Blood Codex

Chapter 20

“The thing is,” Damek said, clearly pleased with himself, “we have more of the story than most. Do you know anything of the legends surrounding the Golem of Prague?”

“Nothing,” Crowley said.

“I have vague recollections about it being made to protect the local Jews or something.” Rose frowned, shook her head. “Let’s assume we know nothing and you tell us everything.”

Damek nodded, leafing through the large tome on his desk. “Okay, I’ll summarize for you from here.” He cleared his throat, affected the air of a lecturer again. Crowley preferred him this way. It seemed more natural. “So we have the rabbi of Prague at the time of Rudolf’s reign, a man named Judah Loew ben Bezale. He was also known as the Maharal. According to the legends, he created a golem to defend the Prague ghetto from anti-Semitic attacks and pogroms.” Damek smiled up at Rose. “Your memory is very good, after all.”

“Yes, but I have no idea what else went on.”

“Well, that’s where it gets particularly interesting. Depending on which version of the legend you read, as there are several slightly varying accounts, Rudolf II was to either expel or execute the Jews in Prague. Either way, things were not looking good for them. So to protect the Jewish community, the rabbi took clay from the banks of the Vltava River and used it to construct the golem. He then used a variety of rituals and Hebrew incantations to create the shem which would give the golem life.”

“Shem?” Crowley asked.

“A golem receives its life and powers from a powerful… spell, if you like, written on paper and put into the golem’s mouth. The more powerful the practitioner, the stronger the shem, therefore the more capable the golem, you see?”

Crowley nodded. “Right, okay. So this rabbi, this Maharal, he was powerful?”

“By all accounts, almost divinely so. He is the hero of the piece, after all.”

“Right. Go on.”

“So the Maharal’s golem was called Josef, but more commonly called Yossele. The legends say that Yossele was able to make himself invisible, and that he could summon spirits from the dead to act out his will. A powerful golem, you see, from a powerful rabbi. The only care Yossele required from Rabbi Loew, the Maharal, was to ensure he wasn’t active on the day of Sabbath.”

“That’s Saturday, right?” Crowley asked.

Damek nodded. “The golem had to rest on the Sabbath so that it would do nothing to desecrate the holy day. Rabbi Loew would remove the shem from Yossele’s mouth on Friday evening and return it on Sunday morning.” Damek looked up from his book and smiled. “Now, here’s where it gets particularly good. One Friday evening, Rabbi Loew forgot to remove the shem, and the golem Yossele did indeed desecrate the Sabbath. There is one version of the story where Yossele fell in love, and when rejected, became a violent monster. Other accounts have the golem finally free on the Sabbath to act out a murderous rampage against those who would persecute the Jews. The popular accounts go that the rabbi finally managed to pull the shem from Yossele’s mouth and immobilize him in front of the Old New Synagogue, whereupon the golem fell in pieces. The body parts were stored in the attic genizah, a secret hiding place, from where it could be restored to life again if needed. Some legends say the body of Rabbi Loew’s golem still lies in the synagogue’s attic, but when it was renovated in 1883, no evidence was found. Other versions of the myth state that the golem was stolen from the genizah and entombed in a graveyard in Prague's Žižkov district, where the Žižkov Television Tower stands now. A more recent legend tells of a Nazi agent finding the golem in the synagogue attic during World War II. He tried to stab Yossele, but he died instead.” Damek grinned at them.

“Good stories,” Crowley said. “But you’re holding something back.”

Damek’s grin became a laugh. He pointed to the page again. “A film was made in the attic in 1984, but that crew found no evidence either. And besides, the attic is not open to the general public, so we can’t corroborate any of this.”

Crowley grew impatient. He felt as though the archivist was toying with them. “So this is all very fascinating, but what does it have to do with Rudolf or the Devil’s Bible?”

Damek raised one forefinger dramatically. “You asked for the whole story as if you knew nothing. So that’s most of it. But remember, I said we know something of the legend that others don’t?”

“We remember,” Rose said, sounding a lot more patient than Crowley had. “So what’s the special angle you have?”

“Well, the suppressed part of the legend is that when the Rabbi forgot to remove the shem that Friday night, the golem took its opportunity to come after Rudolf. Remember, Yossele was charged with protecting the Jews in Prague, so what better way than by destroying the Holy Roman Emperor himself, the man in charge of that persecution? And here’s where it connects back to the Devil’s Bible.

“That Sabbath day, the golem came after Rudolf, who, fearing for his life, took shelter in a secret place where he kept his most secret possessions. The parts of his private collection that he wanted to keep the most private. Among them, the Devil’s Bible.”

“I thought it was common knowledge that he possessed it,” Crowley said.

The archivist shrugged. “It’s just a story and this makes it more exciting, no? Just because people knew Rudolf had the Codex, that doesn’t mean they knew where he kept it.” He looked back down to the pages of his book. “Anyway, the golem found Rudolf’s hiding place easily. It says here Yossele ‘discovered Rudolf along the pathway to hell’. When it also found the Devil’s Bible there it decided it had also discovered the source of Rudolf’s evil. So the golem, rather than simply killing the King, consumed the Devil’s Bible, thus purging the evil from Rudolf’s heart and ensuring the ongoing safety of the Jews. However, the act cost the golem its life and it was never seen again.”

Damek closed the book with a smile. “Only we have that particular legend, and it is fanciful, I know. But it’s the only story of which I’m aware that connects Rudolf to the disappearance of the original Codex Gigas. And perhaps that’s why any existing version, such as the one in Sweden, is a copy.”

Crowley took a deep breath, determined not to let his annoyance show. It was fanciful indeed and he wasn’t sure all this journeying and time had been worthwhile. Had they hit a dead end?

Rose stood and reached a hand across the desk. “Thank you so much for your time, Damek. It’s been truly enlightening.”

Damek shook but looked a little crestfallen. “You’re leaving so soon?”

“We have a lot to see and do.”

Damek frowned. “Well, you should look around some more here first. Much of Rudolf’s artwork is preserved.”

Rose pursed her lips, quite convincingly feigning a real interest. She smiled at Damek and leaned on the desk. “Are there any works of art or literature from Rudolf’s collection that aren’t on public display? Perhaps because they were too controversial or something. Maybe the Voynich Manuscript?” She winked and the archivist flushed.

“There are, in fact, a number of paintings that haven’t been on display in decades, but not because of their content or subject matter. Simply because their quality is not up to snuff. The displays are kept to those items that are best preserved.”

“You think we could have a look?” Rose asked. “I like things other people don’t get to see.”

Damek laughed and stood. “It’s really not very interesting, but for you, of course.”

He led them from the office along a stone corridor and then to a heavy metal door with an electronic keypad beside it. He tapped in a code.

There was a soft hiss as the door opened. “Climate-controlled storage,” Damek said back over his shoulder as he led them inside and closed the door behind them.

The room was large and cool, dancing in halogen light as Damek flicked a switch and several overhead bulbs flickered into life. Row upon row of shelving held all manner of treasures. The shelves were differing in size, small ones holding books and scrolls and piles of paper. Larger ones with boxes and bags. Larger still had paintings that stood facing out.

Rose and Crowley strolled back and forth among the shelves making appreciative noises, Damek proudly following, but sticking most closely to Rose. Crowley wasn’t sure what they were looking for, if there was even anything of interest to be found, when one dark and faded painting caught his attention. He grimaced, the image eliciting a deep and visceral reaction inside him, simply from observing it. He didn’t like it at all, but couldn’t take his eyes off it. The work was fine and intricate, showing a round tower, with a staircase beneath descending past people in torment. The stairs led down to a flame shrouded figure that looked vaguely like an ape. Inside the belly of the figure squatted a horned, clawed figure that Crowley recognized immediately as the devil from the Codex Gigas, the very drawing that gave the Devil’s Bible its name.

Noting that Rose and Damek had their backs to him, Crowley quickly snapped a photo with his phone, then called the archivist’s name. “What’s this tower here?” he asked. “Is it a real place?”

“Most definitely. That’s Daliborka, or Dalibor Tower. It stands at the eastern end of Golden Lane. Dating back to 1496, it served as a prison until 1781. It’s named after its first inmate, Dalibor of Kozojedy.”

“What a grim looking place,” Rose said. She leaned close and Crowley knew she had spotted the tiny image of the devil inside the ape-like creature at the bottom. She didn’t say anything.

“A prison, eh?” Crowley said. “Cells and dungeons and things?”

“Oh, yes. There’s a dungeon with monumental vaults, and a circular opening in the floor through which offenders were lowered into the oubliette via a pulley.”

“From the French oublier,” Rose breathed. “To forget.”

“Indeed. Just a dark hole in the ground with only one way in or out, through that hole at the top. Where people were left and forgotten.”

“Horrible,” Rose said, and shook herself.

Damek smiled. “The Dalibor Tower is included in the castle tour. You should take the tour before you leave.”

“Thanks so much,” Crowley said. “We’ve certainly enjoyed this private tour.” He headed for the door, Rose in step beside him, and Damek hurried ahead to open up.

“Nothing else I can do for you?” Damek asked, though the question was directed to Rose.

“No, we’ve taken up enough of your time,” she said diplomatically, bestowing a warm and friendly smile on the man.

Damek’s features fell. “Well. I’ll walk you out then.”