Bayard: the Good Knight Without Fear and Without Reproach

The lord of Bayard had married Hélène Alleman, a good and pious lady of a noble family, whose brother Laurent was the Bishop of Grenoble. Pierre Bayard, the hero of this story, was the second son of a large family; he had three brothers and four sisters. His eldest brother, Georges, was five or six years older than himself, then came his sisters, Catherine, Jeanne, and Marie, while younger than himself were Claudie, and two brothers, Jacques and Philippe.

Like so many other mediaeval strongholds, the Castle of Bayard was built upon a rocky hill, which always gave an advantage in case of attack. It had been erected by the great-grandfather and namesake of our Pierre Bayard, probably on the site of an earlier stronghold, in the year 1404. No better position could have been chosen, for it commanded a deep valley on two sides, in a wild and mountainous district of Dauphiné, near the village of Pontcharra in the Graisivaudan. Even now we can still see from its ruins what a powerful fortress it was in its time, with massive towers three stories high, standing out well in front of the castle wall, and defended by a strong drawbridge. Well fortified, it could have stood a siege before the days of artillery.

But towards the end of the fifteenth century, when Bayard's childhood was spent here, such castles as these were not looked upon as mainly places of defence and refuge, they were gradually becoming more like the later manor-houses—family homes, with comfortable chambers and halls, where once there had chiefly been the rude dwelling of a garrison used for defence and stored with missiles and arms.

Each story of the castle, as well as the towers, would contain various chambers, well lighted with windows pierced in the thick stone walls. On the first floor, approached by a broad flight of steps from the court, we find the oratory—scarcely large enough to be dignified by the name of chapel—the dining-hall, and the private chamber of the lord of the castle. On the floor above this the lady of Bayard had her own apartment, the "garde-robe" or closet where her dresses were kept, and the place where her daughters as they grew up, and any maidens who were brought up under her care, sat at their needlework, and where they slept at night. On the upper story were the rooms for the young children with their maids, and the various guest-chambers.

The ground floor below the dining-halls was a dark place given up to store-rooms and the servants' quarters, and below this again were cellars and grim dungeons, which could only be reached by trap-doors. The kitchen, usually a round building, stood in an outer court, and here great wood fires could be used for the needful hospitality of a country house. The stables and the rough quarters for the serving-men were beyond.

The dining-hall was used as a court of justice when the lord of the castle had to settle any difficulties, to receive his dues, or reprimand and punish any refractory vassal. At one end of this hall was a great hearth, where most substantial logs of wood could be laid across the fire-dogs, and burn with a cheerful blaze to light and warm the company in the long, cold winter evenings. At meal-times trestle tables were brought in, and on these the food was served, the long benches being placed on each side of them. On the special occasions of important visits or unusual festivities, a high table was set out at the upper end. The floor was covered with fresh rushes, skins of wolf or bear being laid before the fire, and the walls were stencilled in white and yellow on the higher part, and hung with serge or frieze below. Only in the lady's chamber do we find carpets and hangings of tapestry or embroidery, part of her wedding dowry or the work of her maidens. Here, too, were a few soft cushions on the floor to sit upon, some carved chairs, tables, and coffers. The master of the house always had his great arm-chair with a head, and curtains to keep off the draughts, which were many and bitterly cold in winter-time.