The Other World, According to Descriptions in Medieval Literature

The present volume is offered as the fulfillment of a pledge made years ago to extend a preliminary study, the results of which the author had published in an article, beyond the limits then reached into something like a comprehensive survey of the whole field. It soon became apparent that no one could complete such a task alone. Only what might be called the prolegomena for the work might be presented with suggestions for method and some indication of the extent of the material. The author hopes that he has succeeded in clarifying certain preliminary questions and in offering a technique for the analysis of particular instances which may be applied fruitfully beyond the limits of the documents here examined. It will be noticed that the method changes in the course of this specific investigation. In the early chapters the results of the work of other scholars are summarized, not, however, without consulting as often as reasonable space permitted the primary sources available. In the chapter on visions the narratives are outlined rather fully by name, but in the chapters after that the discussion becomes more cursory, especially where the material is better known. In the field of the romances the principle of organization has often been that of similarity of plot structure or of types of subject matter.