THE 1518 PLAGUE OF STRASBOURG:A DANCING FEVER

Carlos BraceroSenior SeminarDr. Noble CookDecember 4, 2013

THE 1518 PLAGUE OF STRASBOURG:A DANCING FEVER

The basis of this paper examines the impacts of the social,

political, and religious movements through a multi-layer study of

the Dancing Plague in Strasbourg from the early 1200s through the

early 1500s. By analyzing this historic, but rather odd dancing

hysteria, these movements created severe forms of depression,

stress, and anxiety that ultimately led to high levels of

psychosis within the community. The time period studied includes

the Bundschuh uprisings and peasantry gains to Strasbourg

citizenship, the religious justifications for diseases and the

emergence of powerful saints, and the severe hunger strikes which

resulted from years of failed crops and abnormal climate

changes.i

This analysis uses several major sermons from Lutheran

theologians such as Matthäus Zell and Martin Bucer, eyewitness

1

reports of those present in Strasbourg before, during, and after

the Dancing Plague, and medical reports from Strasbourg

physician, Johann Widmann.ii Likewise, this study challenges the

pre-Reformation argument that the Dancing Plague was a form of

punishment sent from God, but rather induced by biological and

psychological means. The various Strasbourg movements challenged

the inequalities and injustices of the Church towards the

peasantry, which created severe and impossible living conditions

for the peasantry. This in turn, resulted in approximately four

hundred citizens dancing feverishly in the streets of Strasbourg

in the summer of 1518.iii

Located on the southeastern border of the Holy Roman Empire,

Strasbourg, flourished as a major agricultural market and

transportation center. The region’s landscape provided an

equilibrium between the two most important natural resources:

grain and wine.iv The plains abundantly provided the city with

wheat, rye, and other important grains. The hills, covered with

vineyards, provided the demanding European market a continuous

flow of grains and wine. The constant transportation of goods

established Strasbourg as an important trading center. Viewed as

2

an important crossroad to the north and south, east and west, the

Romans constructed a castra in its defense of the region.

Furthermore, engineers improved the transportation routes by

constructing several bridges that intersected the Rhine. One of

these bridges, located northeast of the city, became Europe’s

northernmost bridge past the river. The construction of these

infrastructures made Strasbourg an important economic municipal

for goods and materials from the Rhine Valley, across into Upper

Germany, Swabia, and Württemberg, Nuremberg, and further north.

Likewise, it permitted the importation of goods from Eastern

Europe, Poland, and Bohemia into France or down the Rhine.

Importantly enough, the river became a major line of

communication, not only for the cities established along the

banks, but also between Switzerland and the Low Countries, and

for Italian goods exchanged between Switzerland, the Flemish and

Dutch cities.

This allowed diseases the opportunity to extend themselves

further away from its original place of origin. Likewise, the

exchange of goods between merchants, the common citizens, and

even soldiers created the networks necessary in order to infect

3

an entire population. In a period of time where ailments were

viewed as punishing acts of God, the citizens of Strasbourg lived

fearful and guilty of their sinful manners. Yet, for these

citizens, the Church – not them – were at fault for God’s wrath.

By the eleventh and twelfth century, Strasbourg had been

under complete bishop rule. Those employed by the city were

appointed directly from the bishop or by his administrative

staff, the Constoffler.v These noblemen were granted enough land to

provide for the horses that defended the city. Furthermore, they

honored and respected the Emperor over the Pope, which as a

result, allowed Strasbourg to enjoy exclusive privileges and

rights. In 1205 Philip of Swabia granted the city the rights of

an imperial free city, which held Strasbourg accountable only to

the Emperor – not to the territorial prince of the region.

Furthermore, they were permitted to wage war, establish peace

treaties and alliances, and controlled their trading routes with

little or no interference from the Emperor. By 1219 Frederick II

extended these rights, which granted tax exemptions and expanded

the judicial powers of the lay government. However, within forty

years, Bishop Walter de Geroldseck of Strasbourg, infuriated by

4

the city’s gradual independence, initiated a civil war between

himself and his former allies, the Constoffler. Unable to garner

any strong support, the Bishop and his forces were defeated at

the Battle of Hausbergen, which ended the Bishop’s political

authority in the city. Furthermore, he was not permitted to live

within the city walls. However, he was permitted to reside in his

personal castle in Dachstein, approximately ten miles west of the

city. In addition to this, his administrative offices were

permitted within the city walls.vi

The Strasburg government consisted of a senate, made up of

several councils and burghers. Twenty burghers were elected by

the guilds and ten nobles. Those responsible for the city’s

internal affairs formed the Council of XV, and the foreign

affairs were delegated in the Council of XIII. The city’s major

decisions were handled by both the XV and the XIII, which was

referred to as the XXI, included thirty-two additional men, one-

third compromised of noblemen and two-thirds commoners. The

entire group were referred to as the Magistrate, or the Rat. Those

of the lowest class were neglected and rarely, if ever, held

authoritative positions.vii

5

The road to citizenship, or Bürgerrecht, in Strasbourg

proved to be a difficult and expensive journey for laborers and

peasants alike. First, citizenship was exclusively limited to

men, whether through inheritance or by purchase. This privilege

brought forth numerous benefits which allowed for participation

in Strasbourg affairs. Furthermore, it granted the citizen the

right to trade and exchange goods, the right to vote for senator

within his guild, and protection against fellow burghers and

foreign invaders. However, as full pledged citizens, they paid

taxes, as required, and served in the military – usually as

guards of the city walls.

Second, citizenship was extremely expensive, which hindered

the peasantry class from progressing with the social ladder.

Those who failed to pay for full citizenship were offered the

opportunity to purchase half-citizenship,

Schultheissenbürgerrecht, but were not granted economic nor

political benefits. Instead, they were provided alms from the

city. The majority of the population in Strasbourg were deprived

of these rights and privileges. Known as Inwohners, they

represented the peasant class and resented the social, political,

6

and religious structures of the city, which provided them no

source of reliable income, since they were obligated to return

their profits either to their employer or to the Church.viii

Throughout Europe, the Church dictated everyday life,

especially in Strasbourg. Debated and argued amongst the church

leaders of the era was the characteristics of the “perfect”

Christian. They concluded that the “model” representation of

Christ was one who was Catholic, humanist, Evangelist, radical,

and spiritualist. However Martin Luther’s, The Ninety-Five Theses, in

1517 fueled the already growing hatred towards the clergy. The

majority of canons, monks, and nuns lived a luxurious life with

little or no labor involved. Contrary to the working class, the

Church paid very little towards taxes, which created enormous

rifts within the social classes. Furthermore, the clergy’s

refusal to donate more than the required amount towards the

city’s defense infuriated the peasantry.

Followers of the Church were greatly disappointed with the

wealth accumulated while famine struck Strasbourg in 1492. For a

third consecutive year, abnormal climate changes destroyed crops

and left many peasants in search of food and seed to grow for the

7

following year. Wheat, barley, and rye, the emergency crops, were

completely exhausted leaving the landlords, elites, and the

religious community as the only avenues to purchase seed and

crops.

Freezing winters, scorching summers, and torrential rains

decreased the prices in agriculture, which to recoup the lost

revenues, held many peasants against their will as serfs.

Throughout the region, new taxes were issued aimed primarily

towards the peasantry and farmers. Those unable to pay the

Church’s annual tithe were threatened with excommunication, which

often occurred, and were condemned to live a life full of

damnation. Throughout the Empire peasants were forbidden from

gathering wood and timber, from fishing, and from hunting game,

which left many peasants questioning the legitimacy of the Church

and their right to resist oppression.

The following year, several young men from the countryside

plotted against the clergy and the landlords, who pressured them

to cultivate the lands under severe conditions. Confronted with

the potential possibility of excommunication, they established

the Bundschuh, a movement created against the social order in

8

Strasbourg and the Rhine Valley. Sworn to keep the movement in

secrecy, a member soon after reported the movement to the local

authorities, which led to the arrest of the Bundschuh

participants. The majority were beheaded or hung for high

treason, not only for the betrayal of their lords, but for going

against the entire social order. Although the movement failed,

the 1493 Bundschuh raised concerns within the Empire of rural

violence and demonstrated the peasantry’s refusal to conform to

their social class.

For the Strasbourg magistrates, the recent increase in

violence was viewed as God-sent for the immorality that ran deep

with the city’s social quarters. City officials took extreme

measures to please both the Church and followers alike fearful

that “the sins of the few could result in divine punishment for

the whole city”.ix Prostitutes were limited to certain areas

designated specifically within the city and were barred from

wearing luxurious accessories. Likewise, gamblers were forced to

entertain themselves with card and dice players in gambling dens.

The crops for the following year improved dramatically, which

reinforced the belief that the city was divinely rewarded for

9

purifying the city. However, the excitement was short-lived as

Europe became introduced to syphilis.x

The first acknowledged record of the reported disease was on

February 22, 1495 during King Charles VIII invasion of Naples.

Syphilis crept into Strasbourg through mercenary pike men, or

Landsknechts, on return from the Italian wars and came in contact

with Spanish troops who had sexual relations with prostitutes. In

the spring of the same year the executive head of the city, or

the Ammsister, reported of having a “bad pox” unseen before in

the city. Those infected with the disease complained of

excruciating pain in the joints, which made movements extremely

difficult – or nearly impossible. Afterwards, the genitals,

limbs, and face became covered with blisters, severe acne, and

ulcers. Preachers viewed syphilis “as a punishment for the lusts

of the flesh” which transformed the skin from red to black and

eventually rotted away. Furthermore, the disease was referred to

as the flagellum Dei, or God’s whip, a deep reference of God’s

hatred towards the sinful nature of the adulterer of

fornicator.xi The Church manipulated its followers with public

10

displays for divine mercy and grace by those affected by the

disease.

According to Lorenz Fries, a local physician, he believed

Jupiter, Mars, the Sun, and Mercury came into agreement in the

heavens and sent syphilis as punishment. However, medical

explanations proved to be the most recognized and accepted form

of reasoning in regards to the syphilis outbreak. One of the best

physicians of the time period, Johann Widmann, warned men “to

avoid any contact with a woman who had pustules… [Or]…a woman who

had had contact with a man infected with pustules”.xii

Another epidemic that struck the region was the plague

during the early 1490s. Unable to determine the origin of the

plague, physicians failed in identifying the way it spread

throughout Europe. Strasbourg physician, Johann Widmann, advised

against visiting locations with a history of the plague, which

included cities with contaminated air or where people had died.

He recommended migration to areas not affected within a window of

three months and warned against living in an affected location

for six months to a year. Precautions included keeping the house

light, airy, and well-ventilated, features that were not common

11

in the city. The Church adopted a belief that “doctors wanted

every man to be able to maintain himself and his family in good

health, to achieve the seventy years of life which God fixed as

his normal life span”, which established a relationship between

the physicians and the religious community.xiii

Strasbourg, after three unsuccessful harvests due to climate

changes, enjoyed four consecutive years of mild winters and

pleasant summers, which produced an increase in grain and wine,

favorable for the European market. Although the peasantry

relished this brief period of success, they still resented the

Church’s economic stance within the community. Unfortunately for

Strasbourg, the bubonic plague, another deadly epidemic, entered

Mulhose – approximately twenty miles south of the city. For the

Church, this demonstrated God’s wrath and potential judgment over

the city.xiv

Prayers were lifted up to the many saints that protected

Strasbourg and the Rhine Valley such as Saint Sebastian, a

Christian martyr who was used as a defense against the plague.

Saint Roche, another Christian figure was invoked against the

plague. Magistrates and followers alike worshipped and paid

12

homage to these religious figures in the hopes of reducing the

illnesses that ravaged the countryside. However, the cramped

living conditions did very little in decreasing the death toll in

the city.

The city became notorious, like many other European cities,

for the piles of excrements from the domesticated animals that

were allowed to roam freely through the streets. Citizens used

the alleys, under bridges, and between buildings to defecate,

leaving behind foul odors that attracted flies. The blood from

pigs, sheep, and cows butchered for food were drained into the

river bank. Hundreds of sheep were slaughtered on a daily basis,

and their intestines washed into the river. This water, used for

drinking and washing, carried poisons and deadly germs of the

deadly diseases that haunted the city.

In spite of the outbreak of syphilis and other minor

diseases, the peasantry once again revolted against their social

ranks. In 1502 led by a serf named Joss Fritz, his slaved status

to the clergy and unfair treatment of the landlords, motivated

him to purify the Church and to restore the rights of the common

citizen.xv He appealed to the Scriptures, human reasoning, and

13

tradition as causes for the Bundschuh movement. The clergy,

according to the peasantry, were no longer the representation of

the Church and of Christ and needed to be reformed. He recruited

many farmers under the slogan “divine justice,” the peasant’s

right to restore the freedoms that were naturally bound to him by

birth. In return, Fritz and his Bundschuh followers believed they

were executing God’s will on Earth. Approximately one thousand

peasants submitted under Fritz’s ideology and swore oaths to the

cause. However, once again, the movement was foiled by a member

within the group and provided the authorities with important

information of the revolt. Participants were executed for their

involvement in the matter, while Fritz escaped into the Black

Forest in southwest Germany.

The failed Bundschuh movement of 1503 brought again fears of

divine punishments from above. For Bishop Albrecht, the peasantry

revolt and the lack of rain brought him to conclude that

Strasbourg was a “battleground between His and Satan’s forces”.

However, it appeared that his calls for change and reformation

entered into deaf ears amongst the clergy, who refused to leave

their concubines behind when the Bishop himself had intimate

14

affairs with prostitutes and fathered bastard children.

Furthermore, peasants were brought into court for minuet charges

in order to pay for the clergy’s lifestyle. The newly elected

Pope Julius II even agreed that the concubines were welcome to

stay in the residence of the Bishop, which made the peasantry

even more infuriated than before.xvi

The constant struggle with the Church consistently brought

forth sicknesses and diseases. In 1517 smallpox swept through

Strasbourg. The few hospitals the city had were already

overcrowded and could no longer care for those infected, the

majority of these were peasants. Instead, they were provided with

a tiny shelter with a light covering of filthy, matted straw.

Furthermore, the town of Mulhouse, just south of the city, was

struck with the bubonic plague for the second time within a

decade. The Church pleaded to its followers to pray to St.

Sebastian and St. Roche to stop the further spread of the

diseases. Citizens were alarmed at the rate at which the

illnesses spread so fast – and it was only the beginning.

Later in the same year, the “English sweat” reached

Strasbourg. Although only a handful succumbed to the illness, the

15

manner in which they did was horrific. First, acute anxiety came

upon the victim followed by extremely violent shivers and

fatigue. Eventually within hours, sweat began to pour out of the

victim’s body in large amounts, leaving the victim in a state of

extreme thirst. Death usually followed soon after.

The citizens wondered if the presence of God had left the

city due to its immorality and its greed – not by them, but by

the Church. Prayers to the saints were left unanswered, families

were torn apart, and only the elite had the ability to move out

of Strasbourg and into the cities not yet affected by these

diseases. Yet, many kept their faith in God. Their strong beliefs

led them to believe that the power of God was more powerful than

the powerful of Satan and his demons. Certainly, God would not

forsake Strasbourg.

The depression of the poor continued, the Church raised the

peasant debt. Although the Church promised to protect the

interests of the peasant, they did very little to keep their

promise. With the threat of excommunication at large, the

Bundschuh movement – once again – gained popularity with the

reemergence of Joss Fritz.

16

The Bundschuh movement had failed twice before in 1493 and

in 1502, however Fritz was determined to provide his followers

lands free from landlords and incomes untouched by taxes and

tithes. The first city he planned to capture was Rosheim, twenty

miles southwest of Strasbourg. There he would use the city as a

base to lead his followers into the low country to recruit

farmers and gardeners. Murdering the magistrates and civic

leaders became the staple for the Bundschuh, and eventually he

devised a strategy to recruit thousands more on the other side of

the Rhine. However, once again, the movement was betrayed by a

fellow peasant and the participants were executed or they

escaped. This “dream” of a utopian peasant society that held many

of the peasants vanished and brought depression throughout the

countryside. By 1518, misery within the peasantry reached an all-

time high.

A week before the festival of Mary Magdalene, another

cherished religious figure in Strasbourg, a woman named Frau

Troffea awkwardly began dancing without reason. Many rumored her

to be upset with her husband and danced in public to shame him,

but even with pleas from her husband, Frau Troffea continued

17

vigorously dancing. The curious crowd surrounded her and were

shocked of her stamina. As evening set, she collapsed into a

state of sleep. However, with renewed energy Frau Troffea began

her dance early the next morning. She continued dancing for a

third and into a fourth day. According to the Duntzenheim

chronicles, at this juncture the local authorities intervened.xvii

Another chronicle, the Imlin’sche, stated her public dance went

on for six days consecutively. She danced, due to non-stop

movement, with horrendous bruising, bloody sores, and lacerations

on her feet. Those who witnessed her dancing called her to have

evil spirits, the work of the Devil, or witchcraft. Women in the

sixteenth century were often noted to have a weaker mind, which

allowed for these evil spirits to enter their body. However, for

the Church they viewed Frau Troffea as a victim of Saint Vitus’

dance.xviii

Given her status as a woman, she was rumored to be subjected

to trauma, both religious and personally. Women in Europe were

constantly lectured about their sinful nature as daughters of

Eve, who submitted to the temptation in the Garden of Eden. In

the household, women were ordered to obey their husbands and

18

submit to his demands. Wives were constantly at the mercy of

physical and physiological abuse from their husbands.

Furthermore, they earned no income, which left the household

dependent solely on the husband for support. Husbands who spent

without concern for their families often left the household in

enormous debt. There are no records on behalf of Herr Troffea

that proved financial instability. Therefore, Frau Troffea’s

dance was not sparked by physical abuse, but rather to other

factors.

The only reasonable solution to her dance was she danced in

a deep state of trance brought forth by extreme levels of stress,

anxiety, and pressures. The trance allowed for Frau Troffea to

ignore the pain beyond conscious awareness, which made her body

unresponsive to the pain brought on by her dancing. Eventually an

estimated four hundred citizens danced in the streets of

Strasbourg with the same symptoms brought on by Frau Troffea.

They attained extremely high levels of endurance unfeasible

during consciousness, even the weak were viewed as strong due to

this phenomenon. The peasantry’s weakened state and constant

suffering increased the possibility of slipping into a trance-

19

like stance. Malnutrition and the lack of important vitamins and

minerals further exposed them to the possibility of smallpox,

syphilis, and plague.xix

The altered state of mind brought forth by dancing, led many

to expect spirits and demons to command the souls of those

affected. During the 1300s, cities in expectancy of the Black

Death danced to drums and entered into a carefree ecstasy.xx

However, the possibility that Frau Troffea danced to introduce a

disease was not the primary cause of her behavior. Witnesses

reported those who awakened from their trances screamed to God

and the saints.

Saint Victius, like many saints, held a lofty position in

organized worship in Europe. In Strasbourg each guild had its own

patron saint to whom they worshipped. Saint Victius was

celebrated for healing the falling sickeness. He is portrayed as

a young man who came to aid of those affected by the dancing

plague. However, as helpful as Saint Victius was, he too was

believed to strike the immoral with uninterrupted periods of

dancing, similar to those in Strasbourg.xxi Often, within taverns

and bars, drunkards cursed each other under the saint’s name. The

20

sheer mention of his name feared and paralyzed many of those who

were cursed in his name.

The Council XXI of Strasbourg turned to local physicians

such as Michel Herr, Johann Muling, and leading surgeon

Hieronymus Brunschwig for advice on the matter.xxii They looked

into the stars and planets for an explanation, which was common

for the time period. However, the Council of XXI resorted to

medical explanations for the dancing plague. They stated that

“dance is a natural disease, which comes from overheated

blood”.xxiii Another method supported by physicians encouraged the

afflicted to continue dancing. The city created several stage

platforms in which those affected could continue their dance,

while accompanied by music.

As an agricultural city dominant in grain and wine, ergot

was blamed for the dancing plague. Mold that is grown on the

stalks of damp rye, rye was commonly used for flour, rye bread,

rye beer, and whiskeys. As a trading center, Strasbourg exported

this crop throughout the Empire, which was a highly demanded

crop.

21

Failed by the local physicians, and fearful of God’s wrath,

and the constant threat of Saint Victius, a pilgrimage to the

town of Saverne was suggested.xxiv The sight of the medieval

church aided many of those affected. The journey to the town gave

Strasbourg a glimmer of hope. Enormous attention was given to the

peasantry, which for a long time they were neglected. Here at

Saverne they entered an atmosphere of prayers and incense. The

ritual at the church spoke specifically and directly to the

peasants, which according to chronicler Specklin “helped most of

them”. The constant threat of excommunication and the inability

to please the Church were no longer worries amongst the peasantry

in Saverne. The past years of neglect and horrendous experiences

were replaced by weeks and months of attention from the religious

and civic sectors of the city.

The corruption within the clergy and the failed Bundschuh

created severe forms of depression within the peasant class.

Their inability to produce crops, due to severe climate changes,

placed an enormous fear amongst those in the lower class. Worried

about the prospect of excommunication from the Church, peasants

risked their lives in the failed Bundschuh movements, but did

22

raise awareness within the countryside of future potential

revolts. Furthermore, the Church’s unwillingness to pay for taxes

left farmers, gardeners, and laborers as the sole investors of

the city’s defense unit, while they themselves lived luxurious

lives surrounded by prostitutes and concubines. Nevertheless, the

oppressive state in which they lived caused rifts within the

social ladder. The faith they believed in, seemed too had failed

them in their point of view.

The outbreak of diseases further risked the lives of the

peasants. With no steady form of income, they remained in areas

affected with syphilis, smallpox, and the “English sweat”. This

oppressive form of survival led to high levels of stress,

anxiety, and guilt brought on by the religious community and

illnesses. Furthermore, the powers of the saints compelled the

peasants to please their landlords and magistrates, which forced

them to sacrifice their daily ways of life.

The dancing plague, connected the religious movements of its

day. Protestants, Catholics, and Lutherans each fought for total

influence in Strasbourg and the surround region, despite the

outbreaks that occurred within its followers. Furthermore, the

23

relationships between the Church and its followers failed in

protecting the interests of the peasant, instead focused on their

own desires and those of political importance. The inequalities

and injustices brought forth by the Church, became exposed

through the plague and, in turn, paid more attention to the

interests of the peasants – an issue that was continuously denied

for decades.

Endnotes

24

i

John Waller, The Dancing Plague: The Strange, True Story of an Extraordinary Illness, (Naperville, Illinois: Sourcebooks, Inc., 2008), 33-34, 43-45, 51-52.ii

Chrisman, Miriam Usher. Lay Culture, Learned Culture, 1480-1599, (New Haven and London:Yale University Press, 1982), 40-42.

iii

John Waller, The Dancing Plague: The Strange, True Story of an Extraordinary Illness, (Naperville, Illinois: Sourcebooks, Inc., 2008), 71.

iv Chrisman, Miriam Usher. Lay Culture, Learned Culture, 1480-1599, (New Haven and London:Yale University Press, 1982), xxiv.

v Chrisman, Miriam Usher. Strasbourg and the Reform: A Study in the Process of Change, (New Havenand London: Yale University Press, 1967), 237.

vi Chrisman, Miriam Usher. Strasbourg and the Reform: A Study in the Process of Change, (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1967), 16.

vii Chrisman, Miriam Usher. Strasbourg and the Reform: A Study in the Process of Change, (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1967), 22-25, 96, 265.

viii

ix Abray, Lorna Jane. The People's Reformation: Magistrates, Clergy, and Commons inStrasbourg 1500-1598, (Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press, 1985), 222.x

Hayden, Deborah. Pox: Genius, Madness, and the Mysteries of Syphilis. New York: Basic Books, 2003.

xi John Waller, The Dancing Plague: The Strange, True Story of an Extraordinary Illness, (Naperville, Illinois: Sourcebooks, Inc., 2008), 84.

xii Chrisman, Miriam Usher. Lay Culture, Learned Culture, 1480-1599, (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1982), 137.xiii

Chrisman, Miriam Usher. Lay Culture, Learned Culture, 1480-1599, (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1982), 129.

xiv John Waller, The Dancing Plague: The Strange, True Story of an Extraordinary Illness, (Naperville,Illinois: Sourcebooks, Inc., 2008), 41, 62.

xv McLaughlin, R. Emmett. Department of History, Villanova University, "Much Ado About the Bundschuh." Last modified October 2005. Accessed October 10, 2013. http://www.h net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=11188.

xvi

xvii Abray, Lorna Jane. The People's Reformation: Magistrates, Clergy, and Commons in Strasbourg 1500-1598, (Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press, 1985), 231-232.

xviii Waller, John. A Time to Dance, a Time to Die: The Extraordinary Story of the Dancing Plague of 1518. (London: Icon Books, 2008), 56.

xix Viegas, Jennifer. Discovery Channel, "Dancing Plague and Other Odd Afflictions Explained." Last modified August 1, 2008. Accessed October 15, 2013.

http://web.archive.org/web/20121013075434/http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2008/08/01 dancing-death mystery.html.

xx Halsall, Paul. Fordham University, "Jewish History Sourcebook: The Black Death and the Jews 1348-1349 CE." Last modified 1998. Accessed October 9, 2013. http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/jewish/1348 jewsblackdeath.asp.

xxi Rosen, George. Madness in Society: Chapters in the Historical Sociology of Mental Illness, (Chicago:The University of Chicago Press, 1968), chap. 7.

xxii Chrisman, Miriam Usher. Lay Culture, Learned Culture, 1480-1599, (New Haven andLondon: Yale University Press, 1982), 42, 50-51, 131-132, 189-190.xxiii

John Waller, The Dancing Plague: The Strange, True Story of an Extraordinary Illness, (Naperville, Illinois: Sourcebooks, Inc., 2008), 115.xxiv

Chrisman, Miriam Usher. Strasbourg and the Reform: A Study in the Process of Change, (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1967), 136, 151.