Codex Gigas, also known as ‘the Devil’s Bible,’ is the largest & probably one of the strangest medieval manuscripts in the world.But what is the manuscript really about?
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The story behind the making of Codex Gigas is that it was the work of one monk, sometimes named as Herman the Recluse, who was sentenced to death by being walled up alive for breaking his monastic vows.
As a last gasp for survival he made a deal that he would create a book filled with the world’s knowledge in return for his life. His proposal was accepted, but his freedom from death would only be granted if the monk managed to complete the monumental manuscript in one night.
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The only way the monk could see himself completing the insurmountable task was with the help of the Devil. After selling his soul, the scribe was able to fulfill the order and gain his freedom. ancient-origins.net/myths-legends-…
The legend claims that this pact with the Devil can explain why the Prince of Darkness is depicted in such a prominent way in the codex. However, it is not known where this legend started and it is suspected that it was religiously propagated.
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Lucifer (the morning star) was not always a horrible monster. Represented here as a winged child pouring light from a jar. Engraving by G.H. Frezza, 1704. (Wellcome Images/CC BY 4.0)
Real-size facsimile of Codex Gigas. (Michal Mañas/CC BY 2.5)
The Devil’s Bible is famous for 2 features – its size & the unique representation of the Devil. The codex became known as the Codex Gigas, ‘giant book,’ due to its immensity
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Satan walks the earth as a real being who incites people into “unclean thoughts”, depression, disease, and death.
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William Blake's illustration of Satan as presented in John Milton's Paradise Lost.
Although the story of a pact with the Devil is rather far-fetched, analysis of the level of uniformity of the Latin text does suggest that it was written by just one scribe. That person may not have been Herman the Recluse, but it was likely a 13th century monk who
who lived in Bohemia, a part of modern Czech Republic.
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According to the National Geographic , it would take one person working continuously, day and night, five years to recreate the contents of Codex Gigas by hand (excluding the illustrations). gizmodo.com/codex-gigas-de…
Therefore, realistically it would have taken at least 25 years for the scribe to create the codex from scratch. Yet, all this time, the writing retained an incredible uniformity from start to finish. This may be the source of the legend which says that
the monk wrote it in just one day.
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Detail of the Devil portrait in the Codex Gigas. (National Library of Sweden)
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The true origins of the Codex Gigas are unknown. In the text, there is a note stating that the manuscript was pawned by the monks of Podlažice in the monastery at Sedlec in 1295.
Source for dig ~ ancient-origins.net/myths-legends-…
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