff of the Lady Widow Nádasdy that this Lady Widow had so cruelly whipped and tortured two girls that they were dying; the same witness had also heard that Lady Widow Nádasdy had killed two girls in the market town of Beckov on her way to the more northerly parts of the Kingdom and buried them somewhere along the way without funeral ceremony.
The twenty-first witness was the honorable György Maidanek, about 40 years old, subject of the above Rattkay, residing in Újhely, sworn and interrogated; he said that he knew nothing more except that which he heard: Lady Widow Nádasdy had killed some girls in a cruel way.
The twenty-second witness was the honorable Janós Hlavach, about 30 years old, subject of the above Rattkay, residing in Újhely, sworn and interrogated; he said that he had heard from different people what Lady Widow Nádasdy did to the girls under her care in her Gynaecaeum; namely, that she stuck needles under their nails and submerged some naked girls in ice-cold water. He had also heard that she killed some girls.
The twenty-third witness was the honorable Nicolaus Kleko, about 30 years old, subject of Franciscus Magochy, residing in Újhely, sworn and interrogated; he said he knew nothing except what he heard from others; namely, that Lady Widow Nádasdy, on her way into the more northerly parts of the country last year, killed a girl who had fled, and buried her in Kosice; regarding her atrocities, he replied as the previous witnesses.
The twenty-fourth witness was the honorable Pál Kwachkowy, about 28 years old, subject of the aforementioned Dániel Pongrácz, residing in Újhely, sworn and interrogated; he said the same as the third witness, György Predmerczky.
The twenty-fifth witness, the honorable György Hladny, about 40 years old, subject of the above Franciscus Magochy, residing in Újhely, was sworn and interrogated; he said that he knew nothing except that he heard that, at the time of the wedding celebration of Lord György Homonnay, Lady Widow Nádasdy had whipped and tortured two girls so much that they died and that they were finally buried in Kosztolány; by whom he had heard this, his recollection is no longer accurate, because this rumor was generally in circulation.
The twenty-sixth witness was the honorable Stephanus Mokor, about 60 years old, subject of the aforementioned Dániel Pongrácz, residing in Újhely, sworn and interrogated; he said that he heard both in Csejthe as well as in Verbo, and also in Kosztolány from various and numerous people that Lady Widow Nádasdy was very cruel, as is generally said, that she methodically processed living maidens in her Gynaecaeum; he had also heard that at the time of the wedding of Mr. György Homonnay, two girls were killed by whippings and torture and were buried without funeral ceremony.
The twenty-seventh witness was the honorable Nicolaus Drebnyczky, about 50 years old, subject of the aforementioned Dániel Pongrácz, residing in Újhely, sworn and interrogated; he said he knew nothing and saw nothing, but he had heard many of the Lady Widow Nádasdy’s atrocities perpetrated on the living maidens and girls in her Gynaecaeum.
The twenty-eighth witness was the honorable Martinus Komarek, about 30 years old, subject of the aforementioned Dániel Pongrácz, residing in Újhely, sworn and interrogated; he said he knew nothing and heard nothing of which was brought into circulation about the Lady Widow Nádasdy.
The twenty-ninth witness was the honorable György Chaba, about 20 years old, subject of the aforementioned Dániel Pongrácz, residing in Újhely, sworn and interrogated; he said he knew nothing except what he heard about her.
The thirtieth witness was the honorable Georgius Zlaty, about 40 years old, subject of Dániel Pongrácz, residing in Újhely, sworn and interrogated; he said he definitely knew nothing except that he heard from many regarding the atrocities of the Lady Widow Nádasdy which she perpetrated on living virgins and girls in her Gynaecaeum virgins.
The thirty-first witness was the honorable György Zamochnyk, about 40 years old, subject of Dániel Pongrácz, residing in Újhely, sworn and interrogated; he said he heard about the cruelty of the Lady Widow Nádasdy, but does not know whether all of this was true. The same witness also said that at the time of the wedding ceremony an official said Lady Widow Nádasdy brought him a boot to be fitted with an iron. As the witness was asked whether it was true if Lady Widow Nádasdy murdered girls, he, the witness, replied that this was perfectly true, and now two were dead. The same official also recounted that, prior to the wedding, when she went from Sárvár to Csejthe, two had been killed and buried along the way. Furthermore, this witness had heard from Adam Pollio, residing in the city of Verbo, that, once when he was working as a craftsman for the Lady Widow, he saw a naked girl with her feet shackled to a table, and that this girl was then never seen again.
The thirty-second witness was the honorable Ladislas Holechny, about 55 years old, subordinate to the aforementioned Franciscus Magochy, sworn and interrogated; he said that he knew nothing except that he had heard from many, that this Lady Widow Nádasdy would perpetrate cruel deeds.
The thirty-third witness was the honorable Michael Haleman, about 40 years old, subject of the aforementioned Peter Rattkay, sworn and interrogated; he recounted the same as György Zamochnyk, the thirtieth witness.
The thirty-fourth witness was the venerable Michael Fabri, pastor in the city of Kosztolány and who, in the purity of his conscience, testified that it was well known that after the wedding ceremony in Csejthe, two girls died; afterwards they were brought to Kosztonány and were buried without funeral ceremonies, and were laid into the grave wearing only the clothes in which they supposedly died. He also heard from others in earlier years that, when coming from Csejthe to Kosztolány, a girl was undressed in winter and submerged naked in a frozen brook after the ice was removed, and that after her death, she was buried here in the cemetery. He had also heard that many were killed by her; r
ecently, an injured girl, bound and with a knife in her foot, had escaped and told many in Kosztolány that she would have died if she didn’t flee, and she reported unprecedented butchery.
About which we are faithfully informed, the above notary of record gives these, our letters of testimony of our investigation, under our judicial seal on the general judicial interrogatory. Given at Bratislava, on the 5th Weekday after the Feast of the Raising of the Cross (Sept. 19) in the year of the Lord 1610.
REPORT OF MÓZES CZIRÁKY
(18 WITNESS STATEMENTS)
OCTOBER 27, 1610
After he had received this assignment, the master, our notary public, reported to us, faithfully fulfilling his duty in the following manner, as set forth over the following days in accordance with the contents of our letter and issued orders for the below-mentioned witnesses under acceptance of the usual fixed oath, thus carrying out the subsequent witness interviews and interrogations.
And as the first, the notable Benedictus Bicsérdy, Castellan (warden) of Castle Sárvár, said under oath: since he had been Castellan of Sárvár, 175 dead girls and women were taken out from the house of the Lady in Sárvár; as to how they died, he could not know because, unless she called for him, he was not permitted to go into the house of the Lady; in such a case, however, where it might be possible to see something that had happened previously, it remained hidden from his eyes and everything had been re-adjusted. Once he saw that the wall was bloody, and he could think of nothing other than that this was the blood of some people who had been tortured. He knows that the girls were so cruelly beaten that if he were walking around the castle, he could hear the slapping noises of a lashing coming from inside the castle through the walls, and, previously, such a beating could continue sometimes for up to six hours. He also said that the mistress kept a kind of “secret house” in the interior of the house itself where the tortured people were kept hidden, but he had no access to that because the doors were guarded, and he definitely had no desire to go in there.
Gregor Paisjártó, Vice Castellan of the same Sárvár Castle, said under oath that he is not permitted in the house of the mistress, and cannot testify to anything wrong about the conditions and practices inside there. He knows, however, that one girl was taken out in a coffin in order to bury her, but could not say anything on whether it was an illness or the cause of her death, because he was not allowed to enter the mistress’ house without being called, and had also not seen anything.
Benedict Zalay, Paymaster at the same castle, said that his function and his ofice is to be concerned with ensuring supplies, which he performs, that he does not pay attention to such incidents and regarding it cannot say anything.
Gergely Balás said under oath that he had seen girls taken out on the cart, accompanied by the scholars singing, but he does not know how they died.
Ambrus Barbély said under oath that he entered the mistress’ house when she called for him but would not be there otherwise, and when he gave a sick girl medicine, he only saw the face and mouth but not the rest of the body, and he does not know whether the girls were beaten or tortured or not, because he has not seen such, and did not notice any signs of it on them.
Michael Zvonaric, preacher at the same castle, said that if he or someone else went into the house of the Lady, everything was cleaned and there was nothing to see, and that she demanded great care to be taken by her people; the outer door was guarded by Drabont, and no one could enter without his knowledge. Inside again, there was a separate "secret house" in which she, as the witness has heard from others, had the girls tortured; he could not see anything; just once, the news went around that three girls had been nailed together in a coffin and that they were thus transported to the Sárvár church for the funeral. When he heard this, accordingly under his office as preacher, he could not remain silent, but had gone into the castle to complain to the mistress; and when he had asked her what was the reason why she buried the three girls in a single coffin -- because before the whole world, she already had a bad reputation because of such deeds, and even those who belonged to the servant status would therefore suffer ignominy, and he also sought the will of God to ask the reason behind such statements and shame by seeking out a better explanation – the Lady replied that it was not the truth because she had not nailed three but only two girls in a coffin, and this had been done so because they saw that a girl was already dead and the other would die not much later, and so they waited to take two out in the same coffin rather than two coffins in quick succession such that even more gossip would arise.
On April 3rd, 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 an
d 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.
Infamous Lady: The True Story of Countess Erzsébet Báthory Page 21