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Article: Remember, remember, the fifth of November: David Prior of the Parliamentary Archives explains why we should be thinking about the Gunpowder Plot unseasonably early, this year.(FRONTLINE)(The Gunpowder Plot: Parliament and Treason 1605)(exhibition)(historical tourist trail, The Gunpowder Trail)
- Article from:
- History Today
- Article date:
- July 1, 2005
- Author:
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ABOUT THREE YEARS AGO I, with colleagues at the Palace of Westminster, realized that we were approaching the 400th anniversary of the Gunpowder Plot, when Guy Fawkes and a band of fellow conspirators tried to blow up the King as he attended the Houses of Parliament. To many English children, Bonfire Night, with its fireworks and Guy atop a blazing bonfire, used to be--and perhaps still is--one of the most exciting nights of the year, but the reason for it all is not always that obvious. Why did we take part in these strange rituals? What did the Plot mean in 1605, what does it mean now? All this seemed an ideal subject for investigation in an exhibition, staged on the very ...