Spell It: En garde! Why the French would duel at every opportunity

Have you ever been offended by something someone said to you? If you were a Frenchman in the 17th century, there would have been only one thing to do: challenge the offender to a duel!

Click start to play today’s Spell It, where “duel” is one of the words you can create with the letters provided.

The shout of “en garde!” and the sound of steel swords being drawn were once quite common in Paris and other French cities. Duelling was seen as a way of defending one’s honour, and was so engrained in the country’s culture, it appeared in art and even literature, such as the swashbuckling tale of The Three Musketeers , written by Alexander Dumas.

Duels could take many forms. Sometimes, they sprung up on the person, as in the case of the renowned French philosopher Rene Descartes. According to an August 2020 report in the National Geographic, one day, when he was walking with a woman he was courting, a rival suitor attacked him. Luckily, Descartes was a proficient fencer and disarmed the man in a matter of moments. He is then noted to have returned the man’s sword to him, saying: “You owe your life to this lady for whom I have just risked my own.”

Usually, however, duels had many formal rituals associated with them. First, a person had to challenge another by speaking to him, slapping him, or sending him a written message. Once a time and date was set, the duel would take place, often on the outskirts of town where the authorities wouldn’t interfere. Combatants were prohibited form wearing armour, and often used lethal rapiers that were light, thinner, and longer than regular swords.

In the 17th century, the concept of “seconds” were introduced, where a man would accompany each duellist to make sure the rules were followed, and fight the other duellist’s second before coming to the aid of his own partner. Duels often ended up in skirmishes, and became so commonplace that King Louis XIV issued laws banning duels in the late 1600s.

It’s a good thing he did. Historians have calculated that during the reign of Henry IV (in the 16th century), around 10,000 duels took place involving 20,000 duelists, and about 5,000 of them lost their lives.

Today, duels are just part of history books, and more modern rebuttals like scathing one-liners on an Instagram post, or angry emojis through Whatsapp seem to do the job just as well as a grisly duel.

What do you do when someone offends you? Play today’s Spell It and tell us at games@gulfnews.com .