The Deadliest Toilet Accident In History- The Erfurt Latrine Disaster
Dozens of nobles attending a king’s court drowned in human excrement after a floor collapsed above a large monastery bathroom
There are many ways to die, which were only exponentially more varied in the past before different technology and social advances made us all just a bit safer. Unsurprisingly, history tells us of numerous strange and horrifying incidents that brought about the demise of people. Perhaps one of the worst was the Erfurt Latrine Disaster, which was the collapse of a royal toilet nearly 900 years ago that drowned dozens of nobles and courtiers in human excrement.
In July of 1184, The King of Germany (and later Holy Roman Emperor), Henry VI convened a court in the Petersberg Citadel in Erfurt. His highness had traveled there to help quell a lingering feud between Landgrave (Count) Louis III of Thuringa and Archbishop Conrad of Mainz. They had not seen eye to eye since Henry the Lion had been been defeated in his challenge for the crown, and the genesis of the dispute is believed to have centered on land control. Hoping to bring peace to his regime, the King stepped in to mediate the situation.
Naturally, the impromptu court was packed for the tense proceedings, as interest was…
