Devil's Bible
The Codex
Gigas, also known as the 'Devils Bible', is one of the strangest medieval
manuscripts in the world. Dark legends surround the tome and its origins, and
the Devil's full-page portrait adds air to its mystery. But what exactly is the
manuscript?
The Devils Bible is famous for two features - its
shape and unique representation of the Devil. The Codex is known as the Codex
Gigas, the 'Book of Giant' due to its vastness. It is so large that it took
more than 160 animal skins to make and it is so heavy that it takes two people
to lift it. It measures 36 inches (91 cm) long, 20 inches (50.5 cm) wide and
about nine inches (22.86 cm) thick. It weighs 165 pounds. (74.8 kg).
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Mythology of Codex Gigas
According to legend, the medieval manuscript was
composed of an agreement with the devil, which is why it is sometimes called
the Devil's Bible. The uniformity of the writing suggests that it was written
by a scribe and the stories state that he was under great pressure when he
produced the book.
The story behind the making of the Codex Gigas is
that it was the work of a monk, sometimes named as Herman the Recluse, who was
sentenced to life for breaking his monastic vows. As the final gasp for
survival, he made a deal that he would make a book full of the world's
knowledge in exchange for his life. His proposal was accepted, but salvation
from his death would be granted only when the monk managed to complete the
monumental manuscript in one night.
The way the monk could see himself accomplishing
inaccessible tasks was with the help of Satan. After selling his soul, the
scribe was able to fulfill the order and regain his independence. Legend claims
that this agreement with the Devil may explain why the prince is depicted
prominently in the dark. However, it is not known where this legend began and
it is suspected that it was propagated religiously.
How exactly was Codex Gigas created?
Although the story of a settlement with the Devil
is far-fetched, an analysis of the level of uniformity of the Latin text
suggests that it was written by just one scribe. The man may not have been
Hermann the Recluse, but it was likely a 13th-century monk who lived in
Bohemia, a part of the modern Czech Republic.
According to National Geographic, it would take a
person working five years in a row, day and night, to make the material of
Codex Gigas by hand (except illustration). Therefore, it would take the Munshi
at least 25 years to realistically build a codex from scratch. Nevertheless, at
this time, the writing maintained an incredible uniformity from beginning to
end. This may be the source of the legend which states that the monk wrote it in
only one day.
Originally, the Devils Bible contained 320 velum pages created with 160 donkey skin, but at some point in its history, ten pages were removed. It is believed that those pages were the rules of Saint Benedict's guide to living a monastic life in the 6th century.
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