Occasionally the saga assumes specifically lyrical form; as in the
Song of Deborah, where the bard mocks and curses as from the
very battle.

Hence alongside the more registrative forms of historical record,
conditioned by the Court and its requirements, which constitute
a stage preliminary to the scientific writing of history, and which
develop from the Royal Lists of the Sumerians to the well-con-
structed chronicles of the Biblical Books of Kings, the historical
song and the historical saga exist as spontaneous forms, not depen-
dent upon instructions, of a popular preservation by word of
mouth of "historical" events; such events, that is, as are vital in the
life of the tribe. It is of importance to investigate the sociological
character of these types.

The saga is the predominant method of preserving the memory
of what happens, as long as tribal life is stronger than state organisa-
tion. As soon as the latter becomes more powerful, on the other
hand, the unofficial popular forms are overshadowed through the
development of an annalistic keeping of records by order of the
governing authority.

If a saga assumes poetic form in its early stage, it remains
virtually unchanged for a long time, even when it is transmitted
by word of mouth alone; save that passages may be introduced
which describe the course of events subsequent to the initial incident
giving rise to the saga. Reminiscences not included in the poem
may under certain circumstances condense into a parallel account
so that, as in the case of the story of Deborah, prose is found side
by side with poetry; or, more correctly speaking, a loosely cadenced
version accompanies the more strictly versified form. If the saga,
however, does not assume this strict form at about the time of the
event, but remains in its "mobile" state, it will be variously
treated by different narrators, without any need to assume a conscious
wish to introduce changes. Differing religious, political and familiar
tendencies, simultaneous and parallel to one another as well as
consecutive, find expression in the treatment, with the result that
a product already current in the tradition is "rectified", that is,
supplemented or actually transformed in one or another detail.
This continuous process of crystallisation is something entirely
different in character from compilation and welding of elements
from various sources.

Such a state of affairs invests research with the duty of establish-
ing a critique of tradition. The student must attempt to penetrate

-15-