Madrid Codex (Tro-Cortesianus)

Two sections surfaced separately in 19th-century Spain and became known as the Troano and Cortesianus fragments. Scholars later established that they belonged to one screenfold manuscript, and the sections were reunited in 1888.

It consists of 56 folded sheets painted on both sides, producing 112 pages. The Museo de América identifies it as the longest surviving Maya codex.

Most of its content consists of ritual almanacs and divinatory instructions used by Maya specialists. The images and hieroglyphs address activities such as agriculture, hunting, beekeeping, ceremonies, and calendrical forecasting.

The Madrid Codex is especially extensive in ritual and everyday almanacs, while the Dresden Codex is famous for highly developed astronomical tables, including records concerning Venus and eclipses. Both are rare surviving Maya screenfold books, but they emphasize different bodies of specialist knowledge.