The dancing plague of 1518 From July to September 1518, people in Strasbourg danced and could not stop. Somewhere between 50 and 400 people are said to have danced for weeks. The picture was drawn much later.
1 Sources 8 Connections Strasbourg Then a city of the Holy Roman Empire, now in France. The dancing broke out in its streets.
1 Sources 1 Connections Frau Troffea The woman usually named as the first dancer. Four of six chronicle accounts name her first; others speak of an unnamed woman. She kept dancing for a week, and soon more than thirty others had joined in.
1 Sources 1 Connections Strasbourg city council It first handed the matter to the physicians. When things got worse it banned public dancing, and then music.
1 Sources 2 Connections Strasbourg physicians They prescribed that the afflicted "dance themselves free of it". Guild halls were reportedly made ready and musicians hired, and the cure backfired.
1 Sources 2 Connections The shrine of Saint Vitus Dancers were ordered to go there. Saint Vitus was believed to punish sinners by making them dance uncontrollably, and the ritual involved red shoes sprinkled with holy water.
1 Sources 1 Connections The mountaintop chapel In September the remaining dancers were led to a mountaintop chapel to pray for absolution, and the plague ceased.
1 Sources 1 Connections Ergot poisoning The idea that people were poisoned by ergot fungus on grains such as rye. Critics argue that people poisoned by ergot could not have danced for days.
1 Sources 1 Connections Mass hysteria The explanation that it was stress-induced mass hysteria. It is the most popular of the explanations.
1 Sources 1 Connections started broke out in handed the matter to prescribed more dancing for banned public dancing during sent dancers to ended at is proposed as the cause of is the most popular explanation of Control map, One finger scrolls the page. Two fingers move or zoom the map.
Select a card or connection to inspect it. − 100% + Fit board
Connected clues12 Source index1 Open questions3
Follow recorded connections through a shared clue. This does not establish a direct relationship between the endpoints.
Item The dancing plague of 1518 From July to September 1518, people in Strasbourg danced and could not stop. Somewhere between 50 and 400 people are said to have danced for weeks. The picture was drawn much later. User contribution ↑ started In July 1518 she began dancing uncontrollably in the street. Sources 1 Person Frau Troffea The woman usually named as the first dancer. Four of six chronicle accounts name her first; others speak of an unnamed woman. She kept dancing for a week, and soon more than thirty others had joined in. User contribution ↓ broke out in It happened in the streets of Strasbourg. Sources 1 Place Strasbourg Then a city of the Holy Roman Empire, now in France. The dancing broke out in its streets. User contribution Organization Strasbourg city council It first handed the matter to the physicians. When things got worse it banned public dancing, and then music. User contribution ↓ handed the matter to The council first gave authority to the physicians. Sources 1 Organization Strasbourg physicians They prescribed that the afflicted "dance themselves free of it". Guild halls were reportedly made ready and musicians hired, and the cure backfired. User contribution ↓ banned public dancing during It banned public dancing, and then music. Sources 1 Item The dancing plague of 1518 From July to September 1518, people in Strasbourg danced and could not stop. Somewhere between 50 and 400 people are said to have danced for weeks. The picture was drawn much later. User contribution Organization Strasbourg physicians They prescribed that the afflicted "dance themselves free of it". Guild halls were reportedly made ready and musicians hired, and the cure backfired. User contribution ↑ handed the matter to The council first gave authority to the physicians. Sources 1 Organization Strasbourg city council It first handed the matter to the physicians. When things got worse it banned public dancing, and then music. User contribution ↓ prescribed more dancing for Telling people to dance it off backfired. Sources 1 Item The dancing plague of 1518 From July to September 1518, people in Strasbourg danced and could not stop. Somewhere between 50 and 400 people are said to have danced for weeks. The picture was drawn much later. User contribution Item The dancing plague of 1518 From July to September 1518, people in Strasbourg danced and could not stop. Somewhere between 50 and 400 people are said to have danced for weeks. The picture was drawn much later. User contribution ↑ started In July 1518 she began dancing uncontrollably in the street. Sources 1 Person Frau Troffea The woman usually named as the first dancer. Four of six chronicle accounts name her first; others speak of an unnamed woman. She kept dancing for a week, and soon more than thirty others had joined in. User contribution ↑ prescribed more dancing for Telling people to dance it off backfired. Sources 1 Organization Strasbourg physicians They prescribed that the afflicted "dance themselves free of it". Guild halls were reportedly made ready and musicians hired, and the cure backfired. User contribution More shared clues (8) AI research is a draft. Read the sources and check the context.