The Mystery of the Devil’s Bible

Scrawled upon these pages are both testaments of the Vulgate Bible, various medical texts, some sort of encyclopedia, a calendar, magical spells, and a text on exorcisms, among others, mostly penned in Latin but also featuring Hebrew, Greek, and Slavic alphabets. The text is heavily illuminated throughout, meaning that the pages and letters are adorned with various decorations such as miniature illustrations, ornate borders, stylized letter designs, and decorated initials, all colorfully highlighted in red, blue, yellow, green, and gold. The book also prominently features various illustrations, including one of the kingdom of Heaven as well as a large, ominous illustration of the Devil that is about 50cm (19.7 inches) high. Adding a sinister twist to the prominent Devil illustration is the presence of several pages leading up to it that are somewhat blackened in stark contrast to the other pages of the book.

This menacing legend is somewhat supported and given a grain of truth by the image of the Devil contained within the book, as well as the fact that indeed it appears to have been penned by a single person with an incredible amount of uniformity that would suggest it was written in a short time rather than over decades of toiling.

Whatever the true origins of the Codex Gigas,it certainly has a tumultuous history. After its creation, the monastery where it was held was destroyed in the 15th century AD and the manuscript passed hands between several local Benedictine monasteries over the years, until ending up in Prague in 1594, where it became part of the collections of the Holy Roman Emperor Rudolph II. The book remained there until 1648, when it was forcibly taken as plunder by Swedish forces during the 30 Year War and taken to Stockholm, where it was kept at the Swedish Royal Library. In 1697, a huge fire broke out at the library, and in order to save it from the flames, someone threw it out of a window. The book survived the fall and the fire, but a few of the existing pages are reported to have come loose and blown away, after which they have never been recovered. The Codex Gigas remained at the Royal Library until 2007, when it was returned to Prague on loan and exhibited at the Czech National Library until 2009, after which it returned to Sweden and remains on display to this day in the National Library of Sweden in Stockholm.

Indeed, the destruction of its original home, as well as the fire at the Royal Swedish Library have been attributed to this dark curse. As of now, the National Library Sweden has managed to avoid a similar fate, but who knows what sinister powers may lurk within these ancient pages. The mysterious Codex Gigas is one of the biggest draws for the library, and visitors come in droves to look upon the gigantic text as well as read digitized pages of its contents.