Ixtlilxochitl.—A fragment of a Codex, known as the ‘Codice Goupil,’ is published in the ‘Catalogo Boban,’ ii. 35, containing a picture of the great Teocalli with a description written in Spanish. The handwriting is said by Leon y Gama to be that of Ixtlilxochitl.
Don Fernando de Alva Ixtlilxochitl was born in 1568 and was descended from the royal families of Texcoco and Tenochtitlan. He was educated in the College of Sta. Cruz and was the author of the history of the Chichamecs. He died in 1648 or 1649.
The ‘Codice Goupil’ was probably a translation into Spanish of an earlier Aztec text.
The picture of the great Teocalli is given on Plate D.
The positions of the Palace of Montezuma, the Palace of Tlillancalqui, the Cuicacalli or Dance House, and the old Palace of Montezuma have been defined by various writers and are now generally accepted.
The principal difficulty arises in defining the area of the Temple Enclosure and the position and orientation of the Teocalli of Huitzilopochtli.
THE TEMPLE ENCLOSURE.
The Temple Enclosure was surrounded by a high masonry wall (Anon., Torq., Moto.) known as the Coatenamitl or Serpent Wall, which some say was embattled (Torq. quoting Sahagun, Moto.). There were four principal openings (Anon., Torq., Moto., Duran) facing the principal streets or causeways (Torq., Moto., Duran). (Tezozomoc alone says there were only three openings—east, west and south—and three only are shown on Sahagun’s plan.) “It was about 200 brazas square” (Sahagun), i. e. about 1013 English feet square. However, Sahagun’s plan (Plate C) shows an oblong.
As the four openings faced the principal streets or causeways, the prolongation of the line of the causeways of Tacuba and Iztapalapa must have intersected within the Temple Enclosure. This intersection coincides with junction of the modern streets of Escalerillas, Relox, Sta. Teresa, and Seminario (see Plate A).