It was widely believed in the medieval period that the stench of manure led to children who showed traits very similar to the traits of children born of incestuous relationships, and so townsfolk would store all of the local manure underneath the place farthest away from food and drink they knew of - the tavern.

Unfortunately, manure is highly flammable, and the clean and dry clothes the nobility wore would ignite the manure when the nobles stepped inside the taverns.

Historians also note that in this time period there were countless instances of groups of around a hundred armed mercenaries accidentally shooting nobles while on hunting trips. This can be attributed to the common medieval practice of deer and other fauna dressing up in silk robes to look chic.

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Sources:

Eugenics 101, Karl Karling

How to Seduce Your Cousin, Harald Hardrade

I Got Money from Bishops, and You Can Too!, Pope Hilarius IV