On this day in history : 13th April 1570 – The birth of Guy Fawkes – who as a member of a provincial group of English Catholics was to take part in the failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605….
Birthplace of Guy Fawkes – 25, High Petergate, York – now the Guy Fawkes Inn public house
Guy was born in Stonegate, York – the second of four children, one of whom died – but he had two sisters, Anne and Elizabeth, who survived into adulthood…. His father, Edward Fawkes, worked as a Proctor for the Church and although his mother, Edith, came from a recusant Catholic family she too attended Church of England services….
When Guy was just 8-years-old his father died, leaving his son an estate in Clifton, York as an inheritance…. Edith remarried a few years later, this time to a Catholic, Dionis Bainbridge; it was around this time a now teenage Guy converted to Catholicism…. Although undoubtedly influenced by his step father it is likely that Guy was encouraged at school in his Catholic beliefs…. He attended St. Peter’s School in York where the Head Master, John Pulleyn, came from a family of strong Yorkshire recusants…. Also a governor at the school had spent 20 years imprisonment for recusancy…. It was a crime to be a Catholic in the time of the reign of Queen Elizabeth I….although there were those who refused to attend Anglican services and stayed loyal to the Pope….
On leaving school Guy went into service, working for Anthony Browne, 1st Viscount Montagu….but who took a dislike to the young Fawkes and so dismissed him…. In October 1591 Guy decided to sell his inherited estate and travel to the continent to fight for Spain in the Eighty Years War against the Dutch Republic….
Guy Fawkes as depicted by George Cruickshank – Public domain
He was to join Sir William Stanley, an English Catholic who had formed an army in Ireland to fight in the Netherlands…. Guy became a junior officer, taking part in the Siege of Calais in 1596 – and worked his way up through the ranks to gain a Captaincy…. Whilst in Flanders he met a disgruntled Englishman by the name of Thomas Wintour, who persuaded him to join a small band of angry Catholics planning a rebellion….
It was around this time that Guy became known as ‘Guido’ – the Italian version of his name….
Signature of “Guido” Fawkes – note the top example – this was made soon after his being tortured after the failed Gunpowder Plot…. Public domain
He travelled to Spain in an attempt to gain support for the English Catholic rebellion – and managed to secure an audience with the Spanish King…. Whilst politely listening to what ‘Guido’ had to say – that the newly crowned King James I was a heretic (and he also denounced Scotland plus all those favoured by the King) – Philip III offered no help; Spain was not going to declare war on England….
Contemporary engraving of 8 of the 13 conspirators – Crispijn van de Passe the Elder – Public domain
In 1604 as part of a group of 13 English rebellious Catholics, led by Robert Catesby, who conspired to assassinate the Protestant King James, Guy helped hatch the plans for the Gunpowder Plot – and we all know where that led….
Children preparing for Guy Fawkes night celebrations (1954) – Geoff Charles CCO
On this day in history : 4th March 1966 – John Lennon gives an interview in which he states the Beatles are more popular than Jesus Christ – it causes outrage in the United States….
Image : YouTube
The interview was for the Evening Standard….it was the first in a series of articles entitled “How Does a Beatle Live?” Each member of the group was individually interviewed – starting with John Lennon at his home in Weybridge….
“Christianity will go. It will vanish and shrink. I needn’t argue about that; I’m right and I’ll be proved right. We’re more popular than Jesus now; I don’t know which will go first – rock ‘n’ roll or Christianity. Jesus was all right but his disciples were thick and ordinary. It’s them twisting it that ruins it for me”….
His words provoked no reaction from the public in the UK…. However, in July 1966 it was quoted in a US teen magazine and was received in America in a very different manner….
The publication that had been granted rights to all four interviews was a magazine called ‘Datebook’. Being broad minded – covering topics such as the legalisation of marijuana and inter-racial relationships – it was considered the most suitable for publishing the interviews…. Datebook teased its readers with the snippet “I don’t know which will go first – rock ‘n’ roll or Christianity” printed on the front cover….
Tommy Charles a DJ for WAQY, a radio station in Birmingham, Alabama heard of the comments – and was furious…. “That does it for me. I am not going to play the Beatles any more”…. The listeners were asked for their opinions – and they were less than favourable….the people were beginning to show their contempt….
The ball started to roll….more than twenty other radio stations followed suit and banned Beatles music…. The public were keen to show their anger – in the South especially – demonstrations were held, bonfires lit, Beatles memorabilia and records burned…. Soon the protests crossed over to Mexico and on to other particularly religious countries – such as Spain and South Africa…. The Vatican issued a public denouncement of Lennon’s comments….
Unfortunately the controversy coincided with the upcoming US tour scheduled for August and the recent release of the album ‘Revolver’….
Fair use
Lennon apologised for his comments, cheekily saying “If I had said television was more popular than Jesus, I might have got away with it”…. The Press were somewhat sympathetic….
However, it was touch and go as to whether the tour would go ahead – but it was decided that it should…. Overshadowed by disturbances and protests – even being picketed by the Ku Klux Klan – some dates were cancelled, such as Memphis – because the Beatles were not welcome in town….
There was some support for the Beatles though…. One Kentucky radio station said it would play Beatles music in order to show its “contempt for hypocrisy personified”…. And a Jesuit magazine – ‘America’ – wrote that “Lennon was simply stating what many a Christian educator would readily admit”….
March the 1st is the National Day of Wales – Saint David’s Day – and has been celebrated since the 12th Century….
Although not a public holiday many events take place across Wales; festivals and parades, usually with a dragon theme – the biggest being the National St. David’s Parade in Cardiff…. Many people attend special church services and recitals of Welsh literature (Eisteddfod)…. National costume is often worn, especially by school children….and traditional songs are sung. Many heritage sites offer free admission on this day….
The traditional meal of the feast day is Cawl, a soup made with meat, root vegetables and of course, leeks…. Other foods enjoyed are Bara Brith (Welsh fruit bread), Tiesen Bach (Welsh cakes) and Welsh Rarebit….
So…. Who was David, Patron Saint of Wales? It’s hard to know for sure, so many stories and theories have emerged over the years…. In Medieval times it was believed he was the nephew of King Arthur; it does appear he may have been born to Royal parentage….
It is said David was born on a cliff top one night during a raging storm – some time around 500 AD in Pembrokeshire, on the South West coast of Wales. Some say he was the son of Sandde – Prince of Powys – and ‘Non’ – the daughter of a Chieftain…. Others say his parents were Sanctus, King of Ceredigion and a nun (Nonnita). St. Patrick, Patron Saint of Ireland, is reputed to have been born in the same region some years before and he is said to have had a ‘vision’ of the birth of David…. At the site of David’s birth there stands an 18th Century chapel, dedicated to Non….also the ruins of a tiny ancient chapel and a holy well….
The young David was brought up by his mother at Llanon, a village in Ceredigion…. He was then possibly educated at Hen Fynwy – a monastery – and tutored by St. Paulinus. It seems he was always destined to be a priest….
David became a missionary – spreading the Christian word throughout the British Isles – he even made a Pilgrimage to Jerusalem, where he was made a Bishop…. During his life he is supposed to have performed several miracles: he restored the sight to his tutor, St. Paulinus….he brought a child back to life with his tears…. But perhaps his most famous miracle is from the time he was preaching to a crowd out in the open air – some cried out from the back that they were unable to hear him…. Suddenly a white dove landed on his shoulder and the ground beneath his feet rose to form a small hill….and then everybody could hear what he had to say…. The white dove became the emblem of St. David; he is often depicted in pictures and stained glass windows with one on his shoulder….
David was made Archbishop of Wales in 550 and founded 12 monasteries altogether, including Glastonbury – but the one he chose to make his base was the one close to his birth place, which he founded around 560 and is now the location of St. David’s Cathedral and St. David’s Bishops Palace – having been built by the Normans on the site of the original monastery…. In fact there is a stone which sits within an altar in the Cathedral which is believed to have been carried back by David himself on his return journey from his Pilgrimage to Jerusalem….
David’s monastery and church was built at Rose Vale (Glyn Rhosyn) on the banks of the River Alun. A settlement grew around the monastery and became known as David’s House – (Tyddewi)…. Life was tough in a monastery and David ran a particularly strict Order…. All were expected to work hard; ploughing the land by hand without the use of animals, to provide food with which to feed themselves and the travellers they gave shelter to…. They undertook many crafts, including beekeeping….but one of their main tasks was to look after the poor and needy by clothing and feeding them…. Their diet was vegetarian – David himself reputedly ate just bread and herbs and he was known as Dewi Ddyfrwr (the Water Drinker) because this was all he ever drank…. He was also very harsh on himself and was not beyond self-imposing penances such as standing up to his neck in freezing cold water – reciting the Scriptures….
David died on the 1st March 589 AD, rumoured to having been over 100 years old…. He was buried in a shrine in the 6th Century cathedral he had founded…. During the 11th Century the Vikings plundered the site repeatedly, murdering two Bishops in the process – in 1087 it was finally burned to the ground….
After his death David’s influence spread throughout Great Britain, eventually crossing the channel to Brittany, France…. In 1120 Pope Callistus II made him a Saint – (St. David is the only Welsh Saint to be canonised by the Catholic Church) – it was the Pope who declared two Pilgrimages to the shrine of St. David were worth one to Rome, three Pilgrimages would equate to one to Jerusalem….
St. David’s (as the settlement that had grown from David’s House became known) was given city status because of its cathedral in the 16th Century – but this status was lost in 1888…. In 1994, at the request of Queen Elizabeth II, it was granted the status again, making it Britain’s smallest city…. In 2011 it had a population of just 1,841 – compared to the capital Cardiff with 358,000…. In 1996 bones were found in St. Davids Cathedral which are said to be those of St. David…. Some 50 churches in South Wales are named for him…. The affectionate (if somewhat cheeky) nickname we often give to somebody of Welsh descent – ‘Taffy’ – originates to the 17th Century and comes from the Welsh for David – ‘Dafydd’….
But what of the emblems for Wales – the leek and the daffodil? The leek is the original emblem; there are various stories to how this came to be…. One being that David advised Welsh troops to wear a leek in their hats whilst in battle with the Saxons, so they could be distinguished from the enemy…. This is doubtful, as apart from this story not being recorded before the 17th Century, David lived a peaceful life and was unlikely to have been involved with warfare….
Photo via Pixabay
Another more plausible theory comes from 1346, when the Prince of Wales, ‘Edward the Black Prince’, defeated the French at the Battle of Crécy. The long and bloody battle was fought in a field of leeks….to remember the bravery and loyalty of the Welsh archers, people began to wear leeks in their hats every St. David’s Day. This is the legend reflected in Shakespeare’s play Henry V….Act V Scene I : Fluellen insists Pistol eats a leek after insulting the vegetable on St. David’s Day…. “If you can mock a leek, you can eat a leek”….
The Welsh for leek is ‘cenhinen’, whereas the Welsh for daffodil is ‘cenhinen pedr’ – so it is possible over the years the two have become confused…. The wearing of a daffodil is a fairly recent custom….probably really coming about in 1911 after being encouraged by David George Lloyd at the investiture of the Prince of Wales…. You’ve got to admit a daffodil does smell sweeter than a leek when you are wearing it….
Photo via Pixabay
In the words of Dewi Sant (Saint David)…. “Gwnewch y pethau bychain mean bywyd” ~ “do the little things in life”….
On this day in history : 6th January 1540 – King Henry VIII marries Anne of Cleves….a disastrous union from the start….and one that was to last just a few months….
Henry had always preferred to choose his own wives…. It was shortly after the death of his third wife, Jane Seymour, that the suggestion was made that an alliance with the House of Cleves would be a good proposition. It was at a time when Henry needed new allies in Europe – two of his greatest rivals, the Holy Emperor Charles V and King Francis I of France had forged a treaty…. Henry, having made himself head of the Church of England had expelled Catholicism – and certainly had no friend in the Pope….which gave him common ground with the Duke of Juliers-Cleves, who had also broken all ties with the Catholic Church in his domain…. An alliance would have suited them both….and Henry would have gained political power in Europe…. His chief minister, Thomas Cromwell, was particularly keen on the idea as it would have strengthened the Reformation in England…. All Henry had to do was marry one of the Duke’s daughters – besides he desired another heir….
Crowell praised Anne’s reputed beauty to reassure Henry – but he needed more convincing…. Therefore, Hans Holbein the Younger, a renowned German painter and printmaker was commissioned to paint portraits of Anne and her sister Amalia….Henry required the portraits to be as accurate as possible; the artist was not to ‘flatter’ his subjects – they had to be true to life, as Henry was going to use the likenesses to determine which of the sisters were to become his wife….
Anne of Cleves by Hans Holbein the Younger – public domain
Amalia by Hans Holbein the Younger – public domain
Henry was delighted when he saw the portrait of Anne….and was finally persuaded to agree to a betrothal….and so Anne began her journey to England – to become Queen….
Anne was born on the 22nd of September 1515, in Düsseldorf…. Henry liked his women to be well-educated and to be culturally sophisticated…. Anne was neither of these, she had received little education – she could read and write but only in German – however, she was accomplished in needlework….
Anne was 24-years-old when she arrived on British soil – her husband-to-be twice her age…. On route to London Anne and her escort party rested at Rochester Castle….she was expecting to meet her future husband for the first time at Greenwich, where the wedding ceremony was to take place…. However, in the English court there was a tradition, that was essentially meant to be a bit of fun, before a betrothed couple ‘officially’ met….and King Henry was quite the traditionalist….
Anne had retired to her chamber – when Henry in disguise and accompanied by five of his friends, made a surprise visit to her…. He embraced her, brazenly gave her a kiss and presented her with a New Year’s gift…. Anne, who knew nothing of this custom, must have been a little ‘taken aback’…. She was polite but cool….
Henry was slightly affronted – but as he had been in disguise and they had not even met before – he assumed she had not recognised him and so gave her the benefit of the doubt…. He dined with her that evening and again the following morning – having revealed his true identity…. But the ‘spark’ was not there – there was no chemistry between them – they were so different in culture and didn’t even speak the same language…. Henry later complained Anne looked nothing like her portrait, he did little to hide his disappointment….
Henry tried to get the wedding stopped….he wanted to ‘call the whole thing off’ – but this would have caused a major diplomatic incident….he had to go through with it – and he was furious….
Henry and Anne were married on the 6th of January 1540 at the Palace of Placentia, Greenwich, London – in a ceremony conducted by Archbishop Thomas Crammer….and then, of course, followed the wedding night….
She was young, 24, innocent, unworldly…. He was impatient, twice her age, grossly overweight and increasingly immobile after a jousting injury…. After four nights of trying to do what was required of him – and failing miserably – he attempted to save his pride by blaming her ‘ugliness’ and physical repulsiveness…. He confided to his man-servant that she was “indisposed to excite and provoke any lust” and that he “could never be stirred to know her carnally” and that he “left her as good a maid as I found her”…. More likely he was impotent – perhaps confirmed by the fact he had not taken a mistress for a while….most unlike Henry….
By Hans Holbein the Younger – public domain
Their marriage was never consummated…. For six months they endured each other’s company….publicly putting on ‘a brave face’ – but by the spring of 1540 Henry had fallen in love with Anne’s lady-in-waiting, Catherine Howard….
On the 24th of June 1540 Anne was ordered to leave court and on the 6th of July was informed of her husband’s intent to have the marriage annulled…. She did not make a fuss….
But there is a twist….one that would perhaps deem Anne the most successful of Henry’s six wives….
It seems that over the six months of their marriage they had actually come to quite like one another….and had come to refer to each other as ‘brother’ and ‘sister’….
On the day the annulment was announced Henry wrote to her…. “You shall find us a perfect friend, content to repute you as our dearest sister. We shall, within five or six days….determine your state minding to endow you with £4,000 of yearly revenue…. Your loving brother and friend…. Henry”….
Anne was given not only a generous annual allowance but property too….namely Richmond Palace and Hever Castle in Kent – she also owned Anne of Cleves House in Lewes, East Sussex….
Henry went on to marry Catherine Howard – but Anne was still very much included in the family – often being invited to court and even spending the Christmas period….
Anne outlived Henry by nearly ten years – and also outlived all of his other five wives…. She was remembered by those who had served her as being generous and easy-going…. She died in 1557, eight weeks before her 42nd birthday, probably from cancer…. She was buried in Westminster Abbey on the 3rd of August 1557….
On this day in history : 15th December 1982 – The Major Oak in Sherwood Forest – reputed to have been Robin Hood’s tree – is fitted with a fire alarm….
The Major Oak, an English oak (Quercus robur), is the largest oak tree in Britain and can be found in the heart of Sherwood Forest National Nature Reserve, not far from the Nottinghamshire village of Edwinstowe…. It is estimated to be between 800 and 1,000 years old – and has a canopy spread of 92ft (28m) and a girth of 33ft (10m)…. It weighs an estimated 23 tons and can produce some 150,000 acorns in a good year…. In 1908 chains had to be added to help support the tree and in the 1970s support beams were put up to help hold up the sprawling branches…. These beams were reinforced with metal in the 2000s…. It was fenced off in the 1970s as the thousands of footsteps of visitors compounding the surrounding ground were damaging the tree’s roots…. It is estimated around 350,000 visit the oak each year….
Over the centuries the Major Oak has survived storms, wars and deforestation…. Legend has it that it once sheltered Robin Hood and his band of Merry Men…. The trunk has a hollow interior that is big enough to climb inside – it was within here that in 1982 vandals lit a fire – and so as a future precaution a fire alarm was fitted to the tree…. Then, in the July of 2020, whilst the country was in ‘lockdown’ during the COVID-19 pandemic, vandals struck again…. A 3ft chunk of bark was ripped from the trunk by somebody climbing on the ancient oak…. Local people branded the vandalism as sacrilege…..
Cottage Capers 