Marchetta went to the king and, claiming to be a merchant's son driven out by his wicked stepmother's cruelty, took service as a page.
The woman who disguises herself as a man is also found in Giovanni Francesco Straparola's Costanza / Costanzo; his variant is later but appears to be more derived from the folk tradition.
A later French variant, Belle-Belle ou Le Chevalier Fortuné by Madame d'Aulnoy, touches on the same theme, but shows more influence from Straparola.
[2] The motif of "a woman who successfully disguises herself as a man and then is accused of seduction" is documented in writing even earlier than Straparola.
The Golden Legend, a collection of hagiographies first compiled around 1260, has several stories of female saints who dress themselves as monks and are accused of seduction or rape.
[3] The woman disguised as a man is found in folk fairy tales as well, such as Vasilisa The Priest’s Daughter and The Lute Player.