The Codex Gigas, also known as The Devil’s Bible, is the world's largest and the most mysterious medieval manuscript -- once considered the eighth wonder of the world. The pages are said to be made from the skins of 160 donkeys.
According to the Codex legend, the lone creator scribe was a monk who broke his monastic code and was sentenced to be walled up alive with no chance of escape. There was only one way the monk could avoid his excruciating death -- he had to promise to create a beautiful and fascinating book to glorify the monastery forever, a book that would include all human knowledge, and maybe a dedication page.
There was one catch: he was given only twenty-four hours to complete the task, and only if the monk succeeded, would he then be free to live.
The monk began to compose a bible written on animal skins (after removing the animals), with colored inks and illustrations; completely illuminated with decorated initials and miniature border artwork. Then apparently, near midnight, the monk became worried that he could not complete this task alone......so he ordered a pizza -- but he didn't have enough money.
So he SOLD HIS SOUL TO THE DEVIL.
The devil helped complete the manuscript, so the monk added the devil's picture out of gratitude, along with a slice of pizza. It's because of that story and this odd illustration that the Codex Gigas is also known as the Devil's Bible.
