We are at a pre-tournament banquet, at the court of Carlo Magno. Having spoken to the king on behalf of her brother, who wishes to fight all of the attendant paladins one by one, Angelica is on her knees before him, awaiting a response.

...The men in the hall fixed their gaze upon her in great wonder. Almost all of them were already head over heels in love with her, including the old Carlo who was staring at her, all eyes. Already the young Saracen Ferraguto wanted to put his hand to the sword; Sir Ranaldo's face had become all red; and there were many others who were looking to approach her.

But it was count Orlando who was burning with the fire of love so intensely that he lowered his eyes, ashamed to look in the face of such great beauty. "Ah, crazy Orlando," he was saying to himself, "how you allow yourself to be led astray by desire! Don't you understand that you are veering away from God's just path? Ah, I who thought nothing of this world, here I am, vanquished without arms by a girlchild!

"Why is it that I can no longer get the sweet sight of that face out of my head?" the knight asked himself. "My strength is of no avail, nor my boldness; Love has snared me! And what do I care for wisdom and good advice, when I can see what is best but cling to the worst?"

The only person in the hall who did not seem enchanted by that great beauty was Malagise, wizard and knight and cousin to Ranaldo, who was actually eyeing her very suspiciously. And while the emperor was accepting the girl's pact and its conditions on behalf of all those knights in turmoil, Malagise pulled his little book of spells out of his pocket. He wanted to know exactly who this girl was who had made everyone there crazy.

Angelica, her brother and the four giants were withdrawing from the hall; and here begins the strangest adventure of the poem, like a vision-filled dream that carries away the mind. Because Malagise, with a spell from his little book, called four demons out of hell; he questioned them, and what did he discover?

Oh God in heaven, says the poem, how surprised Malagise was! A grave danger had befallen king Carlo's court: imagine it deserted, with its king dead!

The beautiful Angelica was an enchantress. Daughter to Galafrone king of Catai, her father had sent her to the western land. Together with her brother and the four giants, she was supposed to capture all of France's paladins with bewitchery and deceits. In fact, her brother Argaglia had enchanted armor that saved him from all blows; and he had an enchanted golden lance that cast down everyone at the first touch; and he also had a magic ring that invalidated all spells, and if placed in the mouth also made its wearer disappear.