ppeared, and Aymon's sons, escaping secretly from Montauban just before
it was forced to surrender, took refuge in a castle they owned in the
Ardennes.

Here the emperor pursued them, and kept up the siege until Aya sought him,
imploring him to forgive her sons and to cease persecuting them.
Charlemagne yielded at last to her entreaties, and promised to grant the
sons of Aymon full forgiveness provided the demoniacal steed Bayard were
given over to him to be put to death. Aya hastened to Renaud to tell him
this joyful news, but when he declared that nothing would ever induce him
to give up his faithful steed, she besought him not to sacrifice his
brothers, wife, and sons, out of love for his horse.

[Sidenote: Death of Bayard.] Thus adjured, Renaud, with breaking heart,
finally consented. The treaty was signed, and Bayard, with feet heavily
weighted, was led to the middle of a bridge over the Seine, where the
emperor had decreed that he should be drowned. At a given signal from
Charlemagne the noble horse was pushed into the water; but, in spite of the
weights on his feet, he rose to the surface twice, casting an agonized
glance upon his master, who had been forced to come and witness his death.
Aya, seeing her son's grief, drew his head down upon her motherly bosom,
and when Bayard rose once more and missed his beloved master's face among
the crowd, he sank beneath the waves with a groan of despair, and never
rose again.

Renaud, maddened by the needless cruelty of this act, now tore up the
treaty and flung it at the emperor's feet. He then broke his sword
Flamberge and cast it into the Seine, declaring that he would never wield
such a weapon again, and returned to Montauban alone and on foot. There he
bade his wife and children farewell, after committing them to the loyal
protection of Roland. He then set out for the Holy Land, where he fought
against the infidels, using a club as weapon, so as not to break his vow.
This evidently proved no less effective in his hands than the noted
Flamberge, for he was offered the crown of Jerusalem in reward for his
services. As he had vowed to renounce all the pomps and vanities of the
world, Renaud passed the crown on to Godfrey of Bouillon. Then, returning
home, he found that Clarissa had died, after having been persecuted for
years by the unwelcome attentions of many suitors, who would fain have
persuaded her that her husband was dead.

[Sidenote: Death of Renaud.] According