Unpublished description by M.R. James of Cambridge, University Library, MS Dd.1.4 (Iosephus Flauius, Antiquitates iudaicae)

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 For further information, see: James Freeman, 'Unpublished descriptions of western medieval manuscripts at Cambridge University Library', Transactions of the Cambridge Bibliographical Society (2020); James Freeman,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

自1926年至1930年，M.R. James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，James编纂了超过1200份图书馆手稿的描述。然而，由于他的工作常常处于未完成且匆忙的状态，加之其书法难以辨认，导致其作品在其1936年去世后不久的出版计划不得不被放弃。2002年至2011年间，图书馆工作人员逐步整理了James的笔记副本，旨在使这些笔记更广泛地被利用，同时也为了协助原稿（现已被归档至大学档案馆，编号为UA ULIB 7/3/74）的保存。此副本由Jayne Ringrose整理。欲了解更多信息，请参阅：James Freeman，《剑桥大学图书馆未发表的中世纪西文手稿描述》，载《剑桥书目学会会刊》（2020年）；James Freeman，《M.R. James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. James在剑桥大学图书馆的遗产》，载Lynda Dennison编，《M.R. James的遗产：1995年剑桥研讨会论文集》（Donington: Shaun Tyas, 2001年），第23-36页。