Feature Article
Guy Fawkes Night, also known as Bonfire Night and Fireworks Night, is an annual celebration (but not a public holiday) on the evening of the 5th of November in the Great Britain, Northern Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa, Newfoundland, Canada, some parts of the USA, and formerly Australia. It celebrates the failure of the Gunpowder Plot, in which a group of Catholic conspirators attempted to blow up the Houses of Parliament in London on the night when Protestant King James I (James VI of Scotland) was within its walls — the evening of 5 November 1605. Some believe the proximity of the event to the pre-Christian festival of Samhain Eve and Halloween are notable, but it is generally agreed that this is a coincidence.
The celebrations, which take place in cities, towns and villages across the country, involve fireworks displays and the building of a bonfire, upon which is burnt an effigy representing the most famous of the conspirators, Guy Fawkes. Children build popular or humorous dummies and beg for money with the chant "penny for the guy" (the latter tradition is no longer as popular as it once was). The night is closely associated with the popular rhyme which begins:
Remember, remember the fifth of November,
Gunpowder, treason and plot,
I see no reason why gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot.
In recent years it has also become the primary night for fireworks displays in the U.K., ranging from the amateur to the spectacular. It is only relatively recently (post-millenium) that fireworks have begun to see widespread use outside of Bonfire night, though they have always been available for the couple of months surrounding the 5th.
Despite the nature of the events commemorated, little political or sectarian significance is attached to Bonfire Night in modern times. The later verses of Remember, remember…, which express violent anti-Catholic sentiment, are not widely recalled. Bonfire night is now just as celebrated within Britain's Catholic communities. The once common practice of burning effigies of the Pope is now largely discontinued (except at Lewes, where the night has additional significance).
Guido Fawkes (April 13, 1570–January 31, 1606), most commonly called Guy Fawkes, was a member of the group of Roman Catholic conspirators who attempted to carry out the Gunpowder Plot. The conspirators had planned to assassinate King James I (James VI of Scotland) and all the members of both branches of the Parliament of England. To do this, the House of Lords was to be blown up during the formal opening of the 1605 session of Parliament. Guy Fawkes was primarily responsible for the latter stages of the plan's execution. He was discovered before its completion, however. Following an interrogation, Fawkes and his co-conspirators were executed for treason.
In the United Kingdom, Newfoundland, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, parts of the USA, and formerly Australia, the Gunpowder Plot is commemorated annually on Guy Fawkes Night, also called Bonfire Night. For some it is a celebration of the plot's failure, for others it marks the loss of a folk hero.
Early life
Fawkes, whose surname is sometimes also given as "Faukes", was born in Stone gate in York, where he was baptized in the church of St. Michael-le-Belfry. He attended St. Peter's School. He was the only son of Edward Fawkes of York and his wife Edith Blake. He grew up to be tall and of an athletic build with brown hair and a moderately brown beard. Fawkes converted to Catholicism at about the age of 16, according to his admission of recusancy at his preliminary interrogation following his capture.
He served for many years as a soldier, gaining considerable expertise with explosives. In 1593 he enlisted in the army of Archduke Albert of Austria in the Netherlands, fighting against the Protestant United Provinces in the Eighty Years' War. In 1596 he was present at the siege and capture of Calais. By 1602, however, he had still risen no higher than the rank of ensign.
Gunpowder Plot Main article: Gunpowder Plot
Guy Fawkes is most famous for his involvement in the Gunpowder Plot of 1605, which he was placed in charge with executing due to his military and explosives experience. The plot, masterminded by Robert Catesby, was a failed attempt by a group of provincial English Roman Catholic conspirators to kill King James I of England and VI of Scotland, his family, and most of the Protestant aristocracy in one swoop by blowing up the Houses of Parliament during its State Opening. Guy Fawkes was first introduced to Robert Catesby by a man named Hugh Owen.
Fawkes and the other conspirators were able to rent a cellar beneath the House of Lords. By March 1605, they had hidden approximately 2.5 tonnes of gunpowder in the cellar, with the intent of detonating it during the State Opening of Parliament. Several of the conspirators were concerned, however, about fellow Catholics who would have been present at parliament during the opening. One of the conspirators had written a letter of warning to Lord Monteagle, who received it on October 26. The conspirators became aware of the letter the following day, but they resolved to continue the plot after Fawkes had confirmed that nothing had been touched in the cellar.
Lord Monteagle had been suspicious, however, and the letter was sent to the secretary of state who initiated a search of the vaults beneath the House of Lords. Fawkes was discovered and arrested during a raid on the cellar in the early morning of November 5. He was tortured over the next few days, after special permission to do so had been granted by the King. Eventually, he revealed the names of his co-conspirators. On January 31, Fawkes, Wintour, and a number of others implicated in the conspiracy were taken to Old Palace Yard in Westminster, where they were hanged, drawn, and quartered.
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