The Dancing Plague

One day in May during 1518, a woman by the name of Frau Toffea, was walking down a Strasbourg street, when her body began to twist and shake uncontrollably. This solo ‘dancing-mania’ lasted for a week, but by then around 36 other people had caught the epidemic. It is uncertain whether she had encountered the other people that began twisting and shaking with her, or whether they had developed it from afar. This dancing plague continues to puzzle historians, and is likely to remain one of history’s greatest mysteries. Why did Frau Toffea began dancing in the first place, and how had the plague spread? Unlike the Black Plague and others, this was not a disease that sent its victims to their beds to die; these people twisted until they dropped dead. Within a month, the plague had claimed 400 victims.

The Strasbourg authorities faced a city full of violently twisting people, who were unable to control their own movements. Victims were entwined, as if properly dancing, however the angles of their bodies were unnatural. So, seeking a solution, authorities erected a stage and employed a band to play for the dancers, making the event seem a little less strange. However, the music and dance in the centre of Strasbourg did not last long. It was rumoured that, having not been killed already by dehydration, Frau Toffea was dead by the sixth day, however her body continued to dance. If exhaustion and fatigue did not knock the life out of victims, heart attacks did.

Theories arose about what had caused the epidemic, including superstition, a toxic mould, and cults. Some people believed that a Catholic saint had cursed the townspeople with the dancing virus, and others believed that the dancers were part of a cult. Some contemporary physicians believed that the plague was caused by a toxic mould, that spread within the victims’ bodies and caused them to hallucinate and move in such a way. Not only in France had a strange outbreak like this occurred; many other 'dancing plagues' broke out across the globe, including in Madagascar. Historian John Waller has written a book on the subject, and has concluded that the epidemic was brought on by stress-induced illness; a result of years living in famine. The region was riddled with diseases during this time, and its inhabitants were starving. This, however, does not explain where the victims got the energy to dance for so long. The cause of the dancing plague will always be a baffling, eerie mystery to researchers and historians alike.

Sources:

http://www.history.com/news/ask-history/what-was-the-dancing-plague-of-1518

http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/258521

Pictures:

https://cogitz.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/dancing-death-400x540.jpg
http://cdn.history.com/sites/2/2015/08/ask-dancing-plague-Dance_at_Molenbeek-E.jpeg

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Shannen B.