The two types of the woman characters one can generally find within the confines of the chivalric novel are the "damsel in distress," that virginal maiden in need of the knight's prowess to save her from a fate worse than death, and the enchantress, a Circe-like character who seduces the knight and keeps him subject indefinitely through her magic powers. Although Boiardo 's Orlando Innamorato contains its share of these familiar female fictions, its treatment of women is certainly unique and

more »

... ws a notable departure from the treatment of women and their roles in earlier chivalric novels.'