Source: Milbrath, Susan. Figure 6.7. 1496.
"A Seasonal Calendar in the Codex Borgia." Cosmology, Calendars,
and Horizon-Based Astronomy in Ancient Mesoamerica.
Ed. Anne S. Dowand and Susan Milbrath. University Press of
Chicago, 2015. 139-162. Web.
Kristine Putz
History of the Codex
The codex emerged from the wooden writing tablet that
ancient cultures had used to write down notes.
Boards would be stacked on top of each other and would be bound by a
cord. The Romans modified this idea by
substituting parchment sheets for the wood or ivory tablets, which created a
lighter and less clumsy notebook (Casson 125).
The codex also offered many advantages over rolls of parchment. First, parchment rolls were left blank on one
side and codex’s could be filled on each side, which, in turn, maximized
resources. Because it was flat and bound
together, a codex was much easier to transport than rolls of parchment. Explorers and travelers could read the codex
with one hand: “Another was the ease of access to the contents: a reader of a
roll who was looking for a particular passage had to keep rolling up with one
had and unrolling with the other, whereas readers of codices merely flipped
pages” (Casson 129). Therefore, the
codex was more convenient and traveler friendly, which helped to spread its
popularity. In addition, because a codex
generally was formed from pieces of parchment bound between covers of wood, the
pages were more protected than rolls of parchment would have been.
Also contributing to the spread of the codex was the spread
of Christianity. As the Gospels began to
be written down, clergy probably chose to record them in the form of the codex
because a codex offered greater convenience than rolls of parchment and because
it was free of the same associations the roll had: “[T]he roll of parchment
with Jewish writings, the roll of papyrus with pagan” (Casson 130). Therefore, because the use of the codex was
favored by Christians, the use of it spread with Christianity.
Although papyrus codices were still popular in some parts of
the word, such as Egypt, gradually the benefits of parchment began to outweigh
the benefits of papyrus and papyrus codices became less popular. The chief benefits to parchment are that it
was more durable than papyrus and had the capacity to hold more pages, which is
evident in the emperor Constantine’s use of parchment codices over their
papyrus counterparts:
His choice of codices of parchment
over papyrus was doubtless determined not only by their greater ability to withstand
wear-wear that in this instance included being carried about-but also by the
fact that, when made of parchment of high quality, which was the case here,
they could be assembled with enough pages to hold the entire Bible (Casson 132).
This choice by Constantine helped to solidify not only the
use of codices but also the use of parchment over papyrus in their
construction.
Madrid Codex
 |
| Source: Bricker, Harvey. Figure 2.5 The non photographic facsimile. 1869. "The Paper Patch on Page 56 of the Madrid Codex." The Madrid Codex. Ed Gabrielle Vail and Anthony Aveni. University Press of Colorado, 2004. 33-56. Web. |
Possible Construction anywhere from 1250-1520 though Latin
writing points to a construction closer to the 17th century because
Spanish missionaries would have been introduced to the area (Aveni and Vail 12).
The Madrid codex remains the longest surviving Mayan codex
and was discovered in Europe sometime in the 19th century though it
is unknown when it actually arrived there (Aveni and Vail 3). The Madrid codex is different from the
codices in Europe in that it was printed on paper made from the bark of a fig
tree as opposed to parchment. This was
likely due to the availability of different resources in the region it was
constructed.
The name Madrid Codex is, in itself, confusing because it
stems not from where it was made but from where it was discovered. In fact, it is suspected that it was brought
over from a Spanish colony during the colonial period (Aveni and Vail 3). The codex was not constructed by the Spanish
rather it was constructed by the Mayans.
Gabrielle Vail and Anthony Aveni work to make sense of and explain the
Madrid Codex in their book The Madrid
Codex:
Although the Madrid Codex has no
astronomical tables, it is the longest surviving
of the Mayan manuscripts,
containing approximately 250 almanacs concerned with…rain ceremonies associated
with the deity Chaak, agricultural activities, ceremonies to commemorate the
end of one year and the start of the next, deer hunting and trapping, the
sacrifice of captives…carving deity images, and beekeeping (5).
This codex is unique in the sense that it includes such a
wide range of topics as many of the Mayan codices were focused on rituals and
astrology. The fact that the Madrid
Codex contains a wealth of other information makes it a valuable asset to
understanding the Mayan’s daily life.
The Rohonc Codex
The Rohonc Codex is thought to originate from northern Italy
and is believed to be constructed in about the mid-sixteenth century. The entire
codex is written code are an artificial language, so researchers are not even
sure what language lies behind the writing.
In addition to code systems, artificial languages were also used during
this time period as Bobory describes in her review of Benedek Lang’s book The Rohonc Code: “Artificial languages
were especially popular at the time it was most probably made the late
sixteenth and seventeenth centuries” (Bobory 943). Because both code systems and artificial
languages were both popular during the time period the Rohonc Codex was
constructed, both remain strong possibilities.
This makes it extremely hard for researchers to make sense of it. Many engineers and scholars alike have tried
to desipher the encrypted codex but to no avail.
 |
| Source: Schmeh, Klaus. Figure 1. Hungarian Academy of Sciences."The Manuscript That Nobody Can Read." Manuscript of the Month. Centre for the Study of Manuscript Cultures. 3, 2015. Web. |
This particular codex is unique from its counterparts
because it contains no colorful drawings and the codes within are not
especially decorative and is 450 pages long (Bobory 941). There are approximately 84 images in the
codex and some of which, though the text may not be clear, are
recognizable. They mostly include
stories from the life of Christ (the Annunciation, the three Magi with the star
of Bethlehem, Christ before Pilate), while others are less recognizable and
seem to be of buildings and churches (Bobory 941). These illustrations point to a religious
theme throughout the codex, though because the text has yet to be made sense
of, nobody knows for sure.
Borgia Codex
 |
Source: Milbrath, Susan. Borgia 27. 1496.
"A Seasonal Calendar in the Codex Borgia." Cosmology, Calendars,
and Horizon-Based Astronomy in Ancient Mesoamerica.
Ed. Anne S. Dowand and Susan Milbrath. University Press of
Chicago, 2015. 139-162. Web.
|
The codex Borgia is thought to originate from
the Puebla-Tlaxcala Valley. Imagery in
the codex has been interpreted in a variety of different ways. Originally, the codex was thought to be a
Venus narrative, but new research has pointed to it being a mythological
narrative of creation cosmology because images in the codex seem to show
seasonal variation in the plants and animals (Milbrath 139). In addition, the religious ceremonies are not
depicted in full but are instead more abbreviated. According to Milbrath, this is probably
because the general focus of the codex was to be the festival cycle: “[T]he
festival cycle serves primarily as a chronological framework for astronomical
events featuring Venus and the Sun and Moon” (140). This and clear distinction from rainy and dry
seasons seems to point to the codex Borgia as primarily a seasonal calendar. The construction of a seasonal calendar
points to scientific research and discovery.
Not only had the Mayans noticed the cyclical weather patterns, they have
documented them in a way that allows future generations to learn and build off
of.
Significance to Latino/a Culture
The Madrid Codex and the Borgia Codex both contain evidence
of sophisticated Mayan and Aztec societies.
The Madrid Codex contains no astronomical tables but does contain an
in-depth documentation of various religious ceremonies. Similarly, the Borgia Codex documents these
religious ceremonies, but the functionality of this documentation is different
because it seems to function more as a calendar. Both codices provide evidence of innovation
and reasoning within the Mayan societies
In addition, Mayan codices provide an insight into the daily
life and rituals of the communities. The
Madrid codex alone provides a wealth of information on rain ceremonies, agricultural
activities, sacrifice, hunting, and end and beginning of the year celebrations
(Aveni and Vail 5). Studying the
Madrid and Borgia codices, among others, lets researchers hear the Mayan
history from the perspective of the Mayan people themselves. The rich imagery in the codices also provides
a glimpse into the Mayan art form and their interpretation of the codex.
Intersections of Codices Across Cultures
Though the codex is not unique to Latino/a culture, studying
codices across cultures demonstrates religion as the common theme of each
codex. Most codices that emerged in
Europe stemmed from the Christian religion but evolved from the wooden tablets
and parchment of ancient Greek and Roman civilizations. As explorers traveled
to Latin America, it is possible they took codices with them because of the
ease of transport which might influenced the production of Mayan codices. The Latin writing in the codex Madrid points
to this as a strong possibility. In
fact, the creation of such codices could have been a response to the Spanish
missionaries that had traveled to the area.
Therefore, studying both European and Mayan codices provides critical
insight into how each of the cultures influenced the other.
Works Cited
Bobory,
Dora. Rev. of A rohonci kód by Benedek Láng. TheHungarian Historical Review. 2013.
938-943. Web.
938-943. Web.
Casson,
Lionel. "From Roll to Codex." Libraries in the Ancient World. Yale University Press, 2001.
124-135.
Web.
Milbrath,
Susan. "A Seasonal Calendar in the Codex Borgia." Cosmology, Calendars, and
Horizon-
Based Astronomy in Ancient Mesoamerica. Ed. Anne S. Dowand and Susan Milbrath. University
Press of Chicago, 2015. 139-162.
Web.
Vail,
Gabrielle and Anthony Aveni. "The Paper Patch on Page 56 of the Madrid
Codex." The Madrid
Codex. Ed. Gabrielle Vail and Anthony Vani.
University Press of Colorado, 2004. 33-56. Web.
