Character guide

Orlando

major

Also known as Roland, Count Orlando, good Orlando, bold Orlando, crazed Orlando

Orlando is Charlemagne's nephew and the church's champion, a warrior so generous he refuses to strike a sleeping foe even when hunting through an enemy camp. Yet love for Angelica has begun to hollow out his loyalty, driving him to disguise himself in Arab dress and wander France and Africa for months, asking strangers whether they have seen her. His slow unraveling is the poem's dark spine: the stronger his arm, the more helpless he becomes.

Rogero

major

Also known as Ruggiero, young Rogero, good Rogero, valorous Rogero, Rogero of Risa

Rogero is the finest warrior on Agramant's side, yet his destiny is tangled with Bradamant, the Christian maiden he loves and cannot openly claim. Honor pulls him one way, desire another, and he keeps leaving her side for the sake of reputation, a choice the poem's narrator openly scolds him for. His eventual conversion and union with Bradamant will seed the house of Este, making his private struggle the poem's political foundation.

Bradamant

major

Also known as Fair Bradamant, beauteous Bradamant, bold Bradamant, the Lady Bradamant

Bradamant is a peerless fighter and Rinaldo's sister, equally at home in plate mail and in the politics of Charlemagne's court. When she finds the humiliated Ulany stripped and beaten by a lawless lord, she forgets every other errand and rides at once to punish him, carrying the victim on her own horse. Her steadfast love for Rogero, and her refusal to accept his repeated departures quietly, make her the poem's moral counterweight to his restless ambition.

Angelica

major

Also known as sweet Angelica, fair Angelica, Beauteous Angelica

Angelica flees across Europe with Orlando, Rinaldo, and half the chivalry of two religions at her heels, trusting no one and resting nowhere. She is less a prize than a tactician of her own escape, slipping from a hermit's designs and from enchanted coursers with the same wary speed. Her flight is the engine of the poem's first half: wherever she goes, the greatest warriors abandon duty, camp, and crown to follow.

Rinaldo

major

Also known as good Rinaldo, Sir Rinaldo, Rinaldo di Mont' Albano

Rinaldo is one of Charlemagne's most trusted captains, sent on embassies to England and Scotland to raise troops while Paris sits under siege. He is brave and effective, but the old romances remember him as a borderer with a raider's hands, and the poem's notes openly contrast his acquisitiveness with Orlando's disinterest. His long pursuit of Angelica, and his family's feud-prone honor, keep him entangled in the same love-madness that will destroy his cousin.

Charlemagne

major

Also known as King Charlemagne, Charles, king Charles, royal Charles

Charlemagne rules the Christian cause from a threatened capital, dispensing commissions, letters, and countersigns to men like Rinaldo while Saracen armies camp outside his walls. His authority depends on paladins who keep vanishing into private quarrels and private desires, and he has little power to recall them. His fraying command is the political weather of the poem: every knight who rides off after Angelica leaves the empire a little more exposed.

Agramant

major

Also known as King Agramant, King Agramant of Africa, royal Agramant

Agramant commands the Saracen invasion from Arles, scraping together horse and foot while levying crushing taxes across Africa to refit his broken force. His authority rests on managing dangerous subordinates like Rodomont and on winning over free agents such as Marphisa, who arrives unbidden with sword and purse. His stalled campaign against Charlemagne supplies the war that scatters every other character across the poem's map.

Rodomont

major

Also known as King Rodomont, crimson Rodomont, cruel Rodomont, Sir Rodomont

Rodomont refuses Agramant's summons and even the offer of a royal bride, choosing instead to squat on his bridge and strip passing cavaliers of their plate and mail. His brutality is matched only by his contempt for any authority that would curb it, making him the invasion's most dangerous and least governable weapon. His defiance of kings and his appetite for single combat embody the poem's fascination with pride that will not bend.

Astolpho

supporting

Also known as Sir Astolpho, good Astolpho, bold Astolpho, Valiant Astolpho

Astolpho travels farther than any other paladin, trapping the wind Auster in a bladder, raising cavalry from scattered stones, and besieging Biserta with a Nubian host. His adventures tilt toward the marvelous rather than the martial, giving the poem its comic and cosmic registers. He matters because his far-flung errands intersect with the war's turning points, including the recovery of Orlando's lost wits.

Brandimart

supporting

Also known as faithful Brandimart, gentle Brandimart, bold Brandimart, Sir Brandimart

Brandimart appears throughout the poem as the friend Orlando can rely on when love has driven the count to madness and wandering. His constancy contrasts sharply with the betrayals and self-interest that surround him, and his marriage to Fiordiligi anchors one of the poem's few tender domestic threads. He matters because his devotion repeatedly pulls the scattered Christian cause back toward coherence.

Zerbino

supporting

Also known as young Zerbino, prince Zerbino, Valiant Zerbino, Youthful Zerbino

Zerbino leads a Scottish band through the chaotic aftermath of battle, where he grants Medoro's plea for burial of his lord and is enraged when one of his own men strikes the suppliant down. His instinct to protect the helpless and avenge treachery marks him as one of the poem's more honorable warriors. His path crosses Angelica's at the moment she begins her unlikely turn toward love, tying his fate to the poem's central romance.

Isabella

supporting

Also known as gentle Isabella, fair Isabel, Isabel of Gallicia

Isabella moves through the poem as a woman defined by her bond to Zerbino, a love that exposes her to the predations of wandering knights and false holy men. Her fidelity stands against the poem's prevailing inconstancy, and her vulnerability sharpens the sense that the world of Orlando Furioso is dangerous for those who keep faith. She matters because her loyalty tests the poem's own cynicism about love.

Mandricardo

supporting

Also known as The Tartar, King Mandricardo, Tartar Mandricardo

Mandricardo rides into the siege of Paris armed head to foot on a chestnut courser, having vowed to turn his back on the camp until he finds the knight in black. His pride is the engine: he treats the war as a personal errand, and his single-minded pursuit of another man's sword makes him a rival to every champion who owns one. In the early–middle cantos he embodies the poem's restless appetite for duels, and his oath keeps him circling the great Orlando long before they ever clash.

Marphisa

supporting

Also known as bold Marphisa, proud Marphisa, the bold Marphisa

Marphisa moves through the Moorish camps as a peerless fighter, her boldness matched only by her refusal to be anyone's ornament or prize. She is sister to Rogero, a bond she does not fully know, and that hidden tie gives her wanderings a weight beyond mere adventure. In the early–middle arc she is the poem's sharpest answer to its own chivalric boys' club, a woman whose sword-arm and pride force the narrative to take her seriously.

Gradasso

supporting

Also known as King Gradasso, Martial Gradasso

Gradasso is the invader whose appetite for famous trophies helps set the poem's whole machinery in motion, a monarch who treats the greatest Christian warrior's gear as the only prize worth a kingdom. His fixation on Durindana and Bayardo makes him a mirror of Mandricardo, another king chasing another man's sword. In the early–middle cantos he stands as the poem's cleanest example of desire dressed as conquest, a reminder that the war is fought as much over objects as over faith.

Sacripant

supporting

Also known as King Sacripant, Valiant King Sacripant

Sacripant is a genuine champion — brave, courteous, and hopelessly in love with Angelica, who treats his devotion as a convenience. His rivalry with Orlando and the other suitors makes him both a worthy knight and a comic figure, forever arriving just after the lady has gone. In the early–middle arc he gives the poem one of its most human notes: a good fighter undone not by a stronger arm but by an unreturned heart.

Pinabel

supporting

Also known as Count Pinabel, Sir Pinnabel, faithless Pinnabel

Pinabel, sprung from the faithless line of Maganza, schemes against Bradamant and thinks he has buried her for good. His treachery is not grand villainy but petty, self-serving malice, the kind the poem treats as a family trait. In the early–middle cantos he serves as the foil who lets Bradamant prove her mettle, and his fate shows how Ariosto rewards the righteous and lets the wicked dig their own graves.

Melissa

supporting

Also known as sage Melissa, the weird Melissa, Melissa hight

Melissa is the poem's wise woman, a sorceress whose counsel and illusions serve the long game of bringing Bradamant and Rogero together. Where the knights chase immediate glory, she works in decades, conjuring visions of the illustrious line their marriage will produce. In the early–middle arc she is the quiet architect of the poem's dynastic spine, a reminder that Ariosto's romance is also a family history with a future to protect.

Atlantes

supporting

Also known as old Atlantes, Atlantes the enchanter, Atlantes de Carena

Atlantes raised Rogero and now bends all his magic toward one end: keeping the young knight away from the war in France, where he believes Rogero is fated to die. He builds a steel tower, then a pleasure palace whose rooms each show a visitor his heart's deepest wish, and stocks it with captured champions so Rogero will never lack company or comfort. His schemes are loving, ingenious, and doomed — every enchantment he raises becomes another maze the poem's heroes must cut through.

Alcina

supporting

Also known as false Alcina, Puissant Alcina

Alcina rules an island of gardens and music where knights are welcomed, feasted, and adored — until she tires of them. Her power lies less in open violence than in pleasure that dissolves a man's purpose, and her victims are found later in forms that show what they have become. She is the poem's great test of whether a hero can want something more than delight, and her enchantments set the pattern for every false paradise the characters must escape.

Logistilla

minor

Also known as the prudent Logistilla

A good enchantress, sister of Alcina.

Gryphon

supporting

Also known as Sir Gryphon, The youthful Gryphon, valiant Gryphon

Gryphon fights in the wars around the Mediterranean, where his temper and his sword-arm make him both feared and useful. He is bound to his brother Aquilant by a devotion that survives separation, mistaken identity, and the general chaos of a world where friends and enemies change places. His story shows how the poem's minor knights carry the same code of honor and vengeance as its famous paladins, and how easily that code can be turned against them.

Sansonet

minor

Also known as Sir Sansonet, Sansonetto, the worthy Sansonetto

A Christian knight, companion of Rogero.

Olivier

supporting

Also known as Good Olivier, valiant Olivier, Bold Olivier, the Marquis Olivier

Olivier stands among the twelve peers of France, known for good judgment as much as for his sword, and he is often the one who sees clearly what Orlando's love for Angelica has obscured. He fights in the same campaigns, suffers the same defeats, and watches his closest companion slip further into a madness he cannot prevent. His presence makes Orlando's unraveling legible: against Olivier's steadiness, the cost of obsession becomes visible.

Dudon

minor

Also known as Danish Dudon, sturdy Dudon, Sir Dudon, Bold Dudon

A Danish Christian knight.

Ferraù

minor

Also known as fierce Ferraù

A Saracen knight, one of Angelica's suitors.

Medoro

supporting

Also known as young Medoro, Faithful Medoro, good Medoro

Medoro is a foot soldier in the Moorish army, notable at first only for refusing to abandon the body of his slain lord Dardinello. Wounded and hunted, he is found and healed by Angelica, and the two fall in love in a pastoral interlude that quietly detonates the poem's central catastrophe. His devotion — to his king, then to Angelica — is simple and absolute, and it is precisely that simplicity that ruins Orlando.

Martano

minor

Also known as Martano hight, The vile Martano

A cowardly and treacherous knight.

Origille

minor

Also known as faithless Origille, false Origilla

A deceitful woman who betrays knights.

Gabrina

minor

Also known as the false Gabrina, Ribald Gabrina

An old and wicked woman.

Flordelice

supporting

Also known as gentle Flordelice, fair Flordelice, faithful Flordelice

Flordelice belongs to the poem's company of women who refuse to wait — she travels, searches, and endures separation from Brandimart with a constancy that mirrors his own devotion to her. Her faithfulness is tested by distance, by rumor, and by the general disorder of a world at war, and she answers each test the same way. She matters because she gives the poem a love that is not a trap or a madness but a steady, active loyalty.

Doralice

minor

Also known as Fair Doralice, beauteous Doralice

A Saracen princess, beloved of Mandricardo and Rodomont.

Olympia

minor

Also known as Olympia fair, Wretched Olympia

A countess abandoned by her lover Bireno.

Bireno

minor

Also known as False Bireno

A faithless duke who abandons Olympia.

Geneura

minor

Also known as fair Geneura

Princess of Scotland, falsely accused of unchastity.

Ariodantes

minor

Also known as The valiant Ariodantes

A knight in love with Geneura.

Lurcanio

minor

Also known as Lurcanio hight, The Earl Lurcanio

Brother of Ariodantes.

Polinesso

minor

Also known as This Polinesso, False Polinesso, The unhappy Polinesso

Duke of Albany, a villain who slanders Geneura.

Brunello

minor

Also known as Brunello hight, Sir Brunello

A dwarf and thief who aids Bradamant.

Malagigi

minor

Also known as Sage Malagigi, Sir Malagigi

A Christian enchanter, cousin of Rinaldo.

Aymon

minor

Also known as good Aymon, Duke Aymon, ancient Aymon

Father of Rinaldo and Bradamant.

Richardetto

minor

Also known as Sir Richardetto, Young Richardetto

A Christian knight, brother of Rinaldo.

Guido

minor

Also known as Guido the savage, Sir Guido, valiant Guido

A wild knight, later civilized.

Leo

minor

Also known as Young Leo, Leo Augustus

Son of the Emperor of Greece.

Hippalca

minor

Bradamant's maid and messenger.

Frontino

minor

Also known as the good Frontino, the Child Frontino

Rogero's faithful horse.

Bayardo

minor

Also known as the prompt Bayardo, good Bayardo

Rinaldo's magical horse.

Aquilant

minor

Also known as Sir Aquilant, Sable was Aquilant

A Christian knight, brother of Gryphon.

Sobrino

minor

Also known as King Sobrino, sage Sobrino, good Sobrino, Warlike Sobrino

An aged and wise Saracen king.

Dalinda

minor

Lady-in-waiting to Geneura, involved in the plot.

Jocundo

minor

Also known as young Jocundo

A knight who tests women's fidelity.

Astyanax

minor

Also known as young Astyanax

Son of Hector, mentioned in a prophecy.

Cloridan

minor

Also known as Cloridano, young Cloridane

A Saracen soldier, friend of Medoro.

Namus

minor

Also known as Bavarian Namus, Duke Namus

Duke of Bavaria, a wise counselor to Charlemagne.

Turpin

minor

Also known as Sir Turpin, Good Turpin

Archbishop and chronicler of the paladins' deeds.

Ogier

minor

Also known as Ogier hight the Dane, the Danish Ogier

A Danish paladin in Charlemagne's court.

Vivian

minor

Also known as Sir Vivian

A Christian knight.

Almonio

minor

Also known as Sir Almonio

A Christian knight.

Odoric

minor

Also known as Sir Odoric of Biscay

A knight who betrays Zerbino.

Philander

minor

Also known as the sad Philander, The good Philander

A knight who suffers from love.

Anselmo

minor

Also known as Anselmo d'Altaripa, Count Anselmo, Sir Anselm

A count who tests his wife's fidelity.

Adonio

minor

A knight who loves a lady.

Drusilla

minor

Also known as fair Drusilla

Wife of Anselmo, known for her fidelity.

Argaeus

minor

A knight who loves an unworthy woman.

Norandino

minor

Also known as king Norandino, The valiant Norandino

King of Damascus.

Lucina

minor

A lady rescued by Norandino.

Orrilo

minor

A monstrous giant who can regrow limbs.

Caligorant

minor

A giant who captures knights.

Marganor

minor

Also known as Sir Marganor

A cruel knight who hates women.

Tanacro

minor

Also known as the young Tanacro

A knight who loves Flordespine.

Flordespine

minor

Also known as Young Flordespine, beauteous Flordespine

A lady loved by Tanacro.

Ulany

minor

Also known as Sad Ulany

A sorrowful lady.

Lydia

minor

Also known as wretched Lydia

A cruel lady punished in hell.

Constantine

minor

Also known as good Constantine

Emperor of Greece, father of Leo.

Brigliador

minor

Also known as warlike Brigliador, Brigliadoro

Orlando's horse.

Rabican

minor

Also known as good Rabican, Rabicane

Astolpho's flying horse.

Durindana

minor

Also known as fatal Durindana, trenchant Durindana, Sharp Durindana

Orlando's legendary sword.

Balisarda

minor

Rogero's enchanted sword.