Unpublished description by M.R. James of Cambridge, University Library, MS Ii.3.13 (P. Papinius Statius, Thebais)

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 Rev. Lorenzo Fernandez-Vicente. For further information, see: James Freeman, 'Unpublished descriptions of western medieval manuscripts at Cambridge University Library', Transactions of the Cambridge Bibliographical Society (2020); James Freeman,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.

自1926年至1930年，M.R. James受剑桥大学图书馆之聘，负责编纂其中世纪手稿的描述，旨在取代1856年至1867年间出版的五卷本目录所提供的信息。总计，James编纂了图书馆超过1200份手稿的描述。然而，由于他的工作尚未完成（且常常匆忙），加之其书法难以辨识，导致其于1936年去世后不久，出版其作品的计划不得不放弃。2002年至2011年间，图书馆工作人员分阶段编纂了James的笔记转录，旨在使这些资料更为广泛地获取，同时也为了保护原始资料（现已被编入大学档案馆，编号为UA ULIB 7/3/74）。此转录由Rev. Lorenzo Fernandez-Vicente完成。欲了解更多信息，请参阅：James Freeman，《剑桥大学图书馆西部中世纪手稿未发表描述》，收录于《剑桥文献学会会刊》（2020年）；James Freeman，《M.R. James的描述》，剑桥大学图书馆特殊收藏主题指南（https://www.lib.cam.ac.uk/collections/departments/manuscripts-university-archives/subject-guides/medieval-manuscripts-2/mr）；Jayne Ringrose，《M.R. James在剑桥大学图书馆的遗产》，收录于《1995年剑桥研讨会论文集：M.R. James的遗产》，由Lynda Dennison编辑（Donington: Shaun Tyas, 2001年），第23-36页。