- Angelica (character)
Angelica is a character in the epic poem "
Orlando innamorato " byMatteo Maria Boiardo . She reappears in the saga's continuation, "Orlando furioso " byLudovico Ariosto , and in various later works based on the the two original "Orlando" pieces. Thenarratives are part of theMatter of France , a cycle oflegendary history stories based on the adventures ofCharlemagne and hispaladin s.In "Orlando Innamorato", Angelica is introduced as the daughter of the king of
Cathay , orIndia (though Cathay in the Medieval mind was more oftenChina ). She comes to Charlemagne's court with her brother Argalia. All the knights are smitten with her, especially the cousins Orlando (Roland ) and Rinaldo (Renaud), but the protective Argalia will only allow her to marry a man who can best him in a joust. When Argalia eventually falls to theSaracen knight Ferrau, Orlando and Rinaldo threaten to destroy each other over her. As the Saracens lay siege to DukeNaimon 's estate, Charlemagne promises Angelica's hand to whichever cousin fights best for him. The battle is lost, however, and the characters go on to further adventure: Rinaldo and Angelica drink from magic fountains twice, each time leaving one madly in love and the other indifferent, while Orlando loses his wits to his passion.Boiardo left his epic unfinished, but the action was taken up in "Orlando furioso". Angelica is continually sought throughout the world by Orlando, Rinaldo, and the best knights from various countries. She eventually finds herself naked and chained to a rock in the sea, offered as a sacrifice to the monstrous
Orc , (a situation identical to the perils of Andromeda). She is rescued by theAfrica n knight Ruggiero, who gives her a ring of invisibility. Later, pursued by the maddened Orlando, she uses the ring and vanishes. She ultimately falls in love with theAfrica n prince Medoro and returns with him to Cathay; the lovesick Orlando requires the aid of his cousinAstolpho to recover his senses.
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