(a loanword from Spanish)
criminal judge belonging to the high court (Royal Audiencia) of New Spain and viceroy.
1637 Nican ypan xihuitl yaloac quauhtla Omotamachihuato tlali yquac huala alcalde corte ypan abril. =“1637 Here in this year a party went to the forest to measure land. At that time an alcalde de corte [criminal judge of the Royal Audiencia] came, in April” (Townsend ed. 2010: 96). [annals (AHT, AP, AT); time range: 1584 (?)– second half of the seventeenth century (?)]
yquac oquintitlanque Castillan Marq:z ypan yquac huallaque Castillann ovitores hobispo alcalde de corde Jues biscal alhuaCil mayor. “At this time they sent the Marqués [and another or others] to Spain, for which reason at this time there came from Spain oidores [civil judges of the Audiencia], a bishop, an alcalde de corte [criminal judge], a juez fiscal [prosecuting attorney], and an alguacil mayor[chief constable]” (Townsend ed. 2010: 166). [annals (AHT, AP, AT); time range: 1584 (?)– second half of the seventeenth century (?)]
axcan sabado ynic .4. mani metztli Abril de 1615. años. ihcuac yohuatzinco yn opeuh ye tlatzillini yglesia mayor. ynic oquimotlalili descomunio Prouisor ytocatzin castro yn inpan all̅d̅es de cortes. impampa omentin quintlatzontequilique Justiciatica pilolozquia omentin españoles. ce corona quipia ce teopan quiquixtique. “Today, Saturday the 4th of the month of April of the year 1615, early in the morning, was when the bells began to peal at the cathedral because the vicar general named Castro had placed the alcaldes of court under excommunication on account of two Spaniards whom they had sentenced by legal process and who were going to be hanged, one who has the tonsure and one whom they removed from a church”(Chimalpahin 2006: 298). [annals (AHT, AP, AT); time range: 1584 (?)– second half of the seventeenth century (?)]