The Dancing Mania of the Middle Ages

by Justus Friedrich Karl Hecker

The Dancing Mania or Dancing Plague remains an unresolved mystery. First seen in the 13th century, it continued to appear sporadically over the following three centuries. What compelled groups of people in Germany, Holland, Italy and other countries to engage in mass, frenzied dancing is still not known. Various causes have been suggested, including demonic possession, the bite of a tarantula, epilepsy, ergot poisoning and social adversity - the real cause may be a combination or none of these.

Genres: Nonfiction

60 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1832

About the author

Justus Friedrich Karl Hecker was a German physician and medical writer.

Reviews

[Timothy Ferguson]

This is a 19th Century attempt to discern if the dancing manias seen through history were a physical illness, or a sort of contagious madness. Hecker’s view turns out to be surprisingly modern. He’s one of the first people I’ve seen who suggests that environmental factors can make people susceptible to mirroring the unusual behaviours of others. In societies which are not economically or culturally diverse, the similarity in the lives people lead can make them susceptible to manias which relive social pressures. The Librivox reading is by Martin Geeson, a Welsh (I believe) reader, who does an excellent job.
Originally reviewed on book coasters

[Victor Vargas]

A good recollection of different dancing mania epidemics that appeared in different countries. The author looks at them from a scientific point of view. It needs to be noted that it is a scientific point of view of the XIX century which might seem pretty dated by today's standards.

In short an amazing and creepy book, a must for people obsessed by crazy and scary stuff.