Читать книгу The Codex Mendoza: new insights онлайн

48 страница из 150

Table 2: The bibliographic sources of the Storia Antica del Messico

On one hand, by incorporating both textual and pictographic materials, the Codex Mendoza functions as a desirable transition between colonial and pre-Columbian sources and hence fulfills a practical role in the presentation of the bibliography. On the other, by actively linking the manuscript with the first viceroy of New Spain, calling it “the collection (raccolta) of Mendoza,” and keeping in mind the viceroy’s reputation as a humanist and a statesman, whether consciously or unconsciously, Clavijero bestows upon him responsibility over the contents of the manuscript, even if he had not been their material author. The identification of Mendoza as the man responsible for the manuscript marks it as a preeminent, quasi-foundational document. By making Antonio de Mendoza responsible for the manuscript, Clavijero sets up a narrative arc for his bibliography around the historical moment in which ancient, pictographic Mexico converges with modern, textual Mexico, and identifies him with the birth of the Viceroyalty of New Spain as a political structure that could serve as the foundation for the modern Mexican nation. Henceforth, scholars of Mexico could access specific truths pertaining ancient Mexico by means of a “return to the origin” of New Spain, which combined royal authority embodied in the figure of the viceroy and indigenous voices articulated in the manuscript’s images and texts. This, however, raises several questions: Why Mendoza? Why did Clavijero not attribute the patronage of the manuscript to Luis de Velasco, Hernán Cortés, Vasco de Quiroga, or any other notable figure of the period whose authority could have been equally desirable for enhancing the value of the manuscript as a primary source of unquestionable reputation?