Posted on 09/23/2007 4:38:02 PM PDT by NYer
jdkf dkPRAGUE, Czech Republic: 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 percent 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 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.
(Excerpt) Read more at iht.com ...
LOL! I never made that connection!
Most interesting.
Czech: Rare Devil’s Bible to return to Prague for exhibition (Codex Gigas)
Ceske Noviny | 04/17/07
Posted on 04/24/2007 5:29:54 AM EDT by TigerLikesRooster
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1822477/posts
Is this the same book that everyone was after in that pathetic movie “The Ninth Gate” (title?) I think Jonny Depp was in it?
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Note: this topic is from 2007. |
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