Unpublished description by M.R. James of Cambridge, University Library, MS Ll.2.15 (Cartulary of the Priory of St Gregory, Canterbury)

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 For further information, see: James Freeman, 'Unpublished descriptions of western medieval manuscripts at Cambridge University Library', Transactions of the Cambridge Bibliographical Society (2020); James Freeman,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

1926年至1930年间，M.R.詹姆斯（M.R. James）受雇于剑桥大学图书馆（Cambridge University Library），负责对该馆所藏中世纪手稿进行著录，以期替代1856年至1867年间出版的五卷本目录所刊载的相关信息。詹姆斯共计完成了该馆超过1200份手稿的著录工作，但由于其工作成果尚未完成，且往往较为仓促，加之其手书笔迹难以辨认，导致1936年詹姆斯逝世后不久便计划将其成果正式出版的构想被迫搁置。2002年至2011年间，剑桥大学图书馆的工作人员逐步整理转录了詹姆斯的手稿笔记，此举既旨在让这些资料得以更广泛地传播，也有助于保护原件——该原件现以归档编号UA ULIB 7/3/74被纳入剑桥大学档案馆（University Archives）馆藏。本次转录工作由马丁·布莱克博士（Dr Martin Blake）完成。如需进一步了解相关内容，可参阅以下文献：詹姆斯·弗里曼（James Freeman）：《剑桥大学图书馆未公开的西方中世纪手稿著录》，《剑桥文献学学会会刊（Transactions of the Cambridge Bibliographical Society）》2020年刊；詹姆斯·弗里曼：《M.R.詹姆斯的手稿著录》，《剑桥大学图书馆特藏主题指南（Cambridge University Library Special Collections Subject Guide）》，链接：https://www.lib.cam.ac.uk/collections/departments/manuscripts-university-archives/subject-guides/medieval-manuscripts-2/mr；杰恩·林格罗斯（Jayne Ringrose）：《M.R.詹姆斯在剑桥大学图书馆的学术遗产》，收录于《M.R.詹姆斯的遗产：1995年剑桥研讨会论文集（The legacy of M.R. James: Papers from the 1995 Cambidge Symposium）》，琳达·丹尼森（Lynda Dennison）编，多宁顿：肖恩·泰亚斯出版社（Donington: Shaun Tyas），2001年，第23至36页。