The Palace and Park by Phillips, Forbes, Latham, Owen, Scharf, and Shenton

257. PIERRE DE TERRAIL, SEIGNEUR DE BAYARD. _Warrior._

[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.