Large Fierce Mammal

“The sagas tell two tales of Freydís – one that marks her as brave and admirable, the other much less so. But the sagas were written centuries after the events they describe, and as we know from reading incarnations of The Bible, influential literature can be depended upon to contain a healthy dose of axe grinding seasoned with the agenda of whoever wrote it. Add to this the fact that powerful, willful, and intelligent women have a poor record of being appreciated in European history, and you will not be surprised to find that the sagas sent Freydís into history as a conniving, spiteful, greedy, thieving, blood thirsty harpy ….

“The Saga Museum in Reykjavik, Iceland contains life sized figures of people spoken of in the Sagas, among them our woman of the hour. The exhibit that deals with her story shows her in her moment of truth; alone, bare breasted, and ready to rumble in the face of a Skræling horde. It’s title: Freydís Eiríksdóttir – Heroine or Ogress?

“Whichever best describes reality, Freydís Eiríksdóttir was undoubtedly a woman of her times, and I suspect her truth lies somewhere between the two extremes portrayed here.” ~ Freydís Eiríksdóttir

So I once wrote of  Freydís Eiríksdóttir, daughter of Eirik the Red and, depending on which saga you choose to believe, either the sister or half-sister of Leif Eiriksson. I hold her up today as a reminder of a recurring theme, and for purposes of tonight’s Dark Sentiment, let us be mindful of how history treated Freydis as we move six centuries forward to another case.

I have also written here of Erzsébet (Elizabeth) Bathory, known to history as “The Blood Countess”, “… generally held to have been responsible for the torture and murder of at least 600 young women, and for bathing or showering in their blood as a means of retaining her youthful vigour and beauty ….”

Though they lived 600 years apart, the legends that stand as judgement on these two women bear an unsurprising similarity. As I said above, “… powerful, willful, and intelligent women have a poor record of being appreciated in European history …”.

I mentioned Erzsébet Bathory yesterday. Much has been made of her tale which, as is said, grew greatly in the telling, but if one looks beneath the hyperbole of horror that soaks the written record, one sees a wealthy, educated, powerful, and even worse, beautiful woman holding sway over much wealth, and in the face of much covetous greed. In my experience, no matter how heinous the accusation, in a search for Truth you never go far wrong betting on greed and dull axes needing grinding.

First off, have a look at The Lies About Elizabeth Bathory Revealed. Not an exhaustive treatment by any means, but suggestive that, as in the case of Freydís Eiríksdóttir, Erzsébet Bathory was a woman of her times, passed down to us by way of the kind of history the human taste for titillation wants to be true.

With that in mind, I recommend you set aside two hours of your life and take in the 2008 film, Bathory, also released as Bathory: Countess of Blood. Starring English actress Anna Friel in the title role, written and directed by Slovak director Juraj Jakubisko, the film took two and a half years from start of shooting to release and, at the time it was made, was the highest budget Slovak and Czech film ever produced (approximately 15 million USD).

“Bathory is based on the legends surrounding the life and deeds of Countess Elizabeth Bathory known as the greatest murderess in the history of mankind. Contrary to popular belief, Elizabeth Bathory was a modern Renaissance woman who ultimately fell victim to men’s aspirations for power and wealth.” ~ IMDB

Notwithstanding the over the top cover art and alternative title of this particular version, and a paltry score of 3.2 out of 5 from 2250 user ratings on Rotten Tomatoes, Bathory is a remarkably sympathetic portrayal.  and well worth at least one viewing.