THE ERFURT LATRINE DISASTER

DATE OF HAPPENING: July 26, 1184

On a nice day in July, 1184, several of the Holy Roman Empire's most powerful figures met in the city of Erfurt. Three of these people were Landgrave Ludwig III of Thuringia, Archbishop Konrad I of Mainz, who had a conflict with the former, and King Heinrich VI. Heinrich was the heir of being the Holy Roman Emperor. The conflict originated from when Konrad I build a castle a little too close to Ludwig III's lands to deter attacks from him, and Ludwig III thought of this as a sign of aggression. The purpose of this meetup in Erfurt was to mediate the conflict between the two rulers. Several other dukes met up as well, one of them being Heinrich I of Schwarzburg, who also has beef with Ludwig III because Ludwig III's troops had raided Heinrich I's castles, and Heinrich I stole a manuscript from Ludwig III. Heinrich I would often utter a saying along the lines of: "If I fail, so may I die in excrement."

The nobles and King Heinrich VI met up in the Church of St. Peter in Erfurt. Coincidentally, below the church, there was a latrine pit the monks used. The large group of nobles, many wearing heavy chainmail, all discusses the conflict on the Church of St. Peter's weakly supported floor. All of a sudden, the floor underneath the nobles collapsed, and up to 100 people died by drowning in feces, including Heinrich I, who failed. Miraculously, Heinrich VI, Ludwig III, and Konrad I survived, because they were in a different room discussing matters privately. Konrad I and Heinrich VI held on to the iron rails of a windows, in fact, until rescue arrived. Heinrich VI would later become the next Holy Roman Emperor.