The Dancing Plague: When Medieval Peasants Danced Themselves To Death | After Dark

When people think of Medieval diseases, hysterical dancing is not usually what first comes to mind. Yet in 14th and 15th century Germany, dozens of ordinary people claimed to be infected by the ‘dancing plague’. What was this mysterious phenomenon? What caused it? And was it even a real disease? Strap in as Dr. Anthony Delaney and Dr. Maddy Pelling speak to Dr. Eleanor Janega, co-host of Gone Medieval, to discover why these people just couldn’t stop dancing. 00:00 Introduction 2:10 What was a Medieval Dancing Plague?  3:26 The St Johns Dancing Plague 12:18 The St Vitus Dancing Plague 19:47 Dancing Plagues as Medieval Therapy 21:13 How did Medieval Doctors Treat Dancing Plague? 28:30 Who Did Dancing Plagues Mainly Affect? 33:46 What Caused Dancing Plague? 37:31 Outro You can now become a History Hit member right here on YouTube! Join for access to a new exclusive documentary every week, and access to over 160+ of our documentaries presented by world renowned historians like Dan Snow, Eleanor Janega, Tristan Hughes, Mary Beard, Matt Lewis and more. Get an exclusive release every week by signing up here: https://bit.ly/45Y4Oyg