Bartholomew of Trent
BARTHOLOMEW OF TRENT
Dominican hagiographer; b. Trent; d. Trent, c. 1251. He traveled widely in Italy (e.g., he was present at the first translation of St. Dominic's body, 1233) and visited France and Germany. Esteemed for piety and learning, he was also politically shrewd and was often at the papal and imperial courts. innocent iv entrusted him with at least one peace mission to Frederick II. His chief work, the Liber epilogorum (1245–51), a series of concise, informative biographies of saints interlarded with ascetical and moral reflections, inaugurated a new type of hagio-graphic literature, intended not for liturgical use but to nourish the piety of the reader and to provide illustrative material for preachers. A Summa theologica adversus sui temporis haereses has also been ascribed to him.
Bibliography: j. quÉtif and j. Échard, Scriptores Ordinis Praedicatorum (New York 1959) 1:110. g. abate, "Il Liber epilogorum di fra Bartolomeo da Trento, O.P.," Miscellanea Pio Paschini, 2 v. (Rome 1948–49) 1:269–292.
[f. c. ryan]