Photograph courtesy to The National Library of Sweden.
The Codex Gigas (Latin for Giant book) or the Devil's Bible is single handedly the biggest book or manuscript from the Middle Ages. It is massive with 310 parchment leaves or pages made from a from 160 different animals (most likely donkeys or calfskin). There are unfortunately a few pages missing from it. This monster of a book weighs a whopping 165 lbs and it takes two adults to lift it. People call it the Devil's Bible not only because of the picture of the Devil in it, but because of the legend that comes with it.
The legend goes that a 13th century Benedict monk broke his vows. For the punishment of that he was sentenced to be walled up alive. In an attempt to save his own life he promises to write a book in a single night of all human knowledge. Out of mercy they accepted his plea, probably not believing he'd do it. When the monk realized that he could not finish the book he turned to the Devil for help. In return the Devil asked for his soul and the monk gladly gave it to him. In thanks for that the monk dedicated a picture to the Devil.
In reality it is believed they do believe that it was worked on by a single monk, but it was over decades and not a single night. there have been test done that show the calligraphy alone would had taken 5 years of none stop writing. It isn't known who the monk was and no other work done by him had ever been found.
It is believed to be the only bible of that era to depict the Devil. Even though there were many depictions of the Devil in painting the one in this book has a whole page dedicated to him by himself which was rare. On the other side was a picture of the heavenly city. These are the only two images in the book in which a whole page was dedicated to.
In the book there many works inside of it. Many of the works include the Bible, some medical information of the time, a calendar, science and alchemy and even more. Even though the legend says that the Devil helped the monk there isn't actually any indications of the Devil being seen in a good light. More than likely the images were placed in the book next to each other to show representations of Good and Evil.
On the pages that followed the Devil image there are instructions and rituals on how to exercise demons. Illnesses during the middle ages were thought to have been caused by the possessions of demons. It wasn't just people, but objects that could be exercised.
It is unsure what the origin of the The Codex Gigas. It is believed to be created in Bohemia which is now modern day Czech Republic. A note in the manuscript stated that it was pawned off by the Podlažice Monks to the monastery at Sedlec in 1295. It was then passed to the monastery of Břevnov near Prague. It isn't known the exact place it was created and it isn't known if it was created at Podlažice, but there is a possibility it was.
In 1594 Rudolf II, who was King of Bohemia 1575-1611, moved the Codex Gigas to his castle in Prague. It remained there up until the 30 Year War and was taken by Sweden. It was then placed into a collection at a Stockholm royal library by Queen Christina of Sweden. It was the put in the National Library of Sweden where it now resides.
So do you believe the legend of the Devil's Bible or that it was the work of a determined monk?
SOURCES:
https://voices.nationalgeographic.org/2008/12/17/devil_bible/
https://aleteia.org/2017/04/12/its-not-the-devils-bible-its-just-the-codex-gigas/
http://www.kb.se/codex-gigas/eng/short/history/
No comments:
Post a Comment