Dancing plague of 1518
The Dancing plague of 1518 was a case of dancing mania in Strasbourg, then a free city in the Holy Roman Empire and now in France, in which hundreds of people reportedly danced uncontrollably for days or weeks.
The Dancing plague of 1518 was a case of dancing mania in Strasbourg, then a free city in the Holy Roman Empire and now in France, in which hundreds of people reportedly danced uncontrollably for days or weeks. The outbreak lasted roughly two months in the summer of 1518 and ended as mysteriously as it began. Its cause remains uncertain, with mass psychogenic illness and ergot poisoning among the main theories.
Background
The dancing plague of 1518 was one of several reported outbreaks of dancing mania in Europe between the medieval and early modern periods. The Strasbourg case is the most famous because it was well documented by chroniclers and officials.
Course of the outbreak
The episode began in July 1518 and persisted into September. Reports describe individuals dancing in public for prolonged periods, and the number of participants appears to have grown during the outbreak.
Possible explanations
Historians and scientists have proposed several explanations, including mass psychogenic illness, ergot poisoning, and other stress-related or social factors. No theory has been universally accepted as definitive.
Historical significance
The event is often cited in studies of crowd psychology, mass psychogenic illness, and the history of medicine. It remains one of the most widely discussed examples of a collective behavioral episode in European history.
Key facts
- The event occurred in Strasbourg in 1518 and is the best-known example of historical dancing mania.
- Contemporary and later accounts describe people dancing involuntarily for days or weeks, often until collapse.
- Estimates of how many people were affected vary widely, from about 50 to 400.
- The number of deaths is disputed and not known with certainty.
- A leading explanation in modern scholarship is mass psychogenic illness, though other theories remain under discussion.
The event is mainly of historical and medical interest for Canadian readers, especially in discussions of mass psychogenic illness, crowd behaviour, and the history of epidemic-like events.
Frequently asked questions
What was the dancing plague of 1518?
Where did it happen?
How long did it last?
How many people were involved?
What caused it?
Did people die from it?
References
- Encyclopaedia Britannica — https://www.britannica.com/event/dancing-plague-of-1518Supports: Location, general description, duration, and overview of the outbreak.
- Wikipedia — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dancing_plague_of_1518Supports: Date range, participant estimates, alternative names, and proposed causes.
- National Geographic — https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/dancing-plague-of-1518-strasbourg-choreomaniaSupports: Description of choreomania, Strasbourg setting, and mass hysteria theory.
- British Psychological Society — https://www.bps.org.uk/psychologist/dancing-plagues-and-mass-hysteriaSupports: Mass psychogenic illness interpretation and reported scale of the Strasbourg outbreak.
- HistoryNet — https://www.historynet.com/the-dancing-plague-of-1518-historys-oddest-epidemic/Supports: Strasbourg setting, early timeline, and ergot-poisoning discussion.
- Public Domain Review — https://publicdomainreview.org/essay/the-dancing-plague-of-1518Supports: Status as the best documented and most fatal of related dancing outbreaks.
- The Guardian — https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2018/jul/05/bizarre-dance-epidemic-of-summer-1518-strasbourgSupports: Historical context and mass psychogenic illness interpretation.
- Big Think — https://bigthink.com/the-past/dancing-plague-middle-ages/Supports: Summary of the event, affected population, and competing explanations.