The Book of Dreams is a story about Sigwulf, who was exiled to the Frankish court of King Carolus, the future Charlemagne. I am using the name Charlemagne throughout this essay simply out of habit, and it does not mean I do not respect the timeline in history.
Contents
Introduction
I decided to shelf The Saxon Stories by Bernard Cornwell. I lost interest in Uhtred’s indecisiveness and ping-ponging between being a Saxon or a Dane. Perhaps I’m too emotionally tired to follow his character’s development. Maybe I’ll pick up his stories again later, but definitely not now.
The next Saxon-themed story on my pile was of Tim Severin’s work. I’ve never read his books before and was half-gambling about starting on this one.
I need a story written in Matthew Harffy’s style at the moment. I know I’m being very picky. With The Book of Dreams, I’m 96 pages into it, and I think I have found my next favourite author.
As I said, I had never read Tim Severin’s work before. I’m hoping this first pick will leave me wanting to read more. There is no particular reason why I picked The Book of Dreams, and I don’t think I need one. The book cover was designed in the current style of Saxon historical fiction books, which luckily didn’t go to the norak side.
The Book of Dreams
I caught a system established by the author when reading The Book of Dreams. The story was neatly blocked into chunks of phases depicting Sigwulf’s character development. I noted four main parts that shaped The Book of Dreams and intentionally put the final battle in the Breton block.
The beginning of this story echoes the style of Bernard Cornwell. A young prince was captured during an attack on his homeland. This time, Sigwulf, a prince of a Saxon kingdom, was captured by Offa of Mercia during one of his campaigns. Uh-oh. Please, don’t let it be another identity crisis theme…
Sigwulf got his family massacred and was exiled to the court of Charlemagne by King Offa of Mercia. Sigwulf agreed under one condition: his servant, Osric, must go with him.
Sigwulf and Osric began the journey to Aachen with a piece of letter explaining who he was and who sent him to Aachen. The journey went relatively uneventful; they got to travel with an eel merchant about to deliver a cart to Aachen.
Upon their arrival in Aachen, Sigwulf and Osric had the privilege of meeting Alcuin of York, a renowned scholar who had dedicated his time to serving Charlemagne, the Frankish king.
After his introduction to the Frankish king, Sigwulf was placed in a paladin quarter, joining his fellow paladins: names here. The first meeting was quite pleasant, and Sigwulf quickly found himself a friend, a patron, and a mentor in Count Hroudland, who happens to be Charlemagne’s nephew.
As Sigwulf settled into life in Aachen, he found solace in a blossoming ‘relationship’ with Bertha, one of Charlemagne’s daughters. This newfound connection, however, was not without its challenges, as Sigwulf soon discovered the intricate political intrigues that plagued the court, including Ganelon’s disdain for his stepson, Hroudland.
During a lavish banquet, a seed of discord was sown when Sigwulf suddenly collapsed. Suspicions of poisoning arose, particularly from Osric, who had noticed similar symptoms in a previous victim, Gerard de Roussillon, a close friend of Sigwulf’s.
There was another incident which struck Sigwulf as an attempt on his life, and he suspected someone ordered by Offa of Mercia to be involved.
During one of his visits to the ill Gerard, he received a book called Oneirokritikon. This book was Sigwulf’s new obsession, and he began translating it with the help of Osric, who apparently could read and understand Greek. Not only that, Sigwulf also started his attempts to interpret his dreams and Charlemagne’s dreams.
One of Charlemagne’s dreams was about unexpected guests, which came true because no longer afterwards, the walis of Barcelona, Zaragoza, and Huesca visited Charlemagne seeking help from the forces of Abd Rahman I of Cordoba.
Things started to change around the paladins’ quarter because as Hroudland was appointed the new Margrave of the Breton March, Sigwulf was sent to accompany the Muslim walis back to Hispania.
The journey to Hispania was arduous. At some point, the travellers went on their separate ways. Ganelon and Gerin were to accompany the walis of Barcelona and Huesca to their respective lands. At the same time, Sigwulf and Osric went with Husayn, the wali of Zaragoza.
Along the way to Zaragoza, Sigwulf and Husayn formed an unlikely friendship. When they reached Zaragoza, Sigwulf discovered from Husayn a deal he had done with Ganelon in order to advance his interests in Charlemagne’s favour. According to Ganelon, this deal would help dispose of a rival and involuntarily involved Sigwulf in collecting the down payment during his visit to Zaragoza. And who would that rival be? None other than Hroudland.
Sensing trouble for his dear friend, Sigwulf asked to be excused from Zaragoza to warn Hroudland. Husayn sympathised and arranged a sea journey towards Breton.
After another long journey, Sigwulf arrived in Breton and met Hroudland. I suppose he was dropped at Carnac because this part of the story mentioned some menhirs. It’s just my assumption because it’s the most famous place I know, and Bretagne has loads of menhirs. He could have been dropped in other Bretagne coastal sites with menhirs, but I wouldn’t know.
He spent some months there, mingling with Hroudland’s court. Berenger was also there as Hroudland’s right hand. This is where Sigwulf finds out how Charlemagne would wage war upon Hispania. Hence, in the following months, Sigwulf spent time training to be a decent warrior for the upcoming war. The war itself concluded with the Battle of Roncevaux Pass, where Hroudland was killed.
Hardly a spoiler; it’s in the history books. So, don’t come at me.
Characters in The Book of Dreams
Sigwulf is a guy with heterochromia, and he wears a patch over one of his eyes to hide this condition. He had a twin brother who died of drowning, and sometimes he could see his ghost or spectre or whatever you want to call it. Sigwulf speaks Latin and has a crush on Bertha, Charlemagne’s daughter.
As the main character, I’m glad Sigwulf stayed true to his heritage. He doesn’t forget where he came from and why he came to Aachen. I find him to be someone who’s still superstitious and careful about how he carries himself among his peers.
Osric is Sigwulf’s servant. Before I knew he was a Saracen, I was already intrigued by this man. There was something about the way he was described in the beginning that told me he had an interesting background. I would like to know more about this character. His relationship with Sigwulf didn’t feel like the usual master/servant thing because they looked to me as friends or colleagues.
Hroudland, a character based on Roland, one of Charlemagne’s esteemed paladins, holds significant historical value. His contemporaries, the other paladins, also make appearances in The Book of Dreams as Sigwulf’s new friends. The inclusion of Bishop Alcuin, highlighting his role as an advisor to Charlemagne, added to the story’s historical context.
Interesting subjects
Two particular subjects immediately jumped out after reading The Book of Dreams as an Indonesian: dream interpretation and superstition. With all the MRTs and the ongoing modern development, I believe my fellow countrymen and women still hold dear our respective tribal wisdom.
The subject of dream interpretation is heavy in this book. Obviously, it stemmed from the title, duh! This is something that I identify as strongly apparent within the Javanese culture.
We also have a similar dream interpretation book that people still consult. In Javanese culture, I guess we would call The Book of Dreams a primbon, the sourcebook. A primbon contains everything from calculating good days and bad days, Javanese astrology, guidelines of tribal ceremonies, and, of course, dream meanings. And, of course, I dabbled in this thing as well. I thought it was just for fun, but man, I was wrong.
Of course, I dabbled in these things as well. Dreams, for me, have significant and hidden meanings. It has a more profound philosophy than just believing in what one dream means. I once thought this kind of stuff was a whole lot of mumbo-jumbo thing. But as I grew older, I realised there’s a wisdom behind consulting dreams. It’s something established in my heritage, and I shouldn’t dismiss it altogether just because I’m living in a modern 21st-century society.
When analysing this behaviour through a modern lens, I think putting meanings into dreams is simply an effort and a reminder to be cautious in life. It’s to be aware of things around you and mindful of how you treat other living beings.
I also learned that dream interpretation should always be taken with a grain of salt. Though we’re aware of its meaning, it does not mean we have to follow it step by step without being critical about it.
This is why I found Sigwulf to be grusa-grusu (reckless, I guess, is the translation) in interpreting his dreams. He even went further to interpret Charlemagne’s dreams, which I think is totally reckless behaviour.
When you’re still learning and unsure how to interpret dreams, you shouldn’t advise someone else. It’s an obtained skill that you need to sharpen other than consulting the primbon. I hope Sigwulf learned from his misinterpretations as told in The Book of Dreams.
The second aspect that relates to my daily life is the taboos and superstitions presented in Sigwulf’s behaviour. Living in West Java, I’m extremely familiar with the word pamali. It’s a Sundanese word for taboo.
Against what modern people might think, believing in pamali does not reflect me as thinking backwards. Again, I viewed pamali as a guideline passed down through generations to help me go through life. These guidelines remind me, as a human being, to carry myself carefully, mindfully, and with awareness of my surroundings.
There are hundreds of pamali alive in today’s Indonesian society, though some modernised groups of people would dismiss it immediately as kuno or ancient or nonsensical.
Examples of the pamali I adhere to are:
- you’re not to sleep during twilight hours, especially dusk,
- don’t sit in the door’s pathway,
- don’t cut your nails at night,
- make sure your ingredients are measured in odd numbers when cooking,
- do not whistle at night,
- do not open umbrellas inside a house,
- always, and I repeat, ALWAYS, shower or bath after attending a funeral.
One taboo mentioned in The Book of Dreams was when Hroudland took a goblet or chalice that he found in Breton. Sigwulf reminded Hroudland that he shouldn’t take it because it didn’t belong to him, and there must be a reason why the chalice was left there. It’s not his for the taking, is what I’m trying to say.
Oh! This hits me hard. It’s been embedded in me since I was young that I shouldn’t take ANYTHING from any place I visit. Especially if it’s something you find dropped, left, abandoned, or some kind of cast away. It’s not yours, period. Don’t claim it as yours. This is why I find the saying’ finders, keepers’ a bit awkward.
There are anecdotes about people taking stuff they find on the road or pathway that doesn’t belong to them, and bad things happen. In my life story, this happened twice already to friends of mine. The results? I can’t share, but it’s totally not cool.
Afterthoughts
Verdict
Truthfully, I was sceptical of this glaring similarity in the first pages. But at the end of the story, I think I enjoyed it more than I expected. The Book of Dreams was written tactfully, carefully, compactly, and concisely without excessive details but did not alter the delivery of the story.
Truthfully, I was sceptical of the glaring similarity to The Last Kingdom in the first pages. But at the end of the story, I think I enjoyed it more than I expected. Something different occurred because Offa then decided to send Sigwulf to Charlemagne’s court as a peacekeeping gift. This move by Offa excites me because it means I can experience mainland Europe once again!
Surprisingly, I enjoyed reading the first parts of The Book of Dreams. I suppose I was in need of a change of writing style for a bit. An essential element I quickly noted was that The Book of Dreams portrayed diversity properly according to the historical context without forcing any unnecessary current political agenda. I’m glad I didn’t have to throw the book away and enjoyed reading it instead.
The Book of Dreams was written tactfully, carefully, compactly, and concisely without excessive details but did not alter the delivery of the story. I quickly noticed that Tim Severin wasn’t bothered with the nitty-gritty details about place names, etc.
This book has no cliffhanger, which I appreciate. All problems were solved. I got to know who had been trying to dispose of Sigwulf with multiple attempts. Jealousy is, of course, the source.
I have two questions leaving this book:
- Will I see Osric again in the next book? His release from Sigwulf’s service seemed final to me, especially after reading how Osric became one of Husayn’s men. Well, let’s see. This isn’t the first time I had to say goodbye to a favourite character.
- What would happen to Sigwulf? He completed his duty to Charlemagne up to the point where he reported how Hroudland died. Would Sigwulf stay in Charlemagne’s court, or would he be sent away somewhere else again?
I know there is a second book, but I don’t know if it would still involve Charlemagne’s court. I would love to read more about Sigwulf. I like the writing style, and maybe I’ll try reading other series by Tim Severin. But right now, I’ll hop on to The Emperor’s Elephant.
Words I Learnt
- Truculent: eager or quick to argue or fight; aggressively defiant
- Foibles: a minor weakness or eccentricity in someone’s character.
- Ostler: a man employed to look after the horses of people staying at an inn
- Prevaricated: speak or act in an evasive way.
- Avarice: extreme greed for wealth or material gain.
- Trestle: a set of sloping supports holding a horizontal structure, used esp. for railroad bridges, or a bridge
- Salver: a tray, typically one made of silver and used in formal circumstances.
- Tetchy: bad-tempered and irritable.
- Rabble: a disorderly crowd; a mob.