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pounds the theory that the Javanese authors were altogether biassed in favour of their patrons: they were trying by all means, even by apert falsification of facts, to get some preconceived ideas on historical order ac cepted by the public, in order to put their Royal masters in a favourable light. Berg’s argument is difficult to prove, and on the whole it seems to go too- far. It is true, of course, that Javanese writers on history are never absolutely impartial. But then, im partiality and freedom from bias are hardly to be expected in any historical work. Unlike the Nagara Kërtagama, the Para raten was a well-known book in its time. In Bali it was rendered into verse. The poetic Pararaten version has also- been re gistered under the present head; it is com parable with the Javanese-Balinese kidurys, a kind of ballads. It only contains the initial chapters referring to the founder of the Siijasari dynasty, called Arok or Arjrok. The third book belonging to the group of Old Javanese historical texts, the Tantu Patjgelaran, contains legendary tales with reference to sacred spots, holy mountains and ancient religious domains. The initial chapters are mythical. The tales concerning the holy men who founded religious com munities all over East Java might be con sidered as prototypes of similar tales told about the Muslim saints, the walis, who, in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, con verted Java to Islam. A direct connection is difficult to establish, however. The Tantu Pat}gëlaran is in Old Javanese prose. Probably, like the Pararaten, it was written in the fifteenth century or even later, in the last part of the Majapahit period. This date is suggested by the idiom of the

texts, which is closely related to- modem Javanese. On account of its associations with ancient mythology, partly Indian, partly of indige nous origin, clad in Indian garb, the Tantu Pai3gëlaran was well-known in its time, and afterwards in Bali. Probably it is the oldest Javanese text containing extensive tales be longing to indigenous mythology (Kandya- wan and his sons). In fact these tales must date from time immemorial, belonging to the ancient religious tradition of the race, orally transmitted through many genera tions. Apparently not before the fifteenth century some Javanese literati were suffi ciently interested in native religious tra dition to take the tales down in writing. It is characteristic of stratified Javanese society that the Tantu Parjgelaran was writ ten by men of religion outside the Court sphere where the Nagara Kërtagama author lived; the latter was a Buddhist ecclesiastic of standing. Probably (the Tantu belonged to the sphere of common Siwaitic hermits and men of religion, one of the four groups into which, in the fourteenth century, the Javanese clergy was divided. The Tantu Parjgëlaran has been edited, translated into Dutch and annotated by the present author (1924). The Pratasti Buwana is a short text, not very well preserved. It contains interesting speculations on the four yugas, the periods of world history. 20.410 Pararaten, Book of Kings, Old Javanese prose: cod. 4401, 4402, 4403, 4404, 4405. 20.420 Pararaten, Book of Kings, Javanese- Balinese verse, macapat: cod. 3870 (= 10.458), 9606 (Krt 1062).