In the summer of 1518, a mother in Strasbourg throws her baby in her arms into the river. She thinks she is doing a favor to herself and her baby while doing this, because the other options for the baby are to starve to death or to be eaten. The mother, who is in such conditions, has no other option; she drops her baby from the top of a bridge into the river and returns home. While her husband says a few words to comfort her, the woman starts dancing. Without saying anything, she goes spinning out the door. This madness, which gradually moves to the streets, then affects the entire city. In this article, we will talk about a real dance plague, which is also mentioned in the novel “Invitation to Dance” written by Jean Teulé.
Fact or Fiction?
This phenomenon, known as the St. Vitus Dance by some sources, is not a fiction; it has actually been seen that people danced in large groups in an uncontrollable manner during the centuries mentioned. The movements, which resemble a festival atmosphere when viewed from a distance, reveal how much pain the performer is actually in when approached. The dancers cannot stop dancing even if their limbs are bleeding. The individuals have no control over their movements. The only way to stop is for the person to lose consciousness or die…
The exact cause of this strange epidemic is unknown, but among the assumptions is social hysteria. It is suggested that, due to the terrible conditions of the period, people were collectively experiencing anxiety disorders and that this is why they were dancing uncontrollably. Another assumption for the reason that drove people crazy and caused them to dance non-stop is ‘ ergot ‘, a type of fungus. This type, especially known as rye fungus, can cause neuropathic behaviors when ingested by people. It is claimed that some of the bread consumed in those years was made with rye containing this fungus.
Dance Plague
“This is the story of a people who lost hope!”
(Teulé, Invitation to Dance, p.47, Sel Yay. 2020)
The novel “Invitation to Dance” written by Jean Teulé covers in detail what happened during the dancing plague. Teulé describes the tragic situations of people who took over the streets, constantly spinning and jumping around each other, while using sarcastic and mocking language to emphasize the absurdity of the event. In accordance with historical reality, from the moment the epidemic began, the dancers were turned into satanic figures by the clergy and accused of infidelity. In this way, we receive a critique of how much stress the religious and church pressure that dominated the period created on society. From the beginning of the book, every line emphasizes how bad the situation in the city was. The filth of the streets, the bad harvest, the hunger of the people…
A Growing Epidemic
We find ourselves justifying the people more and more with each line… The epidemic that started with one person later continues by creating a cadre of almost four hundred people. People who die during the dance pile up in the streets. Despite the concern of the clergy, their indifferent and careless behavior also causes riots in some parts of the population.
“You are not only accused of defrauding the starving congregation with cunning lies and a lot of bluster, you are also accused of leaving their dead in the streets. It’s as if they were dancing dogs and they died at random, and worse, you don’t even bother burying them.”
(Teulé, Invitation to Dance, p.61, Sel Yay. 2020)
Although many ways have been tried to stop the epidemic and make people stop dancing, none of them work; it is hoped that maybe if a real musical performance, a real dance performance is held, the crazy local dancers will stop, but on the contrary, those who hear the music become even crazier.
Teulé takes us through a reality that is hard to believe with the language he uses. Thanks to his grotesque descriptions, we can see the performance we read vividly in our minds.
Although the exact cause is unknown, this proven epidemic naturally brings to mind the following question: Could a similar epidemic occur in the future?
References and Further Reading
Pennant-Rea, N. (2018, July 10). The dancing plague of 1518. The Public Domain Review. https://publicdomainreview.org/essay/the-dancing-plague-of-1518/
Teulé, J. (2020). Invitation to Dance, Enter the dance . Sel Publishing.
Waller, J. (2009). A forgotten plague: Making sense of dancing mania. The Lancet, 373(9664), 624–625. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0140-6736(09)60386-x
