THE CHRONICLES.
The chronicles and fragments of chronicles which I have collected here are all taken from the various “Books of Chilan Balam.” They constitute about all that remains to us, so far as I know, of the ancient history of the peninsula. There are, indeed, in other portions of these “Books” references to historical events before the Conquest, but no other consecutive narrations of them.
Except the one given first, none of these has ever been printed, nor even translated from the Maya into any European language. Whether they corroborate or contradict one another, it is equally important for American archæology to have them preserved and presented in their original form.
It does not come within my present purpose to try to reconcile the discrepancies between them. I am furnishing materials for history, not writing it, and my chief duty is to observe accuracy, even at the risk of depreciating the value of the documents I offer.
I have, therefore, followed strictly the manuscripts which I possess in fac-similes of the originals, and when I believe the text is corrupt or in error, I have suggested apart from the text what I suppose to be the needed correction to the passage.
In the notes I have also discussed such grammatical or historical questions as have occurred to me as of use in elucidating the text.