Oveco Núñez (died 951) was the Bishop of León from 927 until his death. [1] His episcopate coincides with the reign of King Ramiro II (931–51), whose faithful supporter he was. [2]
Oveco is sometimes confused with his contemporary bishop of the same first name: Oveco of Oviedo. His origins are obscure, but he was probably a member of the Vela family, a brother of count Bermudo Núñez, and thus uncle of Fernando Bermúdez de Cea, who is known to have inherited property from Oveco. [3] Oveco's had other brothers besides Bermudo: Vela, Suero, Munio and Nuño. His father, named Nuño, may be Nuño Ordóñez, a son of King Ordoño I of Asturias, or perhaps Nuño Vélaz, son of Vela Jiménez, the count of Álava. [4] [5] Oveco witnessed three different donations to the monastery of Sahagún in 945, his name being recorded three different ways: Ovecco Munniz, Obeco Muniz, and Ovecus episcopus.
Oveco was a deacon in 920, when he subscribed to a document of Sahagún. Around 937, Oveco led an expedition with his brother Vermudo to the region around of Salamanca, there to found new villages ( repoblación) and consecrate new churches with the newly appointed bishop, Dulcidio II. [6] In 953 Ordoño III donated all the settlements and churches founded by Oveco and his fellows to the diocese of León. [7] Oveco founded a monastery in Vega, which passed to his nephew Fernando on his death.
Notes
- ^ According to Manuel Risco in his España sagrada his episcopacy lasted from 928 to 950; according to Palomeque Torres it was 927–50.
- ^ Salazar y Acha (1985), 27.
- ^ As recorded in a document of 984.
- ^ Torres (1999), 46–47.
- ^ Salazar y Acha (1985), 23–24.
- ^ Torres (1999), 51.
- ^ Sánchez-Albornoz (1934), 61–62.
Sources
- Palomeque Torres, Antonio. 1955. "Episcopologio de las Sedes del Reino de León durante la décima centuria". Archivos Leoneses: Revista de estudios y documentación de los Reinos Hispano-Occidentales 18: 109–25.
- Salazar y Acha, Jaime de. 1985. "Una familia de la Alta Edad Media: Los Velas y su realidad historica". Estudios Genealógicos y Heráldicos. Madrid: Asociación Española de Estudios Genealógicos y Heráldicos..
- Sánchez-Albornoz, Claudio. 1934. Estampas de la vida en León durante el siglo X. Madrid.
- Torres Sevilla-Quiñones de León, Margarita Cecilia. 1999. Linajes nobiliarios de León y Castilla: Siglos IX–XIII. Salamanca: Junta de Castilla y León, Consejería de educación y cultura.