The Codex Laud, or Laudianus, (catalogued as ''MS. Laud Misc. 678'',

Bodleian Library The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1602 by Sir Thomas Bodley, it is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. With over 13 million printed items, it is the second-largest library in ...

in Oxford) is a sixteenth-century

Mesoamerica Mesoamerica is a historical region and cultural area that begins in the southern part of North America and extends to the Pacific coast of Central America, thus comprising the lands of central and southern Mexico, all of Belize, Guatemala, El S ...

n codex named for

William Laud William Laud (; 7 October 1573 – 10 January 1645) was a bishop in the Church of England. Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury by Charles I of England, Charles I in 1633, Laud was a key advocate of Caroline era#Religion, Charles I's religious re ...

, an English archbishop who was the former owner. It is from the

Borgia Group The Borgia Group is the scholarly designation of a number of mostly pre-Columbian documents from central Mexico. In 1830–1831, they were first published in their entirety as colored lithographs of copies made by an Italian artist, Agustino Agli ...

, and is a pictorial manuscript consisting of 24 leaves (48 pages) from Central Mexico, dating from before the Spanish takeover. It is evidently incomplete (part of it is lost). In its content, it is similar to Codex Bodley and

Codex Borgia The Codex Borgia ( The Vatican, Bibl. Vat., Borg.mess.1), also known as ''Codex Borgianus'', ''Manuscrit de Veletri'' and ''Codex Yohualli Ehecatl'', is a pre-Columbian Middle American pictorial manuscript from Central Mexico featuring calendric ...

. It is published (with an "Introduction" by C. A. Burland) in Volume XI of ''CODICES SELECTI'' of the ''Akademische Druck- u. Verlagsanstalt'', Graz. The Bodleian Library holds four other

Mesoamerican codices Mesoamerican codices are manuscripts that present traits of the Mesoamerican indigenous pictoric tradition, either in content, style, or in regards to their symbolic conventions. The unambiguous presence of Mesoamerican writing systems in some of ...

: Codex Bodley,

Codex Mendoza The Codex Mendoza is an Aztec codices, Aztec codex, believed to have been created around the year 1541. It contains a history of both the Aztec rulers and their conquests as well as a description of the daily life of pre-conquest Aztec society. ...

, Codex Selden and the Selden Roll.

Gallery

File:Laud 23 (2) wikipedia.svg, File:Codex Laud (1).jpg, Other views of the Codex Laud on display at the Bodleian Library File:Codex Laud (3).jpg, File:Lauda22.jpg,

References

* *Facsimile: odex Laud, Oxford, Bodleian Library, Ms. Laud Misc. 678, pre-colonial, Akademische Druck- u. Verlagsanstalt (ADEVA) Graz 1966. Colour facsimile edition of the Old Mexican manuscript. 48 pp., size: 165 x 155 mm. Encased in box with leather spine. Scholarly introduction: C. A. Burland, London, 42 pp. text, 4 plates on art print paper, 1 table. CODICES SELECTI, Vol. XI

External links

A.D.V.G. facsimile of the Laud Codex

Codex Laud
digitised by J.Willard Marriott Library, University of Utah
Codex Laud commentary
Akademische Druck-u. Verlagsanstalt 966edition, digitised by J.Willard Marriott Library, University of Utah
MS Laud. Misc. 678
Images available on Digital Bodleian
MS Laud Misc. 678
In the Bodleian Libraries Catalogue of Medieval Manuscripts Laud Bodleian Library collection Mesoamerican pictorial manuscripts {{Mesoamerica-stub