In this book Leisa A. Kauffmann takes an interdisciplinary approach to understanding the writings of one of Mexico's early chroniclers, Fernando de Alva Ixtlilxochitl, a bilingual seventeenth-century historian from Central Mexico. His writing, especially his portrayal of the great preHispanic poet-king Nezahualcoyotl, influenced other canonical histories of
Mexico and is still influential today.
Many scholars who discuss Alva Ixtlilxochitl's writing focus on his personal and literary investment in the European classical tradition, but Kauffmann argues that his work needs to be read through the lens of
Nahua cultural concepts and literary-historical precepts. She suggests that he is best understood in light of his ancestral ties to Tetzcoco's rulers and as a historian who worked within both Native and European
traditions. By paying attention to his representation of rulership, Kauffmann demonstrates how the literary and symbolic worlds of the Nahua exist in allegorical but still discernible subtexts within the larger
Spanish context of his writing.
The Legacy of Rulership offers a rich academic dialogue with scholars who study Tetzcoco, Nezahualcoyotl, Alva Ixtlilxochitls chronicles, and,
more broadly, colonial histories in Mexico. The comparative analysis of Alva Ixtlilxochitls and Torquemadas chronicles deserves special attention
as it presents a new direction in the study of Alva Ixtlilxochitls
