Devil's Bible exhibited in Prague

The 13th-century "Devil's Bible," tauted as the world's largest medieval manuscript, has gone on display in Prague. AFP reports: "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) Bible "owes its name to a superb illustration of the devil found inside."

The status of valuable books as cultural relics is nowhere more evident than in the fact that moving them across national boundaries often requires state diplomacy. See previous posts on the Wardington Hours.