Pierre Terrail, Seigneur de Bayard

Pierre Terrail, Seigneur de Bayard, 1476-1524

This has been a long time coming. Considering I started my collection with a command base of Henry VIII one may think key characters were easy to do but Bayard has evaded me for some time. 

What can I say about le bon chevalier, sans peur et sans reproche, he's just a solid legend of the Italian Wars, known in his lifetime for his exceptional valour and chivalric principles and very much a hero of France to this day. His biography is here, but if you want a deep dive, there's a full detailed biography written in 1527 by his companion and secretary, Jacques de Mailles under the pseudonym le loyal serviteur.

As Mailles knew Bayard personally much of the content reflects events and first hand conversations from Bayard's lifetime.

He's certainly been in my awareness since I started painting, his military career is full of notable engagements but for me his role in the 1513 Battle of the Spurs was particularly captivating.

In brief, the action took place during the siege of Therouanne. The French relief army was engaged in attempting to revictual the garrison with sides of bacon carried by Stradiots (that could be an amusing conversion idea !), the plan being that they would throw these at the foot of the walls for the garrison to sally out and retrieve.  Bayard was among the Gendarmes who were detached as a rearguard.

Sources differ as to what happened next, either the English knew of this plan or they were engaged in tightening the siege lines. Whatever the reason, the French rearguard and the cavalry of the English middle-ward stumbled straight into each other. English mounted archers had dismounted behind a hedge with light guns in support and engaged the French straight away, the French in surprise and with orders not to engage immediately took flight before the English cavalry could encircle them, shedding horse armour to hasten the process.

The men at arms under Bayard's command conducted a fighting retreat, maintaining contact with the English in a series of engagements ending in Bayard defending a narrow bridge, only surrendering once the English had flanked him and surrounded his men. This, and many actions during his lifetime reinforced his own legend as sans peur et sans reproche. 

Accounts vary but Bayard's captor refused to ransom such a noble knight, Bayard nonetheless insisted upon sending a fine horse as payment. He would then meet Henry VIII and Maximilian, the latter of whom said;

"i believe it used to be said that Bayard never fled"

to which Bayard responded

"had i fled, sire, i should not be here"

This particular engagement caught my attention early on, i've built an army around it I guess. I have gamed a 'what if' some time ago but Bayard's particular experience is something I will certainly seek to recreate.

Moreover, he's an enigma that had to be given the highest attention and care, the same could be said about my French army which has long needed a boost in numbers so here we are.

In (finally) bringing my attention to Bayard i'm sure this will certainly be the nucleus of many Italian Wars skirmishes to come.

Here's how Bayard's command was created.

This was the starting point, a simple engraving from 1527 which I believe accompanied the biography by Jacques de Mailles. Given my interest is in his mid-career this was the type of caparison barding I was keen to replicate.

I wanted a heroic pose which I achieved by repositioning an arm of a Wargames Foundry gendarme but this then presented a challenge as there were no suitable horses I was aware of so a conversion was needed. The Perry Miniatures Wars of the Roses mounted command had a suitable rearing horse that fit the bill, I just needed to add the barding, a bit of a tall order but I like a challenge.

Barding of boiled leather known as cuir bouilli was typical for most heavy cavalry in the Italian Wars, there's a great chapter on this by Keith Dowen in this book from the Royal Armouries which features analysis and photographs of the few surviving pieces from various collections. Among which are those from a set which was reconstructed in the Musee de l'armee Paris, for which there are also lots of photos from various angles to help understand each piece of armour and how it fitted together. I won't bore you with all of those but here's an example.

 

 

Reconstructed Cuir Bouilli Barding, Musee de l'armee Paris.

Using the images from this collection I was able to piece together the bard conversion, modelling each panel in turn with drying time in-between before adding the chanfron, reins and fastenings. This exercise really was quite a challenge and pushed my abilities but enjoyable nonetheless. As it was done in stages any mistakes could easily be rectified without ruining the whole piece.

Further inspiration was taken from this depiction of Bayard both for the rider and the detail of the shield on the chanfron.

Bayard defends the bridge over the Garigliano, 1505. Henri Felix Emmanuel Phillippoteaux 1840

Here's the piece after assembly and sculpting was complete, as a final touch I added a plume (from Steelfist Miniatures) on to the chanfron. 

It's also worthwhile to note the armour choice of the rider. I'll be honest, I like the figure. I'm reliably informed that it's unlikely Bayard would have worn a Maximilian armour but more likely a piece of Italian manufacture. 

While we're on it, the suit attributed to him in the Royal Armouries actually isn't his but was attributed to him for centuries, probably based on early (and possibly mistaken) records, though no part definitively belonged to the real Bayard. It's a magnificent, but misattributed, piece bought in Paris in 1816, representing the style for a 'Prince de Valois' (like Bayard) but not his personal set.

Armet of the 'Bayard Armour' 1505-1515. Royal Armouries, Leeds.

Now on to the painting, if you're interested to know more and a bit of a deep dive into how I paint Gendarmes you can (shameless plug) read my thoughts upon this in an illustrated chapter of this book by Helion. For Bayard I took two main sources of inspiration for the horse caparison, the first is this and others like it which feature the cross of St Denis upon the peytral (shoulder defences).

Battle of Ravenna, 1512, The Italian School, (detail)

Next, are these paintings by Jean Boudichon depicting Louis XII's 1507 campaign in Genoa, in which Bayard was present.

Bourdichon was a court painter from Louis XI through to Francis I and this role also included the painting of leather bards for the court. Thus these paintings likely depict some of his own work and are very reliable for the construction and decoration of bards. I particularly like the way that some riders coats match their bards and that some have their motto's along the fringes.

French Gendarmes under Louis XII, 1507, Jean Bourdichon

Louis XII, 1507, Jean Bourdichon

Bayard has a number of motto's associated with him, i've already mentioned two. During his lifetime he was referred to as 'le bon chevalier', after his death 'sans peur et sans reproche' (fearless and beyond reproach) was used.

Thanks to research by Massimo Predonzani for his book The Italian Wars vol 5 I have found that during his lifetime Bayard used;

Accipitut Det - he receives to give

Non Morietur Inultus - shall not be unpunished

Both echo Bayard's chivalric principles which are worthy of a brief reference;

'Bayard always felt deeply linked to the chivalric code of honor. Absolute loyalty even towards enemies, charity and help were his rules of life, in fact he did his utmost for the recovery of prostitutes and personally assisted the sick of the plague. 

While his fellow countrymen indulged in violence and raids, Bayard always remained respectful towards the weak and the vanquished, doing his utmost for their defense, and burned with furious anger in the face of all cruelty and injustice. 

He even used to pay out of his own pocket for the goods he requisitioned for the need for provisions, while his fellow countrymen used to simply snatch them from the peasants with violence.'

(M.G. Pertone – Bargagli Stoffi. Baiardo, cavaliere senza macchia e senza paura (1475–1524), La vita.)

I opted for Non Morietur Inultus which I painted on the bottom of the barding and the reins. For the floral damask painting I used the design in this woodcut from the 1527 biography as a source.

Here he is. I was going to paint the horse white, as often features for heroic characters but I thought it would clash with the white plumes so I went for a light Bay.

To accompany Bayard I have a standard bearer and musician. Both are inspired by the Bourdichon series (above) in the decoration on their coats n particular. The musician bears the crowned Porcupine symbol of Louis XII. The banner is hand painted. As with Bayard, the figures are Wargames Foundry mounted upon Perry Miniatures metal WOTR horses. This required pinning them for a bit of strength and to cover up the gap at the back I sculpted the rear of the saddle on each figure.

For this horse I was keen to attempt a grey dapple. The horse was undercoated black then painted in the Wargames Foundry canvas shade tone which I washed with a blend of Wargames Foundry Bay brown, Citadel contrast Skeleton horde, Citadel contrast Snakebite leather and water. When dry I re-applied the canvas shade then highlighted in the mid tone. 

To achieve the dapples I copied a technique kindly explained by miniature painter Sascha Herm. 

I applied a thin wash of Wargames Foundry Granite and British Blue Grey, I then mixed these colours again without water (i.e. not a wash) and used a sponge to apply grey dapples. I then applied dapples of the canvas mid tone. Finally everything was highlighted in the canvas mid tone and highlight. I enjoyed the process and will continue experimenting.

Rear of the figures showing the sculpted saddle addition.

The source for horse colours is always this faithful volume usually available cheaply on ebay. 

Here's the completed base, based and photographed with Gendarmes and Men at Arms

I've really enjoyed putting this base together and hope that was a good read. I'm continuing the cavalry momentum with some French men at arms, hopefully ready at the start of 2026.

All the best to you and yours

Stuart