The Non-Existent Knight (Cyclopedia of Literary Characters)
At a glance:
- Author: Italo Calvino
- First Published: 1959
- Type of Work: Novel
- Type of Plot: Fable
- Time of Work: During the reign of Charlemagne, 768-814
- Setting: France
- Genres: Long fiction, Fable
- Subjects: France or French people, Love or romance, Virginity or virgins, Legends, Wit or humor, Adventure, Middle Ages, Knights or knighthood, Chivalry, Eighth century
- Locales: France
Characters Discussed
Agilulf, a knight in Charlemagne’s army. Agilulf’s appearance is the most important thing about him because, in a sense, he is only appearance. He exists only as his armor (white except for a thin black line running along the seams), his shield (on which is a coat of arms showing a shield sporting a coat of arms with a shield, ad infinitum), and his voice. He is a hollow man who has given himself up to forms of life—the code of chivalry and military conduct—so completely that he is divorced from life in its human, corporeal aspects. He is at...
[The entire page is 641 words long]
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