Re-post du 20 juillet 2009
BEHIND THE CODEX GIGAS
Filled with satanic images and demonic spells, the cursed text, according to legend, sprang from a doomed monk’s pact with the devil. What else do we know about this mysterious Devil’s Bible?
* The Devil’s Bible is so huge that it requires at least two people to carry it.
* Once considered the eighth wonder of the world, the Codex Gigas stretches three feet long and weighs a hundred and sixty-five pounds.
* It is the only book that places the Old and New Testaments alongside violent, holy incantations.
* The Codex Gigas contains one full page – right opposite the devil portrait – of a towering Heavenly City. Although no people can be seen in the Heavenly City, it is a symbol of hope and salvation, a contrast to the portrait of the devil on the opposing page.
* The Codex Gigas includes mystical medical formulas for anything from treating ailments such as fevers and epilepsy to resolving practical problems such as finding a thief.
* The book’s transfer to Prague in 2008 took a year of planning. It was insured for $15.1 million during the transfer.
* The Devil’s Bible has 600 pages, which is 310 parchment leaves, all made from donkey skins.
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