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I.TheMethodologicalBackground
ofmedievalliteratureandculturewithrespecttothecoexistenceofthe
oralandliteratemodesofcommunication,aestheticvalues,intellectual
lifeandsocialhabit.
ItseemsthattheworkdoneduringthesixtiesbyJohnFinlayson
deservesspecialrecognitionhereashisstudiesoftheformulaicpatterns
inthealliterativeMorteArthureareamongthefirsttotacklethequestions
relatingtoformulaiccompositionintheprecisecontextofMiddleEnglish
alliterativeverse.
Alsosomeformativeworkonextendingtheterminologicalapparatus
offeredbytheclassicLordandParrymethodologicalframeworkwasbegun
byscholarslikeDonaldK.Fry,who,inhisOldEnglishFormulasand
Systems(1967),attemptedtoreformulatethenotionoftheformulainthe
lightofitscorrespondencetothelargerunitswhichhecalledsystemsof
formulae,aswellastoredefinetherelationshipoftheformulaetotype-
scenesandthemes(cf.Fry1990:74-77).Frysoughtinthiswaytoaccount
forthemodificationinsomeelementsbetweenvariantsofthesame
formulaeinrelationtoissuesofmetreandsyntaxandthisapproachproved
inspiringforsubsequentgenerationsofscholars.
5.Thedevelopmentoforal-formulaicstudies
fromthe1970s
Itiseasilynoticeablethatthe1970ssawaseriesofnewdevelopments
inoral-formulaicstudies.Indeed,astheinfluenceofTheSingerofTales
becamemorewidespreadineverbroadercirclesthroughouttheacademic
community,variousscholarstookthebasictheoryinmostmultifarious
directions.InthefieldofHomericstudies,mostimmediatelyrelatedto
thetheory’sfindings,importantstudieswerepublishedatthattimebyEric
A.Havelock(1963),AdamParry(1971),andDavidA.Bynum(1978).
Thesepublicationsexploredissuesliketheroleoftheformulaeinpreserving
culturalinformationandtheevolutionofpoeticlanguagewiththeintro-
ductionofliteracyintheancientworld.Whatwasalsoattemptedwas
somenormativeworkontheverydefinitionofthetermflformula”,of
whichtheaimwastofurthernarrowdownthesenseofthebasicingre-
dientsofParry’soriginaldefinition.
Anewbranchoforal-formulaicstudieswhichalsoappearedatthat
timewasconcernedwithtracingotherindigenoustraditionsoforalpoetry
stillinexistenceinplacesasdiverseasAfrica,China,theArabworldor
