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 (The nomenculator was superseded in the course of the ninth century by the protoscriniarius, or superintendent of the Roman public schools for scribes.)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
sacellarius 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
vestararius was the third financial office. • 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. ==Later papal palatini==