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The Library

Forty Centuries of Christian Writing

1774 works catalogued century by century, from the literature the Bible was written among to the present — each with a note on what it is, why it lasted, and where to read it.

1501–1600

The Sixteenth Century

2 works

1541

Spanish

History of the Indians of New Spain

Toribio de Benavente Motolinía · c. 1482–1569

An early friar's account of the conquest's aftermath — mass baptisms, epidemics, the destruction of temples — by a man the Nahuas named for his poverty.

Franciscan · HistoryRead elsewhere

c. 1574–1581

Spanish

The History of the Indies of New Spain

Diego Durán · c. 1537–1588

Aztec history and religion recorded from native accounts and painted books by a friar raised in Mexico who spoke Nahuatl from childhood.

Dominican · HistoryRead elsewhere