Top of page

Book/Printed Material General History of the Things of New Spain by Fray Bernardino de Sahagún: The Florentine Codex. Introduction, Indices, and Book I: The Gods. Libro primero, en que se trata, de los dioses que adorauan, los naturales, desta tierra: que es la nueua españa

About this Item

Title

  • General History of the Things of New Spain by Fray Bernardino de Sahagún: The Florentine Codex. Introduction, Indices, and Book I: The Gods.

Other Title

  • Libro primero, en que se trata, de los dioses que adorauan, los naturales, desta tierra: que es la nueua españa

Summary

  • Historia general de las cosas de nueva España (General history of the things of New Spain) is an encyclopedic work about the people and culture of central Mexico compiled by Fray Bernardino de Sahagún (1499--1590), a Franciscan missionary who arrived in Mexico in 1529, eight years after completion of the Spanish conquest by Hernan Cortés. Commonly referred to as the Florentine Codex, the manuscript consists of 12 books devoted to different topics. Sahagún followed the typology of earlier medieval works in organizing his research into "the divine, human, and natural things" of New Spain and addressing these topics in order. Book I thus deals with the gods. It describes the principal deities in the Aztec pantheon, listing their distinctive physical features, attire, main functions, and the festivals dedicated to them. To make these gods more comprehensible to European readers, Sahagún sometimes likens them to figures from Greek and Roman mythology. Huitzilopochtli ("Uitzilobuchtli" in the codex) is called "another Hercules," Tezcatlipoca "another Jupiter." Huitzilopochtli was the patron god of the Aztecs, who guided them on their pilgrimage from Aztlán, the mythical "white land" of their origins, to the "promised land," where in 1325 they founded the city of Tenochtitlan. He was the god of war and of the sun, huge, immensely strong, and warlike, and to him was dedicated one of the two shrines of the Templo Mayor (Great Pyramid) of Tenochtitlan. The other shrine was dedicated to Tlaloc, the lord of rain, who lived on the highest mountains where clouds form and was associated with the agricultural world and the fertility of the land. Huitzilopochtli, Tlaloc, and two other major gods are depicted on folio 10r. For Sahagún, religion was the key to Aztec civilization. As he wrote in the prologue to Book I, "in religion and the adoration of their gods, I do not believe that there have ever been idolaters more devoted to their gods, nor at such great cost to themselves as these [people] of New Spain."

Names

  • Sahagún, Bernardino de, 1499-1590 Creator.

Created / Published

  • [place of publication not identified] : [publisher not identified], 1577.

Headings

  • -  Mexico
  • -  1300 to 1577
  • -  Aztec gods
  • -  Aztec mythology
  • -  Aztecs
  • -  Codex
  • -  Florentine Codex
  • -  Indians of Mexico
  • -  Indigenous peoples
  • -  Mesoamerica
  • -  Mythology, Greek
  • -  Mythology, Roman

Notes

  • -  Title devised, in English, by Library staff.
  • -  Original resource extent: Bound as part of volume 1. Ink on paper ; 310 x 212 millimeters.
  • -  Reference extracted from World Digital Library: Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana, The World of the Aztecs in the Florentine Codex, (Mandragora: 2007).
  • -  Original resource at: Medicea Laurenziana Library, Florence.
  • -  Content in Coatepec Nahuatl and Spanish.
  • -  Description based on data extracted from World Digital Library, which may be extracted from partner institutions.

Medium

  • 1 online resource.

Source Collection

  • Florentine Codex

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • 2021667846

Online Format

  • compressed data
  • pdf
  • image

Additional Metadata Formats

IIIF Presentation Manifest

Rights & Access

The Library of Congress is unaware of any copyright or other restrictions in the World Digital Library Collection. Absent any such restrictions, these materials are free to use and reuse. Researchers are encouraged to review the source information attached to each item. For information on contacting WDL partner organizations, see this archived list of partners

The Library asks that researchers approach the materials in this collection with respect for the culture and sensibilities of the people whose lives, ideas, and creativity are documented here.

Credit Line: [Original Source citation], World Digital Library

More about Copyright and other Restrictions

For additional information and contact information for many of the partner organizations, see this archived capture of the World Digital Library site from 2021.

For guidance about compiling full citations consult Citing Primary Sources.

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Sahagún, Bernardino De, Creator. General History of the Things of New Spain by Fray Bernardino de Sahagún: The Florentine Codex. Introduction, Indices, and Book I: The Gods. [Place of Publication Not Identified: Publisher Not Identified, 1577] Pdf. https://www.loc.gov/item/2021667846/.

APA citation style:

Sahagún, B. D. (1577) General History of the Things of New Spain by Fray Bernardino de Sahagún: The Florentine Codex. Introduction, Indices, and Book I: The Gods. [Place of Publication Not Identified: Publisher Not Identified] [Pdf] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2021667846/.

MLA citation style:

Sahagún, Bernardino De, Creator. General History of the Things of New Spain by Fray Bernardino de Sahagún: The Florentine Codex. Introduction, Indices, and Book I: The Gods. [Place of Publication Not Identified: Publisher Not Identified, 1577] Pdf. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/2021667846/>.