Abstract
The present paper traces the history of oral narrative literature and refers to how the Middle English romance Sir Orfeo was composed under the influence of preceding oral narratives. Although narratives including Middle English romances used to be performed in speech, Sir Orfeo and other romances remain in the form of a manuscript.
In the long history of oral literature, expressions regularly used by oral poets, or "singers," later defined and classified by Milman Parry as "formulas," "systems," and "themes," were refined and polished. Using these expressions, singers called minstrels in the Middle Ages recited romances, which reflected people's thoughts during that time. Oral poetry is a traditional art that has been created through countless people's knowledge and effort. This paper focuses only on Homer's epic poetry, myths, and medieval literature, specifically romances, which are examined here as narratives, based on which Sir Orfeo will be closely studied in the next paper.
