From the very beginning, knightly tournaments in medieval Europe were not in the nature of a judicial duel, but a "sports competition". The nobles who participated in them, as a rule, did not set themselves the task of punishing the offender, although the victory over a personal enemy or an enemy of the family was certainly welcomed and was highly desired. To "sort things out" since the Middle Ages, other duels were invented, the most common name for which is duel (from the Latin duellos - literally "a fight of two"). And in these fierce battles, especially at first, there was little honor and elementary decency.
Apologists for duels tried to declare them a kind of judicial duels common in Europe in the 11th-12th centuries, which, of course, is absolutely inappropriate: the difference between a public duel by a court decision and a secret, criminally punishable murder in a duel is enormous. But in the 16th century, in an attempt to ennoble the custom of dueling, some went even further, trying to trace its origin to the great duels of antiquity - David and Goliath, Achilles and Hector, Horatii and Curiatius. Since such attempts have had some success, let's talk a little about the judicial fights at the beginning of the article.
Judicial duels were most common in the Scandinavian countries and Germany, here they were not uncommon, and the rules allowed for a "showdown" even between men and women. In the Scandinavian countries, a man during such a fight either stood up to his waist in a pit, or fought with his left hand tied. In Germany, fights between opponents of different genders were also allowed, but only spouses could participate in them - if the judges could not decide on a family dispute. The man who lost the fight was hanged, and the losing woman was burned alive.
Judicial duel. Drawing from the book of Hans Thalhoffer, 15th century
In Russia, judicial duels were called "field", according to the Pskov judicial charter of 1397, a woman could also go to a judicial duel, but only against a woman, if her rival in the dispute was a man, she had to find a defender for herself. Priests and monks could participate in judicial duels only if the case involved murder. Interestingly, the church objected to court fights only because it suspected the opposing sides of turning to sorcerers and sorcerers. In the 17th, judicial duels in the Russian lands were banned and replaced with an oath.
Sometimes at court fights one could see quite unusual pairs of rivals. So, according to some documents, in France in the XIV century, a one-of-a-kind duel between a man and a dog took place. People noticed that the dog of the missing knight Aubrey de Mondidier was chasing a certain Richard de Maker, constantly barking at him and even trying to attack. Maker indignantly denied all the charges against him, and then King Charles V appointed a judicial duel, which took place on October 8, 1371. The dog overpowered the enemy armed with a club and a shield, grabbing him by the throat. The frightened Maker confessed to the murder and was hanged, and later a monument was erected to the faithful dog.
Descriptions of judicial fights can be found in fiction, the most famous of them are described in the novels "Ivanhoe" (Walter Scott) and "Prince of Silver" (AK Tolstoy).
Illustration for the novel "Ivanhoe"
Judicial duel in the novel Prince of Silver, illustration
However, real judicial fights were still an exception to the rule, in all countries the judges appointed them only in the most extreme and confusing cases - relying on the will of God, who, perhaps, will not allow the right side to lose.
The duelists, on the other hand, did not bother themselves by going to court, but considered behaving decently and honestly as beneath their dignity. And the first names of such fights in Italy (which is the birthplace of the duel) speak for themselves - "a duel in the bushes" and "a fight of predators". At the same time, it never occurred to anyone to somehow standardize the weapons of the duelists: everyone came with what they have. From Italy at the end of the 15th century, the fashion for dueling came to France. It was here that the first attempts were made to give the fight in the alleyway at least some semblance of a noble duel. In particular, the participation of seconds became obligatory, who were surety that the duelist would be met by a rival in the indicated place, and not by an ambush (which until then was more the rule than the exception). Therefore, if the challenge was transmitted through a servant, the opponent had the right to refuse the fight. Seconds were often involved in the fray, especially if the cartel was handed over to another of the offended. In A. Dum's novel "The Three Musketeers", D'Artagnan, wishing to meet Milady, by his challenge to her brother-in-law provoked a duel of 4 pairs of duelists (yes, this is such an original way to get to know a girl). At first, during such duels, the victorious partner could come to the aid of his comrade. In Russia, one of the last echoes of this custom was the famous quadruple duel (November 24, 1817), in which A. Zavadovsky and V. Sheremetyev (duelists) and A. Griboyedov and A. Yakubovich took part (the seconds - their duel was postponed almost for a year).
To achieve a duel, in addition to direct insult, it was possible to use a certain demeanor: put your hand on the hilt during a conversation, get close, turn your hat forward or backward, wind a cloak around your left hand. The reason for the call was also considered a gesture imitating the removal of the sword from its scabbard and a sharp movement towards the interlocutor. And finally, the most common and standard reason is the accusation of lying. The reason for the fight could be a dispute over a place in a church, at a ball or at a royal reception, and even different views on the pattern on the drapery of curtains (a real case in France). Since the summoned had the right to choose weapons, the nobles of the 15th-17th centuries performed whole performances, trying to transfer the responsibility of the call to each other. If this could not be done, the seconds came into play, who, referring to the precedents and subtleties of the rules, insisted on a weapon beneficial to the surety.
Participants in such fights were the last to think about noble behavior during a duel. It was not considered good form to spare the enemy; it was allowed to kill the fallen and disarmed. After the duel, the winner had to pick up the weapon of the defeated one (or break his sword) - first of all, so as not to get stabbed in the back from him. So, in 1559, Auchan Muran, nephew of Marshal Saint André, having quarreled on a hunt in Fontainebleau with Captain Matass, forced him to a duel. An experienced warrior, the captain did not kill the boy. Disarming him, he advised him not to provoke serious people until he learned how to use a sword. When he turned away to mount his horse, Muran impaled him from behind. The case was hushed up and in secular conversations they did not so much condemn Muran's treacherous blow as they resented the captain's indiscretion.
Around the same time (in 1552), a duel took place in Naples, in which two noble ladies took part: Isabella de Carasi and Diambra de Petinella. The reason for the duel was the young nobleman Fabio de Zeresola. This duel was remembered in Naples even in the 16th century, in 1636, Jose Rivera painted the painting "Women's Duel", which is now kept in the Prado Museum.
Jose Rivera, "Women's Duel", 1636
And in the 18th century, already in Paris, the Marquis de Nesle and the Countess de Polignac fought a duel for the place of the favorite of the Duke Louis de Richelieu.
A characteristic feature of the duel, which distinguishes it, in particular, from knightly tournaments, was the rejection of defensive weapons and equestrian combat. It was this circumstance that contributed to its widespread distribution: after all, a horse and armor were available to few, and a short dagger (burl) and a sword were available to anyone, even the poorest nobleman.
Cavalry sword, France, 17th century
Capa, 17th century
But fencing lessons were in great demand.
Fencing as a science and art, based on the knowledge of specially developed techniques, appeared in Italy at the end of the 15th century. However, since the seventies of the 16th century, a change in the style of fencing took place: instead of the old technique of the Marozzo school, the new schools of Agrippa, Grassi and Viggiani gained popularity in which preference was given not to short and chopping blows, but to thrusts. It was at this time, during the reign of Charles IX, that the rapier came into use in France - a long and light blade designed exclusively for thrusting blows.
François Clouet, portrait of King Charles IX of France, during whose reign the rapier became the weapon of the French nobles
The reason for its appearance is simple - the nobles were afraid to be crippled or disfigured during a duel with the use of a chopping weapon. A small trace of a rapier wound was considered prestigious.
Spanish rapier, 17th century
It was the new schools of fencing that recommended during the duel to take a higher position in relation to the opponent: jump on the table or climb up the stairs, which, in fact, is very dangerous, since in this position the legs are very vulnerable to the opponent's strikes. But blows to the legs at that time were considered dangerous, primarily for those who inflicted them. The Viking, who struck the enemy in the legs with an ax, could be sure that he would collapse as if knocked down, the Roman legionary hoped to repel a retaliatory blow with a shield. The duelists had neither shields nor truly formidable weapons in their hands. And therefore, a duelist wounded in the leg with a rapier or sword could respond with an even more dangerous blow - in the chest, in the stomach or in the face. The new fencing technique and new weapons were completely unusable in real combat, which led to an increase in the mortality of the nobles on the battlefield.
Starting in the 17th century, duelists began to use pistols.
Dueling pistols in the museum-apartment of A. S. Pushkin - Moika, 12
You probably remember the famous song from the Soviet film "D'Artyanian and the Three Musketeers":
“But my God, how difficult it will be, Oh my god, how difficult it will be
Call the impudent man to account”(Aramis's aria).
In fact, it was the impudent and scoundrels (breeders) who literally terrorized young and inexperienced nobles. At first, their goal was the property of the victims: it was not considered shameful to rob defeated rivals. An echo of this custom is heard in Dumas's novel The Three Musketeers: Athos is offered to take the purse of the Englishman he killed in a duel, but he “nobly” gives it to the servants of his opponents. Breters, as a rule, avoided duels with really dangerous opponents, but earned a reputation for themselves by killing recently released youths or already elderly and not quite healthy men. A typical brute was Louis de Clermont, lord d'Amboise, Count of Bussy (whom Dumas traditionally confused colors made a positive romantic hero).
Louis de Clermont, Senor d'Amboise, Count of Bussy, portrait from château de Beauregard
Contemporaries said that with Bussy "the reason for the duel could hardly fit on a fly's paw." During St. Bartholomew's Night, he did not hesitate to kill seven of his relatives - to get their inheritance. After the death of Bussy, in all of Paris there was not a single person who would say at least one good word about him. The most famous Russian brute, F. I. Tolstoy (American), killed 11 people in duels, and believed that the death of 11 of his 12 children was God's punishment for their crimes.
F. I. Tolstoy-American
Gradually from the secluded corners of the duel moved to the streets and squares of cities. The consequences of this fashion were dire. During the 20 years of the reign of Henry IV in France, for example, from 8 to 12 thousand nobles were killed in duels. At the same time, about 7,000 royal pardons were issued to the participants in the duels, which brought the treasury almost 3 million livres of gold (here's the reason for the royal indulgence). However, even gold cannot compensate for the vain and inglorious deaths of thousands of young healthy men. Therefore, the monarchs of many countries began to prosecute the duelists and even their seconds. The first war against the duelists was declared by the commander-in-chief of the French army in Piedmont, Giovanni Caracciolo, who, desperate to restore order in his army, in the end allocated for duels a high narrow bridge over a deep river with a fast current. Any, even minor injury and loss of balance led to the death of one of the duelists. At the same time, the body was carried away by the river and remained without a Christian burial, which was quite significant for the people of that time. Particularly strict measures against violators of this prohibition were applied during the reign of the famous Cardinal Richelieu. The Church joined the persecution of the duelists, which accused them of four deadly sins: murder and suicide, pride and anger. But, with rare exceptions, the prohibitions turned out to be ineffective, and at the end of the 18th and 19th centuries, the duel became popular not only among the nobles, but also among representatives of other classes. In Germany, for example, students and university professors enjoyed the fame of avid duelists, who, following progressive trends, thoroughly disinfected their swords before the fight. Bochum University student Heinrich Johann Friedrich Ostermann - the future clerk of Peter I's field office, Russian senator, educator of Peter II and cabinet minister of the times of Anna Ioannovna, fled to Russia after he killed his opponent in a duel.
Heinrich Johann Friedrich Ostermann
The Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe lost the upper part of his nose in 1566 during a duel and was forced to wear a silver prosthesis for the rest of his life.
Tycho Brahe
The famous Otto von Bismarck, while studying at Gottington, participated in 28 duel fights and lost only one, earning a scar on his cheek.
Otto von Bismarck
But the "iron chancellor" preferred to refuse a duel with the famous scientist (and also a politician) Rudolf Virhof in 1865. The thing is that Virhof offered sausages as a weapon, one of which would be poisoned.
"Heroes do not overeat to death," Bismarck said proudly, but, just in case, he never challenged Virhof or other scientists to a duel.
Rudolf Virhof, with whom Bismarck himself was afraid of a duel
The sausage, one of the pieces of which should have been impregnated with strychnine, was also offered as a weapon by Louis Pasteur to his opponent Cassagnac.
Louis Pasteur
But the palm, perhaps, should be given to Giuseppe Balsamo (aka Count Cagliostro). During the "Russian tour" of 1779-1780. the self-styled count, without any hesitation, called one of the court doctors a charlatan. Having received the challenge, he chose pills as a weapon, one of which was impregnated with poison. The enemy did not dare to tempt fate.
Count Cagliostro, bust by Houdon, 1786
You may remember that d'Artagnan fought three times in a duel with the Comte de Rochefort. If Dumas wrote about 30 fights, probably no one would have believed him. Meanwhile, François Fournier-Sarlovez and Pierre Dupont fought just so many times in a duel, and they fought quite seriously, taking turns inflicting serious injuries on each other. The first duel took place in 1794, the last - in 1813. Both survived.
New times - "new songs": in 1808, a duel in the air took place in France. Some gentlemen de Grandpré and Le Pic, in love with the dancer of the Parisian opera Mademoiselle Tirevy, rose in balloons to a height of about 900 m and shot at each other. Le Pic's balloon caught fire and collapsed. Mademoiselle Tirevy was not impressed by this "feat"; she married another man.
E. Hemingway also showed originality in his time: being challenged to a duel, he chose hand grenades as a weapon, which should have been thrown from a distance of 20 steps. The enemy refused to commit suicide, even in the company of a famous writer.
The famous socialist Lassalle, an opponent of Marx who accused him of opportunism, died of a wound received in a duel.
Ferdinand Lasalle
Hitler's "favorite saboteur" Otto Skorzeny, when he was a student in Vienna, participated in 15 duels, in one of which he received his famous scar on his cheek.
Otto Skorzeny
In 1905, the French physician Viller proposed the use of wax bullets, long coats of thick fabric and steel masks in duels - and, apparently, became the inventor of something very similar to paintball.
In our country, the peak of duel fashion came in the 19th century. The famous "cavalry girl" N. Durov, for example, became famous for the fact that she became the only Russian woman who took part in a duel, though as a second. The result of this fashion was the premature death of two great Russian poets. Moreover, if Pushkin was literally led and diligently pushed to the duel that became fatal for him, then Lermontov's fight looks like sheer absurdity. In fact, Lermontov and Martynov were old acquaintances, moreover, they simultaneously studied at the school of guards ensigns and Lermonts, according to the unanimous testimony of eyewitnesses, was very happy to meet him. And then - the most insignificant reason for a challenge to a duel (accidentally heard the word "savage", which Martynov attributed to his own account), and a cold-blooded shot at point-blank range. But Martynov was informed that Lermontov did not intend to shoot at him. And in the future Martynov not only did not show even the slightest signs of remorse, but, on the contrary, over the years, showed increasing hatred for the murdered poet. There is an interesting version, according to which the true cause of this tragedy was the "zug" system that existed in the officer schools and colleges of tsarist Russia. Zug is the submission and constant humiliation of the bulk of the cadets by a group of "authoritative" students. On the very first day, one of the "overseers" approached each newcomer and politely asked how he wanted to learn and serve - according to the charter or according to the train? Those choosing the charter were not touched, but they became all despised outcasts, and therefore practically everyone "voluntarily" chose a train in the illusory hope of someday entering the narrow circle of the school elite. Ghostly - because, unlike the "bullying" in the Soviet army, training experience did not give any special rights and advantages: the so-called "dashing cadets" became "authorities". Lermontov, who in all respects (both physical and mental) surpassed his classmates by a head, quickly earned such a reputation. In fact: a wonderful shooter and rider, tied the ramrods with his hands, drew successful cartoons, and even the loud, out-of-school fame of the new Barkov, because of which the husbands later forbade their wives to say that they were reading Lermontov, fearing that others they will not think about those verses … But Martynov was a hopeless "rogue". And at a new meeting in Pyatigorsk, Lermontov, with joy, saw his former "slave", and Martynov, with horror - his former "master". And that is why Lermontov did not take Martynov seriously, not particularly caring about his feelings, while Martynov - each attack in his direction multiplied tenfold, and the reaction to this attack on the part of others - every 15. And in a duel he shot not only at Lermontov, but also in all the "dashing cadets" of his school. Which, of course, does not in the least relieve him of responsibility for the murder of the great poet.
In 1894, our country became famous for a strange decree on the military department, in which duels between officers were legalized. The leader of the Octobrists A. I. Guchkov, in addition to his parliamentary activities, was known for taking part in duels 6 times. In 1908, he even challenged the leader of the cadets, Milyukov, to a duel. To the great chagrin of the journalists anticipating a sensation, the fight did not take place. A curious duel between poets M. Voloshin and N. Gumilyov made a lot of noise. Even the reason for the challenge looks anecdotal: Gumilyov's love for the non-existent poetess Cherubina de Gabriak, under whose mask, as it turned out, a certain Elizaveta Dmitrieva was hiding, who had previously met Gumilyov, but left him for Voloshin. The preparations for the duel were epic: the duel was scheduled on the Black River, and they decided to use 19th century pistols as weapons. But, as it is said in all the Gospels, “they don’t pour the young wine into old wineskins,” and, fortunately for Russian literature, instead of a lofty tragedy, it turned out to be a bad vaudeville. Gumilyov's car got stuck in the snow, but he still did not manage to be late for the duel, because Voloshin appeared even later: on the way to the place of the duel, he lost his galosh in the snow and said that until he found it, he would not go anywhere. After this incident, the nickname Vaks Kaloshin stuck to Voloshin in St. Petersburg. The duelists' hands were shaking, and for a long time they could not figure out the system of ancient pistols. The first to deal with excitement and a pistol was Gumilyov, who fired it is not clear where, delighted Voloshin fired into the air. All Petersburg made fun of the duelists, but this time Russia did not lose any of its poets.
M. Voloshin
N. Gumilev
Alexandre Dumas, who wrote so many times in his novels about the delights of duel fights, turned out even funnier. Having quarreled with one of his acquaintances, he agreed to draw lots, the loser had to shoot himself. The unlucky lot went to him, Dumas went into the next room, shot at the ceiling and returned with the words: "I shot, but missed."
A. Dumas
In the 21st century, there are also curious fights that, with a stretch, can be mistaken for duels. So, in 2006, a German director, known for not very successful film adaptations of computer games, summoned six of the most critical journalists to him - and easily defeated them, since in his youth he was seriously involved in boxing. Gerard Depardieu was less fortunate with his opponent. In 2012, outraged by the new luxury tax (75%), he challenged French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Hérault to a duel on swords, nobly giving him a month to take fencing lessons. The politician avoided a duel, and Depardieu solved the tax problem by becoming a citizen of Russia and Belgium.
