Editing Papal States (section)

==Name==
The Papal States were also known as the ''Papal State''; although the plural is usually preferred, the singular is equally correct as the polity was more than a mere [[personal union]]. The territories were referred to variously as the ''State(s) of the Church'', the ''Pontifical States'', the ''Ecclesiastical States'', the ''Patrimony of St Peter'' or the ''Roman States'' ({{langx|it|Stato Pontificio}}, also ''{{lang|it|Stato della Chiesa}}'', ''{{lang|it|Stati della Chiesa}}'', ''{{lang|it|Stati Pontifici}}'', and ''{{lang|it|Stato Ecclesiastico}}''; {{langx|la|Status Pontificius}}, also ''{{lang|la|Dicio Pontificia}}'' "papal rule").<ref name="mitchell368">{{cite book |last=Mitchell |first=S.A. |title=Mitchell's geographical reader |publisher=Thomas, Cowperthwait & Co. |page=[https://archive.org/details/mitchellsgeogra01mitcgoog/page/n372 368] |year=1840 |url=https://archive.org/details/mitchellsgeogra01mitcgoog/page/368/mode/1up}}</ref> To some extent, the name used varied with the preferences and habits of the European languages in which it was expressed.