Illuminated initials from BL Eg 3277, f. 47v

Text page with a bar border of hybrid animals, including one drinking water from a well, and illuminated initials. Image taken from f. 47v of Psalter, Use of Sarum ('The Bohun Psalter and Hours'), imperfect. Written in Latin and Anglo-Norman (one folio).

The Egerton Manuscript Collection is named after its founder, Sir Thomas Egerton (1540-1617), 1st Viscount Brackley, was a lawyer, statesman, and patron of the arts during the reigns of Queen Elizabeth I and King James I of England. He served as Lord Keeper of the Great Seal and later as Lord Chancellor of England, holding high positions in the legal and political realms.

Sir Thomas Egerton acquired a substantial number of historical and literary manuscripts. In 1617, shortly before his death, Sir Thomas Egerton bequeathed his collection of manuscripts to the British Museum, which was the precursor to the British Library.