A tragicomic event that will leave its mark on history took place in Erfurt Town in Central Germany. The calendar showed July 26, 1184, King Henry VI, then King of Germany and soon to be Holy Roman Emperor. It all starts with the King holding a meeting here.
We continue to witness the strange events of the Middle Ages with our content. Now, if you have blocked your nose, let’s look at the details of this strange accident.
Henry wanted to become the most powerful ruler in Europe.
In line with this request, he wanted to make sure that everything was in order. We are talking about a period of great political strife caused by constant power struggles between the feudal nobility and the religious leaders of the Roman Catholic Church.
One such conflict broke out between Conrad of Wittelsbach (also known as Conrad I), Archbishop of Mainz, and Ludwig III, Landgrave of Thuringia. It is not clear what exactly triggered the conflict, but it is said to be most likely related to a land dispute or issues regarding land control.
VI. Henry organizes a meeting to put an end to the disagreement between the two.
Bishops, senior officials, nobles… A meeting is organized where all of them are present together. Invitations were sent to nobles in each region of the Roman Empire and a sudden court was held. Almost all accepted the invitation and a large number of delegates attended the meeting on 25 July.
As you can imagine, everything in the hall is perfect, a huge hall and a big banquet. Everyone looks happy and content, so a little drama was needed to add excitement to such a happy picture.
This is where nothing goes right!
Many people think that the meeting took place on one of the floors of St. Peter’s Church, but other sources also claim that it took place elsewhere. While the participants are enjoying the invitation to the fullest and an agreement is reached, the ground they are on suddenly collapses and, as you can imagine, the guests suddenly find themselves in the sewer! But how?
You read that right, more than 60 noble people fell directly into a septic tank. This number seems to have been treated fairly, because according to some sources, it is said to be close to 100 people.
You can feel the smell even when you imagine it.
According to sources, almost all of the people who fell died by drowning or being poisoned by poisonous gases. Although it may seem funny, it is worth admitting that it is quite tragic. King Henry is one of the lucky ones because he survived. It says it doesn’t fall because it sits in a recess built into the wall.
While this pit, which was built for each building in the Middle Ages, was built on the exterior of the buildings, in the example of the toilet in Erfurt, the septic tank where the waste was collected was located right under the meeting place. Although it is not known exactly whether the dispute was resolved after the unfortunate incident, it managed to leave its name in history as one of the strangest disasters of the Middle Ages.
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