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Speaker 1: Have you ever encountered a book so profoundly mysterious, so

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utterly unlike anything else, that it makes you question, well,

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the very limits of human endurance and maybe the strange

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winding path's history can take.

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Speaker 2: Oh.

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Speaker 1: Absolutely, We're not just talking about some old manuscript here.

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We're talking about an ancient artifact, steeped in a legend

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so wild it seems impossible, right, a physical object whose

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creation just challenges our understanding of medieval capabilities, filled with

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contents so bizarre, so unsettling, and a history just riddled

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with these truly inexplicable events. It is, by all accounts,

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just a magnificent enigma.

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Speaker 2: It truly is. The sheer scale of the questions surrounding

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this artifact, combined with its tangible, undeniable presence in our world,

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it makes it uniquely compelling. It's not merely a book.

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It's a profound window into the anxieties, the beliefs, and frankly,

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the extraordinary ambitions of a bygone era. It forces us

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to ask what human drives, what societal pressures, what astonishing

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levels of dedication could bring such an object into being?

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Speaker 1: Precisely, and that's our mission today. We're embarking on a

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true deep dive into this incredible manuscript, will meticulously unpack

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its many layers, carefully distinguishing between the verifiable facts and

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the rich, captivating folk lore that has woven itself around

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it over centuries. It's quite a tapestry, it really is,

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and as we do, we'll uncover the profound implications it holds,

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not just for understanding human perseverance, but for how history

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itself is often written, remembered, and well embellished through the ages.

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Let's begin our deep dive by truly grasping the colossal

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physical presence of this incredible manuscript and where it resides today.

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So we are diving into the heart of a colossal enigma,

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a book that quite literally stands above all others. Today,

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this extraordinary volume makes its home in the National Library

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of Sweden, a veritable treasure trove of knowledge nestled in Stockholm.

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Speaker 2: A beautiful library too.

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Speaker 1: I bet, and this is just any library. It's one

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of the largest book collections on Earth, boasting an astonishing

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catalog of over eighteen million individual items.

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Speaker 2: Eighteen million, it's hard to even conceive of that.

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Speaker 1: Number, right. Many of these are incredibly rare undeniably valuable

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and profoundly significant to human history. But even amidst this

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vast and venerable archive, one book commands attention unlike any other.

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And when I say it stands above all others, I

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mean that in the most literal sense.

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Speaker 2: It's no exaggeration at all. Its physical dimensions alone are

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enough to make you gasp you approach its display, and

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you're not just looking at a book, You're confronting a monument.

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Speaker 1: A monument, Yeah, that's a good word for it.

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Speaker 2: The sheer scale is an immediate testament to the monumental,

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almost inconceivable effort involved in its creation. It truly redefines

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what a book could even be in the medieval period.

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Speaker 1: It certainly does. We are speaking, of course, of the

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Kodex gigas key agist. Yeah, a name derived from Latin

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meaning giant book, and boyd, does it live up to

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that title with an almost audacious confidence. Imagine if you will,

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a book that stands nearly a meter tall. That's almost

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three feet towering. It's so substantial that weighs as much

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as a fully grown adult man, tipping the scales at

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a hefty seventy five kilograms.

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Speaker 2: Seventy five kilos. That's around one hundred and sixty five

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pounds exactly.

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Speaker 1: And to give you an even clearer sense of its magnitude,

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if you were to painstakingly unfurl all of its pages

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and lay them flat edge to edge.

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Speaker 2: Which you wouldn't obviously, but hypothetically.

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Speaker 1: Right, hypothetically, the total writing surface area would be large

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enough to completely cover an entire public swimming pool.

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Speaker 2: Wow, that really puts it in perspective, a swimming pool's

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worth of pages.

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Speaker 1: It's massive. This is, without a shadow of a doubt,

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the largest medieval manuscript still in existence. Its origins traced

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back to the early thirteenth century, meticulously crafted over eight

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hundred years.

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Speaker 2: Ago, which places it firmly in an era when such

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monumental works were incredibly rare exceptions, not the norm at.

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Speaker 1: All, and its age only amplifies its seek and value.

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Speaker 2: Does it absolutely to consider that such a massive and

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intricately detailed artifact has not only survived centuries of upheaval, war,

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natural disaster, but has also been meticulously preserved to this day.

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It's remarkable in itself, even before we begin to delve

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into the very unusual nature of its contents. It speaks

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to a recognition of its unique importance, probably from the

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moment it was conceived, and.

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Speaker 1: The contents, Oh, the contents, they are truly something else,

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a collection that defies easy categorization and often well explanation.

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Like many books of its kind from that era, its

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primary and most voluminous inclusion is the Complete Latin Bible.

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Speaker 2: Standard enough, though a huge.

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Speaker 1: Task in itself, absolutely simply copying the entire Bible by

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hand was in itself an immense undertaking, a lifetime's work

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for many scribes, given the sheer volume of scripture and

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the meticulous accuracy required. Yet with the Codex Gigas, given

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its truly colos dimensions, it became clear that once the

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sacred texts were complete, there was still an astonishing amount

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of vellum pages left over.

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Speaker 2: And this is where it gets particularly intriguing, isn't it.

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Most monastic scriptoria, when tasked with creating a Bible, would

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typically focus solely on that sacred text. The very act

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of copying scripture was considered a form of devotion, a

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painstaking labor. However, the creators of the Codex Digas clearly

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had a broader vision, reflecting perhaps a more holistic approach

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to knowledge that you saw in some monastic traditions, right.

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Speaker 1: Because monasteries weren't just about prayer exactly.

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Speaker 2: There were also intellectual hubs where all manner of texts,

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from the spiritual to the incredibly practical, were painstakingly copied, studied,

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and preserved. So in that sense, some of the additions,

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while extensive, do align with a kind of wide ranging

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intellectual pursuit common in certain learned circles of the era.

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Speaker 1: You're right, some of these editions at first glance, they

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appear relatively normal for a comprehensive medieval compendium. You'll find

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extensive medical texts offering insights into early medicinal practices, as

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herbal remedies, even rudimentary anatomical knowledge.

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Speaker 2: Of the time, fascinating stuff in its own right.

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Speaker 1: Totally, there are detailed obituaries chronicling the lives and deaths

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of individuals connected to the monastery, providing invaluable genealogical and

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historical data. And then there's a complete encyclopedia, a truly

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ambitious attempt to gather and organize all human knowledge known

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at the time, from cosmology and natural history to philosophy

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and practical crafts.

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Speaker 2: A medieval library in a single volume.

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Speaker 1: Essentially precisely, this would have been an unparalleled repository of

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information for its era.

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Speaker 2: Indeed, the presence of an encyclopedia of this scale suggests

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a real aspiration towards comprehensive knowledge, reflecting the intellectual curiosity

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and systematic approach to learning that characterize the best of

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medieval scholarship. It speaks to a deep belief in the

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value of accumulated wisdom, not just spiritual elimination.

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Speaker 1: But then as you turn the pages, the tone shifts

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and you begin to hit the truly unsettling elements. Ah,

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here we go took away amongst the pages of this

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towering tome, or not just vague references, but actual detailed magic.

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Speaker 2: Spells, spells like actual instructions.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, actual formulas. We're not talking about benign charms here.

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These are formulas that defy easy categorization, hinting at practices

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that certainly veered into the realm of the forbidden for

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the average monk. And then, perhaps most startlingly, there's a detailed,

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step by step set of instructions on how to carry

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out an exorcism.

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Speaker 2: An exorcism manual bound with the Bible.

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Speaker 1: Think about that for a moment. A manual for expelling

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demonic entities bound within a book that otherwise contains the

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Holy Bible. It's almost jarring juxtaposition.

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Speaker 2: Isn't it jarring? Is putting it mildly. The inclusion of

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these particular elements is highly, highly unusual. While medieval society

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certainly held strong beliefs in magic, the demonic, the power

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of spiritual intervention, such texts were often treated with extreme caution,

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even suspicion within mainstream ecclesiastical stars.

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Speaker 1: You wouldn't just leave them lying around exactly.

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Speaker 2: They were either guarded closely or outright condemned to have

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them bound within the same singular volume as the Holy Bible.

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And in such explicit detail it speaks volumes. It suggests

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a very unique context for its creation, or perhaps a

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very particular, even clandestine interest on the part of its

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original creators or early owners. It blurs the lines between

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sacred scripture and what many would have considered dangerous, maybe

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even heretical knowledge.

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Speaker 1: It gets even more bizarre, even more transgressive, because then

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there's this on one of its monumental pages. There's a

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half meter tall full page depiction of the devil.

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Speaker 2: Himself half a meter. That's huge for an illustration.

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Speaker 1: Huge. It's not a small marginal doodle or some symbolic representation.

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This is a massive, imposing, intricately detailed, and utterly striking

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illustration of Satan.

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Speaker 2: Wow.

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Speaker 1: To call this illustration unusual would be the understatement of

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the thirteenth century. Seriously, when you consider the vast body

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of medieval manuscripts that exist, tens of thousands can be

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found in libraries around the world today, not a single

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one of them contains anything even remotely.

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Speaker 2: Like this, Nothing comparable at all.

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Speaker 1: Nothing. The sheer size of the depiction, the almost unsettling

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detail in the devil's form, and the monumental decision to

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include a full page illustration of such a figure within

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what is predominantly a sacred text. It's not merely irregular,

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it's absolutely unprecedented.

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Speaker 2: What's truly fascinating here is how the single illustration just

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shatters all typical conventions of medieval manuscript art. These books

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were primarily commissioned by religious institutions, wealthy patrons, royalty, largely

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for devotional, liturgical, or scholarly purposes. The iconography was usually

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carefully controlled, designed to inspire piety, reinforce doctrine, instruct not

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that exactly. A full page graphic depiction of the devil

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of this magnitude isn't just an anomaly. It profoundly hints

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at a deliberate, perhaps even provocative intention behind its inclusion.

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It immediately sets the Codex gig Us apart, fueling the

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centuries of speculation and fascination that have surrounded its origins.

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It's a visual challenge to the very idea of a

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holy book.

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Speaker 1: Absolutely given its immense physical size, the Codex Gigas was

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always destined to be a famous book, a true marvel

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of medieval craftsmanship and endurance. But this bizarre, almost shocking

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illustration of the devil has elevated it to near legendary status,

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earning it a chillingly fitting nickname, the.

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Speaker 2: Devil's Bible, a name that sticks.

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Speaker 1: It really does, and it naturally makes you wonder who

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put it there and why. The simple, frustrating answer is, well,

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we don't know for sure, but there is a theory, or,

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as you might prefer to call it, a.

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Speaker 2: Legend, ah the legends.

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Speaker 1: You see, it isn't just the book itself that has

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miraculously survived the last eight centuries. Passed down along with

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it is a seriously creepy tale that attempts to explain

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its truly baffling origins. So let's set the scene. Imagine

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yourself transported back eight hundred years to a remote austere

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Benedictine monastery, nestled deep in what was then the ancient

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land of Bohemia, now part of the Czech Republic. Within

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its quiet, echoing walls, a monk found himself condemned.

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Speaker 2: To deaths condemned, okay.

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Speaker 1: His crime was described only as terrible and unspecified, its

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details lost to the mists of time, making it all

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the more ominous. But this was no ordinary execution. The

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punishment awaiting this condemned monk was one of the most

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brutal and final medieval sentences imaginable immurement.

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Speaker 2: Immurement for our listeners, that was a truly horrific form

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of medieval capital punishment, literally walling.

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Speaker 1: In, walling in, like bricking someone up.

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Speaker 2: Exactly the condemned was bricked up, alive inside a small,

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confined space, often within the very walls of a building,

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and left to slowly perish from starvation or suffocation.

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Speaker 1: Oh my god, that's horrific.

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Speaker 2: It truly is. The sheer brutality and psychological torment of

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this punishment underscored the extreme gravity of the monk's alleged transgression,

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whatever it may have been. Such a sentence was reserved

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for the most severe crimes of the against the monastic

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order itself, or maybe deeply blasphemous acts. This context vividly

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highlights the absolute desperation of the monk's situation. It forces

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him to consider truly desperate measures.

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Speaker 1: Quite understandably, the monk wasn't overly thrilled about that prospect.

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Facing such an agonizing and ignominious end, in a last

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desperate attempt to earn his freedom and perhaps secure a

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form of eternal legacy for his monastery, he made an audacious,

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almost preposterous vow.

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Speaker 2: Okay, what did he promise?

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Speaker 1: He declared that with his single final night on earth,

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he would craft a book. But not just any book.

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He promised to create a mighty tone containing all human knowledge,

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a kind of thirteenth century version of Wikipedia.

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Speaker 2: If you will, all human knowledge in one night, in a.

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Speaker 1: Single night, a complete companion of everything known to man

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at that time.

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Speaker 2: Wow. This raises an immediate and critical question. What level

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of existential desperation drives an individual to make such an

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utterly audacious and frankly humanly impossible promise to conceive of writings,

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such a massive and comprehensive work in the span of

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mere hours without sleep or any modern aid. It's so

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far beyond human capacity that it immediately signals that something

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extraordinary or perhaps truly supernatural, will be required to fulfill

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such an oath. It's the ultimate hail Mary pass, isn't

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it a last desperate gamble against an inescapable fate?

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Speaker 1: Exactly that very night, with the ominous threat of amurement

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hanging over him, the monk got straight to work. He

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began riding quill scratching against vellum. But it couldn't have

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taken him long to realize he might have well, he

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might have overpromised a bit, with the whole write and

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entire compendium of all human knowledge in a single name,

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just a bit. Faced with this impossible self imposed deadline,

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consumed by despair and a terrifying certainty of his impending doom,

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he fell to his knees. But this time his prayer

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was not offered up to god it No. In his

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ultimate abject despair, he set a special delivery, first class

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post straight to the underworld. He prayed to.

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Speaker 2: Satan Uh the pivotal moment, the shift from the divine

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to the diabolical. It illustrates the monk's utter abandonment of

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conventional faith, driven by the overwhelming pressure of an impossible

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task and the fear of a brutal death. It's the

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ultimate faustian bargain, set against that grim medieval backdrop where

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the line between salvation and damnation was so starkly drawn.

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This act, in the popular imagination, seals his fate and

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explains the book's.

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Speaker 1: Darker elements, and, according to the legend, Satan duly appeared.

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A deal was struck, a classic deal. In exchange for

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the monk's immortal soul, the devil, with his infernal speed

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and knowledge, fashioned the greatest book the world had ever seen,

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creating it as promised before the first rays of dawn

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touched the monastery walls. That book, so the story goes,

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was the Kodex Gigis.

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Speaker 2: And the illustration.

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Speaker 1: The legend concludes that the infamous devilish illustration, that striking

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half meter tall depiction of Satan himself was supposedly added

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by the monk afterwards, not as a warning, not as

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a condemnation, but as a chilling tribute to the book's true,

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unholy author.

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Speaker 2: A truebute chilling is right.

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Speaker 1: Here's where it gets really interesting. Okay, So I know

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what many of you might be thinking right now, a

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book penned by the devil?

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Speaker 2: Really Yeah, it does sound a bit much.

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Speaker 1: If you're anything like me, you're probably a healthy skeptic

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00:15:20,320 --> 00:15:24,360
by nature, especially when it comes to tales involving supernatural entities.

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But here's the thing. Debunking the otherworldly or as you

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might prefer, underworldly origins of this remarkable book is actually

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00:15:32,200 --> 00:15:35,279
trickier than you might initially assume. How So, because many

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aspects of the kodeks Gigas' story, the physical characteristics of

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the book itself and its historical journey, are honestly, profoundly baffling,

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and it all begins with the sheer act of its creation.

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Speaker 2: Indeed, while the human mind inherently seeks logical, rational explanations

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for phenomena, the unique peculiarities of the Kodek's Gigas genuinely

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challenge straightforward dismissals. Scientific and historical anomalies present an intriguing

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counter narrative to outright skepticism, forcing us to delve deeper

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than surface level explanations.

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Speaker 1: List put this in context. Writing a book in the

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Middle Ages was absolutely no joke understatement. It was an

301
00:16:14,840 --> 00:16:19,639
incredibly time intensive, physically grueling, and intellectually demanding job that

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00:16:19,720 --> 00:16:22,519
required a mastery of many different skills. You had to

303
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be a skilled writer, of course, possessing beautiful penmanship and

304
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an unwavering hand. You need to be an artist capable

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of intricate illuminations and delicate.

306
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Speaker 2: Illustrations falsi talented, basically told.

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Speaker 1: For religious texts, you had to have a deep theological

308
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understanding to copy sacred texts with absolute accuracy, knowing even

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a single misplaced word could alter meaning. And surprisingly, you

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even needed a grasp of chemistry.

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Speaker 2: Chemistry for writing.

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00:16:47,080 --> 00:16:50,120
Speaker 1: Yeah, ink wasn't something you simply purchased off a shelf.

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00:16:50,519 --> 00:16:54,080
It had to be meticulously prepared from natural pigments like

314
00:16:54,159 --> 00:16:57,919
soot for black, crushed insects for red, or ground minerals

315
00:16:57,919 --> 00:17:01,799
for blue, and carefully mixed with bind and the vellum itself.

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The pages of the book needed extensive preparation.

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Speaker 2: Ah, Yes, the vellum. The production of parchment was an intensive,

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multi step process. Animal skins, in this case believed to

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00:17:12,119 --> 00:17:15,759
be calf skin, would be cleaned, soaked in lime, scraped

320
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to remove hair and flesh, stretched tightly on frames.

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00:17:18,839 --> 00:17:20,480
Speaker 1: Sounds laborious, oh it was.

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Speaker 2: And then painstakingly rubbed with pummice to create a smooth, durable,

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00:17:24,279 --> 00:17:28,400
and uniform writing surface. It was a smelly, laborious process

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requiring skilled labor and considerable resources. For a book of

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this size, demanding an estimated one hundred and sixty individual calf.

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Speaker 1: Skins one hundred and sixty cas.

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Speaker 2: That's the estimate. The sheer, logistics and cost involved would

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have been astronomical. It represented an enormous investment of both

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time and.

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Speaker 1: Material precisely for all these complex reasons, the physical demands,

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the artisanal skills, the cost of materials, the time investment.

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00:17:52,599 --> 00:17:56,000
The vast majority of medieval manuscripts were not solo endeavors.

333
00:17:56,079 --> 00:17:57,039
Speaker 2: No, definitely not.

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Speaker 1: They were written by several monks working collaboratively over months,

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00:18:00,920 --> 00:18:04,839
sometimes even years, in dedicated workshops known as scriptoria.

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Speaker 2: For our listeners, a typical medieval scriptorium was essentially the

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publishing house of its day. Imagine a dedicated writing room,

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often bustling, a team effort, a real team effort. Scribes

339
00:18:17,680 --> 00:18:23,880
meticulously copying text, illuminators adding intricate decorations and illustrations, parchment

340
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prepares creating the writing surfaces, even binders assembling the finished choirs.

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They had work in concert over extended periods. It was

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a true industrial scale operation for its time, a division

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of labor ensuring accuracy, consistency, and timely completion. This collaborative

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00:18:40,640 --> 00:18:43,599
model was essential for creating monumental.

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00:18:43,079 --> 00:18:44,400
Speaker 1: Works, which makes sense.

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Speaker 2: So the very idea of one person managing every single

347
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painstaking step for a book, the size of the Codex

348
00:18:50,039 --> 00:18:54,279
Gigas it fundamentally defies that traditional communal model of medieval

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book production.

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Speaker 1: But the Codex Gigas is different. Researchers have painstakingly studied

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every inch of this great books pages, analyzing the script,

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00:19:02,440 --> 00:19:05,920
the unique properties of the ink, the overall stylistic elements,

353
00:19:06,000 --> 00:19:10,039
and they've come to a genuinely mind blowing conclusion. The

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largest medieval manuscript in existence was written in its entirety

355
00:19:14,680 --> 00:19:15,799
by a single.

356
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Speaker 2: Scribe, one person, the whole thing, just.

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Speaker 1: One person, and not just any scribe, but one with uncommon,

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almost unparalleled skill and endurance. Think about that, in the

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00:19:26,799 --> 00:19:29,880
days before the printing press, every single word had to

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be copied out by hand, letter by letter, painstaking work

361
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physically and mentally demanding, absolutely exhausting to even contemplate and

362
00:19:37,720 --> 00:19:42,599
understandably missing words, spelling errors, accidental emissions, other mistakes were

363
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extremely common. The inherent human element was always there. Yet

364
00:19:46,720 --> 00:19:50,720
the Codex Gigis is this colossal manuscript, thousands of pages long,

365
00:19:50,839 --> 00:19:54,799
filled with complex texts, and it contains virtually no significant

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errors at all.

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Speaker 2: No errors in a book that size written by hand.

368
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That surprising is putting it lightly.

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00:20:00,519 --> 00:20:02,599
Speaker 1: Especially when you consider just how long it must have

370
00:20:02,640 --> 00:20:06,039
taken to write the thing. Estimates vary, but most experts

371
00:20:06,079 --> 00:20:08,200
believe it would have taken a single author anywhere from

372
00:20:08,200 --> 00:20:10,880
twenty to thirty years of daily concentrated labor.

373
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Speaker 2: Twenty to thirty years.

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00:20:12,039 --> 00:20:16,000
Speaker 1: That's the estimate daily work. That is a mind boggling

375
00:20:16,079 --> 00:20:19,920
level of scholarly endurance. Actually, it's more than just mind boggling.

376
00:20:19,960 --> 00:20:23,839
It's borderline impossible for one person to maintain such consistent,

377
00:20:24,279 --> 00:20:26,920
perfect output over such a sustained period.

378
00:20:27,119 --> 00:20:29,440
Speaker 2: If we connect this to the bigger picture. This level

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00:20:29,480 --> 00:20:33,119
of sustained consistency and quality across decades for a single

380
00:20:33,200 --> 00:20:38,720
individual scribe is truly baffling, bordering on the superhuman. You

381
00:20:38,799 --> 00:20:42,200
might say, we're talking about an unwavering output at an

382
00:20:42,200 --> 00:20:45,880
exceptional quality level, day in and day out, year after year.

383
00:20:46,359 --> 00:20:50,079
It profoundly challenges our understanding of human physical and mental limits,

384
00:20:50,079 --> 00:20:52,960
particularly in an arrow without modern aids or comforts.

385
00:20:53,160 --> 00:20:54,279
Speaker 1: Exactly, it raises the.

386
00:20:54,319 --> 00:20:58,240
Speaker 2: Question what extraordinary confluence of physical stamina, mental discipline, and

387
00:20:58,279 --> 00:21:01,160
perhaps an almost obsessive motivation could drive someone to such

388
00:21:01,200 --> 00:21:01,599
a feat.

389
00:21:01,839 --> 00:21:04,119
Speaker 1: And it isn't just the eerie lack of errors that

390
00:21:04,160 --> 00:21:07,559
stands out here is the astonishing, almost uncanny consistency of

391
00:21:07,559 --> 00:21:09,720
the handwriting itself from start to finish.

392
00:21:09,839 --> 00:21:12,680
Speaker 2: Ah. Yes, the handwriting consistency.

393
00:21:12,319 --> 00:21:15,880
Speaker 1: And that is extremely hard to explain. On a timescale

394
00:21:15,880 --> 00:21:20,359
of decades, a scribe's eyesight would inevitably change right, Their

395
00:21:20,359 --> 00:21:23,480
physical strengths would wax and wane, Their fine motor control

396
00:21:23,519 --> 00:21:25,599
would likely degrade or revolve.

397
00:21:25,400 --> 00:21:28,240
Speaker 2: Health fluctuates, skill levels change exactly.

398
00:21:28,480 --> 00:21:31,079
Speaker 1: All of these factors inevitably have an impact on a

399
00:21:31,079 --> 00:21:35,720
person's handwriting. The impact maybe small or maybe large, but

400
00:21:35,799 --> 00:21:38,839
either way a forensic handwriting analyst would absolutely expect to

401
00:21:38,880 --> 00:21:41,839
be able to spot those subtle changes. To see the

402
00:21:41,880 --> 00:21:44,200
passage of time reflected in the script.

403
00:21:43,920 --> 00:21:46,160
Speaker 2: You'd expect some variation, it's only natural.

404
00:21:46,319 --> 00:21:49,240
Speaker 1: But with the Codex Gigus, the script on page one

405
00:21:49,680 --> 00:21:52,799
is utterly indistinguishable from the script on page six to twenty,

406
00:21:53,119 --> 00:21:55,880
despite presumably having been laid down decades earlier.

407
00:21:55,960 --> 00:21:58,799
Speaker 2: Indistinguishable after potentially decades, that's what.

408
00:21:58,759 --> 00:22:01,400
Speaker 1: The analysis shows. It's as if time had no effect

409
00:22:01,440 --> 00:22:03,880
on the scribe, or as if the writing process occurred

410
00:22:03,920 --> 00:22:05,920
in some compressed, impossible timeframe.

411
00:22:06,319 --> 00:22:10,799
Speaker 2: This is where the anomaly truly crystallizes into something profoundly unsettling.

412
00:22:11,359 --> 00:22:16,279
Handwriting is an intensely personal and inherently variable characteristic. The

413
00:22:16,359 --> 00:22:19,079
human body changes, and so does the hand's ability to

414
00:22:19,119 --> 00:22:23,079
maintain perfect uniformity over such an extended period makes sense.

415
00:22:23,200 --> 00:22:26,640
The absolute lack of any discernible variation in script the

416
00:22:26,720 --> 00:22:30,000
unwavering hand. It suggests a level of precision that is

417
00:22:30,279 --> 00:22:34,400
frankly almost alien to typical human capabilities, especially those of

418
00:22:34,440 --> 00:22:37,640
a medieval artisan operating under less than ideal conditions. It

419
00:22:37,640 --> 00:22:40,880
speaks to a singular, almost machine like dedication.

420
00:22:41,200 --> 00:22:44,400
Speaker 1: So you put all of this together, the incredible, almost

421
00:22:44,519 --> 00:22:47,960
unimaginable size of the manuscript, the astonishing fact that it

422
00:22:47,960 --> 00:22:51,279
was written entirely by a single scribe, and the consistent,

423
00:22:51,440 --> 00:22:55,279
almost perfectly accurate quality of the penmanship throughout, and we're

424
00:22:55,319 --> 00:22:58,440
left with a genuine, profound mystery. Whoever made this thing

425
00:22:58,519 --> 00:23:00,839
was not just skilled, They were operating at a level

426
00:23:00,839 --> 00:23:05,240
that appears borderlines superhuman. Dare I say it perhaps even supernatural?

427
00:23:05,319 --> 00:23:07,279
Speaker 2: It certainly fuels the legends.

428
00:23:06,839 --> 00:23:10,279
Speaker 1: It does, And this matters because it doesn't just entertain

429
00:23:10,359 --> 00:23:13,000
us with a good story. It forces us to question

430
00:23:13,079 --> 00:23:16,079
the very limits of human capability and the nature of

431
00:23:16,200 --> 00:23:20,720
historical evidence itself. What are we truly capable of when

432
00:23:20,799 --> 00:23:23,960
driven by an extreme purpose, and how do we discern

433
00:23:24,079 --> 00:23:27,519
truth and fact when the circumstances seem to defy all

434
00:23:27,559 --> 00:23:33,039
conventional logic. It truly expands our understanding of human potential. Okay,

435
00:23:33,039 --> 00:23:35,200
so I wouldn't blame you if you're still firmly settled

436
00:23:35,200 --> 00:23:38,240
in Camp skeptic after hearing that, or perhaps you shifted

437
00:23:38,240 --> 00:23:40,240
to Camp deeply intrigued.

438
00:23:40,039 --> 00:23:41,319
Speaker 2: Eh somewhere in the middle.

439
00:23:41,319 --> 00:23:44,920
Speaker 1: Perhaps fair enough, But don't rush to any hasty conclusions

440
00:23:44,960 --> 00:23:47,319
just yet, because there's more. Take a closer look at

441
00:23:47,319 --> 00:23:49,920
this particular image we're sharing. Do you notice anything strange

442
00:23:49,920 --> 00:23:53,200
about this specific page? Let's see, the Codex Gigas is

443
00:23:53,200 --> 00:23:58,240
written on vellum, that durable, specially prepared caskin parchment. Vellum

444
00:23:58,279 --> 00:24:01,680
typically presents as an off white, creamy color, exactly like

445
00:24:01,680 --> 00:24:04,319
the vast majority of pages found within the Kodex.

446
00:24:03,920 --> 00:24:06,000
Speaker 2: Gigas right, the usual parchment look.

447
00:24:05,920 --> 00:24:08,039
Speaker 1: Well, most of them, As you can clearly see in

448
00:24:08,079 --> 00:24:10,599
this image, the page containing that truly disturbing depiction of

449
00:24:10,640 --> 00:24:14,640
the devil is starkly different. Uh. Yes, it's much darker.

450
00:24:14,519 --> 00:24:18,079
Speaker 2: Significantly darker than the rest, almost as though it's been

451
00:24:18,119 --> 00:24:22,920
blackened by intense heat or, perhaps, as the legend suggests,

452
00:24:23,160 --> 00:24:24,519
by hell fire itself.

453
00:24:24,640 --> 00:24:26,279
Speaker 1: That's quite a distinct difference.

454
00:24:26,359 --> 00:24:29,599
Speaker 2: Now. It's true that the book did miraculously survive a

455
00:24:29,640 --> 00:24:33,160
major castle fire centuries ago. More on that dramatic escape

456
00:24:33,200 --> 00:24:35,400
in a moment, but so far as we know, its

457
00:24:35,440 --> 00:24:39,119
pages had never been directly burnt in that specific, localized

458
00:24:39,160 --> 00:24:40,039
way beforehand.

459
00:24:40,119 --> 00:24:43,279
Speaker 1: It's a striking visual detail, isn't it? One that immediately

460
00:24:43,359 --> 00:24:48,480
invites speculation, especially when juxtaposed with the book's notorious nickname

461
00:24:48,480 --> 00:24:51,880
and its dark reputation. Definitely, the discoloration appears to be

462
00:24:51,880 --> 00:24:56,279
a physical manifestation, a tangible echo of its sinister legend.

463
00:24:56,519 --> 00:24:58,799
It's the kind of detail that makes you lean in closer,

464
00:24:59,000 --> 00:25:00,599
searching for a deeper explanation.

465
00:25:00,880 --> 00:25:04,240
Speaker 2: Then there are these two very distinctive metal fittings, almost

466
00:25:04,279 --> 00:25:07,200
like hinges, deeply embedded on the back cover of the

467
00:25:07,200 --> 00:25:08,519
Codex Gigas fittings.

468
00:25:08,559 --> 00:25:09,200
Speaker 1: What were they for?

469
00:25:09,680 --> 00:25:13,039
Speaker 2: Scholars widely believe these were once used to physically attach

470
00:25:13,119 --> 00:25:16,119
the colossal book to a table or lectern enshuwing. It

471
00:25:16,160 --> 00:25:18,000
remained fixed in place at all.

472
00:25:17,759 --> 00:25:21,720
Speaker 1: Times, ah to chain it down exactly. Now, I'm no librarian,

473
00:25:22,000 --> 00:25:24,720
but what kind of book, even a priceless one, needs

474
00:25:24,720 --> 00:25:28,400
to be kept chained down? A chain book, especially when

475
00:25:28,440 --> 00:25:32,240
adorned with such a prominent devil illustration and featuring a

476
00:25:32,359 --> 00:25:36,839
strangely darkened page. It certainly conjures up a kind of

477
00:25:36,920 --> 00:25:39,240
monster book of monsters vibe, doesn't it?

478
00:25:39,240 --> 00:25:41,000
Speaker 2: It adds to the creepy factor. Certainly.

479
00:25:41,079 --> 00:25:43,319
Speaker 1: Skeptic or not, you've got to admit it's all a

480
00:25:43,319 --> 00:25:44,720
bit unsettling.

481
00:25:45,039 --> 00:25:49,240
Speaker 2: The practice of chaining books, while historically common for valuable volumes,

482
00:25:49,680 --> 00:25:52,920
takes on a subtly different symbolic weight. When considering the

483
00:25:52,920 --> 00:25:56,559
Codex Gigus, it speaks not only to its immense material

484
00:25:56,640 --> 00:25:59,920
value safeguarding against theft or damage, but also perhaps to

485
00:26:00,200 --> 00:26:04,160
latent apprehension about its perceived power or influence. It implies

486
00:26:04,200 --> 00:26:07,519
something important, something that perhaps needed to be restrained.

487
00:26:07,559 --> 00:26:11,599
Speaker 1: Restrained. Yeah, and the creepiness, or, perhaps more accurately, the

488
00:26:11,640 --> 00:26:15,480
profound mystery, doesn't stop with inexplicably charred looking pages and

489
00:26:15,519 --> 00:26:17,960
physical restraint, because the eight hundred year history of this

490
00:26:18,119 --> 00:26:21,200
ancient tome is almost as enigmatic as the book itself.

491
00:26:21,240 --> 00:26:22,920
Speaker 2: The provenance is murky.

492
00:26:23,160 --> 00:26:26,200
Speaker 1: Very going right back to the beginning and putting possible

493
00:26:26,200 --> 00:26:29,400
devilish authorship to one side for a moment, nobody actually

494
00:26:29,480 --> 00:26:33,240
knows where this giant book came from. The first confirmed

495
00:26:33,279 --> 00:26:35,759
owners of the Codex Gigas were the monks of a

496
00:26:35,759 --> 00:26:39,359
small Benedictine monastery called Pudlages in Bohemia.

497
00:26:39,480 --> 00:26:41,000
Speaker 2: Okay, so maybe they made it there.

498
00:26:41,200 --> 00:26:44,480
Speaker 1: Well, that's what historians assumed for a long time. In fact,

499
00:26:44,720 --> 00:26:48,039
many older sources still make that claim, but it turns out,

500
00:26:48,160 --> 00:26:50,519
after closer scrutiny, they're probably wrong.

501
00:26:50,680 --> 00:26:52,559
Speaker 2: Really, why think about it?

502
00:26:52,599 --> 00:26:55,640
Speaker 1: Eight hundred years ago, a book like the Codex Gigas

503
00:26:55,680 --> 00:26:59,960
would have been incredibly difficult, costly, and time consuming to produce.

504
00:27:01,160 --> 00:27:04,240
Beyond the prodigious labor of a master scribe. The sheer

505
00:27:04,359 --> 00:27:07,880
raw materials alone we mentioned one hundred and sixty animals for.

506
00:27:07,880 --> 00:27:09,880
Speaker 2: The vellam a massive undertaking, and.

507
00:27:09,880 --> 00:27:12,720
Speaker 1: The giant, intricate binding could only have been produced by

508
00:27:12,720 --> 00:27:15,119
a master craftsman, someone at the very top of their

509
00:27:15,119 --> 00:27:18,519
demanding trade. This was a highly ambitious project, and it

510
00:27:18,559 --> 00:27:20,720
would have cost not just a small fortune, but a

511
00:27:20,759 --> 00:27:24,599
truly great, big one, a monumental expenditure. Yet, according to

512
00:27:24,640 --> 00:27:28,960
researchers at Sweden's National Library, historical records confirmed that Podligi's

513
00:27:28,960 --> 00:27:33,079
monastery was by all accounts extremely poor throughout its history.

514
00:27:33,160 --> 00:27:35,880
Speaker 2: Ah so they couldn't have afforded it exactly.

515
00:27:36,119 --> 00:27:38,720
Speaker 1: It simply would not have had the financial resources nor

516
00:27:38,799 --> 00:27:42,160
the specialized craftsmen to commission or execute a project of

517
00:27:42,200 --> 00:27:45,160
this magnitude, let alone housed the dozens and dozens of

518
00:27:45,200 --> 00:27:49,119
caves required for its pages. So the question remains an

519
00:27:49,240 --> 00:27:54,599
enduring mystery. Who did make it? The answer is we

520
00:27:54,680 --> 00:27:55,720
have absolutely no idea.

521
00:27:56,000 --> 00:27:59,359
Speaker 2: Wow, that's a pretty big gap for such a famous object.

522
00:27:59,079 --> 00:28:01,720
Speaker 1: Isn't it more than a little bit odd? The Kodeks

523
00:28:01,720 --> 00:28:04,039
Gigas was a very famous book right from the start.

524
00:28:04,440 --> 00:28:06,640
At one time it was widely considered to be the

525
00:28:06,680 --> 00:28:10,119
eighth Wonder of the World, a marvel spoken of across Christendom.

526
00:28:10,640 --> 00:28:14,000
And yet for such a prominent and celebrated artifact, nobody

527
00:28:14,079 --> 00:28:16,160
knows who made it or where it truly came from.

528
00:28:16,640 --> 00:28:19,640
It's almost as though, as the legend suggests, it appeared

529
00:28:19,640 --> 00:28:20,920
from nowhere overnight.

530
00:28:21,160 --> 00:28:24,839
Speaker 2: This historical ambiguity creates a powerful void, doesn't it, a

531
00:28:24,960 --> 00:28:29,759
vacuum easily filled by legend and speculation. Without clear factual

532
00:28:29,880 --> 00:28:33,880
anchors or provenance, the narrative surrounding the book becomes far

533
00:28:34,000 --> 00:28:38,519
more susceptible to myth making. It transforms a remarkable artifact

534
00:28:38,759 --> 00:28:42,200
into an almost mythical object, allowing its story to drift

535
00:28:42,240 --> 00:28:46,200
from the mundane reality of human creation into the extraordinary

536
00:28:46,240 --> 00:28:46,799
realm of.

537
00:28:46,759 --> 00:28:49,680
Speaker 1: The supernatural, a perfect breeding ground for stories.

538
00:28:49,839 --> 00:28:52,599
Speaker 2: It's a testament to the human imagination's power to fill

539
00:28:52,599 --> 00:28:53,240
in the blanks.

540
00:28:53,599 --> 00:28:56,559
Speaker 1: So the Codex Gige's bounced around several monasteries during the

541
00:28:56,559 --> 00:28:59,640
first few hundred years of its existence, often traded or

542
00:28:59,640 --> 00:29:02,720
transfer as a valuable asset or a sacred trust, but

543
00:29:02,759 --> 00:29:05,799
it never truly stayed hidden. By the late sixteenth century,

544
00:29:05,839 --> 00:29:09,039
its growing reputation for being an extraordinary, if not infamous

545
00:29:09,240 --> 00:29:12,519
artifact a ship book with unusual contents and a rumored

546
00:29:12,599 --> 00:29:15,119
dark origin, caught the attention of none other than the

547
00:29:15,119 --> 00:29:17,000
Holy Roman Emperor Rudolph the Second.

548
00:29:17,079 --> 00:29:19,799
Speaker 2: Ah Rudolph the Second, a fascinating figure.

549
00:29:19,680 --> 00:29:23,839
Speaker 1: Totally a world renowned art collector with a particularly unhealthy,

550
00:29:23,920 --> 00:29:28,759
almost obsessive interest in alchemy, astrology, and the occult. He

551
00:29:28,799 --> 00:29:32,680
amassed one of the most remarkable collections of curiosities, scientific

552
00:29:32,720 --> 00:29:35,079
instruments and esoteric texts in Europe.

553
00:29:35,160 --> 00:29:39,039
Speaker 2: A real Renaissance man in a very specific occult focus way.

554
00:29:39,279 --> 00:29:43,079
Speaker 1: You could say that with its exquisite illumination, even that

555
00:29:43,160 --> 00:29:46,680
of the devil and its whispered Satanic origins, the Kodex

556
00:29:46,759 --> 00:29:50,519
Gigas was precisely what he craved, perfectly aligned with his unique,

557
00:29:50,799 --> 00:29:54,440
somewhat eccentric tastes, so he acquired it. Actually, to be

558
00:29:54,480 --> 00:29:56,640
more accurate, he basically seized it in fifteen ninety four.

559
00:29:56,759 --> 00:29:58,279
Speaker 2: Seized it, not borrowed.

560
00:29:58,000 --> 00:30:01,720
Speaker 1: More like, strongly encouraged its transfer. It quickly became the

561
00:30:01,799 --> 00:30:04,039
undisputed jewel of what is now considered to have been

562
00:30:04,079 --> 00:30:07,039
one of the greatest and most unusual art collections ever assembled.

563
00:30:07,200 --> 00:30:10,119
Speaker 2: Rudolph the Second's profound fascination with the occult and his

564
00:30:10,200 --> 00:30:13,559
relentless pursuit of such unique artifacts truly aligned with a

565
00:30:13,599 --> 00:30:16,680
broader intellectual current of the Late Renaissance. It was a

566
00:30:16,720 --> 00:30:20,440
period where the lines between emergent science, artistic expression, and

567
00:30:20,559 --> 00:30:24,920
mysticism were often deeply blurred. Great minds sought knowledge through

568
00:30:24,960 --> 00:30:27,880
both empirical observation and esoteric practices.

569
00:30:29,240 --> 00:30:33,079
Speaker 1: His fervent desire for the Kodex Gigis reflects its perceived

570
00:30:33,160 --> 00:30:38,519
symbolic power, its whispered connection to forbidden knowledge, far beyond

571
00:30:38,559 --> 00:30:42,079
its mere material or scholarly value. Wasn't just a book

572
00:30:42,119 --> 00:30:46,039
for him, It was an object of profound, almost magical significance.

573
00:30:46,400 --> 00:30:49,680
Speaker 2: But he wasn't able to enjoy his new prize for long, because,

574
00:30:50,079 --> 00:30:53,839
not long after acquiring the Devil's Bible, Rudolph the Second's

575
00:30:53,839 --> 00:30:57,960
mental state began to precipitously decline. He lost his mind.

576
00:30:58,240 --> 00:30:59,799
Speaker 1: The timing is certainly.

577
00:30:59,759 --> 00:31:03,279
Speaker 2: No it is striking a remarkable coincidence at the very least,

578
00:31:03,559 --> 00:31:06,039
but what's even more intriguing is the specific nature of

579
00:31:06,119 --> 00:31:09,920
Rudolph's insanity. He was prone to severe, debilitating bouts of

580
00:31:09,920 --> 00:31:14,240
paranoia and inexplicable rage, often withdrawing into himself for long

581
00:31:14,319 --> 00:31:17,720
periods wow and during these terrifying episodes, he frequently claimed

582
00:31:17,720 --> 00:31:22,240
to have been literally possessed by the Devil, experiencing vivid, tormenting.

583
00:31:21,799 --> 00:31:24,799
Speaker 1: Visions possessed by the Devil, just like the book's legend.

584
00:31:24,640 --> 00:31:29,680
Speaker 2: Coincidence perhaps either way, apparently it's pretty tricky to effectively

585
00:31:29,759 --> 00:31:32,640
rule half of Europe while simultaneously believing you were possessed

586
00:31:32,640 --> 00:31:33,599
by the Lord of Darkness.

587
00:31:33,640 --> 00:31:36,279
Speaker 1: I can imagine, because in the end, Rudolph the Second

588
00:31:36,279 --> 00:31:39,559
became such a severe liability to his empire that his

589
00:31:39,640 --> 00:31:44,119
own brother Matthias overthrew him in sixteen eleven. The deposed

590
00:31:44,160 --> 00:31:47,680
emperor was then locked away in Broadcastle, confined within its walls,

591
00:31:48,000 --> 00:31:50,039
along with the Kodex, Gigas, and the rest of his

592
00:31:50,119 --> 00:31:54,000
magnificent but now silent collection. He died there just nine

593
00:31:54,039 --> 00:31:56,720
months later, his mind still clouded by his delusions.

594
00:31:57,079 --> 00:32:00,799
Speaker 2: What a tragic end. The historical aunt of Rudolph the

595
00:32:00,839 --> 00:32:05,240
Second's mental decline and his family's drastic response paints a

596
00:32:05,359 --> 00:32:09,359
vivid picture of the political implications of perceived instability in

597
00:32:09,400 --> 00:32:13,559
a sovereign ruler. The Codex's presence within his collection during

598
00:32:13,559 --> 00:32:17,400
this period of personal and political turmoil inadvertently but powerfully

599
00:32:17,759 --> 00:32:21,119
ties it to a dramatic and tragic episode of royal history.

600
00:32:21,519 --> 00:32:24,359
It imbused the book with a dark aura, associating it

601
00:32:24,400 --> 00:32:27,880
with madness and downfall in the popular imagination, regardless of

602
00:32:27,880 --> 00:32:28,640
the actual cause.

603
00:32:28,720 --> 00:32:31,160
Speaker 1: It certainly as another layer to the legend. So the

604
00:32:31,200 --> 00:32:33,960
Kodekski Giess was subsequently put into storage within the castle,

605
00:32:34,000 --> 00:32:37,160
where would remained for several decades, almost forgotten, amidst the

606
00:32:37,200 --> 00:32:39,319
swirling chaos of the Thirty Years War.

607
00:32:39,200 --> 00:32:41,160
Speaker 2: A devastating conflict for Central.

608
00:32:40,920 --> 00:32:45,519
Speaker 1: Europe absolutely from sixteen eighteen to sixteen forty eight. But

609
00:32:45,640 --> 00:32:49,599
a book like this, with its immense size and notorious reputation,

610
00:32:50,160 --> 00:32:52,319
was never destined to remain packed away in a box

611
00:32:52,359 --> 00:32:55,960
for long. Like Rudolph, the second, Queen Christina of Sweden,

612
00:32:56,000 --> 00:32:58,559
who ascended to the throne in sixteen thirty two, was

613
00:32:58,599 --> 00:32:59,920
a famous patron of the arts.

614
00:33:00,279 --> 00:33:04,319
Speaker 2: Queen Christina, yes another fascinating ruler, highly intelligent.

615
00:33:03,920 --> 00:33:07,680
Speaker 1: Brilliant and highly educated with the special, almost insatiable interest

616
00:33:07,759 --> 00:33:11,200
in books, especially rare and valuable ones. During the latter

617
00:33:11,240 --> 00:33:14,359
part of the Thirty Years War, her victorious generals realized

618
00:33:14,359 --> 00:33:17,960
they could gain significant favor with their young, intellectually curious

619
00:33:18,000 --> 00:33:22,079
queen by sending her valuable artwork, particularly rare books, which

620
00:33:22,119 --> 00:33:25,000
they seized as spoils of war, from collections all across Europe.

621
00:33:25,160 --> 00:33:27,720
Speaker 2: Ah the spoils of war a time honored tradition.

622
00:33:27,799 --> 00:33:31,039
Speaker 1: Unfortunately, indeed, and as they scoured the libraries and palaces

623
00:33:31,079 --> 00:33:33,759
of defeated foes, one book stood above all others in

624
00:33:33,839 --> 00:33:36,920
terms of its fame and perceived value. No book in

625
00:33:36,960 --> 00:33:39,359
all of Christendom was more valuable, more coveted than the

626
00:33:39,400 --> 00:33:40,359
Codex Gigis.

627
00:33:40,480 --> 00:33:43,960
Speaker 2: At this point, the Codex Gigis had clearly transcended its

628
00:33:44,000 --> 00:33:47,799
original religious and scholarly functions to become a strategic asset,

629
00:33:48,279 --> 00:33:53,440
a potent symbol of power, conquest and intellectual triumph. Its

630
00:33:53,519 --> 00:33:57,279
acquisition by Queen Christina highlights the profound extent to which

631
00:33:57,359 --> 00:34:00,920
cultural artifacts, particularly those with such an assis stablished reputation,

632
00:34:01,359 --> 00:34:05,400
could become coveted prizes of war. It wasn't merely about collecting.

633
00:34:05,559 --> 00:34:09,519
It was about asserting cultural dominance and validating military success.

634
00:34:09,960 --> 00:34:12,719
Speaker 1: So in sixteen forty eight, the Swedish Army launched a

635
00:34:12,840 --> 00:34:15,679
daring attack on the city of Prague. This proved to

636
00:34:15,679 --> 00:34:18,360
be the very last significant action of the entire.

637
00:34:18,159 --> 00:34:20,119
Speaker 2: Thirty Years War, the final act of the war.

638
00:34:20,199 --> 00:34:23,360
Speaker 1: And here's where it gets truly astonishing. Historical records suggest

639
00:34:23,440 --> 00:34:26,519
that a primary motivation of this entire final assault was

640
00:34:26,559 --> 00:34:29,920
specifically to loot Rudolph the Senkin's magnificent collection and the

641
00:34:30,000 --> 00:34:30,719
Codex gig Is.

642
00:34:30,719 --> 00:34:35,119
Speaker 2: In particular, seriously an attack motivated by looting this specific book.

643
00:34:35,320 --> 00:34:38,679
Speaker 1: That's what the records indicate. Think about that countries have

644
00:34:38,760 --> 00:34:43,039
quite literally waged war, invested massive military resources and lives

645
00:34:43,360 --> 00:34:46,400
for this thing. It was a grand cultural theft, a

646
00:34:46,440 --> 00:34:51,840
deliberate act of war aimed at acquiring intellectual and symbolic treasures. Wow.

647
00:34:52,159 --> 00:34:54,760
Speaker 2: This elevates the Codex gig Us from a mere manuscript

648
00:34:54,840 --> 00:34:59,800
to an object of geopolitical significance, a target of military strategy.

649
00:35:00,480 --> 00:35:03,480
It was seen as so immensely valuable, so essential for

650
00:35:03,519 --> 00:35:07,599
a royal collection aspiring to intellectual and cultural supremacy, that

651
00:35:07,639 --> 00:35:11,480
military action was explicitly shaped by the desire to acquire it.

652
00:35:11,480 --> 00:35:14,960
It truly underscores the perceived power and prestige of such

653
00:35:15,000 --> 00:35:16,159
an artifact in that era.

654
00:35:16,360 --> 00:35:19,639
Speaker 1: Incredible, isn't it so. Queen Christina eventually stored the Kode's

655
00:35:19,679 --> 00:35:22,840
Gigas in her magnificent royal castle in Stockholm known as

656
00:35:22,880 --> 00:35:24,719
trey Kroner meaning three crowns.

657
00:35:24,840 --> 00:35:27,159
Speaker 2: Trey Kroner, a famous landmark.

658
00:35:27,280 --> 00:35:29,760
Speaker 1: Mighty castle had stood as a symbol of Swedish power

659
00:35:29,800 --> 00:35:32,280
and resilience for around four centuries at that point, but

660
00:35:32,320 --> 00:35:34,760
fewer than fifty years after the arrival of the Kodex

661
00:35:34,840 --> 00:35:36,559
in sixteen ninety seven, disaster struck.

662
00:35:36,719 --> 00:35:38,000
Speaker 2: Oh no, don't say.

663
00:35:37,880 --> 00:35:40,960
Speaker 1: Almost the entire thing burned to the ground in a catastrophic.

664
00:35:40,440 --> 00:35:43,880
Speaker 2: Freak fire, the whole castle, oh, the loss devastating.

665
00:35:44,519 --> 00:35:47,559
Speaker 1: It consumed much of the Royal Library, destroying seventy five

666
00:35:47,599 --> 00:35:51,440
percent of its priceless books, a monumental, irreplaceable loss of

667
00:35:51,599 --> 00:35:55,119
historical and cultural treasures. Yet, despite the fact that it

668
00:35:55,159 --> 00:35:58,599
weighed seventy five kilos and was probably by then securely

669
00:35:58,639 --> 00:36:02,159
chained to a desk which would admit it incredibly difficult

670
00:36:02,199 --> 00:36:05,840
to move quickly, the Codex Gigis miraculously survived.

671
00:36:05,880 --> 00:36:06,920
Speaker 2: It survived the fire.

672
00:36:07,079 --> 00:36:08,679
Speaker 1: How that's the million dollar question.

673
00:36:08,840 --> 00:36:12,400
Speaker 2: This raises an important question that resonates through history. What

674
00:36:12,599 --> 00:36:17,159
makes an object so profoundly valuable that extraordinary, almost impossible

675
00:36:17,199 --> 00:36:19,280
efforts are made to save it, even in the midst

676
00:36:19,320 --> 00:36:23,119
of a raging catastrophe. The decision to prioritize the Codex

677
00:36:23,159 --> 00:36:27,000
gigis to rescue it against all Oz speaks volumes about

678
00:36:27,000 --> 00:36:30,440
its perceived worth and unique status at that very critical moment,

679
00:36:30,639 --> 00:36:33,159
regardless of the daunting physical challenges involved.

680
00:36:33,199 --> 00:36:36,119
Speaker 1: As for precisely how it survived, rumor has it, and

681
00:36:36,159 --> 00:36:37,719
this is one of my favorite parts of the story,

682
00:36:37,800 --> 00:36:40,480
go on. In the chaos and panic of the raging inferno,

683
00:36:40,719 --> 00:36:45,039
some incredibly quick thinking or perhaps desperately reckless individual managed

684
00:36:45,079 --> 00:36:47,679
to literally hurl the massive book out of a window

685
00:36:47,679 --> 00:36:48,760
as the flames raged.

686
00:36:49,199 --> 00:36:53,719
Speaker 2: Threw it out the window, a seventy five kilo book.

687
00:36:53,559 --> 00:36:58,679
Speaker 1: Apparently potentially striking an unfortunate bystander on its descent. It's

688
00:36:58,679 --> 00:37:02,639
a dramatic, almost cinematic exit for such a dramatic book.

689
00:37:02,719 --> 00:37:04,239
Speaker 2: Ah, you couldn't make it up.

690
00:37:04,320 --> 00:37:06,960
Speaker 1: Now. Historians are still divided on whether that part about

691
00:37:07,000 --> 00:37:10,239
the poor saw it actually happened, but there is undeniable

692
00:37:10,320 --> 00:37:13,719
damage to the book's binding that is remarkably consistent with

693
00:37:13,760 --> 00:37:15,239
a fall from a significant height.

694
00:37:15,320 --> 00:37:17,320
Speaker 2: Really damage consistent with a fall?

695
00:37:17,440 --> 00:37:21,159
Speaker 1: Yes, lending is surprising credibility to the thrown from a

696
00:37:21,199 --> 00:37:24,440
window theory. And now before we move on, for a

697
00:37:24,519 --> 00:37:28,199
random but fascinating linguistic tidbit that connects directly to the

698
00:37:28,239 --> 00:37:30,280
grim aftermath of this very fire.

699
00:37:30,400 --> 00:37:31,480
Speaker 2: Ooh, I like these.

700
00:37:31,800 --> 00:37:34,519
Speaker 1: After Trey Croner Castle burned down, the fire marshal on

701
00:37:34,599 --> 00:37:37,119
duty was found guilty of negligence for not discovering the

702
00:37:37,119 --> 00:37:40,119
conflagration earlier and preventing such immense destruction.

703
00:37:40,280 --> 00:37:42,440
Speaker 2: Uh Uh, that sounds bad for him.

704
00:37:42,719 --> 00:37:45,480
Speaker 1: It was for his punishment he was subjected to a

705
00:37:45,480 --> 00:37:49,280
brutal military disciplinary practice. He was forced to run between

706
00:37:49,320 --> 00:37:52,880
two rows of people while being savagely clubbed, whipped, and

707
00:37:52,960 --> 00:37:54,039
punched from all sides.

708
00:37:54,079 --> 00:37:55,679
Speaker 2: Good grief, That sounds horrific.

709
00:37:56,079 --> 00:38:01,079
Speaker 1: It was a tortuous ordeal that tragically proved fatal. Now

710
00:38:01,199 --> 00:38:03,840
there's a good chance you've never heard this admittedly somewhat

711
00:38:03,840 --> 00:38:07,039
bizarre and brutal form of military punishment, but I'm willing

712
00:38:07,039 --> 00:38:08,079
to bet you know what it's called.

713
00:38:08,360 --> 00:38:11,360
Speaker 2: Let me guess running the Gauntlet.

714
00:38:11,159 --> 00:38:14,119
Speaker 1: Spot on running the gauntlet. Despite the fact that the

715
00:38:14,159 --> 00:38:17,119
actual practice died out almost two hundred years ago, the

716
00:38:17,199 --> 00:38:20,159
name lives on as a common idiom describing a severe

717
00:38:20,239 --> 00:38:21,559
trial ordeal.

718
00:38:22,000 --> 00:38:24,599
Speaker 2: Wow, I never knew that's where the phrase came from.

719
00:38:24,719 --> 00:38:25,639
Linked to this fire.

720
00:38:25,880 --> 00:38:28,880
Speaker 1: It is a stark reminder of the harsh realities and

721
00:38:28,920 --> 00:38:31,960
consequences in that era and the immense value placed on

722
00:38:32,000 --> 00:38:35,559
the safety of such treasures. Anyway, the books that did

723
00:38:35,599 --> 00:38:39,239
survive the tree Kroner conflagration were eventually re housed in

724
00:38:39,239 --> 00:38:42,679
the brand new Swedish National Library, where the code ekskigis

725
00:38:42,719 --> 00:38:44,719
can still be found to this day. It's a silent

726
00:38:44,760 --> 00:38:47,599
witness to centuries of history. Right, Okay, let's take stock here.

727
00:38:47,599 --> 00:38:48,840
I think it's fair to say at this point that

728
00:38:48,880 --> 00:38:51,199
this is one profoundly strange and captivating book.

729
00:38:51,400 --> 00:38:54,760
Speaker 2: Strange and captivating, Yes, that sums it up well.

730
00:38:55,039 --> 00:39:00,159
Speaker 1: The unknown origin, the uncannily skilled scribe, the strangely black

731
00:39:00,199 --> 00:39:03,800
in pages, the mad Emperor, the wars waged for its possession,

732
00:39:04,039 --> 00:39:07,760
its miraculous survival from a devastating fire. The list of

733
00:39:07,800 --> 00:39:11,039
peculiarities goes on and on. It certainly has all the

734
00:39:11,079 --> 00:39:13,639
makings of a dark, enduring legend, doesn't it.

735
00:39:13,760 --> 00:39:17,360
Speaker 2: Indeed, it's a truly compelling narrative, almost too perfect in

736
00:39:17,400 --> 00:39:20,920
its dramatic arc. But, and this is a crucial distinction

737
00:39:21,000 --> 00:39:24,039
in a deep dive like ours, just because something seems

738
00:39:24,119 --> 00:39:28,599
unexplainable or has a captivating, almost supernatural story built around

739
00:39:28,599 --> 00:39:32,000
it doesn't necessarily mean it is truly supernatural or defies

740
00:39:32,039 --> 00:39:35,719
all logic. The human mind, after all, is remarkably adept

741
00:39:35,719 --> 00:39:39,320
at connecting disparate events, filling in knowledge gaps, and weaving

742
00:39:39,360 --> 00:39:42,599
them into a cohesive, dramatic narrative that satisfies our innate

743
00:39:42,639 --> 00:39:45,480
desire for a good story. Our challenge is to peel

744
00:39:45,519 --> 00:39:47,119
back those layers exactly so.

745
00:39:47,159 --> 00:39:49,000
Speaker 1: While the legend of a book panned by the devil

746
00:39:49,079 --> 00:39:52,159
certainly makes for thrilling fireside tales, let's face it, most

747
00:39:52,159 --> 00:39:56,480
of us would agree that literal infernal authorship is probably well, it's.

748
00:39:56,599 --> 00:39:57,599
Speaker 2: Probably a safe assumption.

749
00:39:57,719 --> 00:40:00,679
Speaker 1: Yes, So what's really going on here? How we explain

750
00:40:00,800 --> 00:40:05,280
all the peculiarities of this strange and wonderful story. Let's

751
00:40:05,320 --> 00:40:09,920
start with one of the visually creepiest elements, those strangely

752
00:40:10,000 --> 00:40:13,360
blackened pages, particularly the devil page.

753
00:40:13,559 --> 00:40:17,239
Speaker 2: Okay, the darkened page. What's the non hellfire explanation.

754
00:40:17,920 --> 00:40:19,760
Speaker 1: You might have guessed that the Codex happen to be

755
00:40:19,800 --> 00:40:22,639
open on that specific page during the fire at trey Kroner,

756
00:40:22,920 --> 00:40:25,440
and that's why it appears charred. But the truth is

757
00:40:25,480 --> 00:40:29,119
actually even simpler and perhaps more poetic than that. You

758
00:40:29,159 --> 00:40:31,800
see when you expose vellum, the prepared animal skin to

759
00:40:31,880 --> 00:40:36,079
sunlight over extended periods, it naturally develops a distinctive dark

760
00:40:36,119 --> 00:40:38,920
patina over time, a sort of natural.

761
00:40:38,599 --> 00:40:41,599
Speaker 2: Tamming ah light exposure makes sense under.

762
00:40:41,360 --> 00:40:44,400
Speaker 1: Normal circumstances that patina would be relatively uniform across an

763
00:40:44,519 --> 00:40:47,079
entire book, especially when it's kept closed most of the time,

764
00:40:47,199 --> 00:40:50,280
protecting its pages. But since one particular page of the

765
00:40:50,280 --> 00:40:53,920
Codex kigas the Devil's Illustration, is so much more famous

766
00:40:53,960 --> 00:40:56,400
and visually striking than all the others, it has had

767
00:40:56,519 --> 00:40:59,000
far more than its fair share of sunlight exposure over.

768
00:40:58,840 --> 00:41:00,760
Speaker 2: The centuries, because everyone wanted to see.

769
00:41:00,559 --> 00:41:04,960
Speaker 1: That page exactly, being opened and displayed countless times for

770
00:41:05,119 --> 00:41:10,079
curious eyes. It's almost poetic, really. The pages of the

771
00:41:10,079 --> 00:41:13,320
Devil's Codex weren't blackened by hell fire. They were simply

772
00:41:13,400 --> 00:41:15,920
stained by centuries of human fascination.

773
00:41:16,159 --> 00:41:19,239
Speaker 2: That's a great explanation. It's a prime example of how

774
00:41:19,280 --> 00:41:24,239
a perfectly plausible scientific and historical explanation can elegantly dismantle

775
00:41:24,239 --> 00:41:27,719
a supernatural theory yet still leave us with a profound

776
00:41:27,840 --> 00:41:31,599
sense of wonder at the object's historical impact and the

777
00:41:31,639 --> 00:41:36,079
continued fascination it commands. The physical evidence itself tells a

778
00:41:36,119 --> 00:41:39,960
story not of the demonic, but of enduring human curiosity

779
00:41:40,000 --> 00:41:41,760
and reverence for a unique artifact.

780
00:41:41,920 --> 00:41:44,199
Speaker 1: Well said, Now, the fact that the Codex was apparently

781
00:41:44,280 --> 00:41:47,239
kept chained down at all times, it's even easier to explain.

782
00:41:46,880 --> 00:41:49,400
Speaker 2: Away the monster book chains, right.

783
00:41:49,280 --> 00:41:52,119
Speaker 1: It certainly gives this story that monster book of monsters vibe,

784
00:41:52,320 --> 00:41:55,119
implying something sinister need to be contained. But it turns

785
00:41:55,119 --> 00:41:57,719
out it was actually just standard practice for incredibly valuable

786
00:41:57,719 --> 00:41:58,519
books in that era.

787
00:41:58,679 --> 00:42:01,320
Speaker 2: Really, chaining books was called common, very common.

788
00:42:01,599 --> 00:42:04,199
Speaker 1: This is a time when even normal everyday books were

789
00:42:04,199 --> 00:42:08,920
immensely valuable objects, pains takingly copied by hand and therefore

790
00:42:09,000 --> 00:42:12,360
quite rare. It wasn't at all unusual for entire libraries,

791
00:42:12,639 --> 00:42:16,760
especially monastic or university libraries, to have their most prized

792
00:42:16,840 --> 00:42:20,840
volumes chained to their shelves to prevent theft or unauthorized.

793
00:42:20,280 --> 00:42:21,800
Speaker 2: Removal security measures.

794
00:42:21,920 --> 00:42:27,000
Speaker 1: Essentially exactly, the Codex Gigis was, as we've established, basically priceless,

795
00:42:27,239 --> 00:42:30,039
considered an eighth wonder of the world, so keeping it

796
00:42:30,119 --> 00:42:33,199
under literal lock and key, or in this case securely

797
00:42:33,239 --> 00:42:36,960
chained down just made practical economic sense. It was about

798
00:42:36,960 --> 00:42:40,480
protection and preservation, not containment of an evil spirit.

799
00:42:40,760 --> 00:42:43,880
Speaker 2: This provides crucial historical context that is often missing in

800
00:42:43,920 --> 00:42:47,880
popular narratives. Without understanding the common norms and practices of

801
00:42:47,920 --> 00:42:51,559
the medieval period, a modern interpretation of chained books could

802
00:42:51,599 --> 00:42:56,440
easily lead to sensationalized misinterpretations. It vividly illustrates how critical

803
00:42:56,480 --> 00:42:59,280
it is to view historical objects through the precise lens

804
00:42:59,280 --> 00:43:01,679
of their own time and prevailing societal practices.

805
00:43:01,800 --> 00:43:03,960
Speaker 1: Makes perfect sense. Then this poor old Rudolph the.

806
00:43:03,880 --> 00:43:06,079
Speaker 2: Second Ah, Yes, the mad Emperor.

807
00:43:06,400 --> 00:43:09,880
Speaker 1: He did indeed go insane not long after acquiring the Kdex.

808
00:43:10,719 --> 00:43:13,079
That part of the story, based on historical records is

809
00:43:13,079 --> 00:43:16,880
absolutely true. But then again, he wasn't the only Habsburg

810
00:43:17,000 --> 00:43:20,880
ruler to misplace his marbles, as it were the Habsburg's right,

811
00:43:21,039 --> 00:43:24,639
this was, historically speaking, one of the most famously inbred

812
00:43:24,719 --> 00:43:28,400
royal families in all of human history, a lineage notorious

813
00:43:28,440 --> 00:43:32,719
for their extremely tight and often problematic gene pool. You've

814
00:43:32,760 --> 00:43:34,920
probably already heard of the characteristic Habsburg jaw. Oh.

815
00:43:35,000 --> 00:43:37,280
Speaker 2: Yes, the Habsburg jaw very distinctive, A.

816
00:43:37,320 --> 00:43:41,840
Speaker 1: Distinctive often elongated lower jaw and prominent chin that was

817
00:43:41,880 --> 00:43:44,960
so pronounced it became almost a physical identifier for the family,

818
00:43:45,360 --> 00:43:48,599
passed down through generations like an undeniable hereditary mark.

819
00:43:48,719 --> 00:43:51,079
Speaker 2: Genetics played a huge role, huge.

820
00:43:51,239 --> 00:43:54,039
Speaker 1: Due to generations of inner marriage and limited genetic diversity,

821
00:43:54,360 --> 00:43:58,079
all sorts of disabilities, both mental and physical, commonly played

822
00:43:58,079 --> 00:44:01,960
that bloodline. So while the timing of Rudolph's descent into

823
00:44:01,960 --> 00:44:05,119
madness in conjunction with his acquisition to the Codex is

824
00:44:05,159 --> 00:44:06,800
certainly a fascinating.

825
00:44:06,280 --> 00:44:08,039
Speaker 2: Coincidence, it's likely not causal.

826
00:44:08,280 --> 00:44:12,079
Speaker 1: Exactly. His mental state can be more accurately explained by

827
00:44:12,079 --> 00:44:16,079
genetics and family history rather than direct demonic possession.

828
00:44:16,639 --> 00:44:20,519
Speaker 2: This effectively debunks the direct causal link between the book

829
00:44:20,559 --> 00:44:24,239
and his madness, re situating his mental decline within the

830
00:44:24,280 --> 00:44:28,800
context of known historical biological factors. It serves as a

831
00:44:28,880 --> 00:44:33,480
potent reminder not to assign supernatural or simplistic causalities when

832
00:44:33,559 --> 00:44:37,880
complex medical or genetic explanations are historically available.

833
00:44:37,440 --> 00:44:40,000
Speaker 1: Right, don't jump to the spooky explanation first.

834
00:44:40,039 --> 00:44:43,639
Speaker 2: The human tendency to seek dramatic connections can sometimes obscure

835
00:44:43,679 --> 00:44:45,280
the more intricate truths.

836
00:44:45,199 --> 00:44:48,079
Speaker 1: As for the rest of the dramatic history. The Codex

837
00:44:48,199 --> 00:44:50,760
was indeed one of the very few books to survive

838
00:44:50,840 --> 00:44:54,000
the devastating fire and Trey Croner Castle. But this isn't

839
00:44:54,000 --> 00:44:55,119
necessarily a miracle.

840
00:44:55,199 --> 00:44:55,559
Speaker 2: Why not?

841
00:44:56,079 --> 00:44:58,719
Speaker 1: It simply makes perfect sense to save the most valuable

842
00:44:58,719 --> 00:45:01,119
objects first in a christ even if they do weigh

843
00:45:01,159 --> 00:45:06,559
a ton. Faced with a devastating, rapidly spreading fire, people prioritize.

844
00:45:05,840 --> 00:45:08,119
Speaker 2: Triage, basically save the most important thing.

845
00:45:08,440 --> 00:45:11,000
Speaker 1: And the Codex Gigas was known to be the most

846
00:45:11,079 --> 00:45:15,719
valuable single item in the entire library. And finally, nobody

847
00:45:15,719 --> 00:45:17,920
knows who made it because, as we discussed, it's eight

848
00:45:17,960 --> 00:45:20,800
hundred years old. And let's be honest, the Middle Ages

849
00:45:20,840 --> 00:45:24,760
aren't exactly known as the Golden Age of comprehensive record keeping.

850
00:45:24,880 --> 00:45:28,760
Speaker 2: Records get lost, things weren't always written down exactly detailed.

851
00:45:28,800 --> 00:45:32,639
Speaker 1: Providence for every single artifact of that age is exceptionally rare.

852
00:45:33,400 --> 00:45:35,760
If you're starting to notice a pattern here. That's because

853
00:45:35,800 --> 00:45:39,800
there absolutely is one. The strange sensational stories that surround

854
00:45:39,800 --> 00:45:43,239
the Codex certainly lend the great book an irresistible air

855
00:45:43,360 --> 00:45:46,000
of mystery, a captivating a lure that draws you in.

856
00:45:46,679 --> 00:45:48,800
But examine any one of them a little closer, and.

857
00:45:48,760 --> 00:45:52,719
Speaker 2: There's a perfectly reasonable, non supernatural explanation just waiting to

858
00:45:52,760 --> 00:45:53,400
be uncovered.

859
00:45:53,519 --> 00:45:54,000
Speaker 1: Spot up.

860
00:45:54,079 --> 00:45:56,480
Speaker 2: If we connect this to the bigger picture, this pattern

861
00:45:56,559 --> 00:45:59,719
highlights a fundamental aspect of how historical narratives are often

862
00:45:59,719 --> 00:46:03,800
shared and amplified by human intrigue, a fascination with the dramatic,

863
00:46:03,880 --> 00:46:08,119
and crucially, the lack of comprehensive historical records. The gaps

864
00:46:08,119 --> 00:46:11,480
in our knowledge, combined with the innate human desire for compelling,

865
00:46:11,559 --> 00:46:15,920
almost mythical story, often give rise to legends that, while

866
00:46:16,000 --> 00:46:20,519
not factual, contribute immensely to an object's enduring mystique and

867
00:46:20,599 --> 00:46:26,559
cultural power. It's a fascinating symbiotic interplay between reality, perception,

868
00:46:27,119 --> 00:46:28,599
and the stories we tell ourselves.

869
00:46:28,760 --> 00:46:30,880
Speaker 1: But and this is the crucial point for a deep dive,

870
00:46:31,440 --> 00:46:34,320
just because no infernal intervention is required to explain how

871
00:46:34,320 --> 00:46:37,119
the Codex gigas came to be. That doesn't mean there

872
00:46:37,199 --> 00:46:39,239
is no profound mystery to this tall tale.

873
00:46:39,320 --> 00:46:41,320
Speaker 2: Ah okay, what's the remaining mystery?

874
00:46:41,320 --> 00:46:43,960
Speaker 1: Then? In fact, it shifts the mystery from the supernatural

875
00:46:44,000 --> 00:46:47,519
to the truly astounding human. Because if Satan didn't pen

876
00:46:47,599 --> 00:46:50,199
the Codex Gigis with his own clawed hand, if it

877
00:46:50,239 --> 00:46:51,280
wasn't a product.

878
00:46:50,920 --> 00:46:52,679
Speaker 2: Of dark magic, then a person did it.

879
00:46:52,880 --> 00:46:56,079
Speaker 1: Then that means a regular old sack of meat homost

880
00:46:56,119 --> 00:46:59,480
Apien's like you or me somehow managed it. And that

881
00:46:59,559 --> 00:47:02,920
in itself is perhaps the most astounding, the most mind boggling,

882
00:47:03,079 --> 00:47:05,119
and the most inspiring revelation.

883
00:47:04,800 --> 00:47:09,320
Speaker 2: Of all that. Human achievement is the real miracle here, because.

884
00:47:09,039 --> 00:47:11,960
Speaker 1: The book you see before you is undeniably the life's

885
00:47:12,000 --> 00:47:18,039
work of one truly remarkable individual. It's a testament to dedication, skill,

886
00:47:18,159 --> 00:47:22,960
and sheer human endurance that is almost incomprehensible in modern terms,

887
00:47:23,599 --> 00:47:27,159
a singular feat of medieval willpower and meticulous artistry.

888
00:47:27,480 --> 00:47:30,760
Speaker 2: This is where the focus truly shifts from external supernatural

889
00:47:30,800 --> 00:47:35,480
forces to the extraordinary, almost unimaginable capabilities of an individual.

890
00:47:36,119 --> 00:47:39,519
The real mystery then becomes one of human potential. How

891
00:47:39,519 --> 00:47:42,480
did one person achieve such an almost unimaginable commitment to

892
00:47:42,519 --> 00:47:46,119
produce such a monumental work, especially within the challenging constraints

893
00:47:46,119 --> 00:47:49,000
of a medieval context. It forces us to reconsider the

894
00:47:49,119 --> 00:47:50,639
very definition of human limits.

895
00:47:50,679 --> 00:47:53,960
Speaker 1: As for who that individual was, the ultimate identity of

896
00:47:54,000 --> 00:47:57,119
this superhuman scribe, well, we still don't know for sure,

897
00:47:57,480 --> 00:48:00,119
but it turns out that the manuscript itself, along with

898
00:48:00,159 --> 00:48:03,559
the very legend we've been discussing, may hold a tantalizing clue.

899
00:48:03,639 --> 00:48:05,679
Speaker 2: A clue within the book itself.

900
00:48:05,800 --> 00:48:09,320
Speaker 1: Yes, the second page of the Codex Keigis contains, amongst

901
00:48:09,400 --> 00:48:12,719
other things, an obituary note for a monk named Herman.

902
00:48:12,519 --> 00:48:14,880
Speaker 2: Incluse, Herman Incluse, meaning.

903
00:48:14,880 --> 00:48:19,159
Speaker 1: That roughly translates to Herman the Recluse in English. There's

904
00:48:19,159 --> 00:48:21,679
a good chunk of scholarly speculation involved here, of course,

905
00:48:21,719 --> 00:48:24,480
but many scholars believe that this stay at home Herman

906
00:48:24,960 --> 00:48:28,039
may indeed have been the original singular author of the.

907
00:48:28,000 --> 00:48:31,840
Speaker 2: Codex Hermann the Recluse. It fits the profile of someone

908
00:48:32,000 --> 00:48:36,960
undertaking a massive solitary project. The archival clue, seemingly minor

909
00:48:37,000 --> 00:48:41,519
at first glance, provides a tantalizing, if incomplete lead the

910
00:48:41,559 --> 00:48:44,639
presence of such a personal note, whether directly identifying the

911
00:48:44,639 --> 00:48:47,960
author or simply a person intimately associated with the manuscript's

912
00:48:47,960 --> 00:48:52,480
earliest history, grounds the legend in a tangible, if still ambiguous,

913
00:48:52,559 --> 00:48:55,800
human connection. It offers a whisper of identity in a

914
00:48:55,880 --> 00:48:58,199
story otherwise defined by its anonymity.

915
00:48:58,400 --> 00:49:01,039
Speaker 1: But since we're already speculating, let's take things one step further,

916
00:49:01,480 --> 00:49:03,239
because it turns out there's more than one way of

917
00:49:03,280 --> 00:49:05,360
translating the Latin word inclusive.

918
00:49:05,400 --> 00:49:07,000
Speaker 2: Oh what else could it mean?

919
00:49:07,239 --> 00:49:10,880
Speaker 1: While recluse is certainly a valid interpretation, it can also

920
00:49:11,320 --> 00:49:15,000
quite literally mean confined or inclosed.

921
00:49:14,440 --> 00:49:16,880
Speaker 2: Confined like the monk in the legend.

922
00:49:16,599 --> 00:49:19,360
Speaker 1: Exactly So, is it possible that the heart of the

923
00:49:19,440 --> 00:49:22,880
legend is true at least in part? Could the Codex

924
00:49:22,960 --> 00:49:25,639
Gigas have been written not by a monk facing literal

925
00:49:25,679 --> 00:49:28,079
live in Tumen, but over many decades by a monk

926
00:49:28,159 --> 00:49:32,320
named Hermann who committed some terrible, perhaps unmentioned crime for

927
00:49:32,400 --> 00:49:33,360
which he was locked.

928
00:49:33,159 --> 00:49:35,199
Speaker 2: Away, locked away confined, not.

929
00:49:35,320 --> 00:49:38,760
Speaker 1: Inside a monastery wall, sealed in alive, but perhaps confined

930
00:49:38,760 --> 00:49:42,239
to a simple cell, a place of solitary contemplation and penitence,

931
00:49:42,360 --> 00:49:45,360
where he dedicated his entire remaining life to this monumental

932
00:49:45,400 --> 00:49:47,960
act of penance and creation, like the legend is a

933
00:49:48,039 --> 00:49:48,920
kind of folk memory.

934
00:49:49,119 --> 00:49:51,800
Speaker 2: That's a really compelling idea. It ties the legend and

935
00:49:51,840 --> 00:49:55,760
the likely reality together. This raises a truly profound question,

936
00:49:56,519 --> 00:50:00,320
how do powerful legends evolve from concrete historical facts and

937
00:50:00,360 --> 00:50:02,880
what does that process tell us about our deep seated

938
00:50:02,920 --> 00:50:06,079
human need for compelling narratives, for drama, for meaning in

939
00:50:06,119 --> 00:50:10,119
the unexplained. The confined Monk theory provides a deeply human,

940
00:50:10,239 --> 00:50:14,400
utterly poignant explanation for the extraordinary circumstances surrounding the Codex.

941
00:50:14,840 --> 00:50:18,920
It transforms a supernatural tale into a profound story of resilience, penance,

942
00:50:19,000 --> 00:50:23,119
unimaginable dedication, and the redemptive power of sustained solitary labor.

943
00:50:23,199 --> 00:50:25,320
Speaker 1: It feels more real somehow.

944
00:50:25,599 --> 00:50:27,840
Speaker 2: It speaks to our desire to find meaning and drama

945
00:50:27,880 --> 00:50:30,639
in the unexplained, to craft a narrative that resonates with

946
00:50:30,719 --> 00:50:33,920
human emotion, even if it requires a slight embellishment of

947
00:50:33,960 --> 00:50:37,360
the raw historical truth. It's a powerful illustration of how

948
00:50:37,360 --> 00:50:39,760
the truth can be just as, if not more compelling,

949
00:50:39,800 --> 00:50:42,840
than the most outlandish fiction. It also forces us to

950
00:50:42,880 --> 00:50:47,719
consider the immense psychological fortitude required to undertake such a solitary,

951
00:50:47,800 --> 00:50:51,320
lifelong task in a confined space. What would that daily

952
00:50:51,400 --> 00:50:54,239
existence have been like? The isolation, the repetitive motion, the

953
00:50:54,280 --> 00:50:57,480
unwavering focused day after day, year after year. It's almost

954
00:50:57,519 --> 00:50:59,840
as incredible to imagine as the demonic pact.

955
00:51:00,719 --> 00:51:04,320
Speaker 1: Yeah, decades of that. Wow. The truth is we'll likely

956
00:51:04,360 --> 00:51:07,159
never know for sure. The heroes and villains of this

957
00:51:07,199 --> 00:51:09,400
great tale have been dead for close to a millennium,

958
00:51:09,599 --> 00:51:12,280
and the definitive answers are lost to the mists of time.

959
00:51:13,159 --> 00:51:15,400
But regardless of who put quill to paper all those

960
00:51:15,480 --> 00:51:18,840
years ago, whether driven by divine inspiration, desperate human will,

961
00:51:18,960 --> 00:51:21,960
or even as the legend suggests, a sinister pact, the

962
00:51:22,039 --> 00:51:25,480
Kodex Gigess is undeniably one of the greatest books ever conceived.

963
00:51:26,159 --> 00:51:29,199
It stands as a literary cathedral, a monumental work built

964
00:51:29,199 --> 00:51:32,079
one word at a time, one meticulously prepared page at

965
00:51:32,079 --> 00:51:35,320
a time, by an almost unbelievably talented and dedicated individual.

966
00:51:35,639 --> 00:51:38,199
It's a testament to the enduring power of creation and

967
00:51:38,239 --> 00:51:40,559
the captivating a lure of a truly great mystery.

968
00:51:40,800 --> 00:51:44,159
Speaker 2: Well, it's either that an unparalleled feat of human endurance

969
00:51:44,199 --> 00:51:47,960
and artistry, or it's the debut novel of the Devil himself,

970
00:51:48,199 --> 00:51:51,599
an infernal masterpiece. I'll let you decide which ending you prefer.

971
00:51:52,400 --> 00:51:54,880
And as you ponder that, consider how many other stories

972
00:51:54,880 --> 00:51:57,559
we tell, how many deeply embedded legends persist in our

973
00:51:57,599 --> 00:52:01,119
collective consciousness, that might have a kernel were found human truth,

974
00:52:01,159 --> 00:52:04,920
obscured by the fascinating dramatic narratives we so eagerly construct

975
00:52:04,960 --> 00:52:07,840
around them. The search for knowledge, after all, is often

976
00:52:07,880 --> 00:52:10,519
as much about understanding ourselves as it is about uncovering

977
00:52:10,599 --> 00:52:11,360
historical facts.