The manuscript was created in the early 13th century in the Benedictine monastery of Podlažice in Bohemia, now a region in the modern-day Czech Republic.
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. 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 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). The entire document is written in Latin in addition, it contains Hebrew, Greek, and Slavic alphabets (Cyrillic and Glagolitic).The Codex Gigas opened to the page with the distinctive portrait of the devil from which the text received its alternative name, the Devil's Bible Following the picture of the devil, Cosmas of Prague's Chronicle of Bohemia, a list of brothers in the Podlažice monastery, and a calendar with necrologium, magic formulae and other local records round out the codex. Between the Testaments are Josephus' Antiquities of the Jews and De bello iudaico, as well as Isidore of Seville's encyclopedia Etymologiae and medical works of Hippocrates, Theophilus, Philaretus, and Constantinus.įollowing a blank page, the New Testament commences with Matthew-Acts, James-Revelation, and Romans-Hebrews. They are in the order: Genesis–Ruth Isaiah–Daniel Hosea–Malachi Job Samuel and Kings Psalms–Song of Solomon Wisdom of Solomon Wisdom of Jesus Esdras Tobit Judith Esther and Maccabees. About half of the codex consists of the entire Latin Bible in the Vulgate version, except for the books of Acts and Revelation, which are from a pre-Vulgate version. It was written, over night, by a single monk named Herman the Recluse. Weighing 74.8 kg (165 lb), Codex Gigas is composed of 310 leaves of vellum kinda probably made from the skins of 160 donkeys or perhaps calfskin, it originally contained 320 pages, though some have since been removed. The Codex Gigas was also believed to be cursed as those who acquired the codex find themselves faced with disastrous circumstances. In tests to recreate the work, it is estimated that reproducing only the calligraphy, without the illustrations or embellishments, would have taken 5 years of non-stop writing. The devil completed the manuscript and the monk added the devil's picture out of gratitude for his aid although others believe that the illustration of the Devil was more of a warning from the monk. 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 angel Satan, asking him to help him finish the book in exchange for his soul. 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. At 92 cm (36 in) tall, 50 cm (20 in) wide and 22 cm (8.7 in) thick, it is the largest known medieval manuscript.Īccording to one version of a legend that was already recorded in the Middle Ages, the scribe was a monk who broke his monastic vows and was sentenced to be walled up alive. The codex is bound in a wooden folder covered with leather and ornate metal. The Codex Gigas (English: Giant Book) is the largest medieval manuscript in the world.
The Codex Gigas, with the image of Satan that made it famous
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