How Does A Duel Work?

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Has someone impeached your honor? Achieve satisfaction through dueling by following these easy steps!

Hi. I’m Jonathan Strickland. This is BrainStuff. Today’s question: How do duels work?

The English word “duel” seems to come from cramming together the Latin words “duo-“, meaning “two”, and “bellum”, meaning war. “Duellum,” or eventually, just “duel.”

So a duel is combat between two people.

The duel of honor was a specific cultural practice taking place mostly in Europe and the Americas, starting around the Renaissance and fizzling out in the early 20th century.

There’s no one list of universal rules, but there were some especially popular guides -- for example, the Irish Code Duello of 1777. Let’s see how a duel according to the Code Duello might go down.

First off – who would duel? There were some notable exceptions, but most duels of honor took place between men of the aristocracy.

And what could cause a duel? Any insult to someone’s honor. Honor is a difficult concept to define succinctly, but it meant something like “a man’s reputation for respectability and aristocratic virtues.”

But whether someone had an affair with your wife or simply made harsh jest of your new powdered wig, honor was on the line. And according to the 1824 “British Code of Duel,” honorable men were not only expected to accept duels when challenged; they were expected to demand them when offended.

So: The offended party issues a formal challenge. Depending on the offense, the duel might be averted by an apology. If so, the two parties have to apologize for their offenses in the order they were committed.

But according to the Code Duello, some offenses to honor couldn’t be fixed by apology alone. So a personal insult, maybe. But a punch to the nose was a point of no return: You pretty much had to duel to repair your honor.

Duels could involve any number of weapons, usually chosen by the person being challenged. In France in 1843 two men reportedly dueled to the death with billiard balls – and yes, one of them was killed by a billiard ball straight to the face. But the two most common dueling weapons were, first, swords, and later, pistols.

The two dueling parties usually appointed “seconds.” These were like lieutenants. The seconds had the job of trying to resolve the conflict before it came to violence, and they were also responsible for preparing the duelists’ weapons.

You’d think from this arrangement that the seconds would tend to keep cool heads, but according to Rule 25 of the Code Duello, “Where seconds disagree, and resolve to exchange shots themselves, it must be at the same time and at right angles with their principals.”

"Principals" meaning duelists - not their own personal philosophies. And honestly, it ends up with a whole lot of people shooting at each other.

Many duels didn’t end in death. In fact, in England, between 1760 and 1820, there were 172 known duels (though probably plenty more that were off the books), but only 69 known fatalities from duels.

Often, duels using swords could be called off once at least one swordsman had been bloodied. And those who used pistols often intentionally fired wide of the target – though the Code Duello strictly prohibits “dumb shooting or firing in the air,” referring to such practices as “children’s play.” But despite this command, many duelists simply didn’t aim to kill.

Crazy duel fact from the 21st century: In 2002, an Iraqi official suggested that Saddam Hussein and George W. Bush could avoid an all-out war if they settled their differences through a one-on-one duel on neutral territory. The White House declined the challenge.

SOURCES:

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It's simple:
No. 1 - The challenge, demand satisfaction, if they apologize no need for further action
No. 2 - If they don't, grab a friend, that's your second. Your lieutenant, when there's reckoning to be reckoned.
No. 3 - Have your seconds meet face to face. Negociate a peace... Or negotiate a time and place.
Most disputes die and no one shoots.

Sea_Maranatha_
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It's the.... TEN DUEL COMMANDMENTS

MyKittywarrior
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Burr: I challenge you to a duel
Hamilton: You're on

*at dueling location*

Burr: ok you're her- wait what the hell are those?
Hamilton: *holds yugioh cards* I thought you challenged me to a
Burr:Not that type of- nevermind *pulls out cards* you're still on

And they both lived happily ever after

whatthe
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Look 'em in the eye, aim no higher
Summon all the courage you require
Then count
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9!
10 paces,
Fire!

graytlo
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Step 1: Master the art of throwing thumb tacks.

Step 2: Insult people's honor.

Step 3: Accept challenge, "Thumb tacks at 20 paces!"

Step 4: Say corny line after each victory, "Tacks a lot for playing!" or "Wasn't that a tacky way to go?"

RogaineForEwoks
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Fire Nation Soldier: It's an honor to meet you sir!

Zuko: NO IT'S MY HONOR!

joshualuna-li
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This helped me understand Hamilton more thoroughly. Thanks!

eilidhmacleod
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It's time to Du..du..du...du..dududu.. DUEL!!!

BrickForSheep
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I'd challenge burr to a duel... oh wait

Aham-llzb
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LOOK IT UP. HAMILTON WAS WEARING HIS GLASSES.

WHY?

jade
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"it must be at the same time"

LOOK AT THE FUCKING INSTRUCTIONS GEORGE EACKER WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN 7

ineedthatprlistshishtarr
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I'm so disappointed he didn't start with "the challenge demands satisfaction if they apologize no need for further action"

LL
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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9- HE AIMS HIS PISTAL AR THE SKY

WAIT!

Reonnex
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there are ten things you need to know...

flissfloss
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The Bush-Hussein duel could have saved many lives and preserved the balance of power in the Middle East.

LoganSewell
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In Germany some student fraternities still have a duel code.
However, the way they are fought (with swords) is designed to be non lethal and called ''Mensur.'' In which it is a sign of honour and personal courage if you have a scar on your face contracted during such a fight.

waltertaljaard
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Just to be clear, we all came cuz of Hamilton, right?

sw
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One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine

It’s the Ten Duel Commandments

It’s the Ten Duel Commandments
Number one

The challenge, demand satisfaction
If they apologize, no need for further action

Number two

If they don’t, grab a friend, that’s your second

Your lieutenant when there’s reckoning to be reckoned

Number three
Have your seconds meet face to face

Negotiate a peace

Or negotiate a time and place

This is commonplace, ‘specially ‘tween recruits

Most disputes die, and no one shoots
Number four
If they don’t reach a peace, that’s alright
Time to get some pistols and a doctor on site

You pay him in advance, you treat him with civility

You have him turn around so he can have deniability

Five

Duel before the sun is in the sky

Pick a place to die where it’s high and dry
Number six

Leave a note for your next of kin
Tell ‘em where you been
Pray that hell or heaven lets you in

Seven

Confess your sins
Ready for the moment of adrenaline when you finally face your opponent

Number eight

Your last chance to negotiate
Send in your seconds, see if they can set the record straight

Number nine

Look ‘em in the eye, aim no higher
Summon all the courage you require
Then count

One two three four

Five six seven eight nine

Number

Ten paces

Fire!

Ottrpup
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Duel in 2018: two guys arguing in front of GameStop, minutes later, walk in, buy copies of Red Dead Redemption 2, add friends, duel online.

gameboycowboy
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Burr: Wehawkeen, dawn, GUNS drawn
Hamilton: YOUR ON

kryptos