Setting
Amadis de Gaula by Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo is among prose, what Orlando Furioso by Ludovico Ariosto is among metrical romances, not the oldest of its kind, but the best. The pastoral romance was written towards the close of the fourteenth century. The work has a complicated history. Like any romance of chivalry, Amadís de Gaula is a nightmare to summarise owing to its length, numerous characters and complicated subplots.
Oriana was heiress to the throne of England. Amadis of Gaul is a prince of Wales, born of a secret amour, educated in Scotland, reared as a knight, and serving devotedly the fair English princess Oriana. For her sake he contends against monsters and en chantments, defends her father's kingdom from an oppressor. Richard B. Beams wrote:
| “ | "The sorceress Melissa, infatuated with Amadigi, has imprisoned Oriana in a tower and both Amadigi and Dardano in her garden. After various deceptions, visions, and trials, the two lovers, Amadigi and Oriana, are finally united. Before then, Amadigi will slay Dardano, his companion turned rival, and Melisa, will stab herself finding her supernatural powers impotent against the power of love." | ” |
The plot ranges across the continent to Romania and Constantinople, and in the continuations as far as the Holy Land and the Cyclades. However, the romance's geography cannot be mapped onto the "real" Europe: it contains just as many fantastic places as real ones.
| “ | "When the Spaniards first saw Mexico, they said to each other it was like the places of enchantment which were spoken of in the book of Amadis. This was in 1549. | ” |
Historically, Amadís was very influential amongst the Spanish conquistadores. Bernal Diaz del Castillo mentioned the wonders of Amadís upon witnessing the wonders of the New World – and such place names as California and Patagonia come directly from the work.
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