Epic
Morgante: The Epic Adventures of Orlando and His Giant Friend
Morgante
Luigi Pulci · 1483
Synopsis
In the time of Charlemagne, the paladin Orlando is in rivalry with the traitor Gano of Maganza. Near the monastery of Chiaramonte, he confronts the giants who threaten the monks, defeats Morgante and converts him to Christianity; the giant becomes his faithful companion. Their path crosses that of Margutte, an ever-hungry half-giant, and Astarotte, a learned demon who discusses science and theology.
Context
Commissioned around 1461 by Lucrezia Tornabuoni, the poem first appeared in twenty-three cantos around 1478, drawing on an anonymous fourteenth-century “Orlando”, then in a version enlarged by five cantos, the “Morgante maggiore”, in 1483. Byron translated the first canto in 1822; Joseph Tusiani gave the complete English translation in 1998, and Pierre Sarrazin the French translation, from Brepols, in 2001.
Who it is for
A long chivalric and comic epic, to be read in episodes, for those who like parody and giants.
Prizes and reception
According to the De Agostini encyclopaedia, the originality of the poem lies above all in its reinvented characters.