DUELLING IN FRANCE.
France may be considered the classic ground of duelling, the field of
single combat _par excellence_; whence, from the duchy of Normandy, as
we have already seen, it was introduced into the British isles.
If we are indebted to our neighbours for this practice, it is also
to them that we owe the various codes and regulations drawn out to
equalize, as far as possible, the chances of victory, and to prevent
any unfair advantages being obtained to the prejudice of the opposite
party. Of these various documents, possibly the rules given by Brantôme
may be considered the most curious.
In the first instance, he says:--“On no account whatever let an infidel
be brought out as a second or a witness: it is not proper that an
unbeliever should witness the shedding of Christian blood, which would
delight him; and it is moreover abominable that such a wretch should be
allowed such an honourable pastime.
“The combatants must be carefully examined and felt, to ascertain that
they have no particular drugs, witchcraft, or charms about them. It is
allowed to wear on such occasions some relics of Our Lady of Loretto,
and other holy objects; yet it is not clearly decided what is to be
done when both parties have not these relics, as no advantage should be
allowed to one combatant more than to another.
“It is idle to dwell upon courtesies: the man who steps into the field
must have made up his mind to conquer or die, but, above all things,
never to surrender; for the conqueror may treat the vanquished as he
thinks proper,--drag him round the ground, hang him, burn him, keep
him a prisoner, in short, do with him whatever he pleases. The Danes
and Lombards, in this, imitated Achilles, who, after his combat with
Hector, dragged him three times round the walls at the tail of his
triumphant car.
“Every gallant knight must maintain the honour of ladies, whether they
may have forfeited it or not,--if it can be said that a _gentille dame_
can have forfeited her honour by kindness to her servant and her lover.
A soldier may fight his captain, provided he has been two years upon
actual service, and he quits his company.
“If a father accuses a son of any crime that may tend to dishonour
him, the son may demand satisfaction of his father; since he has done
him more injury by dishonouring him, than he had bestowed advantage by
giving him life.”
Notwithstanding Brantôme’s authority, the right of a soldier to call
out his captain has been a questionable point; and La Béraudière,
and Basnage, and Alciat have discussed the point very minutely. The
last author came to the conclusion that such a meeting could only
be tolerated when both parties were off duty,--_post functionem
secus_. The same learned writer maintains that you can only refuse to
fight a bastard; and he therefore strongly recommends all noblemen
to legitimatize their sons, that they may be rendered worthy of the
honour of knighthood and of duelling: and he further declares, that all
challenges from a _roturier_, a mere citizen, or a man in business,
must be considered as null and void.
There is a passage in Brantôme which singularly applies to modern
France, as regards the multiplicity of decorations of honour and their
various button-hole badges; distinctions, which, from the facility with
which they are obtained, he does not consider as qualifying the wearer
to fight a gentleman. “If these people were attended to,” he says, “one
could no longer fight a proper duel: such numbers of them pullulate in
every direction, that we see nothing but knights of St. Michael and of
the Saint Esprit; to such an extent were these orders abused during
our civil wars, to win over and retain followers being no longer the
meed of valour or of merit.”
To tear off a decoration, or even to touch it, was considered an
unpardonable insult; and we have seen in more modern times an example
of the respect to which such attributes of distinction are entitled.
In August 1833, Colonel Gallois, an officer in the service of Poland,
felt himself offended by an article in the _Figaro_, a paper conducted
by Nestor Roqueplan; and, having met him, tore off his riband of the
Legion of Honour. The parties met in the wood of Meudon, when Roqueplan
received three wounds, and Gallois one in the knee: the two seconds of
Gallois at the same time had thrown off their coats, and challenged the
seconds of Roqueplan, who very wisely declined any participation in the
fight; when one of Gallois’s party insisted upon satisfaction from Mr.
Leon Pillet, a friend of Roqueplan, with whom he was on intimate terms,
and, to urge his suit, requested that he might be allowed to take the
badge of the Legion off his coat, to overcome his apparent repugnance;
adding, that he entertained too much friendship and esteem towards him
to offend him in any other manner. There was no refusing so polite a
request.
The colours of a lady, in a knot of ribands worn by her admirer, and
called an _emprise_, were equally sacred; and, when a _brave_ of those
chivalric days was anxious for a combat, he exerted himself to find
some daring desperado who would put his finger on the badge of love.
In Ireland to this day, in many of its wild districts, a pugnacious
ruffian will drag his jacket after him, and fight _unto death_ any
_spalpeen_ who ventures to touch it.
Choice of arms was a matter of great importance in these meetings,
indeed of a vital nature; since, if a weapon was broken in the hands
of one of the parties, he was considered vanquished, and at the
discretion of his conqueror,--such an accident being looked upon as a
decision of Providence: a miss-fire at the present day is considered a
shot, although on a less religious principle. Pistols were introduced
in the reign of Henry II; and, being considered as affording a more
equal chance to both combatants, this arm has been generally selected
in modern duels, more especially in England. On the Continent the
small-sword and the sabre were more frequently resorted to; and we
shall shortly see the regulations regarding their employment, which in
France form a regular code.
Some of the ancient modes of fighting were most singular and whimsical.
Brantôme relates a story of two Corsicans who had fixed short
sharp-pointed daggers in the front of their helmets, being covered
with a suit of mail called a “jacque” over their shirts, although
the weather was remarkably cold; such an arrangement having been
proposed by the offended, who had the right to select and name the
mode of combat, and who was fearful of his antagonist’s renown for his
power and dexterity in wrestling. Both were armed with swords, and
they fought for some time with such equality of skill that neither
was wounded; at length they rushed upon each other, and wrestling
commenced. It was during this struggle that the daggers came into play,
each butting in his antagonist’s face, and neck, and arms, until blood
was streaming in every direction, and in such profusion that they were
separated: one of them only lived a month; in consequence of which the
survivor was well nigh dying of _tristesse_ and _ennui_, as they had
become friends, and expected that they both should have died.[11]
Notwithstanding this valorous disposition, it appears that the choice
of arms and appointments was frequently made a subterfuge to gain time,
or cause much trouble and expense; and Brantôme relates, that, in the
fatal duel between Jarnac and Chasteneraye, the former proposed no
less than thirty different weapons to be used both on horseback and on
foot, and had also specified various horses, Spanish, Turkish, Barbs,
with different kinds of saddles: in consequence of which our chronicler
adds, that if his uncle had not been a man of some independence, and
moreover assisted by his royal master, he could not have maintained the
challenge; and he very truly observed, when receiving it, “This man
wants to fight both my valour and my purse.”
This privilege of the offended to choose their arms and regulate the
nature of the combat, however capriciously, afforded considerable
advantages; since the art of fencing taught many secret tricks, the
knowledge of which gave great reputation to professors. So secret,
indeed, were these instructions, that not only was the pupil solemnly
sworn never to reveal the mysterious practice, but instructions were
given in private, after having examined every part of the room, the
furniture, and the very walls, to ascertain that no third person could
have been concealed to witness the deadly lesson. To this day in France
such cuts and thrusts are called _coups de maître_, and by the lower
classes _coups de malins_.
A curious case is recorded of a knight, who, having been taught
invariably to strike the region of the heart, insisted upon fighting in
a suit of armour, with an opening in each cuirass of the breadth of the
hand over the heart: the result, of course, was immediately fatal to
his antagonist.
The “cunning” of armourers was also frequently resorted to, to obtain
unfair advantages. A skilful workman in Milan had carried his mode of
tempering steel to such a point of perfection, that the solidity of
the sword and dagger depended entirely on the manner in which they
were handled: in the hands of the inexperienced the weapons flew into
shivers; whereas in the grasp of a skilful combatant they were as
trusty as the most approved Toledan blade.
Nor were these valiant knights very particular as to odds. It is
related of two French gentlemen, La Villatte and the Baron de
Salligny, who fought a duel with two Gascons of the name of Malecolom
and Esparezat, that Malecolom having speedily killed his antagonist
Salligny, and perceiving that his companion Esparezat was a long
time despatching Villatte, went to his assistance. When Villatte,
thus unfairly pressed by two antagonists, remonstrated against the
treachery, Malecolom very coolly replied, “I have killed my adversary,
and, if you kill yours, there may be a chance that you may also kill
me; therefore here goes!”
More punctilious, however, were some of these heroes in points of
honour. We read in Brantôme of two Piedmontese officers, intimate
friends, who having gone out to fight, one of the parties received
a wound that was supposed to be mortal; when his opponent, instead
of despatching him, assisted him off the ground, to conduct him to
a surgeon. “Ah!” exclaimed the wounded man, “do not be generous by
halves!--let it not be said that I fell without inflicting a wound: so,
pray wear your arm in a scarf, and say that I hit you ere I succumbed.”
His friend generously acceded to the proposal; and, having smeared a
bandage in his blood, he wrapped it round his arm, publishing abroad
that he had been wounded ere his brave companion received his mortal
thrust. The wound however not proving fatal, an everlasting friendship,
cemented by gratitude, ever after prevailed between them.
Many instances of these singular rencontres and fatal caprices in
deeds of arms will be recorded in the course of this history; all of
which may be referred to the character of the times, and the existing
government’s weakness or tyrannical influence.
In relating the progress of duelling in France during the fifteenth
and the sixteenth centuries, I cannot better characterize the state
of the country than by quoting a late intelligent writer, M. de
Campigneulles:--
“I find between the fifteenth and the sixteenth centuries the same
difference that is observable between the seventeenth and the
eighteenth; neither of these periods being in my opinion in favour of
any progress. Louis XI. will be found preferable to Charles IX; and
Charles VIII. will be placed in a more distinguished rank than Henry
II. Francis I. will not make us forget Louis XII; and the glorious
exploits of the French under Charles VII. will console us for a long
time for the miseries of the civil wars under Henry III. I do not
think it necessary, to justify the second proposition, to draw a
parallel between the reigns of Henry IV. and Louis XIV. on one side,
with the regency and reign of Louis XV. on the other. What is not less
remarkable is, that the first period of a century has frequently been
more worthy of estimation than the second; showing that there is an
action and a reaction in the progress of civilization, and that the
torrent of ages seems to be subject to the same laws that regulate the
waters of the deep.
“Under Charles VII. the aristocracy was too deeply engaged in their
national contest with England to occupy themselves with personal
feuds; the aristocracy, in the enormous sacrifices which this struggle
required, was drained both of men and money. The people gained
nothing,--the royal authority alone reaped any advantage that might
have resulted from this state of affairs; for from this reign we may
date the establishment of standing armies and taxations,--the latter
being imposed illegally, and without the sanction of the states-general.
“The policy of Louis XI.’s government turned to a profitable account
the state of poverty and depression to which the aristocracy had been
reduced. The nobility of France was deteriorated by this cruel prince,
who founded his despotic power upon executions; and the blood which
had been spilled in the field of battle to defend the country, was now
wantonly shed upon the scaffold. There was none left to irrigate a
field of private battle.
“These combined circumstances had struck a fatal blow to duelling; and
the prejudices which had justified the practice, and which at the same
time had advocated the cause of aristocracy, became every day more
weak, attesting the homogeneity of their character.
“France has always been considered as giving the _ton_ to Europe; but
between us and other countries the exchange has not always been to our
advantage, and, for what we may have given to our neighbours of any
value, we have received in return sad equivalents. It is to Germany
that we were first indebted for judicial combats. It was in Italy
that we sought the practice of duelling, which succeeded them; and
while this moral contagion was widely spread during the expeditions of
Charles VII, Louis XII, and Francis I, a sad physical contamination was
transmitted to us through Spain. The practice of duelling had scarcely
crossed the Alps, when it gradually disappeared amongst the Italians;
and the stiletto became a substitute for the sword.
“It is to the reign of Charles VIII. that we must refer these Italian
campaigns, so fatal to our arms and our manners. The ardour of our
youth inspired this monarch with a desire of foreign expeditions.
In 1494 he overran the kingdom of Naples, losing his conquests as
rapidly as he had obtained them. Duelling was then in great vogue over
Italy,--a tradition of the Goths and Lombards, modified, or rather
exaggerated, by the chivalric fancies of the Spaniards.
“A wish to enforce the rights of Valentine on the duchy of Milan
induced Louis XII. to undertake fresh Italian expeditions, although he
had strenuously opposed similar projects on the part of his predecessor
during his latter days. It was during the reign of this monarch, from
1499 to 1515, that incessant duels thinned the ranks of his armies.
They were sanctioned by the Duke de Nemours their leader, and the
illustrious Bayard himself was obliged to yield to the torrent of
fashion.
“The Italian wars continued to be waged under Francis I. He himself,
as we have seen, sent a rodomontade challenge to the Emperor Charles;
and although neither of the parties entertained a serious intention
of putting their boasted threats into execution, yet he had shown
an example which was greedily followed by the most distinguished
personages of the court.”
It was during his reign that pistols were introduced, and became
the fit auxiliaries of the dagger amongst the bandits that infested
the realm; and thus does Abbé Villy describe the condition of the
country--“Our intercourse with the Italians, amongst whom our armies
had lived for more than fifty years, had altered our national character
in many respects. Men became less delicate in their means of glutting
revenge. Assassinations and premeditated murders became each day
more frequent. Already it was not considered sufficient to await an
enemy upon the road, or attack him in his dwelling. It was at the
corner of a street or in an open square, and in the presence of their
fellow-citizens, that public functionaries fell under an assassin’s
blow. Relays of horses were ready to enable the criminal to escape, and
the crime to remain unpunished.”
“Charles IX. was the last French monarch who allowed a duel, and was
present when it took place. He was also the first to prohibit the
practice; and his ordonnance of 1566 in this respect was admirable,
wherein he commanded that all differences should be submitted to the
decision of the constables and marshals of France, more especially in
such cases where the lie had been given.
“Henry III. was the last who appeared in a tournament, with his brother
Charles IX; and he also issued severe orders concerning murderers and
assassins, who, however, from his want of energy, applied with more
audacity and impunity than at any other period, converting the country
into a cut-throat: and if this prince ended by discouraging duels, it
was only when from his affections towards his unworthy favourites he
felt their loss, and, without possessing sufficient energy to avenge
them, their tragic end only gave rise to fresh scandal in the indecency
of his grief. D’Audiguier, the duellist, called him the best prince in
the world; and Brantôme says that he was so good, that he never could
punish rigorously, he so loved his nobility.
“The fever of duelling was not mitigated during the long period of our
religious wars. Civil wars differ widely from those that are carried
on to defend national honour against a foreign enemy. When these break
forth, personal feuds are appeased, and one interest predominates;
our blood is reserved for our country, and duels will cease: but
when in an impious conflict citizens are armed against each other,
every evil passion is unbridled; no law, no check, can restrain them;
everything becomes a weapon; men no longer fight, but kill; and what
the sword may have spared is doomed to the scaffold. Thus did murders
assume every possible form during the convulsions of the sixteenth
century; every instrument of destruction was brought to bear; the
dagger rivalled the sword; and, as we already were indebted to Italy
for duelling, an Italian Queen, one of the Medici, brought in another
gift--assassination.”