A Bibliographic Introduction to Twenty Manuscripts of Classical Nahuatl Literature
Abstract
This bibliography is offered as a preliminary guide for students and professionals interested in the texts of the indigenous Nahuatl cultures of Mexico. It is the bibliography I would wish to have were I to begin again my own investigations, which were undertaken with only a general knowledge of Nahuatl culture of the kind available to any curious aficionado of antiquities. While many excellent bibliographies of Nahuatl materials are available (see Note), none have indicated clearly for the uninitiated the primary manuscript sources of the literature or what editions of facsimile, paleography, and translation have been prepared from each. And since much of the critical editing has been piecemeal, locating facsimile or paleography of any specific manuscript may require as many as three different references published over a span of perhaps fifty years. Chasing these references from one book to another in pursuit of sources is time consuming and frustrating for students unfamiliar with the literature, especially for those North Americans whose only chance to work in Mexico is through an inadequate travel grant giving them precious little time. This bibliography offers a convenient organization of references which will facilitate location of any source in whatever form the investigator may desire.