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Comment by lb1lf | Hacker News Reader

-No history of medieval toilets is complete without reference to Erasmus von Lueg, 15th-century robber baron and lord of the Slovene Predjama castle.

He allegedly met his maker while relieving himself - having made a nuisance of himself to the Habsburgs, they laid siege to the castle to no avail -as there was a hidden passageway which let the besieged come and go more or less as they pleased.

The solution? Bribe a servant into lighting a lamp in a window when Erasmus went to the latrine prior to bed - a latrine the Habsburgs had aimed their cannon at in the daytime.

The rest, as they say, is (apocryphal) history.

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People have been assassinated while taking a shit and assassin waited below.

- King Edmund II of England, Stabbed from under a toilet seat while defecating.

- Jaromír, Duke of Bohemia, Stabbed with a spear from under a toilet seat while defecating.

- Godfrey IV, Duke of Lower Lorraine, Was assassinated while using a toilet.

- Wenceslaus III of Bohemia, Murdered with a spear while sitting in the garderobe.

- Uesugi Kenshin, Allegedly assassinated while using a toilet. "it is also speculated that he was victim of one of the most famous ninja assassinations, by a ninja concealed in the cesspool beneath the latrine at Kenshin's camp with a short spear or sword."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_who_died_on_the...

How about the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erfurt_latrine_disaster ?

This is the history that was explained to us on the visit to Predjama via their official audio tour. Nonetheless it's a fascinating place and a pleasure to visit [1]. Even better there is a breathtaking cave system not 10 miles away that's very accessible to the public and part of the same tourist organization. [2] One neat thing the guides were proud of is Jackie Chan's visit to the castle while filming Armour of God [3]. They also said he broke his leg while doing a stunt on one of the stone staircases, but I couldn't find any written evidence of this; instead he sustained a much more serious injury elsewhere.

[1] https://www.postojnska-jama.eu/en/predjama-castle/

[2] https://www.postojnska-jama.eu/en/

[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armour_of_God_(film)

This probably is just a urban legend type story. Or do you have evidence to point at?

Even the Wikipedia page on Erasmus of Lueg states there is no evidence to back this up.

-Thus 'allegedly' and 'apocryphal' - to the best of my knowledge, no reliable sources back this ever happening - but it is, you'll have to admit, a wonderful tale...

That's why the they said it's apocryphal

Dammit. Too late to edit now.

Would be quite surprised if 15th century artillery had any accuracy near that - And also if they did have such accuracy it's highly likely that the siege would have ended lot sooner.

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