Maxtlazaca (Verg39v)

Maxtlazaca (Verg39v)
Compound Glyph

Glyph or Iconographic Image Description:

This compound Nahuatl hieroglyph is a black-line drawing of the personal name Maxtlazaca (“Loincloth of Grass”), attested here as a man’s name. The glyph elements include a frontal view of a loincloth (maxtlatl) that is tied and includes lines that give it a three-dimensionality. Above the garment is a clump of grass (zacatl) with four sprigs with what appear to be black blossoms. The compound is fully logographic.

Description, Credit:

Stephanie Wood

Added Analysis:

Another Maxtlazaca in this collection comes from the Matrícula de Huexotzinco (below), which attests that this is a name that transcends regions. The simpler name, Maxtla, is somewhat more common, being the name of a fifteenth-century Tepanec ruler (tlatoani or tlahtoani) of Azcapotzalco, and he was the son of the famous Tezozomoc, so this was a name that was passed down through many generations and probably given to Nahuas with various ethnic associations.

Added Analysis, Credit:

Stephanie Wood

Gloss or Text Image:

Gloss/Text Diplomatic Transcription:

juā. maxtlatzacā

Gloss/Text Normalization:

Juan Maxtlazaca

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

Syntax:

noun(s)

Writing Features:

compound fully logographic

Cultural Content & Iconography:

Gender (male)

Names (personal and/or theonym)

Plants, Flora

Textiles, Clothing, Hats, Regalia

Cultural Content, Credit:

Jeff Haskett-Wood

Colors:

black & white drawing (no color)

Shapes and Perspectives:

frontal view

three-dimensionality

Parts (compounds or simplex + notation):

Reading Order (Compounds or Simplex + Notation):

upward

Keywords:

grass, hay, paja, textiles, loincloths, nombres de hombres, men’s names

Glyph or Iconographic Image:

Relevant Nahuatl Dictionary Word(s):

maztla(tl), a loincloth, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/maxtlatl
zaca(tl), grasses, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/zacatl

Glyph/Icon Name, Spanish Translation:

Taparrabo de Hierbas

Spanish Translation, Credit:

Stephanie Wood

Image Source:

Available at Codex Vergara, folio 39v, https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b84528032/f86.item.zoom, accessed 10 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:

"tz" for z

intrusive "n"

Historical Contextualizing Image: