Book Cover of The Dancing Mania

The Dancing Mania

by Justus Hecker

Numerous theories have been proposed for the causes of dancing mania, and it remains unclear whether it was a real illness or a social phenomenon. One of the most prominent theories is that victims suffered from ergot poisoning, which was known as St Anthony's Fire in the Middle Ages. During floods and damp periods, ergots were able to grow and affect rye and other crops. Ergotism can cause hallucinations, but cannot account for the other strange behaviour most commonly identified with dancing mania.

Book Details

Language

English

Original Language

German

Published In

1972

Authors

Justus Hecker image

Justus Friedrich Karl Hecker was a German physician and medical writer, whose works appear in medical encyclopaedias and journals of the time. He particularly studied disease in relatio...

Books by Justus Hecker

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