Codex Gigas: The Devil’s Bible and the Manuscript Thrown from a Burning Palace

A book almost as large as a door sits behind glass at the National Library of Sweden. Codex Gigas means “giant book”. It is about 92 centimetres high, 50 centimetres wide, more than 20 centimetres thick, and weighs roughly 75 kilograms. Its 310 parchment leaves contain a Bible, a calendar, the history of Bohemia, medical recipes, and prayers for driving out evil spirits. One page shows a red devil taking up nearly the whole sheet. That image gave the book its other name: the Devil’s Bible.

The frightening part is not only the picture. The manuscript was made in the early thirteenth century by one scribe, using skins prepared from about 160 calves. The Swedish library estimates that writing, ruling the lines, and decorating the pages would have taken years, perhaps decades. The legend says a monk was locked away after committing an offence. He promised to finish the entire book in one night to escape his punishment. Near dawn he called Satan to help him. The huge portrait became the supposed mark of that bargain.