Orality and Performance in Early French Romance

by Evelyn Birge Vitz

Discussion of the importance of oral and performance traditions in the history of early Frence romance.

This book proposes a fundamental revision of the history of early French romance, arguing that oral and performed traditions were far more important in the development of romance than scholars have recognised. It begins by dealingwith issues of orality and literacy, and argues that the form in which romances were composed was not the invention of clerics but was, rather, an oral form. It shows how early versions of the Tristan story, by B?roul, Thomas andMarie de France, express the complex interplay between oral and written traditions, then goes on to focus in greater depth on Beno?t de Sainte-Maure, Chr?tien and the anonymous author of the Roman de Th?bes. The second part of the book looks at performance, showing that romances such as those of Chr?tien invited voiced presentation; moreover, they were frequently recitd from memory, sung, and acted out in dramatic fashion. Romances can, and should, still be performed today.

EVELYN BIRGE VITZ is Professor of French and Comparative Literature at New York University.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0859915387
• ISBN13: 9780859915380
• Release Date: December 1998
• Publisher: Boydell & Brewer
• Length: 328 Pages
• Weight: 1.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 9.3" x 6.0"