In this Book
- Ballads of the Lords of New Spain: The Codex Romances de los Señores de la Nueva España
- Book
- 2009
- Published by: University of Texas Press
- Series: The William and Bettye Nowlin Series in Art, History, and Culture of the Western Hemisphere
summary
Compiled in 1582, Ballads of the Lords of New Spain is one of the two principal sources of Nahuatl song, as well as a poetical window into the mindset of the Aztec people some sixty years after the conquest of Mexico. Presented as a cancionero, or anthology, in the mode of New Spain, the ballads show a reordering—but not an abandonment—of classic Aztec values. In the careful reading of John Bierhorst, the ballads reveal in no uncertain terms the pre-conquest Aztec belief in the warrior’s paradise and in the virtue of sacrifice. This volume contains an exact transcription of the thirty-six Nahuatl song texts, accompanied by authoritative English translations. Bierhorst includes all the numerals (which give interpretive clues) in the Nahuatl texts and also differentiates the text from scribal glosses. His translations are thoroughly annotated to help readers understand the imagery and allusions in the texts. The volume also includes a helpful introduction and a larger essay, “On the Translation of Aztec Poetry,” that discusses many relevant historical and literary issues. In Bierhorst’s expert translation and interpretation, Ballads of the Lords of New Spain emerges as a song of resistance by a conquered people and the recollection of a glorious past.
Table of Contents
Download Full Book
- A Note on Orthography
- pp. xi-xii
- Using the Online Edition
- pp. xiii-xvi
- Introduction
- pp. 1-23
- On the Translation of Aztec Poetry
- pp. 24-70
- Guide to the Vocabulary
- pp. 71-75
- Guide to the Transcription
- pp. 76-79
- Commentary
- pp. 163-188
- Concordance to Proper Nouns
- pp. 189-203
- Verbs, Particles, and Common Nouns
- pp. 204-206
- Bibliography
- pp. 221-232
Additional Information
ISBN
9780292793569
Related ISBN(s)
9780292718524
MARC Record
OCLC
435528322
Pages
253
Launched on MUSE
2012-10-01
Language
English
Open Access
Yes