Editing Elizabeth Báthory (section)

===Early life and education===
[[File:Ecsed vára Das ehmals gedrückte, vom Türken berückte, nun trefflich erquickte Königreich Hungarn. Frankfurt u. Leipzig 1688.jpg|thumb|left|Ecsed, the lake and the old castle]]

Elizabeth was born in 1560 on a family estate in [[Nyírbátor]], [[Kingdom of Hungary (1526–1867)|Royal Hungary]], and spent her childhood at [[Nagyecsed|Ecsed]] Castle. Her father was Baron George VI [[Báthory family|Báthory]] (d. 1570), of the Ecsed branch of the family, brother of Andrew Bonaventura Báthory (d. 1566), who had been ruling [[Voivode of Transylvania]]. Her mother was Baroness Anna Báthory of Somlyó (1537–1570), member of the other line of the Báthory family, daughter of [[Stephen VIII Báthory|Stephen Báthory of Somlyó, Palatine of Hungary]]. Through her mother, Elizabeth was the niece of [[Stephen Báthory]] (1533–1586), [[Prince of Transylvania]], who became the ruler of the [[Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth|Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth]] as [[King of Poland]] and [[Grand Duke of Lithuania]].<ref name=":6"/> She had several siblings; her older brother [[Stephen Báthory (1555–1605)|Stephen]] (1555–1605) served as a [[Judge royal|Judge Royal]] of Hungary.<ref name=":5"/>

Báthory was raised a [[Calvinist]] [[Protestant]],<ref name="Kardoss2"/> and learned [[Latin]], [[German language|German]], [[Hungarian language|Hungarian]], and [[Greek language|Greek]] as a young woman.<ref name="Ramsland"/><ref name=":0"/> Born into a privileged noble family, she was endowed with wealth, education, and a prominent social rank.<ref name=":6"/> A proposal made by some sources{{Who|date=October 2021}} in order to explain Báthory's cruelty later in her life is that she was trained by her family to be cruel.<ref name=":3">{{cite book|last=Leslie|first=Carroll|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LlMoDgAAQBAJ&pg=PP1|title=Royal Pains: A Rogues' Gallery of Brats, Brutes, and Bad Seeds|date=2014|publisher=[[New American Library]]|isbn=9781101478776|location=New York City|pages=160–161|oclc=883306686}}</ref>

As a child, Báthory had multiple [[seizure]]s that may have been caused by [[epilepsy]].<ref name=":0">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cpM-DgAAQBAJ|title=The most notorious serial killers : ruthless, twisted murderers whose crimes chilled the nation.|publisher=TI Incorporated Books|year=2017|isbn=9781683300274|location=United Kingdom|oclc=982117998}}</ref> At the time, symptoms relating to epilepsy were diagnosed as [[falling sickness]] and treatments included rubbing blood of a non-sufferer on the lips of an epileptic or giving the epileptic a mix of a non-sufferer's blood and piece of skull as their episode ended.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Holmes |first=Gregory L. |date=January 1995 |title=The falling sickness. A history of epilepsy from the Greeks to the beginnings of modern neurology |journal=Journal of Epilepsy |publisher=[[Elsevier]]|location=Amsterdam, Netherlands|volume=8 |issue=1 |pages=214–215 |doi=10.1016/s0896-6974(95)90017-9 |issn=0896-6974 |pmc=1081463}}</ref>{{original research inline|date=October 2021}}

At the age of 13, before her first marriage, Báthory allegedly gave birth to a child.<ref name=":3"/> The child, said to have been fathered by a [[peasant]] boy, was supposedly given away to a local woman who was trusted by the Báthory family.<ref name=":3"/> The woman was paid for her actions, and the child was taken to [[Wallachia]].<ref name=":3"/> Evidence of this pregnancy came up long after Elizabeth's death, through rumours spread by peasants; therefore, the validity of the rumour is often disputed.