MDDM Ch. 60 Antidraconical

"He would have much preferr'd a Dragon, Dragons
having, from time to time, in County Durham, chosen to
infest the roads and lay desolate the countryside,--
it falling, usually, to such known antidraconical
families as the Latimers, Wyvils, or Mowbrays, to
respond." (M&D, Ch. 60, p. 590)

Main Entry: dra·con·ic 
Pronunciation: dr&-'kä-nik
Function: adjective
Etymology: Latin dracon-, draco
Date: 1680
: of or relating to a dragon 

Main Entry: dra·con·ic 
Pronunciation: drA-'kä-nik, dr&-
Function: adjective
Date: 1708
: DRACONIAN 

Main Entry: dra·co·ni·an 
Pronunciation: drA-'kO-nE-&n, dr&-
Function: adjective
Usage: often capitalized
Etymology: Latin Dracon-, Draco, from Greek DrakOn
Draco (Athenian lawgiver)
Date: 1876
1 : of, relating to, or characteristic of Draco or the
severe code of laws held to have been framed by him
2 : CRUEL; also : SEVERE <draconian littering fines>

http://m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary
 
WYVILL, of CONSTABLE-BURTON, co. York.
25 Nov. 1612

[...]

Arms---Gules, three cheveronels, interlaced, vaire,
and a chief, or.

Crest---A dragon, argent

http://www.accessgenealogy.com/baronets/wyvill.htm

Men like Wyvill and Wilkes were philosophical radicals
who wanted constitutional reform for its own sake
whereas many working men wanted constitutional reform
as a first step towards social and economic betterment
for themselves and their families.

http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/town/terrace/adw03/c-eight/corrsoc.htm

In this lecture we move on to another of the four
major themes this course will be addressing in its
analysis of eighteenth and nineteenth century British
politics, that of radicalism and reform. I hope to
give a general introduction of the nature of
radicalism in the latter half of the eighteenth
century before moving onto a discussion of the
particular strains of reform personnified by John
Wilkes and the Reverend Christopher Wyvill.

[...]
 
Christie, in his book, Wilkes, Wyvill and Reform,
sees an overtly political motive for the increase in
radical activity after the accession of George III. He
argues that the reform movement in Britain derived its
momentum from 'the resentments of frustrated
minorities already in the enjoyment of constitutional
rights who were unable to rectify circumstances of an
entirely temporary character to which they were
opposed'....

http://www.warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/History/teaching/courses/gender/rad.html
 
Christie, I.R.  Wilkes, Wyvill And Reform:
  The Parliamentary Reform Movement in British
  Politics, 1760-1785.  London: Macmillan, 1962.

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