angelburst29
The Living Force
A recent entry into the Julius Caesar thread, "During his visit to Verona in 1345, Petrarch found Cicero's Letters to Atticus in the cathedral library. Although still recovering from a fall from a horse, Petrarch set himself to the work of copying them in their entirety, along with a number of other letters of Cicero. The resultant manuscript was so large that it could not fit on a bookshelf and had to be set on the floor instead."
What caught my attention, the manuscript had become so large that it had to be set on the floor. Recently, I came across a site that claimed a medieval manuscript refered to as Codex Gigas was the largest manuscript in the World.
_http://www.ancient-origins.net/myths-legends-europe/codex-gigas-devil-s-bible-largest-manuscript-world-001276
And here: The picture of the manuscript is better quality and there's a short 10 minute video.
_http://www.redicecreations.com/article.php?id=28693#.UueERLFkAhA.email
Codex Gigas, otherwise known as ‘the Devil’s Bible’ is the largest and probably one of the strangest manuscripts in the world. It is so large that it is said to have taken more than 160 animal skins to make it and takes at least two people to lift it. It measures approximately 1 metre in length.
According to legend, the medieval manuscript was made out of a pact with the ‘devil’, which is why it is sometimes referred to as the Devil’s Bible. It was written in Latin during the 13th century AD, and although the origin of the manuscript is unknown, a note in the manuscript states that it was pawned in the monastery at Sedlec in 1295.
Codex Gigas contains a complete vulgate Latin translation of the Bible as well as five other major texts. It begins with the Old Testament and continues with ‘Antiquities of the Jews’ by Flavius Josephus (1st century AD; ‘Encyclopedia Etymologiae’ by Isidore of Seville (6th century AD); a collection of medical works of Hippocrates, Theophilus and others; the New Testament; and ‘The Chronicle of Bohemia’ by Cosmas of Prague (1050 AD).
Smaller texts are also included in the manuscript with the most famous ones including: text on exorcism, magic formulas, a picture of the Heavenly City, and a full page illustration of the Devil. The illustration is the reason why legend says the codex was written with the devil’s help.
The manuscript is currently displayed at the National Library in Stockholm where you can also view the digital pages of the Codex.
_http://io9.com/5873098/codex-gigas-devils-bible-or-just-an-old-book
Inside the Codex Gigas
Within the codex is the sum of the Latin Vulgate Bible at the time, along with several contemporary histories, a comparative alphabet, medical texts, a calendar, and a few spells. The Old Testament and New Testament are separated and in an unusual order, with a number of works placed in between and after the religious texts, including Flavius Josephus' 1st century history of the Jewish people and a history of the area of Bohemia.
Gigas is Latin for giant, so the translation of the Codex Gigas is "giant book." An apt name, as this codex is the largest single volume religious text surviving from 13th Century monks. The codex is thought to be from a Benedictine monastery of Podlažice in the modern Czech Republic (then called Bohemia), but the codex became a spoil of Swedish Army after the Thirty Year's War.
Each one of its pages is handwritten, likely by a single scribe over his lifetime, with the codex three feet tall by a little over three feet wide when opened. Only 10 pages are missing from the codex - none of the texts are affected. Scholars believe the missing pages likely detailed a series of rules for the monastery.
....so he made a Faustian deal at midnight with Lucifer to finish the book, with the devil signing the document by painting a portrait of himself on the 290th leaf.
After the image of the devil is a page devoted to warding off evil spirits and sickness. On this page are three conjurations and two spells, likely intended as protection from the devil and not an invocation, due to their juxtaposition with the previous page. Further removing an intentional demonic connection is an image of the Heavenly City placed before the demon and the spells.
The lack of additional demonic content makes it seem that the image of the devil is present only as a symbol, not as an object of worship. The codex contains nothing else out of the ordinary for the time period.
What caught my attention, the manuscript had become so large that it had to be set on the floor. Recently, I came across a site that claimed a medieval manuscript refered to as Codex Gigas was the largest manuscript in the World.
_http://www.ancient-origins.net/myths-legends-europe/codex-gigas-devil-s-bible-largest-manuscript-world-001276
And here: The picture of the manuscript is better quality and there's a short 10 minute video.
_http://www.redicecreations.com/article.php?id=28693#.UueERLFkAhA.email
Codex Gigas, otherwise known as ‘the Devil’s Bible’ is the largest and probably one of the strangest manuscripts in the world. It is so large that it is said to have taken more than 160 animal skins to make it and takes at least two people to lift it. It measures approximately 1 metre in length.
According to legend, the medieval manuscript was made out of a pact with the ‘devil’, which is why it is sometimes referred to as the Devil’s Bible. It was written in Latin during the 13th century AD, and although the origin of the manuscript is unknown, a note in the manuscript states that it was pawned in the monastery at Sedlec in 1295.
Codex Gigas contains a complete vulgate Latin translation of the Bible as well as five other major texts. It begins with the Old Testament and continues with ‘Antiquities of the Jews’ by Flavius Josephus (1st century AD; ‘Encyclopedia Etymologiae’ by Isidore of Seville (6th century AD); a collection of medical works of Hippocrates, Theophilus and others; the New Testament; and ‘The Chronicle of Bohemia’ by Cosmas of Prague (1050 AD).
Smaller texts are also included in the manuscript with the most famous ones including: text on exorcism, magic formulas, a picture of the Heavenly City, and a full page illustration of the Devil. The illustration is the reason why legend says the codex was written with the devil’s help.
The manuscript is currently displayed at the National Library in Stockholm where you can also view the digital pages of the Codex.
_http://io9.com/5873098/codex-gigas-devils-bible-or-just-an-old-book
Inside the Codex Gigas
Within the codex is the sum of the Latin Vulgate Bible at the time, along with several contemporary histories, a comparative alphabet, medical texts, a calendar, and a few spells. The Old Testament and New Testament are separated and in an unusual order, with a number of works placed in between and after the religious texts, including Flavius Josephus' 1st century history of the Jewish people and a history of the area of Bohemia.
Gigas is Latin for giant, so the translation of the Codex Gigas is "giant book." An apt name, as this codex is the largest single volume religious text surviving from 13th Century monks. The codex is thought to be from a Benedictine monastery of Podlažice in the modern Czech Republic (then called Bohemia), but the codex became a spoil of Swedish Army after the Thirty Year's War.
Each one of its pages is handwritten, likely by a single scribe over his lifetime, with the codex three feet tall by a little over three feet wide when opened. Only 10 pages are missing from the codex - none of the texts are affected. Scholars believe the missing pages likely detailed a series of rules for the monastery.
....so he made a Faustian deal at midnight with Lucifer to finish the book, with the devil signing the document by painting a portrait of himself on the 290th leaf.
After the image of the devil is a page devoted to warding off evil spirits and sickness. On this page are three conjurations and two spells, likely intended as protection from the devil and not an invocation, due to their juxtaposition with the previous page. Further removing an intentional demonic connection is an image of the Heavenly City placed before the demon and the spells.
The lack of additional demonic content makes it seem that the image of the devil is present only as a symbol, not as an object of worship. The codex contains nothing else out of the ordinary for the time period.
