Bartholomew Iscanus

Infobox bishopbiog
name = Bartholomew Iscanus


religion =Catholic
See =Diocese of Exeter
Title = Bishop of Exeter
Period = 1161–1184
Predecessor = Robert of Chichester
Successor =John the Chanter
ordination =
bishops =
post =Archdeacon of Exeter
date of birth =
place of birth =
date of death =15 December 1184
place of death =

Bartholomew Iscanus or Bartholomew of Exeter was a medieval Bishop of Exeter.

Early life

Bartholomew was a native of Normandy, and was probably born in Millières, a village in the Cotentin near Lessay and Périers.Barlow "Bartholomew (d. 1184)" "Oxford Dictionary of National Biography"] He was a clerk of Theobald of Bec, Archbishop of Canterbury before becoming Archdeacon of Exeter in 1155. He was a correspondent of John of Salisbury,Warren "Henry II" p. 435 footnote 1] as he and John had been clerk's for Theobald along with Thomas Becket.Barlow "Thomas Becket" p. 31] After Becket's murder, John took refuge with Bartholomew until he was elected bishop of Chartres in 1176.Barlow "Thomas Becket" p. 262] Contemporaries considered Bartholomew an excellent theologian and canon lawyer.Warren "Henry II" p. 436-437] In 1159, Bartholomew took part in a synod held at London to decide between the rival claims of Pope Alexander III and Pope Victor IV.Knowles "Episcopal Colleagues" p. 28]

Election to Exeter

After the death of Robert of Chichester, the see of Exeter was vacant for a year before a local Gloucestershire family urged King Henry II of England to put forward one of their members as a candidate for the see. Henry did suggest the family member, Henry fitzHarding, to the cathedral chapter, but Archbishop Theobald objected that fitz Harding was unqualified. Instead, Theobald suggested Bartholomew, and eventually the king was persuaded and Bartholomew was elected. He was consecrated bishop after 18 April 1161, at Canterbury Cathedral by Walter, the Bishop of Rochester.Barlow "Thomas Becket" p. 64] Theobald had wished to consecrate Bartholomew before Theobald died, but could not because the king was abroad in Normandy and the bishop-elect had to swear fealty to the king before he could be consecrated.Barlow "Thomas Becket" p. 71] After his consecration, Bartholomew gave the archdeaconry of Exeter to the disappointed royal candidate.

Time as bishop

During the dispute between King Henry and Thomas Becket, Bartholomew refused to cooperate with either side, which caused Becket to scold him as a bad friend.Warren "Henry II" p. 550] At the start of the dispute, Bartholomew was sent with a royal deputation to Sens to ask the pope to send papal legates to England to settle the quarrel. Thereafter, he avoided being drawn into the controversy, until 1170. When Roger of York coronated Henry the Young King in 1170, Bartholomew was said to be present.Barlow "Thomas Becket" p. 206-207] In September 1170, Pope Alexander III suspended Bartholomew from office for attending the coronation, along with a number of other bishops.Barlow "Thomas Becket" p. 216] Shortly after a settlement of the dispute was reached in 1172, Henry wrote to Bartholomew saying that "I shall abolish all new customs introduced in my reign against the churches of my land (which I consider to be few or none)",Quoted in Barber "Henry Plantagenet" p. 163] which signaled Henry's intentions of mostly ignoring the settlement.Barber "Henry Plantagenet" p. 163] Bartholomew was restored to his office before 21 December 1171, when he helped restore Canterbury Cathedral to use for religious ceremonies.

Early in his episcopate, Bartholomew attended Alexander III's council at Tours in 1163, along with a number of other English bishops. Bartholomew often acted as a judge-delegate for the papacy in cases that had been appealed to Rome.Barlow "Thomas Becket" p. 90] At some point in his career, he wrote a "Penitentiale", or penitenial, which true to his canon lawyer training, quotes canon law extensively.Brooke "English Church and the Papacy" p. 111-112] Alexander described Bartholomew, in company with Richard of Dover, another leading papal judge, as the "twin lights illuminating the English Church".Quoted in Duggan "From the Conquest to the Death of John" "The English Church & The Papacy" p. 113] In his diocese, Bartholomew is known to have visited the parishes, conducting a visitation to inquire into the management or mismanagement of church affairs.Cheney "From Becket to Langton" p. 167]

Death and legacy

He died on 15 December 1184.Fryde "Handbook of British Chronology" p. 246] He was buried in Exeter Cathedral A relief in Exeter has been indentified as possibly Bartholomew's effigy for his tomb.Bartlett "England Under the Norman and Angevin Kings" p. 599] The historian Austin Lane Poole said of him that he "kept out as much as possible out of secular politics, and used [his] learning and practical abilities whole-heartedly for the welfare of the church."Poole "Domesday Book to Magna Carta" p. 222] During his bishopric, he advanced the career of Baldwin of Exeter, as it was Bartholomew who made Baldwin archdeacon.Knowles "Monastic Order" p. 317] He had two nephews, Jordan and Harold, who were part of his household while he was at Exeter.

Besides his penitential, he also wrote works on the doctrines of free will and predestination, entitled either "De libero arbitrio" or "De fatalitate et fato", a collection of over a hundred sermons, and a work against Jews, entitled "Dialogus contra Judaeos". So far, only the penitential has been printed.

Notes

References

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Further reading

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External links

* [http://www.britannia.com/bios/biscanus.html Britannia Biographies entry for Bartholomew Iscanus]
* [http://www.dsnell.zynet.co.uk/Oliver/06.html Oliver's Lives of the Bishops of Exeter entry for Bartholomew Iscanus]

Persondata
NAME= Iscanus, Bartholomew
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION=Bishop of Exeter
DATE OF BIRTH=
PLACE OF BIRTH=
DATE OF DEATH=15 December 1184
PLACE OF DEATH=