Codex Vindobonensis Mexicanus I, also known as ''Codex Vindobonensis C'', or ''Codex Mexicanus I'' is an accordion-folded

pre-Columbian In the history of the Americas, the pre-Columbian era spans from the original settlement of North and South America in the Upper Paleolithic period through European colonization, which began with Christopher Columbus's voyage of 1492. Usually, th ...

piece of

Mixtec The Mixtecs (), or Mixtecos, are indigenous Mesoamerican peoples of Mexico inhabiting the region known as La Mixteca of Oaxaca and Puebla as well as La Montaña Region and Costa Chica Regions of the state of Guerrero. The Mixtec Culture wa ...

writing. It is a ritual-calendrical and genealogical document dated to the 14th century.

Codex Vindobonensis has 52 pages with size 26.5 by 22 cm. It was composed in a form of harmony with length 13.5 m. Its weight is 2.687 kg. The text is divided into 10 major sections. In the beginning it presents mythological genealogies of gods. It also contains lists of Mixtec rulers and priests.

History

It is not certain where the codex was discovered. It was likely discovered in

Veracruz Veracruz (), formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave), is one of the 31 states which, along with Me ...

and sent to

Sevilla Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Gua ...

, together with the manuscript

Codex Zouche-Nuttall The Codex Zouche-Nuttall or Codex Tonindeye is an accordion-folded pre-Columbian document of Mixtec pictography, now in the collections of the British Museum. It is one of about 16 manuscripts from Mexico that are entirely pre-Columbian in origin ...

, as a gift for

Charles V Charles V may refer to: * Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558) * Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain * Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise * Charles V, Duke of Lorraine (1643–1690) * Infan ...

in 1519. The later story of the codex is not well known, but it traveled to Portugal, Rome, Weimar, and finally Vienna. The manuscript frequently changed owners and places in which it was housed. As a result, its name was changed 18 times. It was known as ''Codex Constantinopolitanus'', ''Codex Byzantinus'', and ''Codex Mexicanus I''. The last name is more often used in the present day. It is currently housed at the

Austrian National Library The Austrian National Library (german: Österreichische Nationalbibliothek) is the largest library in Austria, with more than 12 million items in its various collections. The library is located in the Neue Burg Wing of the Hofburg in center of V ...

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

External links

High Definition scan of the codex at the Austrian National Library

Elizabeth P. Benson, Dumbarton Oaks, ''Mesoamerican writing systems'', Washington 1973

British Museum: Codex Vienna (facsimile) / Codex Vindobonensis (facsimile) / Codex Vindobonensis Mexicanus 1 (facsimile)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vindobonensis Mexicanus I Mixtec codices 14th-century manuscripts Manuscripts of the Austrian National Library

Contents

History

See also

Further reading

External links