Mysterious festivals and ancient rituals adopted in the new faith: a rare glimpse into the Christianization of ancient Mexico
Codex Cospi
Mexico

Codex Cospi
Mexico
Pre-Columbian tabular calendars connected by a series of pictures and detailed descriptions of rituals
Dates for the rituals are no longer selected according to the old calendar but Christian holy days instead
Artistic echoes from the ceramics of the Nochistlan in the Mixteca Alta, but also the Cholula Tlaxcala
Codex Cospi
- Codex Bologna
Short Description
The Codex Cospi is a 17th century manuscript that is part of the so-called Codex-Borgia-Group. Its artistic style has been influenced by that of the Nochistlan and the Cholula Tlaxcala and has been invaluable for preserving certain ancient rites, even bearing a calendar for calculating the holidays of the festive year.
Codex Cospi
The Codex Cospi is a brilliantly illuminated manuscript and belongs to one of the five so-called Codex-Borgia-Group. The manuscript is well preserved, painted on rawhide and protected by two covers from the 17th century, which probably replaced former wood covers. The artistic style of the Codex Cospi bears relation not only to the painted ceramics of the Nochistlan in the Mixteca Alta, but also to the style of the Cholula Tlaxcala. The evaluation of style is challenged by an archaeological problem which through excavations to date has been only partially solved. The front section of the Codex Cospi consists of three parts in which calendar arrangements in tabular form are connected by sequences of pictures. The original empty pages of the back section were at a later date inscribed by hand. Such rituals have been preserved to the present through different acculturative aspects. The selection of days for the rituals is no longer made according to the old calendar but rather according to the different Christian holy days.
Codicology
- Alternative Titles
- Codex Bologna
- Origin
- Mexico
- Epochs
- Style
- Illustrations
- 20 leaves painted on both sides
1 available facsimile edition(s) of „Codex Cospi“
Codex Cospi
- Publisher
- Akademische Druck- u. Verlagsanstalt (ADEVA) – Graz, 1968
- Binding
- Encased in box with leather spine.
- Commentary
-
1 volume (32 pages) by K. A. Nowotny
Language: German - More Information
- Introduction and summary: K. A. Nowotny, Cologne, 32 pp., 1 plate.
Matching Works
Vaticinia Pontificum of Benozzo Gozzoli
Inspiration for even the great Nostradamus: 30 impressively illustrated prophecies about the fate of the popes
Experience MoreMatching Background Articles
Mythology
Would you like to follow in the footsteps of heroes from Greek and Roman mythology or serve King Arthur by seeking the...Experience moreProphecy
Do you wish to know the unknowable? So did medieval prophets, who attempted everything from predicting the fate of the...Experience morePre-Columbian
Have you ever wondered what life was like in the America’s before the arrival of Europeans? The manuscripts of the...Experience moreAstronomy / Astrology
Do the constellations capture your imagination the way they did the imaginations of medieval star-gazers? These beautiful...Experience more
- Treatises / Secular Books
- Apocalypses / Beatus
- Astronomy / Astrology
- Bestiaries
- Bibles / Gospels
- Chronicles / History / Law
- Geography / Maps
- Saints' Lives
- Islam / Oriental
- Judaism / Hebrew
- Single Leaf Collections
- Leonardo da Vinci
- Literature / Poetry
- Liturgical Manuscripts
- Medicine / Botany / Alchemy
- Music
- Mythology / Prophecies
- Psalters
- Other Religious Books
- Games / Hunting
- Private Devotion Books
- Other Genres
- Aboca Museum
- Akademische Druck- u. Verlagsanstalt (ADEVA)
- Aldo Ausilio Editore - Bottega d’Erasmo
- Alecto Historical Editions
- Ars Magna
- ArtCodex
- AyN Ediciones
- Bärenreiter-Verlag
- Belser Verlag
- Belser Verlag / WK Wertkontor
- Bernardinum Wydawnictwo
- BiblioGemma
- Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana (Vaticanstadt, Vaticanstadt)
- Bibliotheca Palatina Faksimile Verlag
- Bibliotheca Rara
- CAPSA, Ars Scriptoria
- Circulo Cientifico
- Club Bibliófilo Versol
- CM Editores
- Collezione Apocrifa Da Vinci
- Comissão Nacional para as Comemorações dos Descobrimentos Portugueses
- Coron Verlag
- De Agostini/UTET
- DIAMM
- E. Schreiber Graphische Kunstanstalten
- Ediciones Boreal
- Ediciones Grial
- Edilan
- Editalia
- Edition Leipzig
- Edition Libri Illustri
- Editiones Reales Sitios S. L.
- Editions Medicina Rara
- Editorial Mintzoa
- Egeria, S.L.
- Extraordinary Editions
- Facsimile Editions Ltd.
- Facsimilia Art & Edition Ebert KG
- Faksimile Verlag
- Franco Cosimo Panini Editore
- Fundación Hullera Vasco-Leonesa
- Giunti Editore
- Graffiti
- Grafica European Center of Fine Arts
- Helikon
- Herder Verlag
- Hes & De Graaf Publishers
- Hugo Schmidt Verlag
- Idion Verlag
- Il Bulino, edizioni d'arte
- Imago
- Insel Verlag
- Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana - Treccani
- Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato
- Johnson Reprint Corporation
- Kaydeda Ediciones
- La Meta Editore
- Leo S. Olschki
- Libreria Musicale Italiana
- Lumen Artis
- M. Moleiro Editor
- Manuscriptum
- Millennium Liber
- Nova Charta
- Orbis Mediaevalis
- Orbis Pictus
- Österreichische Staatsdruckerei
- Patrimonio Ediciones
- PIAF
- Popyläen Verlag
- Prestel Verlag
- Priuli & Verlucca, editori
- Pro Sport Verlag
- Pytheas Books
- Quaternio Verlag Luzern
- Reales Sitios
- Reichert Verlag
- Roberto Vattori Editore
- Salerno Editrice
- Schöck ArtPrint Kft.
- Scrinium
- Scripta Maneant
- Scriptorium
- Siloé, arte y bibliofilia
- Styria Verlag
- Tempus Libri
- Testimonio Compañía Editorial
- The Clear Vue Publishing Partnership Limited
- The Facsimile Codex
- The Folio Society
- Tip.Le.Co
- TouchArt
- Trident Editore
- Vallecchi
- Van Wijnen
- Vicent Garcia Editores
- Wiener Mechitharisten-Congregation (Wien, Österreich)
- Yushodo