San Pablo (Osu38r)

San Pablo (Osu38r)
Simplex Hieroglyph

Glyph or Iconographic Image Description: 

This painted simplex Nahuatl hieroglyph represents the place name San Pablo (Saint Paul). The glyph borrows Christian symbolism related to this saint, which is a sword that relates to the beheading of Paul, his martyrdom. The sword is vertical, and it has a cross shape. Above the cross guard are curling quillons, all of which seem to be gray. The grip, pommel, and button on top may be red. The metal blade is white.

Description, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Added Analysis: 

This hieroglyph, if we can call it that, borrows one hundred percent from Christian iconography. It might be considered a "loan glyph." The gloss includes a "c" at the end of San, which is an archaic or Latinate orthography. For other saints' names in this collection that have interesting iconography, see below. Many of them come from the Codex Sierra Texupa.

Added Analysis, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Gloss or Text Image: 
Gloss/Text Diplomatic Transcription: 

Sanc pablo.

Gloss/Text Normalization: 

San Pablo

Gloss/Text Analysis, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Source Manuscript: 
Osuna, Codex (Osu)
Date of Manuscript: 

1551–1565

Creator's Location (and place coverage): 

Mexico City

Semantic Categories: 
place name
Grammar & Linguistics: 
noun(s)
Writing Features: 
simplex or element as logogram
Cultural Content & Iconography: 
Gender (male)
Names (places)
Religion (Christian)
Religion (Indigenous Christianity)
Weapons, Shields, Armor
Cultural Content, Credit: 

Jeff Haskett-Wood

Colors: 
gray
red
white/neutral
Shapes and Perspectives: 
cross (+)
frontal view
spiraling, swirling, coiling, curling
vertical, upright
Keywords: 

nombres de lugares, topónimos, topónimo, place names, santo, santos, espada, espadas, armas

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

san (a loanword from Spanish), Saint, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/san

Image Source: 

Library of Congress Online Catalog and the World Digital Library, Osuna Codex, or Painting of the Governor, Mayors, and Rulers of Mexico, https://www.loc.gov/resource/gdcwdl.wdl_07324/. The original is located in the Biblioteca Nacional de España.

Image Source, Rights: 

"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." But please cite the Biblioteca Nacional de España and this Visual Lexicon of Aztec Hieroglyphs if you use any of these images here or refer to the content on this page, providing the URL

Orthography: 
intrusive "c"
intrusive period
Historical Contextualizing Image: 
See Also: 

San Pedro (CST26)

San Francisco (MH708v)

San Lucas (MH778v)

San Pablo (CST26)