Diego López de Cogolludo

Who is Diego López de Cogolludo?

Diego López de Cogolludo was a Spanish Franciscan historian of Yucatán. A native of Alcalá de Henares in Spain, he took the habit of St. Francis at the convent of San Diego, on March 31, 1629, and emigrated to Yucatán, where he became successively lector in theology, guardian, and finally provincial of his order.

His work, the Historia de Yucatán, appeared at Madrid in 1688, and was reprinted in 1842 and 1867. It contains information personally gathered at a time when older sources, written and oral, that have now partly disappeared, were still accessible. Cogolludo consulted and used the writings of Bishop Diego de Landa to a considerable extent, but many of his statements must be taken with caution.