The mystery of Herman the Recluse and the Codex Gigas (Devil's Bible)

By Jack Brummet, Illuminated Manuscript Ed.

The most extensive surviving medieval manuscript, the Codex Gigas (Giant Book) is known as the Devil's Bible because of the illustration of the Satan inside and the bizarre legend surrounding its creation.

The codex was allegedly created by Herman the Recluse in a Benedictine monastery in what is now the Czech Republic.  The book was taken as swag by the Swedish army during the Thirty Years' War in 1648.  It is on public display in Sweden's National Library.

According to the legend, Herman The Recluse broke his vows and was sentenced to be walled up alive (ala Poe's Cask of Amontillado) . To save himself, the monk vowed to make  a book to glorify the monastery in one night. Late that night,  he realized he could not complete this task alone, and prayed to Lucifer for help finishing the book—in exchange for his soul. Herman added a painting of the devil out of gratitude. In later tests, it was found that recreating only the calligraphy would take one person five steady years of writing.

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