Bayard, Chevalier de

ba'ard, Chevalier de (1746-1524), a French soldier. He came of good family, and was noted for his handsome bearing, pleasant manners, and skill in the tilt yard. He wore, of course, the complete armor of the day, and won great renown in various feats at arms. At one time he guarded a bridge against 200 Spaniards until the French army could secure a more advantageous position. During the war between Francis I and Charles V, he held a town with 1,000 men against an army of 35,000 for six weeks, and saved France from invasion. He was at one time taken prisoner by the Italians and again by the English; but was set free without ransom, so great was his reputation for valor and humanity. Chivalry and knighthood are surrounded by no little glamor. Bayard is considered an ideal knight, the type of what all knights should have been. He was slain in an expedition sent against Italy. His body was brought home and interred at Grenoble. He is spoken of in the annals of his country as "Le chevalier sans peur et sans peur et sans reproche," a knight without fear and above reproach.