County palatine

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A county palatine or palatinate[1] was an area ruled by a

hereditary nobleman enjoying special authority and
autonomy from the rest of a kingdom or empire. The
name derives from the Latin adjective palatinus, "relating
to the palace", from the noun palatium, "palace".[2][3] It
thus implies the exercise of a quasi-royal prerogative
within a county, that is to say a jurisdiction ruled by an
earl, the English equivalent of a count. A duchy palatine
is similar but is ruled over by a duke, a nobleman of
higher precedence than an earl or count.

The nobleman swore allegiance to the king yet had the

power to rule the county largely independently of the
king. It should therefore be distinguished from the feudal John Speed's map of the County Palatine of Lancaster
barony, held from the king, which possessed no such 1610
independent authority. Rulers of counties palatine did
however create their own feudal baronies, to be held
directly from them in capite, such as the Barony of Halton.[4] County palatine jurisdictions were created in
England under the rule of the Norman dynasty. On continental 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 and Ireland. As the authority granted was hereditary, some counties palatine legally survived
well past the end of the feudal period.

Contents
1 History
1.1 Durham, Chester and Lancaster
1.2 Other counties palatine
2 See also
3 Notes
4 References
5 External links

History
Durham, Chester and Lancaster

Palatinates emerged in England in the decades following the Norman 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 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 the Isle of Ely which were not near any frontier.
Palatine powers over Cheshire were acquired by the Earls of Chester, a
title which has since 1254 been reserved for the heir apparent to the
throne (apart from a brief tenure in 1264-5 by Simon de Montfort, who
had seized control of government from Henry III). Chester had its own
parliament, consisting of barons of the county, and was not represented
in Parliament until 1543,[5] while it retained some of its special
privileges until 1830.

Exceptional powers were also granted to the Bishops of Durham, who

during the aftermath of the Norman conquest had been put in charge of
Durham palatinate plaque.
secular administration in what became County Durham. The
autonomous power exercised by these "prince-bishops" over the County
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. The bishop's mitre which crowns the bishop of Durham's coat of arms is encircled with a gold coronet
which is otherwise used only by dukes, reflecting his historic dignity as a palatine earl.

Palatine powers over Lancashire were conferred on the first Duke 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 of
Cornwall in 1337, which also became associated with palatine powers. The
dukedom was united with the Crown on the accession of Henry IV in 1399,
but the vast estates of the Duchy of Lancaster were never assimilated into the
Crown 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, the loyal toast
is to "the Queen, Duke of Lancaster".[6]

The king's writs did not run in these three palatine counties until the
County Palatine of Lancaster
nineteenth century[7][8] and, until the 1970s, Lancashire and Durham had their
boundaries within England
own courts of chancery.[9] (See Court of Chancery of the County Palatine of
Lancaster and Court 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 the
Court of Common Pleas of that County Palatine.[10]

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[11]

Other counties palatine

At various times in history the following areas had palatinate status: Shropshire, Kent, the Isle of Ely,
Hexhamshire in Northumberland, and, in Wales, the Earldom of Pembroke (until the passing of the Laws in
Wales Act 1535).

Although not formally categorised as a palatinate, in Cornwall many of the rights associated with palatinates
were conferred on the Duke of Cornwall, a title created in 1337 and always held by the heir apparent to the
throne.
In the history of Wales in the Norman era, the term most often used is Marcher 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.

There were several palatine districts in Ireland of which the most notable were those of the Earls of Desmond
and the Earls of Ormond in County Tipperary. The latter continued in legal existence until the County Palatine
of Tipperary Act 1715.

In Scotland, the earldom of Strathearn was identified as a county palatine in the fourteenth century, although
the title of Earl 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 historic Province of Avalon in Newfoundland was granted palatine status, as was Maryland
under Cecilius Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore.[12]

See also
Marcher Lordvery similar to a Palatine lord in the Middle Ages.
Margravevery similar to a Palatine lord in the Middle Ages.
Count Palatinesometimes similar to a Palatine lord, but this term was not in use in Britain
Duchy of Lancaster
Justice of Chester
Honour (feudal land tenure)
English feudal barony
Scottish feudal barony
Irish feudal barony
Electoral Palatinate

Notes

1. "Palatine" is an adjective used in conjunction with the noun county; "Palatinate" is a noun used alone
(Collins English Dictionary).
2. Collins Dictionary of the English Language, London, 1986
3. Cassell's Latin Dictionary, ed. Marchant & Charles
4. Sanders, I.J., English Baronies: A Study of their Origin and Descent 10861327, Oxford, 1960. Sanders
excludes "Lordships" such as the Barony of Halton which are situated within Counties Palatine from his
lists of feudal baronies.
5. Harris, B. E. (Ed.) (1979). page 98.
6. "Debrett's - The trusted source on British social skills, etiquette and style-Debrett's" (http://www.debretts.
com/forms-of-address/hierarchies/official-functions/the-loyal-toast.aspx). Debrett's. Retrieved
2016-08-26.
7. Yates (1856), pp. 35.
8. The Law Terms Act 1830
9. The Courts Act 1971, section 41
10. Jewett v Summons (https://books.google.com/books?id=NEJKAAAAYAAJ&pg=RA1-PA220#v=onepag
e&q&f=false). The Law Journal For The Year 1825. Volume III. Court of King's Bench. Page 220.
11. Durham: Echoes of Power (http://www.collectbritain.co.uk/galleries/durham/) at British Library website
12. Hall, Clayton Colman (1910). Narratives of Early Maryland, 16331684 (https://books.google.com/book
s?id=tNARAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA101&dq=grant,+cecilius+calvert). Charles Scribner's Sons. p. 103.
ISBN 1-55613-108-9. Retrieved December 4, 2008.

References
 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed.
(1911). "article name needed". Encyclopdia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
Fraser, C. M. (1956). "Edward I of England and the Regalian Franchise of Durham". Speculum. Medieval
Academy of America. 31 (2): 329342. JSTOR 2849417 (https://www.jstor.org/stable/2849417).
doi:10.2307/2849417 (https://doi.org/10.2307%2F2849417).
Harris, B. E. (ed.) (1979). The Victoria history of the county of Cheshire. Volume II. London: University
of London Institute of Historical Research. ISBN 978-0-19-722749-7.
Yates, Joseph Brooks (1856). The Rights and Jurisdiction of the County Palatine of Chester, the Earls
Palatine, the Chamberlain, and Other Officers (https://books.google.com/books?id=_kcJAAAAIAAJ).
Charles Simms & Co. p. 308. Retrieved 2007-05-04.

External links
Durham: Echoes of Power (http://www.collectbritain.co.uk/galleries/durham/) at the British Library
website
United Kingdom (http://www.worldstatesmen.org/United_Kingdom.html)World Statesmen.org

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