Unpublished description by M.R. James of Cambridge, University Library, MS Dd.3.57 (Chronicle roll of Kings of England to Henry IV)

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 For further information, see: James Freeman, 'Unpublished descriptions of western medieval manuscripts at Cambridge University Library', Transactions of the Cambridge Bibliographical Society (2020); James Freeman,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，詹姆斯编纂了图书馆超过1200份手稿的描述。然而，由于他的工作（往往匆忙）尚未完成，加之辨认其手迹的困难，因此，在詹姆斯1936年去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，由大学图书馆的工作人员零星编纂了詹姆斯笔记的转录本，旨在使这些笔记更广泛地被利用，同时也为了保护原稿（现已被纳入大学档案馆，编号为UA ULIB 7/3/74）。该转录本由马丁·布莱克博士编制。欲了解更多信息，请参阅：詹姆斯·弗里曼，《剑桥大学图书馆西欧中世纪手稿未发表描述》，剑桥文献学学会会刊（2020年）；詹姆斯·弗里曼，《M.R.詹姆斯的描述》，剑桥大学图书馆特藏主题指南（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》，由林达·登森森编辑（多宁顿：肖恩·泰斯出版社，2001年），第23-36页。