The Field of Honor!

Last night, about 11:30pm, as I was ensconced in my bed among the down pillows, almost in Dreamland, I heard two very loud sounds, or were they "bangs"? I wasn't quite sure. I listened a bit, and heard more general noise,  so I cozied up and went back to sleep. I was awakened about an hour later, when my Mom called me (my family lives in my complex, as well), to tell me there had been a shooting in the complex! And, moreover, two shots had fired into her living room window!! (Shots that crossed the room, went through a kitchen wall, out the other side, into a wall further on).

As you can imagine, I was floored! This was incredulous. If it had happened earlier, they could have been walking through the house, headed for the kitchen for that "midnight" glass of water! My mind set to all kinds of imaginings.

Then I started thinking about what prompted this type of event. A drug deal gone bad? A theft or murder plot? A domestic dispute? A jealous lover? What kind of gun? Was anyone killed? Wounded? Maimed? A killer still on the loose?

Well, we have always had incidents of violence and conflict in our world, and guns or knives or strong, strangling hands have always been with us. I started thinking about the 18th Century "gentlemenly" solution to a wronged, or insulted individual.......the Duel! The "duel at midnight", the "duel at 10 paces", the infamous duel so often depicted in great old classic movies.

The duel was based on a code of honor, and was fought not so much to kill the opponent, but to gain "satisfaction", to restore one's honor by showing a willingness to die for it!  It was a tradition reserved for male nobility, at least in the beginning. The duel had a pre-arranged time and place, once the challenging invitation was met, a guantlet thrown down.

Duels were fought with sword or rapier, or the classic duelling pistols, which were actually sold in pairs, single-shot flintlock, or black powder pistols which fired a lead musket ball. These pistols were identical in appearance, reliability and accuracy. The participants were generally not prosecuted, or convicted. It was a standard arrangement that was participated in willingly. Now, if you felt you were not up for the task, or not a good shot, you could call on your "second", a person that was willing to stand in for you. Now, that some friend!
Of course, there were witnesses, and duels started with the opponents "about face", walking several steps apart, then being asked to turn, and fire! If you fired early and missed your opponent, then they got a turn, too! Now, that's justice!

Today, I am a bit less appalled, and little more resigned to the fact that these things happen every day, and by the grace of God, no one was walking around my family's home at 11:30pm. And, I feel like watching a good old classic film where "gentlemen" in satin breeches, and flouncy lace sleeves duel it out for the honor of a damsel in distress!