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Robin Hood 'based on William Wallace'

Robin Hood, the archetypal English hero, may actually have been Scottish, according to new research.

Nottinghamshire is generally thought to have been the home of the outlaw who stole from the rich to give to the poor, with neighbouring counties Yorkshire and Leicestershire also claiming links.

But historical novelist Jack Whyte claims that the roots of the character forever associated with Sherwood Forest may be north of the border.

He found what he claims are striking similarities between the lives of Robin Hood and the of Scottish knight William Wallace – Mel Gibson's character in the 1665 film Braveheart – while researching his latest book The Forest Laird.

Mr Whyte, 70, who left Scotland over 50 years ago to lives in Canada, believes the only surviving example of Wallace’s seal provides supporting evidence.

It appears on The Lubeck Letters which he sent to the German city in 1297, a month after his victory at the Battle of Stirling Bridge, to inform European traders that Scotland was still open for business....

Read entire article at Telegraph (UK)