The Broken Spears
 First edition | |
| Author | Miguel León-Portilla |
|---|---|
| Original title | Visión de los vencidos: Relaciones indígenas de la conquista |
| Country | Mexico |
| Language | Spanish |
| Subject | Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire |
| Publisher | UNAM |
Publication date | 1959 |
Published in English | 1962 |
The Broken Spears: The Aztec Account of the Conquest of Mexico (Spanish title: Visión de los vencidos: Relaciones indígenas de la conquista) is a book by Miguel León-Portilla, translating selections of Nahuatl-language accounts of the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire. It was first published in Spanish in 1959, and in English in 1962. The most recent English edition was published in 2007 (ISBN 978-0807055007).
The English-language title, "The Broken Spears", comes from a phrase in one version (BnF MS 22bis) of the Annals of Tlatelolco, xaxama[n]toc omitl. According to James Lockhart, this is a mistranslation resulting from confusion between the Nahuatl words mitl "arrow", "dart" or "spear", and omitl "bone"; an alternative translation is thus "broken bones".[1]
Translations
| Year | Language | Title | Translator | Location/Publisher (of 1st edition) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1959 | Spanish | Visión de los vencidos: Relaciones indígenas de la conquista (Vision of the Vanquished: Indigenous Accounts of the Conquest) | (original) | México: Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) |
| 1962 | English | The Broken Spears: The Aztec Account of the Conquest of Mexico | Lysander Kemp | London: Constable Boston: Beacon Press |
| 1962 | German | Rückkehr der Götter: Die Aufzeichnungen der Azteken über den Untergang ihres Reiches (Return of the Gods: The Aztecs' Accounts of the Downfall of their Empire) | Renate Heuer | Köln: Middelhauve |
| 1965 | French | Le Crépuscule des Aztèques: Récits indigènes de la Conquête (Twilight of the Aztecs: Indigenous Accounts of the Conquest) | Madeleine Folque | Tournai, Belgium: Casterman |
| 1967 | Polish | Zmierzch Azteków: Kronika Zwyciężonych: Indiańskie relacje o podboju | María Sten, Jerzy Ficowski | Warszawa: Państ. Instytut Wydawniczy |
| 1987 | Catalan | Visió dels vençuts: relacions indígenes de la conquesta (Vision of the Vanquished: Indigenous Accounts of the Conquest) | Josep M. Murià | Barcelona: Llamp |
| 2009 | Otomi (Hñähñu) | Ra nthandi to'o bi b'edi ya njondahmä ya mudimehai dig'a ra ts'okat'ot amfeni (Vision of the Vanquished: Indigenous Accounts of the Conquest) | Raymundo Isidro Alavez | Hidalgo, Mex.: UNAM, Coordinación Humanidades |
References
External links
- Full Spanish text of The Broken Spears (Visión de los vencidos).