schaafErfurt latrine disaster
The Erfurt latrine disaster was an event that occurred in Erfurt, Duchy of Thuringia in 1184 where a number of nobles from across the Holy Roman Empire were meeting in a room at the Church of St. Peter only for their combined weight to cause the floor to collapse into the latrine beneath the cellar and led to dozens of nobles drowning in liquid excrement. At least 60 people died in the accident. Background A feud between Louis III, Landgrave of Thuringia and Archbishop Conrad of Mainz which had existed since the defeat of Henry the Lion intensified to the point that King Heinrich VI was forced to intervene while he was traveling through the region during a military campaign against Poland. Heinrich decided to call a diet in Erfurt where he was staying to mediate the situation between the two and invited a number of other figures to the negotiations. The event Nobles across the Holy Roman Empire were invited to the meeting, and many arrived on 25 July to attend. Just as the assembly began, the wooden floor of the provost of St. Mary, in which the nobles were sitting, broke under the stress...
