Palatinate
LOWER, or PALAT- INATE OF THE RHINE, the name formerly given to two states of Germany, which were designated, by way of distinction, the Upper and Lower Palatinate, and though not contiguous, were under the control of the same sovereign till 1620. The word palatinate is of feudal origin, and signifies the province or seigniory of a palatine, i. e., of a high dignitary during the Middle Ages, who originally held office in the court of the sovereign, and was designated the comes palatii, but who afterward obtained, within his own province or district, the same power, rank, and jurisdiction, which the comes palatii possessed in the palace. Hence the old German title pfalzgraf, count-palatine; in English, palsgrave.