#OnThisDay

Elizabeth Bathory died on 21 August 1614. Countess Elizabeth was a Hungarian noblewoman born in 1560. She has been labelled by Guinness World Records as the most prolific female murderer. Bathory was arrested in 1610 along with four of her servants, Dorotya Semtesz, Katarina Benicka, Ilona Jo, and Janos Ujvary, and accused of the murder and torture of around six hundred and fifty young women (this number was quoted at her trial in January 1611). Elizabeth Bathory’s name has become part of Hungarian folklore. Nicknamed ‘The Blood Countess’, she was alleged to bathe in the blood of virgins. But, did you know that the unexpected history of blood is actually all about; male fear and the female life cycle, feuds and inheritance, law and medicine, identity and culture, magic and religion, art and ritual?

Listen to the podcast  on blood to hear more!

Or check out our magazine post about William Harvey and the medical history of blood!