What was the Dancing Plague of 1518 in Strasbourg?

Fabulous Folklore with Icy

When it comes to plague outbreaks in Europe, your mind probably doesn't immediately jump to a so-called dancing plague. Yet that's precisely what seemed to grip Strasbourg, France in the summer of 1518. Townspeople started dancing, seemingly against their will, and couldn't stop for almost a month.

Hundreds died of exhaustion, with contemporary commentators blaming the wrath of St Vitus. More recently, people have suspected ergot poisoning, religious fervour, or mass psychogenic illness.

So what exactly happened, and how does it relate to folklore? Let's find out in this week's episode of Fabulous Folklore!

Find the images and references on the blog post: https://www.icysedgwick.com/dancing-plague/

Book tickets for my Midsummer talk: https://fareharbor.com/embeds/book/newcastlecastle/items/528797/calendar/2024/06/?full-items=yes

Get your free guide to home protection the folklore way here: https://www.icysedgwick.com/fab-folklore/

Become a member of the Fabulous Folklore Family for bonus episodes and articles at https://patreon.com/bePatron?u=2380595

Fabulous Folklore Bookshop: https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/fabulous_folklore

Enjoyed this episode and want to show your appreciation? Buy Icy a coffee to say 'thanks' at: https://ko-fi.com/icysedgwick

Pre-recorded illustrated talks: https://ko-fi.com/icysedgwick/shop

Request an episode: https://forms.gle/gqG7xQNLfbMg1mDv7

Get extra snippets of folklore on Instagram at https://instagram.com/icysedgwick

'Like' Fabulous Folklore on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fabulousfolklore/

Find Icy on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/icysedgwick.bsky.social

Tweet Icy at https://twitter.com/IcySedgwick