The power of the spoken word has kept Europe’s old stories alive

‘International tales held by “the folk” is so consistent across the western end of the Eurasian land mass that perhaps not a great deal – in terms of plots – has been lost.’ Photograph: MARK/EPA

I could find no reference to the oral tradition as a possible repository of “lost” material in Laura Spinney’s article on undiscovered works of literature (The big idea: could the greatest works of literature be undiscovered?, 30 May).

Spinney suggests that one reason the stories of Ireland and Iceland are better preserved than their English equivalents is because the practice of copying by hand lasted much longer in those countries. I would argue that it was the vibrant oral cultures of Ireland and Iceland that preserved their myths and legends.

The storyteller Ben Haggarty is of the view that the corpus of international tales held by “the folk” is so consistent across the western end of the Eurasian land mass that perhaps not a great deal – in terms of plots – has been lost. Storytellers are still keeping ancient material alive, and nobody can burn us down.
Fiona Collins
Carrog, Denbighshire

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