Prisoner of Chillon

I sent an article to a magazine about the oldest place I had ever visited.  The article was about the castle at Chillon, Switzerland.  It was that place that inspired Lord Byron to write his famous poem, The Prisoner of Chillon. 


Visiting this historic place in Switzerland was one of the most feeling-generating experiences I have had.  The castle, whose oldest historical documents go back to 1005, belonged to the bishops of Sion.  They confided its care to the d'Alinge family.   The castle sits on the rocky cliff overlooking Lake Geneva, or Lake Leman, and was considered an impenetrable fortress.  Chillon's walls have tales to tell which are of far greater torture and agony than Lord Byron wrote.

Lord Byron chose one of the prisoners,  Francois Bonivard, as the subject for his poem.  Bonivard was born about 1493 and died about 1571.  It was said that he took part on the side of Geneva in the conflict against the Duke of Savoy.  In 1530 he was imprisoned in the tower and then later moved to the dungeon where he spent another four years chained to the post that bears his name. It is not known how long Bonivard would have been imprisoned if the castle had not been captured by the Bernese on March 29, 1536.

Here, in the castle of Chillon, towers and chambers above ground are furnished lavishly and restored to the days when prisoners were held in the dungeons below ground.  In these dungeons one can still see the columns to which the prisoners were chained.  It is with disbelief and pain that one witnesses these columns today, knowing that Byron wrote only a small portion of the torture and cruelty these walls once held.

Chillon has tales to tell that will never be spoken, but in reading Byron's poem we can count our blessings that these chains will never again be put to use.  Our world holds other chains now and although cruelty continues in its crudest form, as Christians there is a light at the end of our tunnel leading to eternity with our loving Father.  May He forgive all those who did, and continue to, inflict unjust punishment on others.

I have yet to hear whether my article was accepted or not but I will let you know, my faithful followers.  I also hope this will inspire you to find Lord Byron's Prisoner of Chillon and read it if you have not already done so. And, if you have, read it again.  It is no wonder that Byron brought world wide notoriety to Chillon.