They Danced Until They Died
On a warm, sunny morning in July of 1518, a middle-aged housewife named Frau Troffeau stepped out into the streets of the city of Strasbourg, France and began to dance deliriously. No music played and her face portrayed no expression of joy. She appeared to be unable to stop herself from her frenzy.
Before anybody could blame the Frau’s behavior on drugs or madness or demonic possession, a neighbor joined in; and then another. By the end of a week more than 30 people were dancing night and day in the streets of the city; after a month, upwards of 400 dancing, hopping and leaping Strasbourgians were swept up in the bizarre phenomenon.
Gendarmes and doctors arrived on the scene and, inexplicably, they prescribed “more dancing” to cure the bedeviled dancers. They erected a wooden stage for the dancers and musicians were called in. By the end of the summer, dozens had died of heart attacks, strokes and sheer exhaustion due to non-stop dancing.
For centuries scientists have unsuccessfully attempted to explain this weird incident which came to be known as “the dancing plague of 1518.” The theories include mass hysteria an affliction in which numerous people believe themselves to be stricken by a common malady. Mass hysteria often occurs during times of extreme stress within the community. The Strasbourg incident occurred during a period of rampant famine and malnutrition.
A second theory suggests a condition called Ergotism which occurs when grains of rye are attacked by a specific type of mold. Eating this mold can lead to seizures. The validity of this theory seems unlikely as the movements of the Strasbourg dancers looked more like traditional dancing than seizures.
Others theorize that the dancing was the result of a religious ecstasy caused by the veneration of Saint Vitus, the patron saint of epilepsy.
None of these theories completely explain the phenomenon. Gradually the afflicted dancers stopped and the dancing ended as mysteriously as it began, remaining only as a quirky footnote to history.
Before anybody could blame the Frau’s behavior on drugs or madness or demonic possession, a neighbor joined in; and then another. By the end of a week more than 30 people were dancing night and day in the streets of the city; after a month, upwards of 400 dancing, hopping and leaping Strasbourgians were swept up in the bizarre phenomenon.
Gendarmes and doctors arrived on the scene and, inexplicably, they prescribed “more dancing” to cure the bedeviled dancers. They erected a wooden stage for the dancers and musicians were called in. By the end of the summer, dozens had died of heart attacks, strokes and sheer exhaustion due to non-stop dancing.
For centuries scientists have unsuccessfully attempted to explain this weird incident which came to be known as “the dancing plague of 1518.” The theories include mass hysteria an affliction in which numerous people believe themselves to be stricken by a common malady. Mass hysteria often occurs during times of extreme stress within the community. The Strasbourg incident occurred during a period of rampant famine and malnutrition.
A second theory suggests a condition called Ergotism which occurs when grains of rye are attacked by a specific type of mold. Eating this mold can lead to seizures. The validity of this theory seems unlikely as the movements of the Strasbourg dancers looked more like traditional dancing than seizures.
Others theorize that the dancing was the result of a religious ecstasy caused by the veneration of Saint Vitus, the patron saint of epilepsy.
None of these theories completely explain the phenomenon. Gradually the afflicted dancers stopped and the dancing ended as mysteriously as it began, remaining only as a quirky footnote to history.
date
newest »
newest »
message 1:
by
Readinmama
(new)
Apr 23, 2012 01:52PM
Unbelievable!
reply
|
flag
Startling - & amazing. I'd never heard of anything like that before
