The Allure of Nezahualcoyotl: Pre-Hispanic History, Religion, and Nahua Poetics

Nezahualcoyotl (1402-1472), the poet-king of Texcoco, has been described as one of the most important pre-Hispanic figures in Nahua history. Since the conquest, European chroniclers have continually portrayed him as a symbol of Aztec civilization and culture, a wise governor and lawmaker, poet and patron of the arts, and proto-monotheist. Their chronicles have served as sources for anthropologists, historians, and literary critics who focus on these contrived images and continually reproduc...