Bayard, Chevalier de, an illustrious French knight, born in the Château Bayard, near Grenoble; covered himself with glory in the wars of Charles VIII., Louis XII., and Francis I.; his bravery and generosity commanded the admiration of his enemies, and procured for him the thrice-honourable cognomen of “The Knight sans peur et sans reproche”; one of his most brilliant feats was his defence, single-handed, of the bridge over the Garigliano, in the face of a large body of Spaniards; was mortally wounded defending a pass at Abblategrasso; fell with his face to the foe, who carried off his body, but restored it straightway afterwards for due burial by his friends (1476-1524).
Definition taken from The Nuttall Encyclopædia, edited by the Reverend James Wood (1907)
Bayard * Bayeux