The first modern flushable toilet was invented in 1596 by Sir John Harrington who installed one for his godmother, Elizabeth I.
Occasionally, some brave knights would conduct sneak attacks by entering the castle via the shaft connected to the garderobe. Throughout history, there have been a number of famous people who died on the toilet. Several of them were stabbed from below while in the process of defecating.
These people include King Edmund II of England (30 November 1016), Jaromír Duke of Bohemia (4 November 1035), Godfrey IV Duke of Lower Lorraine (circa. 26-27 February 1076), Wenceslaus III of Bohemia (4 August 1306) and Uesugi Kenshin (19 April 1578).
It’s not:
Pictured in the OP are garderobes. Inside view’s something like:
Interestingly "garderob" is the Swedish word for closet
Might be a germanic word that developed different meanings over time
Quite possible
Nah it's French, "garde robe" means "clothes[ancient french] holder[literally guard]". So literally just wardrobe.
Interesting that it became a loan word in Swedish tho, what a mindfuck. Dunno why the English borrowed it to describe toilets... I guess it does kinda look like a closet...?
I know it's not necessarily an unknown fact but he's an ancestors of Kid Harington, aka John Snow from Game of Thrones