One last Marian post:

Two poems too exhilarating to not share:

And what eye hath e'er seen such a sweet Maiden Queen,
As Marian, the pride of the forester's green?
A sweet garden-flower, she blooms in the bower,
Where alone to this hour the wild rose has been:
We hail her in duty the queen of all beauty:
We will live, we will die, by our sweet Maiden queen. Thomas Love Peacock

"A bonny fine maid of noble degree,
Maid Marian called by name,
Did live in the north, of excellent worth,
For she was a gallant dame.

For favour, and face, and beauty most rare,
Queen Helen she did excel;
For Marian then was praised of all men
That did in the country dwell." ~I actually don't know who wrote that. Sorry...

More Marian Photos

The following are just Marian-ish photos. Thank you Kei!

Modern Marian #2

Last night, my dear dad suggested to me that I was perhaps I was going a little overboard on the Marian thing.

It made me think...

...Nah.

Look at those gorgeous leaves! Beautiful!

The lovely Bracie, my dear sister:

Modern Marian#1:

Bring back capes! (made by the wonderful Rowena @RandomJotdowns) Here are some of my pictures for a Modern Marian clothing (does anyone else dislike the word fashion?)

Alright, so perhaps the outfit without the cape will do just fine.

The below picture is of moi gracefully jumping off the wrong side of my horse. Way to go me. Chess doesn't mind, the angel.

This picture is very blurry, but it caught my fancy.

And of course I had to have the boot/knife picture. It is essential to Marian. =D

If feels very odd to simply post pictures of just me, so here's a picture of Lib (excuse me, I mean Rowena,) Peach, and Bracie. The ever marvelous Kei is taking the photo.

Photo credit: All of the blurry ones were taken by Bracie (don't worry, she'll readily admit to that. It's all our camera's fault.) and all of the nice ones were taken by Kei.

Worthy Aspirations?

I may not measure up to the awesomeness of Maid Marian, but at least I can be Lady Cluck.

Lucy Griffiths- my opinion.

Just so everyone knows, I have only seen the first season of BBC Robin Hood. The beautiful Lucy Griffiths as Maid Marian- she's brighter, snazzier, smarter, faster, and bigger than Robin Hood! She is gorgeous and amazing and utterly cool, from her incredible fashion sense, to her longbow skills, to her amazing strategic abilities, from her night-watchman mask, to her commanding comportment that inspires all around her.

Can Robin do it? She can do it better! She did it first! After all everybody knows it was really Marian's idea.

No matter what anyone does, she wants to steal the show and do it her way. Not only that, but she must tear everyone down in the process. Constantly, she berates and criticizes Robin, never trying to help.

And the ironic thing? Somehow, despite how annoying she is, Robin manages to continue caring for her. Despite her resemblance to a nagging fishwife, she manages to steal his heart. Is anyone else sensing an inconsistency? Is that a realistic relationship?

How is everyone able to see past her faults? I don't understand. To me, it seems as though everyone is so impressed by the external Marian that they cannot look at her internal character.

Not only is she flawed, she is annoying! Being flawed is a universally shared characteristic, but it isn't necessary to be annoying.
Ephesians 4:28 makes this important applicable command:

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.

I did not hear Lucy's Marian say anything that built anyone up in the entire first season. Nothing about her character is sweet or beautiful.

Robin Hood is not meant to be uxorious!

Don't get me wrong: I would love to have her archery skills or her amazing clothes or whatever, but her pride and sharp tongue leave much to be desired.

I would love to hear that she curbs her critical spirit. I would love to hear about her encouraging someone. Please comment and tell me she reforms!


PS: And my other complaints about BBC Robin Hood:

The Merry Men were not Merry. Nor were they charming. Or witty. =P

Maid Marian's Character:

From quotes! First of all, I had to put down this classic one from Tennyson... because, well, it's classic.

“And these will strike for England,
And man and maid be free
To foil and spoil the tyrant
Beneath the greenwood tree.” Tennyson, The Foresters

And I absolutely love Maid Marian as portayed by T.H. White! From The Sword in the Stone:

“Robin lay happily with his head in Marian’s lap. She sat between the roots
of the lime tree, clad in a one piece smock of green girded with a quiver of
arrows and her feet and arms were bare. She had let down the brown shining
waterfall, which was usually kept braided for convience in hunting and cookery,
and with the falling waves of this she framed his head. She was singing a duet
with him softly, and tickling the end of his nose with the fine hairs…
[the two boys, Kay and Art go with the Merry Men on an adventure]
The boys had felt disgruntled at first, at being put in a woman’s band. They would have preferred to have gone with Robin, and thought that being put under Marian was like being trusted to a governess. They soon found their mistake.
It was not easy to be a companion of hers. In the first place, it was impossible to keep up with her unless she waited for them-she could move on all fours or even wriggle
like a snake almost as quickly as they could walk- and in the second place she
was an accomplished soldier which they were not. She was a true Weyve-except for
her long hair, which most of the female outlaws of those days used to clip. One
of the bits of advice which she gave them before talking had to be stopped was
this: Aim high when you shoot in battle, rather than low. A low arrow strikes
the ground, a high one may kill in the second rank.
“If I am made to get married,” thought the Wart, who had doubts on the subject, “I will marry a girl like this: a kind of golden vixen.”
As a matter of fact, though the boys did not know it, Marian could hoot like an owl by blowing into her fists, or whistle a shrill blast between tongue and teeth with the fingers in the corner of the mouth; could bring all the birds to her by imitating their calls and understand much of their small language; could hit the popinjay twice for every three times of Robin’s; and could turn cartwheels. But none of these accomplishments were necessary at the moment.”

by his side:

The long-awaited weekend has arrived! And here, to kick off a series of posts concerning Maid Marian!

To me, the great, distinguishing aspect of the story of Maid Marian is that she was always by his side. Not a heroine who limps and flutters in the background, nor one who must dominate the scene and depend only on herself, but a supporting, strong, remarkable, amazing woman with utmost devotion to her beloved.

Here is an amazing quote from Thomas Love Peacock's Maid Marian:

“May I never again have roof but the blue sky, nor canopy but the
green leaves, nor barrier but the forest-bounds; with the foresters to my
train, Little John to my page, Friar Tuck to my ghostly adviser, and Robin
Hood to my liege lord. I am no longer lady Matilda Fitzwater, of Arlingford
Castle, but plain Maid Marian, of Sherwood Forest."

"Long live Maid Marian!" re-echoed the foresters…