From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia

Revision as of 20:56, 23 June 2007 WikiSysop (Talk | contribs) ← Previous diff

Revision as of 20:56, 23 June 2007 WikiSysop (Talk | contribs) (St. John's Dance moved to Dancing mania) Next diff →

---

Revision as of 20:56, 23 June 2007

Related e

Wikipedia Wiktionary Shop Featured: Rhombicuboctahedron by Leonardo da Vinci

Dancing mania is the name given to a phenomenon that occurred primarily in mainland Europe from the 14th century through to the 17th century, in which groups of people would dance through the streets of towns or cities, sometimes foaming at the mouth or speaking in tongues, until they collapsed from exhaustion. The first major outbreak of the mania was in Aachen, Germany, on June 24th, 1374. The dancers went through the streets screaming of wild visions, and even continued to writhe and twist after they collapsed from exhaustion. The dancing quickly caught on, and spread rapidly throughout France and the Low Countries.

The mania reached its peak in 1418 in Strasbourg. At at least one point, so many people had either been afflicted with the dancing mania, or caught up in the dancing, or were trying to give assistance, or simply watching the events unfold, that the town was brought to a complete halt.