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Guy Fawkes

Guy Fawkes

Texas 144.1

Regular price $8.00 Sale

Items Available: 32

Remember, remember!
The fifth of November,
The Gunpowder treason and plot;
I know of no reason
Why the Gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot!

We associate Bonfires with weekend gatherings after a long week to catch up with friends and family, and enjoy the crisp air before the week begins again. In Britain, however, there’s an entire holiday with different meaning completely, that has its origins from the early 17th century. An assassination plot against the British king by a group English Catholics have led to this centuries long tradition every November 5th.

Guy Fawkes, an English soldier, is commonly associated with the Gunpowder Plot against King James I of the newly formed Great Britain (United Kingdoms of England and Scotland). While the exact date is unknown, he is believed to have been born around Spring of 1570 as the second of four children in Stonegate, York. His parents were regular communicants of the Protestant Church of England. However, when Fawkes turned 8 years old, his father died, and his mother remarried years later to an English Catholic of Scotton, Harrogate. It is believed that he converted to Catholicism through his mother’s new marriage, while other sources say that his attendance at St. Peter’s school in York, may have influenced this. Years after leaving school, in 1591, Fawkes sold an inherited estate in Clifton, York, and left for the European continent.

Upon arriving in Europe, Fawkes entered the service of the Spanish in the ongoing Eighty Years War against the Dutch Republic. While in Europe, Fawkes entered the service of Sir William Stanley. Stanley had previously raised an army in Ireland to fight the Leicester Expedition to the Netherlands. Following the surrender to the Spanish at Deventer in 1587, Stanley defected from the English to serve Catholic Spain. Fawkes, quickly proved himself in battle under Stanley’s command at the Siege of Calais and was recommended for Captaincy a few years later. Following his combat exploits, Fawkes traveled to Spain in 1603 to seek support from the Spanish crown for a Catholic rebellion in England. While in Spain, he denounced King James I as a heretic, whom he accused of intending to wipe out papists in Britain. He also denounced Scotland and adopted the name Guido Fawkes, a name he would use in his service of the Spanish. Despite his pledge of allegiance to the Spanish crown and polite reception by the Spanish king Philip III, the Spanish were unwilling to offer him any support. One year later, in 1604, Fawkes returned to England. 

Upon his return, Fawkes became involved with a group of English Catholics, led by an Englishman names Robert Catesby. Catesby had planned to assassinate King James, and replace him with his daughter, Princess Elizabeth, and raise her as a Catholic, all while unbeknownst to her. The first meeting of the conspirators took place in May 1604 in the Strand District of London. At these meetings, the idea was proposed to assassinate the king and cripple his government by blowing up the Parliament House with gunpowder. Through one of the conspirators, Thomas Percy, the group of conspirators were able to gain access to a house that belonged to the Keeper of the Kings Wardrobe. It was in this house where, although never confirmed, the conspirators dug a tunnel to put themselves underneath the Parliament House. Fawkes and company once again attempted to gain support from abroad, although unsuccessful. 

Upon their return to England, they prepared to carry out their plot, however, a handful of conspirators worried about fellow Catholics in Parliament at the time of its opening. Lord Monteagle, a Catholic member of parliament, had received an anonymous letter from a stranger on the road, warning him not to attend the parliament opening. One of Monteagle’s servants had informed the conspirators of the letter, who had decided to go ahead with their plans nonetheless. However, King James was shown the letter and ordered a search of the cellars beneath the parliament, and found Fawkes with 36 barrels of gunpowder, a fuse, a lamp and a box of matches. Fawkes was promptly arrested on November 5th, 1605.

During his interrogation, he gave the false name of John Johnson, and remained defiant in the presence of members of the Kings Privy Chamber. During his torture, he admitted to the plot to blow up the House of Lords and expressed regret in not being able to do so, while giving the names of several of his co conspirators. The trial of the eight conspirators began on January 27, 1606, and a jury found all the defendants guilty. Fawkes was sentenced to be hanged and quartered. On the day of his execution, he begged for the kings forgiveness, and while climbing the scaffold, fell and broke his neck. His lifeless body was quartered, and his body parts displayed in the four quarters of the kingdom as a warning to all who dared challenge the kings authority.

In Britain, Fawkes has become a figure of celebration and satire, with one British academic describing Fawkes as the last person to enter parliament with honest intentions. The British Parliament passed an act establishing the observance of November 5th as a thanksgiving for foiling the plot. Although the act was repealed in 1859, the day is still widely observed in Britain. Fawkes is considered an icon of post modern anarchism. Guy Fawkes masks, which are widely used in contemporary protests around the world and by internet hacktivists, were created by Dennis Lloyd for his novel V for Vendetta, and they themselves are influenced on the Fawkes effigies burned during Guy Fawkes Night celebrations. Also recognized as the Anonymous Mask, the Fawkes Mask and Guy Fawkes himself are widely viewed as a freedom fighter, political rebel, and by some English Catholics, a martyr.

  • 3x2.5"
  • Embroidered
  • Hook backing
  • Release: TBD