The Codex Gigas (English: Giant Book) is the largest extant medieval manuscript in the world.It is also known as the Devil's Bible because of a large illustration of the devil on the inside and the legend surrounding its creation. It is thought to have been created in the early 13th century in the Benedictine monastery of Podlažice in Bohemia (modern Czech Republic). It contains the Vulgate Bible as well as many historical documents all written in Latin. During the Thirty Years' War in 1648, the entire collection was seized by the Swedish army as plunder, and now it is preserved at the National Library of Sweden in Stockholm, though it is not normally on display.
Description
The codex is bound in a wooden folder covered with leather and ornate metal. At 92 cm (36.2in.) tall, 50 cm (19.7in.) wide and 22 cm (8.6in.) thick it is the largest known medieval manuscript.It initially contained 320 sheets, though some of these were subsequently removed.It is unknown who removed the pages or for what purpose but it seems likely that they contained the monastic rules of the Benedictines. The codex weighs nearly 75 kg (165 lbs.). The Codex Gigas now has 310 leaves of parchment "of moderate quality", perhaps made from calfskin.
Legend
According to one version of a legend that is already recorded in the Middle Ages the scribe was a monk who broke his monastic vows and was sentenced to be walled up alive. In order to forbear this harsh penalty he promised to create in one single night a book to glorify the monastery forever, including all human knowledge. Near midnight he became sure that he could not complete this task alone, so he made a special prayer, not addressed to God but to the fallen archangel Lucifer, asking him to help him finish the book in exchange for his soul. The devil completed the manuscript and the monk added the devil's picture out of gratitude for his aid.In tests to recreate the work, it is estimated to have taken 20 or more years to have written the work.
A mysterious manuscript...and a midnight pact with the devil....sinister,bizzare, unexplained....unlock the secrets of the medieval mystery, as science and investigation uncovered the fabled and feared Devil's Bible.....the Codex Gigas, uncovered by National Geographic , watch it to believe it.
For more info check out : http://www.kb.se/codex-gigas/eng/
General
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