A
palatine or
palatinus (in
Latin; plural
palatini; cf. derivative spellings below) is a high-level official attached to imperial or royal courts in
Europe since
Roman times. The term
palatinus was first used in
Ancient Rome for
chamberlains of the Emperor due to their association with the
Palatine Hill. The imperial palace guard, after the rise of
Constantine I, were also called the
Scholae Palatinae for the same reason. In the
Early Middle Ages the title became attached to courts beyond the imperial one; the highest level of officials in the
Roman Catholic Church were called the
judices palatini. Later the
Merovingian and
Carolingian dynasties had
counts palatine, as did the
Holy Roman Empire. Related titles were used in
Hungary,
Poland,
Lithuania, the
German Empire, and the
Duchy of Burgundy, while
England,
Ireland, and parts of
British North America referred to rulers of
counties palatine as
palatines.