"Sing to the lord a new song": the Marian psalms of Bernardino de Sahagún for Psalmodia Christiana (1583)
Psalmodia Christiana; Psalmos; Bernardino de Sahagún; Catechization; New Spain.
This dissertation seeks to analyze how Virgin Mary figure is approached in the psalms contained in Psalmodia Christiana, a book of psalms in Nahuatl. This work, organized according to the liturgical calendar, houses five Marian psalms, which comprise the feasts of Birth, Conception, Annunciation, Purification and Assumption. According to a Papal bull written by Pope Paul III for the natives four of those feasts were considered mandatory. Throughout the text, it is evident that even do being an intercultural source, Friar Bernardino de Sahagún chose to remain closer to Christian references, inserting native elements in a subtle way. In addition to the aforementioned points, we also propose a reflection on the existence of the source itself and the vicissitudes it has faced throughout its existence. Finally, we conclude that the Marian psalms contributed to foster the image of Mary as a feminine ideal among native populations.