Résumé
Résumé de Roland furieux
À qui s’adresse-t-il ?
For readers who love adventure, wit, wandering stories, and the roots of fantasy, and for listeners who enjoy a narrator with opinions. Knights, enchantments, and love-driven folly fill this world.
De quoi parle ce livre ?
Orlando Furioso is a long poem in forty-six cantos, written by Lodovico Ariosto in Ferrara, in northern Italy. He first published it in 1516, issued a revised edition in 1521, and finished a final version in 1532, the year before he died. He wrote it for the Este family, the dukes and cardinals he served at court. It is a sequel to an unfinished poem by Matteo Maria Boiardo, and it picks up that story in the middle of a war.
The war is old legend. Charlemagne and his Christian knights face an army of Saracens who have crossed from Spain and Africa and now besiege Paris. Around this war Ariosto spins dozens of stories. Knights chase a runaway princess. A flying horse carries a young warrior across the world. Sorceresses build palaces that vanish when you touch them. The hero of the title, Orlando, who is called Roland in French tales, is the greatest of Charlemagne's knights, and love drives him out of his mind.
You get a poem that is funny, fast, and strangely wise about human folly. Ariosto never lets one thread run for long. He drops a story at its most tense moment and picks up another, then returns when you have almost forgotten. Let us begin with the world Ariosto worked in, and the poem he chose to continue.
Dans ce résumé
- 1A court poet continues someone else's taleFree
- 2Paris under siege, and a war with many fronts
- 3Angelica flees and every man chases her
- 4Ruggiero and Bradamante love across a divide
- 5The hippogriff and the traps of enchantment
- 6Orlando sees the signs and loses his mind
- 7Astolfo rides to the moon on a mission
- 8What the poem says about love, folly, and women
- 9How Ariosto tells it and why it lasted
Point clé 1 sur 9
A court poet continues someone else's tale
Lodovico Ariosto was born in 1474 and spent much of his life as a servant of the Este family of Ferrara. He worked first for Cardinal Ippolito d'Este, who sent him on errands, and later for the cardinal's brother, Duke Alfonso. The work was often dull and sometimes tiring, and Ariosto wrote poetry in the gaps. Orlando Furioso grew out of those gaps over about a decade.
He did not start from nothing. Matteo Maria Boiardo, who also served the Este court, had written Orlando Innamorato, which means Orlando in Love. Boiardo died in 1494 and left that poem unfinished, with its knights scattered across the battlefield and its love stories unresolved. Ariosto's poem begins as if no time has passed, and readers of his day knew the earlier story well.
The material itself was older still. Tales of Charlemagne and his twelve peers had been told in French and Italian for centuries, in songs, chronicles, and street recitals. The best known of them, the Song of Roland, tells of a hero betrayed at a mountain pass. Boiardo and Ariosto turned that serious legend into something more playful, filled with magic and romance.
Ariosto also had a family reason to write. He traced the Este line back to an invented ancestor, a warrior named Ruggiero, and his poem honours that line. This gave him a thread that runs through the whole work, a love story that will end in the founding of a dynasty. The praise of his patrons is never far away, though it often comes with a smile.
So the poem is a courtly gift, a sequel, and a playful rewriting of old legend all at once. Knowing that helps you relax. You are not expected to master a plot before you start, and the narrator will keep reminding you where you are. Now let us see the war that holds it all together.
That’s 1 of 9 key points.
The rest of the summary, written and spoken, and the whole book: free to start.
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Who’s who
- Orlando
- Charlemagne's strongest knight is Rinaldo's cousin and rival, drawn away from military duty by love for Angelica.
- Angelica
- A princess of Cathay, she uses her wits and magic ring to escape the knights pursuing her.
- Ruggiero
- A young Saracen knight loyal to Agramante, he loves Bradamante despite their opposing religious allegiances.
- Bradamante
- A Christian warrior and Rinaldo's sister, she searches for Ruggiero and remains steadfast in her love.
- Rinaldo
- Orlando's cousin and fellow Christian knight, he rivals him for Angelica's affection and sometimes clashes with Charlemagne.
- Astolfo
- A boastful but goodhearted English duke, he is Orlando's friend and a fellow knight of Charlemagne.
- Rodomonte
- The proud Saracen king of Sarza, he is a powerful champion fighting against Charlemagne's Christian army.
- Charlemagne
- The Christian emperor commands Orlando and his fellow knights in the defence of Paris.
- Agramante
- The young king of Africa commands the Saracen army, including Ruggiero, against Charlemagne.
- Atlante
- A protective wizard who loves Ruggiero like a son, he uses enchantments to keep him from war.
About this edition
Every format is free to start, and print and large print are at cost.
- LengthAbout 285,000 words
- Reading timeAbout 19 h
- Listening time31 h 40 min
- FormatseBook, large-print eBook, audiobook, 15-minute summary
- LanguagesEnglish and 13 other languages
Questions about Roland furieux
What is Orlando Furioso about?
It tells of the war between Charlemagne's Christians and invading Saracens, and of the many knights and ladies caught up in it. Its central thread is Orlando's mad love for Angelica, joined by magic, quests, and the love of Ruggiero and Bradamante.
What does Orlando Furioso mean?
It is Italian for Orlando Mad, or Orlando Enraged. The title points to the hero's madness, brought on by love, which drives him from his post and from his reason. It also answers an earlier poem called Orlando Innamorato, Orlando in Love.
Who wrote Orlando Furioso and when?
Lodovico Ariosto wrote it in Ferrara in the early sixteenth century. The first edition appeared in 1516, with a revised one in 1521 and a final expanded version in 1532. It is a story of legend, not history.
Is Orlando Furioso hard to read?
Each episode is easy to follow, the tone is light, and the narrator guides you. Reading a few cantos at a time works well.
What is the main message of Orlando Furioso?
Ariosto shows that love and desire can cloud judgment, that appearances deceive, and that good sense is easily lost. He also praises courage, loyalty, and the ability of women to act as equals, all with humour and sympathy.