Dancing plague of 1518
Dancing Plague of 1518
The Dancing Plague of 1518 (pronunciation: /ˈdænsɪŋ pleɪg ɒv ˈfɪftiːnˈeɪtiːn/) was a case of dancing mania that occurred in Strasbourg, Alsace (now modern day France) in July 1518. Around 400 people took to dancing for days without rest, and over the period of about one month, some of those affected died of heart attack, stroke, or exhaustion.
Etymology
The term "Dancing Plague" is derived from the English words "dancing" (from the Old English dansian) and "plague" (from the Latin plaga meaning "stroke" or "wound"). The year 1518 is added to specify the particular event in question, as there have been several recorded instances of dancing mania in history.
Symptoms and Course
The outbreak began in July 1518, when a woman, Frau Troffea, began to dance fervently in a street in Strasbourg. This lasted somewhere between four to six days. Within a week, 34 others had joined, and within a month, there were around 400 dancers. Some of these people eventually died from heart attacks, strokes, or exhaustion.
Related Terms
- Dancing mania: A social phenomenon that occurred primarily in mainland Europe between the 14th and 17th centuries. It involved groups of people dancing erratically, sometimes thousands at a time.
- Mass psychogenic illness: The rapid spread of illness signs and symptoms affecting members of a cohesive group, originating from a nervous system disturbance.
- Ergotism: The effect of long-term ingestion of ergot-contaminated grains such as rye, wheat, and barley. It is one of the proposed explanations for the dancing plague.
See Also
External links
- Medical encyclopedia article on Dancing plague of 1518
- Wikipedia's article - Dancing plague of 1518
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