List of names of the dead for whom prayers were to be said in a monastery at set anniversaries. Such prayers had been paid for in the dead person's will or by the family. The medieval belief was that only saints went directly to heaven. Everyone else had to wait until the day of judgement. Thus prayers said or addressed to a saint were felt to be esp. beneficial. -
Cf. Obit
Dictionary of Medieval Terms and Phrases. Christopher Coredon with Ann Williams.