It all began in the Holy Roman Empire city known as Strasbourg when thousands of people in the town started dancing hysterically for many days. It was like a big mania that lasted about one and a half months before it was ended abruptly, just like it began.
It was July 1518- when a woman named Frau (Mrs.) Troffea (or Trauffea) came out of her house and started dancing in the street as if she was possessed. People gathered around.
It was evident that she was doing her constant dance under the influence of alcohol or suffering from some mental illness. She kept dancing until she fell to the ground, exhausted, to everyone's surprise.
After a while, she started dancing again when she came to her senses. Her unexplained dancing activity lasted for days. Thirty other similar cases appeared in the city in one week. When dancing went beyond the self-injuries, city authorities of Strasbourg came forward.
The city authorities and the clergy decided the cure for the problem was more dancing! and such people suffering from this mania should be encouraged to dance more. More dancing ideas were met with a ridiculous dancing program.
A mass dancing program was organized in Guildhalls in collaboration with musicians and professional dancers. They all gathered in the hall and began dancing to the music.
As a result, around 400 people died. Many people died due to excess dancing. However, in early September, cases began to decline automatically. This event of 1518 was well documented in history by contemporary writers.
Out of the seven such historical events recorded in Europe between the 10th and 16th centuries, the dancing plague of 1518 was the last. Another famous event is known as the dancing plague of 1374.
Reasons behind the dancing plague of 1518
Early historians attributed the incident to demonic possession, excessive heat of blood, etc. Twentieth-century writers attribute this phenomenon to Ergot, a fungal disease caused by eating contaminated bread made from rye flour.
Many people joined them, resulting in mass hysteria. An American named John Weller gives the most accepted theory. According to him, this phenomenon is related to the disease of psychological disorder.
Psychological disorders are usually caused by excessive stress, anxiety, and fear. In the Middle Ages, diseases like famines, smallpox, syphilis had severe effects.
Moreover, there was no cure for these diseases, so people experimented with various superstitions. These diseases were at their peak in the year 1518, which is why people developed Psychological Disorders.
But how does the disease suddenly disappear? Well, we don't know it yet. Despite many theories about the dancing plague of 1518, it still retains its mysterious place in European history.