Dresden Codex

“ Förstemann’s unsurpassable edition of the Dresden Codex, the actual workers on the problem are the barest handful. A few scattered and obscure references amongst the volumes on volumes of Spanish writers, nearly all untranslated, most of them scarce or almost unprocurable, and many not even printed, make up the literature to be searched out. And a few points of decipherment won and safely fixed by the researchers, from Brasseur, de Rosny, Pousse, Brinton and others a generation ago, to Messrs. ”

“ On the tablet of the cross at Palenque, Mr. Bollaert found in squares eznab, “magician”; dz, “a hand”; the “aspiration sign” ⋃; and a part of zip, “tree.” Among the hieroglyphs he traced ahau, “king”; zip, “tree”; akbal, “a plant”; pax, “a musical instrument.” Mr. Bollaert has attempted to read several other inscriptions with no more satisfactory results. [611] One or two of the same scholar’s attempts with the Dresden Codex yield the following: We come to thy presence to implore. The young female implores before the deity, she weeps but has courage. ”

“ I have not found any combination where the rendering of the symbol by kan proves satisfactory. In fact, with the exception of the kan-imix combination heretofore mentioned, kan is very seldom combined with other glyphs, there being only some two or three in the Tro. Cod., and three or four in the Cortesian Codex. It appears, however, a number of times in combination in the Dresden Codex, but as yet I am unable to interpret any of them satisfactorily. ”

“ Whether the Dresden Codex commences the series with the same year as the Manuscript Troano is a point not yet decided; but from what is shown on Plates 25-28, Kan does not appear to be the first. I think there can be no doubt that these four plates represent the fetes and ceremonies of the supplementary days described by Landa (Relac. de las cosas, § § XXXVXXXVIII) . ”

“ If I am correct in reference to the houses, then it is probable the Manuscript relates to a section of country where the dwellings and the temples were of a primitive character.
But few houses or dwellings are represented in the Dresden Codex. In the lower division of Plate 8 there are figures of two, one of which is copied in our Fig. 30. These may represent temples Fig. 30. placed on pyramids or elevated platforms ascending by steps, as indicated in the figure. ”

“ Dr. Harrison Allen in 1875, in the Amer. Philosophical Society’s Transactions, made an analysis of Landa’s alphabet and the published codices. Rau, in his Palenqué Tablet of the U. S. Nat. Museum (ch. 5) , examines what had been done up to 1879. In the same year Dr. Carl Schultz-Sellack wrote on “Die Amerikanischen Götter der vier Weltgegenden und ihre Tempel in Palenqué,” touching also the question of interpretation (Zeitschrift für Ethnologie, vol. xi.) ; and in 1880 Dr. Förstemann examined the matter in his introduction to his reproduction of the Dresden Codex. ”

“ He advances theories, based on the positions of the pictures in the series, to show that the series also referred to the siderial periods of Saturn and Jupiter, and discusses the meaning of the glyphs found on these pages.
This detailed discussion by Dr. Förstemann of pages 51-58 of the Dresden has been used as a foundation by many in further studies of these pages. It is highly probable, however, that a careful study of his interpretations will have to be made, in which the proved assumptions must be clearly differentiated from those in which the “wish is father to the thought.” ”

“ For the sake of uniformity in the arrangement of the difference groups, the 178-day group of column 7 should occur in column 6, and for the same reason, the 148-day group of column 58 should occur in column 59. Professor Förstemann calls both of these variations errors, and arranges his version of the table so that each part is just like the other two. He gives no reason for his opinion other than the phrase “for the author [of the manuscript] had confused the differences 178 and 148....” ”

“ Some of the day-signs produce practically no compounds, others a great many. The compounds fall readily into a system of primary and secondary derivatives, by which their relations may be easily studied, and their proportions recognized.
Coming to the distinguishing of variants, one first meets the fact that the three codices differ. The writing of the Dresden and Perez is regular and accurate, the Perez exceedingly so. Every different variant must here be accounted for. In Tro.-Cort. the writing is crude and careless, so that we have many evident abbreviations which are not genuine variants. ”

“ The last, and bottom, division of the page is filled with a series of black numbers which are of three values only, namely, 177, 148, and 178, of which the first is the most frequent. At more or less regular intervals a vertical strip is run from the top of the half-page to the bottom. This strip contains, in the upper part, eight or ten glyphs. Below them in all but the first strip is a constellation band, and below that a figure of some kind. These strips divide the number series into groups, and are called “pictures,” occurring on ten of the fourteen half-pages. ”

“ In column 1, one dot was omitted in the Uinal place, and in column 12, four dots of the same denomination, recording, respectively, 157 and 2016 instead of 177 and 2096.
There is only one decided error in the day series. In column 11, 6 Cib, 7 Caban, 8 Eznab were written instead of 6 Cimi, 7 Manik, 8 Lamat. It should be noticed that the number of the day was right. In fact just one-half a tonalamatl, or 130 days, was dropped before the day series of column 11, and added on again immediately afterwards. ”

“ On the other hand, he commits two mistakes in saying that there are 40 leaves and that the whole folded table forming the codex has a length of almost 6 meters, for there are only 39 leaves and the length in question is only 3.5 meters, as calculation will approximately show, because the leaves are written on both sides. Humboldt’s other remarks do not immediately concern our problem.
“In 1822 Fr. Ad. Ebert, then secretary and later head librarian, published his History and Description of the Royal Public Library at Dresden. ”

“ II, No. 10, and bears the title: ‘Books consigned to me for the Royal Library in January, 1740.’ Under No. 300 we read: ‘An invaluable Mexican book with hieroglyphic figures.’ This is the same codex which we here reproduce.
“Götze also was the first to bring the existence of the manuscript to public notice. In 1744 he published at Dresden The Curiosities of the Royal Library at Dresden, First Collection. As showing what value Götze attributed to this manuscript, the very first page of the first volume of this work, which is of great merit and still highly useful, begins as follows: ‘1. ”

“ To the north are the vine-clad hills of the Lössnitz commanding views of the valley of the Elbe from Dresden to Meissen; behind them, on an island in a lake, is the castle of Moritzburg, the hunting box of the king of Saxony. On the right bank of the Elbe, 3 m. above the city, lies the village of Loschwitz, where Schiller, in the summer of 1786, wrote the greater part of his Don Carlos: above it on the fringe of the Dresdner Heide, the climatic health resort Weisser-Hirsch; farther up the river towards Pirna the royal summer palace Pillnitz ”

“ After having pass'd the Elbe, over a wooden Bridge, going out of Meissen, I came in less than three Hours to Dresden, the Capital of the Electorate of Saxony. The City is pretty large, fortify'd with Art and Regularity; and very lightsome. Its Houses are high and substantial, the Streets broad, strait, well pav'd, neat, and in the Night-time well lighted. There are great Squares in it; and the whole City is so well laid out, that Dresden may be rank'd among the finest in the World. ”

“ There are a large number of foreign residents, notably Austro-Hungarians and Russians, and also a considerable colony of English and Americans, the latter amounting to about 1500. The population of the city on the 1st of December 1905 was 516,996, of whom 358,776 lived on the left bank (Altstadt) and 158,220 on the right (Neustadt) . The royal house belongs to the Roman Catholic confession, but the bulk of the inhabitants are Lutheran Protestants.
Dresden is the residence of the king, the seat of government for the kingdom of Saxony, and the headquarters of the XII. (Saxon) Army Corps. ”

“ The dome of the cathedral is the first spot which a stranger should visit, as it is the only place which spreads everything before him, as on a map, and all in their just proportions and distances. The city of Dresden is by no means extensive, even when including the old and new town; but the surrounding and distant country presents scenery of great variety and beauty. The southern views take in Saxon Switzerland—the northern, the fertile plains and vales that stretch away towards Leipzig and Berlin. ”

“ It is an independent state, except that its army is under the control of the King of Prussia in time of war. Its royal house is one of the oldest in Europe, and in the tenth century gave an Emperor to Germany. The population of Dresden is one hundred and fifty-six thousand. It is in a healthy and pleasant region, and has many attractions, so that it has long been regarded as a desirable residence by Americans. ”

“ The Inhabitants of Dresden are Lutherans, as well as those of the rest of Saxony, and the Catholics have not so much as one Church in it; for the King being not willing to infringe the Laws of the Country, is content to have one Chapel there for himself and his Family. The Elector of Saxony bears the Title of Grand Marshal of the Empire, and is the Third in Rank among the Secular Electors. ”

“ Yesterday, on arriving, having missed the hour for the Gallery, I walked about Dresden in all directions, and it is, I assure you, a charming city; very preferable as a residence to that mean and melancholy Berlin. It has the look of a capital; partly a Swiss, partly a German town; the environs are picturesque and all is charming. I can conceive of living in Dresden; there is a mixture of gardens and dwellings that delights the eye. ”

“ Among more modern churches may be mentioned: in the Altstadt, the Johanneskirche, with a richly decorated interior; the Lukaskirche; and the Trinitatiskirche; and in the Neustadt, the Martin Luther-Kirche and the new garrison church. Apart from the chapels in the royal palaces, Dresden contains in all 32 churches, viz. 21 Evangelical, 6 Roman Catholic, a Reformed, a Russian, an English (erected by Gilbert Scott) with a graceful spire, a Scottish (Presbyterian) , and an American (Episcopal) church, the last a handsome building, with a pretty parsonage attached. ”

“ After passing these dreadful rocks, Dresden appeared to me a wonderfully agreeable situation, in a fine large plain on the banks of the Elbe. I was very glad to stay there a day to rest myself. The town is the neatest I have seen in Germany; most of the houses are new built; the elector's palace is very handsome, and his repository full of curiosities of different kinds, with a collection of medals very much esteemed. Sir ——, our king's envoy, came to see me here, and Madame de L——, whom I knew in London, when her husband was minister to the king of Poland there. ”

“ The town is deserted, the fortifications are in ruins; there are only old men and some women and children to be met with—and not many of those. Finally we reached Dresden by a very narrow road skirting the Elbe at a great height, the river flowing through a broad valley. The very day after my arrival I visited the famous Dresden gallery, unexcelled in the world. Its masterpieces are so well known that I render no special account. I will only observe that here, as everywhere else, one recognises how far Raphael stands above all other painters. ”

“ Those were pleasant days at Dresden, filled up with the society of bright and warm-hearted people, varied by royal boar hunts, stiff ceremonies at the little court, tableaux, and private theatricals, yet tinged with a certain melancholy, partly constitutional, that appears in most of his letters. His mind was too unsettled for much composition. He had little self-confidence, and was easily put out by a breath of adverse criticism. At intervals he would come to the Fosters to read a manuscript of his own. ”

“ Drelincourt, a French Protestant divine, born at Sedan; author of “Consolations against the Fear of Death” (1595-1669) .
Drenthe (137) , a province of Holland lying between Hanover and the Zuyder Zee; the soil is poor, and the population sparse.
Dresden (250) , the capital of Saxony, on the Elbe, 116 m. SE. of Berlin; a fine city, with a museum rich in all kinds of works of art, and called in consequence the “Florence of Germany” ”

“ Leipsic was our real starting-point for the tramp, and our first haven the Saxon capital Dresden. We took the road through Altenburg, thus diverging considerably from the common route, in order to visit the silver mines of Freiberg, and ramble through the romantic scenery of the Plaunischen Grund. We passed through Saxon Altenburg, Zwickau, Lichtenstein, Chemnitz, Oderan, Freiberg, Tharant, and Wildsruf, and arrived in the evening of the fifth day at Dresden. ”

“ Dresden is the capital, and other important towns are Leipzig, Chemnitz, and Freiburg; the government is vested in the king and two legislative chambers; is represented in the Reichstag and Reichsrath of the empire; by the time of the Thirty Years' War the electorate of Saxony, which in its heyday had stretched to the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Elbe, had sadly dwindled away; it suffered much at the hands of Frederick the Great during the Seven Years' War, and in 1815, having sided with Napoleon, a portion of its territory was, by the Congress of Vienna, ceded to Prussia ”