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Couto Misto ((ポルトガル語:Couto Misto), (ガリシア語:Couto Mixto), (スペイン語:Coto Mixto)) was an independent microstate on the border between Spain and Portugal. It was composed of the villages of Santiago de Rubiás, Rubiás (now in the Spanish municipality of Calvos de Randín), and Meaus (now in the Spanish municipality of Baltar), all located in the Salas Valley, Ourense, Galicia. The territory of the Couto Misto also included a small uninhabited strip now part of the Portuguese municipality of Montalegre. As a result of complex medieval manorial relations, this land eluded both Portuguese and Spanish control for centuries, actually operating as a sovereign state of its own right until the 1864 Treaty of Lisbon that partitioned the territory between Spain (which annexed most of the land including the three villages) and Portugal (which remained with a smaller uninhabited strip of land). As a ''de facto'' independent country, the inhabitants of the Couto Misto had numerous privileges, including exemption from military service and taxes, and could grant asylum to outsiders and deny access to any foreign military contingent. ==Origins== Even though the origins of the Couto Misto remain unclear, the name of this territory is greatly revealing. The term ''couto'' (''coto'' in Spanish) comes from the Latin ''cautes''/''cautum'', which refers generally to an area demarcated with boundary stones (''cautos lapideos''). According to Ferro Couselo, the term initially referred to the stones used to mark the boundaries of a given territory, but in the Middle Ages it was used to refer to a special set of territories which under the feudal system were exempt from the authority of the King holding a special economical, political and judicial regime. The special jurisdiction of the ''coutos'' was maintained through custom and given privileges, sustaining truly independent States within its boundaries that were defended by guards (''couteiros''). The adjective ''misto'', meaning "mixed" or "joint", probably refers to the dual manorial links of this territory with the feudal lords from the Duchy of Braganza and the earldom of Monte-Rei. Another interpretation, sustained by oral traditions and some medieval documents (where the terms ''mystigos'' or ''místicos'' are used, meaning "mystical"), links the origin of the Couto with a myth of a pregnant fugitive princess, allegedly (Saint) Ilduaria Eriz, who found refuge in the villages of this territory and who was to give birth to (Saint) Rudesind Guterri, granting privileges to its inhabitants in gratitude.〔(Proposición no de Ley relativa al reconocimiento de la singularidad del Couto Mixto como enclave Histórico-Cultural (162/000507) ), ''Diario de Sesiones del Congreso de los Diputados'', n.º 257 (2007), p. 12883〕 This explanation may well be based on historical facts, as Ilduaria Eriz, one of the most important Galician aristocrats in the 9th and 10th centuries, had the regions of Limia, where the Couto is located, and what today is northern Portugal under her domains. More so, the birth of Rudesind has actually been placed in the Salas Valley 〔; 〕 Several historians have placed the origins of the Couto in the same period of the emergence of the Kingdom of Portugal, somewhere around the 12th century, which is supported by documents that date back to the early 14th century. Initially the Couto was under the jurisdiction of the Piconha Castle (originally Portuguese but now within Spanish territory) but it eventually became tied to the noble houses of Braganza and Monte-Rei. With the extinction of ''coutos'' in Portugal, initiated in 1692 and concluded in 1790, the Couto Misto was freed from its feudal ties functioning as a ''de facto'' independent state up to its partition and annexation in 1868. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Couto Misto」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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