The Codex Gigas
The Codex Gigas, also known as the ,"The Devil's Bible" or "The Satanic Bible".
History
The Codex Gigas ("Giant Book"; Czech: Obří kniha) is the largest extant medieval illuminated manuscript in the world, at a length of 92 cm (36 in). Very large illuminated bibles were a typical feature of Romanesque monastic book production, but even within this group, the page-size of the Codex Gigas is noted as exceptional. The manuscript is also known as the Devil's Bible, due to its highly unusual full-page portrait of Satan, and the legend surrounding its creation.
Eventually finding its way to the imperial library of Rudolf II in Prague, the entire collection was taken as spoils of war by the Swedes in 1648 during the Thirty Years' War, and the manuscript is now preserved at the National Library of Sweden in Stockholm, where it is on display for the general public.
The Codex Gigas was created for a Bohemian monastery, but was brought to Sweden as spoils of war in the 17th century. Among other things, the manuscript contains a complete Bible, historical texts, magic formulas and spells.
In July 1648, during the final clashes of the Thirty Years’ War, the Swedish army looted the city of Prague. Among the treasures they stole and brought with them when they returned home was a book called Codex Gigas. Not only is Codex Gigas famous for being the largest medieval book in the world, but because of its contents, it is also known as The Devil’s Bible.----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Description
wooden boards covered in leather, with ornate metal guards and fittings. At 92 cm (36 in) long, 50 cm (20 in) wide and 22 cm (8.7 in) thick, it is the largest known medieval manuscript. Weighing 74.8 kg (165 lb), Codex Gigas is composed of 310 leaves of vellum claimed to be made from the skins of 160 donkeys, or perhaps calfskin, covering 142.6 m2 (1,535 sq ft) in total. The manuscript includes illuminations in red, blue, yellow, green and gold. Capital letters at the start of books of the bible and the chronicle are elaborately illuminated in several colours, sometimes taking up most of the page; 57 of these survive. (The start of the Book of Genesis is missing.) There are also 20 initials with the letters in blue, with vine decoration in red. With the exception of the portraits of the devil, an author portrait of Josephus, and a squirrel perched on top of an initial (f. 110v), the illuminations all display geometrical or plant-based forms, rather than human or animal forms. There are also two images representing Heaven and Earth during the Creation, as blue and green circles with respectively the sun, moon and some stars, and a planet all of sea with no landmasses. Within books, major capitals are much enlarged, taking up the height of about five to six lines of text, in red ink, and placed in the margins. Less important divisions, such as the start of verses, are slightly enlarged within the text and highlighted with yellowish ink around the letter forms.
The length, size, and detail of the codex are of such extraordinary magnitude that legend surrounds its origin, specifically the story that it was written by one scribe in one night with help from the devil himself. It initially contained 320 sheets, though twelve of these were subsequently removed. It is unknown who removed the pages or for what purpose.
10 THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT THE CODEX GIGAS, OR THE DEVIL’S BIBLE
1) The Devil’s Bible is 36 inches tall, 20 inches wide, and 8.7 inches thick.
2) The Devil’s Bible contains 310 pages made from vellum from 160 donkeys. Originally, The Devil’s Bible contained 320 pages, but at some point in time the last ten pages were cut out and removed from the book.
3) The Devil’s Bible weighs 165 lbs.
4) The Devil’s Bible was meant to be a work of history. That’s why it contains the Christian Bible in its entirety, The Jewish War and Jewish Antiquities by Flavius Josephus (37–100 C.E.), an encyclopedia by St. Isidor of Seville (560–636), and The Chronicle of Bohemia written by a Bohemian monk named Cosmas (1045–1125). In addition to these texts, there are a number of shorter texts included as well, e.g. on medical practices, penitence, and exorcism.
5) The identity of the scribe who created The Devil’s Bible is unknown. Scholars believe that the book is the creation of one person, most likely a monk living in Bohemia (today a part of the Czech Republic) during the first half of the thirteenth century.
6) Based on the amount of text and the details of the illuminations, it has been estimated that it took as long as thirty years to finish the book. In other words, the anonymous scribe seems to have dedicated the most part of his life to creating The Devil’s Bible.
7) In 1594, The Devil’s Bible was brought to Prague from the Broumov monastery, where it had been kept since the year 1420. King Rudolph II (1576–1612) asked to borrow The Devil’s Bible. He promised the monks that when he was finished with the book, he would return it. Which he of course never did.
8) The Devil’s Bible has been given its name because of a full-size portrait of the Devil. Portraits of the Devil were common during the Middle Ages but this particular portrait is unique. Here, the Devil is portrayed alone on the page. The image is very big—nineteen inches tall. The Devil is crouching and facing forward. He is naked apart from an ermine loincloth. Ermine is worn as a sign of royalty. It is believed that the Devil wears ermine in this image to demonstrate that he is the Prince of Darkness.
9) There are several myths surrounding the creation of The Devil’s Bible, and they all involve the Devil. One of the most famous myths is that the scribe traded his soul to the Prince of Darkness so that he could complete the book in one night.
10) On the opposite page of the portrait of the Devil is an image of the Heavenly City. This has been interpreted as the Heavenly Jerusalem mentioned in the Book of Revelation. It was common in the Middle Ages to leave book spreads on display to convey a message to those who saw it. It is believed that the message intended here is to show the rewards of a God-fearing life on one page and the horrors of a sinful life on the other
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