The oral tradition, which is diverse and naturally fluid, shows remarkable stability at various narrative levels. The changes not only depend on the specific use of memory, but also on deliberate alterations introduced into the narrative by individual interpreters. The modifications in the oral tradition arise from adaptive needs, including those related to changes occurring in a particular community, which enable and perhaps even compel the interpreter to adapt the transmitted stories in some way. The transition to a literate culture only seemingly stops the process of adaptive changes. The criterion of originality emerges, which fixed the story, although it’s final form is the result of a variety of factors. Quite frequently changes result from the transfer of narratives to ethnically and linguistically diverse cultures or from the transfer to a different medium of communication, such as a medium that uses body movements or images.
Transformations of oral and written narratives presents a multifaceted approach to the question of changes in narratives, taking into account differences between oral and written cultures. Their authors, each from his/her research position, explore the phenomenon of change in storytelling, ist dynamics and determinants, as well as the complex relationships between various ways in which narrative forms have been adapted across cultures. Bringing together the perspectives of cognitive, anthropological, folklore and philological research in one collection allows for a multi-sided and competent approach, and one that considers both the cognitive capacities of the human species and cultural divergences.