Free Republic

The Codex Gigas is the largest surviving medieval manuscript in the world. At nearly nine inches (22cm) thick and 36 inches (92cm) tall, the book is so large that it is said to have required more than 160 animal skins to complete. But it's not just its size that has surprised historians. Inside is a menacing full-page colour image of the Devil, leading many to believe the pages themselves are cursed. [SNIP] It is thought to have been created in the early 13th century in the Benedictine monastery of Podlažice in Bohemia, which today is the Czech Republic. [SNP] Inside...

Rare Devil's Bible to return to Prague for exhibition Stockholm- The rare Devil's Bible, which Swedish troops took away from Bohemia during the Thirty Years' War and which Czech PM Mirek Topolanek got acquainted with during his visit to Sweden today, will return temporarily to Prague this year and put on display in the National Library. Stockholm's Royal Library experts told Topolanek that the Devil's Bible (Codex Gigas) is one of the most valuable medieval manuscripts summarizing the period knowledge. The manuscript, weighing 75 kg, has a wooden cover in white leather of 92x50.5x22 centimetres. Its digitalisation is underway, the...