Unpublished description by M.R. James of Cambridge, University Library, MS Ii.4.6 (Ælfric and others, Homilies)

Between 1926 and 1930, M.R. James was employed by Cambridge University Library to prepare descriptions of its medieval manuscripts, with a view to superseding the information provided by the five-volume catalogue published between 1856 and 1867. In all, James prepared descriptions of over 1,200 of the Library's manuscripts. However, the unfinished (and often hurried) state of his work, together with the difficulty of deciphering his handwriting, meant that plans to publish his work in the years immediately after his death in 1936 had to be abandoned. Between 2002 and 2011, transcriptions of James's notes were compiled piecemeal by University Library staff, with a view to making them more widely available, but also to aid the preservation of the originals (now accessioned into the University Archives as UA ULIB 7/3/74). This transcription was prepared by Jayne Ringrose. For further information, see: James Freeman, 'Unpublished descriptions of western medieval manuscripts at Cambridge University Library', Transactions of the Cambridge Bibliographical Society (2020); James Freeman, 'M.R. James's descriptions', Cambridge University Library Special Collections Subject Guide (https://www.lib.cam.ac.uk/collections/departments/manuscripts-university-archives/subject-guides/medieval-manuscripts-2/mr); Jayne Ringrose, 'The legacy of M.R. James in Cambridge University Library', in The legacy of M.R. James: Papers from the 1995 Cambidge Symposium, ed. by Lynda Dennison (Donington: Shaun Tyas, 2001), pp. 23-36.

1926年至1930年间，M.R.詹姆斯（M.R. James）受雇于剑桥大学图书馆（Cambridge University Library），负责编制该馆中世纪手稿的著录说明，以期替代1856年至1867年间出版的五卷本目录所收录的相关信息。詹姆斯总计完成了该馆逾1200份手稿的著录工作。然而，其成果未完成且往往仓促完成，加之笔迹难以辨识，导致1936年詹姆斯去世后不久便将其成果付梓的计划被迫搁置。2002年至2011年间，剑桥大学图书馆工作人员分阶段将詹姆斯的手写笔记整理为转录文本，此举既旨在让这些资料得以更广泛地传播，也便于原件的保存——该原件现以档案号UA ULIB 7/3/74入藏剑桥大学档案馆（University Archives）。本次转录由简·林格罗斯（Jayne Ringrose）完成。如需获取进一步信息，可参阅以下文献：詹姆斯·弗里曼（James Freeman）发表于《剑桥书目学会会刊》（Transactions of the Cambridge Bibliographical Society）2020年的文章《剑桥大学图书馆未刊西方中世纪手稿著录》；詹姆斯·弗里曼的《M.R.詹姆斯的手稿著录》，载于剑桥大学图书馆特藏主题指南（https://www.lib.cam.ac.uk/collections/departments/manuscripts-university-archives/subject-guides/medieval-manuscripts-2/mr）；简·林格罗斯的《M.R.詹姆斯在剑桥大学图书馆的遗产》，收录于《M.R.詹姆斯的遗产：1995年剑桥研讨会论文集》（琳达·丹尼森主编，多宁顿：肖恩·泰亚斯出版社，2001年），第23-36页。