165 lbs of calfskin parchment written in blood, the Codex Gigas is also known as the Devils Bible, and is the largest medieval manuscript in the world. It was recovered from a burned monastery in the 15th Century and then stolen by the Swedish Army during the 30 years war, where it was kept for the last 359 years. It contains violent incantations and a full page picture of the devil(See below), which was quite rare at the time it was written. According to one version of a legend that is already recorded in the Middle Ages the scribe was a monk who broke his monastic vows and was sentenced to be walled up alive.
In order to forbear this harsh penalty he promised to create in one single night a book to glorify the monastery forever, including all human knowledge. Near midnight he became sure that he could not complete this task alone, so he made a special prayer, not addressed to God but to the fallen archangel Lucifer, asking him to help him finish the book in exchange for his soul. The devil completed the manuscript and the monk added the devil’s picture out of gratitude for his aid. In tests to recreate the work, it is estimated to have taken 20 or more years to have written the work.
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