[Born near Grenoble, in France, 1476. Died, 1524. Aged 48.]
The “_Chevalier sans peur et sans reproche_.” A true knight and
gentleman. His earliest renown won at the tourney. At the age of
eighteen, entered active service, which he did not quit until his death
in Italy, where he fell, as he desired, by the weapon of the foe on the
field of battle. Spotless in character, intrepid, generous,
self-denying, and the very soul of honour. He enjoyed the respect and
admiration of his country’s enemies, and by his own countrymen he was
idolized. After the battle of Marignan, his King, Francis I., one of the
bravest men of his age, desired to receive the order of knighthood from
the hands of Bayard. The ceremony over, Bayard addressed his sword,
vowing to regard it thenceforward as a sacred relic, never to be drawn
except against Turks, Saracens, and Moors. The body of Bayard was
embalmed by the foe and restored to the French for honourable burial, at
Grenoble.