Post by end0f3verything on Oct 20, 2009 8:52:15 GMT 10
Ever wondered why we have Guy Fawkes night here in the uk?
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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,[1][2] belonged to a group of Roman Catholic restorationists from England who planned the Gunpowder Plot of 1605.[3] Their aim was to displace Protestant rule by blowing up the Houses of Parliament while King James I and the entire Protestant, and even most of the Catholic, aristocracy and nobility were inside. The conspirators saw this as a reaction to systematic discrimination against English Roman Catholics.[4]
Although Robert Catesby led the plot, Fawkes was in charge of executing the plan. Authorities foiled the plot shortly before its final execution, when they captured Fawkes as he guarded the gunpowder.
Fawkes left a lasting mark on history and popular culture. Bonfire Night, held on 5 November in the United Kingdom (and some parts of the Commonwealth), commemorates Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder Plot. He has been featured in films, literature, and music, and several geographical locations have been named after him, including the Isla Guy Fawkes in the Galápagos Islands and Guy Fawkes River in Australia. The word "guy", meaning "man" or "person", derives ultimately from his name.[5]
Fawkes is notorious for his involvement in the Gunpowder Plot of 1605. He was probably placed in charge of executing the plot because of his military and explosives experience. The plot, masterminded by Robert Catesby, was an attempt by a group of religious conspirators to kill King James I of England, his family, and most of the aristocracy, by blowing up the House of Lords in the Palace of Westminster during the State Opening of Parliament.
The plot itself may have been occasioned by the realisation by Protestant authorities and Catholic recusants that the Kingdom of Spain was in far too much debt and fighting too many wars to assist Catholics in Britain. Any possibility of toleration by Great Britain was removed at the Hampton Court conference in 1604 when King James I attacked both extreme Puritans and Catholics. The plotters realised that no outside help would be forthcoming. Fawkes and the other conspirators rented a cellar beneath the House of Lords after having failed in their attempt to dig a tunnel under the building. By March 1605, they had hidden 1,800 pounds (36 barrels, or 800 kg) of gunpowder in the cellar.A few of the conspirators were concerned about fellow Catholics who would have been present at Parliament during the opening.[13] On the evening of 26 October Lord Monteagle, received an anonymous letter warning him to stay away, and to "retyre youre self into yowre contee whence yow maye expect the event in safti for ... they shall receyve a terrible blowe this parleament".[14] Despite quickly becoming aware of the letter—informed by one of Monteagle's servants—they resolved to continue with their plans, as it appeared that it "was clearly thought to be a hoax".[15] Monteagle had been made suspicious, however, and the letter was shown to King James. The king ordered Sir Thomas Knyvet to conduct a search of the cellars underneath Parliament, which he did in the early hours of 5 November. Shortly after midnight, Fawkes was found leaving the cellar the conspirators had rented and was arrested. Inside, the barrels of gunpowder were discovered hidden under piles of firewood and coal.[16]
Fawkes gave his name as John Johnson, and was tortured over the next few days in an effort to extract from him the names of his co-conspirators. King James directed that the torture be light at first, but more severe if necessary. Sir William Wade, Lieutenant of the Tower of London at this time, supervised the torture and obtained Fawkes's confession. For three or four days Fawkes said nothing, nor divulged the names of his co-conspirators. Only when he found out that they had proclaimed themselves by appearing in arms did he succumb. The torture only revealed the names of those conspirators who were already dead or whose names were known to the authorities. On 31 January, Fawkes and a number of others implicated in the conspiracy were tried in Westminster Hall. After being found guilty, they were taken to Old Palace Yard in Westminster and St Paul's Yard, where they were to be hanged, drawn and quartered. Fawkes, weakened by his torture, was the last to climb the ladder to the gallows, from which he jumped, breaking his neck in the fall and thus avoiding the gruesome latter part of his execution.[17]
On 5 November 1605, the day the plot was discovered, Londoners were encouraged to celebrate the King's escape from assassination by lighting bonfires in the city, "always provided that ‘this testemonye of joy be careful done without any danger or disorder'", beginning a tradition that has persisted across the UK ever since.[18] The Lord Mayor and aldermen of the City of London commemorated the conspiracy on 5 November for years after with a sermon in St Paul's Cathedral. Popular accounts of the plot supplemented these sermons, some of which were published and have survived. Many in the city left money in their wills to pay for a minister to preach a sermon annually in their own parish.
Many popular contemporary verses were written in condemnation of Fawkes. The most well-known verse begins:
Remember, remember the fifth of November,
The gunpowder treason and plot,
I know of no reason
Why the gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot.
John Rhodes produced a popular narrative in verse describing the events of the plot and condemning Fawkes:
Fawkes at midnight, and by torchlight there was found
With long matches and devices, underground
The full verse was published as A brief Summary of the Treason intended against King & State, when they should have been assembled in Parliament, 5 November. 1605. Fit for to instruct the simple and ignorant herein: that they not be seduced any longer by Papists. Other popular verses were of a more religious tone and celebrated the fact that England had been saved from the Guy Fawkes conspiracy. John Wilson published, in 1612, a short song on the "powder plot" with the words:
O England praise the name of God
That kept thee from this heavy rod!
But though this demon e'er be gone,
his evil now be ours upon!
The Fawkes story continued to be celebrated in poetry. The Latin verse In Quintum Novembris was written c. 1626. John Milton’s Satan in book six of Paradise Lost was inspired by Fawkes—the Devil invents gunpowder to try to match God's thunderbolts. Post-Reformation and anti–Catholic literature often personified Fawkes as the Devil in this way. From Puritan polemics to popular literature, all sought to associate Fawkes with the demonic. However, his reputation has since undergone a rehabilitation, and today he is often toasted as, "The last man to enter Parliament with honourable intentions." William Harrison Ainsworth's 1841 historical romance Guy Fawkes; or, The Gunpowder Treason, portrays Fawkes, and Catholic recusancy in general, in a sympathetic light and was one of the first accounts to challenge the official depiction of the plot.[19]
In 18th-century England, it became a tradition for children to display a grotesque effigy of Fawkes, termed a "guy", as part of the Bonfire Night celebration.[20] As part of the tradition, they would often stand on streetcorners begging for "a penny for the guy".[21] The "guy" would be burned on a bonfire at the end of the evening. As a consequence, "guy" came to mean a man of odd appearance. Subsequently, in American English, "guy" lost any pejorative connotation, becoming a simple reference for any man.[5]
Fawkes was ranked 30th in the 2002 list of the 100 Greatest Britons, sponsored by the BBC and voted for by the public.[22] He was also included in a list of the 50 greatest people from Yorkshire.[23] The Guy Fawkes River and thus Guy Fawkes River National Park in northern New South Wales, Australia were named after Fawkes by explorer John Oxley, who, like Fawkes, was from North Yorkshire. In the Galápagos Islands a collection of two crescent-shaped islands and two small rocks northwest of Santa Cruz Island, are called Isla Guy Fawkes.[24]
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All this shit stolen from wikipedia lolol
Yeah I'm naughty
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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,[1][2] belonged to a group of Roman Catholic restorationists from England who planned the Gunpowder Plot of 1605.[3] Their aim was to displace Protestant rule by blowing up the Houses of Parliament while King James I and the entire Protestant, and even most of the Catholic, aristocracy and nobility were inside. The conspirators saw this as a reaction to systematic discrimination against English Roman Catholics.[4]
Although Robert Catesby led the plot, Fawkes was in charge of executing the plan. Authorities foiled the plot shortly before its final execution, when they captured Fawkes as he guarded the gunpowder.
Fawkes left a lasting mark on history and popular culture. Bonfire Night, held on 5 November in the United Kingdom (and some parts of the Commonwealth), commemorates Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder Plot. He has been featured in films, literature, and music, and several geographical locations have been named after him, including the Isla Guy Fawkes in the Galápagos Islands and Guy Fawkes River in Australia. The word "guy", meaning "man" or "person", derives ultimately from his name.[5]
Fawkes is notorious for his involvement in the Gunpowder Plot of 1605. He was probably placed in charge of executing the plot because of his military and explosives experience. The plot, masterminded by Robert Catesby, was an attempt by a group of religious conspirators to kill King James I of England, his family, and most of the aristocracy, by blowing up the House of Lords in the Palace of Westminster during the State Opening of Parliament.
The plot itself may have been occasioned by the realisation by Protestant authorities and Catholic recusants that the Kingdom of Spain was in far too much debt and fighting too many wars to assist Catholics in Britain. Any possibility of toleration by Great Britain was removed at the Hampton Court conference in 1604 when King James I attacked both extreme Puritans and Catholics. The plotters realised that no outside help would be forthcoming. Fawkes and the other conspirators rented a cellar beneath the House of Lords after having failed in their attempt to dig a tunnel under the building. By March 1605, they had hidden 1,800 pounds (36 barrels, or 800 kg) of gunpowder in the cellar.A few of the conspirators were concerned about fellow Catholics who would have been present at Parliament during the opening.[13] On the evening of 26 October Lord Monteagle, received an anonymous letter warning him to stay away, and to "retyre youre self into yowre contee whence yow maye expect the event in safti for ... they shall receyve a terrible blowe this parleament".[14] Despite quickly becoming aware of the letter—informed by one of Monteagle's servants—they resolved to continue with their plans, as it appeared that it "was clearly thought to be a hoax".[15] Monteagle had been made suspicious, however, and the letter was shown to King James. The king ordered Sir Thomas Knyvet to conduct a search of the cellars underneath Parliament, which he did in the early hours of 5 November. Shortly after midnight, Fawkes was found leaving the cellar the conspirators had rented and was arrested. Inside, the barrels of gunpowder were discovered hidden under piles of firewood and coal.[16]
Fawkes gave his name as John Johnson, and was tortured over the next few days in an effort to extract from him the names of his co-conspirators. King James directed that the torture be light at first, but more severe if necessary. Sir William Wade, Lieutenant of the Tower of London at this time, supervised the torture and obtained Fawkes's confession. For three or four days Fawkes said nothing, nor divulged the names of his co-conspirators. Only when he found out that they had proclaimed themselves by appearing in arms did he succumb. The torture only revealed the names of those conspirators who were already dead or whose names were known to the authorities. On 31 January, Fawkes and a number of others implicated in the conspiracy were tried in Westminster Hall. After being found guilty, they were taken to Old Palace Yard in Westminster and St Paul's Yard, where they were to be hanged, drawn and quartered. Fawkes, weakened by his torture, was the last to climb the ladder to the gallows, from which he jumped, breaking his neck in the fall and thus avoiding the gruesome latter part of his execution.[17]
On 5 November 1605, the day the plot was discovered, Londoners were encouraged to celebrate the King's escape from assassination by lighting bonfires in the city, "always provided that ‘this testemonye of joy be careful done without any danger or disorder'", beginning a tradition that has persisted across the UK ever since.[18] The Lord Mayor and aldermen of the City of London commemorated the conspiracy on 5 November for years after with a sermon in St Paul's Cathedral. Popular accounts of the plot supplemented these sermons, some of which were published and have survived. Many in the city left money in their wills to pay for a minister to preach a sermon annually in their own parish.
Many popular contemporary verses were written in condemnation of Fawkes. The most well-known verse begins:
Remember, remember the fifth of November,
The gunpowder treason and plot,
I know of no reason
Why the gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot.
John Rhodes produced a popular narrative in verse describing the events of the plot and condemning Fawkes:
Fawkes at midnight, and by torchlight there was found
With long matches and devices, underground
The full verse was published as A brief Summary of the Treason intended against King & State, when they should have been assembled in Parliament, 5 November. 1605. Fit for to instruct the simple and ignorant herein: that they not be seduced any longer by Papists. Other popular verses were of a more religious tone and celebrated the fact that England had been saved from the Guy Fawkes conspiracy. John Wilson published, in 1612, a short song on the "powder plot" with the words:
O England praise the name of God
That kept thee from this heavy rod!
But though this demon e'er be gone,
his evil now be ours upon!
The Fawkes story continued to be celebrated in poetry. The Latin verse In Quintum Novembris was written c. 1626. John Milton’s Satan in book six of Paradise Lost was inspired by Fawkes—the Devil invents gunpowder to try to match God's thunderbolts. Post-Reformation and anti–Catholic literature often personified Fawkes as the Devil in this way. From Puritan polemics to popular literature, all sought to associate Fawkes with the demonic. However, his reputation has since undergone a rehabilitation, and today he is often toasted as, "The last man to enter Parliament with honourable intentions." William Harrison Ainsworth's 1841 historical romance Guy Fawkes; or, The Gunpowder Treason, portrays Fawkes, and Catholic recusancy in general, in a sympathetic light and was one of the first accounts to challenge the official depiction of the plot.[19]
In 18th-century England, it became a tradition for children to display a grotesque effigy of Fawkes, termed a "guy", as part of the Bonfire Night celebration.[20] As part of the tradition, they would often stand on streetcorners begging for "a penny for the guy".[21] The "guy" would be burned on a bonfire at the end of the evening. As a consequence, "guy" came to mean a man of odd appearance. Subsequently, in American English, "guy" lost any pejorative connotation, becoming a simple reference for any man.[5]
Fawkes was ranked 30th in the 2002 list of the 100 Greatest Britons, sponsored by the BBC and voted for by the public.[22] He was also included in a list of the 50 greatest people from Yorkshire.[23] The Guy Fawkes River and thus Guy Fawkes River National Park in northern New South Wales, Australia were named after Fawkes by explorer John Oxley, who, like Fawkes, was from North Yorkshire. In the Galápagos Islands a collection of two crescent-shaped islands and two small rocks northwest of Santa Cruz Island, are called Isla Guy Fawkes.[24]
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All this shit stolen from wikipedia lolol
Yeah I'm naughty