Codex Ixtlilxochitl

The esoteric rituals performed by the Aztecs atop their massive pyramids are detailed in this manuscript
It details inter alia a religious calendar with a god representing each of the 18 months of the Aztec year
Named after Fernando de Alva Cortés Ixtlilxochitl (ca. 1568/80–1648), an author and member of the ruling family of Texcoco

Codex Ixtlilxochitl

Ms. Mex. 65-71 Bibliothèque nationale de France (Paris, France)

Description

Codex Ixtlilxochitl

29 color facsimile pages and 21 black-and-white pages provide valuable insights into the long-dead world of Mexico as it appeared before and shortly after the Spanish conquest. This is exemplified by the Xiuhpohualli, a solar calendar used by the Aztecs in pre-Columbian times: it consists of 18 months, each lasting 20 days, plus a period of 5 days at the end of the year, but these were considered to be ominous. Also depicted are rituals that this advanced civilization performed in the area of present-day Mexico City. Among the illustrations are captions in Spanish explaining an image or translating words in Nahua. The manuscript was named after Fernando de Alva Cortés Ixtlilxochitl (ca. 1568-1648). He wanted to show in his famous historical works that the history of the indigenous population is by no means inferior to that of the European colonizers.

Codex Ixtlilxochitl

The Codex Ixtlilxochitl is an early 17th century fragment detailing, among other subjects, a calendar of the annual festivals and rituals celebrated at the Aztec teocalli ("pyramids") during the Mexican calendar year. Each of the 18 months is represented by a god or an historical character. Written in Spanish, the Codex Ixtlilxochitl has 50 pages comprising 27 separate sheets of European paper with 29 illustrations. It was derived from the same source as the Codex Magliabechiano. It was named after Fernando de Alva Cortés Ixtlilxochitl (between 1568 & 1578 – c. 1650), the author of Obras Historicas and a member of the ruling family of Texcoco, and is held in the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris. The manuscript consists of four different sections, all written out and illustrated on European paper, of which at least the first section is fragmentary. Sections 1–3 have been reproduced in the original colors, section 4 is in b/w.

Codicology

Alternative Titles: Codex of Fernando de Alva Ixtlilxóchitl
Codex des Fernando de Alva Ixtlilxóchitl
Aubin Manuscript
Codex Aubin
Codex Goupil
Type: Manuscript on paper
Size / Format: 50 pages / 34.0 × 24.5 cm
Origin: Colombia
Date: End of the 16th century or beginning of the 17th century
Epochs: Late Middle Ages Onwards
Style: Pre-Columbian
Renaissance
Genre: Mythology / Prophecies
Astronomy / Astrology
Language: Spanish
Script: Cursive
Illustrations: 29 full- and half-page illustrations
Content: Calendar of the annual festivals and rituals of the Aztecs
Artist / School: Fernando de Alva Cortés Ixtlilxóchitl (between 1568 and 1580 – 1648)
Previous Owners: Carlos de Sigüenza y Gòngara (1645 – 1700)
Colegio de San Pedro y San Pablo
Lorenzo Boturini Benaduci (1698–1749)
Juan de Santelizes Pablo
Joseph Marius Alexis Aubin (1802–91)
E. Eugene Goupil (1831–96)

Available facsimile editions:

Facsimile Editions

#1 Codex Ixtlilxochitl

Akademische Druck- u. Verlagsanstalt (ADEVA) – Graz, 1976

Publisher: Akademische Druck- u. Verlagsanstalt (ADEVA) – Graz, 1976

Binding: Grey cloth with embossing

Commentary: 1 volume (36 pages) by Jacqueline de Durand-Forest
Languages: French, English, Spanish

Facsimile Copy Available!

Price Category: €
(under 1,000€)

Inquire current price here or ask a different question

You might also be interested in:

Codex Borbonicus

Mexico – 16th century

Created on the eve of the Spanish conquests: an Aztec divination calendar and invaluable testimony to the language, religion, and culture of Mexico before the Europeans arrived

Experience More

Codex Borgia

Possibly area of Puebla-Tlaxcala-Cholula (Mexico) – 15th century

Painted and folded sheets with a total length of almost 11 meters: a richly illuminated testimony to the seemingly strange world of ancient Mexico before the arrival of the Conquistadores

Experience More

Codex Fejérváry-Mayer

Veracruz (Mexico)

A pre-Columbian masterpiece with a unique painting style: precious evidence of a lost world, today part of the famous Borgia Group of Aztec manuscripts

Experience More

Codex Laud

Mexico – 16th century

Of priceless historical value for understanding an advanced civilization that seems strange to us: detailed depictions of the mystical gods of the legendary Aztec empire

Experience More

Tudela Codex

Mexico – Mid 16th century

Insights into a long-lost world: a unique testimony to the religion, clothing, rituals and language of the Aztecs and one of the most important cultural-historical sources for the time before the colonization of their empire

Experience More

Codex Mendoza

Mexico City (Mexico) – Ca. 1541

The concrete and vivid insight into Aztec society before the European conquest: their rulers, their territories, their own conquests, and the tributes paid to them

Experience More

Blog articles worth reading