THE THIRTEENTH RELATION OF FERNANDO DE ALVA IXTLILXÓCHITL (A PHILOLOGICAL STUDY).

Abstract

This article offers a philological study of the Thirteenth Relation: On the Arrival of the Spaniards and the Beginning of Evangelical Law by Fernando de Alva Ixtlilxóchitl, aiming to clarify its origin, textual transmission, historical context, and discursive significance within New Spanish historiography. The central argument proposes that the text should not be read primarily as a historical work in the modern sense, but rather as a juridical-political memorial addressed to viceregal authorities, intended to legitimize indigenous nobility and the services rendered by the author’s ancestors during the conquest. Methodologically, the study draws on philological and historical-documentary analysis, examining editions, manuscript copies, archival evidence, and critical debates—particularly those of Alfredo Chavero and Edmundo O’Gorman—regarding authorship, original language, and textual transmission. In addition, the narrative voice is analyzed to identify features of a hybrid discourse that combines indigenous traditions with Spanish chronicle conventions. The article highlights how strategic uses of pronouns, evaluative language, and narrative structures articulate an early form of mestizo identity shaped by cultural adaptation and political disenchantment. The scope of the study lies in demonstrating that the Thirteenth Relation is a key testimony for understanding both the “vision of the vanquished” and the symbolic negotiations underlying identity formation in colonial Mexico.