Introduction

In Book One of the Orlando Innamorato, King Galafone of Cathay sent his daughter Angelica to Paris in a scheme to capture the international array of knights gathered at Carlo's court, King Gradasso of Sericana crossed the globe in order to attain a famous horse and sword, and King Agricane of Tartaria waged a large-scale war back in Cathay to possess none other than Angelica. As we have seen in the previous chapters, all three undertakings ended in failure. At the opening canto of Book Two, King Agramante of Biserta (Bizerte, in today's Tunisia) has a more grandiose and openly territorial goal: the conquest of Carlo's entire Frankish realm. Yet no earthly kingdom can contain his ambition since he boasts that after subjugating France he intends to assault the heavens themselves (OI 2.1.64). His ally Rodamonte, king of Sarza (Chercel, in today's Algeria), aims to surpass him in his vertical extension, declaring that he is ready to follow—or lead—Agramante equally into the heavens or the inferno (OI 2.1.65). Agramante's most trusted advisors, however, are against such a foolhardy undertaking, thus setting the stage for a heated debate at the pan-African council held in Biserta.

As this impending threat to Carlo's realm arises from the south, newsworthy occurrences continue in various other regions of the globe. Agricane's son Mandricardo leaves Tartaria to invade Circassia (Caucasia), where he will wreak havoc in the region in the absence of its ruler Sacripante who is off fighting in Cathay on behalf of Angelica. The war in Albraca, in fact, rages on despite Agricane's death as though it had taken on a life of its own. Orlando is absent, however, because Angelica has sent him to the fairy Falerina's enchanted garden in Orgagna in order to prevent him from killing the recently arrived Ranaldo. Along the way, Orlando meets an even more deceitful damsel, named Origille, who beguiles him. If earlier Orlando's subjection to Dragontina was the result of a magic beverage, the paladin has no such excuse when he is smitten with the perfidious but fully human Origille and (temporarily, at least) forgets all about Angelica.