The Dancing Plague of 1518 was an extraordinary event in which individuals in what is now France began dancing uncontrollably, leading some to their deaths.

In the summer of 1518, Strasbourg residents, then part of the Holy Roman Empire and now France, began dancing uncontrollably, leading to deaths.

The strange event began in July when Frau Troffer started dancing energetically without music, twisting and jumping.

At first, other residents enjoyed this public display, finding it a welcome break from the monotony of medieval life.

Despite the passage of six days, Frau Troffer continued to dance relentlessly. She neither slept nor ate, and no matter the weather or time of day, people constantly saw her twirling and jumping through the streets.

It took very little time for her dance routine to be join by around thirty people. By August, participation had surged to 400 individuals. Local doctors found the phenomenon baffling and attributed it to ‘hot blood.’ They recommended dancing through the fever as the best remedy.

The Strasbourg city council constructed a stage and arranged for professional dancers to showcase their talents. A live band was also brought in to deliver musical accompaniment. During the event, many attendees collapsed from sheer exhaustion.

At its peak, continuous dancing reportedly caused the deaths of up to 15 people daily from heart attacks and strokes.

In September, the most severely affected dancers were taken to a mountaintop shrine, ending the epidemic. With their departure, the remaining dancers ceased their frenzied movements.

16th-century sources extensively record the Strasbourg dancing plague of 1518, including medical journals, city council reports, and church sermons. Nonetheless, the exact cause behind the phenomenon of people dancing until they collapsed remains unclear.

Historian John Waller suggests that St. Vitus, a Catholic saint, might have influenced the historical episode of mass dancing.

 

The Dancing Plague of 1518 was an extraordinary event

 

In the 16th century, many Europeans believed the saint could cause a dancing plague among people. This period also saw widespread disease and famine sweeping through Strasbourg.

The St. Vitus superstition likely sparked a dancing mania, a type of mass psychogenic illness triggered by collective stress.

We took into account the ergot poisoning theory as another analytical model. Ergot, a harmful fungus that grows on wet rye, can cause cramps and psychotropic disturbances when ingested in bread. However, this does not explain why they needed such extreme endurance for continuous days of activity.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *