Pelayo de Oviedo y su compilación histórico-geográfica: el Corpus Pelaejiaviuwi del manuscrito 1513 de la Biblioteca Nacional de España

Pelayo, bishop of Oviedo during the first half of the 12th century, is the author of a compilation, known as Corpus pelagianum, which brings together a large number of historical and legal texts. It has been preserved in several versions. The manuscript 1513 of the National Library of Spain is the best exponent of the so-called Compilation B and it has the feature of offering abundant geographic material: an outline with the people of the world, lists of provinces, description of cities, wind diagrams, etc. This article classifies and analyses the geographical units of the Corpus as found in manuscript 1513, interpreting them both in their literary context (within the manuscript) and in their historical context (the conditions of production of the Corpus). The analysis shows the use of geographic knowledge in the construction of a specific discourse created by Bishop Pelayo, useful to his interests of acquiring and preserving privileges for his See in the changing scenario of the Reconquista.