Return Of Devil's Bible To Prague, Codex Gigas Options

USA TODAY (http://www.usatoday.com/news/offbeat/2007-09-21-czech-devils-bible_N.htm )

Return of Devil's Bible to Prague draws crowds

PRAGUE, Czech Republic (AP) — Codex Gigas, also known as the Devil's Bible — a medieval manuscript said to have been written 800 years ago with the devil's help — has returned to Prague after an absence of 359 years.

And Czechs were eager to see it, officials said Friday.

The priceless piece, considered the biggest medieval book, was taken from the Prague Castle by Swedish troops at the end of the Thirty Years' War in 1648. It is in Prague on loan from Sweden's Royal Library in Stockholm. It was put on display under high security at the Czech National Library.

Its return to Prague for Sept 20 — Jan 6 exhibition was made possible after years of negotiations between Czech and Swedish diplomats, National Library spokeswoman Katerina Novakova said.

"We expected big interest from the public," Novakova said. "Now, we are 100% full."

Only 60 people per hour can enter an air-conditioned room in the library's medieval complex in downtown Prague for a 10-minutes look at the manuscript, which is inside a specially designed, unbreakable case, she said.

According to myth, a Benedictine monk promised to write the book overnight to atone for his sins. When he realized the task was impossible, he asked the devil for help. The page with the illustration of the devil the one visitors see.

The manuscript was likely written by one monk from the Benedictine monastery in Podlazice located some 100 kilometers (65 miles) east of Prague sometime at the beginning of the 13th century, said Zdenek Uhlir, a specialist on medieval manuscripts at the National Library.

It contains "a sum of the Benedictine order's knowledge" of the time, including the Old and New Testament, "The War of the Jews" by the first-century historian Josephus Flavius, a list of saints, or a guideline how to determine the date of Easter, Uhlir said.

"I would estimate it took him between 10 and 12 years to write," he said about the piece, which weighs 75 kilograms (165 pounds). Originally, it had 640 pages, of which 624 survived in relatively good condition, he said.

The book was transported to the Czech Republic in a military plane. Authorities would not give any details about security measures adopted at the library. It has previously been displayed in New York and Berlin.

Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

This post has been edited by SeekerVI: Oct 12 2007, 12:14 PM

The discovery channel did a full show on this it was very interesting said that the monk was the only one who wrote the bible was said he spent his entire life in the basement of the monastary writing the books (sheww dedication go's along way). I would encourage anyone interested to look up the show.

there was an old manuscript like this that was said to have been written in several unknown languages, and has yet to be deciphered. It was full of beautifully and expertly made art of various plants (some of which were also unknown) and religious imagery. If somebody knows what I'm talking about help me. Cause I don't know what it was called, just that its author was allegedly the devil as well.