VIII Vorwort.

palaeographical books and illustrative material. Notwithstanding theheavy demands which were made on his time and energy by hisprofessorial and administrative duties, Professor Priebsch continuedthroughout the tenure of his chair to furnish in his publicationsevidence of his unabated zeal and enthusiasm as a scholar, and theconstant references to his research in works dealin g with all aspectsof medieval studies abundantly testify to the wide ränge of his interests.

Professor Priebsch had a rare gift for friendship, and No. 1, Down-side Crescent, where with Mrs. Priebsch for many years he dispenseda gracious hospitality, was familiär not only to his own past andpresent students but to a host of British and foreign scholars. Herehe would delight, among other things, in showing to his visitors hisunique collection of first editions of German poets and the other trea-sures of his valuable and extensive library. He was a man of alovable disposition, among his most attractive traits being his sim-plicity and unworldliness, and a true humility which found it mucheasier to appreciate the achievements of others than his own. Evenwhen living in Vienna after his retirement Professor Priebsch's thoughtswere often in England, and he kept in constant touch with his Eng-lish friends. His energy remained unflagging, and only a week beforehis death he had undertaken to add to- the ever-increasing volumeof his critical work by writing notices of two recent publications forthe Modern Language Bevieio. It was one of the great regrets ofthe last months of his life that he was unable, on account of failinghealth, to accept the invitation of the University of London to givethe course of special University Lectures in German.

W. E. Collinson schrieb wie folgt:

Priebsch came over to us in the nineties, and for several yearstravelled from library to library making a careful examination andfüll description of all the German medieval manuscripts he could layhands on, and finally embodied his researches in a publication whichremains the indispensable Standard work on the subject: "DeutscheHandschriften in England" (1896-1901). He was a medievalist ofinternational repute. No scholar was more deeply versed in the olderliterature of Germany, of which he had explored many hidden byways.