Paranormal Dreams in Icelandic Sagas

By Christopher Wilfred Ellis Crocker

This study explores the dreams described and discussed in the medieval Icelandic sagas and the porous boundary that separates dreams from waking life in the narratives. It includes a detailed examination of the ways in which the cultural, historical, and literary contexts in which the sagas found written expression during the 13th, 14th, and 15th centuries may have influenced the representation of dreams and the act of dreaming in the texts. This is followed by a discussion of the language used to describe and refer to dreams and the act of dreaming in the sagas, with a particular focus on the uncertainty, scepticism, and ontological hesitation with which the experience is consistently shaded. Finally, the study will explore the various ways in which dreams and the act of dreaming were leveraged to introduce different kinds of meaning to the medieval saga narratives as fundamentally paranormal phenomena.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 150151816X
• ISBN13: 9781501518164
• Release Date: January 2021
• Publisher: Medieval Institute Publications
• Length: 244 Pages
• Grade Range: Postsecondary