Vidal (DE LiENDo), Diego (called the Yoiinqer), a Spanish painter, nephew of Diego the elder, was born at Valmaseda in 1602. He studied theology and paint- ing at Rome, and was canon of the Cathedral of Seville. There are some i)f his works in the sacristy of the Ca- thedral of Valencia, whicli evince considerable skill. He died at Seville in 1648. See Spooner, Biof/. Hist, of the Fine A rts, s. v.
Vidal, Dionisio, a Spanish painter, was born at Valencia aboiit 1670. He studied under Antonio Palo- mino, to wliom he gave assistance in several cities. He returned to Valencia and was employed to paint the ceiling of the Church of St. Nicolas, from the designs of Palomino. He also executed some works of his own composition in fresco for various churches. He died at Tortosa, while painting the Chapel of the Virgin of the GiriUe, but the time is not known. See Spooner, Bioj. Hist. <f the Fine A rts, s. v.
Vidam (Lat. vice domini [q. v]), was, 1. The bish- op's steward in the administration of the Church reve- nues, as the viscount represented the coimt. At Rheims and Chartres the vidams raised their office into a fief. 2. The provost or bailiff of the capitular rents, as at Lin- coln, Caml)rai, Rouen, etc. 3. The term is also applied to the heirs of founders of religious houses who had cer- tain rights over their estates and attached churches. — Walcott, Sac. ArchfBol. s. v,
Vidas, Elias ue, ben-Moses, a .Jewish writer of the 16th century, a pupil of Moses of Cordova, or Cor- dovero (i). v.), is the author of the work on ethics en- titled iTOjr! rr^OX"!, the befjinnini) of icisdom, in five parts, of which the first, called nXT^n ~\'2'C treats of the fear of (Jod, in fifteen chapters ; the second, "i"^ n^nxn, of the love of God, in twelve chapters; the third, n^lirnn, with seven chapters, treats of repent- ance; the fourth, mrnpn ~i^""J, with seventeen chap- ters, of holiness ; while the fifth, ni;"n "i^'w"', treats of humility. Besides some excerfils from and compends of Vidas's work, the part which treats of repentance has
been translated into Latin by J. Morin, in his Commen- tarins de Sacramento I'wnitenliu'. (Paris, s. a.), and by David de Lara into Spanish (Leydeu, 1666), who also translated the first jiart, treating of the fear of God (Amst. 1633). See Fiirst, Bibl. .hid. iii, 477 sq. ; De' Rossi, iJisionario Storico (Germ, transl.), p.328. (B. P.)
VidiSa (the widow'), a Latin surname of Juno.
ViduBB (^undows), a term applied to the deaconesses of the ancient Church, by Tertullian and others, be- cause they were commonly chosen from among the widows, and the office was called viduatns. Even some of the ancient laws required them to be widows, prescrib- ing minutely their qualifications in this regard. Sec Bingham, Christ. Antiq. bk. ii, ch. xxii. See Widows.
Viduus, in Roman mythology, is the family name of the motlier of the Fabians in Rome. She is said to have been a daughter of Evander, the most ancient king of Italy, loved by Hercules, through whom she became, mother of Fabius, the progenitor of the family.
Vieil, Pierre le, an eminent French painter on glass, was bt>rn in Paris in 1708. In 1734 he executed several excellent works for the Church of St. Etienne <iu Mont, in Paris; and afterwards restored the glass-paiiu- ings in the Cathedral of Notre Dame. He also exe- cuted, among other works, the painting-s in the Clnircli of St. Victor. He spent fifteen years in preparing ma- terials for a work on tiie art of glass-painting, entitled Traite tlistorique et Pratique de la Peintvre sur Verre, He also wrote, Kssai sur la Peinture en Mosa'ique. He died in 1772. See Spooner, Biu[/. Hist, of the Fine A rts. s. V.
Vieira ( Vieyra), Antonio, a Portuguese mis- sionary, was born in Lisbon, Feb. 6, 1608. of a good fam- ily. He was brought up Ijy the Jesuits at Bahia, in Brazil, and in 1625 entered liieir order. He prepared himself by diligent study for evangelical labor among the surrounding Indians and negroes, and in 1641 went to Portugal as companion to the viceroy's son; but on their arrival they were mistaken for Spanish emissaries, and Vieira was cast into prison. He was soon released, however, and preached at the court with such eloquence that Juan IV made him his preacher, and engaged him in diplomacy at Paris and the Hague. In 1647 he went also to London, and in 1650 to Rome. In 1652 he re- turned to Brazil in execution of his cherished schemes, but was nnsuccessfid in his efforts to rescue the natives of Brazil from slavery. He returned again to Portugal for further autliority, but, after six more years of inde- fatigable labor in Brazil, he was finally sent home to Lisbon (1661) as a criminal. After various fortunes at home antl al)road, siill laboring for religious purposes, he died at Bahia, .Inly 18, 1697. the acknowledged head of the Jesuitical order in Brazil. He left a munber of historical and other works, for which see Hoefer, Nour. Biofj. Generate, s. v.
Vieira, Sebastiano, a Portuguese missionary, was born at Castro Daire (diocese of Lamego) in 1570. At the age of sixteen he entered the Order of St. Ignatius, and prepared himself for evangelical labor in the East Indies. In lt!02 he arrived in Japan, and spent several years there; thence he went to Manilla, and again to Japan, gathering converts continually. Being sent for by the home authorities to report at Kotne, he was con- demned as a traitor by the Japanese, and on his return was seized, commanded to rencumce his faith, and on refusal was cruelly martj-red, June 6, 1634. See Bio- graphie Universelle, s. v.