by Lucy E. Zahnle

Created on: November 11, 2009

Jean Sans Peur (John the Fearless) was the Duke of Burgundy and the de facto king of France from 1409 to 1413 BCE. The Tour Jean Sans Peur (the Tower of John the Fearless) in Paris is the last remaining vestige of the Palais Parisien des Ducs de Bourgogne (Parisian Palace of the Dukes of Burgundy), John's palatial fortress in medieval times. Now a museum, the Tour Jean Sans Peur boasts an exhibit displaying the oldest water closet in the city, John's lavatory, a state of the art marvel in 1409.

John the Fearless enjoyed the very height of plumbing technology for his time. Housed in the top level of his tower, John's state of the art lavatory offered the comforts of a padded seat and chimney heating while an air circulation system kept down that funky outhouse smell. A shaft twenty-five meters long descended from the toilet to a stone-lined septic pit, worn with urine streaks, in the depths of the palace.

The pit, covered to keep smells from filtering up into the living areas, once had a permeable floor, rather like a sieve, which allowed liquids to drain and solids to settle. To keep the solid material from building up, a tradesman, also known as a gong farmer, would clean the pit periodically. The gong farmer who sanitized John's septic tank went by the unlikely nickname, Monsieur Fifi.

To clean himself, John used cotton and linen rags. Less exalted people used mullein leaves, which were soft, though not very absorbent. The peasantry commonly resorted to straw.

Despite John's spectacular facilities, most castles did not have lavatories as the modern world understands them. Some castles offered "garderobes," shelf-like stone seats with holes that opened to the outside. These extended from the outer walls of the castle so that refuse was ejected into the open air and fell to the ground outside the castle. Often, the toilet chutes had iron bars set into the stone to keep intruders from getting into the castle. Some garderobes offered wooden seats, but most people had to use stone seats, which could be uncomfortable, especially in winter.

Privacy in the garderobe was not a priority. Some garderobes were shielded with screens, but most were open.

John the Fearless was not the only one to recognize the value of up-to-date lavatory facilities. In the early sixteenth century, King Henry VIII of England possessed the first portable "throne," which was known as the Close Stool. He had a beaded, embroidered toilet, studded with gilt nails and fringe, which he took with

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