The Office of the Dead arose from the need for constant penance and preparation for Judgement. The reality was, and is, that death may take anyone at any time, without warning. Therefore, in the traditional medieval Christian mindset, you had to be prepared to meet one’s maker. The medieval Christian accomplished this by reciting the Office of the Dead. Furthermore, they may read this on the anniversary of another’s death or during the night preceding a burial.

There is a great deal of variation in imagery used to introduce the Office of the Dead. The Last Judgment is used in early manuscripts. Later on, the Vigil of the Dead (service of prayers said in a church over the coffin) replaces the Last Judgment. French books of hours may depict the procession to the graveyard or interment. Another image is that of a dying man, surrounded by friends, with a devil and angel, above his bed, competing for his soul. Further variations include the Poor Man at the Rich Man’s Feast or the Raising of Lazarus. Job on his dunghill being visited by his Comforters is another possibility. The last of these possible images is the Three Quick and the Three Dead: three men in their prime encounter three skeletons or corpses, symbolically themselves, in various stages of decomposition.
 
 

The Burial

Job Being Mocked

3 Quick and 3 Dead