What do you think caused the dancing plague? Let me know below and don't forget to SUBSCRIBE with NOTIFICATIONS switched on and check out my PATREON site for extra perks at www.patreon.com/historycalling
My first thought was psilocybin mushroom stew but that is not a stimulant. However given the superstion of the time group pressure might get anyone to join in. I cheated and did a quick search. Seems it might have been rye bread fungus that caused convulsions. Not wanting to be a witch I'd dance. 😃 (Off topic on insane group activity) I'd tell you my Jonestown joke but the punch line is too long.
Yes, some people might have had an odd reaction to something they ate (or perhaps it was those pesky spiders after all!), but I think there would need to be an additional factor, like the peer pressure you mention, to get so many people involved, given that not everyone would react to something like the fungus you cite in the same way. A very strange incident in history, that's for sure :-)
Ergot poisoning from the growth on rye is a possible cause. The description of the symptoms of convulsive ergotism, on a University of Hawaii botany web site: ‘Convulsive ergotism is characterised by nervous dysfunction, where the victim is twisting and contorting their body in trembling and shaking and wryneck, more or less fixed twisting of the neck which seem to simulate convulsions or fits. In some cases this is accompanied by muscle spasms, confusions, delusions and hallucinations’. Albert Hofmann was able to synthesise LSD from a substance derived from ergot I believe.
I reckon they got parasites, from eating under-cooked river fish, and the parasites settled in a part of the brain related to motor movement. I've watched too many episodes of House. Whatever it was - I feel like riparian proximity and parasitical ingestion were at the core of the phenomenon.
Yes, I think mass hysteria too. I'm glad you enjoyed it. It's always a bit of a risk doing a non-Tudor video as not everyone is open to hearing about something different.
@@HistoryCalling Hysteria tends to be grounded in ill-reasoned worry or fear. It's possible that a single mentally unstable girl began dancing, and others joined her somewhat jokingly, and they simply enjoyed themselves so much it turned into a medieval rave. Presently, people do dance to death, though generally helped by stimulants...there may have been a few flagons of mead being passed around to keep the townsfolk hydrated. As well, don't discount the possibility of regional superstitions long since forgotten, as such things were common then. There may have been a local belief that dancing could stave off disease, or demons, or something of that nature. Regardless, I've long been fascinated by it, and I'm glad you've brought it to the fore.
@@HistoryCalling Very much here for the non-Tudor stuff! Tudor is good too, but it's far from my only interest- I love this vid cos I love all the weird, gory stuff like plagues & witch trials :D
I believe there is something akin to LSD in the mould that grows on damp rye grains. The whole village ate the rye bread and were “ tripping” together.
It's odd that only some were affected though and that those who were affected reacted in such a similar manner. It happened multiple times too remember and in different areas and eras. It's certainly a very strange tale (or collection of tales). It was very interesting to research though. Many thanks for watching and commenting.
@@HistoryCalling yes I remember watching something as a kid that had a similar theory for some women who were thought to be witches, or maybe it was they were possessed. I can't quite remember since I was a kid but I remember the bad rye mould having drug like affects
@@ariannavillambrosa89 I don't how I've never heard about this before, I mean a dancing plague is kinda like the coolest thing ever (I mean... aside from all the people who died of course). Glad the queen Florence brought this to my attention!
Mass hysteria combined with fervent religion is absolutely the cause, because I have SEEN IT MYSELF. I was invited to a ‘church service’ by an army acquaintance who had latched on to me out of an intense belief that a decision I had made with my platoon in Iraq had saved his life. This belief was so powerful because his life had been saved, and he absolutely believed that my decisions must therefore had been guided by god…through persistence I agreed to attend a service after returning home, even though I didn’t think his fervent belief was healthy at all. To me, it seems quite unhealthy, even pathological, especially since the decision I made led to another platoon being at that same spot that was attacked, leading to two deaths of good people equally deserving of life. It seemed to me even then that his fervent beliefs could marry themselves to a physical manifestation quite easily, and I am pretty sure some small scale idiosyncrasies he had were physical symptoms of this and NOT of any other genuine explanation. I could not have been more correct. I found myself in a rather terrifying ‘Pentecostal’ service. People were screaming and gyrating, calling out and raising their arms during the service while a pastor whipped them up into a frenzy. But it didn’t end there; out of nowhere, people started ‘speaking in tongues’….which is to say, they started speaking ‘heavenly languages as commanded by god’. These could be languages of people long dead, or languages spoken in Heaven, but in reality, to a SANE person, it was absolutely clear that the languages were childish gibberish. It got worse. People whipped themselves up into a state where they began to ‘dance’…and there wasn’t any music. If there was at certain times, it was one piano and the dancers did NOT dance in tune with the music. Typically, these ‘tongue speakers’ and dancers began in singles and spread to the people around them first. Now, I consider myself fairly sane…what I saw that day was insanity. This insanity typically spread out in waves and did not begin and die out in unrelated areas; meaning, there was always proximity to another group of gyraters. And then it was…over. Why the difference? Well, because they BELIEVED it would be over quite quickly. They had been raised to think so. The people affected in this video were raised differently, but it was still the same mechanism. If anyone responds to this and defends what I saw, then they clearly have seen it themselves and certainly are a Pentecostal or related denomination themselves, and their opinions should be taken with a grain of salt. They have an agenda for distancing themselves from the medieval form of the same thing. They didn’t have Pentecostals back then, instead, this is how it began. People absolutely can become enmeshed in Mass Hysteria as long as their belief system is fervent enough, and DESPERATE enough. How that manifested is different between the ages, but I believe them to be the exact same thing. Whether desperation of the self (now) vs desperation of the town and times (then), it came from the same (pathological) place in our minds.
That sounds like quite something. I've heard of Church services like the one you describe, but I haven't attended one myself. I think if that's their religion though and no one is hurt by it, then that's up to them. It would probably be more jarring to people such as you and myself as we wouldn't be used to it. It's interesting however that as you say, this form of religious worship didn't exist yet in the medieval or early modern periods, so I'll always be curious how it got started. In Strasbourg for instance, it seems to have been just one woman, then spread from there. Very odd.
I find it interesting that in Richard Strauss’ “Elektra” the protagonist, after having accomplished her goal of having her mother Klytaemnestra killed, celebrates by dancing - until she dies. Likewise, in Giacomo Puccini’s “Le villi” Roberto is punished for breaking Anna’s heart and her subsequent death by being forced (by the woodland spirits, “le villi”) to dance until he dies. I did not realize that this was “a thing” until now. Thank you.
Maybe it started with someone having some kind of mental disorder attack or episode that made them dance, then it transformed into a mass hysteria where people thought they had the disease, like hypochondria. Awesome video :)
OMG! My nursing class --50 years ago-- studied this incident. I have told this story several times people have looked at me like I'm crazy. I am thrilled that you have posted this.
My Mom one day related a story, I think she was prompted by an old movie where people were dancing around frantically, but first of it was she had heard about a sickness, she said it was called St. Vitus Dance. She must have over heard older folks speak of it when she was growing up!
I had a course of ergometrine after my second child due to ongoing bleeding. Spasms were incredibly painful in my legs because the muscle contractions of the uterus was not limited. So, I can imagine that people did keep their legs moving to abate the pain. Luckily I could take strong analgesia to deal with the spasms.
I literally have a book on the dance plagues by John Waller, whom you mentioned! ("A Time To Dance, A Time To Die"- brilliant!) And yeah, I agree 100% with the explanation of cultural contagion. Good point about a whole group of people instantly recovering after a religious ritual- doesn't sound much like ergot poisoning, or indeed any physical disease. Once again, so awesome to see someone research _what_ happened before racing off with theories about _why!_ :)
My mother’s cousin died of St. Vitus Dance in the 1940s. The Encyclopedia Brittanica describes it as being a manifestation of rheumatic fever causing involuntary muscle movements.
I LOVE that show! Honestly, if I thought I could do a video on Buffy, I would, but sadly I don't think I can bend a history channel to accommodate BTVS :-(
I bet it started with a few people maybe affected by Psilocybin mushrooms and then mass hysteria took hold. Crowds of people will do anything given the right circumstances. This was very interesting.
Recently there have been lots of stories in the news regarding "Mass Formation Psychosis", related to the current Covid-19 pandemic. I was watching a discussion of this on UA-cam from a program called The Hill where they described 4 distinct conditions that had to exist for this psychosis to be induced in a group of people and it made me think about this video that you created. As I watched your video for a second time, it seemed like this might be a reasonable explanation. Fridays are not only a time to look forward to the upcoming weekend but also to very much look forward to your latest video. Thank you for creating such wonderful work.
Loved this. Suddenly the ballet "The Red Shoes" makes plausible sense - well, sort of. Of course, the other version of dancing yourself to death were the dance marathons of the early 20s and 30s, which were major public entertainments - until they went out of fashion. But a medieval dance marathon - now that would be something to see.
@@HistoryCalling Not sure I can completely invest in the idea of a "Dancing Bug," but it is a charming explanation for an illness, certainly for the Middle Ages. And illnesses are so rarely charming, especially back then.
I'm thinking it's possibly PTSD from the experience of the plague. If you consider current example of Covid, a lot of people with pre existing anxiety have fallen victim to extreme behaviours and beliefs. If for example, your traditional understanding of 'Faith or Belief' is called into question, as it was during both the plague, Spanish Flu and Covid 19, the flow on effects can be pretty outrageous and unbelievable as people attempt to find a new 'Faith or Belief'.
I have absolutely no idea what caused it as I'm not educated enough to even make guesses. But, a fun fact: In Sweden, people believed in a mythological being that could cause similar symptoms. Basically, if you ran into Näcken, a beautiful naked man who would play his fiddle in streams or under waterfalls, he could seduce you to come closer and drown you in the water, or he could teach you how to play the fiddle. Those who listened to the fiddle player taught by Näcken would dance to their death, with the only way to stop being either snapping the strings of the fiddle, or the player dying. They player would also be unable to stop playing until their own death.
Thank you, I hadn't heard of this before. Must follow up on the readings. Must have been some form of mass hysteria. Did they dance together and all do the same dance? or was it an individual thing? This was really interesting.
I've always questioned the veracity of medieval documentation, especially in matters which are prone to sensationalized exaggeration. Contemporaneous accounts are few and brief, and none appear to be firsthand. Clearly, something did occur, though the true scale may be far less than has been suggested.
The 11th century outbreak is definitely open to debate. The Strasbourg incident is quite well documented though, although I nevertheless agree that we should always be careful when dealing with events and sources this old. We've never been able to pin down a really reliable account of how many people died during the Black Death for instance. The numbers can vary quite widely.
I'm thinking of the Salem witch trials, possibly due to ergot poisoning, which parallel this phenomenon in some ways. The girls who kicked the furor off spat up needles and pins, fell into trances, and came out of them to accuse perfectly innocent women of being witches who had cursed them. Those women were hanged, some mere children, and the accusers went on reporting evil dreams and having wild, shouting fits which frightened all around them. That time, drenched in beliefs in demons, was ripe for such a conversion experience. An interesting choice of topics. Thank you!
There's a great book and film about this phenomenon called 'They Shoot Horses, Don't They?' which may explain the behavior you're describing. It's specifically about people lured into "dance marathons" during the Depression? As presented, people had a rational motive for it. They were all extremely poor, even starving but in doing this , they'd be given three meals a day. . . That's at least a rational motive which may explain the behavior you're describing in other instances?
I am enjoying your academic style. I am giving a talk about the lslandmagee, near Carrickfergus, witchcraft trial. In this one household three people died. They also saw hallucinations and one Miss Mary Dunbar claimed to be tormented in by eight female witches and one male witch, who appeared in spectral form. I once thought that ergot fungus may have been at the centre of this strange case too. However, I was fortunate enough to be taught by Dr Andrew Sneddon, an expert on this witch trial and Irish witchcraft. He argued that the ergot theory is not possible because those afflicted would have had to eat a very large amount for it to have any affect. Form your accent you are from NI, like myself. Did you study at UU, or Queens? Anyway, I love your channel, please keep the content coming and a big hello from Co. Tyrone!
Hi, thank you for watching and commenting. Yes I am from NI too and I'm familiar with the Islandmagee case you mention and with Andrew Sneddon's work. I'm keen (at the moment at least) to stay pretty anonymous on UA-cam, so I'd rather not share where I studied, however you're correct that I did history at university. Good luck with your talk. It's a fascinating subject.
@@HistoryCalling Thanks for your reply, I would love to see some witchcraft content on your channel. Reading is a forgotten skill to many people. What I really like about your channel is the acidemic way that you present your argument. UA-cam reaches a host of people who would never read a book and they are learning without thinking about it. At some stage in the far, far off future I would love to revamp my channel and cover some early modern English, Spanish and witchcraft history. I would also like to expand my American History content. Unfortunately, I suffer from bad health and have had to work though some health issues over the last three years. My love of History and UA-cam had to take a back seat Kind regards, Oscar
I've always leaned towards the ergot theory when explaining these events, but your revealing episode kinda nixes that. Good points. Must reconsider my hypothesis. Thanks for sharing your knowledge and work. Appreciate
Interestingly, I first heard of St. Vitus dance as a young child in the late ‘50s - early ‘60s. If one of us youngsters got fidgety, one of my parents would say, “Sit still! Do you have St. Vitus dance?” We didn’t know what they meant, of course, so they explained it as an affliction where a person couldn’t stop moving. I suspect they were repeating a practice handed down through their parents. For the record, my father’s family was Scots-Irish from the southern Appalachians. My mother’s were mostly of English descent from central Virginia and western Pennsylvania. Don’t know, though, which side the practice came from.
I have a letter in which my mother's uncle describes the sad death of his little daughter due to what he calls St. Vitus's dance. This happened in the 1920s in Charlevoix, Michigan.
I have to admit, nothing terrifies me more than spiders. I can’t even breathe when I see them. But- I do think of them as just creatures with families, trying to do their thing. ❤️
I actually think that there were nowhere near the number of people who actually dropped dead from dancing themselves to death. This supposedly happened over 500 years ago and especially in those times so many “recorded” events have been found to be incorrect. Record keeping in those times wasn’t thought to be particularly important and it has been discovered that a vast number of events that had been written about had actually occurred many years after an event took place, by which time a particular event has turned into a story or local legend. Such events have also been known to be vastly over exaggerated which is most likely the case here
I wonder if it was something of a nocebo effect? medlife crisis did a really interesting video about the placebo/nocebo effect recently and I had no idea how extreme the nocebo response can be! you've got to watch it but he showed some recent vids of US cops being exposed to fentanyl and having pseudo seizures despite the fact that it's not absorbed that way. The cops have been told that just touching it can cause an overdose and kill them so they have extreme reactions, shaking, collapsing, not breathing etc
Mold - grows on rye. It could be the same mold ingested by all - effecting the central nervous system. Under Ergot on wikipedia it says there are two kinds of poisoning. One can get gangrene from it from one of them. I worked. In a laboratory under a researcher working on molds. Mold poisons usually produce very similar effects. I also thought about the mold in insects which cause a zombie-like effect and it completely controls the mind of the insect. This mold could have crossed the blood - brain barrier in those adversely affected.
I love that the church (an institution that relies on a populace primed to accept a belief in an intangible and unknowable threat) was instantly like ‘no! Don’t believe in that, believe in us… and… give us money!!!’ The locations all being linked by water seems extremely under investigated. I’d be inclined to look there and a half dozen other places before settling on hysteria - a label that is employed by supposedly learned professionals more as a cop out and punishment for being poor/minority/female than an actual diagnosis.
I have not studied these outbreaks so I am judging by what you have stated. I thing certain conditions were present. These would likely be a combination of conditions, like rainy days that released fungus spores for example. Or several other conditions too numerous to go into. I doubt it is even possible to show what these were so far removed in time from them. Once you have these conditions (or similar ones), and toss in mass hysteria, then bang -- dancing plague.
Yes, it's one of the stranger historical mysteries. Even those affected by it didn't seem able to explain why they were dancing like this. Nowadays I suspect they'd be sedated before they killed themselves with exhaustion.
Thank you :-) Don't worry, there'll be plenty more Tudor content too. I think I'll try to alternate between Tudor material and other things as I don't want to have just a Tudor channel and yet at the same time, I know that that's what attracts people and the algorithm certainly seems to prefer it. Next week is a Tudor video you'll be pleased to hear.
@@HistoryCalling - not as deadly as the medieval out breaks fortunately - such a weird phenomena that may never be understood - mass hysteria most likely - ty for excellent content - 🛸👽💚
Yes, at least its mortality rate was lower than things like the Black Death and it didn't spread anywhere near as easily. I think mass hysteria seems the most likely explanation too.
Men without Hats Song Safety Dance video was based on a this I believe. The costume and setting is 14/15 century. I think they're based that video on this moment in history.
I suspect, given how long they kept dancing, that they probably were given sustenance, but eventually your heart would just give out I'm sure, especially as I don't think they were sleeping.
This has always fascinated me, but have no clue what caused it. I know ppl had a very hard life, maybe they cracked and then mass hysteria ensued? Maybe its as simple as that... Must have been something in the water 🤪 Thank you for another amazing vid, I always look forward to fridays!
Mass hysteria, ergot, religious fervour, fear of being hurt for not joining in, these dances are very similar to the frenzy dances of the Maenad. Also of the cult of Cybele whose participants sometimes whipped themselves into such frenzy as to castrate themselves. The ancient hysteria was born out of cultish behaviour and intoxication. Not unlike the circumstances in the era of the dancing plague.
Perhaps spiritual manifestation of demonic oppression or possession. Would ergot poisoning cause non stop dancing for days? It's the mania of dancing for 'days on end' that I find interesting. Interesting and informative documentary thank you.
There is a condition called Functional neurologic disorder which causes numerous symptoms as listed below. Limb weakness or paralysis Blackouts (also called dissociative or non-epileptic seizures/attacks) - these may look like epileptic seizures or faints Movement disorders including tremors, dystonia (spasms), myoclonus (jerky movements) Visual symptoms including loss of vision or double vision Onset obsessive compulsive disorder and heightened anxiety Speech symptoms including dysphonia (whispering speech), slurred or stuttering speech Sensory disturbance including hemisensory syndrome (altered sensation down one side of the body This often occurs after a stressful period in a persons life an accident an attack childhood trauma sexual abuse etc. There isn’t an organic brain disease causing this rather it just manifests as a neurologically but without disease or damage. Some of these symptoms sound similar to dancing mania so this could be a possible modern day diagnosis of dancing mania,
@@HistoryCalling It starred Jane Fonda. It was made in the 70's and it was about a crazy dance competition, whereby the one who survived the competition won. It was a crazy film which until I heard this did not make any sense. It is like the saying "St viteos dance" I always wondered where that came from. Thank you, I find your videos very good.
Iv never heard of this phenomenon, very interesting though, it seems a mental illness that causes mass hysteria in one way or another due to the floods plague and crop failures.
Thank you so much for telling us about this strange case I remember the film the Red Shoes, I hope someone can tell me if I've got this right a ballerina's husband played by Stewart Granger, gave her some red dancing shoes but the shoemaker told him they were cursed, he took no notice and the dancer played by Moira Sherrer (can't spell that) became obsessed by them and danced herself to death. Her husband went back to the shoemaker and he told him about the curse, I cant remember what the curse was, can anyone help me please?👍
The movie, which starred Scottish prima ballerina Moira Shearer, was based on the Hans Christian Anderson story of the same name. It is basically a battle between art and a personal life/love. Let's just say, it doesn't end well. To through a little history into the mix, Shearer was married to British journalist, author and political activist, Sir Ludovic Kennedy. Kennedy is credited with bringing capital punishment to an end in Britain. The movie is now available through Criterion.
@@cherylhayden7363thank you for answering my comment, I remember Moira Shearer she was a beautiful ballerina, also I didn't realise The Red Shoes was from a Hans Christian Anderson story. Danny Kaye was in a film about him in the 50s. I would love to see "The Red Shoes " again.👍😀
@@tracymcardle7395 Criterion bought the rights to The Red Shoes. They always clean up the visual and the audio and have lots of addition features like documentaries, etc.
I think it could have started as an environmental issue. Ergot yes, but what about considering the leaching of various minerals or heavy metals into water sources?
Absolutely. It's on my list. It'll be a long one though (historical mysteries usually are as you have to spend so much time going through all the conspiracy theories) and that's why it's taking me a while to get to it.
@@HistoryCalling thanks for the reply, I predict it'll be your longest one as well. I'm very interested to hear your opinion on it and Richard III in general. Thanks for the great content
What do you think caused the dancing plague? Let me know below and don't forget to SUBSCRIBE with NOTIFICATIONS switched on and check out my PATREON site for extra perks at www.patreon.com/historycalling
My first thought was psilocybin mushroom stew but that is not a stimulant. However given the superstion of the time group pressure might get anyone to join in.
I cheated and did a quick search. Seems it might have been rye bread fungus that caused convulsions. Not wanting to be a witch I'd dance. 😃
(Off topic on insane group activity)
I'd tell you my Jonestown joke but the punch line is too long.
Yes, some people might have had an odd reaction to something they ate (or perhaps it was those pesky spiders after all!), but I think there would need to be an additional factor, like the peer pressure you mention, to get so many people involved, given that not everyone would react to something like the fungus you cite in the same way. A very strange incident in history, that's for sure :-)
Ergot poisoning from the growth on rye is a possible cause.
The description of the symptoms of convulsive ergotism, on a University of Hawaii botany web site:
‘Convulsive ergotism is characterised by nervous dysfunction, where the victim is twisting and contorting their body in trembling and shaking and wryneck, more or less fixed twisting of the neck which seem to simulate convulsions or fits. In some cases this is accompanied by muscle spasms, confusions, delusions and hallucinations’.
Albert Hofmann was able to synthesise LSD from a substance derived from ergot I believe.
I reckon they got parasites, from eating under-cooked river fish, and the parasites settled in a part of the brain related to motor movement. I've watched too many episodes of House. Whatever it was - I feel like riparian proximity and parasitical ingestion were at the core of the phenomenon.
This is truly a strange manifestation of mass hysteria. I found this to be quite interesting and informative as I had never heard this before.
Yes, I think mass hysteria too. I'm glad you enjoyed it. It's always a bit of a risk doing a non-Tudor video as not everyone is open to hearing about something different.
@@HistoryCalling Hysteria tends to be grounded in ill-reasoned worry or fear. It's possible that a single mentally unstable girl began dancing, and others joined her somewhat jokingly, and they simply enjoyed themselves so much it turned into a medieval rave. Presently, people do dance to death, though generally helped by stimulants...there may have been a few flagons of mead being passed around to keep the townsfolk hydrated. As well, don't discount the possibility of regional superstitions long since forgotten, as such things were common then. There may have been a local belief that dancing could stave off disease, or demons, or something of that nature. Regardless, I've long been fascinated by it, and I'm glad you've brought it to the fore.
Thank you :-)
@@HistoryCalling Very much here for the non-Tudor stuff! Tudor is good too, but it's far from my only interest- I love this vid cos I love all the weird, gory stuff like plagues & witch trials :D
@@beth7935 Then you're in the right place 😀
I believe there is something akin to LSD in the mould that grows on damp rye grains. The whole village ate the rye bread and were “ tripping” together.
It's odd that only some were affected though and that those who were affected reacted in such a similar manner. It happened multiple times too remember and in different areas and eras. It's certainly a very strange tale (or collection of tales). It was very interesting to research though. Many thanks for watching and commenting.
@@HistoryCalling yes I remember watching something as a kid that had a similar theory for some women who were thought to be witches, or maybe it was they were possessed. I can't quite remember since I was a kid but I remember the bad rye mould having drug like affects
Makes more sense
Tripping to death though…??? That’s actually an interesting thought.
yes, the mold is called "ergot" and is theory for the cause of the Salem, Massachusetts witchcraft trials as well
something's coming, so out of breath
I just kept spinnin' and I danced myself to death
I was wondering if anyone else got here after finding out about choreomania thanks to Florence!
@@ariannavillambrosa89 I don't how I've never heard about this before, I mean a dancing plague is kinda like the coolest thing ever (I mean... aside from all the people who died of course). Glad the queen Florence brought this to my attention!
and all the evangelicals were like
OHHH YESSSSSSS
The first case of Disco Fever😜
Indeed :-)
😂😂
Mass hysteria combined with fervent religion is absolutely the cause, because I have SEEN IT MYSELF.
I was invited to a ‘church service’ by an army acquaintance who had latched on to me out of an intense belief that a decision I had made with my platoon in Iraq had saved his life. This belief was so powerful because his life had been saved, and he absolutely believed that my decisions must therefore had been guided by god…through persistence I agreed to attend a service after returning home, even though I didn’t think his fervent belief was healthy at all. To me, it seems quite unhealthy, even pathological, especially since the decision I made led to another platoon being at that same spot that was attacked, leading to two deaths of good people equally deserving of life. It seemed to me even then that his fervent beliefs could marry themselves to a physical manifestation quite easily, and I am pretty sure some small scale idiosyncrasies he had were physical symptoms of this and NOT of any other genuine explanation.
I could not have been more correct. I found myself in a rather terrifying ‘Pentecostal’ service. People were screaming and gyrating, calling out and raising their arms during the service while a pastor whipped them up into a frenzy. But it didn’t end there; out of nowhere, people started ‘speaking in tongues’….which is to say, they started speaking ‘heavenly languages as commanded by god’. These could be languages of people long dead, or languages spoken in Heaven, but in reality, to a SANE person, it was absolutely clear that the languages were childish gibberish.
It got worse. People whipped themselves up into a state where they began to ‘dance’…and there wasn’t any music. If there was at certain times, it was one piano and the dancers did NOT dance in tune with the music. Typically, these ‘tongue speakers’ and dancers began in singles and spread to the people around them first. Now, I consider myself fairly sane…what I saw that day was insanity. This insanity typically spread out in waves and did not begin and die out in unrelated areas; meaning, there was always proximity to another group of gyraters.
And then it was…over. Why the difference? Well, because they BELIEVED it would be over quite quickly. They had been raised to think so. The people affected in this video were raised differently, but it was still the same mechanism.
If anyone responds to this and defends what I saw, then they clearly have seen it themselves and certainly are a Pentecostal or related denomination themselves, and their opinions should be taken with a grain of salt. They have an agenda for distancing themselves from the medieval form of the same thing. They didn’t have Pentecostals back then, instead, this is how it began. People absolutely can become enmeshed in Mass Hysteria as long as their belief system is fervent enough, and DESPERATE enough. How that manifested is different between the ages, but I believe them to be the exact same thing. Whether desperation of the self (now) vs desperation of the town and times (then), it came from the same (pathological) place in our minds.
That sounds like quite something. I've heard of Church services like the one you describe, but I haven't attended one myself. I think if that's their religion though and no one is hurt by it, then that's up to them. It would probably be more jarring to people such as you and myself as we wouldn't be used to it. It's interesting however that as you say, this form of religious worship didn't exist yet in the medieval or early modern periods, so I'll always be curious how it got started. In Strasbourg for instance, it seems to have been just one woman, then spread from there. Very odd.
Oh yeah, I've seen my family do this at a similar service but while handling venomous snakes. True story.
My Pentecostal boyfriend told me he’s never experienced or been to a service like this, but I find that very terrifying. Mass hysteria is scary 😔
I find it interesting that in Richard Strauss’ “Elektra” the protagonist, after having accomplished her goal of having her mother Klytaemnestra killed, celebrates by dancing - until she dies.
Likewise, in Giacomo Puccini’s “Le villi” Roberto is punished for breaking Anna’s heart and her subsequent death by being forced (by the woodland spirits, “le villi”) to dance until he dies.
I did not realize that this was “a thing” until now. Thank you.
Hi Aram, I'm not familiar with those stories, but they sound great. Thank you for sharing.
Maybe it started with someone having some kind of mental disorder attack or episode that made them dance, then it transformed into a mass hysteria where people thought they had the disease, like hypochondria. Awesome video :)
Thanks Tey. Yes, I think mass hysteria is our best guess as well to explain the sheer numbers of people involved and the number of times it happened.
OMG! My nursing class --50 years ago-- studied this incident. I have told this story several times people have looked at me like I'm crazy. I am thrilled that you have posted this.
Thanks Karen. You're definitely not crazy. It really happened (multiple times!) :-)
Who is here because of choreomania by florence? It's quite fascinating
Is this what Gloria Estefan was talking about when she said the rhythm is gonna get ya?
You never know! (though on a serious note, I think these people actually danced without any music, which seems even odder to us).
OMG!!😉 Good one!!... LOL ☺️
@@HistoryCalling Unless the dancer is a toddler!
Who is G Estefan?
This is one of my favorite “weird history” things. Great video, as always.
Thanks Mary. I'm glad you enjoyed the video. 😀
My Mom one day related a story, I think she was prompted by an old movie where people were dancing around frantically, but first of it was she had heard about a sickness, she said it was called St. Vitus Dance. She must have over heard older folks speak of it when she was growing up!
I read about St. Vitus dance as well. Mass hysteria explanation is truly scary! Thanks for another awesome video! I wish more people liked it.
I had a course of ergometrine after my second child due to ongoing bleeding. Spasms were incredibly painful in my legs because the muscle contractions of the uterus was not limited. So, I can imagine that people did keep their legs moving to abate the pain. Luckily I could take strong analgesia to deal with the spasms.
Hmm, kind of like a restless leg syndrome but worse.
I've always been interested in this phenomenon. Excited to hear you cover it!
Thanks. Glad you liked the video 😁
We're in a mass hysteria now
Was going to say that. 🤭
I was too scared to say it!
The past few years are evidence enough.
Watch out, you'll get on the "enemy of the State," list.
5.63 million people are dead. It's called a pandemic.
I literally have a book on the dance plagues by John Waller, whom you mentioned! ("A Time To Dance, A Time To Die"- brilliant!) And yeah, I agree 100% with the explanation of cultural contagion. Good point about a whole group of people instantly recovering after a religious ritual- doesn't sound much like ergot poisoning, or indeed any physical disease. Once again, so awesome to see someone research _what_ happened before racing off with theories about _why!_ :)
Thanks Beth. :-)
Think about the ballet "The Red Shoes" where she dances herself to death! Scary!
Italian Americans danced the tarantella at weddings when I was a kid. Some probably still do, but I haven’t seen it in a while
Oh that would have been worth seeing. I've never been to an Italian (or Italian-American) wedding unfortunately.
Correct. I believe it fell out of favor after it was featured in The Godfather.
I wonder if whoever came up with the idea for dance marathons was inspired by this.
Quite possibly! :-)
@@HistoryCalling I now have Dancing With Myself by Billy Idol in my head, ty lol
For me (whilst researching this), it was Dancing Queen by ABBA. :-)
@@HistoryCalling Whilst readin this reply, thou dost put thee song in thy brain. :) lol
I hope I wrote that ok, my first try at old Brit talk :)
Haha, you did fine. I hope you don't mind having ABBA stuck on a loop in your head for a while now though.
My mother’s cousin died of St. Vitus Dance in the 1940s. The Encyclopedia Brittanica describes it as being a manifestation of rheumatic fever causing involuntary muscle movements.
Seeing some literary and pop culture influences. Like that 'Buffy' episode, 'Once more, with feeling.'
I LOVE that show! Honestly, if I thought I could do a video on Buffy, I would, but sadly I don't think I can bend a history channel to accommodate BTVS :-(
Isn’t that the episode that there was a production number with the song, “I got the mustard stain out.” 😂
My family is from there.. I’ve never heard of this.. totally fascinating… Strasbourg is beautiful
It really is. I'll have to visit some day.
Excellent video. I've subscribed and hit the like button.
I bet it started with a few people maybe affected by Psilocybin mushrooms and then mass hysteria took hold. Crowds of people will do anything given the right circumstances. This was very interesting.
Hi Nancy, I'm glad you liked the video. I think mass hysteria accounts for the widespread nature of the 'plague' as well.
The effects of psilocybin don't last days, only 3 - 6 hours
Mushrooms that have effects lasting 6+ days with only one initial ingestion is not a thing
Recently there have been lots of stories in the news regarding "Mass Formation Psychosis", related to the current Covid-19 pandemic. I was watching a discussion of this on UA-cam from a program called The Hill where they described 4 distinct conditions that had to exist for this psychosis to be induced in a group of people and it made me think about this video that you created. As I watched your video for a second time, it seemed like this might be a reasonable explanation. Fridays are not only a time to look forward to the upcoming weekend but also to very much look forward to your latest video. Thank you for creating such wonderful work.
Loved this. Suddenly the ballet "The Red Shoes" makes plausible sense - well, sort of. Of course, the other version of dancing yourself to death were the dance marathons of the early 20s and 30s, which were major public entertainments - until they went out of fashion. But a medieval dance marathon - now that would be something to see.
Thank you :-) I'm glad you liked it. Yes, it would have been a sight to see, as long as we didn't catch the dancing bug while we were there! :-)
@@HistoryCalling Not sure I can completely invest in the idea of a "Dancing Bug," but it is a charming explanation for an illness, certainly for the Middle Ages. And illnesses are so rarely charming, especially back then.
I remember a few little documentaries on this and it always intrigued me.. love you're addin' your insight into it. 🌹🌹
Glad you enjoyed it. :-)
I'm thinking it's possibly PTSD from the experience of the plague. If you consider current example of Covid, a lot of people with pre existing anxiety have fallen victim to extreme behaviours and beliefs. If for example, your traditional understanding of 'Faith or Belief' is called into question, as it was during both the plague, Spanish Flu and Covid 19, the flow on effects can be pretty outrageous and unbelievable as people attempt to find a new 'Faith or Belief'.
McIntyre is my maiden name. I also have an uncle named Marc. My dad Michaels brother.
@@lunaticmoon2941 My middle name is Lunatic Moon..What are the chances? ha. Hello from Melb Australia. Hope you're splendid!
I have absolutely no idea what caused it as I'm not educated enough to even make guesses. But, a fun fact: In Sweden, people believed in a mythological being that could cause similar symptoms. Basically, if you ran into Näcken, a beautiful naked man who would play his fiddle in streams or under waterfalls, he could seduce you to come closer and drown you in the water, or he could teach you how to play the fiddle. Those who listened to the fiddle player taught by Näcken would dance to their death, with the only way to stop being either snapping the strings of the fiddle, or the player dying. They player would also be unable to stop playing until their own death.
Thank you, I hadn't heard of this before. Must follow up on the readings. Must have been some form of mass hysteria. Did they dance together and all do the same dance? or was it an individual thing? This was really interesting.
All dancing together in groups. I don't know if they were doing the same dance moves exactly, but I would suspect so. Glad you enjoyed the video :-)
How interesting!!!.. Never heard of this..thank you for this information..☺
You are very welcome.
I've always questioned the veracity of medieval documentation, especially in matters which are prone to sensationalized exaggeration. Contemporaneous accounts are few and brief, and none appear to be firsthand. Clearly, something did occur, though the true scale may be far less than has been suggested.
The 11th century outbreak is definitely open to debate. The Strasbourg incident is quite well documented though, although I nevertheless agree that we should always be careful when dealing with events and sources this old. We've never been able to pin down a really reliable account of how many people died during the Black Death for instance. The numbers can vary quite widely.
I'm thinking of the Salem witch trials, possibly due to ergot poisoning, which parallel this phenomenon in some ways. The girls who kicked the furor off spat up needles and pins, fell into trances, and came out of them to accuse perfectly innocent women of being witches who had cursed them. Those women were hanged, some mere children, and the accusers went on reporting evil dreams and having wild, shouting fits which frightened all around them. That time, drenched in beliefs in demons, was ripe for such a conversion experience. An interesting choice of topics. Thank you!
I just heard about this on a Netflix show! So excited 🤗 ty ❤
Listen Dance Fever of Florence + The Machine
I wonder if anyone ever looked into toxic fumes....thanks, great video!
I'd heard of the St. Vitus dance phenomenon but wasn't aware that it was recorded as early as the 11th century:)
I wasn't either actually, until researching the video. I'd only heard of the Strasbourg incident before that.
There's a great book and film about this phenomenon called 'They Shoot Horses, Don't They?' which may explain the behavior you're describing. It's specifically about people lured into "dance marathons" during the Depression? As presented, people had a rational motive for it. They were all extremely poor, even starving but in doing this , they'd be given three meals a day. . . That's at least a rational motive which may explain the behavior you're describing in other instances?
I am enjoying your academic style. I am giving a talk about the lslandmagee, near Carrickfergus, witchcraft trial. In this one household three people died. They also saw hallucinations and one Miss Mary Dunbar claimed to be tormented in by eight female witches and one male witch, who appeared in spectral form. I once thought that ergot fungus may have been at the centre of this strange case too. However, I was fortunate enough to be taught by Dr Andrew Sneddon, an expert on this witch trial and Irish witchcraft. He argued that the ergot theory is not possible because those afflicted would have had to eat a very large amount for it to have any affect. Form your accent you are from NI, like myself. Did you study at UU, or Queens? Anyway, I love your channel, please keep the content coming and a big hello from Co. Tyrone!
Hi, thank you for watching and commenting. Yes I am from NI too and I'm familiar with the Islandmagee case you mention and with Andrew Sneddon's work. I'm keen (at the moment at least) to stay pretty anonymous on UA-cam, so I'd rather not share where I studied, however you're correct that I did history at university. Good luck with your talk. It's a fascinating subject.
@@HistoryCalling Thanks for your reply, I would love to see some witchcraft content on your channel. Reading is a forgotten skill to many people. What I really like about your channel is the acidemic way that you present your argument. UA-cam reaches a host of people who would never read a book and they are learning without thinking about it.
At some stage in the far, far off future I would love to revamp my channel and cover some early modern English, Spanish and witchcraft history. I would also like to expand my American History content.
Unfortunately, I suffer from bad health and have had to work though some health issues over the last three years. My love of History and UA-cam had to take a back seat
Kind regards, Oscar
I've always leaned towards the ergot theory when explaining these events, but your revealing episode kinda nixes that. Good points. Must reconsider my hypothesis. Thanks for sharing your knowledge and work. Appreciate
Found your channel last week and have been loving it! Hope you blow up, you deserve it. :)
Hi Lila, thank you so much. I hope so too :-)
A medieval Rave party? :D
Haha, exactly :-)
I really look forward to watching more of your videos :)
Thanks Kathryne. I'm glad you're enjoying them.
It sort of reminds me of modern day protests, mental distress etc
Yes, there is a theory that it was a kind of passive aggressive protest.
The intro song had me dancing. :)
Hey, as long as you don't spark a dancing plague, I'm all for it :-)
Interestingly, I first heard of St. Vitus dance as a young child in the late ‘50s - early ‘60s. If one of us youngsters got fidgety, one of my parents would say, “Sit still! Do you have St. Vitus dance?” We didn’t know what they meant, of course, so they explained it as an affliction where a person couldn’t stop moving. I suspect they were repeating a practice handed down through their parents. For the record, my father’s family was Scots-Irish from the southern Appalachians. My mother’s were mostly of English descent from central Virginia and western Pennsylvania. Don’t know, though, which side the practice came from.
I have a letter in which my mother's uncle describes the sad death of his little daughter due to what he calls St. Vitus's dance. This happened in the 1920s in Charlevoix, Michigan.
Thank you immensely. Enjoyed this 😁🌛♥️
You’re welcome 😊
"Is there anything to be said for another Mass?" Interesting video, thanks.
You're welcome :-)
Thank u for your history on England..I grew up there so I find it interesting and remember some of the places you mention.
Hi there! Can you please do a video on James Scott, the Duke of Monmouth? 😊
He's on the list :-)
A very timely warning for us
Oh, there they go! Just blame the Tarantulas! As a tarantula mom, I am deeply offended by this. Poor little eight-legged babies.
I know. Making scapegoats out of innocent 'little' spiders :-)
I have to admit, nothing terrifies me more than spiders. I can’t even breathe when I see them. But- I do think of them as just creatures with families, trying to do their thing. ❤️
Strasbourg (Strassburg) was actually a free city in the Holy Roman Empire; it was only incorporated into France when seized by Louis 14th in 1681.
I actually think that there were nowhere near the number of people who actually dropped dead from dancing themselves to death. This supposedly happened over 500 years ago and especially in those times so many “recorded” events have been found to be incorrect. Record keeping in those times wasn’t thought to be particularly important and it has been discovered that a vast number of events that had been written about had actually occurred many years after an event took place, by which time a particular event has turned into a story or local legend. Such events have also been known to be vastly over exaggerated which is most likely the case here
I wonder if it was something of a nocebo effect? medlife crisis did a really interesting video about the placebo/nocebo effect recently and I had no idea how extreme the nocebo response can be! you've got to watch it but he showed some recent vids of US cops being exposed to fentanyl and having pseudo seizures despite the fact that it's not absorbed that way. The cops have been told that just touching it can cause an overdose and kill them so they have extreme reactions, shaking, collapsing, not breathing etc
Mass ergot poisoning: Tripped their faces off!
Mold - grows on rye. It could be the same mold ingested by all - effecting the central nervous system. Under Ergot on wikipedia it says there are two kinds of poisoning. One can get gangrene from it from one of them. I worked. In a laboratory under a researcher working on molds. Mold poisons usually produce very similar effects. I also thought about the mold in insects which cause a zombie-like effect and it completely controls the mind of the insect. This mold could have crossed the blood - brain barrier in those adversely affected.
I love that the church (an institution that relies on a populace primed to accept a belief in an intangible and unknowable threat) was instantly like ‘no! Don’t believe in that, believe in us… and… give us money!!!’
The locations all being linked by water seems extremely under investigated. I’d be inclined to look there and a half dozen other places before settling on hysteria - a label that is employed by supposedly learned professionals more as a cop out and punishment for being poor/minority/female than an actual diagnosis.
I also noticed that the victims were asked to pay money to the Church to be cured . . . Great suggestion Church
I am thinking this had to have been mass hysteria caused by a very stressful life.
I think so too, especially given that it wasn't a one off occurrence.
Great series! 🙏🏻
Thanks so much!
Very interesting .I think it was something in the environment. There is no way you can dance until you died from copying another person .
Thanks Sandra. Yes, there may have been an environmental factor at play.
I have not studied these outbreaks so I am judging by what you have stated. I thing certain conditions were present. These would likely be a combination of conditions, like rainy days that released fungus spores for example. Or several other conditions too numerous to go into. I doubt it is even possible to show what these were so far removed in time from them. Once you have these conditions (or similar ones), and toss in mass hysteria, then bang -- dancing plague.
Yes, it's one of the stranger historical mysteries. Even those affected by it didn't seem able to explain why they were dancing like this. Nowadays I suspect they'd be sedated before they killed themselves with exhaustion.
Started watching you because I'm a huge Tudor nerd, but stayed because your content is wonderful!!
Thank you :-) Don't worry, there'll be plenty more Tudor content too. I think I'll try to alternate between Tudor material and other things as I don't want to have just a Tudor channel and yet at the same time, I know that that's what attracts people and the algorithm certainly seems to prefer it. Next week is a Tudor video you'll be pleased to hear.
does 70s disco count as a plague too?
Haha, probably depends who you ask. I wasn't there myself :-)
🤣
@@HistoryCalling - not as deadly as the medieval out breaks fortunately - such a weird phenomena that may never be understood - mass hysteria most likely - ty for excellent content - 🛸👽💚
Yes, at least its mortality rate was lower than things like the Black Death and it didn't spread anywhere near as easily. I think mass hysteria seems the most likely explanation too.
Some of the disco dancing that lasted days in the late 70’s early 80’s were fuelled by cocaine.
Excellent, as always. Thank you.
Thank you :-)
Men without Hats Song Safety Dance video was based on a this I believe. The costume and setting is 14/15 century. I think they're based that video on this moment in history.
Super Taranta! I don’t understand why they couldn’t be fed and hydrated whilst dancing. They didn’t have to die.
I suspect, given how long they kept dancing, that they probably were given sustenance, but eventually your heart would just give out I'm sure, especially as I don't think they were sleeping.
This was a great video!
Thank you :-)
Hello to history calling from Bea
This has always fascinated me, but have no clue what caused it. I know ppl had a very hard life, maybe they cracked and then mass hysteria ensued? Maybe its as simple as that... Must have been something in the water 🤪
Thank you for another amazing vid, I always look forward to fridays!
Thanks Anna. I'm glad you like the videos. Yes, it's a strange tale. I lean towards mass hysteria too, but we'll probably never know for certain.
Restless leg syndrome times 100
Mass hysteria, ergot, religious fervour, fear of being hurt for not joining in, these dances are very similar to the frenzy dances of the Maenad. Also of the cult of Cybele whose participants sometimes whipped themselves into such frenzy as to castrate themselves. The ancient hysteria was born out of cultish behaviour and intoxication. Not unlike the circumstances in the era of the dancing plague.
I'm off to Google the Cybele cult...
Perhaps spiritual manifestation of demonic oppression or possession. Would ergot poisoning cause non stop dancing for days? It's the mania of dancing for 'days on end' that I find interesting. Interesting and informative documentary thank you.
There is a condition called Functional neurologic disorder which causes numerous symptoms as listed below.
Limb weakness or paralysis
Blackouts (also called dissociative or non-epileptic seizures/attacks) - these may look like epileptic seizures or faints
Movement disorders including tremors, dystonia (spasms), myoclonus (jerky movements)
Visual symptoms including loss of vision or double vision
Onset obsessive compulsive disorder and heightened anxiety
Speech symptoms including dysphonia (whispering speech), slurred or stuttering speech
Sensory disturbance including hemisensory syndrome (altered sensation down one side of the body
This often occurs after a stressful period in a persons life an accident an attack childhood trauma sexual abuse etc. There isn’t an organic brain disease causing this rather it just manifests as a neurologically but without disease or damage. Some of these symptoms sound similar to dancing mania so this could be a possible modern day diagnosis of dancing mania,
Humans' herd instinct is literally the most frightening thing in all of history and the forms in which it can go wrong are apparently endless...
The longest Flashmob in history.
I am curious, is the magnificent cathedral at 6:33 the Kölner Dom? It resembles it quite strongly, but i am unsure from just the picture.
Watching the film’ they shoot horses don’t they’ is very close to the scene of this video.
I haven't seen that one I'm afraid.
@@HistoryCalling It starred Jane Fonda. It was made in the 70's and it was about a crazy dance competition, whereby the one who survived the competition won. It was a crazy film which until I heard this did not make any sense. It is like the saying "St viteos dance" I always wondered where that came from. Thank you, I find your videos very good.
Thanks Ray :-)
I thought St Vitus Dance was a condition caused by a strep infection. I didn't know it was a psychological thing. Interesting.
I am seeing modern parallels ...
How interesting!
Iv never heard of this phenomenon, very interesting though, it seems a mental illness that causes mass hysteria in one way or another due to the floods plague and crop failures.
Yes, I think so too. Glad you liked the video 😁
@@HistoryCalling I did very much, superb as always on your great chanel thank you. 😊
This was the original "Foot Loose". Lol
The fringe left is exhibiting Mass Hysteria on a daily basis
This happened to me
Either something in the water, mead, meat, or they were smoking something.
Sounds like an ecstasy fueled rave that I used to frequent in the UK in the 90's.
I wonder why they weren't tied down so they wouldn't die from exhaustion.
Good point. Nowadays I'm sure they would be sedated.
Ergot? That may have been the issue during the Salem Witchcraft Trials.
The Red Shoes
Perhaps a fungal infection of some sort that affects the nervous system and controls the limbs, like cordyceps?
Thank you so much for telling us about this strange case I remember the film the Red Shoes, I hope someone can tell me if I've got this right a ballerina's husband played by Stewart Granger, gave her some red dancing shoes but the shoemaker told him they were cursed, he took no notice and the dancer played by Moira Sherrer (can't spell that) became obsessed by them and danced herself to death. Her husband went back to the shoemaker and he told him about the curse, I cant remember what the curse was, can anyone help me please?👍
Hi Tracy. You're welcome. I haven't seen that movie I'm afraid, but hopefully someone else can answer your query.
The movie, which starred Scottish prima ballerina Moira Shearer, was based on the Hans Christian Anderson story of the same name. It is basically a battle between art and a personal life/love. Let's just say, it doesn't end well. To through a little history into the mix, Shearer was married to British journalist, author and political activist, Sir Ludovic Kennedy. Kennedy is credited with bringing capital punishment to an end in Britain. The movie is now available through Criterion.
@@cherylhayden7363thank you for answering my comment, I remember Moira Shearer she was a beautiful ballerina, also I didn't realise The Red Shoes was from a Hans Christian Anderson story. Danny Kaye was in a film about him in the 50s. I would love to see "The Red Shoes " again.👍😀
@@tracymcardle7395 Criterion bought the rights to The Red Shoes. They always clean up the visual and the audio and have lots of addition features like documentaries, etc.
I think it could have started as an environmental issue. Ergot yes, but what about considering the leaching of various minerals or heavy metals into water sources?
How strange!!!! X
Can you do a video on the Prince's in the Tower please?
Absolutely. It's on my list. It'll be a long one though (historical mysteries usually are as you have to spend so much time going through all the conspiracy theories) and that's why it's taking me a while to get to it.
@@HistoryCalling thanks for the reply, I predict it'll be your longest one as well. I'm very interested to hear your opinion on it and Richard III in general. Thanks for the great content
Interesting story
Glad you enjoyed it :-)
My I have never heard of this disorder?? Hysteria. Not disorder. You have some intriguing stories.
Thanks Stephanie :-)