‘Duels were now only fought by snobs’.
Most of us would think that duelling was a barbaric and outdated way of settling an argument. Duels were originally fought not to kill the opponent (although many were killed) but to restore one’s honour by demonstrating a willingness to risk your life for it. This practice mostly fell out of favour in England by the middle of the nineteenth century This changing view of duelling can be seen in two events that I came across while researching family stories. … Continue reading