80 
OVIEDO. 
corolla, tube fubcylindric, fuperior, very long; border 
three-lobed or three-cleft ; berry globular, one-celled, 
quadripartile, four-feeded. There are but two very dif- 
tinfl: fpecies. 
i. Ovieda fpinofa, fpinous, or Weft-Indian, ovieda: 
leaves oval, toothed, broad. A ftirub, with oppofite, 
petioled, oblong, toothed, leaves; the teeth terminated 
byfpines, rigid ; flowers terminating,corymbed, fubfeflile 
among the terminating leaves; berries black. Native of 
South America, in the mountains of Hifpaniola. The 
fruit is ripe in May. Very rare. 
a. Ovieda mitis, fmooth, or Eaft-Indian, ovieda: 
leaves lanceolate, fubrepand, narrow. This alfo is a 
Ihrub. Leaves oppofite, petioled, fmooth, five or fix 
inches long, lefs than one inch wide. Berry fucculent, 
covered by the acutely-triangular fegments of the calyx, 
fubglobular, one-celled, having four ftones when ripe, 
drying up and divifible into four parts. Cuticle, when 
ripe, fomewhat fpongy, wrinkled, fattened to the back of 
the ttones ; which are regularly four, but two only com¬ 
monly ripen, coriaceous-cruftaceous, gibbous on one 
fide, wrinkled, concave or angular on the other, one- 
celled. There is one feed in each ftone, of the fame (hape 
with it, fattened to its bafe, rufefcent. Inhabits Java. 
OVIE'DO, a city of Spain, and capital of the province 
of Afturias, fituated on a plain between two fmall rivers, 
the Ovia or Ove, and Nora; the former of which runs in¬ 
to the Nora, and this into the Nalon, the firft running to 
the north, and thefecond to the fouth, of Oviedo. Some, 
without fufficient authority, have made Oviedo the Lu- 
cus AJlurum; others have deduced its name from the 
Ovia, after Froila, the grandfon of Pelagius, had built it 
in 757; and, according to others again, it was fo confi- 
derable in the time of Pelagius, that, after hi 3 acccflion, 
he made it the chief place of his Hates, and transferred 
to it the epifcopal fee of a neighbouring town called 
Emerita. However this be, Oviedo, in the ninth cen¬ 
tury, was honoured throughout Chriftendom with the 
fingular title of “ the City of Bifhops,” becaufe a num¬ 
ber of them, exiled and perfecuted by the Saracens, took 
refuge in this place. In 901 a council was held here ; 
and, while it was convened, the bilhopric was elevated 
into an archbilhopric by the pope, which dignity was af¬ 
terwards transferred to the church of St. Jago de Com- 
poftella ; and Oviedo again became a bilhopric. 
Oviedo contains an epifcopal palace, a cathedral, a 
collegiate chapter, three parifhes, three convents of 
monks, three of nuns, three colleges, three hofpitals, an 
university founded in 1580, a drawing-fchool, a royal au¬ 
dience, an alcade-mayor, &c. Its population is efti- 
mated at about 6400 inhabitants. The ftreets are tole¬ 
rably ftraight, regular, and well paved; the principal 
fquare is handfome and large, and almoft all the ftreets 
open into it, and the market is held there. The public 
edifices are a Gothic cathedral, faid to be built by 
Froila in 760, and containing a rich treafury of valuable 
vafes, relics, and ornaments, and the bones of fourteen 
kings and queens; the beautiful church of San Salvador, 
built by a prince named Sito, who flouriflied in 774, and 
enriched by a great number of relics; the univerfity, 
which is confidered one of the handfomeft ornaments of 
the town ; and the aqueduft of forty arcades. Oviedo 
has little commerce; it has two tan-yards, a manufa&ory 
of hats, one of horn-combs and bone-buttons, and a 
grand magazine of arms for the army. It is forty-feven 
miles north of Leon. Lat. 43. 19. N. Ion. 5. 57. W. 
OVIE'DO (Gonzalo Fernandez de), one of the earliefl: 
hiftorians of the New World, was born at Madrid in 1478. 
He fpent his youth about the court, and became page to 
Ferdinand king of Arragon, and Ifabella queen of Caftile. 
He accompanied Columbus on his firft voyage to Hifpa¬ 
niola, where he refided many years, and wrote the “ Hif- 
toria General de las Indias,” in fifty books. Twenty- 
one of thefe were printed at Seville in 1535, and at Sala¬ 
manca in 1547. A fummary of this work, which Oviedo 
drew up for the emperor Charles V. is inferted in Barcia’s 
Collection of the Hiftoriadores Primitivos de las Indias 
Occidentales. This fummary contains the mod decifive 
paflage concerning the importation of fyphilis from 
America that is any-where to be found. Oviedo alfo 
wrote two trafts concerning the “ Palo de Guayacan,” 
and the “ Palo Santo,” tranflations of which are in the 
firft volumes of his colleftion “ Scriptorum de Morbo 
Gallico.” This office of chronicler was given to him by 
Charles V. when he was in the feventieth year of his age. 
He left behind him many unpublilhed works, befides the 
fequel of his great hiftory. Moreri. Gen. Biog. 
OVIE'DO (Andres de), bifttop of Hieropolis and pa¬ 
triarch of Ethiopia. He was born at Ilhefcas, a town 
about half-way between Madrid and Toledo, graduated 
at Alcala, and then went to Rome, where, in the year 
1541, he entered the company of Jefuits, then in its in¬ 
fancy. When Joam III. founded the firft Jefuit-college 
at Coimbra, he, with eight Flemilh companions, was fent 
to colonize it by Peter Faber. Oviedo foon diftinguilhed 
liimfelf by his devotion, humility, and felf-aufterity; 
and, when Francifco de Borja ettabliftied a college at 
Gandia, he was thought a fit perfon to be nominated rec¬ 
tor. A fitter could not be found : he never wore a Ihirt, 
he flogged himfelf every day, and vociferated fo loudly 
in his fingle combats with the devil at night, that they 
who were within hearing frequently ran to his afliftance. 
There was no trick in all this : flagellation was among 
the good works of his belief. Such a man was well chofen 
to fotter the zeal of the duke, and he went with him to 
Rome. He was then made redlor of the college at Naples. 
Thus far (fays Mr. Southey) his talents had been well 
employed ; but, when Loyola nominated him as coadju¬ 
tor and fucceflor to Joam Nunez Bareto, in the Abyfli- 
nian miflion, he miftook the character of Oviedo. A 
ftatefman was wanting, not a fanatic. 
Previous to his departure, he was confecrated bilhop of 
Hieropolis; but ftill, with the oftentatious humility 
which then diftinguilhed his brethren, he ufed to fetch 
water for the college, and carry the pitcher upon his 
roequet. Wherever he travelled, he took up his lodging 
in the hofpital. At length, in 1556, he and Bareto fet 
fail, and reached Goa after one of the Ihorteft voyages 
that had then ever been remembered, being four months 
and ten days, of which four weeks had been loft at Mo¬ 
zambique. The affairs of Abyflinia at this time were in 
fo unprofperous aftate, that it was not thought expedi¬ 
ent for the patriarch to proceed thither; he was therefore 
detained at Goa, while Oviedo, with five companions, 
was fent forward on the miflion. They landed at Arkee- 
ko five days only before that fort was taken pofleflion of 
by the Turks. Claudius, or Atzenaf Segued, (in Abyf- 
finian names Bruce is the belt authority to follow,) was 
at that time reigning. On his way to court, Oviedo was 
welcomed by the Portuguefe, and regaled fo plentifully, 
that he might well have thought his lot had fallen unto 
him in a goodly land. Claudius received him with great 
honour, and made him an ample allowance for himfelf 
and all his followers. It was not long before he had a 
conference with him upon matters of religion, at which 
no perfon was prefent. What palled is not known ; but 
Oviedo came away in a pafiion, and faid the king was a 
great heretic. Other difputes followed : he then tried 
what a controverfial letter would do ; and, finding the 
king would not change his creed, and acknowledge the 
fupremacy of the pope, the Jefuit, who was equally bi¬ 
goted and far more brutal, excommunicated all the Portu¬ 
guefe who Ihould remain in his fervice. He himfelf would 
have returned to India in difguft ; but fome of his coun¬ 
trymen, who were fettled in Abyflinia and had families 
there, befought him fo earneftly to ftay, and not leave 
their fouls in fuch imminent danger, that he yielded to 
their entreaties. 
After the defeat and death of Claudius, his brother 
Menas (or Adamas Segued), who fucceeded him, was 
reconciled 
