A centuries-old scholarly reception has transformed "Orlando Furioso" into something different from what it actually is. By narrowing the intended readership of the author to a courtly or humanistically educated audience, a work that was predominantly received by the urban bourgeoisie down to the lower classes has been stripped of two of its essential characteristics: blasphemous laughter and criticism of authority. Through precise text analysis and a consistent interpretation of the notorious "ironia ariostesca," it is demonstrated here how confusing complexity can be organized into a coherent system of meaning, in which the author's lines resonate like the tolling of bells, heralding the storm of the Reformation.