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Ariosto: Orlando Furioso

Our new translation of Ariosto's influential 'Orlando Furioso' is now available online here. This translation is enhanced by the superb illustrations of Gustave Doré (605 of them in total) which we have digitised from an Italian 1899 edition. It employs Ariosto's original rhyme scheme, while introducing arbitrary section headings to clarify the direction and meaning of the narrative. A masterpiece of the Italian Renaissance, it is an interwoven tale of knights and ladies, arms and love, set in the age of Charlemagne, against a backcloth of Moorish invasion, and Christian resistance. A tribute to the House of Este, and Ariosto's patron Cardinal Ippolito d'Este in particular, its varied subplots and colourful episodes proved a treasure-house for later writers, artists and composers. It is particularly interesting for Ariosto's championing of women, and was clearly aimed at the enlightened and intelligent ladies of the Este court. 

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