Bayard the fairy horse

Paris, BnF Fr. 766, fol. 93r.
14th century version of Les Quatre fils Aymon.
(c) BnF

In medieval romances, horses are omnipresent: they are as essential to the knights as their armour and their swords. Those horses are often not described in great detail: they may have a name, a colour, an origin (for instance, a typical introduction would be ‘Morel, the black horse from Aragon’), but nothing more in terms of individuality. There are of course exceptions. One of them is Bayard, the horse of Renaud de Montauban, hero of La Chanson des quatre fils Aymon (the song of the four Aymon sons). In this romance, Renaud and his three brothers fight against their enemy Charlemagne. As they battle, one of their best allies is Bayard. 

Bayard is not an ordinary horse. He has magical abilities and is described as a ‘cheval-fée’. In some versions of the stories, he is the offspring of a dragon. He is able to run faster than a falcon can fly. He can survive on very little food. He can extend his back to accommodate four riders: that is one of the most popular images of the romance, the four brothers astride Bayard. 

But it is not simply those extraordinary physical abilities that make Bayard unique. He is described as especially intelligent and able to understand the language of men – though he cannot speak. In one scene, he overhears Renaud’s enemies talking. He goes to wake up Renaud, nudging him with his hoof, to warn him of their plans. The fact that Bayard is unable to talk is interesting: it is one of the elements that keeps him in the animal realm. If he had been able to talk, he would have been uncomfortably close to humans. 

Despite his intelligence and his magical abilities, the descriptions made of Bayard include realistic details. For instance, he is said to show his joy at the sight of Renaud by neighing, or by pricking his ears forward and coming towards him. These are behaviours that can be observed in real horses. Another detail, found in some versions of the story, is that Bayard is said to come from Aragon. That was the case of many warhorses in real life: from the thirteenth century onwards, horse-breeding was much developed in the royal and princely studs of Western Europe, with mares and stallions being imported from Spain and Italy to improve native stocks. This information appears to be in contradiction with the idea that Bayard has fantastical origins: turning him into a Spanish warhorse puts him on the same level as the other, non-magical equids in the romance. It could reflect the idea that, in many ways, Bayard represents the ideal warhorse, not for his magical qualities but for his courage, intelligence, and love for his master. 

Bayard’s love for Renaud is one of his main characteristics and justifies most of the horse’s actions. He is described, in one instance, as recognising Renaud (whom he is seeing from afar) more quickly than a wife recognises her husband. This is a striking image, an almost disturbing one, probably deliberately so. Bayard’s love for his master is matched by Renaud’s love for his horse. At one point, Renaud, his wife, children and brothers are besieged. As time passes, their food run out and they have to eat their horses – except Bayard. When Bayard is the only horse left, Renaud’s children beg their father to sacrifice his horse. But Renaud loves his horse so much that he refuses to sacrifice him to save his starving children. Additionally, when preparing for battle, Renaud is of the opinion that his victory depends on Bayard as much as on God. This is a bold statement, and even a case of hubris. That is probably why the narrative had to end as it did, with Renaud giving up Bayard, going on a pilgrimage and dying as a martyr. 

Bayard’s story does not end with Renaud’s, however. Throughout the romance, he is characterised by independence and by his own narrative arc. Though while he is with Renaud, all his actions have the purpose to serve his master, his individuality is such that even when the couple they formed is separated, Bayard goes on having adventures. The fact that Charlemagne hated Bayard, not just because he was Renaud’s horse, but because he outwitted him and thwarted his plans, also emphasises the horse’s individuality. 

Having surrendered to Charlemagne, Renaud gives up Bayard to him. The horse is sentenced to death and thrown in a river with a stone round his neck. Because of his magical abilities, he manages to escape and runs away into the forest where, according to the narrator of the romance, he still lives, completely wild, letting no man come near him. This outcome would be expected: the ideal warhorse should only have one master and be wild and untameable for the rest of humanity. Here, Bayard’s reversion to a wild, dangerous beast is also explained by Renaud’s betrayal of him. Renaud ultimately chose God over his horse. The loyalty Bayard showed towards him was not reciprocated. 

All in all, Bayard is a very interesting character, with individuality and a story of his own, that is not limited to serving his master. Despite his magical qualities, his behaviour is the one that would be expected from a good warhorse. In many ways, he represents the ideal warhorse, the one any knight would wish to possess, with additional extraordinary qualities. He is a fantasised version of what would be expected of a real horse, realistic details mingling with magical ones. Yet the end of the story, and of his relationship with Renaud, is almost a word of warning against a bond between horse and rider so deep it defies the conventions of God and nature. Renaud had to make a choice between God and his horse, and give up the latter to find peace and forgiveness. As for Bayard, his transformation into a wild beast, his reversion, in a way, to the fantastical, almost monstruous creature he was before serving Renaud, seems to highlight that, all along, something was not quite right. In spite of his good behaviour and of his desire to serve his master, Bayard still harboured a latent savagery. 

In that aspect, the portrayal of Bayard is not dissimilar to that of Alexander the Great’s horse, Bucephalus. Both represent the ideal warhorse, yet both have magical and/or monstrous qualities. Both turn from fantastical creature into a well-behaved destrier. But unlike Bucephalus who dies, Bayard then returns to his original nature, that of a wild, untameable animal.