In Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Laon Barthélemy de Jur (misread as ''de Vir'' in the 19th century; c.1080 - 1158) was a French bishop. He was

bishop of Laon The diocese of Laon in the present-day département of Aisne, was a Catholic diocese for around 1300 years, up to the French Revolution. Its seat was in Laon, France, with the Laon Cathedral. From early in the 13th century, the bishop of Laon ...

from 1113 to 1151. Some documents give his name as Barthélemy de Grandson or de Joux.

Life

Barth was the son of Conon Falcon (Foulques) seigneur de Grandson, de La Sarraz, du Jura et de Lausanne, and of Aélis (Ade, Adélaïde), daughter of Hilduin, seigneur de Ramerupt et de Montdidier and his wife Adélaïde de Roucy. His father died when he was very young and it was at Neufchâtel that his uncle Ebles II, Count of Roucy, raised him.Tétart, Jean-Louis. "Barthélemy, évêque de Laon, moine cistercien de Foigny", Société académique de Saint-Quentin, 2001
/ref> Around 1095, he was entrusted to his maternal great-uncle Manassès II de Châtillon, archbishop of Reims. Manasses was a cousin of the reigning Pope Urban II. The archbishop took charge of the education of Barthélemy, which he entrusted to the cathedral canons. In 1102 he made Barthélemy treasurer of the cathedral chapter. As a member of the household of Archbishop Raoul le Vert, Barthélemy witnessed a number of charters. In 1106, through the influence of Adèle de Vermandois he was appointed treasurer of the chapter of Saint-Quentin.

Bishop

In 1113 Barthélemy was elected bishop of Laon with the support of Anselm, dean of the cathedral canons and was consecrated in the metropolitan city of Rheims on Easter Sunday in the presence of

King Louis VI Louis VI (late 1081 – 1 August 1137), called the Fat (french: link=no, le Gros) or the Fighter (french: link=no, le Batailleur), was King of the Franks from 1108 to 1137. Chronicles called him "King of Saint-Denis". Louis was the first member ...

. He contributed his own money to the rebuilding of

Laon Cathedral Laon Cathedral (french: Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Laon) is a Roman Catholic church located in Laon, Aisne, Hauts-de-France, France. Built in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, it is one of the most important and stylistically unified exampl ...

, which had suffered heavily in the commune's revolt in 1112. The church was reconstructed and consecrated in 1114. According to ancient documents, the first shrine of Notre-Dame de Liesse was built by Barthélemy, with the stones left over from the construction of Laon Cathedral. He attended most of the councils of his time: Reims (1119), Beauvais (1120), Soissons (c.1080) He probably participated at the Council of Soissons in 1122. He was at that of Troyes (1128). Also in 1128, the

Templars , colors = White mantle with a red cross , colors_label = Attire , march = , mascot = Two knights riding a single horse , equipment ...

established a commandery in Laon with the support of the bishop and the agreement of

Pope Honorius II Pope Honorius II (9 February 1060 – 13 February 1130), born Lamberto Scannabecchi,Levillain, pg. 731 was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 21 December 1124 to his death in 1130. Although from a humble background, ...

. At the

Council of Reims Reims, located in the north-east of modern France, hosted several councils or synods in the Roman Catholic Church. These councils did not universally represent the church and are not counted among the official ecumenical councils. Early synodal c ...

in October 1119,

Pope Calixtus II Pope Callixtus II or Callistus II ( – 13 December 1124), born Guy of Burgundy, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1 February 1119 to his death in 1124. His pontificate was shaped by the Investiture Controversy, ...

requested

Norbert of Xanten Norbert of Xanten, O. Praem (c. 1075 – 6 June 1134) (Xanten-Magdeburg), also known as Norbert Gennep, was a bishop of the Catholic Church, founder of the Premonstratensian order of canons regular, and is venerated as a saint. Norbert was can ...

to found a religious order in the

Diocese of Laon The diocese of Laon in the present-day département of Aisne, was a Catholic diocese for around 1300 years, up to the French Revolution. Its seat was in Laon, France, with the Laon Cathedral. From early in the 13th century, the bishop of Laon ...

in France. Bishop Barthélemy had given land at

Prémontré Prémontré () is a commune in the Aisne department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. Population Sights The remains of Prémontré Abbey, the mother house of the Premonstratensian Order, are located in Prémontré. See also * Commu ...

in the Voas forest to the Abbey of St Vincent in Laon, but as the Benedictines had tried in vain to cultivate it, Barthélemy then obtained it for Norbert. Barthélemy and Norbert visited Prémontré about the middle of January and the bishop gave the white habit to Norbert on 25 January, the feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul. The following Christmas Day, Norbert established the Canons Regular of Prémontré. In 1121 Barthélemy and his relative,

Bernard of Clairvaux Bernard of Clairvaux, O. Cist. ( la, Bernardus Claraevallensis; 109020 August 1153), venerated as Saint Bernard, was an abbot, mystic, co-founder of the Knights Templars, and a major leader in the reformation of the Benedictine Order throug ...

, founded

Foigny Abbey Foigny Abbey (french: Abbaye de Foigny) was a Cistercian monastery located in La Bouteille, in a valley in the Thiérache, in the north-eastern region of the Aisne department. It was founded on 11 July 1121 by Bernard of Clairvaux and Barthélemy o ...

. In 1134 they founded Vauclair Abbey in the Vauclair forest to the south of Laon. In 1136 he persuaded Bernard to found a women's monastery at Montreuil. With help from his brother Ebal (Eble), he also took part in the foundation of the Premonstratensian abbey at Lac de Joux, sometimes called the abbaye du Lac de Cuarnens. In 1142 Barthélemy and his fellow bishops Pierre de Senlis and Simon de Noyon, probably misled by statements from

Ralph I, Count of Vermandois Ralph I of Vermandois (French: ''Raoul Ier'') (d. 14 October 1152) was Count of Vermandois. He was a son of Hugh, Count of Vermandois and his wife, Adelaide, Countess of Vermandois. Ralph was a grandson of Henry I of France, while Ralph‘s mother ...

, consented to bless the union between him and

Petronilla of Aquitaine Petronilla of Aquitaine ( 1125 – c.1151) was the second daughter of William X of Aquitaine and Aenor of Châtellerault. She was the elder sister of William Aigret and the younger sister of Eleanor of Aquitaine, who was Queen consort of France ...

. Ralph had illegally repudiated his first marriage to Eleanor of Champagne, sister of

Theobald II, Count of Champagne Theobald is a Germanic dithematic name, composed from the elements '' theod-'' "people" and ''bald'' "bold". The name arrived in England with the Normans. The name occurs in many spelling variations, including Theudebald, Diepold, Theobalt, Tyba ...

. Pope Innocent II found that Ralph's second marriage was invalid and excommunicated him, Petronilla and suspended the prelates who had blessed the marriage. Barthélemy was dismissed from his bishopric in 1151 and became an ordinary monk in

, where he died in 1158. Barthélemy was buried in the abbey church at Foigny; his bones were exhumed in 1793 to avoid profanation. They were possibly transferred to the church at Effry.

References

Sources

*http://www.histoireaisne.fr/memoires_numerises/chapitres/tome_46/Tome_046_page_007.pdf *Suzanne Martinet, ''Montloon, reflet fidèle de la montagne et des environs de Laon de 1100 à 1300'', 1972 {{DEFAULTSORT:Jur 1080s births 1158 deaths Bishops of Laon