Oral-Formulaic Theory: Annotated Bibliography

Bernard Van't Hul and Dennis S. Mitchell. "`Artificial Poetry' and Sea Eagles: A Note on [[pi]]ane hasupadan/earn aeftan hwit,' lines 62b and 63a of The Battle of Brunanburh'." Neuphilologische Mitteilungen, 81:390-94.

Finds in this unusual description of the eagle evidence that, along with his debt to formulas and themes, the Brunanburh-poet was a creative as well as traditional artist, and that "he must accordingly be given credit for more than a simple, mechanical ability to use the traditional poetic systems with some skill, and for strengths in areas other than diction and phraseology" (394).
Area: OE