「Encyclopfdia of Superstitions, Folklore, and the Occult Sciences of the World」より以下、抜き書き。
Encyclopfdia of Superstitions, Folklore, and the Occult Sciences of the World(amazonリンク）
うわあ～こんな高い本３冊の分冊になってる！欲しいけど、買えん。
In Stockholm is a Bible so huge that no man can lift it.
Each leaf is on an ass's hide, and the whole is bound in wood.
It is called the devil's Bible, and has the following legend:
A monk had been suspected of the practice of black magic and was condemned to death for it.
He begged so piteously for his life that the judge told him if he could produce such a Bible in a single night, he would be pardoned.
The monk appealed to the devil, his protector, and this great volume was made in the required time, but to it were also added several other books of Christian lore, in scorn of the judge's doubts of the devil's power.
【日本語訳】
ストックホルムには、誰も運べないほど巨大な聖書がある。
各々の頁はロバ皮で、全体は木で装丁している。
それは悪魔の聖書と呼ばれていて、以下の伝説を持っている：
修道士は黒魔術をしていたと疑われ、その為、死刑の判決を受けていた。
彼が命を請うのがあまりに哀れであったので、裁判官は彼に言った。もし、一晩で聖書を作る事ができたなら、彼は特別に許されるだろう。
修道士は彼の保護者である悪魔に訴え、この巨大な本は要求時間内に作られた。しかし、悪魔の力を疑う裁判官が軽蔑する中、キリスト教の伝説に関する本をいくつかの他のもそれに加えられた。
Codex Gigas―wikipedeaよりlegend部分を抜粋
According to legend the scribe was a monk who breached his monastic code and was sentenced to be walled up alive. In order to forbear this harsh penalty he promised to create in one single night a book to glorify the monastery forever, including all human knowledge. Near midnight he became sure that he could not complete this task alone, so he sold his soul to the devil for help. The devil completed the manuscript and the monk added the devil's picture out of gratitude for his aid.ポイントは、修道士としての規律に反したので、生きたまま閉じ込めらるという判決を受けている。深夜近くに、一人ではできないと確信し、悪魔に魂を売って本を完成させた。悪魔の助けに感謝して悪魔の絵を加えた。
Czechs get chance to view rare medieval manuscript
【AFPのソースから以下、転載】Czechs got the chance to examine the world's biggest medieval manuscript, the "Codex Gigas" or "Devil's Bible," for the first time in almost 359 years on Thursday when the precious work went on show as part of a four-month-long exhibition.同じ伝承でもこちらでは、『重大な』罪を犯した、となってます。そして緩慢な死を逃れる為、というからには生きながら食事を与えずに閉じ込めたまま殺しちゃうことみたいですね。
The 13th century masterpiece, considered at the time as the eighth wonder of the world, was carried off as booty by Swedish troops from Prague during the Thirty Years' War but has returned at the end of painstaking negotiations and preparations between Prague and Stockholm.
The 624-page, 75-kilogramme (165-pound) work is on display in a specially designed safe-like room in a former Jesuit college in the centre of historic Prague with visitors limited to 10 at a time and rationed to a few minutes each.
The book is so valuable that its Swedish owners insisted on a state guarantee worth 300 million koruna (10.8 million euros, 15.1 million dollars) rather than a normal commercial insurance to cover any eventualities, director of the Czech National Library, Vlastimil Jezek, explained at the unveiling of the exhibition.
The return of the "Devil's Bible," which owes its name to a superb illustration of the devil found inside and the legend about its creator, demanded long-drawn out negotiations.
"During discussions, you could feel on the Swedish side the underlying question: 'If we lend this to you Czechs, will you give it back to us?'" Jezek recounted with a wry smile.
The manuscript was the work of a monk working at the Pozlazice monastery located in the centre of the current Czech Republic. The monastery was destroyed during the 15th-century wars of religion.
Legend has it that the monk was condemned to be walled up alive for committing a grave crime. To escape from that slow death, he proposed to create the masterpiece in a night so that it would bring glory to the monastery and wipe out his sins.
To achieve that, however, he had to solicit help from the devil and, in recognition of that aid, slipped in the illustration of his "helper" in the final work.
Lodged among the Prague treasures of the celebrated arts collector Emperor Rudolph II, the rare book was carried off by troops of Swedish general Konigsmark at the end of the Thirty Years' War.
微妙に表現が違っていて面白いです。実は、何十個もこのテーマを扱った記事や文献を探してみたのですが、『黒魔術』と明言しているのは、一番最初に引用した文献だけでした。
でも、生きたまま死刑になるぐらいの罪というと『黒魔術』っていうのが納得いきますね！
Devil's Bible goes on display in Prague after three century absence
【RADIO PRAHAより以下、転載】こちらはシンプルにベネディクト派の僧が戒律を破って死に直面した、と書かれています。そして世界で最大の写本になることを約束したものを作ってもらう代わりに魂を悪魔に売ったとあります。
The largest historical book in the world is to go on show at Prague's Klementinum Gallery on Wednesday. Known as the 'Devil's Bible', it was written in what is now the Czech Republic in the early thirteenth century, and during the Middle Ages was regarded as a wonder of the world. Plundered from Prague by Swedish soldiers during the Thirty Years War, it is now to return to the city temporarily after an absence of over 350 years. Joshua Singer has more.
The book, which is almost a metre high and half a metre wide, consists entirely of parchment, and is made up of eleven sections. Not only is it the biggest, but also the oldest Czech chronicle written in Latin. Accompanying the bible on display at the exhibition will be detailed descriptions of certain chapters, and a history of the book's journey from its origins in Bohemia to its permanent home in Sweden's National Library, from where it is on loan.
Vlastimil Jezek is the director of the Czech National Library at the Klementinum:
"The Devil's Bible can't be seen by more than 60 people an hour, so we're selling time-allocated tickets which people can of course order over the internet or buy directly from the Klementinum gallery. For those who don't have the internet or who don't want to use this medium, it will be possible on Tuesdays and Saturdays to come to the exhibition without time allotted tickets but those who do so should expect to wait."
History and legend differ as to exactly how the bible - also known as the Codex Gigas - came into existence. Historians believe that it was completed in around 1229 in a small Benedictine monastery in Podlazice, and was the life's work of one man. Legend however, asserts that it is the work of the devil. So the story goes, a Benedictine monk faced death for breaking the code of his order. To save himself from punishment, he sold his soul to Satan in return for creating what he promised to be the biggest manuscript in the world.
In modern times, the Czech Republic is only the third country to be loaned the bible. Vlastimil Jezek again:
Before this exhibition it has been leant out twice in the last 360 years, once to a major exhibition in New York and once to Berlin, before it made its journey back to Prague. I think the fundamental grounds for this loan, are that in the first place, we have very good relations between the Czech National Library and the Swedish Royal Library. In the second place, we had great help from Czech diplomats, and finally one can't possibly ignore the contribution of Prime ministers Paroubek and Topolanek who in the course of Swedish official visits included the issue of the bible in discussions."
One ticket will allow visitors ten minutes to view the Bible, which will be on loan until January, when it will return to Sweden.
【以下、余談】
そうそう、書名であるギガス写本（Codex Gigas）ですが、英語で言うと codex giant でそのまんまの意味である「巨大写本」となります。
それと、どっかの海外サイトにあった記述ですが、この本の不思議なところとして、本来聖書は holy book（聖なる本）で邪悪なモノを寄せ付けないはずです。悪魔祓いでも聖書や聖水を使うのはご存知の通り。その悪魔の大敵たる聖書に悪魔がどうして触れることができるのか？ ましてその作成をすることができたのか？ これも本書の大いなる神秘と指摘されてました。
ふむふむ、そう言われればそうだ。大いなる矛盾でしょう。この辺の事に触れている文書を探してみたいなあ～。さてさて、悪魔学の洋書でも漁りたいところです。
関連ブログ
「悪魔のバイブル」、350年ぶりにチェコに里帰り
悪魔のバイブル（Codex Gigas）に関するメモ 其の二
私もこの悪魔の絵のページだけは有名なので写真で見た事がありました。
私の読んだ記事で彼はすっかり壁に閉じ込められてしまうと言う刑。。。というくだりがあって、いつか見たB級映画の中でも、壁に塗り込められた僧侶がでてきたなあ。。。なんておどろどろしいシーンを思い浮かべてしまいました。（笑）
実際ありそうですよね。
>私の読んだ記事で彼はすっかり壁に閉じ込められてしまうと言う刑
英文の記事だと walled up alive とか buried とあったので、僧坊に閉じ込めて壁を塗り込めたのかもしれませんね。ポーの「黒猫」みたい。
おっしゃられるたようなB級映画に確かにありそうなシーンです（クスクス）。そして、実際にも本当にありそうですね。なんせ修道僧が黒魔術やっちゃっうんですから・・・。
>なんだかAlice-roomさんのわくわく振りが伝わってきますね。（笑）
図星です（苦笑）。久しぶりに興奮してしまいました。英文で読める範囲でネット上をだいぶ探しまくってました。その情熱を別なことに向けたら・・・まあ、それはおいといて。
最近は、google book search なんてものまであり、本や論文の内容まで検索できてしまうので嬉しい反面、情報の波に溺れてしまいますね。面白いのですが、キリがないです。
でも、自由に海外の情報にも触れられるなんて素敵な時代になって良かったなあ～と心から感謝しちゃいます。