Vous êtes sur la page 1sur 6

AUBIN CODEX

The Aubin Codex is a textual and pictorial history of the Aztecs from their departure from Aztlán through
the Spanish conquest to the early Spanish colonial period, ending in 1607. Consisting of 81 leaves, it was
most likely begun in 1576, it is possible that Fray Diego Durán supervised its preparation, since it was
published in 1867 as Historia de las Indias de Nueva-España y isles de Tierra Firme, listing Durán as the
author.

Among other topics, the Aubin Codex has a native description of the massacre at the temple in
Tenochtitlan in 1520.

Also called "Manuscrito de 1576" (“The Manuscript of 1576”), this codex is held by the British Museum in
London. A copy of the original is held at thePrinceton University library in the Robert Garrett Collection
there.

Aubin Codex
The Aubin Codex is a pictorial history of the Aztecs from their departure from Aztlán through theSpanish
conquest to the early Spanish colonial period, ending in 1607. Consisting of 81 leaves, it was most likely
begun in 1576, it is possible that Fray Diego Durán supervised its preparation, since it was published in
1867 as Historia de las Indias de Nueva-España y isles de Tierra Firme, listing Durán as the author.

Among other topics, the Aubin Codex has a native description of the massacre at the temple in
Tenochtitlan in 1520.

Also called "Manuscrito de 1576" (“The Manuscript of 1576”), this codex is held by the British Museum
and a copy of its commentary at theBibliothèque Nationale de France. A copy of the original is held at
the Princeton University library in the Robert Garrett Collection there. The Aubin Codex is not to be
confused with the similarly named Aubin Tonalamatl.
http://libweb5.princeton.edu/mssimages/meso-garrett1.html

Garrett Mesoamerican Manuscripts, no. 1

Title: Codex Aubin

Date: 1775-1825

Language(s): Nahuatl and Spanish

SCOPE AND CONTENTS

Manuscript copy of the drawings and the Nahuatl text of the "Codex Aubin," a
Mexican Indian pictorial chronicle of Aztec history from the Valley of Mexico of
"Ca," composed at different dates and by different authors, with drawings and Nahuatl
text. It begins with the migration from Aztlan in 1168 A.D. and continues with the
dynastic history of Tenochtitlan and colonial events to 1608 A.D. The final pages list
the pre-conquest and colonial rulers of Mexico-Tenochtitlan to about 1607. There is a
52-year calendar wheel in rectangular format on fol. 1 and the first page bears a title
in Nahuatl and the date 1576.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION

Material and Layout: Paper; 80 leaves; 16 x 12 cm.

Binding: Paper wrappers, sewn

Decoration: watercolor illustrations throughout

PROVENANCE

The original codex is now in the British Museum and was formerly in the Boturini
and Aubin collections. The Princeton copy may have been made from the original and
contains a page-by-page copy of the drawings in color; the transcript of the Nahuatl
text, however, is not exact in regard to the page layout. It may have been collated with
the 158 pages of the 1893 edition. There are short later Italian glosses in pencil on fol.
23r and 32v that comment briefly on the content of the codex. This copy omits the
Nahuatl gloss on p. 48 of the 1893 edition and the later Spanish gloss on p. 158;
otherwise the copy seems to be complete. Rémi Siméon (b. 1827) described a copy of
the "Codex Aubin" with 79 leaves or 158 pages owned by an Italian named Chialiva.
He has also noted that it has an unnumbered leaf between fols. 32 and 33. This copy
was probably owned by Chialiva, as it has Italian glosses and an unnumbered leaf
following fol. 32. Sold in a Sotheby and Co. auction catalog of Nov. 9-10, 1936, as lot
no. 240. It was purchased by Garrett through or from the London firm of Bernard
Quaritch. Inside the outer wrapper is the inscription "R. G. Nov. 1936," which is
Robert Garrett's ownership and accession mark. Garrett deposited this manuscript at
the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton in 1942 at which time he described them
briefly in the "Garrett Collection List No. 3." Garrett donated the item along with
several other manuscripts to the Princeton University Library in 1949.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Histoire de la nation mexicaine depuis le départ d'Aztlan jusqu'à l'arrivée des


conquérants espagnols (et au dela 1607). Manuscrit figuratif accomagné de texte en
langue nahuatl ou mexicaine suivi d'une traduction en français par feu J.-M.-A.
Aubin. (Paris: E. Leroux, 1893).

Vous aimerez peut-être aussi