The present "Literature Qf Java, Catalogue Raisonne Qf Javanese Manuscripts" is a publicatiQn of the Library Qf the University Qf Leiden. It is no. IX Qf the series "CQdices Manuscripti" published by this Library, and it is made available tOo the public by the RQyal Institute Qf Linguistics and AnthropQoIDgy. Originally the wQrk was Qnly meant to be a sequel tOo Dr H. H. Juynboll's "Supplement Dp "den CatalQgus van de J avaansche en Madoereesche Handschriften der Leidsche "Universiteits-BibliQtheek" in two volumes. The second volume appeared in 1911. It soon became clear, hQwever, that this...

The Dutch Nagara-Kertagama translation on which Professor Kern worked, at intervals, during eleven years, deserves our utmost admir ation and respect. It is the last important piece of work he finished before his death. It has enriched in an extraordinarily high degree our knowledge of the history and antiquities of the Majapahit period. Moreover, its dignified and courtly style established the reputation of Old Javanese letters as a literature of considerable interest. The con tents of the Nagara-Kertiigama, as interpreted by Professor Kern, gave 14th century Majapahit a nimbus, making it...

Essentially the following commentary on the contents of the Nagara-Kertagama has been made up from notes by former editors of the text together with remarks, criticisms and digressions by the present author. As Kern, Krom and their contemporaries were especially interested in dynastie history and archeology their notes on those subjects are legion, and as a result of their studies on many points a communis opinio has been reached. The argumentations which led up to this end are not reproduced in the present edition. The interested reader is referred to Krom's great books: Oud-Javaansche Kunst...

The third, concluding volume of "Literature of Java" contains Addenda and a General Index, preceded by Illustrations, Facsimiles of Manuscripts, Maps and some Minor Notes, additions which may be of U'se to students of Javanese literature. The older catalogues of collections of Indonesian manuscripts (Javanese, Malay, Sundanese, Madurese, Balinese), which were written in Dutch, did not offer such additional aids to interested readers. One of the reasons was., that the authors (Vreede, Brandes, van Ronkel, Juynboll, Berg) presupposed a certain knowledge of the Indones, ian peoples, their...

The present second volume of the Nagara-Kertagama edition contains those notes on the tex.t and the translation of the major poem and the appended minor writings and charters that may be of interest to students of the J avanese language. Perusal of these notes on idiom and linguistics will be found the more fruitful if the glossary ( volume V of the present edition) is consulted continuously. No lengthy discussions of linguistic subjects are to be found in the present volume. They would be out of place in this new Nagara Kertagama edition, for its tenor is primarily sociological. Exceptions...