ABSTRACT
The year is around 1150, and Robin (of Sherwood Forest fame) has returned to England after years in the Crusades. Much has changed in his absenceMaid Marian has even become a nun. Middle-aged, confused, and stung by his woman’s seeming abandonment, Robin asks how she could have taken vows. Marian patiently explains she had no way of knowing Robin was even still alive:
In this imagined sequel to the familiar saga, the film “Robin and
Marian” starkly captures the great linguistic divide between medieval and modern times in European-based cultures. Marian presupposes a twentiethcentury view of the written word (“Drop a line to let me know how you’re getting on”). Robin, a product of his times, makes no apology for being unable to write. And apologize he shouldn’t, for literacy in the Middle Ages was hardly widespread. Your average warrior or nobleman had no more use for reading or writing than for eating with silverware or regular bathing.
