Bayard: the Good Knight Without Fear and Without ReproachHare, Christopher
History
Bayard: the Good Knight Without Fear and Without Reproach
Hare, Christopher
Bayard, Pierre Terrail, seigneur de, approximately 1473-1524; Knights and knighthood
"On my word, dear lady, I have never cared for money all my life! No riches
could ever be so precious to me as the kindness and devoted care which you
have shown to me during my stay with you, and I assure you that so long as
I live you will always have a faithful gentleman at your command. I thank
you very much for your ducats, but I pray that you will take them back...."
However, the lady was so much distressed at his refusal that he at length
accepted the casket, but begged her to send her daughters to wish him
good-bye. When they came and would have fallen on their knees before him,
he would not suffer such humility, but thanked them for all their kindness
in cheering him with their lute and spinet and singing during his illness,
and begged them to accept the ducats contained in their mother's casket,
which he poured out into their aprons whether they would or not. Overcome
by his courteous persuasion, the mother thanked him with tears in her eyes:
"Thou flower of knighthood to whom none can compare, may the Blessed
Saviour reward thee in this world and the next." When the Good Knight's
horses were brought round at mid-day, after dinner, the two fair maidens
brought him some presents of their own needlework, bracelets made with hair
bound with gold and silver threads, and a little embroidered purse, which
he gallantly placed in his sleeve, and the bracelets on his arms, with many
thanks, to the great delight of the girls. Thus with friendly words and
courtly farewells he took his leave, and rode away with a goodly company of
friends towards the camp near Ravenna, where he was welcomed with the
greatest joy and honour by all the French army.
When Gaston de Foix, Duke of Nemours, arrived at the camp before Ravenna he
assembled all the captains together to consider what was to be done, for
the French army began to suffer very much on account of the scarcity of
provisions, which could only be obtained with great difficulty. They were
very short of bread and wine, because the Venetians had cut off the
supplies from one side and the Spanish army held all the coast of Romagna.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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