Source: Wikipedia
For centuries, books have played a very vital role in the world. They are a medium through which we get to know about many events, history, and our surroundings.
Now as well as in the medieval period, getting knowledge was very important and valuable. That's why most historical books were written to spread the information from one generation to another.
The book named Codex Gigas is one of the same. This book became very famous and mysterious at its time and still is now. But what's so special about it that even experts scratch their heads?
Codex Gigas: Record-Breaking Manuscript
The book has a height of 36 inches (91 cm), a width of 20 inches (51 cm), and a thickness of 8.7 inches (22 cm) which probably makes it the world's largest preserved manuscript. The weight of the book is also around 75 kilograms.
Codex Gigas is heavy not only because of its size but the material from which it is made up of. That is vellum, a type of animal hide that can be procured from donkeys. Before the 13th century, it was much used to make pages for books.
What’s the History Behind the Book?
Codex Gigas was written by a monk Herman The Recluse from the kingdom of Bohemia (now the western part of Czechoslovakia) between 1204 and 1230.
It is said that one day the king gave the order of walled to death to him as Herman had broken his monastic vows. So he agreed with the monastery that if he was able to write a book including all human knowledge by the next morning, they would let him live. The heads of the monastery knew that this task was impossible so they agreed with him.
In the cell, while writing this manuscript Herman realized that it would be impossible to write it. As he was a monk, he decided to pray, not to God but to the fallen angel Lucifer (Satan). He offered his soul to Lucifer to write the book by morning. Lucifer accepted his offer and the book was completed. This astonished others.
Is It Written in One Sitting?
Since the 18th century, this book has been analyzed by hundreds of experts to test the validity of its story. Monks at that time were very good writers and the most efficient, even though the people who have expertise in manuscripts would have found the difference if the books were written from month to month.
But in the case of Codex Gigas, the writing style, size, and font had been seen the same throughout the book. It is also said to have perfect penmanship as this book doesn't contain any mistakes in spelling or grammar. All these things mean that Codex Gigas was probably written in one sitting and by one author only.
That's the thing that surprised everyone. A book that not only contains 620 pages ( present-day 310 pages) but is made up of the material called vellum which has been procured from 160 donkeys, has only taken one night to complete? Impossible, right? That's what the expert thought. They said if any book was made from this material, it would have taken almost 25-30 years to complete.
But the monk Herman proved everyone wrong by using the power of Satan.
Why Is It Known as the Devil’s Bible?
Out of gratitude, Herman painted Lucifer's appearance on the first page of the book. During the 13th century, portraits of devils were common but this particular one was unique.
The 19 inches tall Devil stands alone on the page and wears ermine to demonstrate that he is the Prince of Darkness. That's why this book is also known as the Devil's Bible.
Some people who tried to read and analyzed this book have said that the book has some supernatural power in it. It possesses some negative energy.
Where Is It Kept Now?
The Devil's Bible was brought to Prague by King Rudolph II in 1594 from the Broumov monastery where it had been kept since the year 1420. He took it to his castle as a loan because of a financial altercation with the head of the monastery. As he is fond of stuff like these, he never returned the book and kept it in his collection.
During the Thirty Years War (1318-1648), this book ended up in Queen Christina's collection and was placed in the library at Stockholm Palace. But later on, it was transferred to Castle Tre Kronor where it ended up burning and sadly lost many pages.
In 1768, Codex Gigas found his place back at the new Stockholm Palace. This was the place it was first analyzed. Once again it was removed and placed in the new library in Humlegarden.
But in 2007, the book was given to Prague for studies and historical exhibition. Today, the Devil's Bible is found in the National Library of Sweden.
Written by - Vipasha
Edited by - Kritika Sharma
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