Oral-Formulaic Theory: Annotated Bibliography

< p> Martín de Riquer. "Epopée jongleresque à écouter et épopée romanesque à lire." In La Technique litéraire des chansons de geste: Actes du Colloque de Liége (septembre 1957). Biblioth&eacu te;que de la Faculté de Liège, fasc. 150. Ed. Maurice Delbouille. Paris: Société d'Editon "Les Belles Lettres," pp. 75-82. "Discussion," pp. 82-84.

Claims that, at least in origin, the chansons de geste belong to a t radition of oral expression, as evidenced by the frequent repetitions of various forms. Posits that oral versions then passed through the hands of copyists and editors, the latter of whom imposed "literary" changes on the received manuscripts. The result was that, at the time from which most of the extant versions of the chansons de geste stem, "l'épopée jongleresque est en train de céder la place à l'épopée romanesque, en partie à cause de l'influence du roman courtois" (p. 81).
Area: OF