Itzcoatl (MH595r)

Itzcoatl (MH595r)
Compound Glyph

Glyph or Iconographic Image Description: 

This black-line drawing of the compound glyph for the personal name Itzcoatl (“Obsidian Blade-Serpent,” attested here as a man’s name) shows a bird's eye view of a serpent with six obsidian points sticking out from each of its sides. The serpent is spotted, its bifurcated tongue is protruding, and its rattler is segmented. The serpent only has one visible eye, placed in the center of the top of its head.

Description, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Gloss Image: 
Gloss Diplomatic Transcription: 

fran(o ytzcovatl

Gloss Normalization: 

Francisco Itzcoatl

Gloss Analysis, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Source Manuscript: 
Huexotzinco, Matrícula de (MH)
Date of Manuscript: 

1560

Creator's Location (and place coverage): 

Huejotzingo, Puebla, Mexico

Semantic Categories: 
personal name
Cultural Content & Iconography: 
Animals, incl. Birds, Bugs, Insects, Reptiles, etc.
Gender (male)
Stones, Rocks, Lapidary, Masonry
Tongue Protruding/Noticeable
Colors: 
black & white drawing (no color)
Shapes and Perspectives: 
bifurcated
dotted, granular, textured
horizontal
pointed (see also spiky)
segmented
spiky
spotted or mottled
Parts (compounds or simplex + notation): 
2
Reading Order (Compounds or Simplex + Notation): 
inherent/internal/merged
inward (from outside in)
Keywords: 

obsidiana, piedras, navajas, cuchillos, serpientes, culebras, víboras, serpents, snakes, knives, flints

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

itz(tli), obsidian, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/itztli
coa(tl), serpent or snake, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/coatl

Glyph/Icon Name, Spanish Translation: 

Serpiente de Navajas de Obsidiana

Spanish Translation, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Image Source: 

Matrícula de Huexotzinco, folio 595r, World Digital Library, https://www.loc.gov/resource/gdcwdl.wdl_15282/?sp=269&st=image.

Image Source, Rights: 

This manuscript is hosted by the Library of Congress and the World Digital Library; used here with the Creative Commons, “Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 License” (CC-BY-NC-SAq 3.0).

Historical Contextualizing Image: 
See Also: 

Itzcoa (MH551v)

Itzcoatl (TR29r)

Itzcoatzin (Mdz5v)

Itzcoatl (TR41v)