Chevalier Bayard
| Pierre Terrail, seigneur de Bayard | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born | 1473 Château Bayard |
| Died | 30 April 1524 (aged 50–51) Romagnano Sesia |
| Allegiance |
 Kingdom of France
|
| Battles/wars |
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| Awards | Order of Saint Michael |
Pierre Terrail, seigneur de Bayard (1473 – 30 April 1524) was a French soldier, generally known as the Chevalier de Bayard. Throughout the centuries since his death, he has been known as "the knight without fear and beyond reproach" (le chevalier sans peur et sans reproche). He himself however, preferred the name given him by his contemporaries for his gaiety and kindness, "le bon chevalier", or "the good knight".
The descendant of a noble family, the head of which had fallen in battle in nearly every generation for two centuries; Bayard was born at the Château Bayard, Dauphiné (near Pontcharra, Isère) in southern France. He served as a page to the young Duke Charles I of Savoy, until March 1490, when the Duke died of illness.
In 1490 he took service as a man-at-arms in the household of Louis de Luxembourg, the seigneur de Ligny (November 1490); a favorite of King Charles VIII of France. As a youth, Terrail was distinguished for his looks, charming manner, and skill in the tilt-yard.
In 1494, he accompanied King Charles VIII of France's expedition into Italy to seize the Kingdom of Naples. This campaign is now known as the Italian War of 1494–1498.
He was knighted after the 1495 Battle of Fornovo, in which he captured a standard. Shortly afterwards, entering Milan alone in pursuit of the enemy, he was taken prisoner, but was set free without a ransom by Ludovico Sforza.
In 1502, he was wounded at Canossa.
Bayard was the hero of a celebrated combat of thirteen French knights against an equal number of Spaniards, and his restless energy and valour were conspicuous throughout the Italian wars of this period. At the Battle of Garigliano he single-handedly defended the bridge of the Garigliano against 200 Spaniards, an exploit that brought him such renown that Pope Julius II tried unsuccessfully to entice him into his service.
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Wikipedia