Return of Devil's Bible to Prague draws crowds*

PRAGUE, Czech Republic (AP) — Codex Gigas, also known as the Devil's
Bible — a medieval manuscript said to have been written 800 years ago
with the devil's help — has returned to Prague after an absence of 359
years.

And Czechs were eager to see it, officials said Friday.

The priceless piece, considered the biggest medieval book, was taken
from the Prague Castle by Swedish troops at the end of the Thirty Years'
War in 1648. It is in Prague on loan from Sweden's Royal Library in
Stockholm. It was put on display under high security at the Czech
National Library.

Its return to Prague for Sept 20 — Jan 6 exhibition was made possible
after years of negotiations between Czech and Swedish diplomats,
National Library spokeswoman Katerina Novakova said.

"We expected big interest from the public," Novakova said. "Now, we are
100% full."
Only 60 people per hour can enter an air-conditioned room in the
library's medieval complex in downtown Prague for a 10-minutes look at
the manuscript, which is inside a specially designed, unbreakable case,
she said.

According to myth, a Benedictine monk promised to write the book
overnight to atone for his sins. When he realized the task was
impossible, he asked the devil for help. The page with the illustration
of the devil the one visitors see.

The manuscript was likely written by one monk from the Benedictine
monastery in Podlazice located some 100 kilometers (65 miles) east of
Prague sometime at the beginning of the 13th century, said Zdenek Uhlir,
a specialist on medieval manuscripts at the National Library.

It contains "a sum of the Benedictine order's knowledge" of the time,
including the Old and New Testament, "The War of the Jews" by the
first-century historian Josephus Flavius, a list of saints, or a
guideline how to determine the date of Easter, Uhlir said.

"I would estimate it took him between 10 and 12 years to write," he said
about the piece, which weighs 75 kilograms (165 pounds). Originally, it
had 640 pages, of which 624 survived in relatively good condition, he said.

The book was transported to the Czech Republic in a military plane.
Authorities would not give any details about security measures adopted
at the library. It has previously been displayed in New York and Berlin.