Bartholomew was the third son of Henri le Gros, lord of Brancion and Uxelles in Burgundy by his wife, Beatrix of Vignory.

When some Tatars sent their horses at full gallop after them, ispán Ladislas, who was hastening to the king with his troop under unfurled flags, suddenly came upon them, knowing nothing of what had happened.

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 by Gergely Gyöngyösi, but the authenticity of the text is debated.

Bartholomew also built a parish church 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 who had decided to receive baptism to the territories east of the Carpathian Mountains in 1227.

Bartholomew fled to Split in Dalmatia where he stayed with King Béla IV of Hungary and his family who also survived the second phase of the Mongol invasion in the seaside town.

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.

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.