362: The Cases History Left Buried | Introducing HIDDEN HISTORY with Dr. Harini Bhat
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What is Hidden History and who is Dr. Harini Bhat?
Hey friends, it's Joel here. If you're enjoying the Let's Read podcast, then I have something to share with you that I think you'll love. It's the new show Hidden History by Dr. Harini Bott. If you love the mysterious parts of history, then you need to follow Hidden History wherever you listen to podcasts. As a doctorate in pharmacy, Dr. Bott has spent her career demanding evidence, asking why, and refusing to accept we just don't know as an answer. Every Monday she goes where history touches the unknown. Vanished civilizations, doomsday prophecies, paranormal phenomena, and events that science still can't fully explain. Doctor Bot will give you the historical context, break down the science, and even interrogate the supernatural.
At the end of every episode, she'll tell you exactly what she thinks happened and then ask, what if it happened today? We have an episode for you to listen to now if you love it. Make sure to follow Hidden History with Dr. Harini Bot on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Video episodes are available on YouTube at Hidden History Pod. We'll also put a link to the show in this episode description. Enjoy.
On July 14, 1518, the sun rose above Strasbourg. The city was a hub of economic, cultural, and religious activity, whose cathedral is one of the tallest buildings in the world. And on that summer day, a woman named Frau Trophia stepped out of her home onto the narrow street and started to dance. At first, it was more like a shuffle, but as the minutes ticked by, Frau Trophia started. Moving faster and faster. Her husband tried to get her to stop to go back inside and calm down, but Frau Trophia just kept dancing until she was so exhausted, she collapsed. Her husband brought her inside, made sure she got some rest, and probably figured that was the end of it. But the next morning, she went right back at it, dancing nonstop until the sun went down.
Before long, she was surrounded by curious. Onlookers who wondered what on earth was going on here. And their first theory was that this was an act of revenge. If I was there at that time, thinking with a modern lens. Honestly, the first thought I would have is that this person is going through epilepsy or they're having some kind of seizure, but doing it for so many hours on end is where it starts to look a little bit different. And that's why we need to dig a little bit deeper. We don't know much about Frau Trophia other than she was married. We don't even know her first name. Frau is basically the German equivalent of Mrs., but supposedly she and her husband had. Got into some sort of argument right before she started dancing, and he hated dancing.
So people wondered if this was just a way to get back at him. But by the end of that second day, Frau Trophia hadn't stopped. Honestly, would anyone go this far just to annoy their husband? Maybe I would. On the dawn of the third day, her dancing continued, and then on the fourth, and then on the fifth. By the sixth day of this, she was in rough shape. Her feet were bloody, she was dehydrated, and she had barely eaten. If she went on like this for much longer, she might not survive. It became obvious that Frau Trophia wasn't in control of her actions, and some people wondered if she was possessed by a demon. At the time, women were Believed to have weaker morals than men, which supposedly made them more susceptible to sin and therefore easy targets for possession.
So was she up to some shady stuff and a demon was making her pay the price? I think it's safe to say the answer is no. And most of the people in Strasbourg didn't think so either, although they still thought there was a spiritual explanation for it. But instead of looking to hell, they looked To heaven. They believed she had been cursed by Saint Vetus, the patron saint of actors, dancers, and people with the falling sickness, or as we would call it today, epilepsy. People could pray to St. Vetus to help them with their afflictions or unleash it on their enemies. And it was common enough that this unstoppable frenzy was referred to as St.
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