Bayard (legend)

Since the Middle Ages, Bayard has been an important figure in northern French and Belgian folklore, particularly in the Ardennes, notably in Bogny-sur-Meuse, Dinant, Namur and Dendermonde.

The horse was capable of carrying Rinaldo and his three brothers ("the four sons of Aymon") all at the same time and of understanding human speech.

[3] In Bulfinch's Mythology, Rinaldo's acquisition of Bayard is described as follows: a disguised Maugris (who had previously acquired Bayard) tells Rinaldo that a wild horse under an enchantment roams the woods, and that this horse belonged initially to Amadis of Gaul and can only be won by a knight of Amadis' lineage.

[4] Bayard also appears in the epic poems on chivalrous subjects by Luigi Pulci, Matteo Maria Boiardo and Ludovico Ariosto.

[5][6][7] The Bayard legend is also celebrated in other towns in Belgium — most notably in the Flemish city of Dendermonde, where a large ommegang is organized every ten years.

In several parts of Dendermonde, located outside of the city walls, namely Appels, Donckstraat, Keur and Sint-Gillis, smaller editions of this ommegang are organized on an annual basis.