dragonnade Meaning, Definition & Usage

Drag`on*nade" noun

Etymology

F., fr. dragon dragoon, because Louis XIV., in persecuting the Protestants of his kingdom, quartered dragoons upon them.

Definitions

1. The severe persecution of French Protestants under Louis XIV., by an armed force, usually of dragoons; hence, a rapid and devastating incursion; dragoonade.

   He learnt it as he watched the dragonnades, the tortures, the massacres of the Netherlands. C. Kingsley.