In the sweltering summer of 1518, the city of Strasbourg, nestled within the Holy Roman Empire, became the stage for one of history’s most bizarre and unsettling epidemics: the Dancing Plague Of 1518. It began with a solitary figure, a woman named Frau Troffea, who, without music or apparent cause, began to dance in the street. Her initial, silent movements would soon cascade into a city-wide phenomenon of uncontrollable dancing, the dancing plague of 1518, leaving historians and medical professionals baffled for centuries.
The Onset of the Dancing Mania in Strasbourg
Frau Troffea’s bewildering dance lasted for nearly a week, an inexplicable solo performance in the heart of Strasbourg. Before long, her strange display began to draw participants. Dozens of Strasbourg residents joined her, their feet moving to an unheard rhythm. By August, the number of those afflicted by this dancing epidemic had swelled to an estimated 400. Local doctors, perplexed and without a clear diagnosis, attributed the mania to “hot blood,” ironically suggesting more dancing as the cure, urging the afflicted to simply dance the fever out of their systems.
Desperate Measures and Dire Consequences
In a misguided attempt to manage the spiraling situation, Strasbourg authorities took drastic measures. A stage was erected, and professional dancers and musicians were brought in, seemingly to encourage and regulate the relentless dancing. However, this intervention proved catastrophic. The continuous, frenzied dancing began to take a severe toll on the afflicted. Exhaustion claimed many, causing collapses in the streets, and tragically, some dancers succumbed to strokes and heart attacks. The deadly dancing plague continued its relentless course until September when the remaining dancers were taken to a mountaintop shrine, seeking divine intervention and absolution to end their compulsive movements.
Historical Accounts and Lingering Mysteries
The Strasbourg dancing plague is not a mere folktale; it is meticulously documented in 16th-century historical records, solidifying its place as a genuine, albeit baffling, historical event. While Strasbourg endured the most infamous outbreak, similar, albeit smaller, incidents of dancing manias occurred across Switzerland, Germany, and Holland. These events, particularly the scale and lethality of the 1518 Strasbourg episode, prompt a crucial question: what drove people to literally dance themselves to death?
Theories Attempting to Explain the Unexplained
Historian John Waller proposes a compelling theory rooted in the beliefs of the time. He suggests the superstition surrounding St. Vitus, a Catholic saint believed to inflict a dancing curse, played a pivotal role. Coupled with the pervasive hardships of disease and famine ravaging Strasbourg in 1518, the St. Vitus superstition could have ignited a mass psychogenic illness, or stress-induced hysteria, gripping a vulnerable populace.
Alternative theories attempt to explain the dancing plague of 1518 through different lenses. Some propose the dancers were part of a religious cult, engaging in ritualistic practices. Another prominent theory points to ergot poisoning. Ergot, a toxic mold found on damp rye, is known to cause spasms and hallucinations if ingested. While each theory offers a potential explanation, the precise cause of the dancing plague of 1518 remains one of history’s most enduring and unsettling mysteries, a chilling testament to the power of collective hysteria, belief, and the fragility of the human condition in the face of the unexplained.
