nurktwin 2,143 Report post Posted November 5, 2011 Guy Fawkes (13 April 1570 – 31 January 1606), also known as Guido Fawkes, the name he adopted while fighting for the Spanish in the Low Countries, belonged to a group of provincial English Catholics who planned the failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605. Fawkes was born and educated in York. His father died when Fawkes was eight years old, after which his mother married a recusant Catholic. Fawkes later converted to Catholicism and left for the continent, where he fought in the Eighty Years' War on the side of Catholic Spain against Protestant Dutch reformers. He travelled to Spain to seek support for a Catholic rebellion in England but was unsuccessful. He later met Thomas Wintour, with whom he returned to England. Wintour introduced Fawkes to Robert Catesby, who planned to assassinate King James I and restore a Catholic monarch to the throne. The plotters secured the lease to an undercroft beneath the House of Lords, and Fawkes was placed in charge of the gunpowder they stockpiled there. Prompted by the receipt of an anonymous letter, the authorities searched Westminster Palace during the early hours of 5 November, and found Fawkes guarding the explosives. Over the next few days, he was questioned and tortured, and eventually he broke. Immediately before his execution on 31 January, Fawkes jumped from the scaffold where he was to be hanged and broke his neck, thus avoiding the agony of the mutilation that followed. Fawkes became synonymous with the Gunpowder Plot, the failure of which has been commemorated in England since 5 November 1605. His effigy is often burned on a bonfire, commonly accompanied by a firework display. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AngelDream 16 Report post Posted November 5, 2011 Interesting Happy Guy Fawkes day! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
emmie 2 Report post Posted November 5, 2011 Oh I used to love Guy Fawkes day or (bonfire night) in England. It was one of my favourites. We used to have tons of fun. Making "Guys" and burning them on top of bonfires, shooting off fireworks, parades, eating potatos in their jackets and sausages outside at night. I loved it. Alot of happy memories while living with my grandparents of Guy Fawkes day/night. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LizzieB 0 Report post Posted November 5, 2011 ^Sounds so fun, Emmie. I never saw much going on on Guy Fawkes day the years I was in London for it. Hmmmm. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Patty Petty 9 Report post Posted November 5, 2011 Never heard of him. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
emmie 2 Report post Posted November 6, 2011 ^ hahaha well most Americans aren't aware of anything outside of the United States! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nel 71 Report post Posted November 6, 2011 Good ol' Guy Fawkes. I've always found him fascinating. And it's pretty cool that his image has become a symbol of OWS. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
