Born in Olivença (a city now under Spanish administration) in 1567, Sebastião do Couto probably died near the Portuguese southern city of Borba (Montes Claros) on November 21st, 1639. He reportedly lived his childhood in Olivença’s “Rua da Pedra” (“Stone Street,” known from 1936 on as “Calle Cervantes.”) Together with his brother Estêvão do Couto (1554-1638), Sebastião do Couto took part in the riots of Montes Claros (1637), a political uprising against the monarchy of the Philips celebrated as “revolta do Manuelinho” (see Melo 1660: 36 and Mendeiros 1969). His efforts against the Spanish Dynasty were later acknowledged by the future Portuguese King John IV (Oliveira 1991: 211). Reading a particular passage from Couto’s Commentary on Dialec...