The Benedictine monastery, in which the legendary Bible of the devil was written, was located in the city of Podlažice. Now this territory is the area of the modern Czech city of Chrast. Some believe that the monastery was destroyed during the religious wars in 1421, while others whisper that it, hidden from prying eyes, still exists and only an initiate knows its true location.
The Devil's Bible or Codex Gigas is a huge manuscript manuscript written in the 12th century by a monk of a Benedictine monastery. The size of the book is 92x50 centimeters, and the weight is 75 kilograms! The skins of 160 donkeys were used to make this creation. Codex Gigas is Latin for “giant book”.
According to legend, a novice gave his word to write this great book in one night for atonement for sins. Realizing that this was beyond his powers, the monk asked the Devil for help and he helped to implement his plan, in return endowing the Codex Gigas with unique strength and special purpose.
When the strange book was found it had 640 pages, but several pages were already very dilapidated and only 624 have survived to this day. There is a version that initially the book had 666 pages, but the dangerous pages were taken to a secret place under the pretext of decrepitude. protecting humanity from the end of the world.
The relic includes the New and Old Testaments, the texts of "The Jewish War" by Josephus Flavius, "Etymology" by Isidore of Seville, a collection of edifying and entertaining stories for preachers - "The Mirror of the Sinner", various forms of conspiracies and a calendar in which the days of the saints are indicated.
On the 290th page, next to the sacred texts for Christians, the devil is depicted. It is also interesting that before and after the image of Mephistopheles, several pages have a darker shade, and the writing style stands out noticeably against the background of other texts.
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Before returning to the Czech Republic again, the Bible of the Devil traveled all over the world. In the 17th century, during the violent wars that engulfed Europe, it was captured several times as a trophy, traveling across countries and changing owners from royal families.
It is also strange that such an ancient book was able to survive not only the wartime, but also the oppression of the ruthless Inquisition, reaching our days and leaving many questions for the monks of the monastery that has sunk into oblivion.