Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume VI.djvu/304

 DUEL ordeal of battle, was overcome, and being ad- judged guilty was hanged ; but subsequently another person confessed that he was the criminal. This made a profound impression, and caused the abolition of the judicial ordeal. It was not formally abolished in some other countries for many years ; but from this time it practically ceased. The due) is no longer an appeal to the judgment of God, but is an attempt to secure satisfaction for an injury, especially for an insult. This idea owes its prevalence largely to Francis I., who laid down the principle "that the lie was never to be put up with without satisfaction, but by a base-born fellow ;" and lies were divided into 32 classes, each having its own mode of satis- faction. Duelling at this time became a cus- tom in France, whence it spread all over Eu- rope, becoming especially popular in England and Ireland. In 1560 the states general prayed Charles IX. to punish duelling, and he issued an ordinance, which is the basis of the laws of Henry .IV. and Louis XIV. This law, however, was ineffective. When Henry III. died, one of his courtiers, L'Isle Marivaux, swore not to survive him, and threw a challenge into the air ; another lord picked it up, and sent him to join his master. Henry IV. fought not in person but by dep- uty, although he was constrained to legislate against duelling in 1602. But he practically nullified his law by granting thousands of par- dons. Duelling in France reached its height under Louis XIII. Two gentlemen held each the other's left hand, and with the right stabbed each other with daggers. Two others in a close room cut each other's throat. In this reign several edicts were issued against duelling, and, thanks to Richelieu, were not a dead letter, as was seen in the beheading of Fran- $ojs de Montmorency, count de Bouteville, in 1627. Louis XIV. opposed duelling, and lessened its frequency. Under the regency it revived, and Louis XV. could do little against it. Saint-Evremond and Saint-Foix, and especially the duke de Richelieu, were noted duellists. Under the next reign there were many duels, one of the most famous being that of the count d'Artois, afterward Charles X., with the duke de Bourbon-Conde. The first tendency of the revolution was to suppress duelling. It was looked upon as aristocratic, and the life of every man was said to belong to his country. When the reaction commenced duelling was revived, because of the ascendancy of the military class. Napo- leon was averse to duelling, but had to tolerate it, even while expressing his contempt for du- ellists. The most celebrated duels in France since the revolution were between Gen. Gour- gaud and Count Segur, Col. Pepe and Lamar- tine, Bugeaud and Dulong, Annand Carrel and Emile de Girardin (in which the former lost his life), Thicrs and Bixio, and Proudhon and Felix Pyat. Since 1837 duellists and their seconds are liable to the criminal law in France for any homicide resulting from the duel, but much discretionary power is feft to the prose- cuting magistrate. There have been female duels in France ; a celebrated one was fought under the regency between Madame de Nesle and the countess de Polignac, for the posses- sion of the duke de Richelieu. Duelling is still common in France, having raged in the lat- ter part of the second empire chiefly among journalists. In Spain the duel, though com- mon, has been less frequent than in France. Charles V. issued an edict in 1519 for its sup- pression, but his conduct in his dispute with Francis I. nullified his edict. On March 12, 1870, Prince Enrique de Bourbon, brother of the king consort and infante of Spain, was killed in a duel with the duke de Montpensier. Duels were favored by the northern races. In Denmark women were not allowed cham- pions as in other countries, but were compelled to do their own fighting, though certain advan- tages were permitted them. In Norway this species of combat was held in high honor, but in Sweden it was nominally forbidden under severe penalties. Gustavus Adolphus was espe- cially opposed to duelling, and once prepared a gallows for that party who should survive a particular combat ; yet he offered the " satis- faction of a gentleman " to an officer *vhom he had struck. In Germany duelling is much less in vogue than in France, excepting among stu- dents in the universities. In Austria the an- cient laws inflicting long imprisonment upon those who kill or maim their antagonists are still in force. Tribunals of honor for military men have existed in Prussia since 1843, for rec- onciling the contending parties when it can be done without prejudice to the military code of honor. If reconciliation is impossible, the duel takes place ; if no injury is done, the im- prisonment never exceeds six months ; and if it prove fatal, never more than four years. Among the students of the German universities duels are fought with swords, and the combatants wear a complete defensive armor, consisting of thickly padded gauntlet and breastplate, the head and face only being exposed. These duels are rarely fatal, but often result in disfiguring cuts on the head and face. Russia has known little of the duel ; but Russians have shown a readiness to fight in single combat quite equal to their steadiness in the battle field. The Poles have proved themselves stanch duellists, and the judicial combat was frequent in independent Poland. The Netherlands have closely imitated France, both in duelling and in attempts to suppress it. It has been asserted that single combats were introduced into England by the Normans. They are said to have instituted the wager of battle, from which duelling pro- ceeded, and which it is believed was unknown to the Saxons. Yet Lappenberg asserts that " William the Conqueror speaks of the judicial combat as a known English custom." It was not formally abolished until the last year of the reign of George III. ; and as late as 1774 it