Discover the secrets of the duel and its codes

To wash away the insult, go to the meadow. An exhibition at the Army Museum reveals the secrets of this highly codified face-to-face encounter. On guard!

What is a duel?

Every era has its duel! The art of weaponry has been refined and codified over time. The heroic duel dates from antiquity. Sometimes it is difficult to distinguish between myth and reality in this battle of a warrior who represents an entire nation and fights for it, to avoid huge human losses. It is AchillesGreek, against Hector, the Trojan or David vs. Goliath.

A judicial or ordeal duel in the Middle Ages occurs when human justice fails to resolve a dispute between two people. The winner is freed by divine will. In 1386, Marguerite, wife of Jean de Carrouges, accused Jacques Le Gris of raping her. The accused denies. Two knights meet in a field in Paris. Carrouges takes advantage and invites his opponent to concede. Jacques maintains that he is innocent. Jean plunges a dagger into his throat. God has passed his judgment!

The duel of honor flourished from the 17th to the 19th century. An insult – sometimes in vain –, the gauntlet thrown down, witnesses called and we found ourselves “in the meadow”; It is D’Artagnan or Barry Lyndon’s gun duel. Today’s duel (the last one was in 1967 and the substitutes Defferre and Ribière faced each other) is just a sporting clash.

Is dueling a unique European practice?

If we exclude Japanese samurai, fighting in a duel of honor is a very European practice. There were still reports of duels in Cuba decades ago; The 19th and 20th centuries saw a boom all over the world, but every time European culture was exported there. So in Latin America it is practiced by white people, but not by Indians. And the Russians, also fans of fighting with weapons in hand, felt very “Western” at that moment! And what about face to face western ? “We have no evidence that the Far West duel actually existed; it would be a form of theatrical cinematic confrontation, replies Julia Bovet, curator of the exhibition Two colors. The art of fighting in the Army Museum. But that’s one of the images we have when we talk about a duel. The exhibition seeks to explore all the imagination that this term carries; western is one of them. »

Do we have to follow a very precise code during a duel?

According to renaissance, then in the 17th century, a time when duels proliferated, the rules were not entirely fixed: you could decide to fight in a few words, on a street corner. The codes of combat are not the same from one country or even from one region to another – all in all it’s pretty handy to declare yourself victorious and get off any offense by brandishing a new settlement point… or a decree in patois! The great weapons masters are Italian, French or Spanish and teach a different style of swordsmanship. In 1547, Guy Chabot, Baron de Jarnac, challenged François de Vivonne, lord of La Châtaigneraie, to a duel. After several battles, Jarnac uses a boot his Italian teacher taught him: an unexpected hamstring attack. It’s “Jarnač’s coup d’état”! Whether with a sword or a gun, it was only in the 19th century that the duel really became codified: the age of the fighters, the weight and length of the weapon, the dimensions of the field, etc. were checked. his wit.

Can you fight with any weapon during a duel?

No: a street fight between two people with a dagger is nothing more than a fight. For there to be a duel, the fight must be fought with either a sword or a firearm. Since the 19th century, dueling manuals state that there are three “legal” weapons: the sword (which cuts and pierces, that is, can touch the opponent with the blade or tip), the saber, which is heavier. for handling and pistol. According to Belle Époquetwo women, Gluttonstar red mill, and Aïcha, a new dancer, led a duel with Surina. It was, more or less consciously, about showing that this activity was not reserved for “high” people… Face to face, witnesses, everything was there, but the weapons used made it, in the eyes of purists, a fake duel . Half the world, half the duel! Because this practice has long been reserved for the aristocracy: you must know how to carry a sword, use it or own a firearm. “The duel got longer, especially after revolutionto other layers of society, which despite everything remain elites: it is the political, artistic, journalistic world”, explains Julia Bovet.

Is dueling forbidden?

Yes, and it was decided more or less late, depending on the country. “In France, we tried to codify or ban it, but not much has changed,” assures Julia Bovet. So, in the 17th century, it was tolerated as long as it was hidden. It enters the paralegal world where it is practiced in a slightly more covert manner.” This discretion explains why we often have few details about many conflicts – not to mention a few mixed fights where women, cautious, preferred to pose as men. This is the case of Julie de Maupin. “The actress and swashbuckler of the Grand Siècle, would have a certain number of duels on her account,” specifies the commissioner. The government proved intransigent with the duelists at certain times when there was too much death – in 1627 two young noblemen were beheaded in a conflict – and then released. In fact, the law satisfied the duel as the duel satisfied the law! In 1958, the dancer Serge Lifar accused the Marquis de Cuevas of plagiarizing one of his plays. In the theater Champs-Elysées, in front of everyone in Paris, throws her lace clutch in her face. The ever-fiery Marquis of 73 responds with a splash. A few days later, in order to cope, the two friends had to move, find a quiet place to play with the police, and again… many journalists were present to witness it.

When dueling becomes a fashion

In the 19th century, if you were 50 years old and didn’t participate in a duel, you missed out on life! For Julia Bovet, “we fight for deep reasons, which extend through society: a sense of honor, a heroic imagination (when we are challenged to a duel, it is difficult to refuse a fight, the question of cowardice very quickly arises) and social compulsion, which means that we fight in a duel because we cannot give up.” This social pressure affects writers and artists, for whom it represents the ideal of life: Pushkin, Proust… As for the politicians of the Third Republic, literate, born in this culture, they multiply conflicts, accompanied, if possible, by jokes (even today the National Assembly has your room and your master). A way like any other to improve their image, for History as well as for their voters. Hence to say that today’s communication consultants have replaced the duels of the past…

Exhibition “Duels. The art of fighting”

“Duels”, at the Army Museum, in Paris, from April 24 to August 18, 2024.

This exhibition returns to the historical sources of dueling to explore its main principles and development, including the phantasms of our collective imagination.