CHARLEMAGNE: RUGGIERO AND THE ENCHANTRESS ALCINA

As regular readers of Balladeer’s Blog may recall, December and early January are when I sprinkle in more tales of the Paladins of Charlemagne. These are the legends about Charlemagne and his Paladins, not the actual history, so there will be dragons, monsters and magic. 

FOR MY FIRST CHAPTER ON CHARLEMAGNE’S PALADINS CLICK HERE.

RUGGIERO AND THE ENCHANTRESS ALCINA – When we left off last time around, the Emperor Charlemagne and his armies were still engaged in their war against the recent Muslim invasion from North Africa and Spain, led by Agramant.

Among the many dramas scattered throughout Charlemagne’s Empire was the star-crossed Romeo and Juliet style romance of the Muslim warrior Ruggiero and the female Christian Paladin Bradamante of the White Armor. Prophecies had foretold that Bradamante would lead Ruggiero away from Islam, and so he had been held captive by the enchanter Atlantes to keep the two of them separated.

Our previous installment ended with Bradamante having defeated and driven off Atlantes and freed the many men and women imprisoned in his mystic castle atop the Pyrenees. She and Ruggiero had been reunited and renewed their feelings for each other amid the general exodus of freed prisoners from the annihilated castle of Atlantes.

They were still at a loss regarding their future, since their people were engaged in brutal warfare against each other. Presently, Ruggiero and Bradamante began riding their horses down from the location where the castle had stood. Atlantes’ flying hippogriff was still lingering in the area where the enchanter had dismounted to face Bradamante.

Ruggiero and Bradamante each wanted to try riding the eagle/ horse creature on land and into the air. They attempted to grab the reins of the skittish creature, but it eluded them each time they drew near it.

At long last, Ruggiero succeeded in seizing the reins and mounted the hippogriff. After bucking and straining at the reins a bit, the creature angrily flew off at an amazing speed while the man on its back struggled to control it.

So once again, events conspired to separate Bradamante and Ruggiero. The hippogriff and its passenger flew erratically in all directions as their struggle for dominance continued. Ultimately, the winged beast carried Ruggiero far out over the Atlantic Ocean, where the Muslim warrior at last won the contest of wills.

Ruggiero forced his flying mount to land on a vast enchanted island. By now both man and beast were exhausted, and the warrior planned to rest a while before trying to fly the hippogriff back to where they had left Bradamante.

Tying the hippogriff’s reins to a nearby myrtle tree, Ruggiero refreshed himself with water from a nearby fountain in the forest. The creature grew terrified of the myrtle tree and strained to get away from it.

Soon, Ruggiero realized why the beast was so frightened – the tree was speaking! After securing the hippogriff’s reins to a different tree, the warrior began conversing with the miraculous myrtle tree. The tree revealed itself to be the trapped form of Astolpho, a Paladin of Charlemagne and a son of Otho.

NOTE: We last covered Astolpho when he and the Paladin Reinold were headed west to link up with the main body of Charlemagne’s forces. Roland, the greatest of the Paladins, had freed them, but rather than return with them to the side of the Emperor, Roland had returned to his beloved Princess Angelica in Cathay.

Back to the story, Astolpho told Ruggiero how he had come to such a fate. While he and Reinold were riding west, they encountered the enchantress Alcina, sister to Morgana. (Morgana has very different lore in the Tales of Charlemagne compared to the Tales of King Arthur, but she is still evil.)

Alcina was so beautiful that Astolpho ignored Reinold’s warnings and drew closer to where she was mystically catching fish from the Mediterranean Sea. She entranced the Paladin to join her on the back of a whale that she had summoned near the shoreline.

As Reinold watched helplessly, Alcina had the whale make off with her and the smitten Astolpho. The whale carried them through the Pillars of Hercules and out into the Atlantic Ocean, at long last arriving at this selfsame island.

Alcina then led Astolpho to her beautiful City of Gold, where she and her court wined and dined him and she lay with him for weeks. Eventually, she grew bored with her latest lover, as she had with all those who preceded him.

While walking with Astolpho in the woods one day, she had spitefully transformed him into the myrtle tree. Other trees scattered around the woodland were also former lovers of the enchantress.

Even though, as a Christian and a Frank, Astolpho was technically an enemy of Ruggiero, the Muslim warrior knew from Astolpho’s fame that he was a cousin of Bradamante. His love for her prompted him to volunteer to try freeing the transformed Paladin. 

Astolpho gratefully advised Ruggiero that if anyone could reverse the spell that Alcina had cast on him it would be Logestilla. That enchantress was a sister of Alcina and Morgana but was kind and benevolent, unlike her siblings.

The transformed Astolpho gave Ruggiero directions to Logestilla’s territory on the far side of the mystic island, warning him to keep well clear of Alcina’s City of Gold. Promising to return with Logestilla at his side, Ruggiero headed off for her distant realm. +++

I’ll be examining more tales of Charlemagne soon.   

FOR LINKS TO ALL THE PREVIOUS CHARLEMAGNE INSTALLMENTS CLICK HERE.

FOR MORE MYTHOLOGY AND FOLKLORE CLICK HERE.