The bizarre dance epidemic of 1518

A few months ago, the world was introduced to a novel coronavirus—a pathogen that causes COVID-19. The disease has evolved into a full-blown pandemic, and has already claimed the lives of more than two hundred thousand people worldwide. Experts fear that number could get far higher.

Pandemics have played a role in shaping the course of human history. Empires have fallen. Generations have been annihilated. In 1518 in France, the weirdest plague to strike mankind occurred: The Dancing Plague. For no apparent reason, hundreds of people began dancing in the streets uncontrollably, and they continued until they dropped dead.

"From a distance they might be carnival revellers. But closer inspection reveals a more disquieting scene. Their arms are flailing and their bodies are convulsing spasmodically. Ragged clothes and pinched faces are saturated in sweat. Their eyes are glassy, distant. Blood seeps from swollen feet into leather boots and wooden clogs. These are not revellers but 'choreomaniacs', entirely possessed by the mania of the dance."

Read The Dancing Plague of 1518 in The Public Domain Review.

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