Couto Misto instance of historical country
Origins
Even though the origins of the Couto Misto remain unclear, the name of this territory is revealing. The term couto (coto in Spanish) comes from the Latin cautēs ("pointed rock"), which refers generally to an area demarcated with boundary stones (cautos lapideos). 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 economic, 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 by some medieval documents (where the terms mystigos or místicos meaning mystical are used), links the origin of the Couto with the legend of a pregnant fugitive princess, allegedly (Saint) Ilduara 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. This explanation may well be based on historical facts, as Ilduaria Eriz, one of the most important Galician aristocrats of the late 9th/early 10th century, held the regions of Limia, where the Couto is located, and also what today is northern Portugal, under her rule. Also, the location of Rudesind's birth has actually been placed in the Salas Valley.Several historians have dated the origins of the Couto in the same period as 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 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.
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