The Dancing Plague: The Strange, True Story of an Extraordinary Illness by John Waller (PDF)

Description

A gripping tale of one of history’s most bizarre events, and what it reveals about the strange possibilities of human natureIn the searing July heat of 1518, Frau Troffea stepped into the streets of Strasbourg and began to dance. Bathed in sweat, she continued to dance. Overcome with exhaustion, she stopped, and then resumed her solitary jig a few hours later. Over the next two months, roughly four hundred people succumbed to the same agonizing compulsion. At its peak, the epidemic claimed the lives of fifteen men, women, and children a day. Possibly 100 people danced to their deaths in one of the most bizarre and terrifying plagues in history.John Waller compellingly evokes the sights, sounds, and aromas; the diseases and hardships; the fervent supernaturalism and the desperate hedonism of the late medieval world. Based on new evidence, he explains why the plague occurred and how it came to an end. In doing so, he sheds light on the strangest capabilities of the human mind and on our own susceptibility to mass hysteria.

User’s Reviews

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐John Waller is a great storyteller, and he certainly makes history interesting and scientific history, in particular, accessible. This excellent little account of a forgotten dancing epidemic in 1518 Strasbourg is well-written, informative, and interpretive of the history. As a previous reviewer noted, it’s an excellent synthesis of fact, interpretation, and myth. Waller evokes the hardships, struggles, and ever-present religious atmosphere of late medieval Europe to develop his theory about the causes of the illness that plagued thousands of people in a few separate epidemics during the Middle Ages. The story is very well-told and supplied with plenty of facts and good research. Though it’s meant to be a “lay” book, and it’s certainly very readable and should be of interest to a wide audience, the only reason I gave it four stars instead of five was, in my opinion, the somewhat spotty footnotes. Waller certainly cites many of his sources, but at times, I found myself wondering where he got his information. The only other detraction from the book is the final chapter, in which Waller delves into more modern interpretations of trance. Waller is a scientific historian and not an anthropologist or a psychologist; thus, I felt this section of the book was weaker than the others, if still interesting.Bottom line: A good interpretation of a fascinating, little-known history, fleshed out with facts. Although more citations and a reworking of the last chapter would make it even better, these points should not deter you from picking up a copy of this book and enjoying it.

⭐Enjoyable read so far! I’ve read about half of the book. A dance professor raved about this fascinating tale and it’s so macabre that I was struck by the same fascination to learn more about it and order the book.Well written and informative in a non-stuffy way. The author does a good job to make “dry historical details” have an excitement to them and a flow as though it were almost a novel or a screenplay.At a certain point, there is only so much one can do with the information, and topics or theories occasionally seem redundant, but that could also be the nature of history, after all. I appreciate it at times because it helps the information to stick and draws out the small details where I can really imagine life back in this time.Overall, it’s a clear, well-written and engaging read whether you are a history buff or just find the topic interesting!

⭐I read this for the historical lesson. I didn’t think I would learn so much about how culture affects people’s response to extreme stress. Absolutely fascinating!

⭐It arrived quickly – there was one little bend in the front cover, but other than that the condition was as-advertised. A good purchase.

⭐Got this for Christmas. I have a degree in history and weird history has always fascinated me.

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⭐A good book on Renaissance science and religion. In 1518, the “Dancing Plague” struck Strasbourg, Germany, and within weeks hundreds of people were dancing uncontrollably in the streets: some to their deaths. Dancing Plagues had struck other cities and villages in Europe previous to 1518, but this event was well documented.Waller argues that the residents of Strasbourg had experienced phenomenal stress leading up to the Dancing Plague: famine, unrest, threats from Turks, and church leaders who were corrupt and sinful. The psychological stress led to a psychological plague, and in this period of the Early Rennaisance the first to respond were the doctors. Interestingly, they failed, and only when the city council turned to religious solutions were the victims ‘cured.’ An enjoyable book about a little known fact of early European life.

⭐I’ll preface this review by saying ‘The Dancing Plague’ is the best single book you’re liable to find regarding the history of Medieval Europe’s choreomania epidemics. While not flawless, this book offers the best telling of the incidents in terms of both narrative and resources. The main flaw of the book comes with what the author is and is not willing to consider as having caused the choreomania outbreaks in the first place. He does a good job of demolishing the ergot theory, which is the one I’ve seen most frequently disseminated online. What the author is not willing to consider however is the possibility of a genuinely supernatural cause, something he does not even deem worthy of addressing.The book is divided into three parts, beginning with a hundred pages or so devoted to illustrating what life was like for the European peasantry in the Medieval era (to sum it up: it was not very nice). The second (and longest) section explores the 1518 outbreak in Strasbourg in detail, from the first woman to succumb to the mania up until she was joined in the streets by hundreds of others. This section contains a lot of valuable information, but it is all presented through the lens of the conclusions the author has already reached (namely that the Strasbourg epidemic, and all others like it, were caused by the immense fear of God held by the peasantry amplified by their miserable living conditions).The final (and briefest) section of the book is an examination of other incidences of mass hysteria which took place subsequent to 1518. The book is very readable – I purchased the book interested solely in choreomania, yet it still managed to command my attention throughout the section devoted to general Medieval history. Physically it is an appealing book, containing a few images littered throughout. Still, reading the book is somewhat like reading a dissertation (albeit a good one). The author has a point to make, and he knows what it is from the very first page – while alternate ideas don’t really get much of a look-in.

⭐An interesting read about a peculiar event in German history. There a some strange goings on and people are dancing without end until death or exhaustion. The author pieces together the social and political events of the time to reveal how such an odd thing could happen but also makes some strange assumptions about the individuals emotions that are not needed in what is already a fascinating and bizarre study.

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