The Dancing Plague of 1518
In Strasbourg, dozens and then hundreds of people were seized by an unstoppable compulsion to dance for weeks — documented in city records and physician reports — with contemporary chronicles claiming some danced until they collapsed. What caused it is still argued today.
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Frau Troffea danced involuntarily for six days straight before thirty-four others joined her within a week.
Strasbourg physicians incorrectly diagnosed the dancing as overheated blood and prescribed more dancing as a cure.
City authorities hired musicians and built wooden platforms that inadvertently turned the crisis into a synchronized marathon.
Ergotism is unlikely because the fungus causes violent spasms rather than the fluid movements observed in Strasbourg.
Mass psychogenic illness was likely triggered by extreme famine and a cultural belief in Saint Vitus's curse.
The epidemic only ended after the afflicted performed spiritual rituals and received blessed red shoes at Saverne.
- 01Intro1 min
- 02The First Step of Frau Troffea2 min
- 03The Fatal Prescription3 min
- 04The Ergotism and Cult Hypotheses2 min
- 05The Curse of Saint Vitus2 min
- 06Outro1 min
- Dancing plague of 1518 | Facts & Theories
- What Was the Dancing Plague of 1518? | HISTORY
- A Woman Began to Dance Against Her Will. Other People Followed, and It Turned Deadly.
- doi:10.1016/j.endeavour.2008.05.001
- The Dancing Plague of 1518 - Time & Tales Podcast - Apple Podcasts
- The Dancing Plague Reconsidered v2
- Keep on moving: the bizarre dance epidemic of summer 1518 | Dance | The Guardian
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- The Dancing Plague of 1518: Strasbourg’s Mass Hysteria | Podcast Episode on RSS.com
- What caused Strasbourg’s dancing plague of 1518? | National Geographic
- Dancing plague of 1518 | Facts & Theories | Britannica
- The people who 'danced themselves to death'
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