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Important primary sources
 "Anales de Cuauhtitlan".
In Codice Chimalpopoca, 3-118. Edited Primo Feliciano Velazques. Mexico: Universidad Nacional Autónoma
de México, 1975.
- The Anales is one of the significant sources for Quetzalcoatl material. Originally written in Nahuatl, it provides
a reasonably native version of the legend (with a possible minor exception - it should not be read as representing
and unifluenced source.
Casas, Bartólome
de las. Apologética Historia Sumaria. 2 volumes. Edited Edmundo O'Gorman. Mexico: Universidad Nacional
Autónoma de México, 1967.
- Las Casas provides a very sympathetic view of Quetzalcoatl. Much of his work is copied from earlier writers.
He should be read understanding both that he was copying other sources, and that his very sympathetic reading shifts
meanings somewhat.
"Codex Ríos."
In Antigüedades de México. 3:7-313. Mexico: Secretaria de Hacienda y Crédito Público,
p. 1964.
- The Rios is a copy of a pre-contact document, but this is clearly a post-contact document. It has important
but less extensive information.
"Codex Telleriano-Remensis."
In Antigüedades de México. 1:151-337. Mexico: Secretaria de Hacienda y Crédito Público,
p. 1964.
- The Telleriano-Remensis is a very close companion to the Rios, with the same cautions and types of information.
The Quetzalcoatl information is slightly different in each.
"Codex Vindobonensis."
In Antigüedades de México. 4:53-185. Mexico: Secretaria de Hacienda y Crédito Público,
p. 1964.
- The Vindobonensis is a Mixtec codex, and has some significant information about male 9-Wind. While the mythological
information is important, it should be understood that this is a different culture, and the correlation between
male 9-Wind and Quetzalcoatl is based on the iconography. The stories tangentially match, but it cannot be presumed
that male 9-Wind is Quetzalcoatl.
Cortés, Hernan.
Letters from Mexico. Translated by A.R. Pagden. New York: Grossman Publishers, 1971.
- Because Cortes' letters provide the earliest source, they are important. In some ways, they are more important
for what they do not say as for what they do. They also contain themes of a return that appear in other writings
of contact with natives. The source itself is suspicious as to its accuracy in portraying Quetzalcoatl, but it
does appear to be the source of some of the Spanish emphasis on the Quetzalcoatl material.
Durán, Diego
de. Historia de las Indias de Nueva España. 2 volumes, Edited by Ángel María Garibay
Kintana. Mexico: Editorial Porrúa, 1967.
___________ Book of the Gods and Rites and The Ancient Calendar. Translated and edited by Fernando Horcasitas
and Doris Heyden. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1971.
- Duran makes the attempt to verify the stories and legends himself, but he has an agenda. He is a believer in
the St. Thomas interpretation, so his information must be understood in that light.
"Historia de los
Mexicanos por sus Pinturas.". In Teogonía e Historia de los Mexicanos, 23-90..ed. Ángel
María Garibay Kintana. Mexico: Editorial Porrúa, 1973.
- Another of the most important sources for a native version of Quetzalcoatl. The text purports to explain the
pictoral texts, but it is clearly a Spaniard doing so. There are some instances where I suspect scribal error.
However, it is an important source, and is less influenced by the St Thomas ideas that began to permeate Quetzalcoatl
material.
"Histoyre du Mechique."
In Teogonía e Historia de los Mexicanos, 91-120. ed. Ángel María Garibay Kintana.
Mexico: Editorial Porrúa, 1973.
- Known from a French copy of the lost Spanish original (here translated back into Spanish). The document is
authentic, and a very early source. It is also a reasonable picture of the native deity.
Ixtlilxochitl, Fernando
de Alva. Obras Históricas. 2 volumes. Edited Alfredo Chavero. Mexico: Editora Nacional.
- Ixtlilxochitl is an enigmatic source. While he has tremendous amounts of material, much of it is heavily influenced
by both Spanish interests and literary styles. Ixtlilxochitl is best read after other primary sources rather than
as a beginning point.
"Leyenda de los
Soles." In Codice Chimalpopoca. 119-142. Translated and edited by Primo Feliciano Velazques. Mexico:
Imprenta Universitaria, 1975.
- Along with the Anales, the Leyenda is originally a Nahuatl document, dating from 1558. The language, early
date, and contents suggest that this is an extremely important document.
Mendieta, Gerónimo.
Historia Eclesiástica Indiana. 4 volumes. Mexico: editorial Sálvador Chávez Hayhoe,
1945.
- Has some good information.
Muñoz Camargo,
Diego. Historia de Tlaxcala. Mexico, 1966 (reprint of 1892).
- There is limited information, but relevant for a non-Tenochtitlan version of some of the material.
"Origen de los
Mexicanos." In Nueva Colección de Documentos para la Historia de México. 3:281-308.
Edited by García Icazbalceta. Nendeln/Liechtenstein: Kraus Reprint, 1971 (reprint 1891).
"Relación de la Geneaolgia y linaje de los Señores..." In Nueva Colección
de Documentos para la Historia de México. 3:263-280. Edited by García Icazbalceta. Nendeln/Liechtenstein:
Kraus Reprint, 1971 (reprint 1891).
- These are two versions of a probable single original, labeled by H.B. Nicholson as the Juan Cano relations.
They have an early date, and are important from that standpoint. Nevertheless, they appear to also include some
material that is appended to the legend, and so should be read with care.
Sahagún, Bernardino
de. Florentine Codex. 12 volumes. Translated and edited by Arthur J.O. Anderson and Charles E. Dibble.
New Mexico: The School of American Research and the University of Utah, 1950.
________ Historia General de las cosas de Nueva España. 4 volumes. Edited Ángel María
Garibay Kintana. Mexico: Editorial Porrúa, 1969.
- Sahagun is an essential source. The Florentine Codex should be used as the first source, with the Spanish version
as Sahagun's rewrite of the Florentine material (in Nahuatl). The large amount of material, and the existence of
such material in Nahuatl make this a must read. That is not to say that the material (even in Nahuatl) has no Spanish
influence - it does.
Toribio de Benavente,
or Motolinía. Memoriales o Libro de las casas de la Nueva España y de los naturales de ella Ed.
Edmundo O'Gorman. Mexico: Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, 1971.
- Motolinia has limited comments, but his early date make him important.
Torquemada, Juan de.
Monarquía Indiana. 3 volumes. Mexico: Editorial Sálvador Chávez Hayhoe. 1943.
- Torquemada is late, and copies much from Sahagun and Mendieta. He is interesting for some of his changes, showing
the way the legend is being manipulated as it is being recorded.
Primary sources with less material
Alvarado Tezozomoc,
Hernando. Crónica Mexicana. Mexico: Ediciones de la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México,
1943.
- Minor information.
Cervantes de Sálazar,
Francisco. Crónica de Nueva España. 3 volumes. Madrid: Hauser y Menet, 1914.
- Unsympathetic to the natives, his discussion of Quetzalcoatl is limited to the idol - and is telling in that
if nothing else.
Chimalpahin Quauhtlehuanitzin,
Domingo Francisco de San Anton. Relaciónes Originales de Chalco Amaquemecan Mexico: Fondo de Cultura
Ecnomica, 1965.
- Limited information.
Duarte, Manuel. Historia
de Quetzalcoatl. Unpublished manuscript in the William E. Gates Collections, Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham
Young University, 1682.
- The jewel of the St. Thomas genre. This is an excellent picture of the distortions the native legend underwent,
but is not useful for reconstructing the legend itself as it sites available sources.
León-Portilla,
Miguel. Visión de los Vencidos. Mexico: Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México,
1972.
- Selections from primary sources concerning the Conquest.
Lockhart, James. We
the People Here: Nahuatl Accounts of the Conquest of Mexico. Berkeley, University of California Press, 1993.
- An excellent source for information relating to the Conquest. Tangentially related to the Quetzalcoatl material.
Sánchez, Cristobal.
"Relación de Tecuato y Tepacan (1581)." In Colección de Documentos ineditos relativos
al descubrimiento, conquista y organizacion de las antiguas posesiones Espanoles de Ultramar. 11:115-126.
Madrid: Establecimiento Tipografico Sucesores de Ribandeneyra, 1898.
- Information from a Maya perspective on the "evil" Quetzalcoatl.
Veytia, Mariano. Historia
Antigua de México. Mexico: Editorial Leyenda, 1944.
- A late proponent of the St. Thomas theory.
Important secondary Sources
Brundage, Burr Cartwright.
The Phoenix of the Western World. Quetzalcoatl and the Sky Religion. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press,
1981.
- Concentrates on the religious aspects of the feathered serpent rather than historicity issues.
Carrasco, David. Quetzalcoatl
and the Irony of Empire. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1984.
- An excellent discussion of sources as well as the import of the Quetzalcoatl legend in justifying political
rule in Mesoamerica.
Davies, Claude Nigel.
The Toltecs, Until the Fall of Tula. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1877.
- A good introduction to the Toltecs.
Gillespie, Susan D.
The Aztec Kings. Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 1989.
- An innovative discussion of political inheritance, with relevant information on Quetzalcoatl.
Hedrick, Basil Calvin.
"Quetzalcoatl: European or Indigene?" In Man Across the Sea, 255-265. Editor Carroll L. Riley.
Austin: University of Texas Press, 1971.
- Hedrick's assessment of the Quetzalcoatl as foreigner literature. His conclusion is that he is a native.
LaFaye, Jacques. Quetzalcoatl
and Guadalupe. Translated Benjamin Keen. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1974.
- One of the best discussions of the St. Thomas literature in print.
Nicholson, Henry B.
Topiltzin Quetzalcoatl of Tollan: A Problem in Mesoamerican Ethnohistory. PhD. Dissertation. Harvard,
1957.
- The must read of the secondary sources. Nicholson's work is the most comprehensive analysis of sources, and
his methodology must be dealt with.
Saenz, Cesar A. Quetzalcoatl.
Mexico: Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, 1962.
Other secondary sources
Anawalt, Patricia Rieff.
Pan-Mesoamerican Costume Repertory at the Time of the Spanish Contact.Dissertation. UCLA, 1975.
- Corroborative information on the native dress.
Bancroft, Hubert Howe.
The Native Races. 4 volumes. San Francisco: A.L. Bancroft and Company, 1883.
- An early work missing sources that have become available since.
Brinton, Daniel. Myths
of the New World. New York: Leypoldt and Holt, 1868.
- As with Bancroft, there are important sources available today to which Brinton did not have access.
Keen, Benjamin. The
Aztec Image in Western Thought. New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 1971.
- Important for understanding the relationship of Quetzalcoatl texts to the politics of their authors. This information
must be extracted, however, as he doesn't address the topic directly.
Lockhart, James. The
Nahuas After the Conquest. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1992.
- Contextual information about Nahua culture.
Sejourné, Laurette.
Burning Water. New York: Vanguard Press, 1956.
________ El Universo de Quetzalcoatl. Mexico: Fonde de Cultura Económica, 1962.
- Sejourne is using older sources, and has developed a romantic notion of Quetzalcoatl that does not match better
information.
Sugiyama, Saburo. "Rulership,
Warfare, and Human Sacrifice at the Ciudadela: An Iconographic Study of Feathered Serpent Representations"
In: Art, Ideology, and the City of Teotihuacan. Ed. Janet Catherine Berlo. Pp. 205-230. Washington, D.C.,
Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, 1992.
- Important for understanding the militaristic connections of the feathered serpent, which correlate to events
depicted in both the Anales and the Leyenda.
Thomas, Hugh. Conquest.
New York: Simon and Schuster, 1993.
- A good read, and great background.
Secondary sources of little value
Honore, Pierre. In
Quest of the White God. Translated Oliver Coburn and Ursula Lahburger. New York: Putnam, 1964.
Irwin, Constance. Fair
Gods and Stone Faces. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1964.
Shearer, Tony. Lord
of the Dawn. Healdsburg, CA: Naturegraph Pulishers. 1971.
- Shearer is a poet who takes his themes from Mesoamerican history and legend. The text is an extrapolation from
sources, and is neither a source, nor a history (nor does it pretend to be).
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