County palatine

[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.

[4] County palatine jurisdictions were created in England under the rule of the Norman dynasty, while in continental Europe they have an earlier date.

As the authority granted was hereditary, some counties palatine legally survived well past the end of the feudal period.

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.

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 1264–1265 by Simon de Montfort, who had seized control of the government from Henry III).

In the medieval era these offices became hereditary and associated with feudal rulers, the most prominent and long-lasting being the Count Palatine of the Rhine, an elector of the Holy Roman Empire.

In the colonies, the historic Province of Avalon in Newfoundland was granted palatine status, as was Maryland under Cecilius Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore.