I recently came across an interesting legend about a monk, a punishment and an alleged intercession with the devil which produced one of the most enigmatic tomes in history. Stored in the National Library of Sweden is an infamous religious volume known as the "Devil's Bible." This book also known as the "Codex Gigas" means "Giant Book," but it got its diabolical nickname from the legend that describes its apocryphal origin.

Imagine a monastery sitting high on hill overlooking the town of Chudrim in Czechoslovakia. It's the dawn of the 13th century. The brothers are gathered in the meeting room to discuss the fate of one of their order. Herman stands before them a broken man, having violated his monastic vows. Their prescribed punishment is to wall up Herman alive deep in the bowels of the monastery. He begs the brotherhood for mercy. They ask why they should and Herman says he would like another chance.They ask him, "What would you do for us to show you mercy and not carry out our sentence?" Herman responds by stating he would compile the world's knowledge into one volume in one solitary night. "The book will be so extraordinary that it will glorify our order and the monastery forever!" The brothers confer and agree. "You have one night, brother, to fulfill your promise or we will carry out our promise to you for your betrayal of your vows and wall you up alive."And so, Herman begins immediately to compile the world's knowledge into one giant codex. The book weighs 165 pounds, and its blank pages consist of the vellum from the skins of either 160 donkeys or calfskins. The book measures 3 feet tall and is almost 2 feet wide. Herman records in its pages the entire Old Testament, followed by Josephus' "Antiquities of the Jews" and his history of the Jews and Romans. Next he records in the book the volumes of Seville's encyclopedia, Etymologiae containing the extent of the world's knowledge of technology and history. There are the medical works of various Greeks including Hippocrates, Theophilus and others followed by the New Testament. The book concludes with knowledge and "magick" and instructions and records of the Benedictine Order.The book is massive and Herman begins with great energy to complete it. The night begins to take its toll on his writing, and by midnight the monk panics. He realizes he will never finish the book before the night ends.Desperate, he makes a plea for assistance. Unfortunately he makes poor choice in his hour of need and calls not on God, but on his dark enemy Lucifer for aid. The devil gladly appears before Herman and agrees to help him, but there is one condition."Brother Herman, I will help you finish your book and fulfill your vow, but in exchange, the book and its majesty will be given to me, and as a seal of our deal, I will inscribe its pages with my image and name forever."Herman, scared he won't finish the book alone, agrees to Lucifer's deal and so they work on completing the volume feverishly. They conclude shortly before morning and Lucifer returns to a page left blank earlier in the process."This is my page for my seal," and the devil adds his image to the blank page. "Our deal is now complete and book is under my power. Goodbye, brother." A cloud of sulfur-laden smoke appears and the devil vanishes in the pre-dawn darkness, leaving behind the monk and the volume.There is a knock on the door and Herman answers. The brothers enter the room fully expecting to find the panicked monk next to a partially completed book, but to their shock and amazement, he is standing there ready to show them his masterpiece, the Codex Gigas. The monks turn the pages in shock, and there in the middle of the book is the full-colored self-portrait of the author's assistant, Lucifer, between two columns of Solomon's Temple. The monks are aghast but the volume has been completed, and reluctantly they spare Herman. But the book retains its cursed nature and is locked away until it finds its way centuries later to the National Library of Sweden in Stockholm.While this is the legend of the Codex Gigas, the truth is almost as incredible. According to scholars who have studied this massive tome, the incredible book was most likely written by "Herman the Recluse," a Benedictine monk who appears to have written the book alone over a period of five years. Those who studied the book believe this monk worked nonstop through that period to complete his work, not including the ornate colored illustrations. Supporting this single authorship theory is the composition of the ink. From what they can determine, the ink was derived from insect nests, and the entire volume was made with the same type of ink.If more than one author had worked on the tome, there would be more than one ink composition as well.It is truly an incredible work of art and knowledge. Whether one hand wrote it or the devil himself had a hand in its authorship, the book is truly an achievement rivaled by no other in its day. No matter what the origin, its legend is the stuff of horror stories and thrillers. The very idea the devil himself wrote a book is fascinating, but in any case it is a magical volume.Till next time …