Lastingly vital oral literary heritage

U ovome se radu razmatra život hrvatske usmene književnosti na temelju suvremenih zapisa. Glavna je svrha pokazati da usmena književnost nije samo relikt prošlosti već da se prirodno uklapa u ukupnost života neke sredine. Nekoliko učestalijih motiva hrvatske usmene književnosti žive do danas. Naši primjeri pokazuju da su se neki klišejizirani sižeji dobro uščuvali, mada u nešto promijenjenu obliku. Njima se uspostavlja veza sa starijim arhetipskim oblicima.In this article, the life of Croatian oral literature is observed on the basis of contemporary notations. The main objective is to show that oral literature is not merely a remnant of the past but that it is integrated naturally into the totality of a particular community’s life. Several frequent motifs in Croatian oral literature have lived on until today. Our examples demonstrate that certain stereotyped topics have survived well, even if in a somewhat altered form. They are used to establish links with earlier archetypical forms