Bayard
Encyclopedia
Bayard is a magic
Magic (paranormal)
Magic is the claimed art of manipulating aspects of reality either by supernatural means or through knowledge of occult laws unknown to science. It is in contrast to science, in that science does not accept anything not subject to either direct or indirect observation, and subject to logical...

 bay horse
Horse
The horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...

 in the legend
Legend
A legend is a narrative of human actions that are perceived both by teller and listeners to take place within human history and to possess certain qualities that give the tale verisimilitude...

s derived from the chansons de geste
Chanson de geste
The chansons de geste, Old French for "songs of heroic deeds", are the epic poems that appear at the dawn of French literature. The earliest known examples date from the late eleventh and early twelfth centuries, nearly a hundred years before the emergence of the lyric poetry of the trouvères and...

, renowned for his spirit, and possessed the supernatural ability to adjust his size to his riders.

Bayard first appears as the property of Renaud de Montauban
Renaud de Montauban
Renaud de Montauban, was a fictional hero who was introduced to literature in a 12th century Old French chanson de geste also known as Les Quatre Fils Aymon . His exploits form part of the Doon de Mayence cycle of chansons...

 (Italian: Rinaldo) in the Old French
Old French
Old French was the Romance dialect continuum spoken in territories that span roughly the northern half of modern France and parts of modern Belgium and Switzerland from the 9th century to the 14th century...

 twelfth century chanson de geste
Chanson de geste
The chansons de geste, Old French for "songs of heroic deeds", are the epic poems that appear at the dawn of French literature. The earliest known examples date from the late eleventh and early twelfth centuries, nearly a hundred years before the emergence of the lyric poetry of the trouvères and...

Quatre Fils Aymon. The horse was capable of carrying Rinaldo and his three brothers ("the four sons of Aymon") all at the same time and of understanding human speech. Near the end of the work, Renaud is forced to cede Bayard to Charlemagne who, as punishment for the horse's exploits, has a large stone tied to Bayard's neck and the horse pushed into the river; Bayard however smashes the stone with his hooves and escapes to live forever more in the woods.

In subsequent chansons de geste, Bayard was said to have been initially won by Renaud's cousin, the magician Maugris
Maugris
In the Matter of France, Maugris or Maugis was one of the heroes of the chansons de geste and romances of chivalry that tell of the legendary court of King Charlemagne. He is cousin to Renaud de Montauban , son of Beuves of Aygremont and brother to Vivien de Monbranc. He was brought up by Oriande...

, before being given to Renaud.

In Bulfinch's Mythology
Bulfinch's Mythology
Bulfinch's Mythology is a collection of the works of Thomas Bulfinch, named after him and published after his death. Bulfinch originally published his work as three volumes: The Age of Fable, or Stories of Gods and Heroes, published in 1855; The Age of Chivalry, or Legends of King Arthur, published...

, Rinaldo's acquisition of Bayard is described as follows: a disguised Maugris (who had previously acquired Bayard) tells Rinaldo that a wild horse under an enchantment roams the woods, and that this horse belonged initially to Amadis of Gaul
Amadis de Gaula
Amadis de Gaula is a landmark work among the knight-errantry tales which were in vogue in 16th century Iberian Peninsula, and formed the earliest reading of many Renaissance and Baroque writers, although it was written at the onset of the 14th century.The first known printed edition was published...

 and can only be won by a knight of Amadis' lineage. Rinaldo eventually subdues the horse by throwing it on the ground, breaking the enchantment.

Bayard also appears in the epic poems
Epic poetry
An epic is a lengthy narrative poem, ordinarily concerning a serious subject containing details of heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation. Oral poetry may qualify as an epic, and Albert Lord and Milman Parry have argued that classical epics were fundamentally an oral poetic form...

 on chivalrous
Chivalry
Chivalry is a term related to the medieval institution of knighthood which has an aristocratic military origin of individual training and service to others. Chivalry was also the term used to refer to a group of mounted men-at-arms as well as to martial valour...

 subjects by Luigi Pulci
Luigi Pulci
Luigi Pulci was an Italian poet best known for his Morgante, an epic story of a giant who is converted to Christianity and follows the knight Orlando....

, Matteo Maria Boiardo
Matteo Maria Boiardo
Matteo Maria Boiardo was an Italian Renaissance poet.Boiardo was born at, or near, Scandiano ; the son of Giovanni di Feltrino and Lucia Strozzi, he was of noble lineage, ranking as Count of Scandiano, with seignorial power over Arceto, Casalgrande, Gesso, and Torricella...

 and Ludovico Ariosto
Ludovico Ariosto
Ludovico Ariosto was an Italian poet. He is best known as the author of the romance epic Orlando Furioso . The poem, a continuation of Matteo Maria Boiardo's Orlando Innamorato, describes the adventures of Charlemagne, Orlando, and the Franks as they battle against the Saracens with diversions...

.

Outside the town of Dinant
Dinant
Dinant is a Walloon city and municipality located on the River Meuse in the Belgian province of Namur, Belgium. The Dinant municipality includes the old communes of Anseremme, Bouvignes-sur-Meuse, Dréhance, Falmagne, Falmignoul, Foy-Notre-Dame, Furfooz, Lisogne, Sorinnes, and Thynes.-Origins to...

 in Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

 stands "Bayard rock", a large cleft rock formation that was said to have been split by Bayard's mighty hooves
Hoof
A hoof , plural hooves or hoofs , is the tip of a toe of an ungulate mammal, strengthened by a thick horny covering. The hoof consists of a hard or rubbery sole, and a hard wall formed by a thick nail rolled around the tip of the toe. The weight of the animal is normally borne by both the sole...

. In the next town down river Namur
Namur (city)
Namur is a city and municipality in Wallonia, in southern Belgium. It is both the capital of the province of Namur and of Wallonia....

 stands a locally famous statue of the Horse Bayard and the Four Aymon Brothers along the River Meuse. There are plenty of named places in Wallonia linked to the legend of Four Aymon Brothers and Bayard.

The Bayard legend is also celebrated in other towns in Belgium most notably in the Flemish town of Dendermonde, where a large procession is organized every ten years. Processions are also organized at Mechelen and Ath. There are Bayard statues at Ghent and Grembergen.

Note that a magical horse Blind Byard is part of Lincolnshire folklore at Byard's Leap

Bayard by the late 13th century also acquired common usage as a name for any bay-coloured horse (reddish-brown coat with black mane and tail). Bayard lost some of his lustre as a magic heroic horse and became associated in English literature with a clownish, blind and foolish horse.

Chaucer first used Bayard as the name of Troilus' horse in the epic poem "Troilus and Criseyde
Troilus and Criseyde
Troilus and Criseyde is a poem by Geoffrey Chaucer which re-tells in Middle English the tragic story of the lovers Troilus and Criseyde set against a backdrop of war in the Siege of Troy. It was composed using rime royale and probably completed during the mid 1380s. Many Chaucer scholars regard it...

." That horse, talking while he pranced, admitted that he was bound to be but a horse. Chaucer also used Bayard in the Canterbury Tales (c. 1286) to denote a randy stud in the Reeve's Tale and a blind, foolish horse in The Canon's Yeoman's Tale: "Though ye prolle ay, ye shul it nevere fynde. Ye been as boold as is Bayard the blynde. That blondreth forth and peril casteth noon." ("Though you search afar, you shall never find it; Be you as bold as Bayard the blind, that blunders forth and perceives no peril.)

Notations

  • Chanson de Renaud de Montauban
    Renaud de Montauban
    Renaud de Montauban, was a fictional hero who was introduced to literature in a 12th century Old French chanson de geste also known as Les Quatre Fils Aymon . His exploits form part of the Doon de Mayence cycle of chansons...

  • Orlando innamorato
    Orlando Innamorato
    Orlando Innamorato is an epic poem written by the Italian Renaissance author Matteo Maria Boiardo. The poem is a romance concerning the heroic knight Orlando .-Composition and publication:...

    by Matteo Maria Boiardo
    Matteo Maria Boiardo
    Matteo Maria Boiardo was an Italian Renaissance poet.Boiardo was born at, or near, Scandiano ; the son of Giovanni di Feltrino and Lucia Strozzi, he was of noble lineage, ranking as Count of Scandiano, with seignorial power over Arceto, Casalgrande, Gesso, and Torricella...

  • Orlando furioso
    Orlando Furioso
    Orlando Furioso is an Italian epic poem by Ludovico Ariosto which has exerted a wide influence on later culture. The earliest version appeared in 1516, although the poem was not published in its complete form until 1532...

    by Ludovico Ariosto
    Ludovico Ariosto
    Ludovico Ariosto was an Italian poet. He is best known as the author of the romance epic Orlando Furioso . The poem, a continuation of Matteo Maria Boiardo's Orlando Innamorato, describes the adventures of Charlemagne, Orlando, and the Franks as they battle against the Saracens with diversions...


French

  • Hasenohr, Geneviève and Michel Zink, eds. Dictionnaire des lettres françaises: Le Moyen Age. Collection: La Pochothèque. Paris: Fayard, 1992. ISBN 2-2530-5662-6
  • Les Quatre Fils Aymon ou Renaud de Montauban Presentation, selection and translation in modern French by Micheline de Combarieu du Grès and Jean Subrenat. Paris: Gallimard, 1983. ISBN 2-07-037501-3

See also

  • Veillantif
    Veillantif
    Veillantif , Vegliantin, Vegliantino or Brigliadoro is the name of Roland the paladin's trustworthy and swift horse in the stories derived from the chansons de geste. The French name comes from an expression meaning "vigilant"...

     - Roland/Orlando's horse (also called Brigliadoro)
  • Marshal Ney-often used as a nickname
  • Ros Beiaard
    Ros Beiaard Dendermonde
    Ros Beiaard of Dendermonde is a folkloristic horse of big dimensions. It differs from the other Ros-Beiaard horses because it is used only once every ten years and because the horse is carried by people...

    - Flemish folkloristic procession in Dendermonde
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