Noble Blood - A Terrible Waste

Episode Date: March 10, 2026

When Heinrich VI, King of Germany, called a gathering of noblemen to deal with a property dispute, he couldn't have predicted how tragic—and disgusting—the meeting would turn out to be. Support Noble Blood:—PRE-ORDER 'THE ARCANE ARTS'— Bonus episodes, stickers, and scripts on Patreon— Order Dana's book, 'Anatomy: A Love Story' and its sequel 'Immortality: A Love Story'See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Hey, I'm Dr. Maya Shunker, a cognitive scientist and hosts of the podcast, a slight change of plans, a show about who we are and who we become when life makes other plans. I wish that I hadn't resisted for so long the need to change. We have to be willing to live with a kind of uncertainty that none of us likes. You can have opinions. You can have like a strong,

dance and then there's your body having its own program. Listen to a slight change of plans on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is Amy Roboc alongside T.J. Holmes from the Amy and TJ podcast. And there is so much news, information, commentary coming at you all day and from all over the place. What's fact? What's fake?

And sometimes what the F. So let's cut the crap, okay? follow the Amy and T.J. A one-stop news and pop culture shop to get you caught up and on with your day. And listen to Amy and T.J. on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Will Ferrell's Big Money Players and IHeart Podcast presents Soccer moms. So I'm Leanne. Yeah.

This is my best friend, Janet. Hey. And we have been joined at the hips since high school. Absolutely. A redacted amount of years later, we're still joined at the hip. Just a little bit bigger hips. This is a podcast. We're recording it as we've.

tailgate are you soccer games in the back of my Honda Odyssey with all the snacks and drinks. Why did you get hard seltzer instead of beer? They hit a bogo. Well, then you got it. Listen to soccer moms on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to Noble Blood, a production of IHeart Radio and grim and mild from Aaron Manky. Listener discretion advised. Heinrich the 6th, the 18-year-old king of Germany and son of Holy Roman Emperor 4th.

Frederick I, Barbosa, sat by a window next to Conrad of Wittlesbach, the Archbishop of Mainz. It was the evening of July 25th, 1184, and the air between the two men was tense. By this point, Heinrich and the Archbishop had run out of things to say to one another. Earlier when they had first sat down, the conversation had flowed freely. Heinrich had come to Airfort to broker an agreement between the Archbishop and the landgrave Ludwig III of Thuringia. The two of them had some heated disputes over land rights in Airfort, but by all accounts, each had come to the negotiations willingly and with high hopes for a quick resolution. Heinrich, the king of Germany, had assembled a Hoftag, an unofficial meeting attended by his court,

as well as the local nobility and clergy, to settle the matter once and for all. But by this point, however, Heinrich and the Archbishop were not talking about land, titles, or anything at all. The meeting had long since crumbled, so too, quite literally, had the building around them, save for the window alcove where the two men had been sitting. Now Heinrich and the Archbishop awaited rescue in horrified silence,

holding on for dear life after being forced to watch as their fellow nobles floundered and drowned below them in a roiling pit of mud, debris, and human waste. I'm Dana Schwartz, and this is Noble Blood. The Airfort-Latrine disaster, as it would come to be called, is remembered. remembered as one of medieval history's most disgusting calamities. It was what it sounds like. A building collapsed into its underground latrine cesspit, killing, injuring, or traumatizing, the attendees of Heinrich the 6th's Hoftug. Its effects, both on the lines of noble succession and on local folklore, would ripple out for generations.

In order to understand how this tragic and nauseating accident occurred, we must first understand one of the most significant architectural challenges facing any medieval city, that of dealing with human waste. Many people believe that the Middle Ages were a sort of free-for-all of waste disposal. While it was certainly true that many medieval people had to dispose of their waste by, say, pouring it out of their windows or into the streets, in many places that was actually illegal and could carry heavy fines. As a matter of fact, medieval people, and in particular medieval municipal authorities,

devoted a great deal of attention to waste management. People in the Middle Ages dealt with their waste in a number of different ways. The way you might be most familiar with is the chamber pot, or other kinds of portable toilets. But those, of course, would have left you with the problem of then disposing of the waste from the chamber pots. Luckily, at least in some places, there was another option, a latrine. In this period, a latrine would have consisted usually of a plank of wood

over a hole in the ground or in the floor of a building, usually some sort of outhouse, which would let out into something such as a cesspit, a stream, a ditch, a moat, or a drain. Cesspit were often feats of engineering. While they were sometimes just big holes in the ground, many of them were reinforced with wood, or less often stone, to prevent groundwater pollution. One latrine would often be shared by all of the inhabitants of a given plot of land, although larger multi-hole latrines were sometimes used in monasteries,

and some cities, like London, even had public, necessary houses, with multiple latrine holes that opened up into a single cesspit. As you might expect, wealthier people tended to have more elaborately constructed latrines. This applied to the above-ground parts as well, most notably with the construction of latrines inside the home. If you've ever visited an old castle, for example, you might have seen a little part jutting out from the wall on the outside. That's called a garterobe, and it was basically a medieval toilet.

Named after storage closets where valuables or linens would be kept, these would be small chambers that offered the user some privacy. Sometimes these would open up directly to the outside, emptying into a moat or some other drainage system, but often they were connected to a latrine that led out into a cesspit. These systems could be impressive, but of course they were not without their challenges. A cesspit needed proper drainage. Drainage issues could result in things like contaminated groundwater, but also, and perhaps more urgently, damage to the structure of the latrine and any overlying buildings themselves.

Rotting was a major concern for latrines reinforced with wood. Often, cesspits were emptied by hand on an annual or semi-annual basis, or otherwise the waste continually boarded up until a new latrine had to be opened. But some cesspits had more advanced systems of drainage. One solution for the drainage problem was the installation of channel drains, which utilized gravity to let waste out from the cesspit into, say, a flowing river. These could work marvelously well, but like modern plumbing systems, they were also susceptible to clogs or structural damage.

And as the attendees of that fateful Hofdagh in Airfort would find out, when channel drain systems failed to work properly, wooden boards began to rot, and nobody took steps to remedy the issue, disaster would ensue. 12th century Germany consisted of a constellation of duchies, counties, and principalities, all loosely aligned under the authority of. the Holy Roman Empire. With each Duke, Count, and Prince largely sovereign over his own territory, political life was often tense, as ruling nobles constantly sought to increase their power.

Borders frequently expanded and contracted as wars, shifting alliances and political machinations saw land pass back and forth between nobles. Of course, these were rare, clean or easy transfers of jurisdiction. It wasn't uncommon for two or more parties to claim sovereignty over the same piece of land at the same time. This was the case for Ludwig III, the landgrave, a German rank of nobility roughly equivalent to a count of Thuringia and the Archbishop of Mainz, Conrad of Wittelsbach. Keep in mind that during this period, High-ranking clergy, like bishops, archbishops, and cardinals, often exercised political as well as religious power in their respective domains. In this case, Conrad was both the archbishop and the

elector of Mainz, a title akin to Prince, meaning he both oversaw his own territory and got to play a role in electing the Holy Roman Emperor. The territories of Ludwig's County, and Conrad's archbishopric abutted each other. In fact, they sort of overlapped, with each man claiming his land to be, perhaps slightly larger than it was. Their territories had not always been quite so disputed, but around 1179,

the Duke of Saxony and Bavaria Heinrich the Lion, was stripped of his holdings by the Holy Roman Emperor, Frederick I, Barbosa. This created a power vacuum that resulted in an even more tenuous, contested web of territories than had existed before. By 1184, five years later, Ludwig and the Archbishop had developed a land dispute over the city of Airfort that had become so heated, it drew the attention of the Holy Roman Emperor. But we don't know much. much of the details of how this contentious situation developed specifically. Some sources point to the Archbishop's construction of a fortified castle in or near the city

around 1180, but it's unclear whether that was, in fact, the inciting incident or simply a move made as part of a pre-existing conflict. In any case, the dispute boiled down to an argument over whether the clergy or the lay nobility should have control over Airfort. This was a pressing issue that touched not only on the daily lives of the people living in the city, but also on bigger debates over the rights of religious versus secular powers that had overtaken Europe in the wake of the investiture controversy and the wars of the Guelphs and Gibilines that followed.

After some four years of conflict over this land, the Holy Roman Emperor had had enough. He sent his son, Heinrich the 6th, the King of Germany, to mediate the matter in the summer of 1184. Heinrich traveled to Airfort and called a Hoftag on July 25th, where he would mediate a peace between Ludwig and the Archbishop. The meeting drew an audience of nobles and high-ranking clergy from all around the area, each of whom sought both to help mediate the meeting and possibly to act in their best interests. Sources disagree over whether the Hoftag was held at the Cathedral Provost's building or the Bishop's residence, but we do know that it was nearby the Airfort Cathedral and that the meeting took place on the second floor of whatever building it was in.

Over 60 people, some sources say over 100, crowded the meeting room as the proceedings began. We know little about how the meeting went. It's possible the nobles shouted over each other, jockeying to get a word in. Maybe it was a friendly gathering with everyone acting in good faith, trying to maintain peace and reach a resolution.

Maybe it was only getting sorry. started and clergy and nobles were still asking after each other's families and children. We do know that at one point, King Heinrich and the Archbishop walked over to a window to speak privately. Then, all of a sudden, a rumble tore through the building. The walls began to shake, and before the meeting's attendees even realized what was happening, the floor collapsed beneath them. In his book of German legends, the 19th century German folklorist Ludwig Bechstein recounted the story of, quote, the Count's proverb. His story centered on a noble, Count Heinrich the 7th of Schwarzberg.

As Bechstein told it, Count Heinrich had a nasty habit. Whenever there was something he didn't want to do or didn't think he could do, he would say in a huff, quote, If I did that, I'd have to drown in the privy. You can probably see where this story is going. Bechstein's tale was a fictionalized account of the Airfort Latrine disaster, which did actually happen. He altered some of the historical details.

It was Count Heinrich the first who attended, for example, not the seventh, but the basic contours of the story remained, with an ironic twist in the form of his Heinrich's tragically prescient catchphrase. In both the story and real life, the second floor of the building collapsed, the force of which collapsed the first floor, and everyone, save for King Heinrich and Archbishop Conrad, fell into the cesspit below. A few survived the fall, but most did not. In reality, we have very few contemporary sources about the actual collapse, and what we do have doesn't offer much in the way of details on how the collapse happened.

Later, writers supposed that the beams supporting the second floor where the hoftag were held had been rotting for some time, and the weight of so many people caused it to collapse. Because we don't know which building this was exactly, it's hard. for us to know whether a latrine contributed to that rotting. If that were the case, it would have had to have been a wood-reinforced latrine that reached the second floor. It's also possible that the collapse was unrelated and the cesspit was simply an unfortunate landing place for the collapsing building. Either way, the cesspit and its draining system seems to have played an essential role in the tragic way the disaster played out. Some sources say that the building's cesspit had a channel drain system, which would have emptied out into the nearby Gera River. This would have meant

that when everything collapsed, the sudden inflow of materials and bodies would have forced the entire system to flow wildly and uncontrollably out to the river. The result was a whirling pit of death. Most estimates say about 60 of the meeting's attendees died as a result of the collapse. Some died from the fall, others were crushed by debris, and others were, I'm sorry, drowned in the sewage or asphyxiated in its toxic fumes. The Chronicle of St. Peters in Airfort, which began to be compiled about 25 years after the fact, in 1208, listed some of the noblemen who died in the collapse. Count Friedrich the first of Abenberg, Count Heinrich the first of Schwarzberg, Count Gosmar the third of Zigenheim,

Gosmar's brother-in-law, Bougrave Friedrich the first of Kiersberg, Count Berkhard of Vartburg, and Berenger von Wellington, among other, quote, lesser nobles whom the chronicler felt were not necessary to record. Landgrave Ludwig, one of the main two parties involved in the dispute, that was a reason for all of this, fell into the sewage, but luckily was rescued and survived, seemingly with no major injuries. King Heinrich and the Archbishop had to cling to the window as they awaited rescue, but they also eventually escaped unharmed. Disgusted and shell-shocked, King Heinrich departed. King Heinrich departed from Airfort, with his retinue almost immediately, never to return. In addition to its relatively quick entrance into the annals of local folklore,

the Airfort-latrine disaster impacted the lines of succession of much of the local nobility, as estates passed to sons, brothers, and even daughters of the deceased. As for the dispute between Landgrave Ludwig and Archbishop Conrad, that remains unsolved to this day. That's the very gross story of the Airfort Latrine disaster, but keep listening after a brief sponsor break to hear about another interesting thing that happened in a pit in Airfort. This is Amy Rovock alongside T.J. Holmes from the Amy and T.J. podcast. And there is so much news. Information. Commentary coming at you all day and from all over the place. What's fact, what's fake, and sometimes what the F.

So let's cut the crap, okay? Follow the Amy and T.J. Podcast, a one-stop news and pop culture shop to get you caught up and on with your day. And listen to Amy and T.J. on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts. You can have opinions. You can have like a strong stance. and then there's your body having its own program. I'm Dr. Maya Shunker, a cognitive scientist and hosts of the podcast, a slight change of plans, a show about who we are and who we become when life makes other plans.

We share stories and scientific insights to help us all better navigate these periods of turbulence and transformation. There is one finding that is consistent, and that is that our resilience rests on our relationship. I wish that I hadn't resisted for so long the need to change. We have to be willing to live with a kind of uncertainty that none of us likes. Listen to a slight change of plans on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Readers, Katie's finalists, publicists, we have an incredible new episode this week for you guys. We have our girl Hillary Duff in here, and we can't wait for you to hear this episode. They put on Lizzie McGuire 2 a.m. Video on Demand.

this guy's boo-u-b-b-o-b-a-m-m-were- Whatever time it is, Lizzie McGuire, and I'm like, the paper of you. It was like a first, like, closet moment from me where I was like, I don't feel like she's hot, like the rest of them. No, no, no, I was like, she's beautiful. But I'm appreciating her in a different way than these boys are. I'm not like, ugh. Yeah.

Listen to Los Coleristas on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or whatever you get your podcast. If I had a gold ingot for every time something noteworthy happened in a pit in Air Force, well, I'd have two gold ingots. Actually, in fact, in 1998, archaeologists excavated 14 gold ingots, among other treasures, hidden in the wall of a medieval cellar entry under the Michael Estras, a small street in airport where the structure of a medieval synagogue had been discovered during excavations a few years prior. It was an extraordinary discovery.

In addition to the gold ingots, there were over 3,000 tornassal silver coins, a kind of coin commonly used in the Middle Ages and early modern periods, constituting the largest extant collection of these kind of coins in the world. There were also 700 works of goldsmithing dating to the 13th and 14th centuries. There was silver tableware, gilded goblets from the early 14th century, garment appliquees and belt adornments, eight brooches with inlaid stones, and eight rings. The most magnificent of the rings, and the most telling about the cash and its history, was an Ashkenazi Jewish wedding ring, one of the very few to survive from the 14th century,

and one of the very few to be found in Germany. The ring was struck in gold without any stones, as was true. tradition, and featured an intricate engraving of a Gothic tower, and above it the Hebrew phrase mazeltov, meaning good fate or good fortune, a phrase of congratulations traditionally offered at significant life events, like weddings. It is this ring which seems to have allowed scholars to figure out where this mass of treasure came from, and begin to guess at who might have hidden it. In 1349, as the Black Death tore throughout Europe, many communities found a convenient scapegoat in Jewish people, blaming them for causing the pandemic or believing that they

facilitated its spread. There are many reasons why these theories developed, but the most significant impact was the widespread murders and exiles of European Jewish communities. In March 1349, the city of Airfort did just that. In what came to be known as the Airfort Massacre, between March 21 and 22nd, mobs lynched anywhere from 100 to 3,000 Jewish people throughout the city. As the violence erupted, many members of the Jewish community chose to set fire to their homes and possessions, choosing death over the violence of the mob. Others chose to hide their possessions,

potentially hoping that perhaps they could escape and come back for them later. It is believed that one of them, potentially a money-changer or merchant named Kalman V.A., hid his treasure before he was killed, either hoping that he would survive the mob and be able to retrieve it, or knowing that his murderers would not be able to profit,

to profit from his death. Following the massacre, the remaining members of the Jewish community were exiled from the city. They would return a few years later and reestablish a new community in the city before being exiled again in 1458. The hidden treasure, however, remained in Airfort, untouched and intact for over 600 years. Today, it remains on permanent display at the restored old synagogue, just steps from where it was found. Noble Blood is a production of IHeart Radio and Grimm and Mild from Aaron Manke. Noble Blood is hosted by me, Dana Schwartz, with additional writing and research by Hannah Johnston, Hannah Zwick, Courtney Sender, Amy Height, and Julia Milani.

The show is edited and produced by Jesse Funk, with supervising, producer Rima Il Kali and executive producers Aaron Manky, Trevor Young, and Matt Frederick. For more podcasts from IHeartRadio, visit the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. Hey, I'm Dr. Maya Shunker, a cognitive scientist and hosts of the podcast, a slight change of plans, a show about who we are and who we become when life makes other plans. I wish that I hadn't resisted for so long the need to change. We have to be willing to live with a kind of uncertainty that none of us likes.

You can have opinions. You can have like a strong stance. And then there's your body having its own program. Listen to a slight change of plans on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey there, folks, Amy Robach and T.J. Holmes here. And we know there is a lot of news coming at you these days from the war with Iran to the ongoing Epstein fallout, government shutdowns, high-profile trials, and what the hell is that Blake lively thing about anyway? We are on it every day, all day. Follow us, Amy and TJ for news updates throughout the day. Listen to Amy and TJ on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Will Ferrell's Big Money Players and IHeart Podcasts presents soccer moms. So I'm Leanne. Yeah. This is my best friend, Janet. Hey. And we have been joined at the hips since high school. Absolutely. A redacted amount of years later, we're still joined at the hip.

Just a little bit bigger hips. This is a podcast. We're recording it as we tailgate our youth soccer games in the back of my Honda Odyssey. With all the snacks and drinks. Why did you get hard seltzer instead of beer? Oh, they hit a bogo. Well, then you got it. Listen to soccer moms on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.