The dancing plague 1518–world history and facts
The dancing plague 1518–world history and facts The dancing plague kicked off with a woman named Lady Troffea(or Frau Troffea) dancing wildly in a busy street of Strasbourg one afternoon in July 1518.. Onlookers thought she was in high spirits, so they cheered and clapped for her. But when the dance continued for 6 days straight, it became clear that high spirits is not the reason for her dance-a-thon. Within a week, 34 locals joined the dance frenzy. By August 1518, at least 400 were twisting, twirling and gyrating in the streets of Strasbourg, that looked like the venue of modern day music festival. The city council was advised by physicians to let the afflicted dance away the “fever”. 15 people were falling dead daily from the sheer exhaustion of dancing non-stop at the height of the epidemic. Reasons Given By Modern Experts Ergot Poisoning: Ergot is a fungus that grows on rye and related plants. It has psychoactive chemical products which can cause severe hallucinations and s