Two of the world's leading scholars of the Aztec language and culture have translated Sahagún's monumental and encyclopedic study of native life in Mexico at the time of the Spanish Conquest. This immense undertaking is the first complete translation into any language of Sahagún's Nahuatl text, and represents one of the most distinguished contributions in the fields of anthropology, ethnography, and linguistics. Written between 1540 and 1585, the Florentine Codex (so named because the manuscript has been part of the Laurentian Library's collections since at least 1791) is the most authoritative statement we have of the Aztecs' lifeways and traditions - a rich and intimate yet panoramic view of a doomed people. The Florentine Codex is divided by subject area into twelve books and includes over 2,000 illustrations drawn by Nahua artists in the sixteenth century. Book Two gives comprehensive accounts of the religious ceremonies and days of feasting during the time of the Aztecs, including prayers, songs, and the duties and roles of Aztecs inside the temples during the ceremonies. This book also details the various tributes and sacrifices given to specific gods.

Table of Contents:
  1. Concerning the calendar and the feasts of fixed date 2. Tlacaxipeualiztli 3. To\u00e7oztontli 4. Uei to\u00e7oztli 5. Toxcatl 6. Etzalqualiztli 7. Tecuilhuitontli 8. Uei tecuilhuitl 9. Tlaxochimaco 10. Xocotl uetzi 11. Ochpaniztli 12. Teotl eco 13. Tepeilhuitl 14. Quecholli 15. Panquetzaliztli 16. Atemoztli 17. Tititl 18. Izcalli 19. [Nemontemi and the movable feasts] 20. Telleth of the feast day and the debt-payment which they celebrated during all the days of the month 21. Telleth of the honors and the debt-payment which they used to render at the time of the entire second month 22. In which are described the feast day and the debt-paying which they celebrated in the second month 23. Telleth of the feast day and of the honors which they performed during all the days of the fourth month 24. Relateth the feast and the debt-paying which was celebrated during all the days of the fifth month 25. Telleth of the feast and of their offerings which they made during all the days of the sixth month 26. In which are related the feast day and the honors done during all the days of the seventh month 27. Telleth of the feast day and of the debt-paying which they celebrated during all the days of the eighth month 28. Telleth of the feast and of the offerings which they made during all the days of the ninth month 29. In which are named the feast and debt-paying which they celebrated during all the days of the tenth month 30. Here are related the feasts and the honors observed during all the days of the eleventh month 31. Telleth of the feast and the debt-paying which were observed during all the days of the twelfth month 32. In which are related the feast day and the debt-paying which were observed during all the days of the thirteenth month 33. In which are related the feast day and the debt-paying with which they gave service, which they observed during all the days of the fourteenth month 34. Telleth of the feasts and the debt-paying which were observed during all the days of fifteenth month 35. Telleth of the feast day and the honors which they observed during all the sixteenth month 36. Where are related the feast day and the debt-paying which were observed during all the days of the seventeenth month 37. Telleth of the feasts and honors performed during all the days of the eighteenth month 38. Telleth of the feast which named Uauhquiltamalqualiztli [The Eating of Tamales Stuffed With Amaranth Greens] Appendix to the Second Book Temple of Uitzilpochtli Coatepetl Here is described the feast which was observed every eight years Behold here a true [relation] of all the [buildings] which were Mexicans' temples Here is told in what manner the Mexicans made offerings and what they made as offerings in their temples Here are told the various modes in which blood was shed [and] offered Here are told, in very truth, the offerings which they made, with which they paid honor to the devil A declaration of still other offerings with which similarly they paid honor to the devil A declaration of all those who served in the homes of each of the gods A declaration of how the sun was served, and of how many times trumpets were blown during the day and during the night, and of how many times incense was offered A declaration of the training or the labors which were done in the temples, in the devils' houses A declaration of how the devils were prayed to, and how oaths were made Here is told what the songs of the devils were, with which they paid honor to them within their temples and indeed without An account of how the women served there in the temples