MEDIEVAL ORAL LITERATURE (REICHL) GL (de Gruyter Lexikon)

Medieval literature is to a large extent based on oral tradition and permeated by various forms of orality: literary texts were commonly read aloud, up into the late Middle Ages; popular literature was often transmitted orally and performed by public entertainers; and a number of literary forms were shaped by an oral background. Although questions of orality and the manifold interrelations between oral and written traditions have been the subject of intensive research in medieval studies, there is no general, state-of-the-art compendium in this field. In this book an international team of scholars discusses theoretical issues, such as the oral theory, oral poetics and performance-related approaches, as well as various literary traditions and genres. Special emphasis is laid on a comprehensive view of medieval literature, which also comprises literary traditions beyond the borders of Europe, with chapters on orality and literature in the Older Germanic, the Celtic, and the Romance languages, in Middle English, Middle High German, Byzantine Greek, Russian, Hebrew, Arabic, Persian, and Turkish. The book's aim is to provide a well-founded and reliable orientation for students and researchers in medieval studies. Detailed Chapter Contents Pages IX-XIV Contributors Pages XV-XVI Preface Pages XVII-XVIII Abbreviations Pages XIX-XX Note on Transliteration Pages XXI-XXII INTRODUCTION 1 Plotting the Map of Medieval Oral Literature Reichl, Karl Pages 3-68 PART I. CONCEPTS AND APPROACHES 2 Oral Theory and Medieval Literature Foley, John Miles / Ramey, Peter Pages 71-102 3 The Written Word in Context: The Early Middle Ages Richter, Michael Pages 103-120 4 Orality and Literacy: The Case of Anglo-Saxon England O’Keeffe O’Brien, Katherine Pages 121-140 5 Performance and Performers Harris, Joseph / Reichl, Karl Pages 141-202 6 Oral Poetics: The Linguistics and Stylistics of Orality DuBois, Thomas A. Pages 203-224 7 Oral Literature, Ritual, and the Dialectics of Performance Roilos, Panagiotis Pages 225-250 PART II TRADITIONIS AND GENRES 8 Older Germanic Poetry With a Note on the Icelandic Sagas Harris, Joseph Pages 253-278 9 Oral Tradition and Performance in Medieval Ireland Nagy, Joseph Falaky Pages 279-294 10 Medieval German Literature: Literacy, Orality and Semi-Orality Müller, Jan-Dirk Pages 295-334 11 Middle English Romances and the Oral Tradition Putter, Ad Pages 335-352 12 The Chanson de geste and Orality Boutet, Dominique Pages 353-370 13 The Italian Cantari between Orality and Writing Morabito, Raffaele Pages 371-386 14 Court Poetry, Village Verse: Romanian Oral Epic in the Medieval World Beissinger, Margaret H. Pages 387-410 15 Hispanic Epic and Ballad Wright, Roger Pages 411-428 16 The Late-Medieval Ballad Pettitt, Thomas Pages 429-458 17 Medieval Greek Epic Poetry Jeffreys, Elizabeth Pages 459-484 18 The Song of Igor and its Medieval Context in Russian Oral Poetry Azbelev, S. N. Pages 485-498 19 Oral Traditions in a Literate Society: The Hebrew Literature of the Middle Ages Yassif, Eli Pages 499-520 20 Woman’s Song in Medieval Western Europe Klinck, Anne L. Pages 521-554 21 Popular Song and the Middle English Lyric Boklund-Lagopoulou, Karin Pages 555-580 22 The Pastourelle as a Popular Genre Spetia, Lucilla Pages 581-600 23 Andalusī-Arabic Strophic Poetry as an Example of Literary Hybridization: Ibn Quzmān’s ‘Zajal 147’ (The Poet’s Reluctant Repentance) Monroe, James T. Pages 601-628 24 Orality and the Tradition of Arabic Epic Storytelling Herzog, Thomas Pages 629-652 25 Orality in Medieval Persian Literature Rubanovich, Julia Pages 653-680 26 Medieval Turkish Epic and Popular Narrative Reichl, Karl Pages 681-700 27 Dramatic Pastime, Custom and Entertainment Pettitt, Thomas Pages 701-724 Notes on the Illustrations Pages 725-728 Index Pages 729-746 Mittelalterliche Dichtung ist weitgehend der Mündlichkeit verpflichtet, nicht nur was den Vortrag und die Aufführung betrifft, sondern auch im Bezug auf die Überlieferung und das Dichten selbst. Obwohl in der mediävistischen Forschung Fragen der Mündlichkeit mittelalterlicher Dichtung viel diskutiert werden, fehlt es an einer übergreifenden, handbuchartigen Darstellung. Das De Gruyter-Lexikon ,Medieval Oral Literature' wurde von einem internationalen Team von 25 Wissenschaftlern geschrieben und bietet eine fundierte Diskussion theoretischer Ansätze sowie ausführliche Erörterungen einzelner literarischer Traditionen und Gattungen. Neben Kapiteln zur ,oral-formulaic theory', zur Mündlichkeit und Schriftlichkeit im frühen Mittelalter, zur performance und den Sängern/ Spielleuten, zur mündlichen Poetik und zu rituellen Aspekten der Mündlichkeit finden sich Kapitel zu altgermanischen, romanischen, mittelhochdeutschen, mittelenglischen, keltischen, griechisch-byzantinischen, russischen, hebräischen, arabischen, persischen und türkischen Traditionen mündlicher Dichtung. An Gattungen werden insbesondere Epik und Lyrik berücksichtigt, zum Teil in separaten Kapiteln, mit zusätzlichen Kapiteln zur Ballade und zum Drama "Medieval literature is to a large degree shaped by orality, not only with regard to performance, but also to transmission and composition. Although problems of orality have been much discussed by medievalists, there is to date no comprehensive handbook on this topic. 'Medieval Oral Literature', a volume in the 'De Gruyter Lexikon' series, was written by an international team of twenty-five scholars and offers a thorough discussion of theoretical approaches as well as detailed presentations of individual traditions and genres. In addition to chapters on the oral-formulaic theory, on the interplay of orality and writing in the Early Middle Ages, on performance and performers, on oral poetics and on ritual aspects of orality, there are chapters on the Older Germanic, Romance, Middle High German, Middle English, Celtic, Greek-Byzantine, Russian, Hebrew, Arabic, Persian and Turkish traditions of oral literature. There is a special focus on epic and lyric, genres that are also discussed in separate chapters, with additional chapters on the ballad and on drama."--Publisher's website

Medieval literature is to a large degree shaped by orality, not only with regard to performance, but also to transmission and composition. Although problems of orality have been much discussed by medievalists, there is to date no comprehensive handbook on this topic.'Medieval Oral Literature', a volume in the 'De Gruyter Lexikon' series, was written by an international team of twenty-five scholars and offers a thorough discussion of theoretical approaches as well as detailed presentations of individual traditions and genres. In addition to chapters on the oral-formulaic theory, on the interplay of orality and writing in the Early Middle Ages, on performance and performers, on oral poetics and on ritual aspects of orality, there are chapters on the Older Germanic, Romance, Middle High German, Middle English, Celtic, Greek-Byzantine, Russian, Hebrew, Arabic, Persian and Turkish traditions of oral literature. There is a special focus on epic and lyric, genres that are also discussed in separate chapters, with additional chapters on the ballad and on drama.

Main description: Obwohl in der mediävistischen Forschung Fragen der Mündlichkeit mittelalterlicher Dichtung viel diskutiert werden, fehlt es an einer übergreifenden, handbuchartigen Darstellung. Im De Gruyter-Lexikon 'Medieval Oral Poetry' gibt ein internationales Team von Wissenschaftler einen fundierten Einblick sowohl in theoretische Fragen als auch in verschiedene dichterische Traditionen und Gattungen. Dabei werden neben den Kernbereichen des europäischen Mittelalters auch russische, hebräische, arabische, persische und türkische Traditionen berücksichtigt Although problems of orality have been much discussed by medievalists, there is to date no comprehensive handbook on this topic. In 'Medieval Oral Literature' in the 'De Gruyter Lexikon' series, an international team of scholars has provided an in-depth discussion both of theoretical issues and various poetic traditions and genres. In addition to the core areas of the European Middle Ages, Russian, Hebrew, Arabic, Persian and Turkish traditions have also been included