Chimal (Verg45v)

Chimal (Verg45v)
Compound Glyph

Glyph or Iconographic Image Description: 

This compound Nahuatl hieroglyph is a black-line drawing of the personal name Chimal (“War Shield”), attested here as a man’s name. It has two elements, the first is a frontal view of a round war shield with two concentric circles. Apparently, long wing feathers hang down from the lower third of the outer circle. Perhaps shorter feathers decorate the upper two-thirds of the outer circle. The inner circle contains a smiling face. The eyes are European in style, and eyebrows appear above them. The nose is just a short horizontal line, The mouth is large and curved upward into a smile. Above the shield is what appears to be a container. Perhaps this vessel contains chiyantli seeds (also spelled chian in Nahuatl and chia in Spanish), as one appears to be drawn at the center of the upper part of the jug. This element seems intended to provide the phonetic syllable -chi- as a complement for the start of the name, Chi-.

Description, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Added Analysis: 

The smiling face is common on war shields as drawn in this manuscript, but it has some slight variations, and it is rare in manuscripts from other places, such as Huexotzinco or Mexico City. It may represent European influence. Perhaps the face of the sun is implied, given the use of suns as a heraldic charge in medieval and Renaissance art. See, for example, the fifteenth-century Book of Hours in France. Faces on European shields can also represent Christ or saints.

Added Analysis, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Gloss or Text Image: 
Gloss/Text Diplomatic Transcription: 

marcos. chimal.

Gloss/Text Normalization: 

Marcos Chimal

Gloss/Text Analysis, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Source Manuscript: 
Vergara, Codex (Verg)
Date of Manuscript: 

1539

Creator's Location (and place coverage): 

near Tepetlaoztoc, near Tetzcoco

Semantic Categories: 
personal name
phonetic dimensions
Syntax: 
noun(s)
syllable: chi (from chiyantli, chia seeds)
Writing Features: 
compound of phonogram(s) & logogram(s)
Cultural Content & Iconography: 
Agriculture, Gardens, Stock Raising
Anatomy, human body parts
Feathers
Food, Eating, Cooking
Gender (male)
Names (personal and/or theonym)
Pottery, Earthenware
Weapons, Shields, Armor
Cultural Content, Credit: 

Jeff Haskett-Wood

Colors: 
black & white drawing (no color)
Shapes and Perspectives: 
frontal view
Parts (compounds or simplex + notation): 
2
Reading Order (Compounds or Simplex + Notation): 
upward
Keywords: 

escudos, semillas, chia, barro, jarra, vasija, recipiente, nombres de hombres, men’s names, fonetismo

Glyph or Iconographic Image: 
Relevant Nahuatl Dictionary Word(s): 

chimal(li), war shield, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/chimalli

Glyph/Icon Name, Spanish Translation: 

Escudo

Spanish Translation, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Image Source: 

Available at Codex Vergara, folio 45v, https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b84528032/f98.item.zoom, accessed 25 March 2026. The Vergara is associated with Tepetlaoztoc, in the larger region of Tetzcoco, c. 1539–1543. “Source gallica.bnf.fr / BnF.” We would also appreciate a citation to the Visual Lexicon of Aztec Hieroglyphs, https://aztecglyphs.wired-humanities.org/.

Image Source, Rights: 

Image Rights: The non-commercial reuse of images from the Bibliothèque nationale de France is free as long as the user is in compliance with the legislation in force and provides the citation: “Source gallica.bnf.fr / Bibliothèque nationale de France” or “Source gallica.bnf.fr / BnF.” We would also appreciate a citation to the Visual Lexicon of Aztec Hieroglyphs, https://aztecglyphs.wired-humanities.org/

Orthography: 
intrusive period
Historical Contextualizing Image: 
See Also: 

Yaotl (Verg11r)

Yaocihuatl (Verg12v)