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296 introduction f ray toribio de Benavente was one of “Los Doce,” the cadre of 12 friars dispatched to nueva españa in 1524. they were all in the “observant” wing of the order of friars minor, also known as franciscans. fray toribio later adopted the nahuatl nickname motolinía, meaning “mendicant or poor,” in reference to this strict observance of the founder of his order’s rule of poverty. 1 Despite his humble image, on his arrival in nueva españa at age 34 motolinía was an accomplished scholar well versed in languages, grammar, and law, both civil and canon. 2 in 1536 the franciscan chapter directed him to prepare a history of the indians of nueva españa. to do this he would draw on notes he had been keeping for more than a decade. 3 the process took until at least 1541, during which time he continued to acquire letters and reports from throughout the viceroyalty that bore on his subject. the result of motolinía’s labors has come down to us in the form of three manuscripts, all closely contemporaneous copies of the friar’s original works. one is known as the “memoriales,” and the other two bear the title “Historia de los indios de la nueva españa.” the two copies of the Historia indicate that their original was a later production than the memoriales. 4 each of the three manuscripts is introduced by a dedicatory letter, all dated in february 1541. 5 the three dedicatory prefaces present slightly different versions, all of which state something like letters have arrived recently [saying] that [spaniards] have found the beginning of grand pueblos and many people. the first ciudad is called cíbola, in which the spaniards were residing. it is believed to be an excellent gateway to what lies beyond. 6 only the memoriales develops that mention of cíbola in the body of its text. nearly at the end of the manuscript is capítulo 96, titled “la relación postrera de sivola y de más de quatrocientas leguas adelante.” 7 the short chapter is a compendium or digest of information obtained from several sources, including the letters referred to in the prefaces. Like the rest of all three manuscripts, the “relación postrera,” or “latest relación regarding cíbola,” was assembled from “sources having different aims and purposes,” which motolinía sought “to blend together with smooth transitions.” 8 nancy Joe Dyer has suggested that many of fray toribio’s sources were fellow friars who communicated with him by letter. 9 that could be the case with the relación postrera, although motolinía makes no explicit statement to that effect, as he frequently does in other, similar instances. it has even been suggested that his fellow franciscan and head of the order’s province of the santo evangelio, fray marcos de niza, was the principal informant for the relación postrera. 10 Although this may be true, information provided by the relación differs from fray marcos’s formal report in several instances. for example, the relación states Document 23 La Relación Postrera de Cíbola (Fray Toribio de Benavente’s Narrative), 1540s university of texas, Austin, Benson collection, JGi 31 xvi c, fols. 123v–124v Relación Postrera de Cíbola, 1540s 297 that “little of the route [is] populated,” 11 whereas, according to marcos, in the sonora valley “an inordinate number of people came out to receive me,” and it was “heavily settled by splendid people.” 12 on this same point the relación postrera conflicts markedly with a number of other contemporary reports. castañeda de nájera writes, “señora is a river and valley heavily populated by very intelligent people,” and the “relación del suceso” has, “this whole route is settled up to fifty leagues from cíbola.” 13 Likewise, the relación postrera’s characterization of the territory along the expedition ’s route as “an unproductive land” 14 ignores the fact, reported by a number of members of the coronado expedition , that there was plenty of food, especially corn, but it was too early in the season for it to be ripe. 15 such discrepancies may have their origin in motolinía’s method of extracting bits of information from their original, variant sources and combining them to create his own summary. Because the relación postrera is a derivative patchwork, truly motolinía’s creation, it must be used...

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