The narrator’s introduction to this canto clarifies that he is writing a chivalric romance about the war between Agramant, the Moorish King, and Charlemagne, Emperor of Rome.

Charlemagne’s knight Orlando loves the beautiful pagan princess Angelica. Orlando fights for her with a rival, Rinaldo. Then, while the two Christian knights fight with pagan enemies, Angelica rides off. The knights from opposite sides make a truce in order to pursue her.

Angelica rides for a day and a half, and then collapses in a grove. There, she finds Sacripant, the King of Circassia (a leader of the pagan army)—crying into a nearby stream. He is in love with Angelica, and she needs a guide, but before they can leave, another knight appears and challenges Sacripant. Bradamant wins and leaves. After the Sacripant comes to, a passing messenger reveals that the winning knight was a woman named Bradamant.

As they travel, Angelica and Sacripant encounter Rinaldo. Once, Angelica loved Rinaldo and he hated her, but after they drank from two magical springs in the Ardennes—one that makes someone fall in love, another that makes one fall out of love—their feelings have been reversed because.