Calvino whimsy and wizardry compressed into less than 150 pages.
Published in 1959, The Nonexistent Knight completes Our Ancestors, the Italian maestro's "heraldic trilogy" consisting also of The Cloven Viscount (1952) and The Baron in the Trees (1957). Beguiling, enchanting, quizzical; if retold in twenty pages as a Brothers Grim-style fairy tale, The Nonexistent Knight could instantly become a classic for all ages. Actually, in somewhat similar spirit, there's a charming Pino Zac animated film based on the novella.
The literary magic on display in The Nonexistent Knight is nothing short of breathtaking. We are in the time of Charlemagne during the war with the Turks and the central figure in the tale is a knight in shinning white armor by the name of Agilulf. But, let me add quickly, nobody is inside the white armor, hence the book's title. In the opening chapter, when passing inspection on leaders of his army, Emperor Charlemagne exclaims, "This is too much! We've even got a knight who doesn't exist!"
As one can very well imagine, being nonexistent does present its challenges: Agilulf thinks and acts in a number of curious ways, leaving a reader to ponder the philosophical implications of the paradoxes of existence or, er, nonexistence or . . . oh, my goodness, thinking about Agilulf in solely conceptual terms can quickly make one dizzy. No doubt about it, Agilulf is one knotty knight. But unknot we must, so let's shift to three specific conundrums surrounding our white-plated champion:
Pythagorean Paladin: Agilulf is faced with an ongoing dilemma: unless he keeps himself continually pitted against the challenges posed by the surrounding world, he might dissolve into nothingness. Thus, when not preoccupied by his knightly duties, he applies himself “to some precise exercise: counting objects, arranging them in geometric patterns, resolving problems of arithmetic.” In this respect, it appears Agilulf isn’t that much different than many men or women of action: an inability to let go of constantly calculating or analyzing; the frantic need to keep oneself busy, busy, busy.
Armor I Am: “For in times when armor was necessary even for a man who existed, how much more was it for one who didn’t.” Agilulf is one with his armor – no armor, no Agilulf. Throughout his tale, Italo Calvino has us reflect on what is lost when an individual’s identity is completely bound up with their social role and subsumed by their function within society.
To Sleep No More: When asked how he can keep awake at all times, Agilulf replies: “I would feel bewildered if I dozed off for even a second. In fact I’d never come round at all but would be lost forever. So I keep wide awake every second of the day and night.” That is different! No sleep for Agilulf. We humans thrive on sleep, especially the restful state of deep, dreamless sleep. Our brains require sleep, thus in a twenty-four hour cycle, we don’t mind surrendering our sense of self-identity to the selfless state of sleep. In his current condition of nonexistence, even if for one instant Agilulf surrenders to the selfless state of sleep, Agilulf risks losing whatever nonexistent existence he has. Poor knight! Keep on arranging your pine cones into triangles, Agilulf, we wouldn’t want to lose you.
Alas, we are not reading a philosophic treatise in the field of ontology or metaphysics but a tale of the fantastic written by none other than Italo Calvino. Thus we can move along and meet several other characters making their appearance in the story:
Raimbaut: A youth wishing to join the ranks of Charlemagne's paladins to avenge the death of his father slain by the head of the Turks. Little does this young man know where his adventures will take him. Hint: many the time his path crosses that of the knight in shinning white armor.
Gurduloo: One of the names of this rambunctious chap who exists but has no sense of self, the exact opposite of Agilulf, the knight who doesn’t exist but has an extremely strong sense of self. We first meet Gurduloo waddling along, a duck among ducks in his earthen color rags. As we come to learn, Gurduloo is but one name for this foolish fellow who takes the temporary identity of whatever he’s around. In the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, Gurduloo might be judged as possessing crazy wisdom but in Medieval Europe he’s considered just plain crazy. But then again, not so fast: we have the paradox of the wise fool. Any guesses as to who gets to be Agilulf's squire?
Brandamante: Bold, courage, accomplished knight who just so happens to be a woman. This female warrior is none too pleased with all the "regular" knights she thinks are nothing but a bunch of louts, nincompoops and slobs. But there is that one knight who alone knows the secret geometry, the order, the rule, by which to bestow sense to her every action, nay, to her very life itself. Agilulf to the rescue! Well, maybe.
The Tale's Narrator: "Book, evening is here, and I have begun to write more rapidly. . . . Even now and again I notice my pen beginning to hurry over the paper as if by itself, with my hurrying along after it." So writes Sister Theodora, a nun living in her convent. The interplay of knightly action and the act of writing gives The Nonexistent Knight a touch of the metafictional, a small preview of what Italo Calvino would develop in his famous 1979 novel alternating story with the act of reading a book.
Torrismund, Sophronia, Palmyra: Three more players whose ultimate identity I will leave to each reader to discover.
Knights of the Grail: Although not quite as off-kilter as the Pythons' film of King Arthur and the Holy Grail, The Nonexistent Knight does have its moments. Perhaps the consequence of the author playing with themes from Ariosto's Orlando Furioso and other classics of medieval epic literature. One can almost not believe how Italo Calvino has those idealized champions behave. To discover what is meant here and all else that's completely different, you will have to read The Nonexistent Knight for yourself.
Coda: Italo Calvino chose the above Picasso drawing to illustrate the cover for the first published edition of The Nonexistent Knight.
Italian author Italo Calvino, 1923-1985
“If a girl has had enough of every man who exists, her only remaining desire could be for a man who doesn't exist at all.”
― Italo Calvino, The Nonexistent Knight
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