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Aztec codices (singular codex) are books written by pre-Columbian and Spanish colonial era Aztecs. These codices provide some of the best primary sources for Aztec and Nahuatl culture.

These codices, particularly the pre-Columbian codices, differ from European codices in that they are largely pictorial.

The graphic systems of communication in Pre-Columbian Mexico never intended to communicate speech. European alphabetic texts preserve the words, sentences, and paragraphs of a spoken language. In contrast, the Pre-Columbian texts in central Mexico bypass spoken language and preserve meaning visually and within its own pictorial conventions. . . . As with a musical score or mathematical notation, one can read a pictorial document without constructing a verbal narrative.
Elizabeth Hill Boone, "Pictorial Documents and Visual Thinking in Postconquest Mexico". p. 158.

Boturini Codex

The Boturini Codex was painted by an unknown Aztec author some time between 1530 and 1541, roughly a decade after the Spanish conquest of Mexico. Pictorial in nature, it tells the story of the legendary Aztec journey from Aztlán to the Valley of Mexico.

Rather than employing separate pages, the author used one long sheet of amatl, or fig bark, accordion-folded into 21½ pages. There is a rip in the middle of the 22nd page, and it is unclear whether the author intended the manuscript to end at that point or not. Unlike many other Aztec codices, the drawings are not colored, but rather merely outlined with black ink.

Also known as “Tira de la Peregrinación” ("The Strip Showing the Travels"), it is named after one of its first European owners, Lorenzo Boturini Bernaducci (1702 – 1751).

Aubin Codex

The Aubin Codex is a pictorial history of the Aztecs from their departure from Aztlán through the Spanish conquest to the early Spanish colonial period, ending in 1607. Consisting of 81 leaves, it was most likely begun in 1576, it is possible that Fray Diego Durán supervised its preparation, since it was published in 1867 as Historia de las Indias de Nueva-España y isles de Tierra Firme, listing Durán as the author.

Among other topics, the Aubin Codex has a native description of the massacre at the temple in Tenochtitlanin 1520.

Also called "Manuscrito de 1576" (“The Manuscript of 1576”), this codex is held by the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris. A copy of the original is held at the Princeton University library in the Robert Garrett Collection there. The Aubin Codex is not to be confused with the similarly-named Aubin Tonalamatl.

Codex Osuna

Codex Osuna is a set of seven separate documents created in early 1565 to present evidence against the government of Viceroy Luis de Velasco during the 1563-66 inquiry by Jerónimo de Valderrama. In this codex, indigenous leaders claim non-payment for various goods and for various services performed by their people, including building construction and domestic help.

The Codex was originally solely pictorial in nature. Nahuatl descriptions and details were then entered onto the documents during its review by Spanish authorities, and a Spanish translation of the Nahuatl was added.

Codex Magliabechiano

Codex Magliabechiano is a mid-sixteenth century central Mexican pictorial manuscript of the early colonial period. Based on an earlier, but as yet undiscovered, codex, the Codex Magliabechiano depicts indigenous religious rites, deities, costumes, and cosmological beliefs.

Codex Ixtlilxochitl

Codex Ixtlilxochitl is an early 17th century codex fragment detailing, among other subjects, a calendar of the Mexican annual festivals and rituals celebrated by the Aztec teocalli during the Mexican year. Each of the 18 months is represented by a god or an historical character.

Written in Spanish, Codex Ixtlilxochitl has 50 pages comprising 27 separate sheets of European paper with 29 drawings. It was derived from the same source as the Codex Magliabechiano. It was named after its author, Fernando de Alva Cortés Ixtlilxochitl (between 1568 & 1578 - c. 1650), a member of the ruling family of Texcoco, and is held in the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris.

Codex Cozcatzin

Codex Cozcatzin is a post-conquest, bound manuscript consisting of 18 sheets (36 pages) of European paper, dated 1572 although was perhaps created later than this. Largely pictorial, it has short descriptions in Spanish and Nahuatl.

The first section of the codex contains a list of land granted by Itzcóatl in 1439 and is part of a complaint against Diego Mendoza. Other pages list historical and genealogical information, focused on Tlatelolco and Tenochtitlan. The final page consists of astronomical descriptions in Spanish.

It named for Don Juan Luis Cozcatzin, who appears in the codex as "alcalde ordinario de esta ciudad de México" ("ordinary mayor of this city of Mexico"). The codex is presently held by the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris.

See also

Other Aztec codices

Non-Aztec codices from Central Mexico

The following are non-Aztec codices composed in 15th and 16th century central Mexico:

References

External links

Aztec | Manuscripts | Mesoamerican codices

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Aztec codices".

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