Codex Gigas: Secrets of the Devil’s Bible

About this book

What did a medieval monk need next to the Devil's portrait? Spells against the falling sickness and against fevers, a way to catch a thief, a long confession of sins, medicines for wounds and eyes, and a chapter on magicians. And at the heart of the book, the first history of the Czechs: the prophetess Libuše, the ploughman Přemysl, the war of the maidens, St Wenceslas, sorceresses, pagan idols and the wars of dukes, told by the sharp-tongued dean Cosmas of Prague.

Translated into modern English by BlusaBooks with the help of AI tools. The spells, the confession, the medicine and the calendar were read directly from the pages of the manuscript (images: National Library of Sweden, photographs by Per B. Adolphson, CC BY 4.0). Cosmas's chronicle follows the critical Latin edition of Bretholz (1923), in which the Codex Gigas is manuscript B, and was checked against the codex. Every sentence of the chosen parts, not a summary. The Bible text of the codex is not included.

What is inside

• the Devil page and the Heavenly City, full page, in colour, with a description
• the spells: against the sudden sickness (epilepsy), against fevers, and how to find a thief
• the great confession of sins, written in coloured capitals on darkened parchment
• from the medical books: the Book of Degrees, wound remedies and eye salves (historical, not medical advice)
• Isidore of Seville, "On Magicians": necromancy, hydromancy, augury, astrology and spells
• the complete Chronicle of the Czechs by Cosmas of Prague, all three books, from the Flood to 1125
• the people of the monastery of Podlažice and the calendar of the dead, with "Hermann the walled-up monk"
• pages of the original codex: the alphabets, the spells, the confession, the first page of Cosmas, the calendar
• colour illustrations: the monk at the giant book, the monastery, the Swedes in Prague in 1648, the fire of 1697 (illustrations created with AI tools)
• a foreword on the codex, its journey from Bohemia to Stockholm and the legend; notes on the same page; commentary in plain words at the end

Who it is for

Readers of medieval history, the occult and old grimoires, lovers of mysterious and forbidden books, anyone who has heard of the Devil's Bible and wants to know what is really inside. A thoughtful gift for a lover of dark academia and old books.

A historical source: the legend of the Devil is a legend, and the spells and remedies are medieval texts, not advice. The notes and commentary explain what we know today.