Gemäldegalerie in the context of Paschal Triduum

Maundy (from Old French mandé, from Latin mandatum meaning "command"), or Washing of the Saints' Feet, Washing of the Feet, Nipter, or Pedelavium or Pedilavium, is a religious rite observed by various Christian denominations. The word mandatum is the first word of the Latin Biblical quotation sung at the ceremony of the washing of the feet: "Mandatum novum do vobis ut diligatis invicem sicut dilexi vos", from the text of John 13:34 in the Vulgate ("I give you a new commandment, That ye love one another as I have loved you", John 13:34). The ceremony commemorates the commandment of Christ that his disciples should emulate his loving humility in the washing of the feet (John 13:14–17). The medieval Latin term mandatum (mandé, maundy), came to apply to the rite of foot-washing on the Thursday preceding Easter Sunday, known in English as "Maundy Thursday" since at least 1440 (written as Maunde þursday).

John 13:2–17 recounts Jesus' performance of this action. In verses 13:14–17, Christ instructs His disciples:

The Paschal Triduum or Easter Triduum (Latin: Triduum Paschale), Holy Triduum (Latin: Triduum Sacrum), or the Three Days, is the Christian period of three days that begins with the liturgy on the evening of Maundy Thursday, reaches its high point in the Easter Vigil, and closes with evening prayer on Easter Sunday. It is a moveable observance recalling the Passion, Crucifixion, Death, burial, and Resurrection of Jesus, as portrayed in the canonical Gospels.

In the Anglican, Lutheran, Methodist, Moravian and Reformed traditions, the Paschal Triduum straddles the two liturgical seasons of Lent and Easter in the Church calendar (Holy Saturday is the last day of Lent, with the Easter Vigil being the first liturgy of Eastertide). In the Roman Catholic tradition since the 1955 reform by Pope Pius XII, the Easter Triduum has been more clearly distinguished as a separate liturgical period.