Gripla - 01.01.1995, Síða 219

KÖTLUDRAUMUR
217
The Types of the Scandinavian Medieval Ballad. Ritstj. Bengt R. Jonsson,
Svale Solheim og Eva Danielson. Skrifter utgivna av svenskt visarkiv 5.
Stokkhólmi 1978.
Vésteinn Ólason, 1982. The Traditional Ballads of Iceland. Rit 22. Stofnun
Árna Magnússonar á íslandi, Reykjavík.
Porgeir Kjartansson, 1982. „Stóridómur: Nokkur orð um siðferðishugsjónir
Páls Stígssonar." Sagnir 3, 2-12.
Þormóður Torfason, 1705. Formáli í Historia Hrolfi krakii, útg. á latínu af
Thormodum Torfæum. Kaupmannahöfn.
Þorvaldur Thoroddsen, 1898. Landfrœðissaga íslands: Hugmyndir manna um
Island, náttúruskoðun og rannsóknir, fyrr og síðar II. Hið íslenzka bók-
mentafjelag, Kaupmannahöfn.
SUMMARY IN ENGLISH
„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, Kötludraumur 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 peo-
ple 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was introduced in 1564 with the so-called Stóridómur and not repealed until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 Ice-
land: 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 con-
cludes by suggesting that stories and poetry from older times be analyzed se-
parately from clerical literature and law codes since the latter do not necessa-
rily reflect the system of values dominant among ordinary people.