"Orale Ursprünge und früheste Formen in Vorderorient und Mittelmeerraum," in : Paradigmen -Poetiken -Geschichte, ed. Stefan Elit and Kai Bremer (Stuttgart: J. B. Metzler, 2023), 3-20

The cuneiform sources from the 3rd to the end of the first millennium BC provide the earliest evidence for a tradition of verse epic, which includes such famous works of world literature as the Epic of Gilgamesh. The poetic narratives from this time derive from multitude of overlapping cultures and languages. The chapter attempts an overview and comparison of the Sumerian, Akkadian, Hittite, and Ugaritic epics traditions. Individual sections focus on the historical development, external factors of transmission such as the roll of writing and orality in shaping the tradition, formal aspects, and conceptual history