Florentine Codex - Books

Books

The codex is composed of the following twelve books:

1. The Gods. Deals with gods worshiped by the natives of this land, which is New Spain.
2. The Ceremonies. Deals with holidays and sacrifices with which these natives honored their gods in times of infidelity.
3. The Origin of the Gods. About the creation of the gods.
4. The Soothsayers. About Indian judiciary astrology or omens and fortune-telling arts.
5. The Omens. Deals with foretelling these natives made from birds, animals, and insects in order to foretell the future.
6. Rhetoric and Moral Philosophy. About prayers to their gods, rhetoric, moral philosophy, and theology in the same context.
7. The Sun, Moon and Stars, and the Binding of the Years. Deals with the sun, the moon, the stars, and the jubilee year.
8. Kings and Lords. About kings and lords, and the way they held their elections and governed their reigns.
9. The Merchants. About merchants, and officials for gold, precious stones and feathers.
10. The People. About general history: it explains vices and virtues, spiritual as well as bodily, of all manner of persons.
11. Earthly Things. About properties of animals, birds, fish, trees, herbs, flowers, metals, and stones, and about colors.
12. The Conquest. About the conquest of New Spain, which is Mexico City.