In the foosteps of Rinaldo. For a history of the character in italian chivalric poems

Abstract

The characters of the chivalric poems are part of an age-old tradition that has defined their characteristics so well that they have become fixed figures, bearers of common and universal values, virtues or faults. Rinaldo is the rebellious knight, a thief, always ready to alternate military and amorous edventures; Orlando is the miles Christi, chaste and devoted to the cause; Astolfo is the handsome knight and jester. However, when these long fictional lives are analysed from a diachronic perspective, it can be seen that the characters, while retaining a recognisable physiognomy, have changed, evolved, and their simplicity has gradually given way to complexity. Of the most famous characters in the tradition, Rinaldo is the one who best fits this analysis, because his adventures played a fundamental role in the development of Italian chivalric poems: from the second half of the fifteenth century and throughout the sixteenth century. In order to construct a history of the character, a literary corpus has therefore been sifted in order to identify which compositional features are maintained, which are modified and which are abandoned. The selection of chivalric texts includes the Cantari of Rinaldo da Monte Albano, the Morgante of Pulci, the Morte del Danese of Cassio da Narni, the Antheo gigante and the Triomphi of Carlo di Francesco dei Lodovici.