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The Dragon of Wantley is a 17th century satirical verse parody about a dragon and a brave knight. It was included in Thomas Percy's Reliques of Ancient Poetry.
The poem is a parody of medieval romances and satirizes a local churchman. In the poem, a dragon appears in Yorkshire and eats children and cattle. The knight More of More Hall battles the dragon and kills it. The Wantley of the poem is Warncliffe in Yorkshire. Sir Francis Wortley, the diocese ecclesiastic, and the parishoners of Warncliffe had a disagreement on tithing and how much the parish owed (under the law of "First Fruits"), so the poem makes him a dragon. More of More Hall was a lawyer who brought a suit against Wortley and succeeded, giving the parishoners relief. Thus, this parody romance satirizes Wortley. The author of the poem is unknown.
Henry Carey wrote a burlesque opera called The Dragon of Wantley in 1734.
Further reading
The Dragon of Wantley - original text on Wikisource.
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