Erica Tang Kearney Lit/Comp 10 11 October 2016 Dance of Death: The Dancing Plague of 1518: An Annotated Bibliography Andrews, Evan. “What Was the Dancing Plague of 1518?” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 14 Sept. 2015, http://www.history.com/news/ask-history/what-was-the-dancing-plague-of-1518. In 1518 in Strasbourg, a woman named Frau Troffea spontaneously started dancing in the middle of the streets for no reason, and she would not stop. Her jerky, awkward movements continued for about a week, and mysteriously others soon followed suit. By the end of the month, about 400 people were dancing away compulsively. During that time, locals thought it was due to hot blood. The town hired musicians and dancers, thinking that the cure was to …show more content…
Bystanders stated that she did not look like she was enjoying herself. Her face was contorted, and she looked like she was in a trance. She would not talk or acknowledge her surroundings. The people carried on with their business, staring at her in wonder. Nobody paid attention to her even though it was weird, because she was harmlessly dancing. However, others soon join Ms. Troffea, and the people started to panic. By the end of the month, many civilians were dancing nonstop. When the dancing continued for weeks, the authorities addressed the problem by building a stage and hiring musicians and dancers, thinking that more dancing will cure the mysterious phenomenon. However, it did not work. Some people even died from exhaustion, and the remaining dancers were taken away to another place. Then, the epidemic abruptly stopped just as sudden as it had started. There were some theories that passed around ever since the epidemic. One theory that caused the mass hysteria was that the dancers ate ergot, a toxic mold that grows on rye that can create seizures, spasms, and psychosis when ingested. This theory is more likely inaccurate, because ergot causes gangrene, which makes body movements very hard. It would be hard for the people to dance if they had gangrene. Another theory is that the people believed in St.Vitus, who can curse people the dancing plague. Since many people believed in him, it could be …show more content…
This theory is also improbable, because the victims did not want to dance. Misery was palpable in their faces. Also, there were no signs of heretical behavior prior to the plague. Another main suggestion was that it was simply a mass hysteria. While this could be true because of the famine, disease, and spiritual despair they were doing though, it does not explain why they dance in their misery. The source is from a 2008 article from BBC.com, a famous news website with a high reputation. It is a modern text, but that is good because researchers are able to look back into the phenomenon with more knowledge than before. The information is relevant to the topic and from a trustworthy academic source. It was written as an overview of the event to inform people who are interested to learn more about the dancing plague. The article provides factual and accurate information about what happened. The source directly supports the claim for the project and provides additional insight about the theories and reasons why the theories are questionable regarding the plague of 1518. Additionally, one quotation that was particularly useful is “this theory doesn’t explain why the people danced in their misery” when the author introduced the mass hysteria theory (Waller
Carmichael, Ann. "Plague." Europe, 1450 to 1789: Encyclopedia of the Early Modern World. Ed. Jonathan Dewald. Vol. 4. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2004. 490-493. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 25 Feb. 2014.
In 1348, religious authorities determined that the immodest behavior of certain groups led to outbreaks of ubiquitous plague. The tendency to regard indecency as the cause of plague is displayed in records of the day. Henry Knighton’s description of a guilty crowd attending the tournaments is a telling example. He laments that, “they spent and wasted their goods, and (according to the common report) abused their bodies in wantonness and scurrilous licentiousness. They neither feared God nor blushed at the criticism of the people, but took the marriage bond lightly and were deaf to the demands of modesty” (130). As one can gather from this passage, the 1348 religi...
Plague is a song that was released in 2012 by the Canadian, electropunk, witch-house group known as Crystal Castles. The song’s lyrics make strong allusions to the infamous Bubonic Plague or Black Death. The Bubonic Plague was a horrible disease that was spread in the 1300s by the fleas of infected rats. In the 13th century a third of the people in Europe died of this illness (http://www.livescience.com/36060-people-catch-plague.html).This disease still exists today; however, since the Bubonic Plague is the result of a bacterial infection, it is easily treatable with antibiotics (http://www.livescience.com/36060-people-catch-plague.html). It is tragic that, in the past, they did not have the basic medical knowledge to combat a bacterial infection;
But, what about the enemy that they could not see; the enemy that would plummet Medieval Europe into an age of darkness and, ultimately, death? The Bubonic Plague was a pivotal moment for Europe, bringing forth a new era of social mobility, thought, and artistic expression, leading to the Renaissance. This is very evident, as one looks farther into the supply and demand of labour, the altering perspective of the church, and the new movement in artwork.
In the 1300’s, England was struck with a plague called the Bubonic Plague, better known as the “Black Death.” Historians believe this disease arrived by ship at a seaport in modern day Ukraine (Byrne 1). Fleas living on the back of rats were the main cause of spreading. Because of the poor living conditions, rats were very common in towns, making it simple for fleas to bite the human, giving them the disease. Symptoms were easily spotted; the victim would have lumps on his or her groin and armpits, which would then turn to black spots on the arms and thighs (Trueman 1). Most who suffered form this epidemic did not live past three days (Trueman 1). Because the vermin spread this disease so rapidly, it would eventually affect most of Europe. The source of the Black Death was unknown at the time; therefore physicians could not stop the spread or treat the infected (Byrne 1). Many people thought that it was God’s punishment, so to appease Him, they publicly whipped themselves (Byrne 1). Before declining, the Black Death killed around forty percent of the European populations, which is about 25 million victims, making it one of the most widely known epidemics. Once the Bubonic Plague died out, it only had two...
In Robert S. Gottfried’s book titled “The Black Death”, he analyzes the 14th century outbreak from an epidemiological perspective. The book is written as a historical account of one of the greatest epidemics on record. Gottfried is a well renowned Professor of History as well as the Director of Medieval Studies at Rutgers University. Another one of his books titled, "Epidemic Disease in Fifteenth Century England” focuses on the additional outbreaks that occurred in Europe after the Black Death plague. The Black Death also called the Great Pestilence the was the second of three pandemic plagues known and is considered one of the most damaging pandemics in human history, resulting in the deaths of an estimated 25-50% of the Europe's population in the years 1348 to 1350. The origins of the plague began with east-west trade. In 1347 the Black Death entered Constantinople and spread throughout Byzantium and the Eastern Mediterranean, it is theorized that foreign rats migrating with the eastern trade carried the disease called Y. pestis to the west, fleas that were feeding on those rats then transmitted the infection to livestock and humans. The epidemic spread at an alarming rate and had devastating effects once contracted, at its peak the plague is said to have taken up to 1000 lives a day.
The Black Death, also known as the Great Mortality and Bubonic Plague, occurred during the years of 1347-1350. Although it didn’t last very long, it is said that the Plague killed over 1.5 million people in its short amount of time in activity throughout the Mediterranean and Europe. The Black Death was a very gruesome and horrible disease that caused fever, headache, chills weakness, and inflammation of the lymph nodes causing the disturbing site of buboes on the neck, groin and armpits. Petrarch, an Italian Scholar, described his feelings towards the Plague as he wrote, “O happy posterity, who will not experience such abysmal woe and will look upon our testimony as a fable” (qtd. in Nohl 17). Here, P...
F. F. Cartwright, “The Years of the Plague”, in A Social History of Medicine (London: Longman, 1977), pp. 58-74.
The plague, which began in Europe in Sicily in 1347, killed approximately one half to one third of the population of Europe in about a three year period (Monte, 2013). The effects of the plague, devastating enough in their own right, were compounded by the other crises that were taking place in Europe at this time. The extremely high death rate and lack of understanding concerning the contraction and spread of disease caused a fear and panic in the population, who felt that the world might be ending. The spiritual guidance that had been known from the church and protection expected from of the nobility disappeared. The church, embroiled in its own strife, and the kings and nobles involved in their own struggles, failed to give any leadership, aid or safety to the suffering people. This abandonment of duty by church and government led to a breakdown of order and economic collapse. Although the outbreak began to subside in 1349, plague would revisit Europe periodically for about the next century (Monte,
Many people were confused by the way that the plague seemed to strike down some while missing others. They compared it to the Angel of Death, whose arrows came and shot some people with sickness (Doc 3). They believed that the plague was a punishment sent from God. This belief, along with the imminency of death, sent people running back to churches and praying for a spot in Heaven. Along with the belief that this was a punishment mandated from Heaven, many believed that the plague was the fault of the Jews. Many monarchs of the time were indebted to the Jews, however, they did not want to pay them back the money owed. Instead, they blamed the Jews for poisoning the town’s water supply, condemning them to either being burned at the stake or baptised into the Christian church (Doc 6). This mentality of accusation and cruelty had been portrayed before this time, with the Crusades against non-Christians from 1095 to the late 1200’s. The plague became such a normality, that children were singing nursery rhymes about it. “Ring Around the Rosy,” a popular kids song to this day, was about the mortality caused by the plague (Doc 5). In a few short lines it mentions how even the church couldn't save the victims of the plague, and how one had to succumb to masked the stench using spices, such as cloves or vinegar, or flowers in this case to mask the stench of the
swamps which corrupted the air. Heat was also believed to be a cause of the disease.
Kira L. S. Newman, “Shutt Up: Bubonic Plague and Quarantine in Early Modern England,” Journal of Social History, 3, (2012): 809-834
Many people were fearful of this new plague that was spreading. Much of this fear was spurned by the fact that no one truly knew the cause of the plague. Many had their theories, however, and many blamed the Jews for the panic that ensued from the epidemic. Because of this, many European rulers from expelling the Jews from their countries. In England, it was the filth of the streets and of the dogs that caused such a widespread and deadly disease. (Document 2) The rich of France were so terrified and economically endowed that they were able to flee the country, leaving the poor to the mercy of the plague. (Document 3)
This came off as an embarrassment to doctors for not being able to help their patients. Most people had no confidence in doctors. The rich simply fled from the plague, but most could not. In the modern world, doctors would be able to isolate themselves from the disease while trying to find a cure via a hazmat suit. With today’s technology, if an outbreak similar to the Black Death was to happen, a lot less people would die of the disease. In comparison to the Plague of Medieval Europe, today we have the Ebola virus. In West Africa where 3rd world countries are common the virus has killed thousands of people, but in America, where technology and medicine is more advance, not many people have died from the virus. The victims were able to be treated and therefore not spread the virus among the
Although the Renaissance consisted of discovering new and exciting topics, a major outbreak had occurred. This outbreak was known as the Bubonic Plague or the “Black Death” which had arrived in Europe in 1348 (Woodville). The Bubonic Plague impacted Europe and Europeans negatively economically, politically, and socially.