The Dancing Plague of 1518: Dance Till You Die!

Right Answers Mostly

The hosts explore the Dancing Plague of 1518 in Strasbourg, detailing how extreme environmental stressors like famine, sweltering heat, and a syphilis outbreak created a volatile social environment. They trace the outbreak

Key takeaways

• Frau Troffea began dancing violently on July 14, 1518, without music or apparent cause, sparking a mania that grew to ~400 participants within weeks.
• Strasbourg's physicians diagnosed 'overheated blood' and prescribed more dancing with live musicians, which tragically accelerated the outbreak instead of curing it.

Main topics

• Dancing Plague of 1518
• Strasbourg & Holy Roman Empire history

Notable quotes

"Bad year."

Conclusion

The episode reveals how extreme societal stress, combined with cultural beliefs, can manifest

Transcript preview

Speaker 1 (0:26) Welcome back to Write Answers Mostly, a podcast on what you didn't learn in history class, but you really wanted to. I'm Claire Donald. And I'm Tess Palomo. And welcome to Spooky! It's so spooky. It's so spooky. October is truly one of the best months of the year. I think everyone agrees on that, too. I Speaker 2 (0:42) always look forward to it. I do, too. I do. The fall vibes. You know, you can, like, watch, like, really good movies. There's, like, a lot of stuff going on in the city. Speaker 1 (0:48) Yeah, the autumn leaves. I mean, we don't get that in L.A. It's probably, like, one of the hottest months in L.A., but, you know. Yeah, like, we might not ever see an autumn leaf again. But still I rise. But still I rise. But still I rise. So we are bringing you some spooky episodes this month. And this was actually a Ramy requested episode. Which we have just been loving the Ramy Speaker 2 (1:07) suggestions. We've been like kind of covering everything you guys want us to. Speaker 1 (1:10) Yes. Especially if you're on our premium channel. We write in a question box like every week being like what do you want us to cover next. And so if you want to join premium where you get three bonus episodes a month. The link is in the show notes. And either way follow us on Instagram at write answers mostly because you can DM us. DM us your suggestions there as well. Yeah, Speaker 2 (1:27) we like to talk to you guys. Speaker 1 (1:28) Yeah, but today we're going to go back in time. This is like quite historical, a little spooky. Tess, what do you know about the dancing plague of 1518? Ah, 1518. Speaker 2 (1:38) 1518. Speaker 1 (1:39) What Speaker 2 (1:39) a great year. No, what a terrible year. I mean, God, I would not survive in this time. No, absolutely not. Speaker 1 (1:45) Is this close to the plague? The plague was happening. So the plague's already happening. The plague is already Speaker 2 (1:52) happening. Uh-huh. We do have a Black Death episode, you guys, but I Speaker 1 (1:54) was so sick when I recorded it. I don't really remember much Speaker 2 (1:57) from it. Well, she's Speaker 1 (1:57) method. She's method. I do feel like that's a slept on episode. Speaker 2 (2:00) I couldn't even tell you, really, but you guys let me know what I said and what we talked Speaker 1 (2:05) about. Um, something like their dance until they died. Hocus Pocus, dance till you die. That has to be where they got this from because the dancing plague, like that curse, that's what we're going to be talking about today. And also somewhere else that we have seen a dancing curse, a dancing plague in history. is at Tess's wedding at her reception. I swear to God, there was a dancing curse because it was like six of us left on the dance floor at 2.30 in the morning and we could not be stopped. We could not stop. God, you're so right. I mean, we had a five-hour dance floor? It was, yeah, I mean, it went till 2.30, I think. Yeah, we were on a different planet. Yeah, that was something special. Yeah, it really was. I mean, Speaker 2 (2:44) we are dancing girlies. We love to dance. Speaker 1 (2:45) We do, we do. And so like, honestly, there could be worse things, but actually this sounds like pretty lame-as. Yeah, like, I don't know what happened to, was it the girlies? Speaker 2 (2:55) It Speaker 1 (2:55) wasn't just the girlies. Okay, well, that's good. Speaker 2 (2:56) I feel like all these stories are just, like, and then women died everywhere. Well, Speaker 1 (2:59) it did start by the girlies. And, like, apparently in history, like, dancing was associated as, like, with women and almost, like, sinful in a way. Totally. Yeah, like, of the devil. Yeah. Or, like, really religious, right? Like, what's the Amanda Seyfried movie where she's, like, Speaker 2 (3:14) bum. Speaker 1 (3:15) Oh, The Shakers. The Shakers. And something. And something. That. That was some crazy shit. I mean, the choreography was beautiful. I mean, it was truly like that movie was like a mix of Florence and the Machine and Ethel Kane. So I really liked it. Which, speaking of Florence and the Machine, her album, Dance Fever. is based off of the dancing plague, and there is a song called Choreomania. That is so cool. Which obviously is going to be the Carousel song. Oh my God. I love when it just like hits Speaker 2 (3:42) like perfectly, you know? It does. It Speaker 1 (3:43) really does. So Tess, should we get into what the hell this dancing plague was? What were they doing? The dancing plague of 1518 was a case of dancing mania that occurred in Strasbourg, which is modern day France, and the Holy Roman Empire, which we talked about the Holy Roman Empire in our Habsburg episode. We did. From July 1518 to September 1518, somewhere between 50 and 400 people started dancing for weeks. It's also not the only known incident of its kind. Similar manias took place years before, though few were as large or deadly as the one that occurred in 1518. So what happened? What could have led people to dance themselves to death? Speaker 2 (4:25) Oh, my God. Speaker 1 (4:26) Let's get into it. So we're going to go back to the 1500s like we did with the Habsburgs area as well to Strasbourg, which is modern day France. And Strasbourg, it was a prosperous trading hub on the Rhine River and part of the Holy Roman Empire. It was a sophisticated city. It had universities. There were medical schools. It was the thriving merchant class. Speaker 2 (4:47) Now Speaker 1 (4:48) in 1518. The weather's been tough. The weather's been tough in that year. The weather's been tough leading up to it. Like hot? The summer of 1518 was sweltering. It was one of the hottest summers on record. Feel that after getting over the LA heat wave. No kidding. So that's what they were dealing with as well. And the previous weather had been pretty brutal too, like freezing cold winters. And so that led to frozen fields. And so by the spring, all the crops were like dead. And that led the grain prices to triple. Okay. So it's a tough time. It's tough times. And the two years leading up to that too, it's just like extreme summer, extreme winter. Couldn't do it. No. Yeah. Without AC or without heat? No. Which is worse for you? Speaker 2 (5:32) Oh my God. Like probably, probably extreme heat. Also the panic that you get of like dehydration and faint. Yeah. Speaker 1 (5:38) Yeah. Yeah. I, yeah, I agree with you. We had to turn our AC off today because we're getting it fixed and it was tough getting ready. Are you okay? I'm Speaker 2 (5:46) okay Speaker 1 (5:46) now. Again, you are method. I am method. For this episode. So yeah, it's really tough conditions and people can't afford food. Like the economy is struggling so much so that it led to orphanages overflowing because, not because that people's parents were dying, because the parents were like, I can't afford to feed my kid. And so I have to give it up to an orphanage now. Oh, Speaker 2 (6:08) that's so sad. Speaker 1 (6:09) Really, really sad. The poor were starting to mix sawdust into their bread to try to make the flour, like, last longer. Oof. So one chronicler referred to 1518 in just two words. Bad year. Bad guy. Bad guy. Yeah, like I've Speaker 2 (6:27) always said, you can't pay me to go back to this time. It's stinky. Everyone's hungry. Speaker 1 (6:30) Yeah, well. Fucking hot. Starvation and the heat wasn't the only problem to us. A new disease had just hit Europe. Another bombshell has entered the villa. Syphilis. Oh, syphilis. Syphilis is making her way onto the scene. I don't know why I made syphilis a woman. She's making her way downtown. Walking fast, faces pass, and she is homebound. Speaker 2 (6:49) I feel like syphilis maybe would be a woman. You know what I mean? Like herpes would be a guy. For sure. Chlamydia? Maybe a woman too. Girly Speaker 1 (6:58) pop. Girly Speaker 2 (6:58) pop. Speaker 1 (6:59) Chlamydia is so girly pop. 100%. 100%. Get those STD checks. They're, you know, very helpful. Wrap it up. Wrap it up and get the check. Exactly. So unlike the plague, like we were talking about, the plague is working. The plague is already happening everywhere. Yes. The plague is already happening everywhere. And the plague could kill you very fast. Yeah. Like you just get hit with it and the next day it could be done. Yeah. Syphilis. could stay in your body and slowly and painfully kill you. So it produces painful sores and in some advanced cases, devastating damage to the brain, nerves, heart, and other organs. And they did not have penicillin back then, which, aren't Speaker 2 (7:37) you allergic? That's a great memory. Yeah, great memory, Claire. I am allergic, full body rash, let me tell you. It was very shocking. And it stayed for a week, I think. Oh, tough. Like full blister, Speaker 1 (7:47) like whole body covered in. Speaker 2 (7:50) What's the word? Speaker 1 (7:51) Sores? Speaker 2 (7:51) Sores, you could say, which is like the worst description of anything. Speaker 1 (7:54) Yeah. So syphilis is like really taking over right now. And the clergy declared it God's punishment for sin. Of course. Always. Always. And there was no cure. So people just die from syphilis. Thank God for antibiotics. God for antibiotic. And like, Speaker 2 (8:09) nevermind. I'm going to get into it. Just people being like, we don't want to like get vaccinated. We don't want, it's like, we are so lucky to have all these things that you're not dying after a week for syphilis. Okay. So just like take care of yourself. And we have Speaker 1 (8:22) been saying that. I am on the brim about it. I'm with you. I am with you. So yeah, syphilis, everyone's starving. And like, again, the weather patterns are so bad. They're so bad that it had people thinking that it was end times. Like there was hailstorms in August, floods, unusually cold temperatures, famine, outbreaks of the bubonic plague, syphilis, extreme heat, which I got to say like kind of comforts me in a way. That in 1518, people were like, oh, it's the end times. Oh, I see. And look how far we've made it. Like we always Speaker 2 (8:52) think it's the end times in a way. Speaker 1 (8:53) Yeah. And just like things are bad right Speaker 2 (8:56) now. You know what I mean? Speaker 1 (8:57) And sometimes it has you thinking. Speaker 2 (8:59) Right. Speaker 1 (8:59) Of just like, you know, Speaker 2 (8:59) comparing to times where things were really bad. Speaker 1 (9:01) Yeah. And they also thought it was end times. And we've got lots of years or they have lots of years. That's Speaker 2 (9:06) a Speaker 1 (9:06) good Speaker 2 (9:06) point. Speaker 1 (9:07) There's also like a terrible political situation. So the Holy Roman Empire was fracturing. Just one year earlier, Martin Luther had nailed his thesis to a church door, sparking the Protestant Reformation, which is how we have like the Lutheran Church. Speaker 2 (9:20) and Speaker 1 (9:20) Protestants. And so people are starting to split off from the Catholic church. And if you remember from our Habsburg episode, we talked about Bloody Mary again, because she got her name from burning so many Protestants at the stake for heresy. Damn. Speaker 2 (9:35) Lutherans always remind me of Catch Me If You Can. Why? You know, the family, Amy Adams family that he like fake marries into, they're like, we're Lutheran. Are you? And he's Speaker 1 (9:43) like, mm-hmm. Speaker 2 (9:44) And Speaker 1 (9:44) I was like, what's Lutheran? It's just another form of Christianity. You know, it's all kind of the same. And I know that you guys are going to come for me and say that it's not, but like, isn't it? All the tings. All the Jesus tings. Okay. And then to add the cherry on top to all of this, like, depressing stuff, peasant revolts broke out across the region just because years and years of, like, the extreme weather and the bad harvest, it just caused a lot of starvation and poverty. And, like, the local government were so overwhelmed by it that they, like, cut off any help. that they could to the peasants. And so the peasants would have uprisings, but those were overrun by the government. And to make examples out of the peasants that were uprising, they would hang them on the main road. Speaker 1 (10:27) God. So this is where we're living right now, you guys. This is what Strasbourg is. But here's the thing. Before we get into the dancing fever, Strasbourg wasn't the only town that like could not help but boogie. The city sat at the center of what medieval people called the St. Vitus Corridor. It's a stretch along the Rhine and Moselle rivers where for centuries. Outbreaks of dancing mania had occurred, the last one happening in 1374, where thousands of people across the region had danced uncontrollably for weeks. I mean, like, you're probably just so pent up with a lot Speaker 2 (11:02) of different feelings that you just got to let it out somehow. Shake it out, shake it out. Shake it Speaker 1 (11:06) out. So the people of Strasbourg heard these stories that this saint, Saint Vitus, could curse you to dance until you died if you sinned. Again, it's very hocus pocus. So Saint Vitus is the patron saint of dancers, actors, comedians, and entertainers, as well as those suffering from epilepsy and neurological movement disorders. Find you a girl who can do it all. Truly. So the patron saint of theater kids, really. Oh, my God. It all goes back to theater kids. I feel like if you find yourself at a really bad improv show or if you find yourself at like a misogynistic stand-up show, it's like St. Vitus has cursed you. Think of her. Think of her. Wow. Damn. We have been to many of those. 100%. We've angered St. Vitus. Yes, we have. You've been in this town long enough. You have found yourself there. No kidding. So now. Let's go to July 14th, 1518. Speaker 2 (11:59) There's Speaker 1 (11:59) this woman named Frau Trofea. She was a housewife. Her husband sold goods in the market square. And one morning, she steps out of her house onto the cobblestone streets, and she began dancing. She's like, I Speaker 2 (12:12) feel the heartbeat to the beat of the drum. Speaker 1 (12:16) Truly, she started grinding. Well, Tess. Grinding against a wall, perhaps? Well, that's the way you learn. Right. Of course. You have to do it against a wall. We talked about that with Jay Shane. We did. So go back and listen to our