a province or signiory, possessed by a palatine.

PALATINATE of the Rhine, a province of Germany, divided into two parts by the Rhine, called the Upper and Lower Palatinates. The former lies in the circle of Bavaria, and belongs to the elector thereof; but the latter, in the circle we are now treating, belongs to the elector palatine. The latter part is bounded to the east by the county of Katzenelnbogen, the archbishopric of Mentz, the bishopric of Worms, and part of the territory of the Teutonic order in Franconia; to the west by Alsace, the duchy of Deuxponts, the county of Sponheim, Palatinate. To the chamber of Wetzlar he contributes, each term, 404 rixdollars, 82 krutitzers. There is an order of knighthood in this country, viz. that of St Hubert; the badge of which is a quadrangular cross pendant to a red ribbon, with a star on the breast. The whole of the elector's revenue, arising from the Palatinate, the duchies of Berg and Juliers, the seigniory of Ravenstein, and the duchies of Neuburg and Sulzbach, hath been estimated at about 300,000l. per annum. The military establishment consists of several regiments of horse and foot, besides the horse and Swiss life-guards: in time of peace he is said to maintain about 6000 men.—All the different courts and councils, usual in other countries for the different departments of government, are also to be found here.

In general, the Lower Palatinate has suffered more by the preceding wars with France than all the provinces of Germany put together during the space of 30 years; for the French have plundered the country, and demolished some of its first towns more than once. It has undergone various changes during the late French revolution, for an account of which, see FRANCE. In the modern part of the Universal History, we have the following account of the rise of the Palatinate of the Rhine, under the history of Germany.

"Though Conrad the son of Everhard inherited from his father the duchy of Franconia, with the counties of Hesse and Alsace, he could not succeed him in the dignity of Count Palatine, because Otho had taken it from his father, and conferred it on Herman third son of Arnold duke of Bavaria: but as this honour was unattended with any fold advantage, the emperor began to annex to it the lands and cattles situated on the Rhine, whence he acquired the title of Count Palatine of the Rhine: and, in procels of time, these counts made great acquisitions by marriages, purchases, mortgages, and imperial donations, so as to form a very considerable province." The powers of counts palatine in the German empire have always been ample; we have this account of it in the same learned work.

"When the counts palatine of the Rhine began to execute their office, they neither possessed on that river lands, cities, nor castles; but having by degrees made great acquisitions by marriages, purchases, agreements, imperial donations, or otherwise, they have at length formed a very considerable principality. We are told, that under the emperors of the house of Swabia, their authority and power increased greatly, though it was a gradual increase. Under the reign of the emperor Henry IV. the credit of the counts palatine was very considerable at the court; and by the German law, the count palatine of the Rhine enjoys not only during the absence of the emperor, but likewise during a vacancy of the empire, the right of the ban beyond the Rhine, to within a mile of the city of Metz, and as far as the ocean, as well as in Flanders. However, this right of the ban has not been granted to him by the emperors. There is likewise an ancient ordinance, in which the office of count palatine is mentioned; it imports, that the count palatine is always by right the representative or lieutenant of the kingdom. Lastly, How great the power of the counts palatine was, may be understood from this, that in the election of Rodolphus of Hapsburgh, and in that of Henry VII. the other electors promised..." Palatinates promised to acknowledge as emperor him whom he should name. Although, however, the power of the counts palatine had as it were secured to them the vicariate of the empire, nevertheless the emperors still referred to themselves the right of establishing vicars." See Bavaria.