MONDONEOO
477
MONDONEDO
Lyons shortly afterwards. His book was considered
such an autliority that an old teacher declared that
medical students for centuries worshipped him as a
god. If something found in a dissection were not de-
scribed in Mondino's "Anathomia", constantly open
before them while dissecting, it was considered an
anomaly. The work of course has been superseded by
progress in the science of anatomy, but it is easy to
understand from it how much practical anatomy for
surgical pur|«)ses the medieval physicians were taught.
Haeser in B iographischcs Lexicon dcr hervorratjcndcn Acrztc; Bibliographie mcdicale (Paris, 1S26); for the question of dissec- tion before and by Mondino, see Pilcher, The Mondino Mytk in Medical Library and Historical Journal (Brooklyn, Dec , 1906); Wal-sh, The Popes and Science (New Yorli, lilOS). Jamk8 J. Walsh.
Mondonedo (Lat. Mondumetum, or Mindon), Diocese of (Mindoniensi.s, also Britoniensis, DcMiENSis, and Villabrien.sis), comprises the civil Provinces of Lugo and Corunna, and is bounded on the north by the Bay of Biscay, on the east by the Austurias, on the south by the Diocese of Lugo, and on the west by the Archdiocese of Compostela (or Santiago de Galicia), of which it has been a suffragan since 1114. Some authorities have sought to fix the date of the foundation of this diocese (under its prim- itive name of Britonia) earlier than the second half of the sixth century, but the later date seems the more probable when we consider that, at the Second Coun- cil of Braga (572), Mailoc, Bishop of Britonia, was ranked lowest because of the more recent origin of his see. It seems to have been founded by the Suevian king, Theodomir, converted to Catholicism by St. Martin of Dumio (see Martin of Braga, Saint) and to have included in its jurisdiction the Churches of the Britones (a territory coinciding with that of Mondoiiedo) and some of those of the Asturias. In the beginning it was a suffragan of Lugo, until the Goths placed Lugo under the jurisdiction of Braga. After Mailoc no mention is found of the bishops of Britonia for a long time, doubtless because the great distance from Toledo made it impossible for them to assist at the councils. In 633 Metopius, Bishop of Britonia, assisted at the Fourth Council of Toledo, presided over by St. Isidore. Sonna, his successor, was one of the bishops who signed at the Seventh Council of Toledo (646) and sent a representative to the Eighth Council of Toledo (16 December, 653). When Britonia was invaded and destroyed by the Saracens, the bishop and priests took refuge in Asturias. In 899, during the reign of Alfonso III, Theodesimus, Bishop of Britonia assisted with other prelates at the consecra- tion of the church of Santiago. It may also be noted that, in the repartition of the parishes, the church of San Pedro de Nova was assigned as the residence of the bishops of Britonia and Orense, when they should come to assist at the councils of Oviedo. By that time, however, the See of Britonia had been trans- lated to the town of Mondumetum and the church of St. Martin of Dumio, or Mondonedo. The diocese has since been most generally known by this name, although the episcopal residence has again changed. After the time of St. Martin it was transferred to Villaraayor de Brea, from which it derived the name of Villabriensis, and afterwards to Ribadeo, but it was nevertheless known as Mindoniense, as a document of the year 1199 bears witness. At first, its patron was St. Martin of Tours, but St. Martin of Dumio v/as afterwards chosen patron.
The church of St. Martin of Mondonedo, one of the best of the ancient churches of this region, had been the cathedral church since 866. The present paro- chial house is a part of the old episcopal palace, con- nected with the church by a gallery from what seems to have been one of the episcopal chambers. In 1112 the queen. Dona Urraca, transferred the episcopal residence to Brea, a valley about seven and a half miles from St. Martin of Mondonedo, in the midst of
which is Villamayor de Brea, where the cathedral
church of Santa filaria Vallibriense was built. The
Blessed Virgin, under her title of the Assumption,
was the patroness of this church. Alfonso VII gave
a charter to the town, and the bishop resided there
until Ferdinand II of Le6n transferred the episcopal
residence to Ribadeo. In 1233 Don Martin, suc-
cessor to Don Pelayo, transferred it to its present
location, Mondonedo, now a town of 10,590 inhabi-
tants. To appease the discontent occasioned in
Ribadeo by this change. Bishop Nuiio II and his
chapter established a collegiate church in Ribadeo
with a canon and four prebendaries (racioneros) .
Many of the bishops of Mondoiiedo were noted for their sanctity and learning. First among these is St. Rosendus, who, in consideration of his eminent virtue, was created a bishop when he was very young, and governed the diocese from 928 to 942. He founded the monastery of Celanova, to which he afterwards rt'- tired to live the life of a monk. Of another abbot of Celanova, Gonzalvo, a legend has been preserved which attributes to his prayers the repulse of the Northmen who were devastating the coasts of Galicia. His sepulchre is in the church of St. Martin of Mon- doiiedo, and on the spot on the shore where he prayed a chapel has been erected to which people come in great numbers, especially at Pentecost. Don Martin, bishop from 1219 to 124S, built the present cathedral of Mondonedo, except for the present facade and four chapels, which form an additional nave behind the principal one. Towards the end of his life he resigned his see and withdrew to St. Martin of Mondonedo to prepare for death. Don Pedro Enrlquez de Castro (1426-45) is credited with having built the ancient cloister, where the coat of arms of his family wag emblazoned. Don Fadrique de Guzmdn (1462-92) made notable repairs in the cathedral; Don Alfonso Sudrez de la Fuente del Salce (1493-96) wag named inquisitor general by Pope Alexander VI; Don Pedro Pacheco, son of the Conde de Montalban (1533-37) was created a cardinal; Fray Antonio de Guevara, a classical writer, preacher and chronicler for Charles V shed lustre on the See of Mondoiiedo. Don Diego de Soto (1546-49) completely renovated the cathe- dral.
In the church at Villamayor de Brea, which was formerly the cathedral of the chocese, there are some notable frescoes, entirely covering the walls of the in- terior. Those on the Gospel side represent, in three large panels, the slaughter of the Innocents; those on the Epistle side, four scenes from the life of St. Peter. Other paintings, the work of the Asturian painter, Te- T&n, decorate the domes of the transept and the main chapel. The present cathedral of Mondonedo, built in the thirteenth century (see above), is one of the best examples of ogival art in Galicia. The Roman- esque portal is, as in many of the churches of that period, the most ancient portion. In the seventcu-nth century a facade in the Baroque style was added. The church is in the form of a Latin cross, with three naves; it has fine altars, choir stalls in the Flemish style, mural paintings of the fifteenth century, in- teresting for the history of art, and two organs in the over-decorated style of the eighteenth century, while the sacristy is richly decorated with pictures of the Flemish school. The Capilla de los Remedios, built in 1738, by Bishop Sarmiento de Sotomayor also deserves mention. The monastery of San Salvador de Loronzana, formerly belonging to the Benedictines, and so called from its proximity to the river Loren- zana, is one of the most notable in Galicia. It was founded on 17 ,Iune, 969, during the episcopate of Theodomir, by the saintly Conde Osorio GutiCTrez, and was richly'endowed. The remains of the founder, who became a member of the community, are interred in the monastery. A vecy beautiful monument con- structed of rare marbles, such as are not to be found
