So begins Ariosto's Orlando Furioso (1532), the culmination of the chivalric legends of Charlemagne and the Saracen invasion of France, a brilliantly witty parody of the medieval romances, and a fitting monument to the court society of the Italian Renaissance which gave it birth. In a kaleidoscope of scenes and emotions, of fact and fantasy, three principal stories are developed: the love of Orlando for Angelica; the war between the Franks and Saracens; and the love Ruggiero, a Saracen, for Bradamant, a Christian.