Matter of the Greenwood: Maid Marian - Evolution
In the second part of my piece on Marian, I investigate how her legend has evolved down to the present day. Image: Bernadette O'Farrell as Marian in The Adventures of Robin Hood (1955-60). We've already looked at the possible origins of Maid Marian, in the May Games, the dramatic tradition, and just maybe history. But how did the character develop from these disparate roots to the well established Marian of today? There have been attempts to argue that the unnamed, unspeaking
Matter of the Greenwood: Maid Marian - Origins
An investigation into the roots of Marian's role in the Robin Hood legend. Content note: sexual harrassment; abduction. Image: tomb effigy traditionally identified as Matilda Fitzwalter (in fact probably a later member of the Fitzwalter family). In the modern imagination, Maid Marian (nearly always referred to as such) is as famous as Robin Hood himself, and completely inseparable from him. It therefore often comes as a surprise to modern readers to find that she is entirely
