Unpublished description by M.R. James of Cambridge, University Library, MS Ii.4.20 (Breviary, Missal)

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 Dr Martin Blake. For further information, see: James Freeman, 'Unpublished descriptions of western medieval manuscripts at Cambridge University Library', Transactions of the Cambridge Bibliographical Society (2020); James Freeman,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.詹姆斯受雇于剑桥大学图书馆，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，詹姆斯编纂了超过1200份图书馆手稿的描述。然而，由于他的工作往往处于未完成状态且匆忙，加之其书法难以辨认，导致其作品在1936年去世后不久便放弃了出版计划。2002年至2011年间，由图书馆工作人员逐步整理了詹姆斯的笔记，旨在使其更广泛地传播，同时也为了保护原件（现已存入大学档案馆，编号为UA ULIB 7/3/74）。此转录工作由马丁·布莱克博士完成。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的描述》，载于《剑桥文献学学会会刊》（2020年）；James Freeman，《M.R.詹姆斯的描述》，剑桥大学图书馆特别收藏主题指南（https://www.lib.cam.ac.uk/collections/departments/manuscripts-university-archives/subject-guides/medieval-manuscripts-2/mr）；Jayne Ringrose，《M.R.詹姆斯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.詹姆斯的遗产》，由Lynda Dennison 编著（Donington: Shaun Tyas, 2001），第23-36页。