Codex Gigas (portrait of the devil) From the manuscript Codex Gigas. Photo by: National Library of Sweden/Claes Jansson/Per B Adolphson
The portrait of the Devil is the most famous image in the Codex Gigas (f. 290r), and it is the cause of the the book’s nickname, the Devil’s Bible. The Devil is shown alone, in an empty landscape, within a frame formed by two large towers. He is crouching with his arms held up (he has only four fingers and toes) and wears an ermine loin cloth. Ermine is usually associated with royalty, and its use here is to emphasise the position of the Devil as the prince of darkness. http://flic.kr/p/8acFak