PALATINATE, a name applied to two German states, which were united previously to the year 1620. They were distinguished as the Upper and Lower Palatinate. The Upper or Bavarian Palatinate, now forming a circle of the kingdom of Bavaria. was a duchy, and was bounded by Baireuth, Bohemia, Neuburg, Bavaria, and the district of Narriberg. Area, 2,830 sq.m.; pop. 1807, 283.800. Amberg was the chief city, and the seat of government. The Lower Palatinate or the Palatinate on the Rhine, embraced an area of from 3,045 to 3,150 sq.m.; and consisted of the electoral Palatinate, the princi pality of Simmer'', the duchy of Zweibrucken, the half of the county of Sponhehn, and the principalities of Beldenz and Lantern. For the area and population of the modern provinces of the Upper and Lower Palatinate, see article BAVARIA.
The counts of the electoral or Rheinish Palatinate were established in the hereditary possession of the territory of that name, and of the lands attached to it, as early as the 11th century. After the death of Herman III., the emperor Friedrich I. assigned the Palatinate to Conrad of Swabia. After Conrad's death, his son-in-law, duke Henry of Brunswick, came. in 1196, into the possession of these lands, but he., having been out lawed in 1215 by Friedrich II., was succeeded by his son. Otto III., duke of Bavaria. Ludwig II., or the Strong, succeeded the preceding in the Palatinate in 1253, and was in turn succeeded in 1294 by Rudolf I., who, however, was banished by his brother, the emperor Ludwig, because he had taken part with Friedrich of Austria. The country was ruled by his three suns. Ruprecht III., who died in 1410, was a German emperor. Of his four sous, Ludwig III. received the electoral or Rheinish Palatinate, Johann, the Upper Palatinate; Stephan, Zweibracken; and Otto, Mosbach. The second and fourth lines soon died out, as well as also that of Ludwig III., which came to a close in 1559, upon which the possessions of that prince, together with the electorate, passed to Fried rich III. of the Simmern line. He was succeeded by Ludwig IV. in 1576, by Friedrich
IV, in 1583, and by Friedrich V. in 1610, who, after he accepted the Bohemian crown, was drived from his possessions by the emperor in 1619, and his office of elector was transferred to Maximilian, duke of Bavaria. Karl Ludwig, son of Friedrich V;, received the Lower Palatinate at the peace of Westphalia, and in his favor a new or eighth elec torship was created. With his son Karl, the Simmern 'line terminated in 1685, upon which the Palatinate fell into the hands of Philipp Wilhelm, count palatine of Neuhurg.
The house of Neuburg was descended from Ludwig the Black, count palatine in Zwei bracken, second son of Stephan, count palatine in Simmern. Wolfgang. a descendant of Ludwig's, was the founder of all the other lines of counts palatine. Of his three sons, Johann founded the line of Neu-ZweibrUcken, Karl the Birkenfeld line, Philipp Ludwig the Neuburg line. Philipp Ludwig had three sons, Wolfgang Wilhelm, August, and Johann Friedrich. The first founded the Neuburg line, the second the Sulzbach line, the third died childless. The son of Wolfgang Wilhelm died in 1690. His son, Johann Wilhelm, became heir to the Beldenz line in 1694. He was succeeded by his brother, Karl Phillip, who in turn was succeeded in 1742 by Karl Theodor, from the Sulzbach line, who united the Bavarian territories with the Palatinate. Duke Maximillian of Zwei br0eken next succeeded in 1799, who at the peace of Luneville (1801) was compelled to cedea portion of the Rhenish Palatinate to France, a part to Baden, a part to Hesse Darmstadt, and a part to Nassau. Treaties of Paris of 1814 and 1815 re-assigned the Palatinate lands beyond the Rhine to Germany, Bavaria receiving the largest share, and the remainder being divided between Hesse-Darmstadt and Prussia.