Editing Báthory family

{{Short description|Hungarian royal family prominent in Central Europe from the 13th to 17th centuries}}
{{About|the Hungarian noble family|other uses|Bathory (disambiguation)}}
{{Redirect|Batory|other uses|Batory (disambiguation)}}
{{Royal house|
| surname = Báthory
| estate =
| coat of arms = [[File:COA Báthory.svg|200px]]
| country = [[Kingdom of Hungary]]<br />[[Principality of Transylvania (1570–1711)|Principality of Transylvania]]<br />[[Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth]] 
| parent house =[[Gutkeled]]
| titles = 
* [[Palatine of Hungary]]
* [[Voivode of Transylvania]]
* [[Prince of Transylvania]]	
*[[King]] of the [[Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth]]
| founder =[[Briccius Báthory|Briccius]]
| final ruler = Stephen XII (Ecsed branch)<br />Andrew{{who|date=February 2019}} (Somlyó branch)
| current head =
| founding year =13th century
| dissolution = 1605 (Ecsed branch)<br />1637 (Somlyó branch)
| nationality = [[Hungarian people|Hungarian]]
| cadet branches = Ecsed branch<br />Szaniszlófi branch<br />
* Somlyó branch
}}
[[File:Marble coat of arms of the Báthory family.jpg|thumb|Red marble coat of arms of the family from 1484]]

The '''House of Báthory''' ({{langx|pl|Batory}}) was an old and powerful [[Hungarian nobility|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 the [[Kingdom of Hungary]]. In the [[early modern period]], the family produced several [[Prince of Transylvania|Princes of Transylvania]] and one [[King of Poland]] and [[Grand Duke of Lithuania]] ([[Stephen Báthory]]).<ref>{{cite web |publisher=www.ungarische-adelshauser.com |url=https://www.ungarische-adelshauser.com/ |title=Ungarische Adelshäuser |access-date=2023-02-13 |archive-date=2023-02-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230214100247/https://www.ungarische-adelshauser.com/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Origins==

The Báthory family belonged to the ''[[Gutkeled]]'', a clan of [[Kingdom of Hungary|Hungarian Kingdom]] nobles, which traced its descent to the [[Swabia]]n brothers ''Gut'' and ''Kelad'', who immigrated into the Kingdom of Hungary from the castle ''Stof'' (probably [[Staufen, Germany|Staufen im Breisgau]] or [[Hohenstaufen]] in [[Württemberg]]) during the reign of [[Peter Urseolo of Hungary|King Peter]] (reigned 1038–1046), who himself was partly of [[Venice|Venetian]] descent.<ref name="Gesta">Simon Kezai, Lázló Veszprémy, Frank Schaer (ed.), ''Gesta Hungarorum: The Deeds of the Hungarians'' (Central European Medieval Texts). Central European University Press, 1999. {{ISBN|963-9116-31-9}}</ref>

In 1279, King [[Ladislaus IV of Hungary|Ladislaus IV]] rewarded Andrew's brother [[Hodos Gutkeled|Hodos]]
and Andrew's sons George (d. 1307), Benedict (d. 1321) and [[Briccius Báthory|Briccius]] (d. 1322) for their military services by granting them [[Nyírbátor|Bátor]] in the county of [[Szabolcs County|Szabolcs]]. Bátor had been the estate of Vajda son of Lángos, who had married a relative of Andrew but died without issue.<ref name="Wertner">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.</ref>

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".<ref name="Stramberg"/>

==Branches==

The family divided into two major branches, which descended from the sons and grandsons of
[[Briccius Báthory|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 County|Szabolcs]], married Anna Meggyesi and received Somlyó as dowry.  Ladislaus' younger brother George II is the ancestor of the '''Simolin''' family, later called '''[[Von Simolin|Báthory of Simolin]]''' (see [[Báthory#B.C3.A1thory of Simolin|below]]).<ref name="StammtafelSimolin"/> 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.<ref name="Wertner"/>

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 I of Hungary|Charles Robert]] the lordship of [[Ecsed]], where he built the castle called ''Hűség'' (loyalty).<ref name="Wertner"/><ref name="StammtafelSimolin"/>
This branch, since they retained the possession of Bátor, are sometimes called ''of Bátor'' or, as the younger branch, ''Nyírbátor'' (New Bathory).<ref name="Wertner"/>

==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 language|Hungarian]] the word ''bátor'' means "brave".

[[File:PB Zeby CoA.png|thumb|130px|right|A simplified version of the Báthory coat of arms, based on those of [[Stephen Báthory]], King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania (reigned 1576–1586)]]

The Báthory [[coat of arms]], 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,<ref name="Stramberg">
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.
</ref>
the surrounding dragon being the emblem of the [[Order of the Dragon]].

==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 [[Hussite Wars|Hussites]]. The second son, [[Stephen III Báthory|Stephen III]] rose to become [[Palatine (Kingdom of Hungary)|Palatine of Hungary]] and in 1444 fell in the [[Battle of Varna]] as flag-bearer of [[Władysław III of Poland|Władysław, King of Poland and Hungary]]. He had also received the castle Bujak from King [[Albert II of Germany|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 Báthory|Stephen V]] (d. 1493) excelled as a military commander and was made [[Prince of Transylvania|Voivode of Transylvania]], the first of a long line of Báthory rulers of that country.

The youngest son, Nicolaus III (d. 1506), bishop first of [[Syrmia]] and after 1474 of [[Vác]], excelled as a [[renaissance]] scholar and served as counselor to King [[Matthias Corvinus]].

[[Stephen VII Báthory|Stephen VII]] first proved himself as Count of Temesvár and in 1519 was elected [[Palatine (Kingdom of Hungary)|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]] against the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottomans]], in which King [[Louis II of Hungary|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]]), where he organized the election of [[Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor|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 Báthory|Bonaventura]] as his lieutenant to govern the country.

The Somlyó branch, on the other hand, supported [[John Zápolya]], whom the greater part of the Hungarian nobility had elected King. Zápolya appointed Stephen VIII [[Prince of Transylvania|Voivode of Transylvania]], 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 Báthory|Stephen IX]], who would go on to become [[Prince of Transylvania]] and [[King of Poland]].

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]].

[[George Báthory|George]] and [[Anna Báthory]] produced the most infamous member of the family, [[Elizabeth Báthory|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.<ref> [https://notesonhungary.wordpress.com/2014/05/31/the-bloody-countess/ The Bloody Countess?]</ref><ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1iAeCnGeAnI The Lies about Elizabeth Bathory] - National Geographic Channel</ref> Some scholars have suggested that she served as one of [[Bram Stoker]]'s influences for writing the novel ''[[Dracula]]'', but the evidence to support this is slim.<ref>Elizabeth Miller, [http://bathory.org/miller02.html "Bram Stoker, Elizabeth Bathory and Dracula"]</ref>

===Notable members of the Somlyó branch===
[[Image:DragonOrder badge.png|thumb|Reconstruction of the Order of the Dragon emblem (II) based on the sketches in Austrian Museum custody; the original badge is missing.]]
*'''[[Stephen VIII Báthory]]''' (1477–1534), Voivode of Transylvania.
*'''[[Stephen Báthory|Stephen IX Báthory]]''' (1533–1586), youngest son of Stephen VIII, [[Prince of Transylvania|Voivode (and later Prince) of Transylvania]] and [[List of Polish monarchs|King of Poland]] and [[List of Lithuanian rulers|Grand Duke of Lithuania]].
*'''[[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.
*'''[[Andrew Báthory|Cardinal Andrew Báthory]]''' (1562/63–1599), cousin of Sigismund, Prince of Transylvania, Grand Master of the [[Order of the Dragon]].
*'''[[Gabriel Báthory|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]], supported the [[Counter-Reformation]].

===Notable members of the Ecsed branch===
*'''[[Stephen III Báthory]]''' (died 1444), [[Palatine (Kingdom of Hungary)|Palatine of Hungary]]
*'''[[Stephen V Báthory]]''' (died 1493), [[Prince of Transylvania|Voivode of Transylvania]]
*'''[[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 (Kingdom of Hungary)|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 County|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]]''' (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]]'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 [[Von Simolin|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 [[Duchy of Courland|Courland]] and members served the Russian Empresses [[Elizabeth of Russia|Elizabeth]] and [[Catherine II of Russia|Catherine]] 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.<ref name="StammtafelSimolin">Stammtafel nach Alexander von Simolin - printed in Farin, ''Heroine des Grauens'', p. 357, 361.</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |encyclopedia=Meyers Konversationslexikon |publisher=Verlag des Bibliographischen Instituts |location=Leipzig and Vienna |edition=Fourth |year=1885–1892 |volume=14 |chapter=Simolin |pages=983–984 |chapter-url=http://www.retrobibliothek.de/retrobib/seite.html?id=114908 |language=de |access-date=2012-02-01|title=Retro&#124;bib - Seite aus Meyers Konversationslexikon: Simme - Simolin }}</ref><ref>[http://susi.e-technik.uni-ulm.de:8080/Meyers2/seite/werk/meyers/band/14/seite/0983/meyers_b14_s0983.html Meyers Konversationslexikon: Simolin]  {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071021194051/http://susi.e-technik.uni-ulm.de:8080/Meyers2/seite/werk/meyers/band/14/seite/0983/meyers_b14_s0983.html |date=October 21, 2007 }}</ref>

==See also==
*[[List of titled noble families in the Kingdom of Hungary]]
*[[Bakunin family]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist|2}}

==Literature==
*Craft, Kimberly, "Infamous Lady: The True Story of Countess Erzsébet Báthory." (2009). {{ISBN|1-4495-1344-1}}.
*Farin, Michael, ''Heroine des Grauens. Elisabeth Báthory''. Munich: P. Kirchheim, 2003. {{ISBN|3-87410-038-3}}.
*Wertner, Moritz, "Urgeschlechter in Siebenbürgen.", in ''Archiv des Vereins für siebenbürgische Landeskunde''. Neue Folge, Bd. 29, Heft 1 (1899), Hermannstadt 1899, pp.&nbsp;156–235.

==External links==

{{Royal houses of Poland}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Báthory family| ]]