Jacobites
Viscount and Anne Fairfax remained loyal to the Catholic faith during a period of religious and political turmoil. Supporters of the Catholic King James II and his descendants fought a bloody campaign to return a Stuart king to the throne which fostered a climate of suspicion of Catholicism and its adherents in Britain. Delve into these articles to learn more about the Jacobite cause and its eventual defeat.
Bonnie Prince Charlie: Icon of Rebellion
Charles Edward Stuart, known as ‘Bonnie Prince Charlie’ (or by his enemies, the ‘Young Pretender’) was the grandson of James II and heir of the Stuart line. In this one man, Jacobite hopes were united for the triumph of the return of a Stuart king to the throne of Britain.
Symbols on the Battlefield
Whilst the underground war of Jacobite allegiance was sustained through private, encoded links between a network of faithful followers, armed conflict and the uprisings of 1715 and 1745 turned covertly-held loyalties into open war cries, and secret symbols into the standards of battle.
Decoding the Jacobites: A Private Language
Jacobite allegiances could not be stated openly, language, both in spoken and written form, had to be used carefully, with messages concealed and encoded. Layers of meaning were embedded in words, just as they were incorporated into symbols and images.