Szenen aus der Genesis aus BL Eg 1070, f. 140

Miniature with the Creation of Adam, the Creation of Eve, and Cain killing Abel. Image taken from f. 140 of Book of Hours, Use of Paris ('The Hours of René d'Anjou'). Written in Latin, calendar and rubrics in French.

Cain and Abel - the first two sons of Adam and Eve. According to the book of Genesis, Cain, a farmer, became jealous of Abel, a shepherd, when God accepted Abel's offering of animal sacrifice but rejected Cain's offering of crops. In a fit of anger, Cain killed Abel, making him the first murderer in human history. God punished Cain by marking him and banishing him from the land.

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.