And dance. The dancing plague (or dance epidemic) of 1518 was a case of dancing mania that occurred in Strasbourg, Alsace (now modern-day France), in the Holy Roman Empire in July 1518. Every Thursday, Unexplained Mysteries investigates the greatest mysteries of history and life on earth, because the answer “we don’t know” is always the scariest. Historic Mysteries is an Amazon Associate and earns from qualifying purchases. “We don’t know.” answers too many questions. Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Music, radio and podcasts, all free. By the end of a week, more than 30 people were dancing night and day on the streets of the city. Escape will cancel and close the window. A well-known recent incident generally seen as an example of mass hysteria is 1962’s “The Tanganyika Laughter Epidemic” which affected only 1,000 people in Tanzania. A final school of thought states that the dancing was in result of some kind of religious ecstasy caused by veneration of Saint Vitus, the patron saint of epilepsy. Historic Mysteries provides captivating articles on archaeology, history, and unexplained mysteries. A 1642 Engraving by Hendrik Hondius portrays three women affected by the dancing plague. Had this remained an isolated incident, the city elders may have put it down to madness or demonic possession. CommonLit is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. © 2009-2020 Historic Mysteries. Modern researchers pore over those notes to develop theories as to what caused this bizarre incident. There was no music and her face betrayed no expression of joy. The Dancing Plague of 1518 was a strange case of mass hysteria in Strasbourg, a village in present-day France. From July to September 1518, the citizens of Strasbourg took to the streets to dance. Click here for instructions on how to enable JavaScript in your web browser. Listen online or download the iHeartRadio App. Beginning of dialog window. Somewhere between 50 and 400 people took to dancing for days. Had this remained an isolated incident, the city elders may have put it down to madness or demonic possession. In his free time he enjoys reading. Oldest Tree in the World Hidden in California’s White Mountains, Papin Sisters: Shocking Housemaids’ Crime That Shook France. Events. And it didn’t stop there. Every Thursday, Unexplained Mysteries investigates the greatest mysteries of history and life on earth, because the answer “we don’t know” is always the scariest. The unexplainable urge to dance lasted for over a month. In July of 1518, in full view of her neighbors, Frau Troffea began to violently dance in the streets of the city of Strasbourg, France. A Net Inceptions project. It’s also not the only known incident of its kind. Dancing Plague Spreads. She appeared unable to stop herself from her frenzy. Interesting history topics are just a click away. It happened. And why did it suddenly stop? The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian, The Circuit: Stories from the Life of a Migrant Child, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Promises to Keep: How Jackie Robinson Changed America, British Literature: The English Renaissance, British Literature: The Extended 18th Century. Medical and civic authorities were called in once some of the dancers began dying from heart attacks, exhaustion, or strokes. Dancing plague of 1518, event in which hundreds of citizens of Strasbourg (then a free city within the Holy Roman Empire, now in France) danced uncontrollably and apparently unwillingly for days on end; the mania lasted for about two months before ending as mysteriously as it began.. Madonna with Saint Giovannino: Painting with a UFO? He has published five books on the topic of historic true crime. Accept Read More, Bizarre Cases of Mass Hysteria in History, Plague Doctor: Origin of the Venice Carnival Mask. Provide the month, name of primary figure and escalation of this historic event. And then another. And dance. Provide insight to they why this phenomenon occurred. The Strasbourg incident occurred during a time of rampant famine and malnutrition and subsequent deaths. many people attributed the disease to being caused by the curse of St.Vitus (he had danced when non-catholic emperors tried to boil him in a giant pot, and was prayed to for the healing of epileptic people), one of the 14 holy helpers, other cases of the dancing plague had occured before his feast day so idea shifted that it was from him and not saint John The condition called Ergotism occurs when grains of rye are attacked by a specific mold. But soon after Troffea began her dancing, a neighbor joined in. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. According to an account written in the 1530s by the irascible but brilliant physician Paracelsus, the “dancing plague of Strasbourg” began in mid-July 1518, when a … The Dancing Plague of 1518 had started. This all sounds like some archaic bit of folklore. Related: Plague Doctor: Origin of the Venice Carnival Mask. Unexplained Mysteries is part of the Parcast Network and is a Cutler Media production. Bit by bit the dancers stopped, and the dancing would end as mysteriously as it began. If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks then look no further. This form does not collect any actual information. But soon after Troffea began her dancing, a neighbor joined in. The outbreak began in July 1518 when a woman began to dance fervently in a street in Strasbourg. For some inexplicable reason, these men believed that the cure for the dancing was more dancing. It begins with a heading 3 called "Create Account". It has two buttons, one for educators that takes you to the educator sign up page and one for students that takes you to another modal which allows you to enter your class code for your enrolled class. But 400 people? By Paul Wallis Aug 13, 2008 in Health. However, the dancing plague of 1518 is clearly chronicled in medical, civic, and religious notes of the time. But what caused this strange plague? Doug MacGowan lives on the San Francisco peninsula with his wife, a dog, and far too many cats. For no apparent reason, she just started to dance. The Strasbourg dancing plague might sound like the stuff of legend, but it’s well documented in 16th century historical records. Hundreds of people in this tiny region were overcome by a sudden urge to dance—to the brink of extreme exhaustion and sometimes death. For full functionality of this site it is necessary to enable JavaScript. The Dancing Plague of 1518 had started. A 1642 Engraving by Hendrik Hondius portrays three women affected by the dancing plague. -what is the Dancing Plague of 1518? None of the theories completely explain the 1518 dancing. Related: Sweating Sickness of Tudor, England. 'Dancing Plague' of 1518, the bizarre dance that killed dozens. Josh and Chuck have you covered. But in this podcast, we don’t take “we don’t know” for an answer. But in this podcast, we don’t take “we don’t know” for an answer. One of those theories postulates that the dancers were the victims of mass hysteria. These are instances when more than one person believes they are afflicted by an identical malady — often during times of extreme stress within the affected community. A strange phenomenon took over and led people to dance to their deaths. Eating the infected rye can lead to seizures, although the movements of Strasbourg’s afflicted looked much more like traditional dancing than seizures of any sort. So they erected a wooden stage for the dancers and musicians were called in. Listen | Print. A second theory is in the realm of agriculture.