Bartholomew Mansel was the vicar of the diocese of Antioch, regent of

Tripoli Tripoli or Tripolis (from , meaning "three cities") may refer to: Places Greece *Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in the Pelasgiotis district, Thessaly, near Larissa ...

, and

bishop of Tortosa The bishop of Tortosa is the ordinary of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tortosa in Catalonia, Spain.

around 1272, a post he held until 1291.

Biography

Bartholomew belonged to the important Frankish family of the Mansels in

Antioch Antioch on the Orontes (; , ) "Antioch on Daphne"; or "Antioch the Great"; ; ; ; ; ; ; . was a Hellenistic Greek city founded by Seleucus I Nicator in 300 BC. One of the most important Greek cities of the Hellenistic period, it served as ...

. He was probably the son of Robert Mansel, who was Constable of Antioch in 1207.

Simon Mansel Simon Mansel (between 1205 and 1220 – after 1268) was a Constable of Antioch. He belonged to the important Frankish Mansel family from Antioch. He was believed to be a son of Robert Mansel, who became constable to Antioch in 1207. Bartholomew ...

, Constable of Antioch, was probably his brother. He was maternally related to King

Hethum I Hethum I (Armenian: Հեթում Ա; 1213 – 21 October 1270) ruled the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia (also known as "Little Armenia") from 1226 to 1270. He was the son of Constantine of Baberon (d. 1263) and Princess Alix Pahlavouni of Lampron (a ...

, as his father married his half-sister. In 1268, Bartholomew escaped the sack of Antioch, which was under the command of his brother Simon. He was appointed bishop of Tortosa when that see fell vacant in 1272. After the death of

Bohemond VI Bohemond VI (–1275), also known as the Fair, was the prince of Antioch and count of Tripoli from 1251 until his death. He ruled while Antioch was caught between the warring Mongol Empire and Mamluk Sultanate. He allied with the Mongols against ...

in 1275, his widow, Sibylla, invited Bishop Bartholomew to act as regent for her young son, Bohemond VII. Since Bartholomew was also the vicar of the absentee patriarch of Antioch, Opizo dei Fieschi, this brought him into conflict with the bishop of Tripoli Paul of Segni. After he took up residence in Tripoli, Bartholomew, who outranked Paul both spiritually and secularly, sided with Paul's detractors among the native baronage. He also had a dispute with the Lord Guy II of Gibelet, which was provoked by the marriage of the heiress of Hugh l'Aleman to Guy's brother John, which preempted her marriage to Bartholomew's nephew. Bartholomew, acting as patriarchal vicar, absolved Bohemond of the excommunication issued by

Pope Nicholas III Pope Nicholas III (; Wiktionary:circa, c. 1225 – 22 August 1280), born Giovanni Gaetano Orsini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 25 November 1277 to his death on 22 August 1280. He was a Roman nobleman who h ...

, following a letter from Paul to the Pope in which he accused Bohemond of seizing his goods, imprisoning his servants and attacking his safehouse. He returned to Tortosa after the fall of Tripoli in 1289. On 3 August 1291, the Knight Templars and Bartholomew evacuated Tortosa, which had ceased to be a residential bishopric afterwards.

References

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mansel, Bartholomew People from the Crusader states