Recently, I was rereading Sense and Sensibility when I came across a duel between Willoughby and Colonel Brandon. I was shocked! Jane Austen wrote about a duel?! Do other people know about this? (I looked online and, yes, everyone knew but me.)
The duel is so subtle, I see why younger me missed it. Here’s the passage. It’s a dialogue between Elinor and Colonel Brandon. Elinor starts the conversation:
“Have you,” she continued, after a short silence, “ever seen Mr. Willoughby since you left him at Barton?”
“Yes,” he replied gravely, “once I have. One meeting was unavoidable.”
Elinor, startled by his manner, looked at him anxiously, saying, “What? have you met him to–”
“I could meet him no other way. Eliza had confessed to me, though most reluctantly, the name of her lover; and when he returned to town, which was within a fortnight after myself, we met by appointment, he to defend, I to punish his conduct. We returned unwounded, and the meeting, therefore, never got abroad.”
Elinor sighed over the fancied necessity of this; but to a man and a soldier she presumed not to censure it.
(I like that last line. Two men try to murder each other in the streets, and Elinor says, “Well, boys will be boys!”)
It’s a strange duel. No one gets hurt. Both men just wanted to fire their guns, and then they felt better? Why, Colonel Brandon? Time to dive in! This post explores the ins and outs of Regency duels.
Why did people duel?
People dueled to defend their honor against a perceived insult. Being called a coward or a liar was particularly duel-worthy, as was defending the honor of a female family member.
How common were duels?
From 1785-1845, there were about 1,000 recorded duels in England, with fatality rates at 15% or higher.
Who dueled?
Mostly the upper classes, especially military officers, younger men, doctors, and lawyers.
Dueling by tradespeople was a bit of a joke among the upper classes, with The London Times printing stories that poked fun at it. (Ha! A tailor dueling!)
Who else came to duels?
Duelists brought their seconds, who were tasked with arranging the logistics, assisting with the weaponry, enforcing fairness, and trying to talk the hotheads out of dueling.
Surgeons also came to treat the wounds immediately.
Duels generally took place at dawn in hopes the duelist would reconsider by then, but some spontaneous duels occurred in which no seconds or surgeons were present.
Was dueling legal?
No, to kill in a duel was considered murder, and the church opposed it. The legal professions were sympathetic to feelings of honor, however, so they often looked the other way. Sovereigns sometimes pardoned duelists if the duel was considered fair and followed the rules.
Did duels really start with the famous glove smack?
Alas, no. The offended party threw down a glove to signal he was “demanding satisfaction” (which meant a duel). This is where we get the phrase “throwing down the gauntlet.” Smacking the person in the face with the glove happens after, as a response to the challenge. This means that all of my childhood duel reenactments were woefully inaccurate.
Why did people stop dueling with swords?
Fencing had a lot of rules associated with it, such as allowing recovery time after a lunge and pausing for frequent time outs. This made dueling with swords feel choreographed, less risky, and what’s the fun of a duel if there is no bloodshed and terror?
Those Regency gentlemen were problem solvers, though, and started dueling with pistols. This, ironically, resulted in fewer deaths. Upper class men often carried swords on them and were ready to duel at any time. Pistols, however, took a day or so to acquire, so gave the duelists time to cool off and reconsider.
Pistols also changed dueling by opening it up to the middle classes. Swordplay required years of training and practice (and therefore money and leisure), whereas it was easy to learn to use a pistol. Look at Regency England, spreading equality so the middle class can lose their tempers and off each other too!
Why didn’t anyone get injured in Willoughby and Colonel Brandon’s duel?
The offended person (Colonel Brandon) got to pick the rules of the duel. According to the rules, the duel could be fought:
-To first blood: This meant the duel would end as soon as someone was wounded, even if it was a small wound.
-Until someone was wounded so badly that he could not continue (but might still live)
-To the death!
Or, if the duelists were using pistols, they each fired one shot. If no one was hit and the offended person wanted to continue, they each fired another. This continued until 1.) Someone was wounded, 2.) Someone died, or, 3.) Three shots were fired. More than three shots was considered barbaric—and also ridiculous. Why are you both such bad shots? Honestly.
For most duels, only one shot was necessary to preserve the offended party’s honor. (Good call, Colonel Brandon.) Or, in the case of swords, first blood was enough to maintain honor for both parties.
Did people duel outside of England?
It turns out people have gotten angry and decided to kill each other just about everywhere. There are records of dueling throughout Europe, Asia, Australia, North America, and Latin America, starting from the 7th century B.C.E.
Did women ever duel?
Yes, but it was less common. Because dueling was considered a masculine affair, when a woman’s honor was offended, a man was supposed to step in for her. Female duels were scandalous.
There were several famous duels between women and between men and women, however. Women dueled with pistols, rapiers, lances, swords, maces, and more. Men often dueled over who “won” the woman, and women, likewise, dueled over who “won” the man.
At age 14, Catherine the Great (before she became Catherine the Great) dueled her cousin with a sword. Both girls survived, and the offense is forgotten to history. As ruler, Catherine was more tolerant of duels, changing the punishment from hanging to loss of social status. She also acted as a second in eight women’s duels. She only allowed the women to duel until first blood, however, as she believed in equal rights, not murder.
A famous, alleged female duel occurred between Princess Pauline Metternich and Countess Kielmannsegg. Both women fought topless. This was sometimes a thing, as sword injuries could push clothing into a wound and cause infection. The two duelists used female seconds, with Baroness Lubinska presiding, and the men turned their backs while the women dueled. Both women were injured, and when one of them cried out, the men rushed to assist. But Baroness Lubinska didn’t believe their motivations were selfless. She beat them with an umbrella and called them “lustful wenches.”
Why did people stop dueling?
Many reasons!
England got a better police force, so it became more difficult to kill each other in the streets. People had to slink off to duel privately, but since the point of a duel was to defend your reputation, why bother dueling if no one’s watching?
People’s conception of honor changed. Killing to defend one’s honor, once necessary, now felt outdated and brutal.
The definition of the insult that required “satisfaction” became too broad, to the point where people were demanding satisfaction over petty disagreements. An example of this was two officers whose dogs got into a fight. The men dueled over which dog was at fault, resulting in one man’s death and the other getting injured.
People became more disgusted with violence. England’s war with France (1793-1815) brought descriptions of bloodshed that changed England’s attitudes towards it. Violent crimes were more often punished by the courts, and duelists, including their seconds, were more likely to be tried for assault or murder.
Settling disputes using the court system became more common. People realized that instead of killing their enemies, they could sue the pants off them instead.
The rise in popularity of newspapers, especially among the rich, also contributed to the end of duels. Instead of a pistol, people exacted revenge with the written word.
When was the last duel?
The last recorded duel in England took place in 1845 between Henry Hawkey and James Alexander Seton. Seton allegedly flirted with Hawkey’s wife, and Hawkey challenged him to a duel. Seton, who tried unsuccessfully to avoid the duel, was wounded by the second shot and died from the subsequent surgery. Hawkey fled for France but was later acquitted by an English jury. He wore a black armband in remembrance of Seton until he died.
Thanks for reading! I found this site and this site helpful for general information on duels. This is an interesting site on female duels.
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