Guy Fawkes: A Biography Part 1

Born: 13 April 1570, Stonegate, Yorkshire
Died: 31 January 1606, Old Palace Yard, Westminster

Guy Fawkes was the only son of Edward Fawkes of York and his wife Edith Blake. He had two younger sisters.  This was a catholic family, and Guy became a pupil of the Free School of St. Peters located in "Le Horse Fayre." His time there was under the tutelage of a John Pulleyn, a suspected Catholic who some believe may have had an early effect on the impressionable Fawkes.

It is possible that Guy Fawkes married, for there are records of a marriage between Guy Fawkes and Maria Pulleyn in 1590 in Scotton, and it also records the birth of a son Thomas to Guy Fawkes and Maria on 6 February 1591.

In 1591, he proceeded to dispose of parts of his inheritance, and in 1593 or 1594, he is believed to have left England for Flanders, together with one of his cousins who later become a priest. In Flanders he enlisted in the Spanish army under the Archduke Albert of Austria, who was afterwards governor of the Netherlands.

Fawkes held a post of command when the Spaniards took Calais in 1596 under the orders of King Philip II of Spain. He was described at this time as a man "of excellent good natural parts, very resolute and universally learned" and was "sought by all the most distinguished in the Archduke's camp for nobility and virtue."  He is further described as "a man of great piety, of exemplary temperance, of mild and chearful demeanour, an enemy of broils and disputes, a faithful friend, and remarkable for his punctual attendance upon religious observance".  With such a character reference, this young man could go anywhere.   

Fawkes's appearance by now was most impressive. He was a tall, powerfully built man, with thick reddish-brown hair, flowing moustache, and a bushy reddish-brown beard. He had also apparently adopted the name or affectation Guido in place of Guy. His extraordinary fortitude, and his "considerable fame among soldiers," perhaps acquired through his services at the Battle of Nieuport in 1600 when it is believed he was wounded, brought him to the attention of Sir William Stanley (in charge of the English regiment in Flanders), Hugh Owen and Father William Baldwin.

Fawkes severed his connection with the Archduke's forces on 16 February 1603, when he was granted leave to go to Spain on behalf of Stanley, Owen and Baldwin to "enlighten King Philip II concerning the true position of the Romanists in England". During this visit he renewed his acquaintance with Christopher Wright, and the two men set about obtaining Spanish support for an invasion of England upon the death of Elizabeth, a mission which ultimately proved fruitless.