had already settled exactly what he would do and had written out his
announcement, which ran thus: "Pierre de Bayard, young gentleman and
apprentice of arms, native of Dauphiné, of the army of the King of France,
under the high and puissant lord the Sire de Ligny--causeth to be
proclaimed and published a tournament to be held outside the town of Aire,
close to the walls, for all comers, on the 20th day of July. They are to
fight with three charges of the lance without 'lice'" (meaning in this
instance a barrier), "with sharpened point, armed at all points; afterwards
twelve charges with the sword, all on horseback. And to him who does best
will be given a bracelet enamelled with his arms, of the weight of thirty
crowns. The next day there shall be fought on foot a charge with the lance,
at a barrier waist-high, and after the lance is broken, with blows of the
axe, until it is ended at the discretion of the judges and those who keep
the camp. And to him who does best shall be given a diamond of the value of
forty crowns."

This sounds more like real war than courtly pastime, and we see how
terribly in earnest this young soldier was. The allusion to "those who keep
the camp" is to the marshals of the tournament and the heralds-at-arms who
kept a very close watch on the combatants. They also maintained on this
miniature battlefield the laws of chivalry and courtesy, giving help to
those who needed it.

When a young squire first entered the lists he was warned by the cry:
"Remember of what race you come and do nothing contrary to your honour."
There were many strict rules to be observed; for instance, it was forbidden
to strike your adversary with the point, although it was usually blunted
(but not in this tournament of Bayard's). It was forbidden to attack the
horse of your opponent, and this we can quite understand, for in those
days, when a knight wore complete and heavy armour, if his horse were