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Codex Fejérváry-Mayer

pre-Columbian manuscript

Manuscripts, fine bindings, an engraving plate and preserved performance ephemera
Arts and lettersInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionJun 1, 2024
Entity authorityQ937877
Source-derived summary

The Codex Fejérváry-Mayer is an Aztec Codex of central Mexico. It is one of the rare Native American manuscripts that have survived the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire. As a typical calendar codex tonalamatl dealing with the sacred Aztec calendar – the tonalpohualli – it is placed in the Borgia Group. It is a divinatory almanac in 17 sections. Its elaboration is typically pre-Columbian: it is made on deerskin parchment folded accordion-style into 23 pages. It measures 16.2 centimetres by 17.2 centimetres and is 3.85 metres long.

History

The earliest history of the codex is unknown. It is named after Gabriel Fejérváry (1780–1851), a Hungarian collector, and Joseph Mayer (1803–1886), an English antiquarian who bought the codex from Fejérváry. In 2004 Maarten Jansen and Gabina Aurora Pérez Jiménez proposed that it be given the indigenous name Codex Tezcatlipoca, from the Nahuatl name of the god Tezcatlipoca (who is shown, with black-and-yellow facial striping, in the centre of its first page), although it is not certain that its creators were Nahuas.

It is currently kept in the World Museum Liverpool in Liverpool, England, having as its catalogue # 12014 M. It is published in Volume 26 of the series Codices Selecti of the Akademische Druck - u.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “Codex Fejérváry-Mayer” as pre-Columbian manuscript. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Codex, Fejérváry-Mayer and pre-Columbian.

Editorial reviewA productive route into publication, performance and collection histories when the underlying object or edition remains clearly identified. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1780, 1851, 1803, 1886—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1600. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with Codex, Fejérváry-Mayer and pre-Columbian providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Codex Fejérváry-Mayer”, the useful work is to connect “pre-Columbian manuscript” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

Object files, edition statements, performance records and contemporary criticism preserve different stages of the work’s history. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jun 1, 2024. The linked authority identifier is Q937877. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1780, 1851, 1803 and 1886.

Critical limits

Rights, attribution and provenance may remain disputed even when a general reference summary presents a stable account. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Separate the work, its editions or performances, and its later reception. Catalogue records, publication histories and object files often preserve different parts of that story.

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Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Codex Fejérváry-Mayer”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Codex Fejérváry-Mayer primary sources, Codex Fejérváry-Mayer archive and Codex research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

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  3. How did later circulation or interpretation alter the work’s reception?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Codex Fejérváry-Mayer” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.