Codex Mendoza

The manuscript must date from after 6 July 1529, since Hernán Cortés is referred to on folio 15r as 'marques del Valle'. 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. 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. Silvio Zavala argued that the book referred to was the Codex Mendoza, and his arguments were restated by Federico Gómez de Orozco. If this is the case, then the Codex was written ('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. 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. 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 ==

File:Codex Mendoza Page 1 Annotations.png|thumb|Iconography descriptions of Codex Mendoza expanding on the foundation of Tenochtitlan as a civilization of power and authority. 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. • 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. • 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. Section I Gallery Image:Codex Mendoza folio 2r.jpg|Folio 2 rectoFounding of Tenochtitlan Image:Codex Mendoza folio 4v.jpg|Folio 4 versoConquests of Chimalpopoca Image:Codex Mendoza folio 5v.jpg|Folio 5 versoConquests of Itzcoatl Image:Codex Mendoza folio 10r.jpg|Folio 10 rectoConquests of Axayacatl Image:Codex Mendoza folio 13r.jpg|Folio 13 rectoConquests of Ahuitzotl Section II Gallery Image:Codex Mendoza folio 17v.jpg|Folio 17 verso Image:Codex Mendoza folio 20r.jpg|Folio 20 recto Image:Codex Mendoza folio 37r.jpg|Folio 37 recto Image:Codex Mendoza folio 43r.jpg|Folio 43 recto Image:Codex Mendoza folio 46r.jpg|Folio 46 recto Image:Codex Mendoza folio 47r.jpg|Folio 47 recto Image:Codex Mendoza folio 52r.jpg|Folio 52 recto Section III Gallery File:Codex Mendoza folio 57r.jpg|Folio 57 recto, A birth of a baby File:Codex Mendoza folio 58r.jpg|Folio 58 recto File:Codex Mendoza folio 60r.jpg|Folio 60 recto, Punishments and chores of children, ages 11 to 14 File:Codex Mendoza folio 61r.jpg|Folio 61 recto(top) 15-year-old boys beginning training in the military or the priesthood(bottom) A 15-year-old girl gets married File:Codex Mendoza folio 62r.jpg|Folio 62 recto, (top rest) Participation of students and punishments for misbehavior (bottom) Preparation to warriorhood File:Codex Mendoza folio 64r.jpg|Folio 64 recto(top) Duties of novice priests(bottom) Ranks awarded to warriors File:Codex Mendoza folio 65r.png|Folio 65 recto(top) Ranks award to priest-warriors(bottom) Imperial officers File:Codex Mendoza folio 67r.jpg|Folio 67 recto(top) Warriors scout a town at night in preparation for an attack(middle) Negotiations after surrender.(bottom) High-ranking commanders File:Codex Mendoza folio 69r.jpg|Folio 69 rectoMoctezuma II's palace == See also ==