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I.TheMethodologicalBackground
complexitybehindtheissuesitdealswith.Hence,paradoxically,itsdetailed
approachonlyrevealedtheneedformoreworktobeconductedonthe
topicpursued.
Thesenseoftheaboveextendedpolemicisthustopresentindetail
boththeheavyindebtednessofthepresentstudytoWittig’sworkandto
indicatepreciselyhowitisgoingtopositionitselfvisàvistheresultsof
thescholar’sresearch.
Theimportanceofthestudydoneonthetwelfth-centuryromanceof
KingHornbyWilliamA.QuinnandAudleyS.HallandcalledJongleur
(1982)isthatitconstitutesanotherattemptatcomingtogripswiththe
concreteformulaiccharacterofaparticularMiddleEnglishromance.In
itsbasicargumentitgoesprobablyfartherthananymajororal-formulaic
studyofaMiddleEnglishwork,foritdefendsthecaseforthethreeextant
manuscriptsofKingHornbeingatestimonynotofliteratecomposition
forsomeformoforaldelivery,butforthembeingproductsofactualoral
improvisationbydifferentminstrels(cf.QuinnandHall1982:1-48),thus
approachingsomethingofthenotionoforalperformance.Assuchthe
bookreflectsthegeneraldirectionofthemedievalistoral-formulaicstudies
whereinthelasttwenty-fiveyearsthetendencyseemstohavebeento
developanevergreatersensitivitytowardsevidenceoforalitybothwithin
theliterarytextsthemselvesandtheirimmediatesocialandcultural
context.
TheanalysisbyQuinnandHallrevolvesaroundtheformulaiccharacter
ofthepoem’srhymestructure.Thecriticsdevelopaverysystematicanalysis
ofthemodelresponsibleforthefrequencyofuseoftheparticularrhyme
soundsandwordsinthepoem,juxtaposingthefindingswiththecontem-
poraneousromanceofHaveloktheDanewiththeviewtopresentthe
differencebetweenthetwopoems,whichisarguedtoresultfromthe
improvisationmethodusedinthecaseofKingHorn.Thegreatestvirtue
oftheapproachadoptedbythecriticsseemstobetheawarenessofthe
socialcontextrelatedtotheissueoforality,andtheconsequentattempt
toneverlosefromviewthespecificityoftherespectiverolesofthetrou-
vère(orthepoem’sliteratecomposer)andthejongleur(i.e.theperson
deliveringthepoemtotheaudience,whomayinthecourseofdoingso
resorttoimprovisationmethods(cf.QuinnandHall1982:1-9).Thestudy
alsochartsacompletelynewterritoryintowhichscholarshadnotventured
muchpreviously,beingperhapsdiscouragedbyParry’sadamantstatement
(cf.Lord1995:22)thatrhymesmakeare-improviseduseoftheformulaic
materialimpossible.
