Unpublished description by M.R. James of Cambridge, University Library, MS Kk.1.5 (Poems in Scots and Middle English)

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 For further information, see: James Freeman, 'Unpublished descriptions of western medieval manuscripts at Cambridge University Library', Transactions of the Cambridge Bibliographical Society (2020); James Freeman,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.詹姆斯受剑桥大学图书馆之聘，负责编纂其中古手稿的描述，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，由于他的工作未竟（且常处于匆忙之中），以及其书法难以辨认，导致其于1936年逝世后不久计划出版其作品的计划不得不放弃。2002年至2011年间，图书馆工作人员逐步整理了詹姆斯的笔记副本，旨在使这些资料更广泛地得到传播，同时也为了协助保存原件（现已归档至大学档案馆，编号为UA ULIB 7/3/74）。该副本由马丁·布莱克博士编制。欲了解更多信息，请参阅：詹姆斯·弗里曼，《剑桥大学图书馆未发表的西方中古手稿描述》，剑桥书目学会学报（2020年）；詹姆斯·弗里曼，《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）；杰恩·林格罗斯，《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》，由林达·邓尼森编（Donington: Shaun Tyas, 2001），第23-36页。