Description
The codex is bound in a wooden folder covered with leather and ornate metal. At 92 cm (36.2in.) tall, 50 cm (19.7in.) wide and 22 cm (8.6in.) thick it is the largest known medieval manuscript. Weighing 74.8 kg (165 pounds), Codex Gigas is composed of 310 leaves of parchment allegedly made from the skins of 160 donkeys or perhaps calfskin. The Codex Gigas is the world's largest medieval manuscript. It initially contained 320 sheets, though some of these were subsequently removed. It is unknown who removed the pages or for what purpose but it seems likely that they contained the monastic rules of the Benedictines.
It was written by one scribe. Acts 12:25 reads απο Ιερουσαλημ (from Jerusalem) along with manuscripts: D, Ψ, 181, 436, 614, 2412, ℓ 147, ℓ 809, ℓ 1021, ℓ 1141, ℓ 1364, ℓ 1439, ar, d, vg, Chrysostom; majority reads εις Ιερουσαλημ (to Jerusalem). Acts 18:26 supports reading την οδον of Codex Bezae.
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