Bartholomew le Gros or Bartholomew Grossus ( hu, Gros Bertalan pécsi püspök) was a prelate of
French origin in the
Kingdom of Hungary
The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from the Middle Ages into the 20th century. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the coronation of the first king Stephen ...
in the 13th century. He left his homeland for Hungary in the retinue of
Yolanda de Courtenay
Yolanda of Courtenay (c. 1200 – June 1233), was a Queen of Hungary as the second wife of King Andrew II of Hungary.
Yolanda was the daughter of Count Peter II of Courtenay and his second wife, Yolanda of Flanders, the sister of Baldwin I a ...
, queen of
Andrew II of Hungary
Andrew II ( hu, II. András, hr, Andrija II., sk, Ondrej II., uk, Андрій II; 117721 September 1235), also known as Andrew of Jerusalem, was King of Hungary and Croatia between 1205 and 1235. He ruled the Principality of Halych from 1188 ...
in 1216 or 1217. Bartholomew was
bishop of Pécs
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or offic ...
between 1219 and 1251, but he spent a significant part of this period on diplomatic missions. He returned to his family estates in 1247 and resigned from the bishopric some year before his death around 1254.
Life
Early life
Bartholomew was the third son of Henri le Gros, lord of
Brancion and
Uxelles
Uxelles () is a commune in the Jura department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in eastern France.
Population
See also
* Communes of the Jura department
The following is a list of the 494 communes of the Jura department of Fran ...
in
Burgundy
Burgundy (; french: link=no, Bourgogne ) is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. The c ...
by his wife, Beatrix of Vignory. A younger son, Bartholomew was dedicated to ecclesiastical carrier. He escorted Yolande de Courtaney, bride to King Andrew II of Hungary to her new homeland at the turn of 1216 and 1217.
King Andrew II appointed Bartholomew bishop of Pécs in 1219 after the death of Bishop
Kalán. The canons of the
cathedral chapter
According to both Catholic and Anglican canon law, a cathedral chapter is a college of clerics ( chapter) formed to advise a bishop and, in the case of a vacancy of the episcopal see in some countries, to govern the diocese during the vacancy. In ...
of Pécs attempted to prevent Bartholomew's installation by stating that he was too young for this position, but an official inquiry ordered by the
Holy See
The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...
ascertained that the new bishop had already attained 30 years, the age required by
canon law
Canon law (from grc, κανών, , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its members. It is th ...
. The same inquiry, however, revealed that Bartholomew's education was imperfect, so the pope ordered him to employ a
magister until improving his knowledge. Bartholomew fulfilled this requirement in two years.
Bishop of Pécs
He was appointed eight times between 1223 and 1239 to decide in court cases, which proves that he had by that time made himself master of canon law. Bartholomew himself was involved in a debate over the borders between his diocese and the
archdiocese of Kalocsa
In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop.
History
In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...
. He even attempted to acquire the right of patronage over the abbey at
Sremska Mitrovica
Sremska Mitrovica (; sr-Cyrl, Сремска Митровица, hu, Szávaszentdemeter, la, Sirmium) is a city and the administrative center of the Srem District in the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. It is situated on the left bank ...
(now in
Serbia
Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...
) by using a falsified charter.
Bartholomew established a monastery at the Saint James Hill at Pécs for the hermits, up to that time scattered in the
Mecsek Hills. A short regulation allegedly written by Bishop Bartholomew for the monastery is presented in the 16th-century work on the history of the
Order of Saint Paul the First Hermit
The Order of Saint Paul the First Hermit ( lat, Ordo Fratrum Sancti Pauli Primi Eremitæ; abbreviated OSPPE), commonly called the Pauline Fathers, is a monastic order of the Roman Catholic Church founded in Hungary during the 13th century.
Thi ...
by Gergely Gyöngyösi, but the authenticity of the text is debated. Bartholomew also built a
parish church
A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...
dedicated to
Saint James which contributed to the formation of a core territory in Pécs, a town consisting of smaller independent communities. He accompanied
Archbishop Robert of Esztergom to a group of
Cumans
The Cumans (or Kumans), also known as Polovtsians or Polovtsy (plural only, from the Russian language, Russian Exonym and endonym, exonym ), were a Turkic people, Turkic nomadic people comprising the western branch of the Cuman–Kipchak confede ...
who had decided to receive baptism to the territories east of the
Carpathian Mountains
The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians () are a range of mountains forming an arc across Central Europe. Roughly long, it is the third-longest European mountain range after the Urals at and the Scandinavian Mountains at . The range stretches ...
in 1227. He also assisted the military expeditions Duke
Coloman of Slavonia launched against the
heretics in Bosnia in the 1230s. Bartholomew's evangelical ardour is also reflected by the introduction of the
Franciscan
The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...
s and
Dominicans in Pécs in his time.
Bartholomew visited the court of
Aragon
Aragon ( , ; Spanish and an, Aragón ; ca, Aragó ) is an autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces (from north to sou ...
four times between 1229 and 1235 in order to make arrangements for the planned marriage of Princess
Yolanda of Hungary (a daughter of King Andrew II by Queen Yolanda) to King
James I of Aragon
James I the Conqueror ( es, Jaime el Conquistador, ca, Jaume el Conqueridor; 2 February 1208 – 27 July 1276) was King of Aragon and Lord of Montpellier from 1213 to 1276; King of Majorca from 1231 to 1276; and Valencia from 1238 to 1276 ...
. Moreover, Bartholomew prepared the first draft to the
prenuptial agreement
A prenuptial agreement, antenuptial agreement, or premarital agreement (commonly referred to as a prenup), is a written contract entered into by a couple prior to marriage or a civil union that enables them to select and control many of the leg ...
in 1233 and performed the ceremony in 1235. In the meantime, he also visited his homeland and made a donation of 12
marks
Marks may refer to:
Business
* Mark's, a Canadian retail chain
* Marks & Spencer, a British retail chain
* Collective trade marks, trademarks owned by an organisation for the benefit of its members
* Marks & Co, the inspiration for the novel ...
of gold for the
Cluny Abbey
Cluny Abbey (; , formerly also ''Cluni'' or ''Clugny''; ) is a former Benedictine monastery in Cluny, Saône-et-Loire, France. It was dedicated to Saint Peter.
The abbey was constructed in the Romanesque architectural style, with three churches ...
.
Along with other prelates, Bishop Bartholomew personally led his troops against the
invading Mongols in the
Battle of Mohi
The Battle of Mohi (11 April 1241), also known as Battle of the Sajó River''A Global Chronology of Conflict: From the Ancient World to the Modern Middle East'', Vol. I, ed. Spencer C. Tucker, (ABC-CLIO, 2010), 279; "Although Mongol losses in t ...
in 1241. He only escaped from the battlefield when he saw that the battle had been lost. Although the Mongols were chasing after the bishop, his life was saved by the intervention of
Ladislaus from the kindred
Kán Kán is the name of a Hungarian noble family which gave bans (governors) to Croatia and Slavonia, voivodes to Transylvania, and palatines to Hungary in the 13th and 14th centuries.
History
The Kán family were members of the Hermány clan. They ...
, head of
Somogy County
Somogy ( hu, Somogy megye, ; hr, Šomođska županija; sl, Šomodska županija, german: Komitat Schomodei) is an administrative county (comitatus or ''megye'') in present Hungary, and also in the former Kingdom of Hungary.
Somogy County lies ...
. Bartholomew fled to
Split
Split(s) or The Split may refer to:
Places
* Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia
* Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay
* Split Island, Falkland Islands
* Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua
Arts, enterta ...
in
Dalmatia
Dalmatia (; hr, Dalmacija ; it, Dalmazia; see #Name, names in other languages) is one of the four historical region, historical regions of Croatia, alongside Croatia proper, Slavonia, and Istria. Dalmatia is a narrow belt of the east shore of ...
where he stayed with King
Béla IV of Hungary
Béla IV (1206 – 3 May 1270) was King of Hungary and Croatia between 1235 and 1270, and Duke of Styria from 1254 to 1258. As the oldest son of King Andrew II, he was crowned upon the initiative of a group of influential noblemen in his father ...
and his family who also survived the second phase of the Mongol invasion in the seaside town. Following the withdrawal of the Mongols from Hungary, Bishop Bartholomew was often appointed by the monarch to lead diplomatic missions. First he unsuccessfully attempted to mediate a peace between Split and
Trogir
Trogir (; historically known as Traù (from Dalmatian, Venetian and Italian: ); la, Tragurium; Ancient Greek: Τραγύριον, ''Tragyrion'' or Τραγούριον, ''Tragourion'') is a historic town and harbour on the Adriatic coast in S ...
in 1244.
Last years
King Béla IV sent Bartholomew to
Lyon
Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...
in 1247 in order to seek assistance from
Pope Innocent IV
Pope Innocent IV ( la, Innocentius IV; – 7 December 1254), born Sinibaldo Fieschi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 25 June 1243 to his death in 1254.
Fieschi was born in Genoa and studied at the universitie ...
against a planned new Mongol invasion. Back in his homeland, Bartholomew settled in his family estates and never returned to his see. He even decided to resign his office in 1251.
Although the pope promised him a life annuity of 200 marks of silver from the revenues of the diocese of Pécs, Bartholomew did not receive this income for two years. Therefore he again visited the pope, now in
Assisi
Assisi (, also , ; from la, Asisium) is a town and ''comune'' of Italy in the Province of Perugia in the Umbria region, on the western flank of Monte Subasio.
It is generally regarded as the birthplace of the Latin poet Propertius, born aroun ...
(
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
). The pope, however, took into account the financial difficulties in Bartholomew's former diocese caused by the Mongol invasion and reduced his income to 100 marks of silver. The last record on the retired bishop is dated to the spring of 1254 when he sold three houses in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
.
See also
*
Mongol invasion of Europe
From the 1220s into the 1240s, the Mongols conquered the Turkic states of Volga Bulgaria, Cumania, Alania, and the Kievan Rus' federation. Following this, they began their invasion into heartland Europe by launching a two-pronged invasion of ...
References
* Bouchard, Constance Brittain (1987). ''Sword, Miter, and Cloister: Nobility and the Church in Burgundy, 980–1198''. Cornell University Press. Ithaca and London. .
* ''Master Roger's Epistle to the Sorrowful Lament upon the Destruction of the Kingdom of Hungary by the Tatars'' (Translated and Annotated by János M. Bak and Martyn Rady) (2010). In: Rady, Martyn; Veszprémy, László; Bak, János M. (2010); ''Anonymus and Master Roger''; CEU Press; Budapest and New York. .
* Koszta, László (2009). ''Gros, másnéven Brancion-i Bertalan (1219–1251)''. In: ''A Pécsi Egyházmegye története I: A középkor évszázadai (1009–1543)'' (Szerkesztette: Fedeles Tamás, Sarbak Gábor, Sümegi József), ''pp.'' 74-77. ("A History of the Diocese of Pécs, Volume I: Medieval Centuries, 1009–1543; Edited by Tamás Fedeles, Gábor Sarbak and József Sümegi"); Fény Kft.; Pécs; .
Other reading
* ''Archdeacon Thomas of Split: History of the Bishops of Salona and Split'' (Edited, translated and annotated by Damir Karbić, Mirjana Matijević Sokol, and James Ross Sweeney) (2006). CEU Press. Budapest and New York. .
* Koszta, László (1996). ''Un prélat français de Hongrie: Bertalan, évêque de Pécs (1219–1251)'' ("A French prelate in Hungary: Bertalan, bishop of Pécs (1219–1251)"). In: ''Cahiers d'Etudes Hongroises 8'' (1996), ''pp.'' 71-96.
{{authority control
12th-century French people
13th-century French people
13th-century Hungarian people
13th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Hungary
Bishops of Pécs
Hungarian people of French descent
Pauline Order