Hey guys, it's Mike Chen.
Humanity is fascinated with ancient relics
because they serve as reminders of a bygone time
and have managed to endure up to now
as vestiges of those who once roamed the earth as we do today.
The thought that these items were once created and used by our ancient ancestors
somehow it resonates with many of us
because of their historical and cultural significance
as well as the unanswered mysteries that surrounds some of them.
I think ancient books and texts in particular with the enigmatic knowledge
that they contain in their old and tattered pages
are probably among the most fascinating of them all.
And one of the most bizarre and mysterious books of our past
is the Codex Gigas
- a medieval text known for its [sketchy] in a more popular name -
The Devil's Bible.
So what is the Codex Gigas?
Well, when translated into English
it literally means "Giant book"
and that name fits perfectly considering that
this ancient medieval manuscript is regarded as the largest one in the world.
It's measured at 3 feet tall, 1.64 feet wide
and a thickness of less than a foot.
And most of us can't even pick this thing up
because it weighs at around a hundred and sixty-five pounds.
So imagine the poor librarian in try to reshelve this thing.
Also this book is bound in a folder made of wood
which is protected with leather and is decorated with metal.
The book contains three hundred and ten sheets of parchment leaves
said to have been made from donkey skin or cow skin.
This means that the manuscript has actually 620 pages of writing and illustrations.
Though it is believed
that a few pages had been removed from book for reasons unknown.
Now the origin of this medieval manuscript
can be traced back to a 13th century Bohemia,
which is located in what is now known as the Czech Republic.
Some believe the text was written by Hermann the Recluse
but it is generally agreed on that
it is indicated in the manuscript
that the book was later pawned to a monastery in Sedlec sometime in 1295.
Then it was purchased by the Benedictine monastery in Břevnov
where it was safely kept in his library between 1477 and 1593.
Incidentally, the monastery where the manuscript originally came from
was destroyed sometime in the 15th century.
And it was in 1594
that the Codex Gigas was brought to Prague
and it was added to the Treasured Collection of the Holy Roman Emperor King Rudolf II.
But by the end of the 30 year war in 1640,
the Emperor's collection was forcibly taken by the Swedish army as spoils of war.
And among them was the gigantic medieval manuscript.
And this is how beginning in 1649
the Codex was housed in the Swedish Royal Library in Stockholm
and it was there that supposedly the book actually hurt somebody physically.
And I'm not talking about some random curse in the book.
What happened was a fire broke out at the Royal Castle in 1697
and in order to save the book
it was thrown out of the window and it landed on somebody.
Anyway after this incident,
the Codex Gigas continued to be kept inside the Royal Library until 2007.
This medieval text was temporarily returned into Prague on loan
where it was displayed at the Czech National Library until 2009.
After that the book was returned to Sweden
where it remains to this day.
Now there are many reasons why the Codex Gigas was once considered
the 8th wonder of the world.
Some of the more obvious reasons are its size and beauty,
but much of the interest regarding this medieval manuscript
is in its contents and the intricate process it took to complete it.
You see, around half of the pages of the book
contained a vulgate version of the Latin Bible's Old and New Testaments,
the manuscript also contains a variety of shorter texts
written in Latin as well as alphabets of other languages
such as Greek, Hebrew and Slovak.
Some of them are medieval texts
while another set of pages contain a type of encyclopedia.
The book also contains a calendar
and writings about magic spells and exorcisms.
Pages of the texts are also heavily decorated with stylish borders
intricate lettering and various illustrations.
Now, among the many illustrations prominently featured in the manuscript,
one stands out the most.
On the 290th page of the Codex Gigas,
a full-page depiction of the devil can be found.
It is this particular portrait of the devil
that the medieval manuscripts other name The Devil's Bible was taken from.
So let's talk about the devil.
Well, in this context.
Anyway, the devil drawn in the book was a creature
who is part man and part beast with claws, hooves and snake-like tongue.
I mean, we've all seen some illustrations of the devil before, right .
Satan stands alone between two pillars
and next to his image is an illustration of the kingdom of heaven
while, it is not uncommon to find depictions of the devil in several ancient manuscripts.
It is really rare to see a whole page
dedicated to the dark lord's portraits
and it is also unusual for the devil to be drawn all along without his subjects in hell.
Also, as if the devil's image in the book is not curious and mysterious enough,
experts have also determined that the uniform handwriting seen throughout the text
suggests that the Codex Gigas was written by a single scribe
in a relatively short span of time.
So considering the various collection of texts contained in his pages
including the intricate illustrations and illuminations,
the realistic estimate for a single person to complete the entire book
will be around 25 to 30 years.
And also back then - rather than have a computer to type on,
I mean writing was sort of exhausting.
However, whoever wrote the manuscript
showed really no signs of deterioration in his handwriting
which could be affected by factors
such as the scribe's age, disease or mood over time.
Also based on another estimate,
it would have taken a single individual around five years
to complete the writings alone
if you wrote for six hours a day
let's say for six days of every single week.
There were also theories raised about the missing pages of The Devil's Bible
and one of them is that
they were deliberately disposed of as they held deadly information
which if utilized by mortals,
could lead to catastrophic results.
Others, however are more pessimistic
as they believe that the lost pages were already stolen
by those who seek to fulfill some evil purpose.
So there are a lot of questions here,
why was the unholiest figure of the devil
featured in what is supposed to be one of the most sacred texts of the world
and did a single person really manage to
write everything in The Devil's Bible in a short amount of time.
If so, who is he or she?
But now nobody really knows.
But there is a legend behind this manuscripts creation.
According to a version of this medieval legend,
there was a monk who served in a monastery.
This monk had committed a serious crime
and he was sentenced to pay for his sins
by being walled up alive.
In order to escape his severe punishments,
he vowed to write a book
that would bring immense glory to the monastery
which could last throughout the ages.
And he promised to accomplish such a feat all in a single night.
But just as he was about to run out of time,
the scribe prayed to the fallen angel Lucifer
for some reason to help him finish the book by midnight.
The monk of course offered his soul in exchange for the devil's aid,
but he also included a portrait of the dark lord in the text
as an expression of his gratitude.
And if that book was written today,
there'd be like a page in the front that says
yeah, I wanna thank everybody who contributed to my writing,
especially the devil who I gave my soul to to help me complete this book.
Anyway, considering the dark legend involving its creation,
it is not so surprising that the Codex Gigas
has gained a notorious reputation over the centuries for being cursed.
It is believed that
the menuscript brings nothing but misfortune, tragedy and illness
to those who come to possess it.
The evidence often raised by those who believe that the book is cursed
and it also doesn't help that wherever this book was housed
that place basically burned down.
Also like I mentioned today,
The Devil's Bible is under the care of the National Library of Sweden in Stockholm.
But just remember, if we ever hear in the future that
that place went up in smokes, you're gonna know why.
Alright guys, thank you all so much for watching this video.
I'll see you later.
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