Oral-Formulaic Theory: Annotated Bibliography

Alain Renoir. "Originality, Influence, Imitation: Two Mediaeval Phases." In Proceedings of the IVth Congress of the International Comparative Literature Association, vol. 2. The Hague: Mouton. pp. 737-46.

Imitation, influence, and originality are concepts irrelevant to the earliest medieval texts, which were composed in the oral-formulaic tradition using materials "in the public domain." Comparison can, however, still illuminate these texts without claiming an author who intentionally appropriates literary models.
Area: AG, OE, MHG, LT, CP