10. The Influence of a Fixed Text* In The Singer of Tales I attempted primarily to describe the workings of a pure oral tradition of narrative song, one in which written texts had no influence, or were nonexistent. [1] A knowledge of the processes of oral composition and transmission in their pure form was necessary for an… Read more
11. Notes on Digenis Akritas and Serbo-Croatian Epic* This paper was inspired by an article by the eminent Byzantinist Henri Grégoire. [1] Published in 1949, the article, entitled “Le Digénis russe,” established the priority of the Russian versions of the Digenis Akritas poem over the Greek versions. Grégoire demonstrated that the two extant Russian texts are drawn… Read more
12. Narrative Themes in Bulgarian Oral-Traditional Epic and Their Medieval Roots* The core of this paper consists of the examination of several narrative themes in Bulgarian oral-traditional epic, particularly in the songs about the hero Krali Marko, with the hope of discovering possible medieval roots for them. It is necessary to stress at the beginning that the medieval roots I am seeking… Read more
13. Central Asiatic and Balkan Epic* A musical instrument, a story, a hero and his horse, horse culture, these and other items of narrative and social context unite the epics of the Balkans with some of those of Central Asia. It is possible that certain particulars actually came into Balkan epic from Central Asia, following the migrations of peoples as well as… Read more
Bibliography Abbreviations AJP = American Journal of Philology HSCP = Harvard Studies in Classical Philology PMLA = Publications of the Modern Language Association Prilozi = Prilozi za književnost, jesik, istoriju i folklor TAPA = Transactions of the American Philological Association Alexiou, 1974. Alexiou,… Read more
Acknowledgement In writing this monograph and preparing it for publication, I received invaluable help from many people. First I would like to thank Professors John Finley, Albert Lord, and Calvert Watkins. I owe them a debt as teachers, benefactors, and constructive critics which is deeply felt, and which my work, I fear, does little to repay. In addition I offer my gratitude for their intellectual and moral… Read more
Table of Symbols and Formulas Symbols: ⧣: beginning or end of a poetic line‖: masculine or feminine caesura, or, alternatively, = is parallel to|: bucolic diaeresisH‖: hephthemimeral caesura*: (beside Homeric line citation, e.g. *Z 240) the phraseology of the line is anomalous in some respect Formulas (referred to as (A), (B), etc.) (A) ὥς ἔφατ᾽εὐχόμενος, τοῦ δ᾽ ἔκλυε – ⏑… Read more
8. Rebuttal* Oralitas, sicut Gallia, est omnis divisa in partes tres, quarum unam incolunt philosophi, aliam qui recitatores spectant, sicut scripsit Juvenalis in satira prima, tertiam philologi, qui textūs spectant et explicant. In the years since The Singer of Tales there have been some criticisms of the “oral theory” to which I have not responded. I have come to… Read more
9. Two Versions of the Theme of the Overnight Visit in The Wedding of Smailagić Meho I have attempted throughout to define and illustrate the role of the theme, and I wish to pursue this subject further by calling attention to a fully developed theme as seen in two versions in Avdo Međedović’s epic song The Wedding of Smailagić Meho. [1] In… Read more
10. The Transitional Text One of the important differences between an oral traditional singer and a nontraditional one is the fact that the traditional singer does not think in terms of a fixed textuality, whereas the nontraditional singer does. If a traditional singer in the course of a lifetime becomes a nontraditional poet—as, I believe, one could argue in the case of Petar Petrović Njegoš II—at what… Read more
