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The Dancing Plague of 1518

Hard to believe

The Dancing Plague of 1518

10 min

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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Show notes

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.

In this episode

  1. 1Intro1 min
  2. 2The First Step of Frau Troffea2 min
  3. 3The Fatal Prescription3 min
  4. 4The Ergotism and Cult Hypotheses2 min
  5. 5The Curse of Saint Vitus2 min
  6. 6Outro1 min

Sources

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The Dancing Plague of 1518 — Fylom