Aztec Codices
The Aztec Codices (singular Codex ) are illuminated manuscripts written by the Aztecs in the form of pictograms and ideograms . These are painted or illustrated books in which mainly historical and mythical events, but also calendars and information about tributes and origins were recorded . These codices serve today as important sources for the culture and life of the Aztecs.
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Manufacturing
The codices were painted either on specially prepared animal skins (e.g. deerskin) or on Amatl , obtained from the bark of the fig tree . A kind of canvas could also be made from cotton cloth , which was also used for the codices. Natural colors were used for the lettering and painting , with the individual sides being painted on both sides. After completion, the manuscripts were folded into books in zigzag folds ( leporello folds ).
Pictorial font
In the pre-colonial period, the Aztec language - the Nahuatl - did not have an alphabet in the European sense. It was not until the Spanish colonization that the Nahuatl became literate. However, since codices continued to be produced after the colonization (mostly under the supervision of the Spaniards), a distinction is now made between pre-Columbian codices with only images in the form of pictograms and ideograms, and codices from the colonial era, in which both pictograms and the alphabetized Nahuatl (and sometimes Latin ) was used.
destruction
Immediately after their arrival, the Spaniards destroyed a large part of the pre-Columbian codices (see also the main article Spanish Conquest of Mexico ), and only a small part ended up as collectibles in European museums and libraries. The main reason for this extensive destruction was the repressive Christianization of the indigenous population, whose cultures and religions were considered inferior by the Spanish conquerors.
Only after the complete subjugation of the Aztecs did the interest of the European conquerors in the Aztec culture slowly develop (especially through people like Bernardino de Sahagún ) and so the tradition of codex painters was able to continue into the colonial era. A large part of the Aztec codices known today originate from this period. During this time, copies or transcripts of pre-Columbian codices that had already been destroyed were made.
Overview of the codices
Codex Borbonicus
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The Codex Borbonicus was made by Aztec priests around the time of the Spanish invasion. In the original it does not contain any Latin characters, but only consists of pictograms. Only later were individual descriptions added by the Spanish.
This codex consists of three parts:
- A fortune telling calendar ( Tonalamatl )
- A description of the 52 year cycles
- A description of rituals and ceremonies
Codex Boturini
(also: Tira de la Peregrinación Azteca )
The Codex Boturini, named after Lorenzo Boturini de Benaducci (1702–1755), was made by an unknown Aztec between 1530 and 1541, about a decade after the Spanish conquest. It describes the story of the legendary migration of the Aztecs from Aztlán (the mythological homeland of the Aztecs) into the Valley of Mexico .
In contrast to many other Aztec codices, the drawings are not colored, but made with black ink. Short glosses in Latin script that were added later can be found on individual pages. The content is closely related to the Aubin Codex .
Codex Mendoza
The Codex Mendoza was about 1541-1542 on behalf de Antonio Mendoza for Charles V made. It contains important information about the origins, wars and beliefs of the Aztecs. The Codex Mendoza has the format 32.7 × 22.9 cm and consists of 71 pages. It is now in Oxford in the Bodleian Library under the call number MS. Arch. Selden. A. 1.
Codex Florentinus
The Codex Florentinus is one of two editions of the "Historia General de las Cosas de la Nueva España" by Bernardino de Sahagún (1499–1590).
Around 1540 Bernardino de Sahagún was commissioned to write an encyclopedia on "all the important things in New Spain" . The twelve-volume work entitled “Historia general de las cosas de Nueva España” was completed in 1569 and is bilingual in Spanish and Nahuatl. These are mainly copies and transcripts of original materials that were probably destroyed during the Spanish conquest.
The work contains illustrated sagas and legends of the Aztecs, information about religion and mythology, the Aztec calendar and flora and fauna. It is still considered to be one of the main sources about the life and culture of the Aztecs.
Codex Nuttall
The Codex Nuttall (also Codex Zouche-Nuttall) is one of the still preserved pre-Columbian illuminated manuscripts of the Mixtecs , probably from the 14th century.
Codex Osuna
The Codex Osuna was made between January and August 1565 and consists of seven parts. Originally, this codex consisted only of pictograms; it was not until the Spanish made comments in Nahuatl. It is now in Madrid in the Biblioteca Nacional de España .
Codex Magliabechiano
The Codex Magliabechiano was drawn up around the middle of the 16th century and consists of 92 pages on European paper. It is primarily a religious work that describes the ritual calendar Tonalpohualli ( counting the day ), the 52-year cycle , various deities and rites.
This codex is named after Antonio Magliabechi , an Italian manuscript collector of the 17th century. Today the codex is in the Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale in Florence .
Codex Aubin
The Codex Aubin, named after Joseph Marius Alexis Aubin (1802-1891), was probably started around 1576 and consists of 81 leaves. It describes the history of the Aztecs in pictograms, beginning at their legendary place of origin Aztlán up to the time of Spanish colonization.
Among other things, a description of the massacre during the destruction of the Temple of Tenochtitlan on May 10, 1520 is included. This codex is in the Bibliothèque nationale de France in Paris.
Codex Cozcatzin
The Codex Cozcatzin is a bound manuscript consisting of 18 sheets on European paper. The work is dated 1572, although it was probably made later. Most of this codex consists of pictograms but has short passages with descriptions in Spanish and Nahuatl.
The first part contains a list of Itzcóatl's land holdings and is part of a complaint against Diego Mendoza . In addition, historical and genealogical information is recorded. The last page consists of astronomical descriptions in Spanish.
This codex was named after Don Juan Luis Cozcatzin, who is referred to in this codex as “alcalde ordinario de esta ciudad de México” (“ Ordinary Mayor of the City of Mexico ”). Today the Codex Cozcatzin is in the Bibliothèque nationale de France in Paris.
Codex Ixtlilxochitl
The Codex Ixtlilxochitl is a fragment from the 17th century, consisting of 50 pages including 27 separate sheets of European paper with 29 drawings. It contains, among other things, descriptions of the calendar of annual festivals and rituals of the Aztecs.
This codex was named after Fernando de Alva Cortés Ixtlilxochitl , a member of the ruling family in Texcoco , and is now in the Bibliothèque nationale de France in Paris.
Libellus de Medicinalibus Indorum Herbis
(also Codex Badianus , Codex de la Cruz-Badiano or Codex Barberini )
When Libellus de Medicinalibus Indorum Herbis ( Latin : " book of medicinal herbs of the Indians ") is an herb book of herbal medicine whose effects are described in the various plants and.
The work was originally written by Martín de la Cruz in Nahuatl in 1552 , this version has been lost. The text was then translated into Latin by Juan Badiano . Both authors were Indians from Xochimilco who had been trained at the Colegio de Santa Cruz in Tlatelolco , led by Franciscans . The manuscript was commissioned by the then head of the Colegios for the son of Viceroy Antonio de Mendoza . Mendoza sent the manuscript to Spain, where it went to the Royal Library. Via numerous intermediate stops it came to the library of the Italian Cardinal Francesco Barberini , which was added to the Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana in 1902 and was kept under the signature Codex Barberinus Latinus 241. In 1990 Pope John Paul II arranged for the manuscript to be “returned” to Mexico ; since then he has been in Mexico at the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia.
Other codices
- Codex Azcatitlan - historical illuminated manuscript on Aztec history
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Codex Borgia - pre-Columbian ritual code. The name is also used for a number of codices called the "Borgia Group":
- Codex Fejérváry-Mayer - pre-Columbian calendar code (Free Public Museum, Liverpool)
- Codex Laud (Bodleian Library at Oxford University)
- Codex Ríos , or Codex Vaticanus A (also Codex Vaticanus 3738 )
- Codex Vaticanus 3773 , or Codex Vaticanus B
- Codex Cospi
- Codex Quetzalecatzin - map from the early days of the Spanish conquest
- Ramírez Codex - History of the Aztecs, written by Juan de Tovar
- Codex Telleriano-Remensis - Calendar and History of the Aztecs
- Anales de Tlatelolco - anonymous historical text in Náhuatl on Aztec history
- Codex Xolotl - historical illuminated manuscript about the Texcoco region
See also
literature
- Karl Anton Nowotny, Jacqueline de Durand-Forest (ed.): Codex Borbonicus. Bibliothèque de l'Assemblée Nationale, Paris (Y 120) (= Codices Selecti . Volume 44 ). Complete facsimile edition of the Codex in the original format. Academic Printing and Publishing Establishment, Vienna 1974, ISBN 3-201-00901-6 .
- History of the Aztecs. Codex Aubin and related documents. Aztec text. = Annals of Tenochtitlan (= source works on the ancient history of America recorded in the languages of the natives. Vol. 13). Translated and explained by Walter Lehmann and Gerdt Kutscher; completed and introduced by Günter Vollmer. Mann, Berlin 1981, ISBN 3-7861-3019-1 .
- Elizabeth Hill Boone, Walter D. Mignolo (Eds.): Writing Without Words. Alternative Literacies in Mesoamerica and the Andes . Duke University Press, Durham et al. 1994, ISBN 0-8223-1377-4 .
