Guy Fawkes
Overview
Guy Fawkes 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
.
Low Countries
The Low Countries are the historical lands around the low-lying delta of the Rhine, Scheldt, and Meuse rivers, including the modern countries of Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and parts of northern France and western Germany....
, belonged to a group of provincial English Catholics who planned the failed Gunpowder Plot
Gunpowder Plot
The Gunpowder Plot of 1605, in earlier centuries often called the Gunpowder Treason Plot or the Jesuit Treason, was a failed assassination attempt against King James I of England and VI of Scotland by a group of provincial English Catholics led by Robert Catesby.The plan was to blow up the House of...
of 1605.
Fawkes was born and educated in York
York
York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
. His father died when Fawkes was eight years old, after which his mother married a recusant
Recusancy
In the history of England and Wales, the recusancy was the state of those who refused to attend Anglican services. The individuals were known as "recusants"...
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
Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...
.
Quotations
A desperate disease requires a dangerous remedy.
Remark (6 November 1605) as quoted in The Dictionary of National Biography Vol. 6 (1917); He is here invoking a version of a famous statement of Hippocrates, also translated as "Extreme remedies are very appropriate for extreme diseases."
File:GuysSparkler.JPG|144px|thumb|right|Remember, remember, the 5th of NovemberThe Gunpowder Treason and plot;I know of no reason why Gunpowder TreasonShould ever be forgot.