The story behind the mask

Guy Fawkes, Guy Fawkes,

‘Twas his intent.

To blow up the King and the Parliament.

Three score barrels of powder below.

Poor old England to overthrow.

The story behind the mask began on the night of November 5, 1605. Throughout the months before, a revolutionary named Guy Fawkes and his cohort of co-conspirators had plotted to remove King James from the throne. They had filled the basement of the British Parliament buildings with gunpowder. Late that night, Fawkes was caught and arrested after the British royalty had been alerted by an anonymous letter. Fawkes was then tortured until he confessed and also gave information leading to the arrest of other the conspirators. On January 31, the day of his execution, he jumped from the scaffolding he was to be hanged from and broke his neck.

Throughout the following 400 years, November 5 was celebrated in England as a day to remember the thwarted plot. It became known as Bonfire Night, with fireworks and bonfires in which effigies of Fawkes (and later other unpopular leaders) were burnt. However, in the last 100 years, the image of Fawkes has morphed dramatically. Instead of being labeled as a murderer and terrorist he is now often seen as a hero, “the last man to enter Parliament with honest intentions”. Today, the fifth of November has become a day commemorating Fawkes subversive ideas.

“My feeling is the Anonymous group needed an all-purpose image to hide their identity and also symbolise that they stand for individualism – V for Vendetta is a story about one person against the system.” David Lloyd