The four sons of Aymon

The Ros Bayard or Beiaard as the locals call it of the city Dendermonde is a folkloric horse, which originates from the legend of The four sons of Aymon. It is the main character in a procession that goes around the city every ten years, in a medieval times style. The Dendermonde Ros Beiaard has been on Unesco's List of Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity since 2005. You can find more information about the Ros Beiaard here

Picture by the city of Dendermonde

The story of The four sons of Aymon goes back to the middle ages and goes like this: The knight Aymon of Dordogne was a loyal feudal man of Charlemagne. He would have been married to Aye. She gave her husband four sons: Ritsaert, Writsaert, Adelaert, and Reinout. Reinout was the strongest of the four. According to an old tradition, the four sons each received a horse as a gift from their father. Reinout, however, was so strong that he accidentally killed his horse. Then a second horse was offered to him, but that horse also broke its loins on the first ride.

Lord Aymon, however, knew what to do. Because a knight had to have a horse, he took his son to a castle that housed the infamous stallion Bayard, a furious black beast that was feared by everyone and who had never found his master. Undeterred, Reinout faced the rearing horse, which immediately threw him a few meters further on the ground with a hefty kick. Reinout did not want to give up, however, and after a heroic battle, he managed to submit the wonderful strong horse to his will. From then on, the stallion Bayard would obey knight Reinout forever.