In the sweltering July of 1518, the city of Strasbourg, then nestled within the Holy Roman Empire, witnessed the bizarre and unsettling emergence of what would become known as The Dancing Plague. It began with a single figure, a woman named Frau Troffea, who inexplicably started to dance in the street. Her movements were not joyous or celebratory; instead, she twisted, twirled, and shook with a silent, feverish intensity.
Alt text: Illustration depicting Frau Troffea initiating the dancing plague in Strasbourg streets, 1518.
Frau Troffea’s solitary dance continued for nearly a week, an unnerving spectacle that drew attention and, strangely, imitation. Within days, dozens of other Strasbourg residents joined her, compelled by an unseen force to move their feet. By August, the dancing epidemic had engulfed the city, with estimates suggesting as many as 400 people were afflicted. Baffled and desperate for answers, local physicians, adhering to the medical understanding of the time, attributed the phenomenon to “hot blood.” Their prescription was as bewildering as the plague itself: to simply dance the fever away.
The city officials, perhaps in a misguided attempt to manage the uncontrollable outbreak, erected a stage and even hired musicians and professional dancers. The intention was to channel the frenzied energy, hoping that structured dancing would somehow alleviate the compulsion. However, this intervention tragically backfired. The relentless dancing, fueled by the music, pushed the afflicted to their physical limits. Exhaustion became rampant, and the consequences grew dire. Dancers collapsed in droves, and reports of deaths from strokes and heart attacks began to surface.
Alt text: Engraving showing Strasbourg residents engaged in compulsive dancing during the 1518 plague event.
The bizarre and deadly episode finally subsided in September when the remaining dancers were taken to a mountaintop shrine. There, they were instructed to pray for absolution, marking an end to the public spectacle, though the underlying cause remained shrouded in mystery.
While the Strasbourg dancing plague might seem like a fantastical tale, it is firmly rooted in 16th-century historical accounts. Furthermore, it wasn’t an isolated incident. History records similar outbreaks of dancing manias across Switzerland, Germany, and Holland. However, the Strasbourg event of 1518 stands out due to its scale and the reported fatalities.
Unraveling the Mystery: Possible Explanations
What could possibly drive people to dance to the point of death? Historian John Waller proposes a compelling theory centered around St. Vitus, a Catholic saint believed in 16th-century Europe to have the power to inflict a dancing curse. In 1518 Strasbourg, a city already grappling with the horrors of disease and famine, the pervasive superstition surrounding St. Vitus might have ignited a stress-induced mass hysteria. This theory suggests that the dancing plague was a psychogenic illness, a physical manifestation of intense psychological distress triggered by the prevailing beliefs and hardships of the time.
Other theories attempt to explain the dancing plague through different lenses. One suggests the dancers might have been part of a religious cult, engaging in ritualistic practices misinterpreted as a plague. Another, more physiological explanation points to ergot poisoning. Ergot is a toxic mold that can grow on rye, a staple grain in medieval diets, particularly in damp conditions. Ingesting ergot can lead to ergotism, a condition known to cause spasms, hallucinations, and convulsions – symptoms that could potentially manifest as uncontrollable dancing.
Despite these theories, the exact cause of the dancing plague of 1518 remains an enigma. It serves as a chilling reminder of the power of mass psychogenic illness, the influence of superstition, and the vulnerabilities of populations facing immense stress and hardship in history. The dancing plague continues to fascinate and perplex, a historical anomaly that blurs the lines between medical mystery and societal phenomenon.
