Codex Gigas - The Devil's Bible

Codex Gigas - The Devil's Bible 165 lbs. That is the weight of the mysterious Codex Gigas, which literally means “big book”. This heavy manual, written in Latin, carries a black legend that begins in the monastery of Podlazice (Czech Republic) in 1230. According to experts, it would have taken approximately 30 years to write a book containing the Old and New Testament; two works by Flavius Josephus: the “Ars medicinae” or The Art of Medicine; the “Etymologies” by Isidore of Seville, a calendar and the “Chronicle of the Bohemians” by Cosmas of Prague, among other enigmatic texts. However, according to the myth, the Codex was handwritten in a single night and by a single man. A Benedictine monk, known as Herman the Recluse, whose intention was to redeem himself, or save his life on the eve of his execution. It seems that in the end he needed other hands to accomplish such a task. None other than those of Satan himself, who agreed to help him on the condition that his portrait would be printed on one of the pages. Undoubtedly an offense to the good Christians of the time. From there it is said that the monastery fell into disgrace, and the disturbing work would become part of the collection of rare books of Emperor Rudolph II of Habsburg, who was able to incorporate it into his disturbing library in the late sixteenth century after a long journey in which many wanted to incorporate their names along the way. It is said that the sinister contents of the codex cost the Emperor his throne years later. After his fall, much of his collection was moved to Vienna and from there to Stockholm, where it miraculously survived a devastating fire.  The book attracted the attention of historians and scientists, many of whom christened it "The Devil's Bible" and recognized it as one of the eighth wonders of the age. The gigantic medieval manuscript contains 624 pages made from the skins of 160 different animals, and contains the largest representation of Lucifer. Subsequent studies have shown that the handwriting of the manual indicates that it was written by a single person who used a type of ink obtained from crushed insects. Perhaps the hand of the “fallen angel” is not behind the pages illuminated with red, blue, yellow, green and golden inks. But their grandiose content mixed with incantations, medicinal cures, obituaries and mysterious texts remain an enigma to this day. Many hidden messages have not yet been deciphered and its supernatural nature has aroused the interest and obsession of countless souls who have wanted to get their hands on the codex in an illicit manner.  That is why the work remains in the National Library of Sweden, where it has been on display to the public since 1819. Only twice did the Codex leave Swedish territory. The first in 1970, to be seen at the Metropolitan Museum in New York, and the second in 2007, when it returned to Prague to be exhibited at the Czech National Library. The Galobart Book has worked meticulously on the facsimile of this incredible work that treasures great mysteries, so that it can become part of the libraries of lovers of enigma and the beauty of history.