Orlando Furioso · Chapter
Canto I explained
Angelica flees through the forest to escape danger.
What happens
Angelica flees through the forest to escape danger. Rinaldo loses his horse Bayardo and fights Ferraù. Ferraù breaks an oath but later swears a new one. King Sacripant encounters Angelica and laments his unrequited love. The chapter introduces the central conflict between Christian and Moorish armies, and sets up Orlando's madness and the love triangle between Orlando, Rinaldo, and Angelica.
Themes in this chapter
Love and Chivalry
Sacripant's lament and Angelica's manipulation of his love highlight the tension between courtly love and self-interest.
Betrayal and Deception
Ferraù breaks his oath to Argalìa, and Angelica deceives Sacripant to secure his aid.
Honor and Reputation
Ferraù's shame at being called a perjured traitor drives him to swear a new vow.
Fate and Free Will
Angelica's flight and the characters' choices are shaped by fortune and chance encounters.
Characters to notice
- Angelica
Flees through the forest, encounters Sacripant, and recounts her journey.
- Rinaldo
Loses his horse Bayardo, fights Ferraù, and pursues Angelica.
- Ferraù
Fights Rinaldo, breaks an oath, and swears a new vow to obtain Orlando's helmet.
- Sacripant
Laments his love for Angelica, then encounters her in the forest.
- Orlando
Mentioned as Angelica's former lover and as the target of Ferraù's quest for a helmet.
- Charlemagne
Camped with his army, he seized Angelica to prevent rivalry between Orlando and Rinaldo.
- Agramant
King of the Moors, leading the invasion of France.
- Namus
Bavarian duke entrusted with Angelica's care by Charlemagne.
Key passages
“Of loves and ladies, knights and arms, I sing, Of courtesies, and many a daring feat; And from those ancient days my story bring, When Moors from Afric passed in hostile fleet, And ravaged France, with Agramant their king”
The poet announces his epic theme: the chivalric deeds and loves of knights during the Moorish invasion of France under King Agramant.
Opening invocation setting the stage for the entire poem.
“Roland, who long the lady of Catày, Angelica, had loved, and with his brand Raised countless trophies to that damsel gay, In India, Median, and Tartarian land, Westward with her had measured back his way”
Orlando had long loved Angelica and performed many heroic feats for her across Asia before returning with her to France.
Introduces Orlando's devotion and the backstory of his journey with Angelica.
“But Charles, who little liked such rivalry, And drew an omen thence of feebler aid, To abate the cause of quarrel, seized the fair, And placed her in Bavarian Namus’ care.”
Charlemagne, disapproving of the rivalry between Orlando and Rinaldo over Angelica, took her away and put her under the protection of Duke Namus.
Explains how Angelica came to be separated from Orlando.
“Not with such wonderment a mother eyes, With such excessive bliss the son she mourned As dead, lamented still with tears and sighs, Since the thinned files without her boy returned. —Not such her rapture as the king’s surprise And ecstasy of joy when he discerned The lofty presence, cheeks of heavenly hue, And lovely form which broke upon his view.”
Sacripant's joy at seeing Angelica is compared to a mother's joy at finding her son alive after believing him dead.
Emphasizes Sacripant's overwhelming love and relief.
“Bristled the paynim’s every hair at view Of that grim shade, uprising from the tide, And vanished was his fresh and healthful hue, While on his lips the half-formed accents died.”
Ferraù is terrified when the ghost of Argalìa rises from the river, causing him to lose his color and speech.
Dramatic supernatural moment that shames Ferraù into a new vow.
