NOTES TO CANTO I.
In the same strain of Roland will I tell.
Stanza ii. line 1.
I have used the name by which he is best known in French and English legends. He is called Orlando by Ariosto, and Rotolando by some of the more ancient romancers. His name and signature are said to have been seen in certain charters of Charlemagne. In the Latin Chronicles of the middle ages he is called Rutlandus and Ruitlandus.
Good seed of Hercules give ear and deign.
Stanza iii. line 1.
The Cardinal Ippolito of Este, son of Hercules of Este, Duke of Ferrara.
Record the good Rogero, valiant peer.
Stanza iv. line 3.
This Rogero, Ruggiero in the original, is supposed to be Rizieri of Risa, whose name is changed according to the customary transmutation of Venetian letters into their Tuscan equivalents, as z into g. He, however, is said to have flourished before the time of Charlemagne, and to have died
