The pleasant historie of the conquest of the VVeast India, now called new Spayne: atchieued by the vvorthy Prince Hernando Cortes, marques of the Valley of Huaxacac, most delectable to readeLópez de Gómara, Francisco
History
The pleasant historie of the conquest of the VVeast India, now called new Spayne: atchieued by the vvorthy Prince Hernando Cortes, marques of the Valley of Huaxacac, most delectable to reade
López de Gómara, Francisco
Cortés, Hernán, 1485-1547; Mexico -- History -- Conquest, 1519-1540; Nahuatl language -- Glossaries, vocabularies, etc.
The Temple is called _Teucalli_, that is to say, Gods house, _Teutl_
signifieth God, & _Calli_ is a house, a vowell very fitte, if that
house had bene of the true God. The Spaniards that vnderstäd not the
language, do pronounce and call those Temples _Cues_, and the God
_Vitzilopuchtli_, _Vchilobos_. There are in _Mexico_ many parishe
churches, with towres, wherein are chappels and Altares where the
images & idols do stande, & those chappels do serue for burial places
of their founders, and the Parishioners are buried in the Churchyarde.
All their tëples are of one fashion, therefore it shal be nowe
sufficient to speake of the cathedral church. And euen as those tëples
are al in generall of one making in that citie. I doe beleue that the
lyke was neuer séene nor heard off. This temple is square, & doth
containe euery way as much ground as a crossebow can reach leuell:
it is made of stone, with foure dores that abutteth vpon the thrée
calseys, and vpon an other parte of the Cittie, that hath no calsey but
a fayre streate.
[Sidenote: A straunge dore.]
In the middest of this Quadern standeth a mount of earth and stone
square lykewise, and fiftie fadom long euery way, buylte vpward like
vnto a pyramide of Egipt, sauyng the toppe is not sharpe, but playne
and flatte, and tenne fadom square: vppon the weast side, were steppes
vp to the toppe, in number an hundreth and fourtene, whiche beyng so
many, high, and made of good stone dyd séeme a beautifull thing. It
was a straunge sight to beholde the Priestes, some goyng vp, and some
downe with ceremonies, or with men to be sacrificed. Vpon the toppe of
this Temple are two great Alters, a good space distant the one from
the other, and so nigh the edge or brimme of the wall, that scarcely
a man mought go behind them at pleasure. The one Alter standeth on
the right hande, & the other on the left, they were but of fiue foote
highe, eche of them had the backe part made of stone, paynted with
möstrous and foule figures, the Chappell was fayre & well wrought
of Masons worke & timber, euery Chappell had thrée loftes one aboue
another, susteyned vpon pillers, & with y^e height thereof it shewed
like vnto a fayre tower, and beautified the Cittie a farre of: from
thence a man mought sée all the cittie and townes rounde aboute the
lake, whiche was vndoubtedly a goodly prospect. And bycause _Cortes_
& his company shoulde sée the beautie therof, _Mutezuma_ brought him
thither, and shewed hym all the order of the Temple, euen from the
foote to the toppe. There was a certaine plot of space for the idoll
priests to celebrate their seruice without disturbance of any. Their
general prayers were made toward y^e rising of the sunne. Vpon ech
alter standeth a great idoll. Beside this tower that standeth vpö the
pyramide, there are fourtie towers great & small belonging to other
little tëples which stand in the same circuite, the which although they
were of the same making, yet theyr prospect was not westwarde, but
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