Happy Guy Fawkes Day

 

"Remember, Remember the fifth of November.

The gunpowder, treason and plot.

I know of no reason

Why the gunpowder treason

Should ever be forgot."

 

For those of you who don't know who Guy Fawkes is, go here for the full details.  Otherwise, let me give you the short version.  Guy Fawkes was a member of a group of revolutionaries in England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries who tried to blow up the House of Lords, thus killing King James, his family, and most of the British ruling class all in one fell swoop.  The plan was to load up a ton of gunpowder under the House of Lords and then ignite it while parliment was in session, which is how this whole thing earned the name The Gunpowder Plot.

 

Fawkes failed in this task.  He was caught and was eventually tortured and hung.  For years afterwards he was demonized in British culture as a figure of evil and chaos.  However, over time his reputation has changed and he has become a sort of Anti-hero.  He's jokingly referred to nowadays as "The only man to ever enter parliment with honest intentions."  He's become a symbol of rebellion against the establishment.  November 5th is remembered in England as Guy Fawkes Day. 

 

This is because the failed Gunpowder Plot happened on November 5th, 1605.  Basically, the holiday consists of lots of partying and burning effigies of Guy Fawkes all over England.  Think of it like the 4th of July.

 

So why am I reporting about this on a geek news site, you ask?  Well, for one thing it's a pretty cool bit of history and I'm a huge history nerd.  But more importantly, the use of Guy Fawkes' image was the cornerstone of Alan Moore's comic V For Vendetta.  The main character in the story, known only as V, wears a Guy Fawkes mask as he goes about toppling a facist regime in a near-future england.  If you've never read V For Vendetta, you really should.  It's a brilliant story that is very much akin to George Orwell's 1984.  The comic was also turned into a rather amazing film as well, which stars Hugo Weaving and Natalie Portman. 

 

Happy Guy Fawkes Day!!!