Duel
- For an account of the Steven Spielberg film, see Duel (movie).
A duel or duel of honour is a form of armed combat in which two individuals participate. Duels represent a contrived combat situation designed to maximize fairness of combat. They usually develop out of a desire for one party (the challenger) to redress an insult to his honour. Typically, duels have been fought between members of the same social class; they are regarded as especially noteworthy when those partaking are of the upper class but occur at all social strata. In the modern United States, duels occur rarely but duel-like gunfights occur mostly among the urban lower class.
Despite the romanticism of dueling in some literature, dueling is an extremely dangerous practice, often resulting in the death of one or both participants.
Rules
Duels could be fought with some sort of sword or (more modernly) with pistols. Special sets of duel pistols were crafted.
After the offence, the offended person would defy the offender. A signal of the defy would be hitting him in the face with a glove or throwing the glove before him. Both parties would name some trusted representative (a second) that would set a place (called "the field of honour") and time, usually seeking loneliness to avoid interferences. The seconds would also check that the weapons were equal and the duel was fair.
At the choice of the offended party, the duel could be
- at first blood. The first man to bleed would lose.
- to death. There is no satisfaction until the other party is mortally wounded.
The offended party could stop the duel at any time if he deems his honour satisfied.
For a pistol duel, the parties would be placed back to back with loaded weapons in hand and walk a set number of places, turn to face the opponent, and shoot. Typically, the graver the insult, the fewer the paces agreed upon.
Sometimes a singular combat between champions could susbtitute a battle. This practice would be interesting for military leaders interested not in the destruction of the enemy but in gaining them to their own cause, since the combat would spare a number of casualties in both armies.
History
Physical confrontations related to insults and social standing predate human society, but the formal concept of a duel, in Western society, developed out of medieval trial by combat. Most societies did not condemn dueling, and the victor of a duel was regarded not as a murderer but as a hero; his social status often increased. During the early Renaissance, dueling established the status of a respectable and accepted manner for gentlemen to resolve disputes.
Despite its respected status and frequent romanticization, the reality of dueling is that it upsets society by creating divisions. The Catholic Church and many political leaders like King James VI of Britain, usually denounced the practice throughout Europe's history, though some authorities tacitly allowed it, believing it to relieve long-standing familial and social tensions.
The first code duello, or "code of dueling", appeared in Renaissance Italy with the publication of the "Flos duellatorum" in 1410, it was followed by a series of increasingly complicated Italian manuals. The first formalized national code was France's , during the Renaissance. In 1777, Ireland developed a code duello, which was indeed the most influential in American dueling culture.
Prominent duels
To decline a challenge was often equated to defeat by forfeiture, and was sometimes even regarded as dishonorable. Prominent and famous individuals ran an especial risk of being challeneged for duels.
Among the most famous duels are the American Hamilton–Burr duel, in which notable Federalist Alexander Hamilton was fatally wounded, and the duel between Duke of Wellington and the 10th Earl of Winchilsea, wherein both participants intentionally missed the other.
(See also: List of famous duels)
Opposition to dueling
Dueling began to fall out of favor in the 18th century. Benjamin Franklin denounced the practice as uselessly violent, and George Washington encouraged his officers to refuse challenges during the American Revolutionary War; the death by dueling of officers would have threatened the success of the war effort.
Furthermore, dueling was often used as a facade for legalized murder. In 1806, Andrew Jackson—later to become a U.S. President—shot an opponent after the duel had technically ended. By the end of the 19th century, legalized dueling was almost extinct in most of the world. Some American states have laws which establish procedures for legal dueling, but it is unlikely that they would be upheld in court.
The Constitution of the State of California has a provision providing for a prison sentence and loss of right to vote for engaging in or being a second in a duel, a provision held over from the 19th Century.
Game-theoretic aspects of dueling
Dueling is a scenario sometimes used in discussions of games and game theory.
One example is a dueling-type scenario with 3 participants, each with different levels of skill as a marksman. Shooter A has a 95% rate of accuracy, shooter B has 75%, and C has 5%. The shooters take positions on an equilateral triangle; each chooses a target and (if alive) fires one shot. The question is: Which participant is in the best position, assuming each shooter is rational and acts accordingly.
If the shots are fired simultaneously, it is best to be shooter A. Simultaneous shots mean that there is no survival-related advantage in targeting the more accurate shooter, since his shot will have already been fired by the time he is eliminated. Therefore, it is best to be A, since he has the least competent opposition.
If the shots are not to be fired simultaneously (as occurs in real life) it is best to be shooter C. Shooters A and B, operating rationally, will target the more competent opponent hoping to prevent said opponent's shot from ever being issued. This means that shooter C is in little danger of being killed himself.
Replacements for dueling
Dueling has been replaced, in modern times, with other sports and games that are generally much safer than dueling itself. On occasion, these sports occur with the honor and feud rhetoric associated with duels (see: grudge match) but normally they are pursued as recreation and carry little of the cultural weight associated with duels. Often, indeed, the participants of the mock duel will be acquaintances or friends outside of the "duel".
- Boxing, a sport wherein participants engage in a controlled fistfight, is believed to be a replacement for dueling developed by the English. As late as the 1960s, some U.S. municipalities encouraged adolescents, instead of fighting in private, to pursue their confrontations in a boxing ring.
- Fencing is a sport which simulates a swordfight, but with dull swords unlikely to cause bodily harm.
- Magic: the Gathering is a card game that simulates a duel between two rival wizards.
- Martial arts are recreational sports derived, frequently, from more deadly combat practices.
- Some video games allow dueling-type scenarios. One popular genre is the fighting game, in which two player-controlled characters engage in hand-to-hand combat against each other.
- Several board games pits one player versus another, especially some of the most famous (and early) boardgames (usually trying to replicate strategy) such as Chess, Risk, Checkers, and Stratego, which goals are to elliminate the enemy (whether be 'King' or 'Side').
See also
References
- The Duel: A history of duelling by Robert Baldrick
- Duelling in America by Ben Truman (1992).... the original was The Field of Honor (1884)