Lord Bartimos Celtigar is a supporting character in the A Song of Ice and Fire series. He was the Lord of Claw Isle and head of House Celtigar during the Dance of the Dragons. He supported Rhaenyra Targaryen in her claim to the Iron Throne and served as a member of her Black Council. After Rhaenyra seized the Iron Throne, Bartimos became her Master of Coin and Lord Treasurer. However, he would become infamous for the ruinous taxes that he had imposed on the smallfolk of King's Landing, leading them to despise him and his queen until his mutilation and brutal death by torture.
He was succeeded by his son, Clement Celtigar.
In House of the Dragon, he is portrayed by Nicholas Jones.
Personality
During his lifetime, Lord Bartimos lived a wealthy life as a resourceful and rich man. He is also incorruptible, as he was never susceptible to any type of corruption, such as bribery.
However, despite this, during his time as Master of the Coin of Rhaenyra, he proved to be ruthless in his position and unrelenting, as he imposed unfair and truly high taxes on King's Landing just to replenish the Targaryen royal treasury.
Bartimos also developed a strong distrust of the Dragonseeds, mainly due to the betrayal of Hugh Hammer and Ulf the White during the Sack of Tumbleton.
Biography
While his early life is unknown, Bartimos Celtigar, who is now in his old age, served as a member of Rhaenyra Targaryen's black council during the Targaryen civil war known as the Dance of the Dragons. Though he urged Rhaenyra to use numerical dragons to her advantage in taking King's Landing from the Greens, who support her half- brother Aegon II Targaryen, she instead agreed with her uncle/husband, Prince Daemon Targaryen. In the aftermath of the Fall of King's Landing, after Rhaenyra seized and secured the iron throne for herself, she named Lord Bartimos her Master of Coin and Lord Treasurer on her small council.
The first thing Bartimos did with his new titles and power was to restore the taxes that had been enacted on the Smallfolk by his ancestor, the unpopular Lord Edwell Celtigar, who used to serve as Hand of the King to Maegor I Targaryen and as Master of Coin and Lord Treasurer to King Jaehaerys I Targaryen. The reason behind Bartimos' actions is due to the emptying of the royal treasury by the Greens, who sent one part of the gold to the Iron Bank of Braavos for safekeeping while the others were entrusted to Oldtown and Casterly Rock, the latter being the ancestral seat of House Lannister. As for the remaining gold, the Greens had spent all the rest.
As Queen Rhaenyra is in need of money due to now being bankrupt, Bartimos' taxes proved to be worse than Lord Edwell's; while taxes on wine and ale were doubled, port fees were tripled. For every shopkeeper, they are assessed a fee to keep their doors open, while innkeepers are required to pay a silver stag for each bed in their inns. As an insult to injury, Bartimos also revived the taxes of the Lord of Air, Rego Draz, a Pentoshi merchant-trader and money-changer who also served as Master of Coin to Jaehaerys I. However, Lord Celtigar proceeded to triple the cost; for a Property Tax that has been put up (which is not only for Smallfolk but also for the wealthy), people are obliged to pay depending on how much space they would occupy. Executions ridiculously became a source of coin; they took place at the Dragonpit, and people were charged three pennies so they could witness the spectacle.
Penalties were also enacted on those who couldn't pay the taxes; merchants and traders who couldn't pay would have property, cargo, or ships seized. Because of the unfair taxes that Lord Bartimos had enacted on the capital, this ruined not only his reputation but also Rhaenyra's; though the royal treasury was replenished, the smallfolk grew to resent their queen and her Master of Coin, and they gave the former the nickname "King Maegor with teats," which would become a common curse over time.
After the Sack of Tumbleton, in which the two Dragonseeds, Hugh Hammer and Ulf the White, betrayed the Blacks and sacked Tumbleton, this caused outrage amongst the small council, including Bartimos, and they came to question the loyalty of the Dragonseeds. Paranoid, Bartimos urged Rhaenyra to arrest the two other baseborn Dragonseeds, Ser Addam Velaryon, who rode Ser Leanor Velaryon's dragon Seasmoke, and the girl Nettles, who rides the wild dragon Sheepstealer. He later argued for another ridiculous tax to be placed on any children who are born out of wedlock, which will fill the royal coffers and discourage the birth of more bastards.
Riots of King's Landing
In the dark hours, when the smallfolk began to riot, an angry mob stormed into Bartimos' manse, causing his servants to either turn against him or flee. During the carnage, Arthor Celtigar, a member of House Celtigar, was killed. After being captured, Bartimos was bound to a post and then tortured until he revealed the locations of all of his wealth.
Death
A simple tanner named Wat declared to Lord Bartimos that his manhood was forfeit, as he had not paid the "cock tax." The Master of Coin was then murdered, and his severed head was mounted on a spike, which Wat the Tanner carried as he rode through the streets of King's Landing on a stolen horse. Wat displayed Bartimos' head and genitals to a crowd and declared an end to all taxes.
Bartimos' death, like almost all deaths during the Moon of Three Kings, was avenged when the mob was subdued by Lord Borros Baratheon while the leaders of the riots were arrested.
Legacy
Bartimos Celtigar was succeeded as Lord of Claw Isle by his son and heir, Clement Celtigar. History remained neutral regarding the deceased Bartimos.
External Links
- Bartimos Celtigar on the A Wiki of Ice and Fire.
- Bartimos Celtigar on the Wiki of Westeros.
