Lesson plan

Codex Escalada

Codex Escalada (or Codex 1548) is a sheet of parchment signed with a date of "1548", on which there have been drawn, in ink and in the European style, images (with supporting Nahuatl text) depicting the Marian apparition of Our Lady of Guadalupe to Juan Diego which allegedly occurred on four separate occasions in December 1531 on the hill of Tepeyac north of central Mexico City. If authentic, and if correctly dated to the mid-16th century (as tests so far conducted indicate), the document fills a gap in the documentary record as to the antiquity of the tradition regarding those apparitions and of the image of the Virgin associated with the fourth apparition which is venerated at the Basilica of Guadalupe. The parchment first came to light in 1995, and in 2002 was named in honour of Fr. Xavier Escalada S.J. who brought it to public attention and who published it in 1997.

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Article summary

Codex Escalada (or Codex 1548) is a sheet of parchment signed with a date of "1548", on which there have been drawn, in ink and in the European style, images (with supporting Nahuatl text) depicting the Marian apparition of Our Lady of Guadalupe to Juan Diego which allegedly occurred on four separate occasions in December 1531 on the hill of Tepeyac north of central Mexico City. If authentic, and if correctly dated to the mid-16th century (as tests so far conducted indicate), the document fills a gap in the documentary record as to the antiquity of the tradition regarding those apparitions and of the image of the Virgin associated with the fourth apparition which is venerated at the Basilica of Guadalupe. The parchment first came to light in 1995, and in 2002 was named in honour of Fr. Xavier Escalada S.J. who brought it to public attention and who published it in 1997.

Key claims

  1. date of death: 1548 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
  2. date of death: 2006 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
  3. publication date: 1997 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
  4. publication date: 1666 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
  5. publication date: 1648 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
  6. publication date: 1889 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
  7. publication date: 1997 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95

Discussion questions

  1. Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
  2. The record states that the date of death is "1548". What evidence would count against this claim?
  3. The record states that the date of death is "2006". What evidence would count against this claim?
  4. The record states that the publication date is "1997". What evidence would count against this claim?
  5. The record states that the publication date is "1666". What evidence would count against this claim?
  6. The record states that the publication date is "1648". What evidence would count against this claim?
  7. The record states that the publication date is "1889". What evidence would count against this claim?
  8. The record states that the publication date is "1997". What evidence would count against this claim?
  9. Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
  10. If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?

Bibliography

  1. Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1358392676

Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.