La scomparsa delle donne e la follia degli eroi. «Orlando Furioso», canto XXIX

Canto XXIX of the Orlando Furioso has a clear and symmetrical structure. Ariosto gathers and brings to conclusion some of the main narrative strands of the whole poem: Issabella dies and Angelica leaves the plot; Rodomonte and Orlando, each mad in his own way, meet and fight on a bridge with no hope of mutual agnition and eventually fall into the water, holding onto each other in a sort of hilarious hug. Ariosto pulls the strings of an entire web of romance traditions, we dwell in particular upon Arthurian sources, especially the Prose Lancelot and the Romance of Guiron le Courtois. At the same time, he elaborates more general archetypes. The mythical and ritual complex that underlies Issabella’s beheading, both solar and nocturnal, occupies the exact centre of the canto and will be the focal point for our reading.