Codex Gigas
| Title | Codex Gigas or Devil's Bible |
|---|---|
| Date | 13th century |
| Size | |
| Dimensions | 89,5 x 49 cm |
| History | The manuscript was written in the early 13th century in the Benedictine monastery of Podlazice in Bohemia, the vellum used having been prepared from the skins of 160 asses. It is called the Devil's Bible after the impressive picture of that potentate. According to legend the scribe was a monk who had been confined to his cell for some breach of monastic discipline and who, by way of penance, finished the manuscript in one single night with the aid of the Devil whom he had summoned to help him. In 1594 the manuscript was acquired by the Imperial Treasury in Prague. When the Swedish army conquered the city in 1648, it was brought to Sweden and presented to the Royal Library the following year.Kept in the Royal Library since 1649 |
| Document type | Illuminated manuscripts |
| Subject | Bible |
| Gallery | link here |
| Library | Kungliga biblioteket, Sveriges nationalbibliotek |
The Codex Gigas is one of the largest manuscripts in the world, said to require two men to lift (hence Gigas, Greek for 'giant', 75kg). It includes the entire Latin Bible, Isidore of Seville's Etymologiae, a Latin translation of Josephus' Antiquities of the Jews, Cosmas of Prague's Chronicle of Bohemia, among other works. It resided in Prague until 1648, when the Swedish army took it to Stockholm as plunder.
Missing image
Codex_Gigas_devil.jpg
Codex_Gigas_devil.jpg