The Florentine Codex

1. Period and Location: The Florentine Codex

The Florentine Codex was written over the course of Fray Bernardino de Sahagún’s lifetime, primarily from 1545 to 1590. This lesson’s geographic focus is Mexico.

2. The Florentine Codex

The idea of a codex, or codices, which is the plural form, wasn’t new to this region, as the Mesoamerican people had well-established codex-making traditions at the time of the Spanish conquest. In their desire to conquer and convert the native people of this region, the Spanish destroyed many of these works.

Franciscan monk Bernardino de Sahagún felt that if knowledge of the Indigenous people’s customs and traditions could be preserved, it would make it easier to convert them to Catholicism. This belief led to the first ethnographic efforts in the New World and the creation of the Florentine Codex.

think about it

Have you ever considered how books were made in the Baroque period? With 1,200 pages, 12 books, and over 2,000 painted illustrations, the Florentine Codex was assembled by a monk and a group of native Nahua collaborators. Each page was written by hand and illustrated with watercolors. Bound together with vellum, or calfskin, the codex demonstrated a high level of craftsmanship

The Florentine Codex, also known as Historia General de las Cosas de la Nueva España, is one of the most important examples of early ethnography. It provides an invaluable record of pre-Columbian Aztec civilization, including their social structure, religion, rituals, daily life, and more. The term “pre-Columbian” refers to the people and cultures of the Americas before the arrival of Columbus in 1492.

Other volumes addressed Indigenous medicine and healing techniques, and their customs and festivals, such as this page referencing the Aztec calendar:

The Florentine Codex remains a crucial resource for understanding the Aztec culture, preserving knowledge that might have otherwise been lost following the Spanish conquest. The codex is written in both Nahuatl, the language of the Aztecs, and Spanish, making it a significant bilingual document that aids in the study of the Nahuatl language and its preservation. Sahagún’s systematic approach to gathering and documenting information set a precedent for future ethnographic work. His use of diverse sources and detailed recording methods exemplifies rigorous academic research.

terms to know

Codex

A book made of handwritten pages.

Ethnography

A branch of anthropology that deals with the scientific study of human cultures.

Pre-Columbian

The period of history and cultures in the Americas before the arrival of Columbus in 1492.