Marianʹa

One of the most lovable of Shakespeare’s characters. Her pleading for Angelo is unrivalled. (Measure for Measure.)

Tennyson has two Marianas among his poems.

Mariana. Daughter of the king of Sicily, beloved by Sir Alexander, one of the three sons of St. George, the patron saint of England. Sir Alexander married her, and was crowned king of Thessaly. (Seven Champions of Christendom, iii. 3.)

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Entry taken from Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, edited by the Rev. E. Cobham Brewer, LL.D. and revised in 1895.