Law in Mexico Before the Conquest

[John F. Schwaller]

Replicas con:  Mike Widener mwidener at mail.law.utexas.edu

Estimados colegas,

Una nueva exhibición en linea, "Law in Mexico Before the Conquest"
("El derecho en México antes de la Conquista") describa las sistemas
jurídicas de los Aztecas y Mayas. Proporcionada por la Biblioteca de
Derecho Tarlton de la Universidad de Texas en Austin, la exhibición
está disponible en

     http://www.law.utexas.edu/rare/aztec/Home.htm

La exhibición toma textos e imágenes de crónicas como el Codice
Florentino y Codice Mendoza para ilustrar temas como las cortes
aztecas, normas de evidencia, la conducta de los jueces, y el derecho
penal.

También hay una bibliografía anotada sobre el derecho azteca y maya, en

      http://www.law.utexas.edu/rare/aztec.htm

Esta bibliografía ha sido una de las páginas más visitadas del sitio
de la Biblioteca Tarlton, y ha sido actualizado con 45 nuevas citas
bibliografícas.

La exhibición y la bibliografía fueron escritas por Mike Widener,
Director de Colecciones Especiales en la Biblioteca Tarlton, y
diseñadas por Eric Glass.


--------------------------------------

A new online exhibit from the Tarlton Law Library, University of
Texas at Austin, describes the sophisticated legal systems of the
Aztec and Maya civilizations. Entitled "Law in Mexico Before the
Conquest", the exhibit may be viewed at at:

     http://www.law.utexas.edu/rare/aztec/Home.htm

The exhibit uses the words and pictures of native chroniclers to
illustrate and explain Aztec courts, standards of evidence, judicial
conduct, criminal law, and other aspects of Aztec and Maya law.

The Spanish conquistadors found not only empires and cities in Mexico
to rival those of Europe, but also highly developed legal systems.
The penalties exacted by Aztec courts seemed quite severe to the
Spaniards, yet their reliance on evidence, the promptness of their
rulings, and their high standards of conduct were much admired. The
descriptions of good and bad attorneys, told and illustrated in the
16th century by Aztec informants in Fray Bernardino de Sahagun's
landmark "History of the Things of New Spain", still sound familiar
today:

     "The good attorney ... is discreet, able, astute, diligent,
     constant, unflagging, sharp-tongued, contentious, wrangling,
     ingenious, persevering, audacious, unyielding, persistent,
     dignified, solicitous, careful of things.... He collects
     tribute ... He consumes a tenth of it -- he draws recompense.
        The bad attorney [is] one who takes things from others by
     fraud. [He is] a persistent beggar, an excessively importunate
     one ... He is a hypocrite -- lazy, lukewarm, negligent,
     deceiving, two-faced, inconstant, squandering, dumb, mute."

In addition, an annotated bibliography, "Resources on Aztec and Maya
Law" is available at <http://www.law.utexas.edu/rare/aztec.htm>. The
bibliography, long one of the most visited pages on the Tarlton Law
Library's website, is newly updated and more than tripled in size.

The exhibit was researched and written by Mike Widener, Head of
Special Collections at the Tarlton Law Library. The web design was by
Eric Glass, Reserve Room Supervisor, before his departure to become
Serials Librarian at the Columbia Law School Library.
--

*****
MIKE WIDENER, Head of Special Collections
Joseph D. Jamail Fellow in Law Librarianship
Tarlton Law Library, School of Law
The University of Texas at Austin
727 E. Dean Keeton Street, Austin, TX 78705-3224
Phone: 512/471-7263; fax: 512/471-0243
E-mail: mwidener at mail.law.utexas.edu

Visit our Web site...
      http://www.law.utexas.edu/rare/


John F. Schwaller
Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Dean
315 Behmler Hall
University of Minnesota, Morris
600 E 4th Street
Morris, MN  56267
320-589-6015
FAX 320-589-6399
schwallr at mrs.umn.edu