COGOLLUDO, DIEGO LÓPEZ DE

Franciscan missionary and author; b. and d. dates unknown. He joined the Franciscan Order in 1629 at his native city, Alcala de Henares, Spain. In 1634 he arrived in Yucatán, where he learned Maya from Juan Coronel, then served in various pueblos, and taught philosophy and theology at Mérida. He was elected provincial in 1663 and probably died before the end of his three-year term. His Historia de Yucatán, written between 1647 and 1656 and published posthumously by Francisco de Ayeta, treats of both civil and religious matters and includes data on native religion and custom. In addition to using the works of others, including Bernal Díaz, Herrera, Torquemada, Las Casas, Remesal, Lizana, Sánchez de Aguilar, and Cárdenas Valencia, Cogolludo consulted the documents preserved in the governmental and Franciscan archives of Yucatán and, when possible, the private papers of prominent citizens. He had not, however, access to Landa's Relación or the Relaciones de Yucatán. His failure to meet modern standards of historical scholarship in the use of his sources is an inevitable reflection of the outlook and standards of his time. Although he could be naively credulous, he displayed, on occassion, fine critical sense. The enduring value of Cogolludo's work rests on the success of his efforts to collect and preserve much valuable historical material.

Bibliography: d. l. de cogolludo, Historia de Yucatán, 2v. (5th ed. Mexico City 1957), prologue by j. i. rubio maÑÉ. e. b. adams, A Bio-Bibliography of Franciscan Authors in Colonial Central America (Washington 1953).

[e. b. adams]