Dancing plague of 1518, event in which hundreds of citizens of Strasbourg (then a free city within the Holy Roman Empire, now in France) danced uncontrollably and apparently unwillingly for days on end; the mania lasted for about two months before ending as mysteriously as it began..
Besides, was there ever a dancing plague?
'Dancing Plague' of 1518, the bizarre dance that killed dozens. It happened. In 1518, People “danced themselves to death” for no obvious reason in Strasbourg, France. Many died from pure exhaustion.
Likewise, why did people dance themselves to death? It is not known why these people danced, some even to their deaths. As the dancing plague worsened, concerned nobles sought the advice of local physicians, who ruled out astrological and supernatural causes, instead, announcing that the plague was a "natural disease" caused by "hot blood".
Similarly, when did the dancing plague end?
Some even died from strokes and heart attacks. The strange episode didn't end until September, when the dancers were whisked away to a mountaintop shrine to pray for absolution. The Strasbourg dancing plague might sound like the stuff of legend, but it's well documented in 16th century historical records.
What started the dancing plague?
According to an account written in the 1530s by the irascible but brilliant physician Paracelsus, the “dancing plague of Strasbourg” began in mid-July 1518, when a lone woman stepped outside her house and jigged for several days on end. Within a week, dozens more had been seized by the same irresistible urge.
Related Question Answers
Can you dance too much?
But how much is too much and how do we know when a dancer has had enough? The risk of doing too much is a condition known as burnout. Burnout is a state of consistent or unexplained tiredness, poor performance in spite of normal training, negative mood state and increased incident of illness or injury.Is there a disease that makes you dance?
A disease of the nervous system, chorea is characterized by symptoms resembling those of dancing mania, which has also rather unconvincingly been considered a form of epilepsy. Scientists have described dancing mania as a "collective mental disorder," "collective hysterical disorder," and "mass madness."What is dancing fever?
The Dance Fever of 1518: France's Most Peculiar Period of History. The dancing plague of 1518 was a unique and strange epidemic of dancing mania that occurred in Medieval Strasbourg, the Alsatian region of France. The deadly trend first took off in July of 1518, lead by a woman referred to as Frau Troffea.When did the Black Death start?
The Black Death was a devastating global epidemic of bubonic plague that struck Europe and Asia in the mid-1300s. The plague arrived in Europe in October 1347, when 12 ships from the Black Sea docked at the Sicilian port of Messina.Is mass hysteria real?
Whether or not a perceived health threat is real, mass or epidemic hysteria -- alias mass sociogenic illness or mass psychogenic illness -- is a very real phenomenon that "may have profound public health, social, and economic repercussions," report health officials from the Tennessee Department of Health and the CDC inWhat was going on in 1518?
July–December July – Dancing plague of 1518: A case of dancing mania breaks out in Strasbourg, in which many people die from constant dancing. August – Construction of the Manchester Grammar School is completed in England. October 3 – The Treaty of London temporarily ensures peace in Western Europe.What are German dancers called?
The Schuhplattler is a traditional style of folk dance popular in the regions of Bavaria and Tyrol (southern Germany, Austria and the German-speaking regions of northern Italy).What is mass hysteria?
In sociology and psychology, mass hysteria (also known as mass psychogenic illness, collective hysteria, group hysteria, or collective obsessional behavior) is a phenomenon that transmits collective illusions of threats, whether real or imaginary, through a population in society as a result of rumors and fear (memoryWhat causes mass hysteria?
What Causes Mass Hysteria? In many cases, hysteria is triggered by an environmental incident — such as contamination of the water supply — that causes people to literally worry themselves sick over getting sick, even though they're otherwise perfectly healthy. 
