Leaf from a Book of Hours: Office of the Dead (Monks Praying over a Casket)

The Office for the Dead is the last section of a book of hours, and contained prayers used prior to medieval funerals, during the offices of Vespers, Matins, and Lauds. Lay readers recited this office in the hopes of facilitating the peaceful repose of the departed and of shortening the time that they would spend in purgatory. The Office for the Dead further served as a memento mori, reminding readers of death’s imminence and inevitability. This image of monks praying over a casket typifies the morbid illuminations accompanying this section of a book of hours, which often portrayed funeral processions, burials, and other church rituals for the dead.