# Mandricardo — Orlando Furioso character guide

> Mandricardo in Orlando Furioso by Ludovico Ariosto.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** The Tartar, King Mandricardo, Tartar Mandricardo

**First appearance:** 0003-canto-i

## Snapshot

A Tartar king so proud he swears off the war until he can strip the black-clad champion of Durindana, the sword he covets above victory itself.

## Who they are

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.

## Relationships

### [Rogero](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/orlando_furioso_se/characters/rogero)

_rivalry_

Mandricardo is a Saracen king who competes with Rogero for glory and the sword Durandal.

### [Rodomont](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/orlando_furioso_se/characters/rodomont)

_rivalry_

Mandricardo and Rodomont are rival Saracen kings who compete for supremacy and honor.

### [Rogero](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/orlando_furioso_se/characters/rogero)

_rivalry_

Mandricardo is a Saracen king who competes with Rogero for glory and the sword Durandal.

### [Rogero](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/orlando_furioso_se/characters/rogero)

_rivalry_

Mandricardo is a Saracen king who competes with Rogero for glory and the sword Durandal.

### [Rodomont](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/orlando_furioso_se/characters/rodomont)

_rivalry_

Mandricardo and Rodomont are rival Saracen kings who compete for supremacy and honor.

### [Rodomont](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/orlando_furioso_se/characters/rodomont)

_rivalry_

Mandricardo and Rodomont are rival Saracen kings who compete for supremacy and honor.

## In the story

### [Canto XIV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/orlando_furioso_se/chapters/canto-xiv)

Son of Agrican, king of Tartary, envious of Orlando's deeds, sets out to find and challenge the black-clad knight.

### [Canto XXIV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/orlando_furioso_se/chapters/canto-xxiv)

Tartar king; claims Durindana and wounds Zerbino in combat.

### [Canto XXVI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/orlando_furioso_se/chapters/canto-xxvi)

Challenges Marphisa to a joust, intending to give her to Rodomont in exchange for Doralice; quarrel with Rodomont is suspended.

### [Canto XXX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/orlando_furioso_se/chapters/canto-xxx)

Slain by Rogero in the duel over the eagle emblem; his arms are given to Rogero.

### [Endnotes](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/orlando_furioso_se/chapters/endnotes)

Mentioned in the context of plighting troth before Doralice.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/orlando_furioso_se/characters/mandricardo
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/orlando_furioso_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/orlando_furioso_se/characters