Unpublished description by M.R. James of Cambridge, University Library, MS Kk.1.6 (Eleanor Hull, Meditation on the Seven Psalms, extracts from Augustine, Anselm, Bernard of Clairvaux and others, On the Passion, and other texts)

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 For further information, see: James Freeman, 'Unpublished descriptions of western medieval manuscripts at Cambridge University Library', Transactions of the Cambridge Bibliographical Society (2020); James Freeman,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

在1926年至1930年期间，M.R. James受剑桥大学图书馆之聘，负责编制其中古手稿的描述，旨在取代自1856年至1867年间出版的五卷本目录所提供的信息。总计，James共编制了超过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，加之其书法难以辨识，导致其作品在1936年去世后不久便放弃了出版计划。在2002年至2011年期间，图书馆工作人员逐步整理了James的笔记副本，旨在使这些资料更广泛地得到传播，同时也为了协助原件的保护（现已被纳入大学档案馆，编号为UA ULIB 7/3/74）。该副本由马丁·布莱克博士编制。如需进一步信息，请参阅：James Freeman，《剑桥大学图书馆西方中古手稿未发表描述》，载《剑桥文献学协会学报》（2020年）；James Freeman，《M.R. James的描述》，剑桥大学图书馆特种收藏品主题指南（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（Donington: Shaun Tyas，2001年），第23-36页。