Written reference to Robin Hood found

ETON, England, March 15 (UPI) -- A monk's note in a medieval book indicates if Robin Hood was a real person he was not necessarily held in high regard, a British academic says.

The unknown cleric's note, written in Latin about 550 years ago, was found in the margins of a book at the library at Eton, The Independent reported Sunday.

"Around this time, according to popular opinion, a certain outlaw named Robin Hood with his accomplices infested Sherwood and other law-abiding areas of England with continuous robberies," the monk wrote.

Tales of Robin Hood -- who, with his band of merry men "stole from the rich and gave to the poor," while fighting the evil sheriff of Nottingham and courting the lovely Maid Marian -- have been told and retold for centuries. But they usually cast him in a positive, even heroic, light.

Dr. Julian Luxford of St. Andrews University, who found the monk's negative notation, theorizes Robin Hood may have benefited from kindly rewritten history.

"Rather than depicting the traditionally well-liked hero, the article suggests that Robin Hood and his merry men may not have been 'loved by the good,'" Luxford said. "The new find contains a uniquely negative assessment of the outlaw and provides rare evidence for monastic attitudes toward him."

The notation is the only historical record of Robin Hood's life written in England, though he is mentioned by three Scottish medieval writers.

Coincidental to the literary discovery, yet another movie version of the story is in the works, this time with Ridley Scott directing Russell Crowe as Robin Hood and Cate Blanchett as Marian.