Ferraù

For other uses, see Ferragus (disambiguation).

Ferraù (also known as Ferraguto, Ferragus, Fernagu, Ferracutus) is a character in French and Italian romantic epics dealing with the Matter of France, including Orlando innamorato by Matteo Maria Boiardo and Orlando furioso by Ludovico Ariosto.

Ferragus in the Pseudo-Turpin Chronicle

The character appears in one of the main episodes of the so-called Pseudo-Turpin Chronicle (Historia Caroli Magni), a Latin chronicle concerning the feats of Charlemagne and the paladin Roland from the middle of the 12th century: in a story modeled on David and Goliath, Roland battles the Saracen giant Ferracutus, who is holding the city of Nájera. They fight for two days, taking truces to rest at night, but during the second night the courteous Roland places a stone beneath the head of the giant as a pillow, and upon waking the giant reveals to Roland that he is only vulnerable in one spot: his navel. In the subsequent battle, Roland's sword finds the spot and the giant is killed. The Pseudo-Turpin Chronicle was a massive success throughout Europe.

Ferraù in Italian literature

An adaptation of the Pseudo-Turpin story of Ferraù and his mortal duel with Orlando (Roland) occurs in the anonymous Franco-Venetian epic L'Entrée d'Espagne (c.1320; the author is thought to be from Padua). The story also appears in the 14th century Italian epic La Spagna (attributed to the Florentine Sostegno di Zanobi and likely composed between 1350-1360 ). Ferraù's death at the hands of Orlando is presented as a well-known fact in Luigi Pulci's epic Morgante.

Ferraù in Orlando innamorato

In Matteo Maria Boiardo's Orlando innamorato, Ferraguto (Ferraù) is a leading Saracen knight, the nephew of King Marsilio of Spain, and one of the many characters passionately in love with Angelica. At the beginning of the poem, Angelica and her brother Argalia arrive at the court of the Emperor Charlemagne in Paris, announcing that any knight who defeats Argalia in single combat will win Angelica's hand in marriage, but if he loses he will become Argalia's prisoner. Ferraù is among the first knights to try and is unhorsed. However, he angrily refuses to accept his captivity and Argalia and Angelica flee in terror. Ferraù catches Argalia, kills him and steals his helmet, but he promises the dying man only to wear it for a few days.

Ferraù in Orlando furioso

At the beginning of Orlando furioso, Ferraù loses the helmet in a stream and is confronted by the ghost of Argalia, who tells him he must find another helmet instead. Ferraù vows to win the helmet of Mambrino, which belongs to the greatest Christian knight, Orlando. He manages to possess it for a while but Ariosto predicts his ultimate death at the hands of Orlando. Like the character in the Pseudo-Turpin Chronicle, Ferraù is completely invulnerable except via his navel.

References

• Ariosto:Orlando Furioso, verse translation by Barbara Reynolds in two volumes (Penguin Classics, 1975). Part one (cantos 1-23) ISBN 0-14-044311-8; part two (cantos 24-46) ISBN 0-14-044310-X
• Ariosto: Orlando Furioso ed. Marcello Turchi (Garzanti, 1974)
• Boiardo: Orlando innamorato ed. Giuseppe Anceschi (Garzanti,1978)
• Jesse Crosland. The Old French Epic. New York: Haskell House, 1951.
• (French) Geneviève Hasenohr and Michel Zink, eds. Dictionnaire des lettres françaises: Le Moyen Age. Collection: La Pochothèque. Paris: Fayard, 1992. ISBN 2-2530-5662-6
• Luigi Pulci: Morgante: The Epic Adventures of Orlando and His Giant Friend a complete English translation by Joseph Tusiani. Introduction and notes by Edoardo Lèbano. (Indiana University Press, 1998) ISBN 0-253-21407-6