Astolfo

Astolfo is one of the twelve paladins of the Frankish Kingdom in the collection of medieval legends and poems surrounding the historical figure Charlemagne. Astolfo appears in many early chansons de geste, but his most significant role was in Orlando Furioso by Ludovico Ariosto.

The main character of the epic, Astolfo's cousin and fellow paladin Roland, fell for a pagan princess, but his advances were rejected. Crushed, Roland went mad with despair and began to rampage across Europe and Africa in a blind madness. In order to restore his cousin's sanity, Astolfo traveled through Africa in search of a cure.

Astolfo had numerous adventures along the way, which included the subduing of a giant and the defeat of a supernaturally-regenerating bandit. When Astolfo arrived in Ethiopia, he met its emperor, who was plagued by a swarm of harpies that attacked him whenever he tried to eat. Astolfo scared off the harpies with his magical horn, and the grateful emperor directed him on how to find John the Apostle, who in turn explained to Astolfo how to return Roland's sanity.

Astolfo followed John's instructions and retrieved Roland's wits, which were sealed in a bottle, with the help of the prophet Elijah, and returned them to Roland, who came back to his senses. Freed of his madness, Roland accompanied Astolfo back to Paris, where they lead Charlemagne's forces in a defense against the invading Saracens.

Battle vs. Bellerophon (by Laquearius)
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