Claude Lecouteux (1943–2025) was a professor emeritus of medieval literature and civilization at the Sorbonne and author of numerous books on medieval beliefs and magic, including Tales of Witchcraft and Wonder, The Tradition of Household Spirits, Demons and Spirits of the Land, and Encyclopedia of Norse and Germanic Folklore, Mythology, and Magic.

• Foreword: Claude Lecouteux, A Ferryman WhoSmuggles History through StoriesFlorence Bayard and Astrid GuillaumeIntroductionFlorence Bayard and Astrid GuillaumePART IFROM DOCUMENT TO IDEAMaking Texts Speak1 The Ramsund StoneThe Mindset behind the Runic Inscription2 Eyrbyggja SagaThe Saga of Snorri Goði3 The Hidden Face of Tales and Legends4 Fantasy and the Middle AgesPART I IBETWEEN MAGIC AND DIABLERIEAmbiguous Objects and Beings5 A Typology of Several Kinds of Evil Dead6 Grimoires and Their Ancestors7 Big Bells and Little BellsBeliefs and Magic8 Weyland the SmithPART I I INATURE AND THE ELEMENTSBetween Awe and Terror9 The Magnetic Mountain10 The Raft of the WindsToward a Mythology of Clouds in the Middle Ages11 The Masters of WeatherTempestarii, Coercers, Defenders, and Others12 Mythical Aspects of the Mountain in the Middle AgesPART I V BORDERS AT THE MARGINS OF THE KNOWN WORLD13 The Sea and Its Isles during the Middle AgesA Journey into the Marvelous14 The Backdrop of the Adventure Sites inMedieval Romances15 The Taming of the LandReflections on Human Beings and Their Environment16 Borderlands of the Otherworld17 The Spirits of Nature and of Humans inthe Middle AgesAspects of Their RelationshipNotesIndex

This very interesting and erudite collection of wide-ranging articles is rich with a mix of historical and esoteric subjects. Anyone wishing to widen their knowledge and horizons on the ‘wondrous and magical’ should dive full depth into this book. I did and have benefited greatly.”

Claude Lecouteux (1943–2025) was a professor emeritus of medieval literature and civilization at the Sorbonne and author of numerous books on medieval beliefs and magic, including Tales of Witchcraft and Wonder, The Tradition of Household Spirits, Demons and Spirits of the Land, and Encyclopedia of Norse and Germanic Folklore, Mythology, and Magic.

• Foreword: Claude Lecouteux, A Ferryman WhoSmuggles History through StoriesFlorence Bayard and Astrid GuillaumeIntroductionFlorence Bayard and Astrid GuillaumePART IFROM DOCUMENT TO IDEAMaking Texts Speak1 The Ramsund StoneThe Mindset behind the Runic Inscription2 Eyrbyggja SagaThe Saga of Snorri Goði3 The Hidden Face of Tales and Legends4 Fantasy and the Middle AgesPART I IBETWEEN MAGIC AND DIABLERIEAmbiguous Objects and Beings5 A Typology of Several Kinds of Evil Dead6 Grimoires and Their Ancestors7 Big Bells and Little BellsBeliefs and Magic8 Weyland the SmithPART I I INATURE AND THE ELEMENTSBetween Awe and Terror9 The Magnetic Mountain10 The Raft of the WindsToward a Mythology of Clouds in the Middle Ages11 The Masters of WeatherTempestarii, Coercers, Defenders, and Others12 Mythical Aspects of the Mountain in the Middle AgesPART I V BORDERS AT THE MARGINS OF THE KNOWN WORLD13 The Sea and Its Isles during the Middle AgesA Journey into the Marvelous14 The Backdrop of the Adventure Sites inMedieval Romances15 The Taming of the LandReflections on Human Beings and Their Environment16 Borderlands of the Otherworld17 The Spirits of Nature and of Humans inthe Middle AgesAspects of Their RelationshipNotesIndex

This very interesting and erudite collection of wide-ranging articles is rich with a mix of historical and esoteric subjects. Anyone wishing to widen their knowledge and horizons on the ‘wondrous and magical’ should dive full depth into this book. I did and have benefited greatly.”

Claude Lecouteux (1943–2025) was a professor emeritus of medieval literature and civilization at the Sorbonne and author of numerous books on medieval beliefs and magic, including Tales of Witchcraft and Wonder, The Tradition of Household Spirits, Demons and Spirits of the Land, and Encyclopedia of Norse and Germanic Folklore, Mythology, and Magic.

• Foreword: Claude Lecouteux, A Ferryman WhoSmuggles History through StoriesFlorence Bayard and Astrid GuillaumeIntroductionFlorence Bayard and Astrid GuillaumePART IFROM DOCUMENT TO IDEAMaking Texts Speak1 The Ramsund StoneThe Mindset behind the Runic Inscription2 Eyrbyggja SagaThe Saga of Snorri Goði3 The Hidden Face of Tales and Legends4 Fantasy and the Middle AgesPART I IBETWEEN MAGIC AND DIABLERIEAmbiguous Objects and Beings5 A Typology of Several Kinds of Evil Dead6 Grimoires and Their Ancestors7 Big Bells and Little BellsBeliefs and Magic8 Weyland the SmithPART I I INATURE AND THE ELEMENTSBetween Awe and Terror9 The Magnetic Mountain10 The Raft of the WindsToward a Mythology of Clouds in the Middle Ages11 The Masters of WeatherTempestarii, Coercers, Defenders, and Others12 Mythical Aspects of the Mountain in the Middle AgesPART I V BORDERS AT THE MARGINS OF THE KNOWN WORLD13 The Sea and Its Isles during the Middle AgesA Journey into the Marvelous14 The Backdrop of the Adventure Sites inMedieval Romances15 The Taming of the LandReflections on Human Beings and Their Environment16 Borderlands of the Otherworld17 The Spirits of Nature and of Humans inthe Middle AgesAspects of Their RelationshipNotesIndex

This very interesting and erudite collection of wide-ranging articles is rich with a mix of historical and esoteric subjects. Anyone wishing to widen their knowledge and horizons on the ‘wondrous and magical’ should dive full depth into this book. I did and have benefited greatly.”