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 JVager of Battle. hatred of each other was so well known that the court of France was composed of two hostile camps, and the noblemen were par tisans of one or the other of the ladies. Among the courtiers who were the adherents of the Duchesse, Guy Chabot, Seigneur de Jarnac, was conspicuous. His family was one of the most illustrious in France, and he had married the sister of the Duchesse

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distinction in the household and court of Francis; and they were both renowned for skill in the use of weapons. But in this Chasteigneraye had several advantages over de Jarnac. He was ten years younger than his friend, he was taller, heavier, and had great skill in the rough and tumble fight which the law of duelling in France then permitted. In the frequent duels which he

"HOW THE PLAINTIFF AND THE DEFENDANT TAKE THE FINAL OATH BEFORE THE JUDGE." From "Cir(monies des Gages de Bataille" a manuscript of the Fifteenth Century. d'Estampes. He was handsome and ex travagant, particularly in his attire, and he also was addicted to love affairs, about which he was so indiscreet as to talk to his boon companions, and among them his friend de Vivonne, known by the name of one of his estates as La Chasteigneraye, as Chabot was by his estate of Jarnac. Both of these gentlemen had rendered gallant service in war, and both had filled places of

had fought, he constantly endeavored to bring them to the issue of what was called "body to body," in which his height and strength gave him great advantage. Mortal combats admitted of these struggles, in which offensive weapons became almost useless; for protected by the hauberk, which covered the breast, nothing was easier than for the stronger of the two to rush in upon his antagonist and close with