How true are these accounts? Well, the verifiable aspects (dates and genealogy) appear to be very accurate, indeed persnickety. The sagas crawl with petty details the tellers found significant, even if interpretation across the gulfs of time and culture isn't always easy. They contrast with the rest of Europe at this time, where dream accounts are mostly dateless, nameless, placeless, sourceless, generic Christian morality tales (the Norwegian tale Ragnhild's Tree and Halfdan's Curls is tinged with this, though the quirky source material shines through). The brutally precise realism of the Icelandic sagas is an icewater shock.

RELATED TOPICS: epic dreams - psychic dreams - contemporaries: Myoe the Dreamkeeper and Lady Sarashina - 800-1200 CE in general - See also the full INDEX OF SUBJECTS.

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	BRUSHWOOD BELLY: by An the Black; Easter 1003, a bizarre predictive dream. An dreams a scary woman pulls his guts out and fills him up with brush! He wakes, gets gutted in a feud, and then... CAUTION: BLOODY VIKINGS!
	DON'T TREAD ON ME: by Herdis Bollisurdottir; c.1040, a psychic dream of a ghost with an agenda A ghost complains Herdis's grandma bothers her. Herdis wakes, tells Grandma, and they dig up the floor to find...
	EAGLES IN LOVE WITH A SWAN: by Thorstein Egilson; c. 982 AD, a twenty-year predictive dream Before his daughter's even born, Thorstein dreams two eagles in love with a swan kill one another in rivalry over her... CAUTION: PATRIARCHAL BARBARIANS
	THE GIANTESS OF THVERA: by Viga-Glum Eijolfsson; early 940s?, a very public clairvoyant dream. Viga-Glum dreamt a giantess came to visit. "She is the spirit-guide of my grandfather in Norway. He is dead...
	GISLI THE OUTLAW: by Gisli the Outlaw of Iceland; 966-973, a series of at least ten life-saving dreams. Gisli had two spirit-wives who told him in dreams how to evade the bounty-hunters after him... for 13 years!
	GUDRUN'S FOUR HUSBANDS: by Gudrun Osvifursdottir; summer 988, plus spring 1026 Four childhood dreams predicting Gudrun's life; plus a predictive dream by her husband Thorkell Eyjolfson Gudrun dreams of four treasures: a hood, a bracelet, a ring, a jeweled helm. Her cousin sees them as four marriages...
	GUNNHILDR'S BIRTH DREAM: by Gunnhildr; c. 1150, a surreal predictive dream. I dreamt I gave birth to a white-hot stone shedding sparks. Most folk would find my son strange...
	RAGNHILD'S TREE and HALFDAN'S CURLS: by Queen Ragnhild and King Halfdan of Norway; c.850 CE twin dreams predicting their children and nation will prosper. Ragnhild sees a lovely tree rooted in her pain and blood; Halfdan sleeps with pigs and dreams he has a great head of hair... CAUTION: KIDNAPPING, ARSON, GENERAL BARBARISM (check the date!)
	THORHADD'S FOURTEEN DREAMS: by Thorhadd of Berufjord, c.1018; 14 warning dreams (2 predictive) Thorhadd's been slandering his enemy Thorstein. He spars publicly with a dream expert who interprets all his dreams as: "Your tongue just can't quit!" True. It can't... CAUTION: VIKING EGOS (AND BODY COUNT)
	WOLVES IN THE BOOTH: by Thordhr "the Terror"; c.1000, a warning dream Thordhr dreams a pack of wolves attack him in a trade-booth! He wakes sure the trade-fair will be trouble...

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