In the sweltering heat of summer, during July of 1518, the city of Strasbourg was consumed by a plague…just not necessarily the kind you may be thinking of. After a lady named Frau Troffea began to spontaneously dance in the streets, this compulsion to move soon spread throughout the city, and before long hundreds of residents had been swept up by this ‘dancing mania’. Though it sounds idyllic in theory, the reality was very different, and the Strasbourg ‘dancing plague’ soon turned deadly. But what caused this mass display to take hold in the first place? In today’s episode, Chyaz explores the theories that have been presented over the centuries, and offers up a perspective of her own too…

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Source Shout Outs

BBC Article:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/culture/article/20220512-the-people-who-danced-themselves-to-death

Smithsonian Magazine Article:

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/strange-case-dancing-mania-struck-germany-six-centuries-ago-today-180959549/

Academic Paper on The Dancing Plague:

https://www.euppublishing.com/doi/full/10.3366/drs.2017.0199#fn2

Public Domain Review Essay:

https://publicdomainreview.org/essay/the-dancing-plague-of-1518/

The Guardian Article:

https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2018/jul/05/bizarre-dance-epidemic-of-summer-1518-strasbourg

Brittanica Article:

https://www.britannica.com/event/dancing-plague-of-1518

British Psychological Society Article:

https://www.bps.org.uk/psychologist/dancing-plagues-and-mass-hysteria

Nottingham University Article:

https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/manuscriptsandspecialcollections/documents/exhibitions/plantsandprayers/5.-humoral-theory-the-basis-of-medical-thought-for-millenia.pdf

Healthline Website:

https://www.healthline.com/health/mental-health/mass-hysteria#definition

History Extra Article:

https://www.historyextra.com/period/medieval/the-medieval-dance-of-death/

NLS Article:

https://www.nls.uk/collections/stories/scottish-history/how-martin-luther-sparked-the-reformation/