Saint Bartholomew

Saint Bartholomew , in the New Testament, one of the Twelve Apostles, usually identified with Nathanael . Nathanael is a given name, Bartholomew an Aramaic patronymic meaning "son of Talmai." Tradition makes N India his missionary field and Armenia the place of his martyrdom by flaying.

Bartholomew, St. One of the twelve Apostles. He has sometimes been identified with Nathaniel. He may have visited India. He is traditionally said to have been flayed alive at Albanopolis in Armenia. Feast day in the W., 24 Aug.; in the E., 11 June.

Bartholomew, St an apostle of the 1st century ad, whose apostolate is said to have included India and Armenia. He was martyred by being flayed alive, and his traditional emblem is a flaying-knife. He is the patron saint of tanners, and his feast day is 24 August.
From 1133 to 1855, a great fair was held annually at West Smithfield on the saint's feast day. This provides the setting for Jonson's play Bartholomew Fair (1614, performed 1631), in which the various protagonists visit the fair. The name ‘Bartholomew’ was applied to various goods on sale at the fair; a Bartholomew baby is a puppet or doll sold at the fair, and Bartholomew pig refers to the roast pork available there (one of Jonson's characters, the ranting Puritan Zeal-for-the-land Busy, has come to the fair for the express purpose of eating Bartholomew pig).
Massacre of St Bartholomew the name given to the massacre of Huguenots throughout France ordered by Charles IX at the instigation of his mother Catherine de Médicis, began on the morning of the feast of St Bartholomew, 24 August 1572. In Protestant writing, this became proverbial as a type of savagery and betrayal.