The Broken Spears
Encyclopedia
The Broken Spears: The Aztec Account of the Conquest of Mexico (Spanish
title: Visión de los vencidos: Relaciones indígenas de la conquista) is a book by Miguel León-Portilla
, translating selections of Nahuatl
-language accounts of the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire. It was first published in Spanish
in 1959, and in English
in 1962. The most recent English edition was published in 2007 (ISBN 978-0807055007).
The English-language title, "The Broken Spears", comes from a phrase in one version (BnF
MS 22bis) of the Annals of Tlatelolco, xaxama[n]toc omitl. According to James Lockhart
, this is a mistranslation resulting from confusion between the Nahuatl
words mitl "arrow", "dart" or "spear", and omitl "bone"; the correct translation is thus "broken bones".
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
title: Visión de los vencidos: Relaciones indígenas de la conquista) is a book by Miguel León-Portilla
Miguel León-Portilla
Miguel León-Portilla is a Mexican anthropologist and historian, and a prime authority on Nahuatl thought and literature.He wrote a doctoral thesis on Nahua philosophy under the tutelage of Fr...
, translating selections of Nahuatl
Nahuatl
Nahuatl is thought to mean "a good, clear sound" This language name has several spellings, among them náhuatl , Naoatl, Nauatl, Nahuatl, Nawatl. In a back formation from the name of the language, the ethnic group of Nahuatl speakers are called Nahua...
-language accounts of the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire. It was first published in Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
in 1959, and in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
in 1962. The most recent English edition was published in 2007 (ISBN 978-0807055007).
The English-language title, "The Broken Spears", comes from a phrase in one version (BnF
Bibliothèque nationale de France
The is the National Library of France, located in Paris. It is intended to be the repository of all that is published in France. The current president of the library is Bruno Racine.-History:...
MS 22bis) of the Annals of Tlatelolco, xaxama[n]toc omitl. According to James Lockhart
James Lockhart (historian)
James Marvin Lockhart is a U.S. historian specializing in the history of colonial Latin America.Born in Huntington, West Virginia, Lockhart attended West Virginia University and the University of Wisconsin–Madison . He is an expert in the study of historical sources in the Nahuatl language and...
, this is a mistranslation resulting from confusion between the Nahuatl
Nahuatl
Nahuatl is thought to mean "a good, clear sound" This language name has several spellings, among them náhuatl , Naoatl, Nauatl, Nahuatl, Nawatl. In a back formation from the name of the language, the ethnic group of Nahuatl speakers are called Nahua...
words mitl "arrow", "dart" or "spear", and omitl "bone"; the correct translation is thus "broken bones".
Translations
| Year | Language | Title | Translator | Location/Publisher (of 1st edition) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1959 | Spanish Spanish language Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the... |
Visión de los vencidos: Relaciones indígenas de la conquista (Vision of the Vanquished: Indigenous Accounts of the Conquest) |
(original) | México: Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) |
| 1962 | English English language English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria... |
The Broken Spears: The Aztec Account of the Conquest of Mexico | Lysander Kemp | London: Constable Boston: Beacon Press Beacon Press Beacon Press is an American non-profit book publisher. Founded in 1854 by the American Unitarian Association, it is currently a department of the Unitarian Universalist Association.Beacon Press is a member of the Association of American University Presses.... |
| 1962 | German German language German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union.... |
Rückkehr der Götter: Die Aufzeichnungen der Azteken über den Untergang ihres Reiches (Return of the Gods: The Aztecs' Accounts of the Downfall of their Empire) |
Renate Heuer | Köln: Middelhauve |
| 1965 | French French language French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts... |
Le Crépuscule des Aztèques: Récits indigènes de la Conquête (Twilight of the Aztecs: Indigenous Accounts of the Conquest) |
Madeleine Folque | Tournai, Belgium: Casterman Casterman Casterman is a publisher of Franco-Belgian comics, specializing in comic books and children's literature. The company is based in Tournai, Belgium.Founded in 1780, Casterman was originally a printing company and publishing house... |
| 1967 | Polish Polish language Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries... |
Zmierzch Azteków: Kronika Zwyciężonych: Indiańskie relacje o podboju | María Sten, Jerzy Ficowski Jerzy Ficowski Jerzy Ficowski was a Polish poet, writer and translator .- Biography and works :During the German occupation of Poland in World War II, Ficowski who lived in Włochy near Warsaw was a member of the Polish resistance... |
Warszawa: Państ. Instytut Wydawniczy |
| 1987 | Catalan Catalan language Catalan is a Romance language, the national and only official language of Andorra and a co-official language in the Spanish autonomous communities of Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and Valencian Community, where it is known as Valencian , as well as in the city of Alghero, on the Italian island... |
Visió dels vençuts: relacions indígenes de la conquesta (Vision of the Vanquished: Indigenous Accounts of the Conquest) |
Josep M. Murià | Barcelona: Llamp |
| 2009 | Otomi (Hñähñu) Otomi language Otomi is an Oto-Manguean language and one of the indigenous languages of Mexico, spoken by approximately 240,000 indigenous Otomi people in the central altiplano region of Mexico. The language is spoken in many different dialects, some of which are not mutually intelligible, therefore it is in... |
Ra nthandi to'o bi b'edi ya njondahmä ya mudimehai dig'a ra ts'okat'ot amfeni (Vision of the Vanquished: Indigenous Accounts of the Conquest) |
Raymundo Isidro Alavez | Hidalgo, Mex.: UNAM, Coordinación Humanidades |
External links
- Full Spanish text of The Broken Spears (Visión de los vencidos) on the UNAMUnamUNAM or UNaM may refer to:* National University of Misiones, a National University in Posadas, Argentina*National Autonomous University of Mexico , the large public autonomous university based in Mexico City...
server.