Two of the worlds leading scholars of the aztec language and culture have translated sahaguns monumental and encyclopedic study. Book two gives comprehensive accounts of the religious ceremonies and days of feasting during the time of the aztecs, including prayers, songs, and the duties and roles of aztecs inside the. This volume contains a reproduction of the 1840 published edition in spanish of this version, and a reproduction, transcript, and translation of a nineteenth century manuscript of it. We refer to the work of sahagun and his collaborators as the florentine codex because of its presentday location. Book three describes in detail the excitingand sometimes bloody origin stories of uitzilopochtli, titlacauan, and quetzalcoatl. The bestpreserved manuscript is commonly referred to as the florentine codex, as the codex is held in the laurentian library of florence, italy. Sahagun organized the codex into 12 topicspecific books and included a foreword entitled primeros memoriales. World digital library adds florentine codex library of congress. Florentine codex, general history of the things of new spain. One such tome is the florentine codex, which is a set of 12 books that detail many of the inner workings of the mayan empire. The general history of the things of new spain, by bernardino. The soothsayersthe omens two of the world s leading scholars of the aztec language and culture have translated sahagun s monumental and encyclopedic study of native life in mexico at the time of the spanish conquest. General history of the things of new spain, introductions and indices, arthur j. Two of the worlds leading scholars of the aztec language and culture hav.
General history of the things of new spain by fray bernardino. Two of the worlds leading scholars of the aztec language and culture have translated sahaguns. A general history of the things of new spain 2nd revised ed. This lesson explores sahagun s life, as well as the creation of the codex. The medici family of florence, italy, assumed ownership of the manuscript no later than 1588. As he wrote in the prologue to book i of his work, the mexicans are held to. An early version of sahaguns account of the spanish conquest of mexico is incorporated in his florentine codex 157677, but he kept revising it until 1585. Commonly called the florentine codex, the manuscript came into the possession of the medici no later than 1588.
Florentine codex project gutenberg selfpublishing ebooks. The manuscript, now known to scholars as the florentine codex, is of inestimable value not only for its lavish illustrations and plentiful information about prehispanic. Dibble formatbinding hardcover book condition used very good jacket condition no jacket binding. During this period, the university at salamanca was strongly influenced by erasmus, and was a center for spanish franciscan intellectual life. The conquest of mexico florentine codex, a general history of. How it got from spain to italy and into the laurentian library in florence we can only conjecture. Please practice handwashing and social distancing, and check out our resources for adapting to these times. The florentine codex is divided by subject area into twelve books and includes over 2,000 illustrations drawn by nahua artists in the sixteenth century. Fray sahaguns work is without parallel and this is the only hardcover edition of his. The florentine codex viewer world digital library stay safe and healthy. Book one describes in detail the gods of the aztec people, including uitzilopochtli, tlatoc, and quetzalcoatl. He attended the university of salamanca, where he was exposed to the currents of renaissance humanism. Book 1, the gods book 1, the gods anderson, arthur j. Exactly when and under what circumstances the book traveled from madrid to florence is unclear.