Brunell Arianna Brunell Lindsy Cieslewicz Dance 460 30 November 2012 Dance Mania In The Middle Ages The

late Middle Ages provided difficult times for the people of Europe. Difficult times including the Hundred Years War, the Black Plague, and power struggles with the Christian church. Many individuals were forced into depression, and soon decided that their life was no longer important in the world. Just like in modern day, individuals deal with pain, suffering, happiness, and stress etc. in many different ways. Knowing how to deal with these different kinds of emotions will help an individual control drastic measure of action. In the late Middle Ages, many people had not suffered because of the start of a prosperous living. However, once tragedies hit one after another, Europeans had to learn how to deal with such heartache. Some felt that the only way to survive this tragic time in history was to dance until they could not feel anymore, even to the point of collapse or death. As war, religious persecution, and plague hit Europe in the late Middle Ages, individuals were forced into a dance mania in order to keep sane.

Dance mania was known as a mass psychosis that individuals went through in response to the pain and hardships of the late Middle Ages. People would suddenly break out into a dance wherever they were. It could have been in their homes, in the streets, or even in marketplaces. Many would not have any control to start of stop this continual act of dancing. Because death was the center of everyones lives, they transformed how they saw death into a dance. Whether the liked it or not, death was a part of them, and probably wouldnt leave until emotionally taken

Brunell care of. There is not a particular dance that would be used. Some dancers performed like they were in a state of ecstasy, or hysterical grotesque dancing. Often loud shouting or verbalization would accompany these dances. These individuals who got into a hysterical state were not able to stop. It is mentioned that these individuals would not stop until a point of exhaustion, or even death. It is also assumed to be contagious, often striking in small groups, such as families and

individuals. Families and friends mourn together through tough times, so it only makes sense that dance mania would spread to those closest to the originators. There were only a few theoretical cures for dance mania: isolation, cold showers, or playing sweet music nonstop for days to exhaust the afflicted person. However, these were only theoretical cures, not absolute action could be taken to stop the dance mania. Because death was continually taking people from every social status, death was all people could truly think about. According to Charles Herbermann of the Catholic Encyclopedia, The epidemics so frequent and so destructive at that time, such as the Black Death, brought before popular imagination the subject of death and its universal sway. Death was not only happening to families and friends, but it was now the subject of entertainment. Death was the hot topic, or the talk of the town. People wanted to read about it, sing about it, view paintings about it, and dance about it. There are three main dance manias that are recorded in history. These famous dance epidemics are, the Childrens Crusades and the Pied Piper, the St. Vitus Dance, and the tarantella. The Childrens Crusades and Pied Piper basically tempted children with music. The music played put them under a magic spell. The children were then taken and never to be returned. This magic spell forced the children to dance and dance as they traveled around Europe. Because of the numerous deaths of children during the late Middle Ages, it has been suggested that the Pied Piper symbolizes the childrens death by plague or catastrophe. Creating

Brunell plots like this helped cure the hearts of parents and loved ones. This fairy tale created a

dramatic story to entertain the center of everyones lives, death. There have been many stories of parents describing the pain of losing a child. It is reported that it is much harder to lose a child than to lose anyone else in your life. Children are such a precious gift given to each parent. Once a treasured offspring is taken from this world, an individual is not the same. Because of the pain of such loss, people cured the pain by making reality into a fairy tale, a fairy tale of a serious, heart-breaking dance epidemic. St. Vitus Dance is an informal name for Sydenham chorea. According to an A.D.A.M. Disclaimer, Sydenham chorea happens when there are Jerky, uncontrollable, and purposeless movements that look like twitches. There is a loss of motor control, loss of emotional control with bout of inappropriate crying or laughing, and symptoms of rheumatic fever. This is not a theory or a situation that we assumed happened, but reality. This disease happens in our day and age. In the late Middle Ages, people with this terrible disease traveled to the St. Vitus Chapel to be cured. It is reported that if they refused, they would be excommunicated from the church. Because of the twitching symptoms of Sydenham chorea, many thought that traveling to the patron saint of dancers and actors, St. Vitus, would cure this dance epidemic. It is very interesting how people of the Middle Ages and people of modern day think so differently. Because of our advancement in medicine, individuals today are able to take an antibiotic to get rid of this disease. In the late Middle Ages, we are not sure if individuals were cured from this disease they thought to be a dance. Although it is something that happens today, we dont hear it very often. However, the St. Vitus Dance was considered a famous dance epidemic in the Middle Ages.

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The tarantella is the third and most famous dances associated with dance mania. There is no clear origin or purpose of the tarantella, but it is assumed that the tarantella began with a tarantula bite. Those who were bitten would dance until complete exhaustion to destroy the poison in the body. The tarantella is also known to counter the St. Vitus Dance. This dance of healing was then developed into a Neapolitan version where women danced and swirled with snapping fingers and song. Another version was developed with a couple performing a dramatic story of wooing, rejection, and return. The dance would be considered a rhythmic dance with stomps and specific patterns. The dance would even be performed with three or more women because it was bad luck to dance the tarantella alone. Even though it was considered a dance epidemic, it grew to be popular for entertainment and a future appreciation of the arts. This specific dance was more for the good and healing of humanity. However many other dance mania occurrences were not used for health. They were performed because the mind, body, and spirit could not handle the extent of fear and pain. The American Cancer Society has proven that a positive spirit and attitude can transform into a healthy body. Cancer patients are encouraged to stay positive and physically active in order to keep their minds active and prepared to fight their serious illness. The mind, body, and spirit section of the American Cancer Society explains how, A good attitude and healthy spirit may have positive physical effects. This phrase may be switched and still hold truth. People of the late Middle Ages had not come to this conclusion as quickly as people of the modern day can. In a way, we can compare the victims of dance mania to cancer patients. The dance epidemics may have had the chance to be prevented if such tactics were used. However, even though sickness can be a huge hurdle in someones life, the combination of sickness, fighting, and persecution would be unbearable. There are assumptions made that epidemics can

Brunell cured with a positive attitude, but some dance epidemics were filled with a huge amount of pain

and suffering. In the event of the late Middle Ages, the Black Death was spreading like wild fire. Dance epidemics were performed because there was no other way to deal with tragedies of plague. This plague destroyed over half of the population of cities in Europe, and tore families apart. There was no way of completely escaping the reality of the tragic Black Death. The Black Death was first known to outbreak across England in 1348-49. It quickly spread throughout Englands neighboring areas. This plague was more serious then I think anyone in our day and age can comprehend. Dr. Mike Ibeji explains, The Black Death was a squalid disease that killed within a week, and a national trauma that utterly transformed Britain. Sometimes the serious illness would hit cities with a sudden, rapid pace. There was barely anytime for loved one to prepare for mourning of their loss. Dr. Mike Ibeji shares specific information about the quickness of the plague, Those marked for death were scarce permitted to live longer than three or four days. It showed favor to no one On the same day, 20, 40 or 60 bodies, and on many occasions many more There was hardly any hope for those who captured this disease. A graphic testimony by an anonymous hand was found carved describing the pain of the plague, Wretched, terrible, destructive year, the remnants of the people alone remain. Not only were loved ones constantly dying, but also a panic spread throughout Europe. The fear for ones life to end was so deep and mental, that individuals entered into a psychosis of non-stop dancing. When terrible things were happening all around, people went into shock. The only way many were able to deal with the tragedies was to dance until they literally were forced to stop. It is assumed that dancers seemed to be in a state of unconsciousness, and unable to control themselves. Some who were affected by dancing mania suffered from various problems, including chest pains, convulsions, hallucinations, hyperventilation, epileptic fits, and visions.

Brunell Being mentally drained from loss and fear, dancers would soon be overwhelmed with exhaustion. The Black Death was a major cause of dance mania, but the Hundred Years War also made a contribution to the mass psychic hysteria. Just like any war in our worlds history, it brings hardships those fighting and the loved ones waiting at home. It can also bring anxiety for countries that are fighting for something that they believe in. The Hundred Years war was basically a series of conflicts between the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of France. The whole purpose of this war was to receive control of the French throne. Dr. L. Kip Wheeler states that, The Hundred Years War was a long struggle between England and France over succession to the French throne. The war is known to be divided different phases: the Edwardian Era War (1337-1360), the Caroline War

(1369-1389), and the Lancastrian War (1415-1453). Living through one war is tragic enough, but battles going through generations of families would be considered unbearable, especially in times when every eligible young man was forced to fight for their country. It is estimated that a total of 2.3-3.3 million died total from this war. No matter how death occurs or how frequent it happens, dealing with the death of loved ones is never easy. A lot of the time, death is considered to be horrible and unfair. Believing that death is always a horrible situation will cause an individual to have a harder time accepting their loss. If a loved one does not accept the death of someone who has passed, his or her mental state can hinder incredibly. Dealing with this mental stress, people turned to dance to forget their sufferings. If you think about it, constant dancing in a hysteric state can almost be like taking drugs for the pain. Dance manias in the late Middle Ages can be paralleled to raves in our day. People in modern day will get in a state of ecstasy just to forget their pain and unbearable trials. Today, there are many horror stories of families taking dangerous measures for the loss of a soldier in war. This is probably exactly how families

Brunell felt when the Hundred Years War took place. There are a couple of main differences: First, in the beginning, there was no clear conclusion of the war. Second, the dancers would have no control over their bodies when dance mania would occur. People with this serious psychosis could not voluntarily get out of their unconscious state of hysteria, but had to be forced out of it. The choice was not theirs, opposite of the choices that people make today to force drugs down their systems to erase the pain. Religious persecution was another important factor to the development of dance mania.

In our world today, we are blessed with religious freedom. However, in the Middle Ages, the church dominated everyones life. Whether you were a noble, peasant, serf, or a King, from birth to death, the church controlled your life. Many people devoted their lives to serving the church, and many just dealt with it because that is all they knew. It came to a point in the Middle Ages where the church was very prosperous in wealth, which gave them great amounts of power. When a church has such power over your every decision, it is hard to remember your personal values. Churches then began to accept bribes of money so that their sins would go away. Instead of dealing with actual guilt and repentance, people knew that they could do bad and get away with it with a small fee. Having the spiritual side of an individuals life against you can be hurtful and can create a feeling of depression. Especially when so many tragedies occurred in the late Middle Ages, religious persecution did not help anyones heart heal. During the dance mania, the Christian church did not approve of the hysterical dances that were being performed. Because there was no stopping the continual frenzy of dance, ecclesiastical councils had no control over the situation. This anger and frustration lead to the loss of Christian dance during that time. Religious confusion not only took part in the pain behind dance mania, but it also did not help cure those who suffered from the mass psychosis.

Brunell Dance mania is a response deeper than just the urge to dance. Something is developed in the mind that forces the body to dance til you drop based on tragic experiences. In the late Middle Ages, these experiences include war, religious persecution, and plague. Before such tragedy hit Europe, there was time of prospering for almost all the population. When things are constantly going right with no problems, people forget how to mentally handle hardships. Once

serious trials hit, the mind, body, and spirit lose control and dont know what to do once it is time to grieve. This is exactly what happened to the people of the late Middle Ages through the decades and decades of hardship. People were fighting, dying, and fearing for the end of the world. There was a very slim chance of people having hope when so many negative events were taking place. Everyone deals with pain and grief a different way, but some were forced into nonstop dancing until the point of exhaustion or death. There was no other way these individuals could deal with the tragedies taken place. Not only were their options limited, but also they could not stop voluntarily. Our world can be an extremely frightening place. In modern day, people are able to accept certain tragedies and deal with them in a safe way. However, because of the unbearable times people of the late Middle Ages were put there, there was no other way to survive unless one went into a dance mania.

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Works Cited

Clark, James Midgley. The Dance of Death in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Glagsow: Jackson, 1950. Print.

Elchenberg, Fritz. The Dance of Death: A Graphic Commentary on the Danse Macabre Through The Centuries. New York: Abbeville Press, 1983. Print.

Herbermann, Charles, and George Williamson. "Dance of Death." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 4. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1908. 7 Nov. 2012 <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04617a.htm>.

Ibeji, Mike. Black Death. The BBC. Britain, 2012. 20 Nov. 2012 <http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/middle_ages/black_01.shtml>

Kurtz, Leonard Paul. The Dance of Death and the Macabre Spirit in European Literature. Geneve: Slatkine Reprints, 1975. Print.

Preston, Douglas J. Dance of death. New York: Warner Books, 2005. Print.

Reed, Marcia. The Dance of Death in Book Illustration. Columbia: Ellis Library, University of Missouri, 1978. Print.