duel, a combat between persons, armed with lethal weapons, which is held according to prearranged rules to settle a quarrel or a point of honour. It is an alternative to having recourse to the usual process of justice.
The judicial duel, or trial by battle, was the earliest form of dueling. Caesar and Tacitus report that the Germanic tribes settled their quarrels by single combat with swords, and with the Germanic invasions the practice became established in western Europe early in the Middle Ages. The judicial duel was adopted because solemn affirmation, or swearing of oaths, in legal disputes had led to widespread perjury and because the ordeal seemed to leave too much to chance or to manipulation by priests. If a man declared before a judge that his opponent was guilty of a certain crime and the opponent answered that his accuser lied, the judge ordered them to meet in a duel, for which he established the place, time, and arms; both combatants had to deposit sureties for their appearance. The throwing down of a gauntlet was the challenge, which the opponent accepted by picking it up. As it was believed that in such an appeal to the “judgment of God” the defender of the right could not be worsted, the loser, if still alive, was dealt with according to law.
This form of trial was open to all free men and, in certain cases, even to serfs. Only ecclesiastics, women, the sick, and men under 20 or over 60 years of age could claim exemption. In certain circumstances, however, persons under trial could appoint professional fighters, or “champions,” to represent them, but the principal as well as his defeated champion was subjected to the legal punishment.
In most countries duels also served to decide impersonal questions. In Spain, for example, a duel was fought in 1085 to decide whether the Latin or the Mozarabic rite should be used in the liturgy at Toledo: the Mozarabic champion, Ruiz de Mastanza, won. The procedure of these duels was laid down in great detail. They took place in champs clos (lists), generally in the presence of the court and high judicial and ecclesiastical dignitaries. Before combat each participant swore that his case was just and his testimony true and that he carried no weapons other than the stipulated ones and no magical aids. When one of the combatants was wounded or thrown, his opponent usually placed a knee on his chest and, unless asked for mercy, drove a dagger through a joint in the armour.
William I introduced the judicial duel to England in the 11th century; it was finally abolished in 1819. In France, fatal judicial duels became so frequent that, from the 12th century, attempts were made to reduce them. The last one to be authorized by a French king took place on July 10, 1547.
Duels of honour were private encounters about real or imagined slights or insults. The practice, considerably facilitated by the fashion of wearing a sword as part of everyday dress, seems to have spread from Italy from the end of the 15th century. Men fought on the slightest pretext and often, at first, without witnesses; as this secrecy came to be abused (e.g., by ambushes), it soon became usual for duelists to be accompanied by friends or seconds. Later, these seconds also fought, to prove themselves worthy of their friends.
Duels of honour became so prevalent in France that Charles IX issued an ordinance in 1566 whereby anyone taking part in a duel would be punished by death. This ordinance became the model for later edicts against dueling. However, the practice survived longer than did the monarchy in France. From the Revolutionary period onward, it was a feature of political disputes, and political duels were frequent in the 19th century. In the 20th century, duels still took place occasionally in France—though often only for form’s sake, with precautions such that neither sword nor pistol could prove fatal, or even for publicity, the last recorded duel occurring in 1967. In Germany duels of honour were authorized by the military code up to World War I and were legalized again (1936) under the Nazis. The Fascist regime in Italy also encouraged dueling. The Mensur (student duel) is still a feature of German university life as a form of sporting event. Most German universities have long-established Verbindungen (fighting corps) with strict rules, secret meetings, distinctive uniforms, and great prestige. In such duels, which involve a method of swordplay distinct from that of normal fencing, students can obtain scars on the head and cheek that are prized as marks of courage.
Duels between women, although rare, have been recorded.