Story
He is the son of a Christian knight (Ruggiero II of Reggio Calabria, a descendant of Astyanax, son of Hector) and a Saracen lady (Galaciella, daughter of Agolant, king of Africa). When Ruggiero's father is betrayed and murdered, his mother escapes to the sea by boat, lands on the shores of Libya and dies after giving birth to twins. Ruggiero is raised since infancy by the wizard Atlante in Africa as a Saracen warrior (in Ariosto, Marfisa is Ruggiero's twin sister).
Ruggiero is the subject of two possible prophecies. His first possible fate is to convert to Christianity, marry Bradamante and sire a line of heroes that lead to the noble house of Este in Italy, but will be betrayed and killed soon after his marriage. His second possible fate is to remain a Saracen and be the cause of the downfall of the Frankish Empire. Atlante is fiercely protective of Ruggiero and keeps him hidden in an invisible castle on the top of Mount Carena in Africa.
King Agramante of Africa proposes invading France and gathers his war council together at his palace in Biserta. The king from Garamanta rose and prophesied that such an invasion was doomed unless they had the youth Ruggiero on their side. He was the key to their victory. (Garamanta did not know of the other possible prophecy regarding Ruggiero.) Agramante sent search parties looking for Ruggiero, but could not find him due to Atlante's sorcery. [2]
The thief Brunello was sent east to the kingdom of Cathay to steal a magic ring from Angelica that would remove all enchantments from the wearer's eyes. [3] Once Brunello returned with the stolen ring, Agramante found the hidden castle. A tournament was held at the base of Mount Carena and Ruggiero was lured outside. [4]
After Ruggiero was given a sword, armor, and a horse by Brunello, he entered a melee and became the tournament champion. Later he was knighted by Agramante and joined the Saracen army in its invasion of Europe, against Atlante's wishes. [5]
Agramante's army joins Rodomonte's forces who are fighting the Franks at the border war at Montalbano (Montauban). [6] Ruggiero shows his military prowess in the battle and has duels with Orlando and Rinaldo. Both duels are interrupted. [7]
After the battle is over for the day, Ruggiero meets and falls in love with the female Christian knight Bradamante (sister to Rinaldo). She is attacked and wounded by Saracen patrols and Ruggiero defends her honor. During the fight Bradamante and Ruggiero are separated for the first of many times. [8]
Atlante then takes Ruggiero hostage and holds him in an enchanted castle with lords and ladies to keep him company. Bradamante rescues Ruggiero, but he is soon tricked into climbing on the back of a hippogriff. [9]
The hippogriff flies him to an island east of India and he is held captive there by the enchantress Alcina on her magic island. Ruggiero forgets about his love for Bradamante and falls for the charms of Alcina. He is there until he is helped by the good sorceress Melissa. [10]
He rescues the princess Angelica, who has been offered as a sacrifice to a water-dwelling orc. Finally, he is baptised into Christianity, and marries Bradamante. Rodomonte appears at the wedding feast and accuses Ruggiero of betraying the Saracen cause. The two knights duel, ending in Rodomonte's death.
Orlando furioso is an Italian epic poem by Ludovico Ariosto which has exerted a wide influence on later culture. The earliest version appeared in 1516, although the poem was not published in its complete form until 1532. Orlando furioso is a continuation of Matteo Maria Boiardo's unfinished romance Orlando innamorato. In its historical setting and characters, it shares some features with the Old French Chanson de Roland of the eleventh century, which tells of the death of Roland. The story is also a chivalric romance which stemmed from a tradition beginning in the late Middle Ages and continuing in popularity in the 16th century and well into the 17th.
Alcina is a 1735 opera seria by George Frideric Handel. Handel used the libretto of L'isola di Alcina, an opera that was set in 1728 in Rome by Riccardo Broschi, which he acquired the year after during his travels in Italy. Partly altered for better conformity, the story was originally taken from Ludovico Ariosto's Orlando furioso, an epic poem. The opera contains several musical sequences with opportunity for dance: these were composed for dancer Marie Sallé.
Renaudde Montauban was a legendary hero and knight which appeared in a 12th-century Old French chanson de geste known as The Four Sons of Aymon. The four sons of Duke Aymon are Renaud, Richard, Alard and Guiscard, and their cousin is the magician Maugris. Renaud possesses the magical horse Bayard and the sword Froberge.
Orlando Innamorato is an epic poem written by the Italian Renaissance author Matteo Maria Boiardo. The poem is a romance concerning the heroic knight Orlando (Roland). It was published between 1483 and 1495.
Astolfo is a fictional character in the Matter of France where he is one of Charlemagne's paladins. He is the son of Otto, the King of England, and is a cousin to Orlando and Rinaldo, and a descendant of Charles Martel. While Astolfo's name appeared in the Old French chanson de gesteThe Four Sons of Aymon, his first major appearance was in the anonymous early fourteenth-century Franco-Venetian epic poem La Prise de Pampelune. He was subsequently a major character in Italian Renaissance romance epics, such as Morgante by Luigi Pulci, Orlando Innamorato by Matteo Maria Boiardo, and Orlando Furioso by Ludovico Ariosto.
Bradamante is a fictional knight heroine in two epic poems of the Renaissance: Orlando Innamorato by Matteo Maria Boiardo and Orlando Furioso by Ludovico Ariosto. Since the poems exerted a wide influence on later culture, she became a recurring character in Western art.
Oliver, sometimes referred to as Olivier de Vienne or de Gennes, is a legendary knight in the Matter of France chansons de geste, especially the French epic The Song of Roland. In the tradition, he was Roland's closest friend, advisor, confidant and brother-in-law to be, one of Charlemagne's twelve peers and brother of Aude, Roland's betrothed. He dies with Roland at the Battle of Roncevaux Pass. Some critics have linked his name to the olive tree, a biblical symbol of divine wisdom.
Atlantes was a powerful sorcerer featured in chansons de geste. In Boiardo's Orlando Innamorato (1482), where he is known as Atalante, the magician fears that Rugiero will convert to Christianity and aid Charlemagne against the Saracens. To prevent this and forestall Rugiero's death, he constructs a magic garden ringed by glass on Mt. Carena in the Atlas Mountains, after which he is named. In Orlando Furioso, Atlantes' magical castle is filled with illusions, in order to divert Ruggiero from what he has foretold as certain doom. Ruggiero is later set free by Bradamante and after numerous trials and quests sires a great line of heroes. He later dies betrayed fulfilling the destiny foretold by Atlantes.
Ferragut was a character—a Saracen paladin, sometimes depicted as a giant—in texts dealing with the Matter of France, including the Historia Caroli Magni, and Italian epics, such as Orlando Innamorato by Matteo Maria Boiardo and Orlando Furioso by Ludovico Ariosto. In the tales, he was portrayed as physically invulnerable except at his navel/stomach, and was eventually killed by the paladin Roland.
Angelica is a princess in the epic poem Orlando innamorato by Matteo Maria Boiardo. She reappears in the saga's continuation, Orlando furioso by Ludovico Ariosto, and in various later works based on the two original Orlando pieces. The narratives are part of the Matter of France, a cycle of legendary history stories based on the adventures of Charlemagne and his paladins.
Rodomonte is a major character in the Italian romantic epic poems Orlando innamorato by Matteo Maria Boiardo and Orlando furioso by Ludovico Ariosto. He is the King of Sarza and Algiers and the leader of the Saracen army which besieges Charlemagne in Paris. He is in love with Doralice, Princess of Granada, but she elopes with his rival Mandricardo. He tries to seduce Isabella but she tricks him into killing her by mistake. In remorse, Rodomonte builds a bridge in her memory and forces all who cross it to pay tribute. When the "naked and mad" Orlando arrives at the bridge, it is Rodomonte, the pagan, who throws him into the river below. They both swim ashore, but Orlando who is naked and is unimpeded by heavy armor gets to the shore first. Finally, Rodomonte appears at the wedding of Bradamante and Ruggiero and accuses Ruggiero of treason for converting to Christianity and abandoning the Saracen cause. The two fight a duel and Rodomonte is killed.
Brunello is a character in the Italian romantic epics Orlando innamorato by Matteo Maria Boiardo and Orlando furioso by Ludovico Ariosto. Brunello is a dwarf and a cunning thief who works for the Saracen army of King Agramante. He first appears in the second book of Orlando innamorato where Agramante intends to invade Europe and defeat the Emperor Charlemagne. He has been told he has no chance of success unless he has the young warrior Ruggiero on his side, but Ruggiero has been hidden in a secret garden by the wizard Atlante and the only way to reach him is by using the magic ring belonging to Princess Angelica. Brunello undertakes to steal it and sets off for the fortress of Albracca where not only does he manage to snatch the ring but also robs King Sacripante of his horse and the female warrior Marfisa of her sword. Marfisa sets off in pursuit but Brunello evades her and gives the ring to Agramante, who rewards him with a kingdom. The Saracens find Ruggiero at Mount Carena where they see him behind a wall of glass. However, the wall is too steep and slippery to climb, so Brunello suggests they trick Ruggiero out. He gets them to play war games in the plain beneath the mountain. Ruggiero, with his inherent love of combat, cannot resist and in spite of Atlante's pleas he leaves the garden and begs Brunello for his horse and armour. Brunello only agrees if he will join their expedition against France, to which Ruggiero happily consents.
Marfisa is a character in the Italian romantic epics Orlando innamorato by Matteo Maria Boiardo and Orlando Furioso by Ludovico Ariosto. She is the sister of Ruggiero but was separated from him in early childhood. She becomes queen of India and fights as a warrior for the Saracens, taking part in the siege of the fortress Albracca until her sword is stolen by Brunello. She falls in love with Ruggiero, unaware who he is until Atlantes reveals their background. Learning that her parents were Christian, she converts to the faith and joins the Emperor Charlemagne's army against the Saracens.
Sacripante is a character in the Italian romantic epics Orlando innamorato by Matteo Maria Boiardo and Orlando furioso by Ludovico Ariosto. Sacripante is the King of Circassia and one of the leading Saracen knights. He is passionately in love with Angelica and fights to defend her when she is besieged in the fortress of Albracca. His horse Frontino is stolen from underneath him by the cunning thief Brunello. In Orlando furioso he offers to become the wandering Angelica's protector but she evades him.
Agolant or Agolante is a fictional character in Medieval and Renaissance romantic epics dealing with the Matter of France, including Orlando innamorato by Matteo Maria Boiardo and Orlando furioso by Ludovico Ariosto. He is a Saracen king from Africa.
Brandimarte is a fictional character of the Matter of France. He appears in Matteo Maria Boiardo's Orlando Innamorato and Ludovico Ariosto's Orlando Furioso. He is a Saracen knight who was baptized by Orlando and became his loving friend. He took part in the siege of Biserta. Orlando, Oliver, and Brandimarte were the three companions who took part in the final combat on Lampedusa, where he was killed by Gradasso.
Melissa is a fictional good sorceress in the Matter of France. She is said to have been an apprentice of Merlin and guards his tomb, though she does not appear in older stories about him.
Albracca is a major city of Cathay in the Italian romantic epics Orlando innamorato by Matteo Maria Boiardo and Orlando furioso by Ludovico Ariosto. In the story it is the walled city and fortress where Angelica and the knights she has befriended make their stand when attacked by Agrican, emperor of Tartary.
Roger Freeing Angelica is an oil painting by Swiss symbolist painter Arnold Böcklin, from 1873. The painting illustrates a scene from Ariosto's epic Orlando Furioso, in which the Muslim knight Roger saves the pagan princess Angelica from a sea monster. The motif is closely related to the mythological theme of Perseus saving Andromeda.
Mandricardo is a character from the Matter of France, featured in the Italian romantic epic poems Orlando innamorato by Matteo Maria Boiardo and Orlando furioso by Ludovico Ariosto.
