Dreams in Early Modern England
Routledge Research in Early Modern History Series

Dreams in Early Modern England offers an in-depth exploration of the variety of different ways in which early modern people understood and interpreted dreams, from medical explanations to political, religious or supernatural associations.

Through examining how dreams were discussed and presented in a range of diffrerent texts, including both published works and private notes and diaries, this book highlights the many coexisting strands of thought that surrounded dreams in early modern England. Most significantly, it places early modern perceptions of dreams within the social context of the period through an evaluation of how they were shaped by key events of the time, such as the Reformation and the English Civil Wars. The chapters also explore contemporary experiences and ideas of dreams in relation to dream divination, religious visions, sleep, nightmares and sleep disorders.

This book will be of great value to students and academics with an interest in dreams and the understanding of dreams, sleep and nightmares in early modern English society.

List of figures

Acknowledgements

A Note on Transcriptions

Introduction

Chapter 1:"Seasons of Sleep:" Natural Dreams, Health and the Physiology of Sleep Chapter 2:Decoding Dreams: Dreambooks and Divination

Chapter 3: "Nocturnal Whispers of the Almighty": Spiritual Dreams and the

Discernment of Spirits

Chapter 4: "The Terrors of the Night": Nightmares and Sleep Disorders

Conclusion

Bibliography

Index

Janine Rivière, received her PhD in History from the University of Toronto, Canada in 2013, where she has also been teaching since 2004. She has published widely on the topic of dreams and nightmares in early modern England.