Kötludraumur

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Abstract

„Kötludraumur: Literary Motif or Social Reality?"

In the eddic meter but with the content of a ballad, the poem Kötludraumur (The Dream of Katla) relates the story of a married woman Katla who became pregnant during her husband's absence at the Althing. In a deep sleep she dreamt that Alvör, a woman whose name suggests „the hidden people", led her to her son Kár, an elf, with whom Katla spent four days. Describing Katla's dream and her husband's and brothers' reaction, Kótludraumur exists in several versions and is preserved in about 80 MSS dating from the 17th to the 19th centuries. Claiming that the poem was old and well-known in all quarters of Iceland, an early 17th century source identifies the married couple as belonging among the early settlers of the tenth century mentioned in the Book of Settlements (compiled in the 12th and 13th centuries). Nonetheless, the preserved versions of the poem stem from a period when the death penalty was meted out to people who committed the crime of which Katla was guilty. This harsh treatment was introduced in 1564 with the so-called Stóridómur and not repealed until 1838. The article examines the various versions of Kötludraumur and suggests the possibility that the poem reflects a burning social issue in 17th century Iceland: how to deal with a wife's extramarital pregnancy. Focusing on the wish of Katla's husband and brothers to conceal the pregnancy and accept the child as legitimate, the poem is in stark contrast to the official policy of prosecution in such cases promulgated by ecclesiastical and secular officials. The article concludes by suggesting that stories and poetry from older times be analyzed separately from clerical literature and law codes since the latter do not necessarily reflect the system of values dominant among ordinary people.