The Earliest Known Text in Latin by a Nahuatl Speaker: Juan de Tlaxcala, “Verba sociorum domini Petri Tlacauepantzi” (1541)

Abstract In the 1500s, don Pedro de Montezuma, son of Motecuhzoma Xocoyotzin (Montezuma II), petitioned for the return of land and estates in Tula, fifty miles away from Mexico City. A report that was compiled in Latin in 1541, now generally known as “Verba sociorum domini Petri Tlacauepantzi,” remains an important source for his contested claim. This article presents a transcription and the first translation of the document into English. After (1) a synopsis and elucidation of its content, the introductory discussion will (2) highlight linguistic and scribal evidence to show that the text was written by a speaker of Nahuatl, (3) confirm Pedro de Montezuma’s identification of the writer as Juan de Tlaxcala, and (4) offer some concluding reflections on the significance of his use of Latin in this context.