Unpublished description by M.R. James of Cambridge, University Library, MS Ii.2.15 (Peter Lombard, Sententiarum libri IV)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 Rev. Lorenzo Fernandez-Vicente. For further information, see: James Freeman, 'Unpublished descriptions of western medieval manuscripts at Cambridge University Library', Transactions of the Cambridge Bibliographical Society (2020); James Freeman,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.詹姆斯受雇于剑桥大学图书馆（Cambridge University Library），为馆藏中世纪手稿编制描述文本，以期取代1856年至1867年间出版的五卷目录所载的相关信息。詹姆斯总计为该馆逾1200份手稿完成了描述文稿。然而，其工作处于未完成且往往较为仓促的状态，加之其手稿字迹难以辨识，导致1936年他去世后不久即出版其文稿的计划被迫搁置。2002年至2011年间，剑桥大学图书馆工作人员零散汇编了詹姆斯的手稿转录本，此举既旨在扩大其传播范围，也有助于原始手稿的保存——该原始手稿现入藏大学档案馆，编号为UA ULIB 7/3/74。本次转录由洛伦佐·费尔南德斯-维森特牧师（Rev. Lorenzo Fernandez-Vicente）完成。更多相关信息可参阅：詹姆斯·弗里曼《剑桥大学图书馆未公开的西方中世纪手稿描述》，载《剑桥书目学会汇刊》（2020年）；詹姆斯·弗里曼《M.R.詹姆斯的手稿描述》，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）；简·林格罗斯《M.R.詹姆斯在剑桥大学图书馆的遗产》，收录于《M.R.詹姆斯的遗产：1995年剑桥研讨会论文集》，林达·丹尼森编（多宁顿：肖恩·泰亚斯出版社，2001年），第23-36页。