The Codex Gigas – The Devil’s Bible On Earth

The Largest Medieval Manuscript In Existence

The largest book written in the Middle Ages is quite strange and has an even stranger origin. It is believed to have been written in the early 12th century inside the Benedictine monastery of Podlazice in Bohemia (modern day Czech Republic). The words are written in Latin and the pages consist of the skin of more than 160 animals, believed to be mostly donkeys and calfskin. The book weighs about 165 pounds and requires two individuals to lift it up as it is rather large. In fact, it’s the largest manuscript created during the Medieval times. The book was in the possession of Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II when the Sweedish stole it as war booty in 1648 during the Thirty Years War. It is currently housed in the National Library of Sweden in Stockholm, on display for the general public to see. But the fashion in how the book came about is truly disturbing.

Creation Of The Devil’s Bible

The monastery had a monk named Herman the Recluse, who had recently broken his vows. His punishment was to be walled in alive so he could starve to death in solitude, which was incredibly cruel even for medieval times. He promised the monastery that if they let him live, he will write a book containing all of the humanity’s knowledge…in a single day. Knowing the task would be impossible, the other monks agreed to it. The next day the monastery was presented with a huge book that defined all possible explanations. It contained Latin translations of the bible, as well as many other texts, medical formulas, texts on demon exorcism, and a rather large deception of the devil himself. This led many to name this book “The Devil’s Bible”.

A Monk Makes A Deal With Lucifer

While the monk was desperate to save his life, he did the unthinkable. He reached out to Lucifer for help in achieving the impossible. Legend has it that the monk insisted that he sold his soul to the devil in exchange for being able to write the Codex Gigas in a single day, after having failed to get much done near midnight. Actual research done on the book suggests that the Codex appears to have been written by a single author under a relatively short time frame. Till this day, there are 12 pages missing near the large painting of the devil inside the book. No one knows what these pages contain, as that knowledge has never been made public. For all we know, it could be sitting in the secret archives of the Vatican. But how did this Monk acquire all this knowledge so quickly overnight, and was able to write it all down in time to save his life? Rumors have arisen that the pages contained secret Satanic texts or even a method to conjure Lucifer himself. Experts have claimed that the calligraphy alone would have taken five years to write, without taking into account all the illustrations and embellishments.