21. Unfortunate Last Words
King Heinrich VI invited key nobles and clergy from across the Holy Roman Empire to meet for a peace conference at the city of Erfurt. Dozens of bigwigs answered his call, and on July 25th, 1184, the bigwigs were brought together at a meeting room in Erfurt’s Church of Saint Peter. Their numbers included Count Heinrich I of Schwarzburg, who was often given to emphasizing his determination to do something by stating: “If I fail, so may I die in excrement!”
Beneath the church meeting room where the empire’s greatest assembled in all their finery, was the monks’ latrine. Unfortunately for the attendees, the room was not as structurally sound as they had assumed. No sooner had the meeting begun than the supporting beams that held the floor gave way, and the glittering gathering plummeted into the liquid excrement below. Dozens drowned to death in the fecal pool, or were killed by the collapsed structure. They included Count Heinrich I, who met his end just as he had often said: drowned in excrement.