83$ M E D 
MEDELA, Ma'hdia, or Mehe'dia, a town of Africa, 
in the kingdom of Tunis, on a peninfula on the eaft 
coaft j it appears .to have been formerly a place of great 
ilrength and importance. The port, which was an area 
of nearly one hundred yards fquare, lies within the very 
walls of the city, with its mouth opening towards Cap- 
oudia; but is not capable at prefent of receiving the 
fmaileft veflel. Leo fays that it was founded (it might 
poflibly have been rebuilt) by Mahdi the firth patriarch of 
Cairoan, and therefore adorned his name; but there is 
fomething too polite and regular in feveral of the remain¬ 
ing capitals, entablatures, and other pieces of the ancient 
rnafonry, even defaced as they are at this time, to fufpeft 
their founder to have been an Arabian. It is forty miles 
eaft-fouth-eaft of Cairoan, and eighty fouth of Tunis. 
Lat. 35. 20. N. Ion. 11. E. 
MED'EBA, or Madeva, a city beyond Jordan, in the 
fouthern parts of Reuben, (Jofh. xiii. 16.) Eufebius fays, 
that Medeba was not far from Hefiibon. Ifaiah (xv. 2.) 
afligns it to Moab, becaufe the Moabites took it from the 
Ifraelites. Jofephus (Antiq. lib. xiv. c. 2.) and forne others 
afcribe it to the Arabians, becaufe the Arabians made 
themfelves mailers of it towards the conclufion of the 
Jewifli monarchy. The Jambri of Medeba having killed 
John, a brother of Judas Maccabaeus, as he was palling to 
the country of the Nabatheans ; Simon and Jonathan, his 
brethren, foon alter revenged his death on the children of 
Jambri, as they were conducing a bride to her hufband. 
See Jofephus, lib. xiii. Antiq. and 1 Mac. ix. 36. 
MED'EBACH, a town of the duchy of Weftphalia : 
fixteen miles eaft-fouth-eaft of Brilon, and thirty-two weft 
of Callel. Lat. 51.10. N. Ion. 8. 48. E. 
MEDEL'LIN, a town of Spain, in Eftramadura, on the 
Guadiana, remarkable for being the native place of Fer¬ 
nando Cortez. It was founded by Quintus Ctecilius Me- 
tellus, the Roman conful, and by him called Mttellinwn: 
thirteen miles fouth-eaft of Merida. Lat. 38.43. N. Ion. 
3 • 47 - W. 
MEDEL'LIN, a river of Mexico, in the province of 
Tlafcala, which runs into the gulf of Mexico in lat. 19. N. 
MEDEL'LIN, a river of Mexico, in the province of 
Tlafcala, on a river of the fame name: twenty-five miles 
ibuth of Vera Cruz. 
MEDELPA'DIA, a province of Sweden, in the Nord- 
land divifion, bounded on the north-eaft by Angerman- 
land, on the ealt by the Gulf of Bothnia, on the fouth- 
weft by Helfingland, and on the north-well by Jamtland ; 
about ninety miles in length, and forty-five in breadth ; 
lituated on the w eft coaft of the Gulf of Bothnia. Though 
this province is very mountainous and woody, yet it has 
feveral valleys or arable and meadow land. The feed is 
not (own here till about Whitfuntide, but the corn ripens 
in ten weeks. The forelts abound in venifon and game 
of all forts, as elks, rein-deer, beavers, martins, weafels, 
lynxes, foxes, and wild fowl. This country is agree¬ 
ably interfperfed with lakes and rivers, which fupply it 
with plenty of fifh. They have alfo plenty of cattle ; and 
deal in timber, hops, flax, hemp, butter, fowls, and dried 
fifh. Salmon, feals, &c. are alio caught here. Sundfwall 
is the only feaporr. 
MED'ELSHEIM, a town of France, in the department 
of Mont-Tonnerre, and chief place of a canton, in the dif- 
trict of Deux-Ponts. The place contains 338, and the 
canton 4521, inhabitants. 
ME'DEM, a town of Arabia, in the province of Yemen, 
and refidence of a fchiech : ten miles north-north-weft of 
Sana. 
MED'EMBLICK, or Medenblick. a feaport town of 
Holland, at the entrance into the Zuyder See ; ancient, but 
not very large; and, before the cities of Enckhuyfen and 
Hoorn were built, the capital of North Holland ; fome 
derive its name from a river called Medemblack, which is 
not now exilting; and aflert that Radbode, a famous king 
ef Friefland, who lived in the eighth century, generally 
MED 
refided in a caftle near the harbour. In the year 1416, ii 
was taken by the Quenemaers, a powerful faction ; and by 
the Gueldrians in 1517, who reduced the whole town to 
afhes, except the caftle, which they were not able to take; 
it was loon rebuilt, and again burned down in 1547. The 
principal commerce carried on by the inhabitants is in 
timber, which they bring from Norway, and other northern 
parts of Europe. The firft veflel from the States to the 
coaft of Guinea failed from Medemblick in the year 1593, 
and returned with a rich cargo to Amfterdam. The coun¬ 
try round about is remarkable for its rich paftures. The 
land here is lower than the waters ; for which reafon, they 
have the ftrongeft dams or dykes in the whole country, 
to defend it from the fury of the waves, when the wind 
blows a ftorm from the northward. But in extraordinary 
florins, when the water is as high as the dykes, and ready 
to run over or break them down, the inhabitants lay fails 
along them, in order to weaken the force of the waves ; 
by which means the dykes are fo (Lengthened, that they 
are very feldom broken. This town, as well as Hoorn 
and Enckhuyfen, have a right of coining money, but fuc- 
ceflively, each having its turn for feven years. In Sept. 
1799, this town was taken by the Britifh. It is fifteen 
miles north-eaft of Alcmaer, and fixteen north of Am- 
fterdam. Lat. 52. 49. N. Ion. 4. 58. E. 
ME'DEN, a river which rifes from a lake in the duchy 
of Bremen, about eight miles north-eaft of Bremervorde, 
and runs into the Elbe two miles below Otterndorf. Lat. 
53. 55. N. Ion. 8.44. E. 
MED'ENEW, a town of Pruflia, in the province of 
Samland : twelve miles north-weft ot Konigfberg. 
MEDEO'LA, [from Medea, the famous forcerefs of 
antiquity.] Climbing African Asparagus ; a genus 
of the clafs hexandria, order trigynia, natural order of 
farmentaceae, (afparagi, Ji ijf.) Generic characters—Calyx: 
none, unlefs the corolla be called fo. Corolla; petals fix, 
ovate-oblong, equal, fpreading, revolute. Stamina : fila¬ 
ments fix, awl-fhaped, the length of the corolla ; antheras 
incumbent. Piftillum : germs three, horned, ending in 
ltyles ; fligmas recurved, thickifh. Pericarpium : berry 
roundifn, three-cleft, three-celled. Seeds: folitary, heart- 
fhaped.— EJfential CharaEler. Calyx none; corolla fix- 
parted, revolute ; berry three-feeded. 
Species. 1. Medeola Virginiana, or Virginian Medeola : 
leaves in whorls; branches unarmed. This has a fmall 
fcaly root, from which arifes a Angle (talk about eight 
inches high. There is one whorl of leaves at a fmall dif- 
tance from the ground, and at the top are two leaves (land¬ 
ing oppofite; between thefe come out three (lender pe¬ 
duncles which turn downwards, each fuftaining one pale 
herbaceous flower with a purple pointal. Miller follows 
Linnaeus in placing it in this genus,though the characters 
do not exaftly agree, the corolla being either polypetalous 
or cut into many fegments, and having but five ltamens. 
It is a native of Virginia, and flowers in June. 
2. Medeola afparagoides, or broad-leaved fhrubby me¬ 
deola : leaves alternate, ovate, fubcordate at the bale, ob¬ 
lique. This has a root compofed of feveral oblong knobs, 
which unite at the top, like that of Ranunculus; from 
which arife two or three ftiff winding (talks, dividing into 
branches, and rifing four or five feet high, if they meet 
with fupport. Leaves feffile, ending in acute points, of a 
light green beneath, but dark above. The flowers come 
out from the fide of the (talks, fingly or two on a (lender 
fliort peduncle; petals dull white. It flowers at the be¬ 
ginning of winter, and the feeds are ripe in the fpring. 
Native of the Cape of Good Hope. 
3. Medeola angultifolia, or narrow-leaved flirubby me¬ 
deola : leaves alternate, ovate-lanceolate. This has a 
root like the preceding, but the (talks are not (o (Long j 
they climb higher, but do not branch to much ; the leaves 
are much longer and narrow er, and are of a greyifh colour. 
The flowers come out from the fide of the branches, two 
or three upon each peduncle 5 they are of an herbaceous 
I whits 
