The Feast of the Word: Astolfo, the Wordy Paladin in the Mambriano

Abstract

The essay analyses the use of speech by the character of Astolfo in Francesco Cieco da Ferrara's Mambriano within the construction of a new court of Charlemagne that the author represents in his work. Astolfo's irreverent and burlesque speech, especially in the collective context of the feast, provokes laughter and induces the regulation of feelings such as envy and attitudes such as backbiting. A specific trait of a traditional character dear to the audience, his being the fool within the group, and the use of a comic and rhetorically effective speech become tools to catalyse internal aggressions, rework them and mitigate their effects.