Influences antiques sur le ‘rêve-programme’ dans la littérature narrative des XIIe–XIIIe siècles

Abstract The aim of our study is to explain and define the ‘dream-program’ in its relation to the premonitory dream, based on the definitions introduced by Herman Braet. Although the ‘dream-program’ has drawn on a variety of traditions, our study focuses on the effects of dream material borrowed from Antiquity. In our paper we attempt to explain meaningful dreams through ancient classification systems and their literary manifestations in the French medieval literature. As the ‘dream-program’ is more common in twelfth-century narrative literature, our textual examples dating mainly from this period allow us to define sub-categories according to dream scenarios, thus broadening our reflections on the concept. Our ambition is to (re)explore this type of dream, which essentially claims a literary status and a cultural dimension.