François Bonivard

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The extradition of Bonivard , painting by Franck-Édouard Lossier (1898)

François Bonivard , even François Bonnivard (* 1493 in Seyssel ; † 1570 in Geneva ) was a Genevan freedom fighter, cleric and historian whose life Lord Byron in 1816 to the poem The Prisoner of Chillon (dt .: The Prisoner of Chillon ) inspired. He was a supporter of the Reformation .

Life

François Bonivard was born in 1493 as the son of the liege lord of Lompnes , Louis Bonivard, and his wife Aynarde de Menthon-Montrottier. At the age of seven, Bonivard was sent to the monastery school in Pinerolo . He then visited the Universities of Turin and Freiburg im Breisgau , where he studied law. In 1510, after the death of his uncle Jean-Aimé de Bonivard, he took over his position as prior in the Saint-Victor monastery near Geneva.

Despite the position of his family, Bonivard sympathized with the freedom fighters of Geneva, who resisted the attempts of the House of Savoy to bring the region under their rule. After Charles III. from Savoy had confiscated the Bonivard's property, Bonivard joined the freedom fighters. In 1519 he had to flee disguised as a monk when the Duke wanted to have him taken into custody. But friends, including the Count of Vaduz and Brisset, Abbot of Montheron , betrayed him. They delivered him to Charles III. who imprisoned him from 1519 to 1521. The abbot of Montheron received the monastery of St. Victor as a reward, but was poisoned by friends of Bonivard's. Bonivard did not return to St. Victor until 1527.

Despite these experiences, Bonivard was still politically active and also campaigned for the Reformation. In 1530 he was attacked by the duke's henchmen in Moudon and again delivered to the duke. He interned him again, this time in Chillon Castle . Bonivard was not liberated until 1536 by the Bernese, allied with the Geneva, when they conquered Vaud . The monastery of St. Victor had since been destroyed, but the city of Geneva granted Bonivard a pension. In 1537 he received civil rights in the city and became a member of the Council of Two Hundred , which ensured him a financial livelihood. After 1538 he lived briefly in Bern and Lausanne , but returned permanently to Geneva in 1544. From 1542 to 1551, Bonivard wrote a “Chroniques de Genève”, the first city chronicle of Geneva, at the request of the city. This was only published in 1831.

Bonivard was married four times. He probably married Catherine Baumgartner around 1542, but she died in 1543. In 1544 he married Jeanne Dalmais (or Darmaize), Pierre Corne's widow, until she too died in 1552. In 1550 he married the widow Pernette Mazue; the marriage lasted from 1550 to 1562. His fourth wife was the former nun Catherine de Courtarouvel (or Courtaronel). The marriage probably took place mainly due to the dissolute lifestyle of Bonivard, which was not welcomed by the citizens of the city and led to constant money problems Bonivard. A few years after the wedding, Catherine was placed under house arrest for immorality and infidelity. Bonivard tried to have the marriage annulled, but his wife was executed by being thrown into the Rhone .

Bonivard died in Geneva in 1570.

Works

  • Chroniques de Genève , 1542 to 1551
  • Advis et Devis de la Source de l'Idolatrie et Tryannie Papale
  • Advis et Devis de Langues , 1563
  • Advis et Devis sur l'Ancienne et Nouvelle Police de Genève

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b c d e Adrienne van Amstel: True Story of the Prisoner of Chillon . The Nineteenth Century: A Monthly Review, Sampson Low, Marston & Company, London 1900, Volume 47, pp. 821-829
  2. ^ A b c John McClintock, James Strong: Cyclopaedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature, Volume 11 . Harper & Brothers, New York 1889, p. 555.
  3. ^ A b Leonard Woolsey Bacon: The Real Prisoner of Chillon: A Curious Episode in Ecclesiastical History . Christian Literature Volume 12, Number 6, April 1895, Lightning Source, p. 316, ISBN 1-278-82967-9 ( online at Google Books )
  4. ^ Jacob Spon: The History of the City and State of Geneva . Bernard White, London 1687, p. 67.
  5. ^ A b c Robert M Kingdon, Thomas Lambert, Isabella M. Watt: Registers of the Consistory of Geneva in the Time of Calvin, Volume 1; Volumes 1542-1544 . Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, Grand Rapids 2000, p. 299.
  6. ^ A b Francis Henry Gribble: Montreux . A. and C. Black, England 1908, p. 36.
  7. ↑ William G. Naphy: Calvin and the Consolidation of the Genevan Reformation . John Knox Press, Westminster 1994, p. 220.
personal data
SURNAME Bonivard, François
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Bonnivard, François
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Geneva freedom fighter, clergyman and historian
DATE OF BIRTH 1493
PLACE OF BIRTH Seyssel
DATE OF DEATH 1570
Place of death Geneva