The Merino is a breed or group of breeds of domestic sheep, characterised by very fine soft wool. It was originated in the Iberian Peninsula (modern Spain and Portugal) during the High Middle Ages, and was for several centuries kept as a strict Spanish monopoly; exports of the breed were not allowed, and those who tried risked capital punishment. During the eighteenth century, flocks were sent to the courts of a number of European countries, including France (where they developed into the Rambouillet), Hungary, the Netherlands, Prussia, Saxony and Sweden. The Merino subsequently spread to many parts of the world, including South America, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand. Numerous recognised breeds, strains and variants have developed from the original type; these include, among others, the American Merino and Delaine Merino in the Americas, the Australian Merino, Booroola Merino and Peppin Merino in Oceania, and the Gentile di Puglia, Merinolandschaf and Rambouillet in Europe. The Australian Poll Merino is a polled (hornless) variant. Rams of other Merino breeds have long, spiral horns which grow close to the head, while ewes are usually hornless.
History
Etymology The name merino was not documented in Spain until the early 15th century, and its origin is disputed. Two suggested origins for the Spanish word merino are given in:
It may be an adaptation to the sheep of the name of a Castilian official inspector (merino) over a merindad, who may have also inspected sheep pastures. This word is from the medieval Latin maiorinus, a steward or head official of a village, from maior, meaning "greater". However, there is no indication in any of the Leonese or Castilian law codes that this official, either named as maiorinus or merino had any duties connected with sheep, and the late date at which merino was first documented makes any connection with the name of an early medieval magistrate implausible. It also may be from the name of an Imazighen tribe, the Marini (or in Spanish, Benimerines), who occupied parts of the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula during the 12th and 13th centuries. This view gains some support from the derivation of many medieval Spanish pastoral terms from Arabic or Berber languages. However, an etymology based on a 12th-century origin for Merino sheep when the Marinids were in Spain is unacceptable; the origin of the breed occurred much later.
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