placed that of Don Fernando de Alva Ixtlilxochitl. He was a lineal
descendant of the sovereigns of Tezcuco, and an ardent student of the
antiquities of his race. Among the many works which he wrote are the
_Relaciones Historicas_ and the _Historia Chichimeca_, which
were published by Lord Kingsborough; a _Historia de la Nueva
Espana_, a _Historia del Reyno de Tezcuco_, and a _Historia de
Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe_, which have not had the fortune to be
printed. Such an excellent critic as Mr. Prescott says of his style:
"His language is simple, and occasionally eloquent and touching. His
descriptions are highly picturesque. He abounds in familiar anecdote;
and the natural graces of his manner in detailing the more striking
events of history and the personal adventures of his heroes, entitle him
to the name of the Livy of Anahuac."

Ixtlilxochitl flourished about the year 1600, and among his
contemporaries was Fernando de Alvarado Tezozomoc, also of native blood,
whose _Cronica Mexicana_ has been preserved, and is considered to
be well written, but less reliable. Of about the same date are the
_Relacion_ of Juan Bautista de Tomar, a native of Tezcuco, in which
he treats of the customs of his ancestors; the _Relaciones_ of Don
Antonio Pimentel, grandson of Nezahualpilli, lord of Tezcuco, an author
quoted and praised by the historian Torquemada; the _Historia de
Tlaxcallan_ of Diego Munoz Camargo, a noble Tlascalan mestizo, of
whose style Prescott remarks that it compares not unfavorably with that
of some of the missionaries themselves; and the _Relacion de los
Dioses y Ritos de la Gentilidad_ of Don Pedro Ponce, the cacique of
Tzumpahuacan. Somewhat later, about 1625, Don Domingo de San Anton Munon
Chimalpain wrote his _Historia Mexicana_ and his _Historia de la
Conquista_, which have been mentioned with respect by various
writers.