Historians estimate that the scribe in question must have conceivably spent as many as twenty years on such a monumental work.Ī Work of the Devil The existence of the book is connected with a legend about the Devil, according to which it was also given its popular name – the Devil’s Bible, and the very depiction of the devil is its integral part. All the indications are that it was a life work of one person. What is fascinating is the unity of the book, concord of the writing and initial letters, harmony of the overall composition and individual details all the texts are still legible even today. It is reckoned that the skin of about 160 animals was necessary to acquire the writing material. It contains 312 parchment folios, hence 624 pages. It is about 900 mm tall, 505 mm wide and weighs an awesome 75 kilograms.

The Largest Manuscript Book of the World The book is unusually large it is thus no wonder that it was compared to the Seven Wonders of the World in the Middle Ages. However, no records about its origin, author or reason for writing it have been preserved.

The book was owned by a small Benedictine monastery of Podlažice near Chrudim, most likely around 1229. That the manuscript is about 65 years older. The first mention of the Devil’s Bible comes from the year 1295, but it is supposed In past ages, it was rightfully dubbed the Devil’s Bible, Codex Gigas, Liber Pergrandis or Gigas Librorum. was war booty and moved to Stockholm.The Devil’s Bible - Codex Gigas The Secrets of the World’s Largest BookĪt the beginning of the 13th century, a remarkable literary work was created in Bohemia. A few years later, Emperor Habsburg Rudolf II went insane and was forced to abdicate.ĭuring the siege of the Swedish army in Prague at the end of the Thirty Years’ War (1648), the entire treasure of Emperor Rudolf II, including the manuscript Codex Gigas, was confiscated by the Swedish army. In 1594, a man in charge of defending the manuscript moved it to Prague, adding the Codex Gigas to the treasure collection of Emperor Habsburg Rudolf II. Not long after it moved into its “new home,” the monastery also had serious financial problems. For a mortgage, the monks sold the manuscript to a monastery in Broumov. Once again, the Codex Gigas has changed hands when Benedictine Monastery was in financial difficulties. Around 1229, the Bohemia monastery was burnt down, so it was moved to custody at Cistercians Sedlec Monastery before being acquired by Benedictine Monastery in Břevnov. Codex Gigas PDF is a manuscript dating from the early 13th century, originally from Bohemia, one of the historical lands of the Czech Republic.

Codex gigas translated to english