Codex Aubin (Anonymous, c. 1576)
Jesús Quiroz, Bernardino de. Códice Aubin : manuscrito azteca de la Biblioteca Real de Berlin, Anales en mexicano y geroglíficos desde la salida de las tribus de Aztlán hasta la muerte de Cuauhtemoc. México: Editorial Innovación, S.A. 1980. Original manuscript online: http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=3008812&partId=1
Painted and written in Nahuatl circa 1576 by anonymous indigenous scribes, the Codex Aubin covers the years 1165-1608. It begins with the history of the Aztecs’ departure from Aztlán through the Spanish conquest, and the early colonial period. Fray Diego Durán may have 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. It is also called "Manuscrito de 1576" (“The Manuscript of 1576”). The 1980 edition contains the text in Nahuatl and the translation into Spanish by Bernardino de Jesús Quiroz, along with drawn reproductions of the original images. The original is currently housed at the British Museum, and a copy of the original reproduced between 1775-1825 is held at the Princeton University library in the Robert Garrett Collection.[1]
This text centers its narrative around Tenochtitlan, which is highly evident in the treatment of the conquest episode. The great detail in which it records the Spanish invasion reveals in-depth interactions among indigenous people. These will be key in understanding the indigenous experience of the conquest.
[1] The 1980 edition is a reprint of the 1902 edition by Antonio Peñafiel published by the Oficina Tip. de la Secretaría de Fomento, Mexico, but it is incomplete. It was a reproduction of the original manuscript, at the time located at the Royal Library in Berlin. Images of the original manuscript available online at: http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=3008812&partId=1
