It is becoming more and more clear to me that even National Geographic documentaries are turning toward sensationalism for profit. I watched a documentary this afternoon on the Gigas Codex also known as the Devil's Bible and it really ticked me off.
Wikipedia has the basic facts on it:
(English: Giant Book) is the largest extant medieval manuscript in the world.[1] It is thought to have been created in the early 13th century in the Benedictine monastery of Podlažice in Bohemia (modern Czech Republic). During the Thirty Years' War in 1648, the entire collection was stolen by the Swedish army as plunder and now it is preserved at the National Library of Sweden in Stockholm.[1] It is also known as the Devil's Bible because of a large illustration of the devil on the inside and the legend surrounding its creation.
The codex is contained in a wooden folder, covered with leather and ornamented with metal. At 92 cm (36.2in.) tall, 50 cm (19.7in.) wide and 22 cm (8.6in.) thick it is the largest known medieval manuscript.[2] It initially contained 320 vellum sheets, though eight of these were subsequently removed.[3] It is unknown who removed the pages or for what purpose but it seems likely that they contained the monastic rules of the Benedictines. The codex weighs nearly 75 kg (165 lbs.) and the vellum is composed of calfskin (or donkey according to some sources) from 160 animals.
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The Codex includes the entire Latin Vulgate version of the Bible, except for the books of Acts and Revelation, which are from a pre-Vulgate version. Also included are Isidore of Seville's encyclopedia Etymologiae, Josephus' Antiquities of the Jews, Cosmas of Prague's Chronicle of Bohemia, various tractates (from history, etymology and physiology), a calendar with necrologium, a list of brothers in Podlažice monastery, magic formulae and other local records. The entire document is written in Latin.
The manuscript includes illuminations in red, blue, yellow, green and gold. Capital letters are elaborately illuminated, frequently across the entire page. The codex has a unified look as the nature of the writing is unchanged throughout, showing no signs of age, disease or mood on the part of the scribe. This may have led to the belief that the whole book was written in a very short time (see Legend). But scientists are starting to believe and research the theory that it took over 20 years to complete.
Page 290, otherwise empty, includes a unique picture of the devil, about 50 cm tall.
Ok, here's their initially insane theory. It would have taken about 20-30 years of nearly nonstop work for one man to create this codex. They don't see any type of change in handwriting indicating aging or health issues. So naturally it has to be supernatural, right? The legend of the codex is that a Benedictine monk sinned so grievously that the leader of the order planned to wall him up alive. The monk pleaded for his life and stated that if he was allowed to live he would perform a miracle; he would create in a single night the most astounding feat of artistry ever seen. He would create a book which would glorify and even save life. Naturally, this is the Bible. But this book contained everything from the New and Old Testaments to herbals, incantations, to exorcism rituals. Long story short, he was a guy in trouble and he vowed to perform a miracle to save his life. Midnight came and went and he was frantic. He knew he wouldn't be finished in time. So he sold his soul to the Devil and voila! The book was completed by morning prayer time.
The beginning of the investigation leaves a lot to be desired in deductive reasoning skills. Wanna know how they made the LEAP at guessing that only one guy wrote it? Quote: "Inks used in writing during the 13th century were based in either metal or animal nests. If there is only one type of ink used throughout the book then this proves only one scribe wrote it."
*blog author slams head into keyboard*
Ye gods, people. This is not the Dark Ages. Yes, it was written in the Dark Ages but that does not mean that our brains cannot or should not have evolved to be a bit more sophisticated since then. The sun is yellow so it's made of gold? I can't see the other continents out there so the earth is flat? Gimme a break!! Their logic is so faulty it makes my head hurt to think about it. (Besides the head-keyboard thing.)
You're talking about a monastery. With multiple people. Why wouldn't the commune use one ink? Or even have a choice between the two? Why is it so impossible to think that given an option artists will choose whichever medium they feel most comfortable or confident with? How do you know that both types of inks weren't available and a group of monks simply chose to use the same one? (It was animal's nests, by the way.)
Handwriting analysis was the final straw, though. The g's are all the same throughout the text. National Geographic swings wildly from saying the codex is, "superb workmanship, astounding in it's artistry" to "amateurish and crude. From a self taught writer." How can one book be both? And why couldn't a group of artisans agree to use one uniform script for the text? Why is that such a stretch? Uniformity and conformity is encouraged in religious orders. They would have seen it as a community effort which was proof of their devotion to God.
I think it was the overall tone of the documentary which aggravated me so much. Flagrantly sensationalistic. Ink types and handwriting analysis were the only kinds of research done to dismiss the theory of a guild of writers working on the book versus one solitary scribe. Oh wait. Then there was one "Hermann, recluse" who was included in that list of names on page .... it's GOTTA be him!
The old adage about assuming makes an ass out of someone still holds true.
One last note: on the opposite page of the devil is a painting of the gates of heaven. It's quite pretty. I couldn't find a really good closeup image of it anywhere, unfortunately.
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