Marqués (FCbk12f54r)

Marqués (FCbk12f54r)
Iconography

Glyph or Iconographic Image Description:

This is an iconographic example that features a black and white sketch of don Hernando Cortés (the “Marqués”) leading an expedition against Tenochtitlan, the Mexica capital. It is included in this digital collection for the purpose of making comparisons with related hieroglyphs. The term selected for this example comes from the text near the image in the Digital Florentine Codex. There is no gloss, per se. This example shows Cortés on horseback, carrying a lance. The contextualizing image shows that he is following on the heels of a Tlaxcaltec warrior as the invasionary force marches on the capital city in June 1521. Marqués was a title Cortés won several years after the seizure of power in Tenochtitlan. Once he had the title, that is how Nahuas referred to him for many years, even long after he was dead.

Description, Credit:

Stephanie Wood

Added Analysis:

Cortés appears in a couple of iconographic examples in this digital collection, but he has yet to appear as a hieroglyph (as of February 2026, and with 7500+ records).

Added Analysis, Credit:

Stephanie Wood

Gloss or Text Image:

Gloss/Text Diplomatic Transcription:

marques

Gloss/Text Normalization:

Marqués

Gloss/Text Analysis, Credit:

Stephanie Wood

Source Manuscript:

Florentine/Florentinus, Codex (FC)

Date of Manuscript:

1577

Creator's Location (and place coverage):

Mexico City

Semantic Categories:

title/office

Syntax:

noun(s)

Cultural Content & Iconography:

Animals: Horses

Gender (male)

Politics, Power, Governance

Race, Ethnicity, Identity, Othering

Social Hierarchy, Commoners, Elites

War or Conflict

Weapons, Shields, Armor

Writing, Literacy

Cultural Content, Credit:

Jeff Haskett-Wood

Colors:

black & white drawing (no color)

Shapes and Perspectives:

boxed in

facing right

profile view

Other Cultural Influences:

Spanish/European

Keywords:

battle, battles, invasion, conquest, conquista, conquistar, horse, horses, caballo, caballos, lanza, lanzas

Glyph or Iconographic Image:

Relevant Nahuatl Dictionary Word(s):

Cortés, a Spanish surname, e.g do Hernando Cortés, conquistador, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/Cortés

Glyph/Icon Name, Spanish Translation:

[don Hernando Cortés, conquistador]

Spanish Translation, Credit:

Stephanie Wood

Image Source:

Available at Digital Florentine Codex/Códice Florentino Digital, edited by Kim N. Richter and Alicia Maria Houtrouw, "Book 12: Conquest of Mexico", fol. 54r, Getty Research Institute, 2023. https://florentinecodex.getty.edu/en/book/12/folio/54r/images/0 Accessed 7 February 2026.

Image Source, Rights:

Images of the digitized Florentine Codex are made available under the following Creative Commons license: CC BY-NC-ND (Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International). For print-publication quality photos, please contact the Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana ([email protected]). The Library of Congress has also published this manuscript, using the images of the World Digital Library copy. “The Library of Congress is unaware of any copyright or other restrictions in the World Digital Library Collection. Absent any such restrictions, these materials are free to use and reuse.”

Historical Contextualizing Image: