As Esmeraude and all the company in the hall listened, Bayard sang of Tristran being brought to the pyre where King Mark intended to burn the lovers alive. That knight deceived his captors by begging for one last chance to pray when they passed a small chapel, one said to have no means of escape.
But Tristran leaped through the small window that faced the sea, daring the drop off the cliffs there. He was saved from dying in the fall by a large flat rock partway down the cliff face. His loyal Governal met him with his armor and his steed and Tristran set out to save his lady fair.
The company applauded this deed with such vigor that Bayard had to wait for silence. Esmeraude was intrigued that the knight evidently thought a lie to escape death was permissible.
A sentry came, as one had th
