177
A part of the ancient city walls are still standing,
some of them being Roman fortifications dating from
the third centurv and decorated with tesserae. The
best preserved of these remains are in the *' Carrera de
los Cubos", on the north-west side of the city, be-
tween the cathedral and the Puerta del Castillo. The
modern city extends beyond this enclosure towards the
railroad . The most notable monuments are the cathe-
dral, the collegiate church of S . Isidoro, and the convent
of S. Marcos. The cathedral of Sta. Marfa is one of the
best examples of primitive Gothic in Spain. It is Bup-
posed to have been commenced in the middle of the
thirteenth century, in the episcopates of Nuno Alvarez
and Martin III (Femdndez) a245-80), and the fa^de
was completed at the end of the sixteenth century. Its
excessive weight caused the dilapidation which occa-
sioned repairs under the direction of Madrazo (d.
1881), Demetrio de los Rios (d. 1892), and Lazaro.
Its plan is a Latin cross, with three naves, a transept, a
choir of five naves, and a chevet of chapels. Above
the lateral arcade runs the triforium f^allery ^ and above
that again large ogival windows filled with stained
fflass of great value. The choir, in the middle of the
utrg^est nave, is magnificent Florid Gothic; the retro-
choir. Renaissance. In the centre of the space behind
the altar stands the mausoleum of Ordotio II. On the
Gospel side of the main chapel is the tomb of St.
Aivitus; on the Epistle side, that of Don Pelayo, the
Bishop; in the chapel of the Saviour, that of the
Countess Sancha; in the chapel of the Nativity, that
of Bishop Rodrigo. The cloister is in the Renaissance-
Transition ogival style. The exterior, uncovered in
front and on one side, is dominated by the spires
which crown the two lofty and massive towers; it is
sustained by pinnacles and buttresses, strengthened
with supports and abutments, and surrounded with
cornices and pierced parapets. There are two orders
of ogival windows and, opening to the west and south,
a tnple doorway which is profusely ornamented with
magnificent carvings, and gives access to a spacious
vestibule paved with marble and closed by an iron
grille. The two towers, of unequal height, stand
apart from the nave of the church from theu* bases up,
but are connected with it by means of abutments.
The northern tower, which is the less lofty, is crowned
with a parapet and an octagonal spire. The southern
is taller and more ornate; its octagonal spire is of
exquisite pierced work. Here, in lar^e Gothic charac-
ters, may be read: Maria — Jesiis Xps — Deus homo;
and higher up: Ave Maria — Gratia plena — Dns tecum.
The porch consists of three arcades, corresponding to
the three entrances; upon the pillar which bisects the
middle portal standis the laiige and beautiful statue of
the Blessed Vi.^ called la Blanca (the White). To-
wards the north of the city is the basilica of S. Isidore,
predominantly Byzantine in architecture, but with the
addition of later constructions. The church has three
lofty naves. In the north transept may be read the
record of the consecration, performed by eleven bish-
ops, 6 March, 1149. In the crypt of this church is the
burial-place of the kings, which was desecrated by the
French of Napoleon's army. The convent of S. Marco
stands outsiae the city, to the west. It was once a
residence of the Knights of Santiago. Its rebuilding
was conmienced by Ferdinand the Catholic and was
completed in 1715. Its decoration is in the Plater-
esque style.
FiTA, Epigrafia romana de la ciudad de Ledn (Leon, 1806); FL6Bas-Ri800, Etpafla Sagmda, XXXIV- VI, Memoriae de la Sta, IgUwia exeiUa de Le&n (Madrid, 1784-86): Quadrado. Ee- pa4a. 9ue montunentoe y ariee (Barcelona, 1S.S5): Ceneo de looo and Movimienio de la poblacum en 1901 in Memoriae del Ineti- Mo Geoffrdfico u Eeladtetico; Mu5^os y Romero, Fueroe munici- poiee de Caetitta (1847); CoLBiBiRo. ConetUudun y gobiemo de he reinoe de Le&n y CaetiUa (Madrid. 1855); Davila, Teatro edeeideHco de Eepana, 1 (1618); LiAvina. La caledral de Leon OCadrid. 1876); Bblloso, Anuario Ecleeidatiro de Eepaila
liAuOn Ruiz Amai>o.
Le6n, Diocese of (Leonensib), suffragan of Micho*
acan in Mexico, erected in 1863. In the early da^rt of
the discovery of Mexico the whole country was divided
into dioceses subiect to the Archbishop of Seville in
Spain as metropolitan. Among these was Michoacan,
erected as a bishopric in 1536. On 31 January, 1545,
at the request of Charles V, Paul III formed the
Archdiocese of Mexico, and Michoacan became one of
its suffragan sees, its bishop residing in what is now
the town of Morclia. In the Secret Consistory of 16
March, 1863, Pius IX divided the Diocese of Micho-
acan into the Sees of Michoacan, Zamora, Le6n, and
Queretaro. The Diocese of Le6n, which comprises
tne civil State of Guanajuato, about SOOO sq. miles
in area, and having a population of 968,163, is in
the heart of a rich agricultural country famous for
its cotton and woollen weaving. The richest silver
mines in Mexico are in the neighbourhood of Guana-
juato. The town of Guanajuato, situated 6(XX) feet
above the level of the sea, and 250 miles north-west of
Mexico, is famous also for its churches and monaster-
ies. It was founded by the Spaniards in 1554, and
has a population of 53,000, though under Spanish rule
the population exceeded 100,(X)0. Le6n, or Le6n de
los Aklamas, the chief town of the department of the
same name, is the residence of the bishop, Mgr Eme-
terio Valverde Telles. The town is situated on the
right bank of the Rio Tor bio, at a height of 50(X) feet
a}x)ve sea-level, and had a population of (>3,263 in
1900. It was founded in 1570. Another important
town in the same department is San Francisco del
Rinc6n. As an episcopal see Lc6n dates from 1863,
and its present bisiiop was elected on 7 August, 1909.
The cathedral chapter consists of 12 canons and 6 chap-
lains. There is a diocesan seminary with 24 profes-
sors, and the spiritual wants of the diocese are looked
after by 264 secular priests and 48 regulars (see Mex-
ico). Among former bishops may be mentioned Mgr
Tomas Baron y Morales, appointed 1882; Mgr Zam-
brano, appoint^^l 1886; and M^r Ruiz,appointed 1900.
Oerarehia Cattolica (1910); Ann. pont.calh. (I^IO)] Herdbb, Konveraalion^Lcx.; Diccianario di Cieiiciaa eclesidaitcas.
J. C. Grey.
Le6n, Luis de, Spanish poet and theologian, b. at Belmonte, Aragon, in 1528; d. at Madrigal, 23 August, 1591. lie came from an honourable bourgeois fam- ily, his father being "king's advocate" at Madrid. At fourteen the youth was sent to Salamanca to study law. Six months later he entered the Augustinian convent of that city. After completing his theolog- ical studies and obtaining his university degrees (1560) he was appointed to the chair of theology. The decree of the (Jouncit of Trent as to the authen- ticity of the Vulgate was then causing great dissen- sion among the professors at Salamanca. Some of them, Grajal, Martfnez, de Leon, and others continued to use in their courses or in their exegetical writings the Hebraic texts, the Septuagint, and even the ver- sion of Vatable. Some, like Medina and Leon de C^tro, saw in this a defiance of the coimcil's decree, and eflfectively denounced their adversaries, whom they called raljibinists. Early in 1572 Grajal and Martfnes were arrested at Salamanca and accused of heresy. On 27 March , de Leon met the same fate, and was in- carcerated at Valladolid by order of the Inquisition as l)eing their al)ettor. After examining liis ^Titings and hearing the witnesses, the Inquisition summed up in seventeen propositions the accusations urged against him. In these propositions he was not charged with heresy, but with imprudence and rashness, particu- larly on account of his rather disrespectful apprecia- tion of the Vulizjate. The tribunal atValladolia, after a trial extending over nearly five years, declaI^&d him guilty and asked that he be put to the rack and rebuked. This sentence, however, had to be ratified by the supreme coimcii at Madrid. But nine days later
