Saul and David from BL Eg 3277, f. 29v

Text page with a bar border and a large historiated initial 'D'(ixi) of four scenes in the life of David, in which Saul enters a cave to relieve himself, the cave in which David and his men are hiding, David cuts a corner of Saul's robe off, David calls after Saul with the corner of his robe and Saul speaks to David, confessing that he believes David will soon be king, at the beginning of Psalm 38, The Canticle of David. Image taken from f. 29v 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.