.gif)
Aztec (book)
Encyclopedia
Aztec is a historical fiction
novel by Gary Jennings
. It is the first of five novels in the Aztec series.
The book is written as a series of letters from the Bishop of the See of New Spain to King Carlos of Spain
containing a transcribed biography of Mixtli (Full named Chicóme-Xochitl Tliléctic Mixtli, "Seven Flower Dark Cloud", in Nahuatl
), an elderly Aztec
man, by Spanish Catholic
monk
s during the 16th century.
The novel portrays the entirety of the life of Mixtli-Dark Cloud, who is asked by Bishop Juan de Zumárraga to tell about his life, since King Carlos I of Spain (Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
) wants a chronicle of what Aztecs were like. Born to ordinary parents and afflicted with poor sight, Mixtli nonetheless rises quickly through the hierarchy of Mexican society, becoming a scribe, a wealthy trader, a renowned warrior, and eventually a lord of Tenochtitlan and a highly-respected councilor to Moctezuma II
. The novel chronicles Mixtli's many adventures, which will take them through all of the Aztec Empire ("The One World") and beyond. The 'composer' of the novel, Bishop Juan de Zumárraga
, is often commented upon by the narrator, who notes when the Bishop arrives to hear generally lurid details of human sacrifice and sexual impropriety, and often leaves just as quickly in disgust. The Bishop's introductions to the various chapters of the chronicle often express his loathing for Mixtli and his weariness with recording what he considers to be the biography of a heathen and a sinner.
The novel faithfully recreates a great deal of geographic historical places and history, particularly that involving the conquest of Mexico by Hernán Cortés
. Jennings, through Dark Cloud, presents generally accurate portrayals of the events surrounding a number of actual historical figures, their names usually rendered in traditional Nahuatl
. This includes descriptions of many rulers ("Revered Speakers") of many civilizations such as Ahuizotl and Moctezuma II
of the Mexíca, Nezahualpilli of the Acolhua or Patzínca of the Totonaca. La Malinche
(rendered Cé-Malinali, "One Grass" in Nahuatl, and later self-proclaimed "Lady Grass", Malintzin), the shipwrecked Gerónimo de Aguilar
and Gonzalo Guerrero
, as well as Hernán Cortés
himself and many of his retinue.
The novel's narrator maintains a voice of careful criticism of Spanish authorities throughout the novel. Though he professes himself a Christian, much of the novel is devoted to detailed discourse regarding Aztec religion
, including a great deal of information regarding the gods Quetzalcoatl
, Tlaloc
, Huitzilopochtli
, Tonatiuh
, and especially Ehecatl
. The novel also does not shy from depictions of ritual human sacrifice. Throughout the novel, Mixtli criticizes not only Christianity
, but also the Spaniards' hypocrisy in espousing Christianity while simultaneously engaging in acts of great violence and degradation toward the native Mexicans.
Historical fiction
Historical fiction tells a story that is set in the past. That setting is usually real and drawn from history, and often contains actual historical persons, but the principal characters tend to be fictional...
novel by Gary Jennings
Gary Jennings
Gary Jennings was an American author who wrote children's and adult novels. In 1980, after the successful novel Aztec, he specialized in writing adult historical fiction novels.-Biography:...
. It is the first of five novels in the Aztec series.
The book is written as a series of letters from the Bishop of the See of New Spain to King Carlos of Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
containing a transcribed biography of Mixtli (Full named Chicóme-Xochitl Tliléctic Mixtli, "Seven Flower Dark Cloud", in 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...
), an elderly Aztec
Aztec
The Aztec people were certain ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl language and who dominated large parts of Mesoamerica in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries, a period referred to as the late post-classic period in Mesoamerican chronology.Aztec is the...
man, by Spanish Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
monk
Monk
A monk is a person who practices religious asceticism, living either alone or with any number of monks, while always maintaining some degree of physical separation from those not sharing the same purpose...
s during the 16th century.
The novel portrays the entirety of the life of Mixtli-Dark Cloud, who is asked by Bishop Juan de Zumárraga to tell about his life, since King Carlos I of Spain (Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles V was ruler of the Holy Roman Empire from 1519 and, as Charles I, of the Spanish Empire from 1516 until his voluntary retirement and abdication in favor of his younger brother Ferdinand I and his son Philip II in 1556.As...
) wants a chronicle of what Aztecs were like. Born to ordinary parents and afflicted with poor sight, Mixtli nonetheless rises quickly through the hierarchy of Mexican society, becoming a scribe, a wealthy trader, a renowned warrior, and eventually a lord of Tenochtitlan and a highly-respected councilor to Moctezuma II
Moctezuma II
Moctezuma , also known by a number of variant spellings including Montezuma, Moteuczoma, Motecuhzoma and referred to in full by early Nahuatl texts as Motecuhzoma Xocoyotzin, was the ninth tlatoani or ruler of Tenochtitlan, reigning from 1502 to 1520...
. The novel chronicles Mixtli's many adventures, which will take them through all of the Aztec Empire ("The One World") and beyond. The 'composer' of the novel, Bishop Juan de Zumárraga
Juan de Zumárraga
Juan de Zumárraga was a Spanish Basque Franciscan prelate and first bishop of Mexico.-Origins and arrival in New Spain:...
, is often commented upon by the narrator, who notes when the Bishop arrives to hear generally lurid details of human sacrifice and sexual impropriety, and often leaves just as quickly in disgust. The Bishop's introductions to the various chapters of the chronicle often express his loathing for Mixtli and his weariness with recording what he considers to be the biography of a heathen and a sinner.
The novel faithfully recreates a great deal of geographic historical places and history, particularly that involving the conquest of Mexico by Hernán Cortés
Hernán Cortés
Hernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro, 1st Marquis of the Valley of Oaxaca was a Spanish Conquistador who led an expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire and brought large portions of mainland Mexico under the rule of the King of Castile in the early 16th century...
. Jennings, through Dark Cloud, presents generally accurate portrayals of the events surrounding a number of actual historical figures, their names usually rendered in traditional 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...
. This includes descriptions of many rulers ("Revered Speakers") of many civilizations such as Ahuizotl and Moctezuma II
Moctezuma II
Moctezuma , also known by a number of variant spellings including Montezuma, Moteuczoma, Motecuhzoma and referred to in full by early Nahuatl texts as Motecuhzoma Xocoyotzin, was the ninth tlatoani or ruler of Tenochtitlan, reigning from 1502 to 1520...
of the Mexíca, Nezahualpilli of the Acolhua or Patzínca of the Totonaca. La Malinche
La Malinche
La Malinche , known also as Malintzin, Malinalli or Doña Marina, was a Nahua woman from the Mexican Gulf Coast, who played a role in the Spanish conquest of Mexico, acting as interpreter, advisor, lover and intermediary for Hernán Cortés...
(rendered Cé-Malinali, "One Grass" in Nahuatl, and later self-proclaimed "Lady Grass", Malintzin), the shipwrecked Gerónimo de Aguilar
Gerónimo de Aguilar
Gerónimo de Aguilar O.F.M. was a Franciscan friar born in Écija, Spain. Aguilar was later involved with the 1519 Spanish conquest of Mexico, and with La Malinche he assisted Hernán Cortés in translating indigenous language to Spanish....
and Gonzalo Guerrero
Gonzalo Guerrero
Gonzalo Guerrero was a sailor from Palos, in Spain who shipwrecked along the Yucatán Peninsula and was taken as a slave by the local Maya. Earning his freedom, Guerrero became a respected warrior under a Maya Lord and raised three of the first mestizo children in Mexico...
, as well as Hernán Cortés
Hernán Cortés
Hernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro, 1st Marquis of the Valley of Oaxaca was a Spanish Conquistador who led an expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire and brought large portions of mainland Mexico under the rule of the King of Castile in the early 16th century...
himself and many of his retinue.
The novel's narrator maintains a voice of careful criticism of Spanish authorities throughout the novel. Though he professes himself a Christian, much of the novel is devoted to detailed discourse regarding Aztec religion
Aztec religion
Aztec religion is the Mesoamerican religion practiced by the Aztec empire. Like other Mesoamerican religions, it had elements of human sacrifice in connection with a large number of religious festivals which were held according to patterns of the Aztec calendar...
, including a great deal of information regarding the gods Quetzalcoatl
Quetzalcoatl
Quetzalcoatl is a Mesoamerican deity whose name comes from the Nahuatl language and has the meaning of "feathered serpent". The worship of a feathered serpent deity is first documented in Teotihuacan in the first century BCE or first century CE...
, Tlaloc
Tlaloc
Tlaloc was an important deity in Aztec religion, a god of rain, fertility, and water. He was a beneficent god who gave life and sustenance, but he was also feared for his ability to send hail, thunder and lightning, and for being the lord of the powerful element of water. In Aztec iconography he...
, Huitzilopochtli
Huitzilopochtli
In Aztec mythology, Huitzilopochtli, also spelled Uitzilopochtli , was a god of war, a sun god, and the patron of the city of Tenochtitlan. He was also the national god of the Mexicas of Tenochtitlan.- Genealogy :...
, Tonatiuh
Tonatiuh
In Aztec mythology, Tonatiuh was the sun god. The Aztec people considered him the leader of Tollan, heaven. He was also known as the fifth sun, because the Aztecs believed that he was the sun that took over when the fourth sun was expelled from the sky...
, and especially Ehecatl
Ehecatl
Ehecatl is a pre-Columbian deity associated with the wind, who features in Aztec mythology and the mythologies of other cultures from the central Mexico region of Mesoamerica. He is most usually interpreted as the aspect of the Feathered Serpent deity as a god of wind, and is therefore also known...
. The novel also does not shy from depictions of ritual human sacrifice. Throughout the novel, Mixtli criticizes not only Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
, but also the Spaniards' hypocrisy in espousing Christianity while simultaneously engaging in acts of great violence and degradation toward the native Mexicans.