Bartholomew of Neocastro (c. 1240 – after 1293) was an Italian jurist, and author of a chronicle called the Historia Sicula, which covers the years from 1250 to 1293. Few things are known about Bartholomew. It is known that he was a bureaucrat from Messina who first practiced law before assuming bureaucratic assignments with the Aragonese court of the Kingdom of Sicily. These included several delicate diplomatic missions. It is in this position that Bartholomew was a direct and close witness to the narrated series of events. In some cases, he was a spectator from the inside. Source: Wikipedia (en)