The Devil's Bible and hellish icons - what artifacts hide. The Satanic Bible The Satanic Bible read in Russian

© Ruslan Rashitovich Ginatullin, 2020

ISBN 978-5-4485-5681-4

Created with the intelligent publishing system Ridero

From the author

What did you do? I don't know.

Heaven to hell! World without paradise.

Looks Devil. You are burning

Together with us. Satanail

Our savior. Son of a snake.

He will break the sinister cross.

His faith is so brutal.

Its power shines at night.

Moonlight behind the clouds.

The blood boils in our veins.

He turned Hell into miracles.

O lord, fallen angel!

Let us spread our wings.

We'll fly to heaven.

May the Devil help us,

Almighty and magical.

black magic leaf white

We light it, it burns.

Satan is our witness.

the contract has already been drawn up for you

wishes will come true suddenly and randomly

you need to leave the past and not drag sadness along with you

past - wrong beliefs and decaying morality

love is eternal, like the Devil is eternal

how divinely human you are,

man of the heart, this meeting?

draw up an agreement if you are not careless of this honor

how devilish hands yearn to meet

and the contract is forever

Don't read this with your heart.

Just take my word for it.

If you are interested in the Devil - he is not a liar and not a deceiver, an ancient creation of God.

The devil is a creature that can have two genders.

He can be anyone and even animals.

The devil sinned against people, then went against God.

And all this was by the will of the Father God, who sometimes acts cruelly.

The devil brings only evil to the enemies.

And also the devil means beauty, love, intelligence, wealth and health.

The devil helps his masters of souls, the devil has prepared a big jackpot for you - to bring your cherished desires to life.

All you need is a new friendship

With the devil is very fun and not boring.

I myself was possessed by the Devil.

And I'm glad I served him.

At present he rules the earth,

And his power is great. He's got the devil's luck

Enormous strength, damn iron patience,

A lot of time, and those

Those who have gained the love of the Devil become immortal demons.

He is a tempter, a beautiful Angel, and a man, and an ancient serpent.

A reptile that is over four thousand years old.

The devil became an enemy of God when he handed out punishments to mortals.

That was his calling.

Realizing that she is an executioner with a beautiful charm,

Satan did not want to torment people, repented.

She wanted attention

She wept through a smile because of the exile.

She wanted to deal with management, not punishment.

And when you see it, another time will come.

Time of the Devil's knowledge.

Stand on the side of Satan and you will understand the truth of this faith.

Satan is everywhere, in every book in the universe,

In many different universes.

Spirits have been living in mirrors for more than a century

Since the creation of the universe by human standards.

They need you too, mortal.

The future will be told by cards that are true to fate.

The choice is to follow the dark God or the angelic light.

And we have come to know the love that God has for us, and we have believed in it.

God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.

The devil is the best friend of all love.

If you want to see how I was obsessed with him, watch.

Introduction

You will open this book with benefit, and not in vain.

Such is the black magic of the Devil.

There are evil spirits, angels and Satan.

For magical symbols, you will sell your camp to the Devil.

And his soul will forever belong to him.

This book is full of curses

Against the cruel, blind, old God

Who was replaced by the wise Satan.

You will receive the best selected evil in full.

The heart will be filled with magical cocaine,

Grave hemp will grow,

A flower tobacco that attracts the Devil.

These flowers are from the plantations of Hell. Satan says:

"Your will will forever be mine, the game has such rules."

I will be angelically trusting and devilishly obedient.

You will understand that all living things have a base,

Which can be rearranged with different phrases.

Never wear an angel crucifix

This is about Jesus Christ, who was supposedly crucified by bookish corrupt creatures,

And also those who wished him well.

Do not wear the crucifixion of a humble angel,

Your admiration and repentance,

Otherwise, you will owe your soul.

Or I'll kill you right away

Or I will make you suffer and deprive your mind.

The only true teaching is black magic.

It is a conductor between Hell, Paradise and other worlds.

The door opens with a key called black magic,

The magic of love, sex, money and pleasure, fulfillment of desires,

The magic of eternal youth, eternal memory and eternal memories.

Living vampire spirits play with mirrors.

For them, these are portals of new knowledge that bring success in satanic knowledge.

But know that if a pure, honest and poor monk comes to you,

Which after death will turn to dust,

May a tree grow on his grave with flowers for smoking

Or devilish marijuana perennial

And there will be smoke for you instead of reading.

And the immortal spirit, enclosed in ashes,

Will inspire you with signs and reveal secrets,

For which there is no answer in the real world.

At the cemetery, you will understand that the Devil is the desire for love and immortality.

Black magic is the blackest matter

Made of devil's silk, in a goddamn time, in a goddamn age.

It's actually a magical item

Which accepts and attracts absolutely all money,

Instead of money, the strength of your true faith is replenished.

Dead bodies from a dark sleep will rise in the coffins.

They will always feed on your beauty.

After all, beauty is Satan himself.

Cursed are the sheets and that earth,

Where did these death woods grow,

On which the Devil's bible was written.

Moved those inky words right here

From the place where the Devil makes himself known.

The desert is full of devils

And his will penetrates into your eyes.

I conjure: love will go to friends, relatives,

And death will go to the enemies.

And there will always be hell on earth.

Satan is the daughter of God, and you are her servant.

Immortal beautiful angel of light.

All the hordes of Hell and the fallen angels of evil will overtake you.

The black rose will crumble into ashes and turn into the dust of the earth.

A mandrake will grow from the underworld.

The lips of good will close from pleasure. Words will be lost.

And the one who wants to know all the secrets of the true truth,

Let him read backwards in Arabic.

All those who argue with the Devil will go crazy

And never do them good.

The devil will put everything in its place,

Will fulfill three desires, just imagine.

Friday the thirteenth. The Devil is the Lord of Hell.

Now here's the legend...

Middle Ages. 1230 In a secluded monastery cell in Bohemia (Czech Republic), a monk whose terrible sins have been kept secret asks the senior monks to spare his life. This monk belonged to the order of the Benedictines, who were called the Black Monks. They wore black clothes, took a vow of celibacy and complete obedience, subjected themselves to severe physical trials, self-flagellation, starvation. However, there were also among them weak in spirit, who succumbed to various temptations. Their mistakes were severely punished, ranging from excommunication to solitary confinement. The sinful monk is destined for an even more terrible fate - he must be immured alive in one of the walls of the monastery.

The senior monks were adamant in their decision. Suddenly a divine inspiration descends upon the sinner. He promises that he will write the largest book of his time, which will house the Bible and all the knowledge available to mankind. Such a book will glorify the Benedictine monastery for all time. The monk also promised that he would complete such a huge work in just one night. For a long time he begged the senior monks until they finally agreed to give him one last chance for salvation. If he does not fulfill his promise by morning, the execution will inevitably take place. The sinful monk set to work. He wrote the book to the point of complete exhaustion. When midnight struck, the monk realized that he would not be able to fulfill his promise, and he decided to conclude a terrible contract: he asked for help from the fallen angel - Satan. Satan answered the call and helped the monk write the most terrible, mysterious, and most compelling book in the world.

So the legend goes...

Codex Gigas, Codex Gigas, (or "Devil's Bible") is a long 13th-century manuscript from Bohemia, one of the historical lands of the Czech Republic. Manuscript noted for its size and striking full-page depiction of the devil.

This book, made from 160 skins, can only be lifted by 2 people. Legend has it that the Codex Gigas was written by a monk who, after being sentenced to death, according to which the monk was to be walled up alive, made a deal with the devil. With the help of the Devil, the monk wrote a book in one night (moreover, a self-portrait was written by the devil). Oddly enough, the handwriting in the book is surprisingly clear and uniform, as if it was actually written within a short period of time. However, scientists believe that such work would take from 5 years (if written without interruption) to 30 years.

This book is considered the most controversial, strange, possessing supernatural appeal. Many great people of this world tried to take possession of it, but it brought only misfortunes to everyone. The book has become a subject of hunting for many alchemists and magicians. For her sake they killed, sold souls, went to execution. Everyone who has ever seen her testifies to the hidden power coming from the book. It has some kind of devilish nature, perhaps because one of the pages depicts the devil himself in all his "glory". This medieval manuscript is considered to be the eighth wonder of the world. It contains the Old and New Testaments, medical prescriptions, magic spells, 14 Latin texts, "Etymology" by Isidore of Seville, "Bohemian Chronicle" by the medieval chronicler Cosmas of Prague, "Jewish War" by Josephus Flavius, a calendar of church holidays and a list of the names of the monks of the monastery. The combination of texts in the book is so unique that you won't find it anywhere else. The height of the book is 90 cm, weight - 74 kg, width - 49 cm, thickness - 22 cm. Initially, the book had 640 pages, now it has 624 pages. Many medieval books used a material that was similar to parchment. It was made from the skin of animals. It is said that 160 donkey skins were used to create the devil's bible. The Codex Gigas is the only book in the world in which, next to the Old and New Testaments, there are sacred spells for the exorcism of the devil.

For many centuries, scientists and specialists have asked themselves the same questions: for what purpose was such a book created and who created it? Was it one person or a group of people? The exact date of the manuscript's creation is not known. Only the approximate date of completion of work on the book is known - 1230 in medieval Czech Republic. The birthplace of the book is the Czech Benedictine monastery in Podlažice. The Codex Gigas has "survived" many centuries, many historical events and disasters, and practically "came out of the water" from all the troubles, but many people who own it are far from being so lucky. Perhaps the manuscript absorbed the character of the Middle Ages, the Dark Ages, which were filled with terrible events: constant wars, epidemics, solid superstitions. At the end of the XIII century. everyone already knew the legend of a sinful monk who sold his soul to write the devil's bible. Thanks to the book, the Benedictine monastery really became famous. However, he was threatened by a financial crisis. To avoid complete ruin, the abbot of the monastery decided to sell the Gigas Codex to another monastery. Already at that time, it was believed that the possession of such a great book meant high authority and respect. And now the devil's bible passes into the possession of the order of white monks, who wore white robes, in contrast to the Benedictines, who wore black robes. The book was transported to the town of Sedlec, which is located near Prague. The white monks placed the book of honor in an equally honorable place, next to the cemetery, which was consecrated with earth brought from Golgotha ​​itself. Later, the order of white monks also suffered ruin. The bishop ordered the monks to return the Codex Gigas to the black monks. After this incident, the monastery was struck by a deadly epidemic - the plague. The Black Death claimed the lives of tens of thousands of people. The cemetery was overflowing with the bodies of the unfortunate. By the end of the pandemic, about 40,000 corpses had turned these places into catacombs. Today, the monastery in Sedlec is a very creepy museum - a bone. This is one of the sinister chapters in the history of the devil's bible.

In the 16th century The Codex Gigas served as an album of sorts. Many churchmen from Prague, secular people visited the Broumov Benedictine monastery to study the book. One of them was Christopher Schlichting, a supporter of the famous mystic, alchemist and physician, Paracelsus. In 1565, Crown Prince Rudolph II received a prediction from Nostradamus that foretold the death of his father. Prince Rudolph was also destined to become the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, the King of Hungary, the Czech Republic, the German King. After this prediction, Rudolf develops a lifelong passion for the occult. He coveted the Codex Gigas. With the help of various favors and honors given to the Benedictine monastery, the prince won the favor of the abbot of the monastery, who presented him with a book as a gift. Emperor Rudolph completely immersed himself in the study of the devil's bible. It seemed that a great acquisition was made for such a great ruler. However, soon luck turned away from the emperor. He became withdrawn, distracted, prone to paranoia, locked himself in his castle, like an unsociable hermit. Unable to manage his power, Rudolf soon loses the support of his subjects. He waged an internecine war with his brother Matthias. In 1611, the nobility forced him to abdicate the Czech throne, which was taken by his brother. The emperor died alone, leaving no heirs behind. Rudolf's kingdom was in the hands of his enemies. In 1648, Swedish troops captured Prague. The emperor's castle was plundered, including the royal library. The warriors took out of the country the most outstanding book of the library - the Gigas Codex.

Having plundered the castle of Emperor Rudolf, the Swedish officers decided to present the Codex Gigas to their unusual monarch - Christina, the only female king in Europe. Christina's father, Gustav II, treated his daughter as if she were his son. He raised, trained and dressed her like a boy. Having ascended the throne, Christina takes an oath not on behalf of the queen, but on behalf of the king. Having received an unusual book from her warriors as a gift, Christina ordered that it be placed in the library in the castle. In the official list, the Codex is listed first of all valuable manuscripts. However, Christina was not destined to keep it for a long time. Less than ten years later, in 1654, Christina abdicated. She converted to the Catholic faith and left for Rome. Having packed her most valuable possessions for the journey, the queen did not take the Codex Gigas with her. And the devil's bible remained in Stockholm.

At the end of the 16th century in 1697 King Charles XI of Sweden died in the royal castle in Stockholm. Suddenly, a flame of fire suddenly flares up in the castle. The royal family was forced to leave their monastery. Servants save everything that can be saved from the fire. One of the servants threw the Codex Gigas out of the castle window. Thus, the strange, mysterious book was saved from the fire. Did this book really bring misfortune to its owners, or was the natural course of events destined to be paralleled next to the procession of the Codex Gigas? Maybe it's all just a coincidence, maybe not.

An almost inhuman work, the Codex Gigas, however, was created by one simple man. The handwriting in which the entire book is written is very uniform. The author, while writing the book, could lose his sight, suffer from diseases and grow old, but scientists have not found obvious errors in the Code. It is simply impossible to believe in such a colossal work, especially when you see it with your own eyes. Perhaps that is why the well-known legend about a condemned monk who sold his soul to the devil was born. Evidence that this book was written by one person was found by scientists and experts during the investigation, which was carried out using text analysis, handwriting, paper and ink sampling. In the Middle Ages, monks made their own ink. There were two types of ink: made from metal and from ground insect hives. If the Codex Gigas was written by one person, then the ink had to be of only one kind. Scientists have proven that the book used ink prepared only from insect hives, which means that there was only one author. Features of calligraphic handwriting also prove the correctness of this hypothesis. It can be assumed that, working non-stop, around the clock, the monk-scribe could cope with such a gigantic creation in 20-30 years, and certainly not in one night. The fact that a monk convicted of sins worked on the Code can be explained by the fact that in medieval monasteries the rewriting of sacred books was a frequent form of punishment. Then it was believed that a person can atone for his sins by rewriting sacred texts. It is possible that the scribe created instructions for his own salvation, since the content of the book focuses on the care of the body and mind, on the protection of the immortal soul.

Some features of the drawings in the Gigas Codec indicate that its author was a good artist, but far from being a professional. He just wanted to make his work bigger, thicker than it was done before him. Perhaps he was a talented self-taught. Usually, professional scribe monks worked in huge rooms called scriptoria. The monks had their own techniques and methods. If you take a medieval manuscript and compare it with the Codex Gigas, you can immediately see the difference. The code looks old-fashioned and rather unprofessional. However, such a non-professional and newcomer raised a real sensation around his work. After all, creating a full-length drawing of the devil was a very daring and dangerous act. In the harsh Middle Ages, people believed that those who did or said something different from others were under the power of evil spirits.

It was the image of the unclean on page 290 of the Codex Gigas that brought the manuscript an unkind reputation. It's no joke, in no other bible there is such a huge picture, the real embodiment of evil. Half human, half monster with forked red tongue and raised clawed hands. The devil is wearing an ermine skin, which symbolizes the highest power. Perhaps this is what Satan from the legend looked like. However, the artist portrayed the monster as if it were locked within the walls of its own evil. The author deprived him of his usual freedom, which no one had ever done before him. The nature of the image of the devil can tell a lot about the time in which the author lived, about his psychology, about his education. In the middle, dark ages, people were not sure of anything, their lives were constantly subjected to various threats, and they believed that threats come only from the devil. Therefore, the devil troubled their minds more than turning to God.

People nicknamed Code Gigas with the devil's bible not just like that. In addition to the image of the unclean, the book contains a group of witchcraft spells, and also describes the ritual "exorcism of the devil." The evil attacker was the greatest fear of medieval man, attacking and penetrating into the human essence. To cope with such a misfortune, it was necessary to conduct a terrible and frightening ritual of exorcism, where the priest and the victim fought for the soul of the possessed. There are also interesting moments in which especially superstitious individuals see a sign of obsession with evil. First, right after the image of the devil, 8 pages were torn out. It is not known what was written on the missing pages, but this only fueled the interest of the superstitious public. Secondly, after the fire of 1697, in which the Codex Gigas almost perished, strange shadows appeared on some of its pages. Moreover, these shadows appeared precisely on those pages that are adjacent to the image of the devil. And it is the page with the famous pattern that seems darker than all the other pages. But... These shadows can also be explained. They could appear on the pages due to ultraviolet radiation, which was constantly exposed to the material of the book - the skin, practically tanning it. For many centuries, people paid attention, first of all, to the drawing of the devil, which indicates an irrepressible human interest in relation to the evil one.

The Codex Gigas is a unique creation, the largest medieval book completed in several decades by one person. This man managed to glorify his creation for centuries, but he modestly left his personality in the shadows. Nobody knows who this man was. However, there is a version that the book was written by a hermit monk named Herman the Hermit, as evidenced by the entry in the list of names in the book - Hermanus Monahus Inclusus.

It is possible that the legend of the sinful monk was based on a misinterpretation of the Latin word found in the Codex Gigas - Inclusus, which means "conclusion". For many years, the meaning of this word was regarded as a terrible punishment, i.e. walling up alive, but the word itself is much closer in meaning to the word "recluse". So, the terrible legend, which still excites the fears of superstitious people, can be refuted and proved that it is just a legend. Most likely, the scribe was a hermit monk who voluntarily retired to his cell, thus. away from the outside world and its temptations. For this monk, the Codex Gigas could be a quest for insight as well as his life's work. Far from being inspired by evil, he was inspired by divine blessing. He gave people hope for salvation, gave them the opportunity to choose, showed this choice in the form of drawings located opposite each other - a drawing of the devil and a drawing of the Kingdom of Heaven. Good and evil are measured by forces before eternity on the pages of the Gigas Code.

The Codex Gigas is located in Stockholm within the walls of the Swedish Royal Library. In 2007, the Codex Gigas was exhibited for the first time in its homeland in the Czech Republic in Prague. Despite the revealed mysteries, the huge manuscript will continue to arouse people's interest, will evoke in their minds images of a strange hermit monk creating a unique creation of his tireless hands. The legend turned out to be right about one thing: the monk really took the risk of creating a book that glorified not only certain places, but also certain events that influenced the course of history.

22.10.2015 26.08.2019 - admin

Devil's Bible also known as the Codex Gigas or The Satanic Bible, is a unique medieval manuscript whose history is surrounded by legends. The Latin name of the manuscript translates as "Giant Book", and it is quite reasonable: today the Devil's Bible is the largest handwritten book in the world. Its weight is about 75 kilograms, and the binding measures 92x50 centimeters.

Of course, this manuscript is unusual not only for its size. The Devil's Bible got its name from the page on which the image of Satan is located, which attracted attention throughout the existence of the book and gave rise to legends. The devil has attributes traditional for medieval symbols: forked tongue, horns, clawed paws. The ermine skin in which he is dressed can symbolize the highest power. On the pages adjacent to the image of the devil, there are strange shadows resembling traces of a flame. Many considered them a symbol of obsession with evil.

The famous depiction of Satan in the Codex Gigas.

There are images of Satan in other medieval books, but none of them is so huge and detailed. Unusually, the author of the manuscript depicted him in a closed cell, while usually the Devil was depicted in hell.

Another notable feature of Codex Gigas is its composition. The book includes the Old and New Testaments, historical and natural science writings, as well as spells designed to exorcise the Devil. Although medieval manuscripts were often heterogeneous in composition, there is no such set of texts in any other manuscript of this period.

The unusual nature of the book gave rise to a legend about its creation. According to legend, a certain monk violated the charter of the monastery and, as punishment for this, he was to be immured alive. To avoid death, he asked to postpone the execution for one night, promising to create a manuscript by morning, which would include all the knowledge known to mankind, and thereby glorify the monastery. When the monk realized that he would not be able to complete the work on time, he turned to Lucifer with a prayer. The devil magically completed the manuscript, but in payment for the work he took the soul of a monk, and added a "devil's page" to the book itself.

History of the manuscript

Indirect evidence, such as mentions in the memorial lists included in the manuscript, of famous historical figures, suggest that the work on the book was completed around 1230. It is believed that the Devil's Bible was created in a monastery in Podlajice (Czech Republic). Some researchers believe that this is unlikely, since no other manuscript has survived from this small and poor monastery.

During the religious wars of the XV century, this monastery was destroyed. In the following decades, the place of storage of the Codex Gigas changed several times, until at the end of the 16th century it became part of the collection of Emperor Rudolf II. After the end of the Thirty Years' War, the book came to Sweden as a war trophy. She remains in this country to this day. In 1697 there was a fire that nearly destroyed the book. She was saved by being thrown out of the window, but several pages were lost forever. In addition, a person who was under the window suffered from a fallen book.

Over the past three centuries, the Devil's Bible has only once left the vaults of the Royal Library in Stockholm. From September 2009 to January 2008 it was put on display in Prague at the Czech National Library.

Modern research

At the beginning of the 2000s, a group of researchers from different countries studied the manuscript in order to establish the true history of its creation. They used the methods of paleography and forensics, studied the author's handwriting, determined the composition of the ink and the characteristics of the material from which the pages were made.

As a rule, scribes themselves prepared ink using one of the technologies known at that time. To establish the composition of the ink, the pages were viewed under the light of an ultraviolet lamp. As a result, it was found that the entire book was written with approximately the same composition of ink.

The design features of the book, including the manner in which the famous image of the Devil is executed, suggest that the author was self-taught and not a professional scribe. Manuscript researcher Christopher de Hamel describes the hypothetical author of the Codex Gigas as being obsessed with an idea: while working on the illustrations, he tried to make them as impressive as possible. He had a certain artistic talent, but was not trained in illustrating books, unlike professional scribes who followed certain canons.

Manuscript page.

Decorative elements on the pages of the manuscript.

According to the researcher, the same impression is created by the handwriting in which the book is written. The fact that the handwriting is the same on all pages of the manuscript is another important argument in favor of the Codex Gigas being the work of one man.

The researchers estimated that it took about an hour to complete one page. It could take about five years to write a book, but only if the scribe worked on it almost around the clock. In addition, preparatory work, for example, lined sheets, took some time. It could take several days to write one decorative letter. At the same time, the author of the book could not help but follow the daily routine established in the monastery. Taking into account these factors, the time required to create a unique manuscript is estimated at 25-30 years.

It is possible that this work was entrusted to the monk as a punishment for some misconduct. In the Middle Ages, there was a belief that a person can cleanse his soul from sins by rewriting sacred books. This may be the reason for the unusual set of texts included in the manuscript. The author of the book wrote the “instructions” for his own salvation, and that is why spells appeared next to the Bible, and the image of Satan itself is adjacent to the page on which the kingdom of heaven is depicted. It is also possible that the Devil is depicted inside a certain building in order to demonstrate the opposition between the "city of God" and the "city of the devil."

Spread of Codex Gigas. Photo: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/)

The “shadows of the flame” were also explained on several pages. Researcher Michael Gullik concluded that the pages adjacent to the image of the Devil attracted more attention from book owners, they were opened more often, and as a result, the parchment darkened when exposed to sunlight. Thus, these "shadows" testify not to the "obsession with evil" of the author of the book, but to the interest that the page with the image of the Devil aroused in its subsequent owners.

The legend about the creation of the book could have arisen from a misreading of one word. Throughout the existence of the book, the word "inclusus" in the name of its author (Hermanus Inclusus) was interpreted as imprisonment, imprisonment, immuring alive as a punishment for some sins. But it also has another meaning - seclusion, hermitage. Then it may testify to the voluntary decision of the monk to leave the world in order to devote himself to working on the manuscript.

Composition of the manuscript

Along with the biblical texts, a significant place in the codex is occupied by historical texts, which contain about 100 sheets. It is noteworthy that these are not only works about world history (“Jewish Antiquities” and “Jewish War” by Josephus Flavius), but also texts dedicated to local realities - “Czech Chronicle” written by Kozma of Prague, a list of names of the monastery brethren, a calendar with a memorial list .

Another 40 sheets are occupied by "Etymologies" by Isidore of Seville. The main purpose of this work is to answer the question of the origin of all human activities and everything that exists in the Universe, through the study of the origin of words. "Etymologies" include a description of many significant events of the secular and.

The texts included in the Devil's Bible are arranged in such a way that they form a single narrative covering the entire world history known at that time - from the Old Testament times to the era in which the author of the book lived. The Old Testament, which tells about the history of the Jewish people, is supplemented by "Jewish Antiquities" and "History of the Jewish War." These books are followed by the "Etymologies" of Isidore of Seville, marking the transition to the history of Christianity. Also included in this part of the book are natural science and medical works. The exposition of sacred history ends with the full text of the New Testament.

After that, the author proceeds to describe the history of specific people - the inhabitants of Bohemia, which is set out in the "Czech Chronicle", starting with the story of the Christianization of the country. The calendar at the end of the book reflects the history of the Catholic Church in general and the local church. It contains the names of the benefactors of the monastery, the deceased monks, as well as famous historical figures of that era. The memorial list was written by the same scribe who wrote the rest of the manuscript. In this it differs significantly from the memorial calendars in other manuscripts, which were created by many scribes over a long period of time.

The Codex Gigas was not just a manuscript that staggered the imagination with its size and unique design, but also a book of extreme importance for the religious life of the monastery. The fact that it was read many times is evidenced by marginal notes made in various handwritings. The medical treatises included in the book could also be of practical value.

Despite the fact that the legendary features of the Devil's Bible received a completely rational explanation, this book remains a unique historical monument. Codex Gigas has no analogues among medieval manuscripts: it is the result of the work of one monk, reflecting the worldview of an entire era.

The 624-page manuscript of the Devil's Bible weighs 75 kilograms, its wooden covers measure 92 by 50 centimeters, and 160 donkey skins were used to make the book.

The Bible was created at the turn of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries by a certain monk who was allegedly assisted in writing by the devil (hence the name of the manuscript). According to legend, the monk, in order to atone for his sins, promised to write a book in one night. When the monk realized that this was impossible, he asked the devil for help.

“The manuscript, most likely, was written by a monk from a Benedictine monastery in the city of Podlajice, located 100 km from Prague, somewhere at the beginning of the 13th century,” says Zdeněk Uhlir, a specialist in medieval manuscripts of the National Library of the Czech Republic, quoted by RBC. According to the expert, the monk wrote the manuscript for 10-12 years. Initially, the text consisted of 640 pages; 624 pages have been preserved in good condition.

The book contains the Old and New Testaments, the texts of the "Etymology" of Isidore of Seville, the "Jewish War" of Josephus Flavius, the so-called "Mirror of the Sinner" (a collection of instructive and entertaining example stories for preachers), a list of the Cosmic Chronicle, various forms of conspiracies and a calendar with a synodic (indicating the days of saints).

On page 290 of the book, which contains texts sacred to all Christians, none other than the devil is depicted. It is also noteworthy that several pages before and after this "portrait" have a darker shade, and the style of writing differs from that of the rest of the texts.

According to legend, this work appeared in a Benedictine monastery in the Czech city of Podlajice as a result of a conspiracy of one of the novices with a fallen angel. The monk, who was guilty before the abbots, in order to avoid punishment, volunteered for the glory of the monastery not only to write the best Bible in just one night, but also to decorate it with drawings. Closer to midnight, realizing that he could not cope with his obligations, the novice turned to the evil one with a request for help. In return, he promised to give his soul and depict the devil on one of the pages. What happened later with the zealous novice, the legend is silent. The Inquisition, already active in the first half of the 13th century, was aware of what had happened, but did not take any active steps. Not only was this work not destroyed, like many manuscripts that were much less provocative from the point of view of the medieval Roman Catholic Church, but it was carefully kept for several centuries in various monastic libraries. In 1594 he "settled" in the collection of the Hungarian king Rudolf II. During the Thirty Years' War, which raged across Europe in the first half of the 17th century, the "Devil's Bible" was captured by the Swedes and taken to Stockholm as a war trophy. Since then, she has left Sweden only a few times for exhibitions in Berlin and New York.

If this story is a legend, then the demonic drawing is a fact. One and a half meter Satan is drawn on the 290th page of the notorious Code. A few pages before this drawing are covered in ink, and after the graffiti depicting Satan, the next 8 pages of text have been removed. Who did this is still shrouded in secrecy. The "Damn Bible", contrary to vague legends, has never been banned. Moreover, several generations of young monks studied Holy Scripture on it.

In those days, monasteries were the only storehouses of knowledge. Ancient writings were studied there, and what should be passed on to future generations was written down. Codex Gigas, which in Latin means just a "giant book", is located in one of the monasteries of Czech Bohemia. Its dimensions are really amazing: height 89.5 cm, width 49 cm and thickness 22 cm. The mysterious letters are hidden in a wooden cover. Each letter is written with a pen and ink made from soot, applied in twilight light on a dried animal skin. This, above all, explains the value of a rare book.

Now the "Devil's Bible", hidden under bulletproof glass, is exhibited in the Prague gallery Klementinum. The treasure of the national culture only temporarily visits its historical homeland. During the Thirty Years' War, in 1649, the Swedes took her as a trophy with them to Stockholm. That's where she should go back. Only specialists from the Swedish Royal Library have the opportunity to leaf through the pages of the sensational book - after putting on gloves on their hands.

In 1969, the American occultist and ideologue of Satanism Anton Szandor LaVey published a book under a rather pathetic and even scandalous title. "Satanic Bible" or "Black Bible" Satanic Bible.

It is a kind of "handbook" of the modern Satanist. Apparently, the author tried to put together and present to readers a "squeeze" or the quintessence of the satanic worldview.

The treatise consists of 4 parts, in a complex forming a certain philosophical, theoretical, moral and practical platform for all those interested in Satanism and wishing to “profess” this teaching, so to speak. Although the concept of worshiping the ideology of Satanism is contradictory.

The first part sets out the basic concept or creed of Satanism - the rejection of traditional or official Christianity.

It should be clarified that the very word "Satan" is translated as "adversary or accuser." It is known from the history of religion that initially Satan was one of the angels close to God, whose duties included identifying and informing the lord of Heaven about earthly violators of God's Laws.

But then "something went wrong" and Satan fell out of favor.

After that, the main occupation of Satan was the denial of all the postulates of religion, from the very existence of God to the consistent debunking of each of the Commandments, in the form of parables presented in the Gospels.

Actually, the denial of religion is the central line of the first part of the Book of Satan.

What is the theoretical basis for this denial? The concept of the absence of "life after death" is proposed as the main argument. That is, since human life is limited only by a mortal physical existence, the moral principles of religious faith lose all meaning.

The second part of the satanic path is a rather contradictory attempt to reconcile the principles of universal morality and the basic concept of goodness and peaceful coexistence of people with the principles of extreme individualism, hedonism (as the devil said in a children's cartoon: "Love yourself, sneeze at everyone and success awaits you in life" ).

As you can see, the author of the treatise does not offer any lawlessness, as it appears in the ordinary consciousness about Satanism. On the contrary, the line about the need to observe the living space and respect the personal interests of other people is being rather persistently pursued.

The third book is a practical guide to satanic magic. Descriptions of various rituals, during which a person, with the help of mysterious mystical powers and otherworldly beings (demons), could achieve personal goals.

Love spells, influencing other people, achieving wealth and success, obtaining carnal satisfaction, and so on. That is, everything that traditional religion calls "sin."

In this section, extreme pride is palpably present, as one of the basic qualities of a Satanist. It is proposed to seek help not from any demons, but only from . Attached is a long list of such demons.

At the same time, a serious emphasis is placed on the fact that the prevailing in society perception of Satanism as wild orgies and covens with violence, the killing of innocent babies, the rape of virgins, disgusting sexual perversions does not correspond to the behavior of a “true Satanist”, but is a consequence of the deliberate demonization of competing teachings from the established church.

However, it can be assumed that since the Satanic Bible is a work of a public nature, intended for public judgment, for the "crowd", then there is probably a steeper teaching "for the elite" Satanists.

In any case, the practice of dividing teaching into public and intended only for initiates is very common in secret, forbidden or semi-forbidden religious movements.

Although Satanism cannot be called a religious trend, since it is based on the denial of religion and religious postulates.

The fourth part focuses on the "power of the word". It describes a number of magical spells that have the power to influence the events and inhabitants of both this and the other worlds.

Approximately the same as in the third part, but here the magical powers are set in motion by the pronunciation of special words and the casting of spells. Without the need for complex practical rituals.

Conclusion

The general direction and "interlinear thoughts" of the Book of Satan obviously indicate the author's aspirations to some kind of "legalize" Satanism, to make this teaching at least a little more organic part of the modern "civilized" society, to distance himself from the established sharply negative attitude towards Satanism.

The second line of the treatise is an attempt to systematize the satanic teachings, disparate satanic ideas and practices into something unified. So to speak, the standardization of unsystematic denial of religion, with a touch of hope for reconciliation with the official religion and further peaceful coexistence. In non-contiguous social niches, of course.