Orlando Furioso

Described in the annotated index as “descended of Hector of Troy, ancestor of the House of Este, son of Ruggiero II of Reggio; a Saracen champion, he is in love with the Christian heroine Bradamant” (621).

Ruggiero is Ariosto’s way of giving his patrons, the House d’Este, a mythic origin story—in the same way that Virgil crafted the Aeneid to give a divine origin to Ancient Rome’s Julian dynasty. Key to Ruggiero’s characterization is his redemption through conversion to Christianity. He also functions much like the knight Lancelot in the older Grail Cycle of the Arthurian Tradition. Lancelot was introduced as a French knight within an English/Welsh canon for a Francophone audience, and Ruggiero is an Italian knight joining a French canon, for an Italian audience.

Ruggiero’s chivalry is emphasized at every point: He feels honor-bound to fight for Agramant despite converting, and later, believes honor compels him to aid Leo to marry Bradamant, the woman he loves. Ruggiero’s honor also often compels him to hold back in fights, such as when attacked by his ally and secret sister, Marfisa: “he took care to present neither the edge nor the point of his sword, but struck only with the flat of it” (437). He is unwilling to kill any relatives of Bradamant, which includes most of the Paladins of Charlemagne, forcing him to battle with less than his full might to advance the Saracen cause. Ruggiero’s goodness contrasts him with the other Saracen Knights, especially Agramant and Rodomont, who act as his foils. His wedding to Bradamant and his duel with Rodomont secure Ruggiero’s legacy and future lineage through honor, love, and chivalric violence.

Another of Charlemagne’s paladins, Astolfo is described in the annotated index as “an English paladin, son of King Otho of England, cousin of Orlando and Rinaldo” (580).

While most of the characters are confined to France and its surrounding nations, Astolfo travels practically the whole universe, covering all of Europe and Africa, the upper levels of Hell, “the earthly paradise” (417), and the Moon. This befits Astolfo, who is one of the most devout and magical knights, rarely engaging in combat despite his prowess as a paladin, and relying more on prayer and magical tools, “placing greater reliance on his horn than on his sword” (158). This religious commitment helps him in quests like the reclamation of Senapo, a Christian king who has turned away from true Christianity.

Astolfo’s victories are sometimes comic—for instance, fighting the giant Caligorant through trickery creates the comic image of the smallest paladin leading the huge slayer of countless knights around on a rope. His quest to the Moon is also comic: he finds his own wits there, despite being nominally sane. His particular beauty also repeatedly causes characters to talk about the perils of beauty and infidelity, despite Astolfo being one of the few knights without a romantic quest.

Rinaldo, also known in the French canon as Renaud, is described in the annotated index as “son of Aymon and Beatrice, pillar of the house of Clairmont and, with his cousin Orlando, chief prop and paladin of Charlemagne; Orlando’s rival in pursuit of Angelica” (619).

Renaud, like Roland, is a dramatic fixture of French mythic history, starring in The Four Sons of Aymon and the Renaud de Montauban Cycle, as well as taking an important role in Ariosto’s source material, Orlando Innamorato.

Rinaldo, in many ways, is a foil to Orlando: He pursues the same woman, to the same detriment of the Christian cause, but never quite reaches Orlando's level of madness. Rinaldo is already married before falling in love with Angelica, so the nature of his sin is different; the allegorical monster he confronts and defeats with the help of Wrath, is Jealousy, a beast in the shape of a woman. As a married man, Rinaldo’s affection for Angelica is a “shameful yoke” (504) to be thrown off, rather than a biblical vice worthy of divine punishment, as in the case of Orlando.

Angelica is the object of many of the knights’ affections, both Christian and Saracen. In the annotated index, she is described as “daughter of Galafron, Emperor of Cathay (China), sister of Argalia; a ravishing beauty, she is sent to Charlemagne’s court to destroy it, captivating Orlando, Rinaldo, Maugis, as also many Saracen princes” (577).

Despite her role as primarily an object to be captured and won, Angelica has much more agency than the plot strictly requires. Most of her adventures put her in the position of being seduced, raped, or captured for marriage, but she flees lustful or otherwise malicious pursuers such as Rinaldo, Orlando, pirates, and Ruggiero.

Angelica is far from the typical damsel in distress. Unlike most women soliciting the poem’s knights for quests, she does not tell her story, and instead does her best to hold on to what power she has. Primarily, this power is in the form of a magic ring that allows her to disappear. Even after her power of choice is taken from her in Cupid forcing her to love Medor, she holds on to the magical device, using it to get away from Orlando once more. Medor is a husband who does not disempower Angelica: Rather than go back to his home to be a wife, she drags him halfway around the world, back to her home court in Cathay.

Bradamant is one of two notable female knights, along with Marfisa. She is described in the annotated index as “daughter of Aymon and Beatrice, and sister of Rinaldo, destined to marry Ruggiero and give birth to the Este line; a Christian warrior-damsel” (585).

As another of the ostensible ancestors of Ariosto’s patron, Bradamant is one of the most powerful knights, and one of the most beautiful women in the poem. Her prophesied marriage eventually supplants the story of Orlando’s madness. Bradamant’s knightly skills seem to defy traditional gender roles: She defeats Ruggiero early in the work, and goes on to best many knights in many fights.

Bradamant is incredibly headstrong, often not heeding the advice of her sorceress companion, Melissa, and creating situations that create difficulty. This headstrong nature also brings her into conflict with her family, as she refuses to stand on honor, as Ruggiero does, and obey her parents by marrying Leo. These familial conflicts contrast with Marfisa, who acts as Bradamant’s foil.

Described in the annotated index as “Saracen warrior-damsel, sister (as it turns out) of Ruggiero” (608).

Marfisa is a foil to Bradamant, who at first mistakes Marfisa’s relationship Ruggiero for a romantic liaison. In fact, Marfisa, like Astolfo, is one of the few characters without a romantic partner; rather, she embraces celibacy: “Marfisa emerged from the from the gate; the crest on her helmet was a phoenix, which she wore either out of pride, / to denote that she was unique for martial prowess, or else to celebrate her chaste intention of living single for ever” (433).

Marfisa and Bradamant’s adventures often address gender disparities. Bradamant battles countless knights because Marfisa humiliated the knights of a distant castle by revealing her gender. Later, Marfisa and Bradamant unite to vanquish the Castle of the Misogynists: “With these words the woman moved the warrior-damsels first to pity, then to such indignation that, had it not been night-time, but day, they would have made off to the castle at once” (450).

Described in the annotated index as “Mantuan sorceress; Ariosto’s invention” (610).

Melissa is not drawn from a mythohistorical canon. She demonstrates positive magic in the world of Orlando Furioso. A good magic user involved in the prophecy of Bradamant and Ruggiero’s marriage, Melissa shows Bradamant “the likeness of each one of her descendants” (22), which, of course, include Ariosto’s patrons. Alongside Merlin, Melissa connects the older chivalric canon of Arthur to the modern patricians of Italy. Ariosto finesses his praise for his employers by splitting his adoration between narrative levels: the top level of his narration, and the second layer of the character’s dialogue.

Melissa speaks with the inescapable force of prophecy and does not want to overturn destiny. Atlas, the other good magician, cares about Ruggiero so much he tries to subvert the prophesied about his marriage and death, while “Melissa, having ignited battle with her phantoms, disappeared” (466), which sets the wheels of fate back in motion.

Agramant, described as “King of Africa, son of Trojan, grandson of Angolant and supreme commander of the Saracen expedition against Charlemagne” (575), has a much more active role in the story than Charlemagne.

Agramant starts the war, directs the many champions of the Muslim world against France, and forces the French back to Paris, “besieging it as a last resort, unable as he was to capture the city otherwise” (124). Unlike Charlemagne, Agramant is able to rally a vast host, but his champions are not the equal of Charlemagne’s.

Though Agramant often flees rather than fight, he is not without honor, in contrast to the monstrous Rodomont. When the Vices invade Agramant’s camp, provoking strife, he is the only hero not dragged into Discord’s scheme: Rather, “he pondered how best at least to obtain some agreement on the order of battles” (327). In the final duel of the war, he takes the field himself, dying at the hand of Orlando, while Charlemagne sends only champions.