M.J. Rose

The Devil’s Bible — a manuscript so large it takes two people to lift it.

Legend says that an imprisoned monk produced the manuscript in just one night — with the devil’s assistance of course…

Codex Gigas (the Devil’s Bible) – the largest manuscript in the world (Ancient Origins)

“Codex Gigas (the Devil’s Bible) – the largest manuscript in the world
Codex Gigas, otherwise known as ‘the Devil’s Bible’ is the largest and probably one of the strangest manuscripts in the world.  It is so large that it is said to have taken more than 160 animal skins to make it and takes at least two people to lift it.  It measures approximately 1 metre in length.

According to legend, the medieval manuscript was made out of a pact with the ‘devil’, which is why it is sometimes referred to as the Devil’s Bible. It was written in Latin during the 13th century AD, and although the origin of the manuscript is unknown, a note in the manuscript states that it was pawned in the monastery at Sedlec in 1295.

The story behind the making of Codex Gigas (“the giant codex”) is that it was the work of one monk who was sentenced to death by being walled up alive. Indeed, an analysis on the text does suggest that it was written by just one scribe due to the level of uniformity throughout.  The legend says that the monk produced the manuscript in just one night… with the devil’s help. However, it is not known where this legend started and it is suspected that it was religiously propagated.

Stories and legends say that the Codex Gigas brought disaster or illness on whoever possessed it…”

Read the rest here.

The history and genius behind an iconic toy that appeals to the desire in us all to tell our fortunes and futures…

Why the Magic 8 Ball Still Holds Our Fascination
Can a classic toy stay relevant? Signs point to yes

By Robert Klara

“Abe Bookman’s toy was a flop. He should have seen it coming. After all, the toy was a fortune-telling device.

It was 1950, and for the previous four years, Bookman’s company Alabe Crafts had tried to market the Syco-Seer. Sold as a “miracle home fortune teller,” the toy was a cylinder filled with dark liquid containing a pair of floating dice, their surfaces scribed with fateful predictions. Users would ask a question, shake up the Syco-Seer and then wait for the device to give them the answer. Only there weren’t many users, and Alabe’s nesting the cylinder inside a crystal ball in 1948 hadn’t helped.

Then Brunswick Billiards called in search of a promotional toy. Would Alabe consider putting its fortune teller inside of a big eight ball? Alabe said sure. And the rest is toy history….”

For the rest click here to go to adweek.com.

A lost city, the legendary “City of the Monkey God”, was recently discovered in the Honduran rain forest…

Lost City Discovered in the Honduran Rain Forest

In search for legendary “City of the Monkey God,” explorers find the untouched ruins of a vanished culture.

A “were-jaguar” effigy, likely representing a combination of a human and spirit animal, is part of a still-buried ceremonial seat, or metate, one of many artifacts discovered in a cache in ruins deep in the Honduran jungle.

By Douglas Preston
Photographs by Dave Yoder

“An expedition to Honduras has emerged from the jungle with dramatic news of the discovery of a mysterious culture’s lost city, never before explored. The team was led to the remote, uninhabited region by long-standing rumors that it was the site of a storied “White City,” also referred to in legend as the “City of the Monkey God.”

Archaeologists surveyed and mapped extensive plazas, earthworks, mounds, and an earthen pyramid belonging to a culture that thrived a thousand years ago, and then vanished. The team, which returned from the site last Wednesday, also discovered a remarkable cache of stone sculptures that had lain untouched since the city was abandoned….”

For the rest click here to go to National Geographic.