Pfalzgraf

A Pfalzgraf (Count Palatine or Palgrave in English, and comes palatinus in Latin) functioned, especially in medieval times, as the permanent representative (graf) of the Frankish king, and later Holy Roman Emperor, in a palatial domain of the crown (pfalz), of which there were dozens throughout greater Germany.

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The monarch and a large court retinue would continually travel between these palatial domains, without having a real capital. This practice of the king 'eating his taxes' - literally 'wining and dining' at the expense of his lords - was common in early feudal Europe. Travel was often required by military considerations anyhow.

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In time, like other officials of the Holy Roman Empire, the pfalzgrafen tended to become hereditary princes of comital rank, often rulers of a palatinate.

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The Count Palatine of the Rhine and junior branches of his family bore this title.

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Palgrave: Palgrave (or Palsgrave) is the English title of a Count Palatine (Pfalzgraf) of the Holy Roman Empire....

English: English in common usage may refer to:...

Latin: Latin is an Indo-European language originally spoken in the region around Rome called Latium. It gained great importance as the formal language of the Roman Empire. All Romance languages are descended from Latin, and many words based on Latin are found in other modern languages such as English. The ...