AYMON, a'mon. The surname of four brothers, called respectively Alard, Richard, Guiscard. and Renaud, sons of Ay111011. or Hai mon, Connt of Dordogne, who figure among the most illustrious heroes of the chivalric poetry of the Middle Ages. The story belongs to the cycle of romances in which Charlemagne is the central figure. Munn de Villeneuve. a French poet of the time of Philip Augustus (1180-1223), tells the story in his poem, entitled, Les quatre ins .tynton, while Ariosto later conferred poeti cal immortality on the family by the publication of his Orlando furioso, in which Renaud. or Roland. the bravest of the four brothers, plays the most distinguished part. Caxton printed, about 1489, an English translation of the story, and in 1884-85 the Early English Text Society reprinted C'axton's work. under the title, The Four Sons of •ymon. Tieck, the popular Ger man Writer, edited and published the story, but seems to have taken it from a different source. See RoLAND, THE SONG OF.
AYR, hr. -' seaport and the county-town of Ayrshire, Scotland, situated on the Firtlt of Clyde, at the mouth of the River Ayr, 40 miles south-southwest of (11asgow by rail (Map: Scotland, D 4). Ayr is connected by three bridges with the suburbs of Ne•ton-on-Ayr and Wallacetown, which have constituted a part of the city since 1873, and is a clean and handsome town. A harbor is formed by the estuary of the
river, and is protected by piers and a break water. In 1874 and succeeding years many im provements were added, including the construc tion of a large wet-dock. The coasting trade is considerable. The chief export is coal from the Ayrshire collieries. A considerable quantity of grain, timber, iron ore, and manure is imported. At one time much wine was imported from France. The town has an excellent water-supply, obtained from Loch Finlas. It owns and operates an electric-light plant, and maintains markets, slaughterhouses, and a cemetery. The race course, owned by the town, is the scene of the 'We-stern Meeting,' held each year in September. Part of the tower of the old Church of Saint John, built in the Twelfth Century, and turned into a fort by Cromwell, is still standing. The neighborhood of Ayr is rich in associations with the poet Robert Burns. About two miles to the south is the cottage in which he was born, and a little farther on Auld Alloway Kirk (q.v.), and the Auld Brig of Doon of Tam o' Shanter fame. Near the river is the Burns Monument, in the style of a classic temple, containing relics of the poet and two excellent figures of 'pain and Souter Johnny, by Thom, a native sculptor. Population, municipal burgh, 1900, 28,624.