Morire affogati nella cacca : il crollo delle latrine di Erfurt - AperiStoria #333
Summary
This episode recounts the 1184 collapse of a wooden floor in Erfurt, where the weight of nobles attending a dispute mediation caused the structure to fail. The floor gave way into a massive, uncleaned cesspool below, resulting in the deaths of approximately sixty nobles who drowned in the waste. The story highlights the near-death experience of the eighteen-year-old Emperor Henry VI, who survived the incident and later left the region, while also detailing the political context of the Holy Roman Empire and the subsequent fates of the surviving aristocrats.
Topics discussed
Sponsor: Amazon flexible work
Intro: Henry VI and the Erfurt latrine collapse
Context: 1184 and the Pentecost Diet at Mainz
Henry VI's military mission to Poland
The dispute between Louis III and Conrad of Mainz
The Hofstag meeting and the floor collapse
The fall into the cesspit and the aftermath
Explanation of medieval waste management
Casualties and survival of key figures
Aftermath: Henry's departure and future roles
Conclusion and credits
Sponsor: Amazon flexible work
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