490 LEO 
of white turban, flat and widened like a hat, and their hair 
parted on the forehead. They have a chemife doled over 
the chelt, and a brown corfet buttoned with large fleeves, 
opening behind. Their petticoats and veils are alfo 
brown. Over all they wear immenfe coral necklaces, de¬ 
fending from the neck to the knee; twilling them feve- 
ral times round the neck, palling them over the Ihoulders, 
where a row is fattened that forms a kind of bandage over 
the bofom ; another row is fufpended lower than this ; 
and alfo a third and even a fourth row at fome diftance 
from each other; the laft falls over the knee, with a large 
crofs on the right fide. The necklaces or chaplets are or¬ 
namented with filver medals exhibiting the figures of 
faints. Thefe ornaments are chiefly worn on feltivals. 
On the days of religious folemnities, particularly the Af- 
lumption, the fronts of the churches are illuminated, bon¬ 
fires are made before them, muficians attend, and the peo¬ 
ple dance all night; the women play the cailanets, and 
are accompanied by an inllrument called pandcro, which 
is a kind of tambour de bafque. 
LE'ON, the capital of the above province, or kingdom, 
is a very ancient town, founded before the reign of Galba : 
it was called by the Romans Legio Septima Germanica, from 
the legion that bore that name being Rationed there. 
This city is fituated between the two lources of the Exln, 
which are called the rivers of Torio and Bernesja. It is 
one of the molt famous and mod ancient epifcopal fees in 
Spain ; and poflefled, in the time of the Gothic kings, the 
privilege of appealing immediately to Rome. The bilhop 
is fuffragan to the archbilhop of Compoltella, without 
being in any refpeft dependent on his jurifdiftion ; this 
bilhopric poffeffes a revenue of 22.000 ducats. Its diocefe 
contains 823 villages, 883 p 3 ii(hes, 26 convents of monks, 
11 of nuns, collegiates, and hofpitals. When the kings 
refided here, till the 13th century, its population was 
cotifiderable; but it is now much reduced. According 
to the ftatement of 1788 there were within the jurifdic- 
tion of the intendant of Leon 250,134 inhabitants. A 
great part of its walls confifts of green marble. It con¬ 
tains thirteen parilh-churches, one collegiate-church, four 
convents of monks, five of nuns, and a number of hof¬ 
pitals and hermitages. Here are the royal houfes of San 
Ifidoro and San Marios of the order of St. James; and a 
chapter of noble canonefles, not cloiltered, but who take 
the vows. This town was the find of any importance 
which the Chriliians retook from the Moors. Pelagius 
made himfelf mailer of it in 722, fortified it, and built a 
gpod caftle, to defend the approaches to it. It had the 
honour of being the capital ot the firft catholic kingdom 
of Spain, and of being, for three centuries after the in- 
vafion of the Arabs, the refidence of the kings. The 
palace which duke Alphonfo built here at the end of the 
twelfth century is ftill to be feen. Among its molt fplendid 
edifices we may reckon the cathedral-church, which in 
beauty furpafies the moll admired in Spain, and is one of 
the mod attractive monuments of Gothic architecture. 
The hotel of the counts of Luna is alfo large and hand¬ 
fome. The town-houfe has a good appearance, with a 
tolerably regular front. The palace of the Guzmans is 
magnificent, ornamented with a fuperb portal, and fecured 
by veryltrong walls. Among the gates of the town, one 
was formerly a famous prifon; and at the bottom is the 
ftatue of king Pelagius, with an infcription. The Place 
Mayor has a beautiful appearance. There is a number of 
other fquares and handfome fountains. Notvvithftanding 
the antiquity and importance of this city, it is very de¬ 
ficient in cleanlineis. It is lurrounded by trees, and the 
country about it is every where embellilhed ; it has beau¬ 
tiful promenades, as well as broad and noble avenues of 
handfome trees. I11 the environs of the town the corn- 
harvefrs are not abundant; but this deficiency is fupplied 
by many excellent vegetables, fruits, flax, and verdant 
meadows, which furnilh good paltures. At Leon there 
are feveral manufactories for different woollen articles; 
/lockings, hofiery, leather, gloves, See. are alfo made here. 
L E O 
It is 150 miles north-weft of Madrid. Lat. 42. 36. N. 
Ion. 5. 37. W. 
LE ON, a town of Spain, in Catalonia : forty-three 
miles north-weft of Urge!. 
LE'ON, a town of Mexico, in the province of Guada¬ 
lajara : forty miles eaft of Guadalajara. 
LE'ON, a river of Mexico, which runs into the bay of 
Honduras in lat. 15. 45. N. Ion. 88. 5. W. 
LE'ON, a town of France, in the department of the 
Stura-. four miles north of Savigliano, and eleven weft of 
Cherafco. 
LE'ON. See Isla de Leon, vol. xi. p. 405. 
LE'ON (New), one of the feven domains, called king¬ 
doms, into which the Spanifli dominions in North America 
are diilributed. This name is reftriCted by the maps to a 
fmall province round the town of Monterey, which mult 
not be confounded with another of the fame name, to the 
north of California. It is bounded on the north by the 
favage nations, on the eaft by New Mexico Proper, on 
the louth by a part of Mexico, and on the weft by New 
Bilcay. New Leon proper, a diftrift ridiculoully called a 
kingdom, is divided from Guadalcazar on the fouth by 
the defert of Jaumave, and mountains of Tamalipa. It 
is very mountainous, produces little except lead, and is 
very thinly peopled. The other provinces of the domain 
of New Leon, befides New Leon proper, are Sootander 
and Coaguila, or New Eltramadura. 
LE'ON (Peter Cieca de), author of a hiftory of Peru. 
He left Spain, his native country, at thirteen years of age 
in order to go into America, where he refided feventeen 
years ; and obferved fo many remarkable things, that he 
refolved to commit them to writing. The firft part of his 
hiftory was printed at Seville in 1553. He began it in 
1541, and ended it in 1550. He was at Lima, the capital 
of the kingdom of Peru, when he gave the finiitiing Itroke 
to it; and was then thirty-two years of age. 
LE'ON de CARAC'CAS. See Caraccas, vol iii. 
p. 784. and La Guayra, p. 85 of this volume. 
LE'ON FOR'TE, one of the largelt and handfomeft 
towns in Sicily, ten miles from Argiro: fituated on an 
eminence. The number of inhabitants amounts to 
12,000. The convent of Capuchins is as populous as the 
town. 
LE'ON de GUANU'CO. See Guanuco, vol. ix. p. 65. 
LE'ON de NICARAGUA, a town of North Ame¬ 
rica, in New Spain, and in the province of Nicaragua 3 
the refidence of the governor, and a bifhop’s fee. It con¬ 
fifts of about 1200 houfes; and has four churches, with 
feveral monafteries and nunneries. At one end of the 
town is a lake which ebbs and flows like the fea. The 
town is feated at the foot of a volcano, which renders it 
fubjebt to earthquakes. It was taken by the bucaneers in 
1685, in fight of a Spanifh army who were fix to one. 
Lat. 12. 25. N. Ion. 86. 10. W. 
LE'ONAN, a fmall ifland in the Eaftern Indian Sea, 
near the north-eaft coaft of Borneo. Lat. 6.39. N. Ion. 
117.48. E. 
LEONARD, a man’s name. 
LEONARD of PI'SA, an Italian mathematician who 
flourilhed at the commencement of the thirteenth cen¬ 
tury, is entitled to have his name handed down with ho¬ 
nour to pofterity, on account of his having been the firft 
perfon who brought into Europe the knowledge of the 
Arabic ciphers and algebra. This fa£t we learn from the 
preface to a Latin treatife on arithmetic, in the Maglia- 
becchi library at Florence, entitled, “Liber Abaci, com- 
pofitus a Leonardo filio Bonacci, Pifano, in anno 1202.” 
The author there fays, that, being at Bugia, a town in 
Africa, where his father refided as factor to the merchants 
of Pifa, he was inltrubted in the Arabic method of keep¬ 
ing accounts; and that, finding it more commodious, and 
greatly preferable to the European method, he had drawn 
up this treatife for the purpofe of introducing it into 
Italy. From this country the knowledge of the Arabic 
ciphers and algebra was afterwards communicated to the 
1 other 
