Palatinus, (plural: Palatini) Latin for 'palatial', enters in designations for various ecclesiastical offices, primarily, of certain high officials in the papal court:

Medieval Palatine judges

In the Middle Ages, the judices palatini ('[papal] palace judges') were the highest administrative officers of the pope's household; with the growth of the temporal power of the popes they acquired great importance. These judices palatini were

• chief were the primicerius notariorum and secundarius notariorum, the two superintendents of the papal notarii (notaries), who superintended the preparation of official documents, conducted judicial investigations and exercised jurisdiction in legal matters voluntarily submitted by the interested parties to the papal court; they were the highest officers of the papal Chancery and of the archives of the Lateran Palace.
• the nomenculator or adminiculator (originally perhaps two distinct officials), who took charge of, and decided upon, petitions to the pope. (The nomenculator was superseded in the course of the ninth century by the protoscriniarius, or superintendent of the Roman public schools for scribes.) *The arcarius and saccellarius were the highest financial officers, custodians of the treasures of the pope's Lateran Palace, who had charge of the receipt and payment of moneys.
• The primicerius defensorum and secundicerius defensorum, being superintendents of the defensores, who aided and protected widows, orphans, captives and other needy persons, had the supervision of charitable institutions.

These various offices developed from the end of the fourth century, with the formation of the papal household. Their functions covered the whole central administration of the papacy, both at Rome and in the outlying possessions (patrimonia) of the Roman Church. The judices palatini were also employed as papal envoys; they also had definite duties in the solemn processions and other great church ceremonies at which the pope was present in person. Their authority continued down until the middle of the eleventh century, when the reforms of the papal administration, inaugurated after the troubles of the tenth century, placed the Cardinals in that position at the Roman curia, which the judices palatini had previously occupied, and the latter gradually disappeared. The Lateran Palace, sometimes more formally known as the Palace of the Lateran, is an ancient palace of the Roman Empire and later a Palace of the Popes. ... The Lateran Palace, sometimes more formally known as the Palace of the Lateran, is an ancient palace of the Roman Empire and later a Palace of the Popes. ... The Prefecture of the Pontifical Household, or Papal Household, is an office of the Papal Curia. ... A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official in the Roman Catholic Church, ranking just below the Pope and appointed by him as a member of the College of Cardinals during a consistory. ... The Roman Curia - usually (though inaccurately) called the Vatican - is the administrative apparatus of the Holy See, coordinating and providing the necessary organisation for the correct functioning of the Roman Catholic Church and the achievement of its goals. ...

Later papal palatini

In later times the designation palatini has been borne by certain cardinals, whose position brings them into constant relation with the pope, and who formerly resided in the papal palace, and by the highest prelates of the pope's personal suite.

For long the cardinales palatini were: the cardinal prodatary, the Cardinal Secretary of State, the Cardinal secretary of Briefs and the Cardinal secretary of Memorials, but pope Pius X has abolished the two last-mentioned positions; the holders of the other two are still called cardinales palatini, or "palatine cardinals" but only the cardinal secretary of State lives at the Vatican. The Cardinal Secretary of State presides over the Vatican Secretariat of State, which is the oldest and most important dicastery of the Roman Curia. ... Pope Pius X (1903-1914), pictured in 1904, wearing the 1834 Triple Tiara of Pope Gregory XVI Saint Pius X, né Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto, (2 June 1835 - 20 August 1914) was Pope from 1903 to 1914, succeeding Pope Leo XIII. He was the first pope since the Counter-Reformation Pope...

The prælati palatini are:

• the majordomo (maggiordomo)
• the high chamberlain (maestro di camera)
• the auditor of the pope (uditore santissimo)
• the pope's theologian (maestro del sacro pallazo), who is always a Dominican.

Lay counterparts

• In the times of the French kings and of the German emperors, there were comites palatini, counts palatine who originally presided in the High Courts of Justice of a palatinate as representatives of the Crown.
• In Germany the counts palatine were entrusted, after Otto I (931-73), with the supervision of the imperial lands and revenues, and were also imperial judges. The court officials bearing this title, introduced by Emperor Charles IV (1346-78), had various powers, partly judicial, partly administrative.

A palatinate is a territory administered by a count palatine, originally the direct representative of the sovereign, but later the hereditary ruler of the territory subject to the crowns overlordship. ... Charles IV, the Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV (May 14, 1316 – 29 November 1378), of the House of Luxembourg, King of the Romans (as Charles (Karl) IV, 1368 – 1378), Holy Roman Emperor (Charles IV, 1355 – 1378), King of Bohemia (Charles (Karel) I 1346 – 1378), Count of...

Source

This article incorporates text from the public-domain Catholic Encyclopedia, so may be out of date, or reflect the point of view of the Catholic Church as of 1913. It should be edited to reflect broader and more recent perspectives. [1] The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ... The Catholic Encyclopedia, also referred to today as the Old Catholic Encyclopedia, is an English-language encyclopedia published in 1913 by The Encyclopedia Press. ...