François Bonivard (1496–1570) was a Swiss

Switzerland

Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

 patriot and historian

Historian

A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...

 whose life was the inspiration for Byron

George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron

George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron, later George Gordon Noel, 6th Baron Byron, FRS , commonly known simply as Lord Byron, was a British poet and a leading figure in the Romantic movement...

's 1816 poem The Prisoner Of Chillon

The Prisoner of Chillon

The Prisoner of Chillon is a 392-line narrative poem by Lord Byron. Written in 1816, it chronicles the imprisonment of a Genevois monk, François Bonivard, from 1532 to 1536.- Writing and publication :...

.

He was the son of Louis Bonnivard, Seigneur de Lunes, and was born at Seyssel

Seyssel

Seyssel is the name of two communes in France:* Seyssel, Ain, in the Ain département* Seyssel, Haute-Savoie, in the Haute-Savoie départementSeyssel may also refer to:* Seyssel AOC, a wine AOC...

 into an old family of Savoy

Savoy

Savoy is a region of France. It comprises roughly the territory of the Western Alps situated between Lake Geneva in the north and Monaco and the Mediterranean coast in the south....

. He was educated in Turin starting in 1510 by his uncle Jean Aimé de Bonnivard, then succeeded him as prior

Prior

Prior is an ecclesiastical title, derived from the Latin adjective for 'earlier, first', with several notable uses.-Monastic superiors:A Prior is a monastic superior, usually lower in rank than an Abbot. In the Rule of St...

 of St Victor, near Geneva

Geneva

Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...

. Young Bonivard opposed Charles III, Duke of Savoy

Charles III, Duke of Savoy

Charles III of Savoy , often called Charles the Good, was Duke of Savoy from 1504 to 1553, although most of his lands were ruled by the French between 1536 and his death....

 in his efforts to control Geneva; the duke captured Bonivard and imprisoned him at Grolée from 1519 to 1521.

The experience was not much of a deterrent; Bonivard continued his political activism. In 1530, he was set upon by robbers in the Jura

Jura mountains

The Jura Mountains are a small mountain range located north of the Alps, separating the Rhine and Rhone rivers and forming part of the watershed of each...

, who turned him over to the Duke of Savoy. The duke imprisoned him again, this time underground in the Castle of Chillon. Bonivard was released by the Bernese when they conquered Vaud

Vaud

Vaud is one of the 26 cantons of Switzerland and is located in Romandy, the French-speaking southwestern part of the country. The capital is Lausanne. The name of the Canton in Switzerland's other languages are Vaud in Italian , Waadt in German , and Vad in Romansh.-History:Along the lakes,...

 in 1536. His priory had meanwhile been destroyed, but Geneva awarded him a pension. He was made bourgeois of Geneva and sat on the Council of 200 in 1537.

Ultimately married four times, Bonivard was perpetually in debt.

In 1542, he was entrusted with compiling a history of Geneva from its beginning, and carried the story down to 1530 before he died. The manuscript was sent to Calvin

John Calvin

John Calvin was an influential French theologian and pastor during the Protestant Reformation. He was a principal figure in the development of the system of Christian theology later called Calvinism. Originally trained as a humanist lawyer, he broke from the Roman Catholic Church around 1530...

 for correction in 1551, but not actually published until 1831. It is not a highly regarded work, being both biased and uncritical. In his later years, he enlisted the help of Antoine Froment

Antoine Froment

Antoine Froment was a Protestant reformer in Geneva. Froment is best remembered for his role in initiating and solidifying the Reformation in Geneva along with William Farel and John Calvin...

to help with the chronicle.

In 1551, he donated his considerable library to the public. He left everything to the city of Geneva in his will. His exact date of death is not known because of a gap in the death records of the city.