Oveco Núñez (died 951) was the Bishop of León from 927 until his death. His episcopate coincides with the reign of King Ramiro II (931–51), whose faithful supporter he was. 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 Bermudo Núñez (died 955) was a magnate from León and the first Count of Cea. He appears for the first time in 921 confirming a donation to the Monastery of San Benito in Sahagún from which it can be assumed that he was probably born near the ...

, and thus uncle of

Fernando Bermúdez de Cea Fernando Bermúdez (died 978), second Count of Cea, was the son of Bermudo Núñez and his wife Argilo. As the father of a queen of Navarre, and therefore, ancestor of many royal houses, Fernando was a distinguished member of the highest ranks of ...

, who is known to have inherited property from Oveco. 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 Ordoño I ( – 27 May 866) was King of Asturias from 850 until his death. He was born in Oviedo, where he spent his early life in the court of Alfonso II. He was probably raised in Lugo, capital of the province of Galicia, where his father, ...

, or perhaps Nuño Vélaz, son of

Vela Jiménez Vela Jiménez who appears also as ''Vigila Scemeniz'', is documented on two occasions as Count of Álava between 882 and 883 in the ''Codex Vigilanus'', compiled in 881 with two large paragraphs added subsequently describing the events that took pl ...

, the

count of Álava Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility.L. G. Pine, Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty'' ...

. Oveco witnessed three different donations to the monastery of

Sahagún Sahagún () is a town and municipality of Spain, part of the autonomous community of Castile and León and the province of León. It is the main centre of population in the Leonese part of the Tierra de Campos natural region. Sahagún contains ...

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 Salamanca () is a Municipality of Spain, municipality and city in Spain, capital of the Province of Salamanca, province of the same name, located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is located in the Campo Charro comarca, in the ...

, there to found new villages (''

repoblación The ''Repoblación'' (, ; , ) was the ninth-century repopulating of a large region between the River Duero and the Cantabrian Mountains, which had been depopulated in the early years of the Reconquista and became known as the ''Desert of the D ...

'') and consecrate new churches with the newly appointed

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

, Dulcidio II. In 953 Ordoño III donated all the settlements and churches founded by Oveco and his fellows to the diocese of León.Sánchez-Albornoz (1934), 61–62. Oveco founded a monastery in Vega, which passed to his nephew Fernando on his death.

Notes

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. {{DEFAULTSORT:Oveco Nunez 951 deaths Bishops of León Year of birth unknown