1 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:02,000 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of I 2 00:00:02,080 --> 00:00:14,320 Speaker 1: Heart Radio. Hello and welcome to This Day in History Class, 3 00:00:14,640 --> 00:00:17,400 Speaker 1: a show that believes there's no time like the present 4 00:00:17,720 --> 00:00:21,520 Speaker 1: to learn about the past. I'm Gay Bluesier and in 5 00:00:21,600 --> 00:00:24,880 Speaker 1: this episode, we're talking about a deadly mishap from the 6 00:00:24,920 --> 00:00:28,400 Speaker 1: Middle Ages that will give you a newfound appreciation for 7 00:00:28,440 --> 00:00:41,240 Speaker 1: the miracle that is indoor plumbing. The day was July eleven, 8 00:00:41,440 --> 00:00:46,200 Speaker 1: eighty four. Dozens of noblemen plunged to their deaths after 9 00:00:46,240 --> 00:00:49,880 Speaker 1: a floor collapsed above a monastery cess pit in modern 10 00:00:49,960 --> 00:00:54,120 Speaker 1: day Germany. The nobles had gathered at St. Peter's Church 11 00:00:54,280 --> 00:00:57,400 Speaker 1: in the city of Erfurt at the request of their king, 12 00:00:57,720 --> 00:01:02,040 Speaker 1: Heinrich the sixth, also known as Henry the sixth. He 13 00:01:02,080 --> 00:01:05,120 Speaker 1: had called the meeting to settle a land dispute between 14 00:01:05,120 --> 00:01:09,560 Speaker 1: two prominent citizens, but unfortunately, the floor of the medieval 15 00:01:09,680 --> 00:01:12,679 Speaker 1: church where they met wasn't strong enough to bear the 16 00:01:12,720 --> 00:01:16,560 Speaker 1: weight of the large group. Nearly a hundred noblemen and 17 00:01:16,680 --> 00:01:20,760 Speaker 1: high ranking officials fell into the latrine pit below, and 18 00:01:20,840 --> 00:01:24,039 Speaker 1: at least sixty of those men never made it out again. 19 00:01:25,040 --> 00:01:29,039 Speaker 1: Located in the state of Turingia in central Germany, the 20 00:01:29,120 --> 00:01:33,479 Speaker 1: city of Erfurt has existed since at least the eighth century. 21 00:01:33,640 --> 00:01:36,160 Speaker 1: At the time of the Latrine Disaster in the late 22 00:01:36,160 --> 00:01:39,200 Speaker 1: twelfth century, the city was still part of the vast 23 00:01:39,280 --> 00:01:42,600 Speaker 1: Holy Roman Empire and was located in a region under 24 00:01:42,600 --> 00:01:46,320 Speaker 1: the control of German King Henry the sixth. He was 25 00:01:46,360 --> 00:01:50,480 Speaker 1: the second son of the Holy Roman Emperor Barbarossa and 26 00:01:50,560 --> 00:01:53,240 Speaker 1: was set to inherit the title himself when his father 27 00:01:53,280 --> 00:01:57,400 Speaker 1: passed away in eleven eighty four, though, the nineteen year 28 00:01:57,400 --> 00:01:59,960 Speaker 1: old ruler was on his way to Poland on official 29 00:02:00,080 --> 00:02:03,320 Speaker 1: business when he caught wind of an ongoing conflict that 30 00:02:03,400 --> 00:02:07,160 Speaker 1: had plagued the state for some time. The parties involved 31 00:02:07,240 --> 00:02:11,000 Speaker 1: were Archbishop Conrad of Minz, a leader of the Roman 32 00:02:11,040 --> 00:02:15,440 Speaker 1: Catholic Church, and Ludwig the third of Turingia, a noble 33 00:02:15,560 --> 00:02:19,200 Speaker 1: who held the title of land Grave, which was essentially 34 00:02:19,200 --> 00:02:23,240 Speaker 1: the empire's version of a duke. Their quarrel began four 35 00:02:23,320 --> 00:02:27,639 Speaker 1: years earlier, when Archbishop Conrad started building a fortified castle 36 00:02:27,800 --> 00:02:31,960 Speaker 1: on a hill near Ludwig's territory. At the time, frequent 37 00:02:32,000 --> 00:02:34,919 Speaker 1: power struggles within the empire had led to an ever 38 00:02:35,080 --> 00:02:39,680 Speaker 1: changing map, with feudal nobles and religious leaders constantly budding 39 00:02:39,720 --> 00:02:43,920 Speaker 1: heads and claiming each other's land. Given that contentious climate, 40 00:02:44,200 --> 00:02:48,239 Speaker 1: Ludwig viewed the archbishop's encroachment as a sign of aggression. 41 00:02:48,880 --> 00:02:52,919 Speaker 1: By eighty four, the drama between Ludwig and Conrad had 42 00:02:52,960 --> 00:02:56,880 Speaker 1: grown so intense that the king himself decided to intervene. 43 00:02:57,600 --> 00:03:00,560 Speaker 1: In late July, he called for a deliberate of meeting 44 00:03:00,720 --> 00:03:03,200 Speaker 1: known as a diet, to be held on the upper 45 00:03:03,240 --> 00:03:06,640 Speaker 1: floor of the rectory of the St. Peter's Church in Erfurt. 46 00:03:07,280 --> 00:03:10,920 Speaker 1: The exact roster of those who attended is unknown, but 47 00:03:11,000 --> 00:03:14,720 Speaker 1: it's believed that dozens of nobles, counts, and bishops were 48 00:03:14,760 --> 00:03:18,040 Speaker 1: summoned to discuss the matter and help negotiate a compromise. 49 00:03:18,680 --> 00:03:21,960 Speaker 1: When you factor in the king's entourage and any attendants 50 00:03:21,960 --> 00:03:25,200 Speaker 1: brought along by the nobles, the number of those present 51 00:03:25,440 --> 00:03:29,400 Speaker 1: spikes to well over a hundred people. The private room 52 00:03:29,480 --> 00:03:32,519 Speaker 1: where this group met wasn't intended to host such a 53 00:03:32,600 --> 00:03:37,440 Speaker 1: large gathering. Some historians believe it's floorboards may have been rotten, 54 00:03:37,760 --> 00:03:40,800 Speaker 1: while others argue that the floor only collapsed due to 55 00:03:40,840 --> 00:03:43,960 Speaker 1: the added weight of the armor and chainmail warned by 56 00:03:43,960 --> 00:03:48,240 Speaker 1: those in attendance. Either way, Shortly after the meeting, began, 57 00:03:48,600 --> 00:03:52,400 Speaker 1: the floor of the church suddenly collapsed. The weight of 58 00:03:52,440 --> 00:03:55,480 Speaker 1: the falling people and heavy debris was great enough to 59 00:03:55,560 --> 00:03:59,560 Speaker 1: break through the ground floor as well. The incident would 60 00:03:59,560 --> 00:04:02,440 Speaker 1: have been a disaster either way, but it was made 61 00:04:02,480 --> 00:04:04,960 Speaker 1: all the more gruesome due to the location of the 62 00:04:05,040 --> 00:04:09,960 Speaker 1: church's communal cess pit. Withindoor plumbing still centuries away, the 63 00:04:10,000 --> 00:04:13,440 Speaker 1: sewer systems of medieval Europe left a lot to be desired. 64 00:04:14,120 --> 00:04:16,719 Speaker 1: The simplest way to deal with human waste was to 65 00:04:16,760 --> 00:04:19,800 Speaker 1: dig a big trench or pit beneath the building and 66 00:04:19,960 --> 00:04:22,359 Speaker 1: just let the waste drop into it through one or 67 00:04:22,400 --> 00:04:26,920 Speaker 1: more latrines. The St. Peter's Church and Erfurt had several 68 00:04:27,000 --> 00:04:30,919 Speaker 1: latrines to accommodate the Benedictine monks who lived there full time. 69 00:04:31,760 --> 00:04:36,080 Speaker 1: Unfortunately for the German aristocracy visiting that day, the large 70 00:04:36,160 --> 00:04:39,120 Speaker 1: latrine pit where the monk's waist gathered happened to be 71 00:04:39,279 --> 00:04:44,480 Speaker 1: straight down from their meeting room. Contemporary accounts reported that 72 00:04:44,680 --> 00:04:48,440 Speaker 1: nearly everyone present fell into the latrine pit, though some, 73 00:04:48,560 --> 00:04:52,320 Speaker 1: including the king and archbishop, avoided the embarrassing fate by 74 00:04:52,400 --> 00:04:56,600 Speaker 1: clinging to the iron rails of the church's windows. Ludwig 75 00:04:56,720 --> 00:04:59,719 Speaker 1: the Third was among the many nobles who tumbled into 76 00:04:59,720 --> 00:05:02,359 Speaker 1: the rule of filth, but he was fortunate enough to 77 00:05:02,400 --> 00:05:07,280 Speaker 1: be rescued along with several others. The majority weren't so lucky, though. 78 00:05:07,960 --> 00:05:10,719 Speaker 1: There's no way to know how many died from drowning 79 00:05:10,839 --> 00:05:14,160 Speaker 1: or how many died from being struck by falling debris, 80 00:05:14,200 --> 00:05:17,279 Speaker 1: but altogether more than sixty people are said to have 81 00:05:17,400 --> 00:05:21,520 Speaker 1: lost their lives in the incident. The official chronicle of St. 82 00:05:21,520 --> 00:05:25,400 Speaker 1: Peter's Church reports the event matter of factly, stating quote, 83 00:05:25,800 --> 00:05:30,080 Speaker 1: many fell into the cesspool below. Some were saved with difficulty, 84 00:05:30,360 --> 00:05:34,919 Speaker 1: while others suffocated in the muck. Among the casualties was 85 00:05:34,960 --> 00:05:38,720 Speaker 1: Count Heinrich, the first of Schwarzburg, who was also engaged 86 00:05:38,760 --> 00:05:42,560 Speaker 1: in an ongoing feud with Ludwig. According to medieval author 87 00:05:42,600 --> 00:05:47,040 Speaker 1: and theologian Johann Gottfried, the Count was a confident man 88 00:05:47,160 --> 00:05:50,920 Speaker 1: who often boasted by saying, quote, if I fail, may 89 00:05:50,960 --> 00:05:54,480 Speaker 1: I die in excrement. Make of it what you will. 90 00:05:54,520 --> 00:05:58,599 Speaker 1: But that is indeed how Count Heinrich died. As for 91 00:05:58,640 --> 00:06:02,200 Speaker 1: the conflict that set the whole ordeal in motion, it's 92 00:06:02,320 --> 00:06:06,920 Speaker 1: unclear how or if it was ever resolved, but hopefully 93 00:06:07,080 --> 00:06:10,400 Speaker 1: the messy tragedy helped Ludwig and Conrad see things in 94 00:06:10,440 --> 00:06:13,280 Speaker 1: a different light, because while they may not have gotten 95 00:06:13,360 --> 00:06:17,119 Speaker 1: everything they wanted, they also didn't drown in sludge either, 96 00:06:17,839 --> 00:06:20,880 Speaker 1: And if that doesn't put things in perspective, then I 97 00:06:20,880 --> 00:06:26,320 Speaker 1: don't know what would. I'm Gabe Lucier and hopefully you 98 00:06:26,400 --> 00:06:29,440 Speaker 1: now know a little more about history today than you 99 00:06:29,480 --> 00:06:33,280 Speaker 1: did yesterday. You can learn even more about history by 100 00:06:33,320 --> 00:06:36,920 Speaker 1: following us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at t d 101 00:06:37,080 --> 00:06:41,440 Speaker 1: i HC Show, and if you have any comments or suggestions, 102 00:06:41,640 --> 00:06:44,520 Speaker 1: feel free to send them my way at this Day 103 00:06:44,560 --> 00:06:47,920 Speaker 1: at I heart media dot com. Thanks, as always the 104 00:06:48,000 --> 00:06:50,880 Speaker 1: Chandler Mays for producing the show, and thanks to you 105 00:06:50,960 --> 00:06:54,120 Speaker 1: for listening. I'll see you back here again tomorrow for 106 00:06:54,200 --> 00:07:07,279 Speaker 1: another day in History class.