Baldo furioso? Per il commento a Baldus P XII, 169-365

The article reflects on some of the problems posed by the commentary to Folengo’s Baldus, focusing in particular on the episode of “raging Orlando” in the first edition of the work: Paganini (1517), XII, 169-365. The introduction briefly presents the different versions of the macaronic masterpiece and provides a quick overview of studies regarding the editions and commentaries dedicated to them. The first paragraph addresses a question of precise interpretation, clarifying througha wide range of references the meaning of the phrase ad ramazonem and the lexeme ramazonus, and hypothesizing that these are lexical elements that macaronics draws primarily from a tradition of ‘minor’ chivalric literature. The second paragraph addresses an intertextual issue concerning the entire construction of the episode, for which it is suggested, albeit tentatively, that Folengo had in mind the episode of Orlando’s madness in the first edition (A, 1516) of Ariosto’s Furioso.