Unpublished description by M.R. James of Cambridge, University Library, MS Ff.1.17(1) (hymns and songs)

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 Robin Payne. For further information, see: James Freeman, 'Unpublished descriptions of western medieval manuscripts at Cambridge University Library', Transactions of the Cambridge Bibliographical Society (2020); James Freeman,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，旨在取代自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或匆忙的状态，加之其手迹难以辨认，使得在他1936年去世后不久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抄本，旨在使其更广泛地传播，同时也为了辅助原稿（现已被收入大学档案馆，编号为UA ULIB 7/3/74）的保存。该抄本由罗宾·佩恩博士编制。欲了解更多信息，请参阅：詹姆斯·弗里曼，《剑桥大学图书馆西部中世纪手稿的未发表描述》，载于《剑桥文献学会学报》（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》，见《M.R.詹姆斯的遗产：1995年剑桥研讨会论文集》，由林达·邓尼森编（Donington：Shaun Tyas，2001年），第23-36页。