Item Info

Script: Gothic bookhand
Language: Latin
Folio Number: ff. 109v-110r
Source: Rare Book Department
Notes: Opening with the Three Living and the Three Dead
Notes: This opening begins the Office of the Dead, which consisted of prayers to aid souls through Purgatory. The miniature is painted by a Bruges artist known as the Master of Edward IV for a manuscript he illuminated for the English king. The subject of the miniature, the Three Living and the Three Dead, is a reminder that death comes to all. Here, a young man, a middle-aged man, and an old man are confronted by three corpses. According to the popular legend, the corpses say to them: "We were once as you are now, and what we are, you soon will be." The scrolls inscribed "Memento mori" (Remember death) and the skulls in the grey borders underscore the moral of the story.
Sirsi Catalog Key: 1457702
Country: Country:Belgium
City/Town/Township:Bruges

Creation Year (Single Year or Range Begin): 1499
Image Dimensions Width: 178 mm
ShelfMark: Lewis E 108
Creator Name: Master of Edward IV - Artist