Modelli romanzi dell'aggiunta di Leone (Fur. XLIV-XLVI)

The three final cantos of the Orlando furioso are almost entirely occupied by the Leone episode. It is the most extensive of the four major additions to the third edition of the poem. The subject matter is new and surprising for its Balkan setting and because it tells the story of an atypical friendship, that between Leone, the son of the Emperor of Constantinople and Ruggiero, the mythical founder of the Este dynasty. Pio Rajna had identified a number of plausible sources for several elements of this complex narrative sequence but was partly dissatisfied with the results. In this contribution we will offer an updated overview of the romance models of the episode and discuss some possible new sources.