Unpublished description by M.R. James of Cambridge, University Library, MS Gg.1.1 (compilation of literary, historical, grammatical, scientific, astronomical, theological, pastoral and devotional texts, in Anglo-Norman, Middle English and Latin)

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 For further information, see: James Freeman, 'Unpublished descriptions of western medieval manuscripts at Cambridge University Library', Transactions of the Cambridge Bibliographical Society (2020); James Freeman,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.詹姆斯受剑桥大学图书馆（Cambridge University Library）聘雇，负责编制该馆中世纪手稿的著录说明，以期替代1856年至1867年出版的五卷本目录所收录的相关信息。总计，詹姆斯共完成了该馆逾1200份手稿的著录说明。然而，由于其成果尚未完成（且往往较为仓促），加之其手写笔迹难以辨认，1936年詹姆斯逝世后不久，出版其成果的计划被迫搁置。2002年至2011年间，剑桥大学图书馆工作人员逐步整理了詹姆斯手写笔记的转录本，此举一方面旨在让这些转录内容得到更广泛的传播，另一方面也有助于保护原稿——该原稿现以UA ULIB 7/3/74的编号入藏剑桥大学档案馆（University Archives）。本次转录工作由简·林格罗斯（Jayne Ringrose）完成。如需进一步了解相关信息，可参阅以下文献：詹姆斯·弗里曼（James Freeman）《剑桥大学图书馆藏西方中世纪手稿未刊著录》，载《剑桥书目学会会刊》（Transactions of the Cambridge Bibliographical Society）2020年刊；詹姆斯·弗里曼《M.R.詹姆斯的手稿著录》，载《剑桥大学图书馆特藏主题指南》（Cambridge University Library Special Collections Subject Guide），网址：https://www.lib.cam.ac.uk/collections/departments/manuscripts-university-archives/subject-guides/medieval-manuscripts-2/mr；简·林格罗斯《M.R.詹姆斯在剑桥大学图书馆的学术遗产》，收录于《M.R.詹姆斯的遗产：1995年剑桥研讨会论文集》，林达·丹尼森（Lynda Dennison）编（多宁顿：肖恩·泰亚斯出版社，2001年），第23-36页。