MDMD: The Crime of Anonymity

[Michel Ryckx]

Judy:
"Comments?"

Agreeing with rj that the passage is ful of irony, let's take a closer look at the crimes as exposed
by the Reverend.  The conception of property was not as clear and well-defined as it was a century
later.

1. Enclosures: the process by which the common grounds (pastures, woods for fuel, even wells etc.)
were being appropriated by the English nobility, unlawfully at a certain time, and unrightfully,
caused heavy unrest among the common people, depriving them for resources they had been their own
for, literally, centuries.  The process in itself took a few centuries before fully accomplished, at
the beginning of the Victorian age.
2. The state was quite helpful to the nobility (the state being the nobility) and used the courts,
the army and rude violence.  Hence the 'evictions, Assize verdicts, Activities of the military'
(9.31).

The insanity of the Reverend is, as I see it, having a well-developed eye for right and wrong.

For more on this (in French, but I know it has been translated in English):
- Fernand Braudel, Histoire, Civilisation et Capitalisme, giving, among many other things, a general
overview of this process from the 15th century till the French Revolution
- For those who want to know more about the way the people lived at the time, I can surely recommend
(also in French, but I hope it has been translated) Emmanuelle Leroy-Ladurie, 'L'histoire du climat
depuis l'an Mille', a really fascinating account.

Kind regards,

Michel.