InEngland,Wales andIreland acounty palatine orpalatinate[1] was an area ruled by a hereditary nobleman enjoying special authority and autonomy from the rest of akingdom. The name derives from theLatin adjectivepalātīnus, "relating to the palace", from the nounpalātium, "palace".[2][3] It thus implies the exercise of aquasi-royal prerogative within acounty, that is to say, ajurisdiction ruled by anearl, the English equivalent of acount. Aduchy palatine is similar but is ruled over by aduke, a nobleman of higherprecedence than an earl or count.
The nobleman swore allegiance to themonarch yet had the power to rule the county largely independently of the king. It should therefore be distinguished from thefeudal barony, held from the king, which possessed no such independent authority. Rulers of counties palatine created their own feudal baronies, to be held directly from themin capite, such as theBarony of Halton.[4] County palatine jurisdictions were created in England under the rule of theNorman dynasty, while incontinental Europe they have an earlier date.
In general, when a palatine-type autonomy was granted to a lord by the sovereign, it was in a district on the periphery of the kingdom, at a time when the district was at risk from disloyal armed insurgents who could retreat beyond the borders and re-enter. For the English sovereign in Norman times, this applied to northern England,Wales andIreland. As the authority granted was hereditary, some counties palatine legally survived well past the end of the feudal period.
Palatinates emerged in England in the decades following theNorman conquest, as various earls or bishops were granted palatine ("from the palace") powers, i.e. powers of a sort elsewhere exercised by the king. In some places this may have been in part a defensive measure, enabling local authorities to organise the defence of vulnerable frontier areas at their own discretion, avoiding the delays involved in seeking decisions from the court and removing obstructions to the coordinated direction of local resources at the discretion of a single official. However, palatine powers were also granted over areas such as theIsle of Ely which were not near any frontier.
Palatine powers overCheshire were acquired by theearls of Chester, a title which has since 1254 been reserved for theheir apparent to the throne (apart from a brief tenure in 1264–1265 bySimon de Montfort, who had seized control of the government fromHenry III). Chester had its own parliament, consisting of barons of the county, and was not represented inParliament until 1543,[5] while it retained some of its special privileges until 1830.[6]
Exceptional powers were also granted to thebishops of Durham, who during the aftermath of the Norman conquest had been put in charge of secular administration in what becameCounty Durham. The autonomous power exercised by these bishops over theCounty Palatine of Durham was particularly enduring: Durham did not gain parliamentary representation until 1654, while the bishops of Durham retained their temporal jurisdiction until 1836.
Palatine powers overLancashire were conferred on the firstduke of Lancaster in 1351, at the same time as his promotion from the status of earl. This was only the second dukedom created in England, following that ofCornwall in 1337, which also became associated with palatine powers. The dukedom was united with the Crown on the accession ofHenry IV in 1399, but the vast estates of theDuchy of Lancaster were never assimilated into theCrown Estate, continuing even today to be separately administered for the monarch as Duke of Lancaster. The rights exercised through the Duchy, rather than the Crown, included its palatine powers over Lancashire, the last of which were revoked only in 1873. In the county palatine of Lancaster, theloyal toast is to "the King, Duke of Lancaster".[7]
The king's writs did not run in these three palatine counties until the nineteenth century[8][9] and, until the 1970s, Lancashire and Durham had their own courts ofchancery[6][10] (seeCourt of Chancery of the County Palatine of Lancaster andCourt of Chancery of the County Palatine of Durham and Sadberge).
The appeal against a decision of the county court of a county palatine had, in the first instance, to be to thecourt of common pleas of that county palatine.[11]
There are two kings in England, namely, the lord king of England wearing a crown and the lord bishop of Durham wearing a mitre in place of a crown ...
— William de St Botolph (1302)[12]
Outside England, a county palatine was the land ruled by acount palatine, a title dating back to pre-feudal Roman times and originally referring to a non-hereditary court official entrusted with judicial duties. In the medieval era these offices became hereditary and associated with feudal rulers, the most prominent and long-lasting being theCount Palatine of the Rhine, an elector of the Holy Roman Empire.
At various times in history, the following areas had palatinate status:Shropshire,Kent, theIsle of Ely andHexhamshire inNorthumberland.
Although not formally categorised as a palatinate, inCornwall many of the rights associated with palatinates were conferred on theDuke of Cornwall, a title created in 1337 and always held by theheir apparent to the throne.
In the history ofWales in the Norman era, the term most often used isMarcher Lord, which is similar to, but not strictly the same as, a Palatine Lord. Nevertheless, a number of strictly Palatine jurisdictions were created in Wales. One example was theEarldom of Pembroke[6] (until the passing of theLaws in Wales Act 1535).
There were several palatine districts inIreland of which the most notable were those of theEarls of Desmond and theEarls of Ormond inCounty Tipperary. The latter continued in existence until it was abolished by theCounty Palatine of Tipperary Act 1715.
InScotland, the earldom ofStrathearn was identified as a county palatine in the fourteenth century, although the title ofEarl of Strathearn has usually been merged with the crown in subsequent centuries and there is little indication that the status of Strathearn differed in practice from other Scottish earldoms.
In the colonies, the historicProvince of Avalon inNewfoundland was granted palatine status, as wasMaryland underCecilius Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore.[13]
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Holland, Arthur William (1911). "Palatine". InChisholm, Hugh (ed.).Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 20 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 595–596.The trusted source on British social skills, etiquette, and style-Debrett's
grant, cecilius calvert.
{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)