Bishops with lordships · Kingdom of León · as at first light, 1 January 1200

Mondoñedo

The bishops of Mondoñedo are lords of Vilamaior do Val de Brea, the town to which Queen Urraca moved their see in 1112 and to which Alfonso VII gave the rank of city in 1156.

Since 1182 the bishops have kept their seat at the young port of Ribadeo on the Eo, a move meant to draw settlers to the coast; they come back to Mondoñedo by about 1230. It is a small, poor lordship on the Cantabrian edge of Galicia.

Who holds it

Name
Pelayo de Cebeyra (Pelayo II)
Title
Bishop of Mondoñedo
Since
1199
Confidence
medium

Bishop from 1199 to 1218, newly in office on 1 January 1200 after Rabinato (1177-1199). The see's seat has been at Ribadeo since 1182, to help settle that new port town.

What it holds

  • Mondoñedo (Vilamaior do Val de Brea): the bishop's town, city since 1156
  • Ribadeo: seat of the bishops since 1182 (the bishop's lordship over the town is not pinned)

How it was acquired

Urraca's transfer of the see to Vilamaior in 1112; Alfonso VII's grant of city status in 1156.

How things stand that morning

Held by the bishop, with the seat at Ribadeo.

Wealth

Small: rents of the town and its valley, coastal trade at Ribadeo.

Threats

  • A new bishop settling in

Advocates and rivals

Galician coastal lords; the king, who promotes Ribadeo as a royal port.

Places of note

  • Ribadeo: Seat of the bishops of Mondoñedo from 1182 to about 1230

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: The seat's moves and the bishop list are attested; the lordship's content is not detailed in the sources checked.

On the map: Only Mondoñedo is drawn; Ribadeo is shown as a point because the bishop's lordship there is not pinned.

Primary sources for León

Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.

5 more in the sources library for France and Iberia.

Sources and studies

  1. Mondoñedo (Hispanopedia)
  2. Ribadeo (Hispanopedia)
  3. Roman Catholic Diocese of Mondoñedo-Ferrol (en.wikipedia)

Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.