The Tro-Cortesian Codex

The Tro-Cortesian Codex, Codex Tro-Cortesianus or Madrid Codex is a Maya codex.

It is considered the most important book in the Museum of America in Madrid, and one of the most outstanding pieces of the entire collection, although for conservation reasons and to minimize damage, what is exhibited to the public is a facsimile and the original remains stored in the vault of the museum. Is a pre-Columbian Mesoamerican manuscript that provides a visual and textual record of indigenous cultural practices and beliefs.

In the second half of the 19th century two separate fragments were located. When both fragments were studied, it was found that they were part of the same book. They have a length of 4..6 + 2.38 meters.

The sum of the Codex Troano and the Codex Cortesiano gives rise to the Codex Trocortesiano, which is a whopping 6.82 meters long. This very long strip, which was used as a support, is not exactly paper but is made with vegetable fibers from cactus such as maguey, agave or pita, agglutinated with natural comma and covered with a light lime stucco.

This codex is considered a valuable artifact that offers insights into the world of Mesoamerican societies before European contact.

It is one of only four surviving pre-Hispanic Maya codices, along with the Dresden Codex (Saxon State Library and University of Dresden, Dresden), the Paris Codex (National Library of France, Paris) and the Codex Maya of Mexico, or Codex Grolier, (National Library of Anthropology and History, Mexico City),

Created around the early 16th century, during the time of the Spanishconquest of the Aztec Empire, the Codex Cortesianus is composed of multiple sections or pages, each containing intricate illustrations accompanied by hieroglyphic texts. These images and glyphs together serve to convey a range of topics and themes that were significant to the indigenous cultures of the region.