Orality and Performance in Early French Romance

Download or read book Orality and Performance in Early French Romance written by Evelyn Birge Vitz and published by Boydell & Brewer. This book was released on 1999 with total page 342 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book proposes a fundamental revision of the history of early French romance: it argues that oral and performed traditions were far more important in the development of romance than scholars have recognised. Starting with issues of orality and literacy, it is argued that the form in which romances were composed was not the invention of clerics but was, rather, an oral form. The second part of the book looks at performance, and shows that romances such as those of Chretien invited voiced presentation; moreover, they were frequently recited from memory, sung, and acted out in dramatic fashion. Romances can, and should, still be performed today.