Abstract
The aim of this study is to demonstrate the - so far neglected - role Czechoslovakian slavistics played in the shaping of the Parry-Lord oral-formulaic theory. The process is presented as a genuine discovery story rooted within a specific scientific milieu (A.
Meillet, Prague Linguistic Circle etc.). Among the story's important figures belong Matija Murko, the founder of Czechoslovakian slavistics, Roman Jakobson, and some other scholars.
Much attention is paid to Murko's and Parry's scientific research strategies undertaken especially during their journeys to the Balkans in the 1930s, which are compared in the text. The paper also reveals certain ties between Murko and Lord; some of the evidence, as far as I know, has not been published until now.