duel, prearranged armed fight with deadly weapons, usually swords or pistols, between two persons concerned with a point of honor. The duel may have originated in the wager of battle, an early mode of trial in which an accused person fought with his accuser under judicial supervision (see ordeal). In 887, Pope Stephen VI prohibited the judicial duel and all forms of ordeal. Wager of battle was abolished in France in the mid-16th cent., and the duel of honor in part took its place. This institution, which emerged in the Italian Renaissance, spread to France and then to Great Britain and other European countries. It evolved in the 16th cent. and was very closely linked with the code of chivalry). Codified in various countries in the late 18th and early 19th cents., the duel of honor became a rare practice after World War I.

To initiate a duel the offended party would present a challenge to fight, which had to be accepted or the person challenged would be dishonored. Negotiations were conducted by seconds, who also observed the combat to see that all agreements of the complex ceremony were observed. The object of a duel was not necessarily to kill, and in most cases after the firing of a prescribed number of shots or drawing blood the fight would be stopped. Although dueling was opposed by the rulers and churches of various countries, it long persisted among aristocrats, army officers, and others. German students were especially noted for their duels. Duels were quite common in the United States, some fought by prominent Americans. For example, Alexander Hamilton was killed in a duel with Aaron Burr, and Andrew Jackson took part in several duels. In the United States, dueling persisted longest in the Southern states and on the Western frontier. Dueling today has been made illegal by statute in most countries. Killing in the course of a duel is usually considered willful murder, and all persons aiding the principals are guilty with them.

Formal combat with weapons fought between two persons in the presence of witnesses. Intended to settle a quarrel or point of honour, it represented an alternative to the usual process of justice. The judicial duel, or trial by battle, is reported in ancient sources and was prevalent in medieval Europe. A judge could order two parties to meet in a duel to settle a matter. It was believed that through such an appeal to the “judgment of God” the righteous would emerge victorious; the loser, if still alive, was dealt with according to the law. Duels of honour were private encounters over real or imagined slights or insults. Eventually fought with pistols, duels were frequent in France and Germany in the 19th and early 20th centuries, and they were legal or encouraged by the fascist regimes in Italy and Germany. By the late 20th century they were prohibited; the last duel recorded in France occurred in 1967. The most famous duel in the U.S. was that between Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr (1804). Seealso ordeal.

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