“Pesado has sido en balanza y fuiste hallado falto”: Moteuczoma Il como lector bíblico e indígena en las historias de la Crónica X

Abstract

Chroniclers Diego Duran and Hernando de Alvarado Tezozomoc composed histories of the pre-Hispanic Mexicas using the same group of indigenous sources, now lost. This article demonstrates that they also used the biblical parable of the writing on the wall from 5 Daniel to structure parts of their narratives and characterize Moteuczoma II as another Balthazar: incompetent and prodigal. But although they share this source, the possible interpretations of the parallels
between their histories and the parable they exploit affect their purposes in distinct and sometimes detrimental ways, which are investigated in the present article.