The Codex Mendoza is an Aztec codex, believed to have been created around the year 1541.[1] It contains a history of both the Aztec rulers and their conquests as well as a description of the daily life of pre-conquest Aztec society. The codex is written in the Nahuatl language using traditional Aztec pictograms with a translation and explanation of the text provided in Spanish. It is named after DonAntonio de Mendoza (1495-1552), the viceroy of New Spain, who supervised its creation and who was a leading patron of native artists.
The founding of the Aztec capital Tenochtitlan; first page of the Codex Mendoza, circa 1541
Mendoza knew that the ravages of the conquest had destroyed multiple native artifacts, and that the craft traditions that generated them had been effaced. When the Spanish crown ordered Mendoza to provide evidence of the Aztec political and tribute system, he invited skilled artists and scribes who were being schooled at the Franciscan college in Tlatelolco to gather in a workshop under the supervision of Spanish priests where they could recreate the document for him and the King of Spain.[2] The pictorial document that they produced became known as the Codex Mendoza: it consists of seventy-one folios made of Spanish paper measuring 20.6 × 30.6 centimeters (8.25 × 12.25 inches).[3] The document is crafted in the native style, but it now is bound at a spine in the manner of European books.
The Codex Mendoza on display at the Bodleian Library
The manuscript must date from after 6 July 1529, since Hernán Cortéz is referred to on folio 15r as 'marques del Valle'.[5] It must have been produced before 1553, when it was in the possession of the French cosmographer André Thevet, who wrote his name on folios 1r, 2r, 70v, 71v.
The final page of the manuscript explains some of the circumstances in which it was produced.[6]
The reader must excuse the rough style in the interpretation of the drawings in this history, because the interpreter did not take time or work at all slowly...The interpreter was given this history ten days prior to the departure of the fleet, and he interpreted it carelessly because the Indians came to agreement late; and so it was done in haste and he did not improve the style suitable for an interpretation, nor did he take time to polish the words and grammar or make a clean copy.
The manuscript was therefore finished in haste and designed to be sent to Spain. More precise information regarding the exact date of the manuscript and the reasons it was produced is controversial. The testimony of the conquistador Jerónimo López, probably dating from 1547, may be relevant.[7]
it must have been about six years ago more or less that entering one day into the home of an Indian who was called Francisco Gualpuyogualcal, master of the painters, I saw in his possession a book with covers of parchment and asking him what it was, in secret he showed it to me and told me that he had made it by the command of Your Lordship, in which he has to set down all the land since the founding of the city of Mexico and the lords that had governed and ruled until the coming of the Spaniards and the battles and clashes that they had and the taking of this great city and all the provinces that it ruled and had made subject and the assignment of these towns and provinces that was made by Montezuma to the principal lords of this city and of the fee that each one of the knights gave him from the tributes of the towns that he had and the plan that he employed in the aforesaid assignment and how he sketched [?] the towns and provinces for it. (tr. H. B. Nicholson)
Silvio Zavala argued that the book referred to was the Codex Mendoza,[8] and his arguments were restated by Federico Gómez de Orozco.[9] If this is the case, then the Codex was written circa 1541 ('six years ago more or less' from López's recollection) and was commissioned by Mendoza. As H. B. Nicolson has pointed out, however, the description is not an exact fit for the Codex, and the identification is not certain.[10]
According to a later account by Samuel Purchas, a later owner of the Codex, writing in 1625, the Spanish fleet was attacked by French privateers and all of the booty, including the codex, was taken to France.[11]
It was certainly in the possession of André Thévet, cosmographer to King Henry II of France. Thévet wrote his name in five places on the codex, twice with the date 1553. It was later owned by the Englishman Richard Hakluyt. According again to Samuel Purchas, Hakluyt bought the Codex for 20 French francs. Some time after 1616 it was passed to Samuel Purchas, then to his son, and then to John Selden. The codex was deposited into the Bodleian Library at Oxford University in 1659, five years after Selden's death, where it remained in obscurity until 1831, when it was rediscovered by Viscount Kingsborough and brought to the attention of scholars.
Content
Iconography descriptions of Codex Mendoza expanding on the foundation of Tenochtitlan as a civilization of power and authority.[12]
Written on European paper, it contains 71 pages, divided into three sections:
Section I, folios 1r to 17r or 18r, is a history of the Aztec people from 1325 through 1521 — from the founding of Tenochtitlan through the Spanish conquest. It lists the reign of each ruler and the towns conquered by them. It is uncertain whether folios 17v and 18r belong to Section I or Section II.[13]
Section II, folios 17v or 18v to 54v, provides a list of the towns conquered by the Triple Alliance and the tributes paid by each. This section is closely related to, and probably copied from, the Matrícula de Tributos, but the Codex Mendoza contains five provinces not included in the Matrícula. This probably represents material now missing from the Matrícula, but present when the Codex Mendoza was copied.[14]
Section III, folios 56v to 71v, is a pictorial depiction of the daily life of the Aztecs.
Folios 73 to 85 of MS. Arch. Selden. A. 1, as currently foliated, do not form part of the Codex Mendoza. These folios comprise an originally separate manuscript, apparently written in England in the first half of the seventeenth century. This manuscript contains tables of the comparative value of Roman, Greek, English, and French money. The two manuscripts were bound together in England in the early seventeenth century.[15]
Folio 60 recto, Punishments and chores of children, ages 11 to 14
Folio 61 recto (top) 15-year-old boys beginning training in the military or the priesthood (bottom) A 15-year-old girl gets married
Folio 62 recto, (top rest) Participation of students and punishments for misbehavior (bottom) Preparation to warriorhood
Folio 64 recto (top) Duties of novice priests (bottom) Ranks awarded to warriors
Folio 65 recto (top) Ranks award to priest-warriors (bottom) Imperial officers
Folio 67 recto (top) Warriors scout a town at night in preparation for an attack (middle) Negotiations after surrender. (bottom) High-ranking commanders
^Berdan, F. F.; Anawalt, P. R. (1992). "Codex Mendoza". Scientific American. 1 (6): 70. Bibcode:1992SciAm.266f..70A. doi:10.1038/scientificamerican0692-70.
^Carrasco, David (1999). City of Sacrifice : The Aztec Empire and the Role of Violence in Civilization. p. 19.
^Anawalt, Patricia (2001). "Codex Mendoza". In Carrasco, David L. (ed.). The Oxford Encyclopedia of Mesoamerican Cultures :The Civilizations of Mexico and Central America vol.1. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 72–73. ISBN978-0-19-514255-6. OCLC 872326807.
^"Bodleian Treasures - Codex Mendoza". The Bodleian Library.
^Berdan, F. F.; Anawalt, P. R. (1992). "Codex Mendoza". Scientific American. 1 (6): 5. Bibcode:1992SciAm.266f..70A. doi:10.1038/scientificamerican0692-70.
^Berdan, F. F.; Anawalt, P. R. (1997). The Essential Codex Mendoza. p. 148. ISBN9780520204546.
^Berdan, F. F.; Anawalt, P. R. (1992). "Codex Mendoza". Scientific American. 1 (6): 70. Bibcode:1992SciAm.266f..70A. doi:10.1038/scientificamerican0692-70.
^Zavala, Silvio (1938). "Las encomiendas de Nueva España y el gobierno de don Antonio de Mendoza". Revista de Historia de América. 1: 59–75.
^Gómez de Orozco, Federico (1941). "¿Quien fue el autor material del Códice Mendocino y quien su interprete?". Revista Mexicana de Estudios Antropológicos. 5: 43–52.
^Berdan, F. F.; Anawalt, P. R. (1992). "Codex Mendoza". Scientific American. 1 (6): 2. Bibcode:1992SciAm.266f..70A. doi:10.1038/scientificamerican0692-70.
^Berdan, F. F.; Anawalt, P. R. (1992). "Codex Mendoza". Scientific American. 1 (6): 7. Bibcode:1992SciAm.266f..70A. doi:10.1038/scientificamerican0692-70.
^Carrasco, David (1981). "City as Symbol in Aztec Thought: The Clues from the Codex Mendoza". History of Religions. 20 (3): 199–223. ISSN 0018-2710.
^Berdan, F. F.; Anawalt, P. R. (1992). "Codex Mendoza". Scientific American. 1 (6): 55–6. Bibcode:1992SciAm.266f..70A. doi:10.1038/scientificamerican0692-70.
^Batalla Rosado, J. J. (Spring 2007). "The scribes who painted the Matrícula de Tributos and the Codex Mendoza". Ancient Mesoamerica. 18 (1): 31–51. doi:10.1017/s0956536107000077. S2CID 206292086.
^Berman, F. F.; Anawalt, P. R. (1992). "Codex Mendoza". Scientific American. 1 (6): 23. Bibcode:1992SciAm.266f..70A. doi:10.1038/scientificamerican0692-70.
Full digital facsimile with transcriptions, translations and commentary
MS. Arch. Selden. A. 1 In the Bodleian Libraries catalogue of Medieval Manuscripts
Full digital facsimile available on Digital Bodleian
March 17, 2023
codex, mendoza, aztec, codex, believed, have, been, created, around, year, 1541, contains, history, both, aztec, rulers, their, conquests, well, description, daily, life, conquest, aztec, society, codex, written, nahuatl, language, using, traditional, aztec, p. The Codex Mendoza is an Aztec codex believed to have been created around the year 1541 1 It contains a history of both the Aztec rulers and their conquests as well as a description of the daily life of pre conquest Aztec society The codex is written in the Nahuatl language using traditional Aztec pictograms with a translation and explanation of the text provided in Spanish It is named after Don Antonio de Mendoza 1495 1552 the viceroy of New Spain who supervised its creation and who was a leading patron of native artists The founding of the Aztec capital Tenochtitlan first page of the Codex Mendoza circa 1541 Mendoza knew that the ravages of the conquest had destroyed multiple native artifacts and that the craft traditions that generated them had been effaced When the Spanish crown ordered Mendoza to provide evidence of the Aztec political and tribute system he invited skilled artists and scribes who were being schooled at the Franciscan college in Tlatelolco to gather in a workshop under the supervision of Spanish priests where they could recreate the document for him and the King of Spain 2 The pictorial document that they produced became known as the Codex Mendoza it consists of seventy one folios made of Spanish paper measuring 20 6 30 6 centimeters 8 25 12 25 inches 3 The document is crafted in the native style but it now is bound at a spine in the manner of European books The codex is also known as the Codex Mendocino and La coleccion Mendoza and has been held at the Bodleian Library at Oxford University since 1659 It was removed from public exhibition on 23 December 2011 4 The Bodleian Library holds four other Mesoamerican codices Codex Bodley Codex Laud Codex Selden and the Selden Roll Contents 1 History 2 Content 2 1 Section I 2 1 1 Gallery 2 2 Section II 2 2 1 Gallery 2 3 Section III 2 3 1 Gallery 3 References 4 External linksHistory Edit The Codex Mendoza on display at the Bodleian Library The manuscript must date from after 6 July 1529 since Hernan Cortez is referred to on folio 15r as marques del Valle 5 It must have been produced before 1553 when it was in the possession of the French cosmographer Andre Thevet who wrote his name on folios 1r 2r 70v 71v The final page of the manuscript explains some of the circumstances in which it was produced 6 The reader must excuse the rough style in the interpretation of the drawings in this history because the interpreter did not take time or work at all slowly The interpreter was given this history ten days prior to the departure of the fleet and he interpreted it carelessly because the Indians came to agreement late and so it was done in haste and he did not improve the style suitable for an interpretation nor did he take time to polish the words and grammar or make a clean copy The manuscript was therefore finished in haste and designed to be sent to Spain More precise information regarding the exact date of the manuscript and the reasons it was produced is controversial The testimony of the conquistador Jeronimo Lopez probably dating from 1547 may be relevant 7 it must have been about six years ago more or less that entering one day into the home of an Indian who was called Francisco Gualpuyogualcal master of the painters I saw in his possession a book with covers of parchment and asking him what it was in secret he showed it to me and told me that he had made it by the command of Your Lordship in which he has to set down all the land since the founding of the city of Mexico and the lords that had governed and ruled until the coming of the Spaniards and the battles and clashes that they had and the taking of this great city and all the provinces that it ruled and had made subject and the assignment of these towns and provinces that was made by Montezuma to the principal lords of this city and of the fee that each one of the knights gave him from the tributes of the towns that he had and the plan that he employed in the aforesaid assignment and how he sketched the towns and provinces for it tr H B Nicholson Silvio Zavala argued that the book referred to was the Codex Mendoza 8 and his arguments were restated by Federico Gomez de Orozco 9 If this is the case then the Codex was written circa 1541 six years ago more or less from Lopez s recollection and was commissioned by Mendoza As H B Nicolson has pointed out however the description is not an exact fit for the Codex and the identification is not certain 10 According to a later account by Samuel Purchas a later owner of the Codex writing in 1625 the Spanish fleet was attacked by French privateers and all of the booty including the codex was taken to France 11 It was certainly in the possession of Andre Thevet cosmographer to King Henry II of France Thevet wrote his name in five places on the codex twice with the date 1553 It was later owned by the Englishman Richard Hakluyt According again to Samuel Purchas Hakluyt bought the Codex for 20 French francs Some time after 1616 it was passed to Samuel Purchas then to his son and then to John Selden The codex was deposited into the Bodleian Library at Oxford University in 1659 five years after Selden s death where it remained in obscurity until 1831 when it was rediscovered by Viscount Kingsborough and brought to the attention of scholars Content Edit Iconography descriptions of Codex Mendoza expanding on the foundation of Tenochtitlan as a civilization of power and authority 12 Written on European paper it contains 71 pages divided into three sections Section I folios 1r to 17r or 18r is a history of the Aztec people from 1325 through 1521 from the founding of Tenochtitlan through the Spanish conquest It lists the reign of each ruler and the towns conquered by them It is uncertain whether folios 17v and 18r belong to Section I or Section II 13 Section II folios 17v or 18v to 54v provides a list of the towns conquered by the Triple Alliance and the tributes paid by each This section is closely related to and probably copied from the Matricula de Tributos but the Codex Mendoza contains five provinces not included in the Matricula This probably represents material now missing from the Matricula but present when the Codex Mendoza was copied 14 Section III folios 56v to 71v is a pictorial depiction of the daily life of the Aztecs Folios 73 to 85 of MS Arch Selden A 1 as currently foliated do not form part of the Codex Mendoza These folios comprise an originally separate manuscript apparently written in England in the first half of the seventeenth century This manuscript contains tables of the comparative value of Roman Greek English and French money The two manuscripts were bound together in England in the early seventeenth century 15 Section I Edit Gallery Edit Folio 2 rectoFounding of Tenochtitlan Folio 4 versoConquests of Chimalpopoca Folio 5 versoConquests of Itzcoatl Folio 10 rectoConquests of Axayacatl Folio 13 rectoConquests of AhuitzotlSection II Edit Gallery Edit Folio 17 verso Folio 20 recto Folio 37 recto Folio 43 recto Folio 46 recto Folio 47 recto Folio 52 rectoSection III Edit Gallery Edit Folio 57 recto A birth of a baby Folio 58 recto Folio 60 recto Punishments and chores of children ages 11 to 14 Folio 61 recto top 15 year old boys beginning training in the military or the priesthood bottom A 15 year old girl gets married Folio 62 recto top rest Participation of students and punishments for misbehavior bottom Preparation to warriorhood Folio 64 recto top Duties of novice priests bottom Ranks awarded to warriors Folio 65 recto top Ranks award to priest warriors bottom Imperial officers Folio 67 recto top Warriors scout a town at night in preparation for an attack middle Negotiations after surrender bottom High ranking commanders Folio 69 rectoMoctezuma II s palaceReferences Edit Berdan F F Anawalt P R 1992 Codex Mendoza Scientific American 1 6 70 Bibcode 1992SciAm 266f 70A doi 10 1038 scientificamerican0692 70 Carrasco David 1999 City of Sacrifice The Aztec Empire and the Role of Violence in Civilization p 19 Anawalt Patricia 2001 Codex Mendoza In Carrasco David L ed The Oxford Encyclopedia of Mesoamerican Cultures The Civilizations of Mexico and Central America vol 1 New York Oxford University Press pp 72 73 ISBN 978 0 19 514255 6 OCLC 872326807 Bodleian Treasures Codex Mendoza The Bodleian Library Berdan F F Anawalt P R 1992 Codex Mendoza Scientific American 1 6 5 Bibcode 1992SciAm 266f 70A doi 10 1038 scientificamerican0692 70 Berdan F F Anawalt P R 1997 The Essential Codex Mendoza p 148 ISBN 9780520204546 Berdan F F Anawalt P R 1992 Codex Mendoza Scientific American 1 6 70 Bibcode 1992SciAm 266f 70A doi 10 1038 scientificamerican0692 70 Zavala Silvio 1938 Las encomiendas de Nueva Espana y el gobierno de don Antonio de Mendoza Revista de Historia de America 1 59 75 Gomez de Orozco Federico 1941 Quien fue el autor material del Codice Mendocino y quien su interprete Revista Mexicana de Estudios Antropologicos 5 43 52 Berdan F F Anawalt P R 1992 Codex Mendoza Scientific American 1 6 2 Bibcode 1992SciAm 266f 70A doi 10 1038 scientificamerican0692 70 Berdan F F Anawalt P R 1992 Codex Mendoza Scientific American 1 6 7 Bibcode 1992SciAm 266f 70A doi 10 1038 scientificamerican0692 70 Carrasco David 1981 City as Symbol in Aztec Thought The Clues from the Codex Mendoza History of Religions 20 3 199 223 ISSN 0018 2710 Berdan F F Anawalt P R 1992 Codex Mendoza Scientific American 1 6 55 6 Bibcode 1992SciAm 266f 70A doi 10 1038 scientificamerican0692 70 Batalla Rosado J J Spring 2007 The scribes who painted the Matricula de Tributos and the Codex Mendoza Ancient Mesoamerica 18 1 31 51 doi 10 1017 s0956536107000077 S2CID 206292086 Berman F F Anawalt P R 1992 Codex Mendoza Scientific American 1 6 23 Bibcode 1992SciAm 266f 70A doi 10 1038 scientificamerican0692 70 Berdan Frances F Anawalt Patricia Rieff 1997 The Essential Codex Mendoza University of California Press ISBN 978 0 520 20454 6 Ross Kurt 1978 Codex Mendoza Aztec Manuscript Berdan F F Anawalt P R 1992 The Codex Mendoza Berkeley University of California Press ISBN 9780520062344 Kupriienko Sergii Talakh Viktor 2013 2013 Codex Mendoza russian ed Kyiv Vidavec Kupriyenko S A ISBN 978 617 7085 00 2 Retrieved 4 September 2013 External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Codex Mendoza Mexico portalA description of the Codex Review of The Essential Codex Mendoza Details of public exhibition Full digital facsimile with transcriptions translations and commentary MS Arch Selden A 1 In the Bodleian Libraries catalogue of Medieval Manuscripts Full digital facsimile available on Digital Bodleian Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Codex Mendoza amp oldid 1142133088, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
