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Delirium, Dance And The History Of Raving
This nOde last updated December 1st, 2001 and is permanently morphing...
(9 Ik (Wind) / 0 Mak - 12.19.8.14.2)

A look at raving in the Middle Ages

By Arias Hung
XLR8R Magazine Issue #24

Delirium. The ultimate state of a raving lunatic. Sublime both in its perverse agony and its effervescent bliss, its appeal draws us to the teetering edge of sanity and at times perhaps beyond. The transcendental allure of dance drives us to push ourselves there again and again, above the confines of society and, sometimes even, beyond the voice of reason.

Enter the 14th century Aix-la-Chapelle in July of 1374, a group of people dance themselves for days on end into apoplexy, foaming at the mouth and screaming of wild visions. The manic dancing spreads throughout France and the Low Countries. Crowds gathered, and religious ceremonies are performed in attempts to exorcise the demons. People offered prayer to St. Vitus and he soon became the patron saint of the dancers. The dancing manifested into an anti clerical protest in Liege when ravers began cursing the priests of that city. A few monasteries and towns were even overthrown. In the most severe cases, mad ravers would dance through the loss of a limb, pausing only for a moment to pick up the pitiful piece befor