Codex Laud

Codex Laud

Dating from shortly before the arrival of the Spanish in Mexico, the Codex Laud is a Mesoamerican religious almanac noteworthy for its artistic quality. The manuscript is divided into eleven sections and consists of 46 full-page pictographic miniatures depicting various deities of the Aztec-Toltec pantheon, the 260-day calendarial cycle known as the tonalpohualli with symbols for the days of the month, and rituals including the initiation of priests and the passage into the afterlife. It is remarkable for being preserved in virtually flawless condition and is undamaged by water, fire, or zealous Catholic censors.
Today, the best-preserved pre-Columbian manuscript in the world is stored alongside four other Mesoamerican codices in Oxford’s famous Bodleian Library. In terms of format, page number, coloring, and style, it is similar to two other illuminated Mesoamerican manuscripts: the Codex Fejervary-Mayer and the Codex Cospi. The Codex Laud is named after its last owner William Laud, the Archbishop of Canterbury and Chancellor of the University of Oxford, who acquired the manuscript in 1636 and donated it to the university soon thereafter.

An Exemplary Specimen of Mesoamerican Book Art

Although it is unclear precisely where it was made and by whom, the Codex Laud appears to have been painted in two stages and exhibits influences from the Cuicatec, Mazatec, Nahua, and Mixtec traditions. The wooden covers were added at a later date. Numerous depictions of mercantile activities indicate that the manuscript originated from an important market town. It consists of 24 leaves made from deer hide although it appears to be incomplete, and it is not known how large the manuscript originally was. Like most pre-Columbian manuscripts, it has a leporello screenfold binding with the leaves attached end to end so that it measures four meters in length when unfolded.
What truly distinguishes the work, aside from its immaculate state of preservation, is its well-designed and executed artistic program. Neatly drawn black outlines are filled in with blue, red, and yellow paints and the pages are neatly divided by think red lines that appear to have been drawn using drafting tools like a T-square. Various geometric patterns have been drawn with the same degree of precision and the overall execution of the miniatures, some of which are brilliant full-page depictions of the gods, point to an artist with formal training.