thumb|upright=1.35|The Codex Gigas opened to the page with the distinctive portrait of [[Devil in Christianity|the Devil from which the text received its byname, the Devil's Bible. It is a Romanesque Latin Bible, with other texts, some secular, added in the second half of the book. but even among these, the page-size of the Codex Gigas is exceptional. The manuscript is also known as the Devil's Bible due to its highly unusual full-page portrait of Satan, the Devil, and the legend surrounding the book's creation. and medical works: an early version of the Ars medicinae compilation of treatises,

Eventually finding its way to the imperial library of Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor in Prague, the entire collection was taken as spoils of war by the Swedish Empire in 1648 during the Thirty Years' War,

Description

thumb|upright|290px|Illuminated initial at the start of the [[Book of Wisdom|Wisdom of Solomon]]

The codex's bookbinding is wooden boards covered in leather, with ornate metal guards and fittings. At long, wide and thick, it is the largest known medieval manuscript. Weighing , Codex Gigas is composed of 310 leaves of vellum claimed to be made from the skins of 160 donkeys, or perhaps calfskin, covering in total. The manuscript includes illuminations in red, blue, yellow, green, and gold. Capital letters at the start of books of the bible and the chronicle are elaborately illuminated in several colours, sometimes taking up most of the page; 57 of these survive. The start of the Book of Genesis is missing. There are also 20 initials with blue letters and vine decorations in red. There are also two images representing Heaven and Earth during the Creation, as blue and green circles with respectively the sun, moon, and some stars, and a planet all of sea with no landmasses. Within books, major capitals are much enlarged, taking up the height of about five to six lines of text in red ink and placed in the margins. Less important divisions, such as the start of verses, are slightly enlarged within the text and highlighted with yellowish ink around the letter forms.

The codex has a unified look as the nature of the writing is unchanged throughout, showing no signs of age, disease, or mold on the part of the scribe. This may have led to the belief that the whole book was written in a very short time (see § Legend). Scientists are investigating the theory that it took over 20 years to complete.

The codex's extraordinary length, size, and detail have given rise to the legend that it was written by one scribe in one night with help from the Devil himself. It initially contained 320 sheets. However, twelve of these were subsequently removed. It is unknown who removed the pages or for what purpose.

Illustration of the Devil

thumb|Illustration of the Devil on Codex Gigas, early thirteenth century

Folio 290 recto, otherwise empty, includes a full-page portrait of Satan, the Devil, about tall. Directly opposite the Devil is a full page depiction of the Kingdom of Heaven, thus juxtaposing contrasting images of Good and Evil as Christian symbols. The Devil is shown frontally, crouching with arms uplifted in a dynamic posture. He wears a white loincloth with small comma-shaped red dashes, which have been interpreted as the tails of ermine furs, a common symbol of sovereignty. He has no tail, and his body, arms, and legs are of normal human proportions. His hands and feet end with only four fingers and toes each, terminating in large claws; his claws and large horns are red.

He has a large, dark green head, and his hair forms a skull cap of dense curls. The eyes are wide open, small, with red pupils, and his red-tipped ears are large. His open mouth reveals his small white teeth, and two long red tongues protrude from the corners of his mouth. The double tongues evoke the forked tongue of a serpent, a common association with Satan in Christian iconography and demonology since biblical times.

Several pages before this double spread are written in yellow characters on a blackened parchment and have a very gloomy character, somewhat different from the rest of the codex. The discoloration is because these vellum pages have been exposed to the light as readers turned the pages toward the infamous illustration over the centuries.

History

thumb|Opening of the [[Gospel of Matthew]]

According to legend, the codex was created by Herman the Recluse in the Benedictine monastery of Podlažice near Chrast in Bohemia (modern-day Czech Republic), Shortly after it was written, the codex was pawned by the Benedictines to the Cistercian monks of the Sedlec Abbey, today a former Catholic monastery renowned for housing the Sedlec Ossuary, where it remained for 70 years. The Benedictine monastery in Břevnov reclaimed the codex around the end of the 13th century. From 1477 it was kept in the library of a monastery in Broumov, until in 1594 it was taken to Prague into the personal collection of the Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II.

At the end of the Thirty Years' War in 1648, the entire collection was taken as war booty by the Swedish Imperial Army.

On 7 May 1697, a fire at the Tre Kronor royal castle in Stockholm destroyed much of the Swedish Royal Library. The Codex Gigas was saved by being thrown out of a window; according to the vicar Johann Erichsons, it landed on and injured a bystander.

A National Geographic documentary included interviews with manuscript experts who argued that certain evidence (handwriting analysis and a credit to Hermann Inclusus, i.e. "Herman the Recluse") indicates that the manuscript was the work of a single scribe.

Content

The first page has two Hebrew alphabets. There are also added slips with Early Cyrillic and Glagolitic alphabets (Folio 1). About half of the codex (f. 1–118) 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. They are books of the Old Testament, in the following order: Genesis to Ruth; Isaiah; Jeremiah; Baruch; Lamentations; Daniel; Hosea to Malachi; Job; Samuel and Kings; Psalms to Song of Solomon; Wisdom of Solomon; Wisdom of Jesus (Sirach); Chronicles; Esdras; Tobit; Judith; Esther; and Maccabees. Apart from the alphabets at the start, the entire book is written in Latin. It has been verified by extensive handwriting analysis that it was written by one monk, but it is estimated to have been completed over the span of 20-30 years.

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CodexGigas 218 Judith.jpg|Initial with a squirrel

Alphabets Codex Gigas.jpg|F1v, showing Hebrew, Greek, Latin, Glagolitic, and Old Cyrillic alphabets

CodexGigas 233 I-IIMaccabees.jpg|End of Book of Maccabees and start of Josephus, with author portrait

CodexGigas 234 AntiquitatesIudaicae.jpg|F118v, start of Josephus, Heaven and Earth

CodexGigas 400 Isidorus.jpg|Blue and red capital in Isidore

Codex Gigas facsimile.jpg|Viewing a facsimile in the Czech Republic

</gallery>

See also

  • List of Glagolitic manuscripts (1300–1399)
  • Lists of Glagolitic manuscripts <!--folio 1v only (known as "Stockholm Abecedarium")-->
  • List of New Testament Latin manuscripts

References

Bibliography

Further reading

  • Bártl, S., Kostelecký, J.: Ďáblova bible. Tajemství největší knihy světa, Paseka, 1993.
  • J. Belsheim, Die Apostelgeschichte und die Offenbarung Johannis in einer alten lateinischen Übersetzung aus dem 'Gigas librorum' auf der königlichen Bibliothek zu Stockholm (Christiana, 1879).
  • (complete Codex Gigas in medium resolution)
  • Description and digital facsimile in high resolution