During the sixteenth century an entire town became caught up in what can best be described as a manic episode of chaotic movements or “dancing.” This event started from one woman and soon spread to over 50 other people in the town dancing, until they collapsed from exhaustion. This bizarre pattern of behavior continued for several months, ending as abruptly as it began, and leaving questions of what actually caused this “plague” in the small town of Strasbourg. So, what do historians believe happened to the town of Strasbourg? Like many historical mysteries, this one remains unsolved. However, there are several working theories on what caused the bizarre group behavior.   Historical Context A depiction of the massacre of Jews in Strasbourg, 1349. Source: The Jewish Women’s Archive   Strasbourg, now located in France near the Rhine, was originally part of the Holy Roman Empire until 1681. Throughout its history the town has had several dark moments, including the Strasbourg massacre in 1349 and Nazi occupation from 1940-1944. In the 1500s Strasbourg took part in the Reformation, thereby becoming predominantly Protestant. Still, the dancing plague continues to be one of Strasbourg’s darkest and strangest historical events.    Manic Episodes in Strasbourg Begin Epileptics Walking to Right by Hendrik Hondius I, after Pieter Bruegel the Elder, 1642. The British Museum, London   In July of 1518 a woman named Frau Troffea (possibly Trauffea) went into the center of Strasbourg and began twitching and having spasms. These continued until she became exhausted and would start up again after she rested. There is no mention of anyone attempting to intervene as this pattern continued for an entire week. By the end of the week others joined in the macabre dance with about three dozen convulsing in disjointed movements.   Still more people joined in, and seemed to be affected by the dancing mania. By August it is believed that between 50-400 people had taken part in the dancing. The exhaustion of the marathon of dancing took a toll on the dancers, with many collapsing and dying of exhaustion and essentially dancing themselves to death. There are no exact figures on the mortality rate of the dancing plague, although one source from a man passing through claims at least fifteen died a day.   Religious or Supernatural Causes Dance of Death, Leaf from the Nuremberg Chronicle, by Michael Wolgemut, 1493. Source: The MET Museum   This wouldn’t be the only outbreak of dancing hysteria, nor was it the first of its kind, although it is one of the most well-known. Other instances took place including earlier in 1374 in Germany. During the time, society was still deeply religious, and these “plagues” were considered curses upon individuals and groups, with many believing there was a connection between the uncontrollable dancing and religious or supernatural causes.   Medical Maladies The Four Temperaments by Virgil Solis, 1530-62. Source: The British Museum, London   Unable to understand what was happening to the citizens of Strasbourg, one theory doctors at the time diagnosed the affected with was an imbalance of the four humors—blood, yellow bile, black bile, and phlegm.  In an effort to quell the dancing and rebalance the humors, which was believed to be be too much hot blood in their system, it was decided to allow the villagers to get it out of their system by giving them a place to do their dancing. They built a stage and even hired a band of pipers and drummers to play music and professional dancers to join in and hold up the affected when they wanted to collapse, but the plague continued.    Eventually, men and women were taken to a shrine for St. Vitus, prayed over, and had exorcisms in an attempt to cull the madness. St. Vitus was the patron saint of nervous disorders and was used against chorea, a state of repetitive spastic movements. Chorea was also known as the St. Vitus Dance. This seemed to end the craze, leading many at the time to believe the root cause was religious.    Mass Hysteria and Panic La Peste d’Asdod (The Plague of Ashdod), 1630-1631. Source: Musee du Louvre   One plausible theory explaining this strange phenomenon is mass hysteria and panic, which would cause the initial trigger to snowball from one woman to a large group all exhibiting the same symptoms. This could be caused by trauma of a psychological stress. Historian John Waller wrote that circumstances such as famine and disease outbreaks could have caused the dancing mania.    As mentioned earlier, the city had gone through radical societal changes in the time of the plague, including religious reform and the rebuilding of government structures. It’s easy imagining that the burden of surviving and facing such drastic changes to their lifestyle could drive up stress, triggering a psychological episode.   The Ingestion of Ergot Peasants engaged in threshing, from Luttrell Psalter, Source: The British Library, London   Another possibility for the convulsions is the ingestion of ergot, a fungus that can infect rye and grain, which would have been a main staple in their diet. Ergot causes hallucinations, similar to LSD and lead, along with convulsions from muscle contractions, tingling and crawling sensations, and vertigo. Ergot is also one of the suspected culprits of the behavior of the girls that led to the Salem witch trials. There is, however, some doubt to this theory, as poisoned rye would not allow the dancers to keep moving for days.   Deliberate Dancing The Dance of Death, Anonymous, 16th century. The MET Museum   A small theory that has been mostly dismissed is that the dancing plague was actually deliberate dancing, not random movements of hysterical people. Dancing was often a part of religion, and this theory suggests that the twitching and spasms was a local cult dancing as a religious act to gain favor from higher powers. This seems unlikely as there were no documented religious sects in the area, and reports reveal that while dancing the victims were in immense pain and begging for help, indicating the dance was not something they were doing willingly. Whatever the ultimate cause, the Strasbourg dance plague of 1518 and how the public responded and tried to put an end to it, will go down in one of the strangest events of the French Early Modern period.

  The Valkyries were divine shieldmaidens in the service of Odin, the All-Father. They helped the leader of the gods choose the bravest fallen warriors to dwell in the afterlife of Valhalla.   In Renaissance art, they are often depicted as beautiful and benevolent winged maidens carrying swords and round shields. But this is a very romantic image when compared to how they were described in the Viking Age.   In Norse sagas and Viking histories, Valkyries are beautiful, but also bloodthirsty. They reveled in the gore of the battlefield, entered the fray themselves to ensure the outcomes of wars, and even feasted on dead bodies.   Function of the Valkyries The Valkyrie, illustration by A. Hentschel, from Illustrierte Deutsche Litteraturkunde in Bilde und Stizzen, 1895, Source: germanicmythology.com   In Old Norse, Valkyrie means “chooser of the slain.” This is a literal description of one of the roles of the Valkyries, a group of divine warrior women in the service of Odin.   The Valkyries helped the god of war choose the bravest fallen warriors on the battlefield to take to Valhalla, a hall in Asgard. There the warriors joined the ranks of the Einherjar, a cohort of worthy dead warriors, and trained to fight alongside the gods at Ragnarök.   The Valkyries were also sometimes called Oskmey, which means “wish maiden”. This reiterates their association with Odin, who was sometimes called Oski. What type of wishes they may have granted is unclear. Perhaps they fulfilled the wish of a warrior to be taken to Valhalla when they died.   Odin and the Valkyrie Vebjorg at the battle of Bravellir, illustration by Louis Moe, from Valkyrien: Romantisk Digtning, 1930, Source: My Norse Digital Image Repository   The Valkyries were also sometimes called Rangahlin, which means “shield goddess.” They were closely associated with the Norns, the female Norse goddesses that spun fate.   In Njals Saga, one of the Icelandic sagas, a man witnesses a group of Valkyries weaving. But they use no ordinary loom. The heads of men are used as weights, their entrails as the warp and weft, a sword is used as the shuttle, and the reels are made from arrows. The writer observes that with this bloody work, they are choosing who will win an upcoming battle.   Other stories make it clear that Odin would send the Valkyries to the world of men to intervene in fights and ensure the proper outcome of battles. So, perhaps, the Valkyries could also grant the wish of victory in war.   Divine Demons The Valkyrie, by Peter Nicolai Arbo, 1869, Source: Nasjonal Museet, Norway   If you search for artworks depicting the Valkyries, you will find that they are popular subjects. They are often depicted as voluptuous and feminine women, mostly nude, but carrying shields. They appear as angelic warriors entering the fray on the side of good.   But if you read the descriptions of the Valkyries from the Viking Age, they appear much more like demons of death. The description of the group working at their bloody loom above is just one example.   While the Valkyries were all women, they wore chain mail that fell to the knee and helmets just like male warriors. They rode horses but also wore cloaks made from swan feathers. It was these cloaks that enabled them to fly.   When they appear over the battlefield, they are often described as shining brightly. When any of the gods appear to mortals they are often described as shining. They also carried spears, rather than swords or axes. This seems to be in imitation of Odin, who famously wielded the spear Gungnir.   But while they may have shone beautifully overhead like stars, the guttural battle cries made by the goddesses struck terror into the hearts of the warriors below. They were also described as reveling in the bloodshed they encountered. They would often pour more blood onto the battlefield, presumably implying that their presence made the battle more ferocious and increased the carnage.   After the battle, they would first feast on the bodies of their dead like carrion ravens or wolves (animals both associated with Odin), and bathe in the blood of the dead.   The Valkyries Hildr, Thrudr, and Hlökk bearing ale in Valhalla, illustration by Lorenz Frølich, from Ældre Eddas Gudesange, translated by Karl Gjellerup, 1985, Source: Royal Danish Library   The only description of the Valkyries from the Viking Age that seems inconsistent with this bloody visage is the description of them serving meat and mead to the dead warriors in Valhalla. As cup-bearers, they fulfilled the same role as noble women in mortal households.   It is hard to imagine a Valkyrie bathing in blood and then meekly serving men mead. For this reason, some scholars have suggested that this function was added by later Christian authors to make the women more palatable. While this is possible, Viking Age sources also conflated the Valkyries with the daughters of kings and other noble women. This suggests that the roles of warrior and noblewoman could go hand in hand.   Identity of the Valkyries Viking age figurine of a Valkyrie found at Harby, Denmark, Source: Atlas Obscura   The Valkyries are often described as traveling in groups of nine or twelve, but there doesn’t seem to have been a limit on the number of Valkyries. These numbers may represent a cohort that would fight together.   There is also a considerable blurring of lines between goddesses, Valkyries, and mortal women. This reflects the fact that the Vikings did not always draw clear lines between beings in the supernatural realm.   In various sources, we are given the names of many Valkyries. Their names almost always relate to war or battle. There is Hidlr (battle), Gunnr (war), Geirskogul (spear bearer), Goll (tumult), Hlokk (sound of battle), and Geirahod (spear fight).   Viking Age brooch featuring a Valkyrie leading a warrior on horseback found at Tisso, Denmark, Source: National Museum, Denmark   Interestingly, we also meet Valkyries named Thrudr (power) and Freyja (lady). Thrudr and Freyja are both names of other goddesses, which suggests that some of the more important goddesses may also have numbered among the Valkyries.   Thrudr is the daughter of Thor, but little else is known about her. Freyja is a Vanir goddess who came to live in Asgard after the Aesir-Vanir war. She is a goddess of fertility, love, and beauty. She was one of the most important and popular Norse goddesses.   The sources suggest that just as Odin oversaw Valhalla, Freyja had her own arena, called Folkvanger, and that she also chose brave fallen warriors to dwell there. The sources even imply that she got first choice of the fallen. This seems to confirm a connection between Freyja and the Valkyries, but also reflects her greater importance.   Mortal Valkyries Valkyrie Vebjorg, illustration by Louis Moe, from Valkyrien: Romantisk Digtning, 1930, Source: My Norse Digital Image Repository   At least some of the Valkyries were clearly considered goddesses. They are described among the gods in attendance at Balder’s funeral. But many mortal women are also described as Valkyries.   Perhaps the best-known example of mortal Valkyries comes from the Icelandic poem Volundarkvida. Three brothers meet three women who are spinning swan feather cloaks. This clearly identifies them as Valkyries, but they also have mortal identities. Two are the daughters of King Hlodver, named Hladgudr Scanhvit (swan white) and Hervor Alvitr (strange creature). The third is the daughter of Kjarr of Valland and is called Olrun (beer rune).   The three brothers take the women as wives, and they stay together for seven winters. But at that time, the women flew away to resume their work and never returned. Each man loses themselves as they set out to find their lost loves.   In another story, the son of a Norwegian king sees nine Valkyries riding past while he sits on a burial mound. His location may be significant as the Vikings believed that burial mounds could act as gateways between different realms.   The most beautiful of the Valkyries stops to talk to the man. She reveals that her name is Svava and she is the daughter of King Eylimi, who she often protects in battle. So again, she is given a mortal identity.   She gives the man a gift so that he can become a powerful king himself. When he is, he asks for Svava’s hand in marriage, which he receives. When he later dies in battle, the two are described as being reincarnated, which may imply that they start a new life in Valhalla.   Vebjorg becomes a Valkyrie, illustration by Louis Moe, from Valkyrien: Romantisk Digtning, 1930, Source: My Norse Digital Image Repository   On yet another occasion, a warrior Helgi meets a group of Valkyries on the battlefield and invites them back to spend the night with himself and his warriors. One of them, called Sigrun, explains that she cannot because she is betrothed to another man. She’s not happy about this because she considers the man unworthy.   Helgi then raises an army and goes to battle with the father of Sigrun’s betrothed to prevent the marriage. Once he is successful, with the help of the Valkyries, Helgi and Sigrun marry.   It is unclear what these stories mean about the nature of the Valkyries. The Danish author Saxo Grammaticus describes the shieldmaiden Vebjorg becoming a Valkyrie after she is killed in battle, suggesting that it is an afterlife occupation not dissimilar from that of the Einherjar. But Svava still seems to be alive when she is described as a Valkyrie since she still occupies her position in Viking society.   The Most Famous Valkyrie: Brunhild Brunnhild, stamp by Gaston Bussiere, 1890, Source: British Museum   The most famous Valkyrie is Brunhild. Her story was later immortalized in the operas of Wagner, but we first meet Brunhild in the Volsunga. Brunhild is commanded by Odin to intervene in a battle, but she strikes down the wrong king. Angered, Odin condemns Brunhild to marry a mortal man. This seems to be a very brutal punishment, and perhaps one that strips her of her divine status.   While Brunhild must submit to the punishment, she is incensed. Therefore, she says that she will only marry a man who can prove his bravery. Agreeing to her request, Odin places Brunhild on a mountain surrounded by a ring of fire and sends her to sleep. She will only accept a man brave enough to pass through the fire and awaken her.   The great Viking warrior Sigurd comes across Brunhild and awakens her. While the two fall in love, Sigurd says that he cannot marry her right now because he has too many things to do. He departs, promising to return. She says that she will marry the next man to awaken her, believing that it will be Sigurd. But as Sigurd continues his adventures, he is magically afflicted with amnesia. He forgets about Brunhild and marries someone else.   However, fate does take him to Brunhild’s stronghold again, this time with his friend Gunnar. They decide to win Brunhild for the single Gunnar, but he does not dare to pass the fire. So, Sigurd and Gunnar magically swap faces and Sigurd goes in his place.   Sigurd encounters Brunhild, illustration by T.H. Robinson, from Heroes of Norselands, by Katherine Boult, 1903, Source: My Norse Digital Image Repository   Brunhild is still in love with Sigurd, but must marry Gunnar, as this is the condition of her punishment. She goes back to Gunnar’s kingdom, Gunnar and Sigurd restore their faces to one another, and Brunhild marries Gunnar.   Years later, Brunhild learns of the deception and decides to take revenge. She tricks Gunnar into killing his best friend in a ploy to punish both men. But Brunhild’s heart breaks when Sigurd dies and she throws herself on his funeral pyre to die by his side. But don’t feel too sorry for Brunhild — she also arranges to have Sigurd’s three-year-old son by his wife killed and placed on the funeral pyre.   At some point in their relationship, probably the first time they met, Sigurd and Brunhild made love. Brunhild became pregnant and gave birth to a daughter called Aslaug. According to legend, Aslaug would be fostered out and her identity kept a secret until she married the famous Danish warrior Ragnar Lodbrok. Aslaug was the mother of many of his sons, including Bjorn Ironside and Ivar the Boneless.

Joey Chestnut, 16-time hot dog eating champion, has been banned from the 2024 Nathan’s Famous International Hot Dog Eating Contest. Continue reading…

Steve Fischer says the actual toxicology report shows something very different. Continue reading…

This weekend, an anti-Israel, pro-Hamas mob held a rally just outside the White House. The protest was about much more than just the Biden administration’s policies. They made a mess of the area, desecrated monuments to heroes of the American Revolution, burned American flags, harassed officers of the law—the very few who even arrived to do anything at all—and despite many wearing face masks, revealed the true face of their movement. I don’t say “pro-Hamas” lightly here. Many were wearing Hamas headbands. Hamas headband, a mask depicting a bloody head of the U.S. President, and the burning of an American flag – all right outside the White House. https://t.co/I80kspEUZq— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) June 8, 2024 I guess they weren’t all explicitly or strictly pro-Hamas. Others also seemed to be fans of Hezbollah, a Lebanon-based radical Islamist terror group. Jihadist mob outside the White House calls on terrorist groups to kill Jews:"Hezbollah, Hezbollah! Kill another Zionist now!" pic.twitter.com/tawRxSixjX— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) June 8, 2024 Most corporate media outlets tried to put the most sanitized lens on their coverage of the event. Be assured if this was a protest for one issue or another favored by the Right, it wouldn’t be treated so gently. Remember, we aren’t allowed to fly traditional “Appeal to Heaven” flags from our country’s founding now because some people at the Jan. 6, 2021, protests had them. Speaking of American history, it’s important to note what specifically was targeted during the protest. It wasn’t just ugly, brutalist federal agency buildings getting splashed with red paint. No, it was works of art, statues that are tributes to great men whose actions in life are the reason we have a free country. One left-wing “historian” laughably wrote on X that the vandals, who defaced a monument to Marquis de Lafayette, were actually “evoking Lafayette’s legacy of revolutionary resistance.” This is complete nonsense. Lafayette was the proudest of Frenchmen, but he so loved and believed in the United States that he insisted on literally being buried in American soil, in “free soil.” Lafayette’s casket was filled with dirt collected at Bunker Hill in Boston. His final resting place is in Picpus Cemetery in Paris, a graveyard reserved for only those who were victims or descendants of victims of the French Reign of Terror. An American flag stands over the grave as it has continuously for over 150 years. What did this weekend’s Washington protest stand for? One of the phrases scribbled on a monument read, “Death to Amerikkka.” Hey @TheArtist_MBS, how come in your report for WaPo, you omitted that the White House monuments vandalism featured symbols of Hamas, called for the death of America and also urged for others to murder law enforcement? Why are you hiding the far-left violent extremism? pic.twitter.com/BqezvfCcBC— Andy Ngô ???? (@MrAndyNgo) June 10, 2024 Comparing the Hamas-supporting, monument-desecrating rabble to Lafayette makes me want to use language that I can’t publish here. And what’s really the worst part of this shameful episode is that nothing was done while federal law was being flagrantly broken. One National Park Service ranger stood “guard” at the feet of one of the vandalized statues. In a video posted by journalist Andy Ngo, you can see and hear the officer being harangued as the protesters pelted him with trash. Some members of the mob were literally defacing the statue as he stood there gently trying to get the crowd to calm down. Outside the White House — A lone U.S. park officer standing next to a monument desecrated by far-left extremists and antifa is assaulted by the violent mob. The extremists gathered for a pro-Hamas protest and have been attacking law enforcement. pic.twitter.com/WPJ7leHHHN— Andy Ngô ???? (@MrAndyNgo) June 8, 2024 Where was the lone ranger’s backup? The Daily Signal asked the National Parks Service about arrests and why security was so thin, but they didn’t respond. My colleagues Tim Kennedy and Christian Lasval have at least part of the answer. The other rangers were busy carrying the symbols of the new regime, “our democracy,” at a Pride parade not far away. So this is where all of his backup was… pic.twitter.com/91ijHJaP9E— Tim Kennedy (@TimKennedyJr1) June 10, 2024 It seems the people in charge had no intention of getting this mess under control. According to the Washington Free Beacon’s Adam Kredo, not a single arrest was made despite the very clear, on camera violations of the law. As many have pointed out on X, three teenagers in the state of Washington are being prosecuted with a felony for making skid marks on a Pride flag painted on a crosswalk.  Yet, damaging statues in the district seems to come with no consequences. District authorities didn’t even bother arresting the vandals before sending them off with a slap on the wrist like they usually do. The reason for this wild disparity in justice is obvious. “We live in a world where left-wing paramilitary groups can just rampage and pillage our major cities with zero legal consequences because they come from communities that vote Democrat,” New York Post journalist Jon Levine wrote on X. “It’s as simple as that.” It really is. The party that wants you to believe that putting a presidential candidate in jail means that “nobody is above the law” will absolutely make sure that their activists, their people, can do as they please no matter the law. When symbols of the old America get violated, they do nothing or even join in on the destruction through more “official” means. And when their new symbols aren’t treated with reverence, they will make you pay dearly. That’s the message they are sending to the American people: Justice isn’t blind, it’s politically correct.  It’s a trend that must be reversed if we, like Lafayette, would like to be buried in free, American soil. The post DC Authorities Shrug as Pro-Hamas Vandals Deface Statues of American Heroes appeared first on The Daily Signal.

Perhaps the one benefit to be gleaned from the annual disaster of gay and lesbian "pride month" is that Christians can more easily identify the churches that no longer follow the teachings of Christ. Whether changing their logo to fit within the rainbow hegemony, or releasing cowardly statements professing "tolerance"...

It was the least they could do -- "literally," as President Joe Biden might say. When federal prosecutors won a conviction Tuesday of first son Hunter Biden on three felony gun charges around purchasing a gun illegally while in the throes of drug addiction, they managed to prove in a...