The Codex Gigas, or "Devil's Bible," is a 13th-century manuscript legendarily created in one night by a monk who sold his soul to Lucifer to avoid being walled up alive. While containing a famous, full-page portrait of the Devil, historical analysis reveals the massive volume was likely created by a single scribe over 20 to 30 years. Explore the digitized manuscript at Internet Archive.

Codex Gigas

For centuries, historians, theologians, and lovers of the macabre have been obsessed with a single, monstrous book. Weighing in at 165 pounds (75 kg) and bound between wooden boards covered in leather and metal, the —Latin for "Giant Book"—is the largest surviving medieval manuscript in the world.

• Completeness: The scan includes the endpapers and binding, providing a complete archaeological record of the book as an object, not just a text.
• Color Accuracy: The color balance leans slightly warm, which is common in manuscript digitization to prevent light damage to the original, but it offers a faithful representation of the vellum's aging.

Part 1: What is the Codex Gigas? (The "Devil's Bible")

For decades, only accredited scholars could touch the original. In the early 2000s, high-resolution digital photography was prohibitively expensive. Then came the Internet Archive (Archive.org).