‘The Comfort for the Sick’ as ars moriendi

Abstract

During the Protestant Reformation of the Churches in the Low Countries the sacrament of extreme unction and rituals surrounding burial were eliminated. The ever-present reality of illness and approaching death, however, kept demanding pastoral care and comfort for the dying. In the 1570s a text was published, Den Siecken Troost (Comfort for the Sick), which found its way into the Reformed books of liturgy. This article researches the author’s identity and itinerary, and also the publication history of his booklet. Although no ecclesiastical body seems to have consented to the inclusion in the liturgical book, its lasting presence until the twenty first century begs the question how the ‘Comfort for the Sick’ came to such prominence.