Duel - Opposition To Dueling

Opposition To Dueling

The Roman Catholic Church was critical of duelling throughout medieval history, frowning both on the traditions of judicial combat and on the duel on points of honour among the nobility. During the Early Modern period, there were also various attempts by secular legislators to curb the practice. But as the tradition was deeply rooted in feudal society, and a prerogative of the upper classes, such attempts largely failed until the advent of the Age of Enlightenment and modern civil society. Duelling still remained commonplace among military officers, but the practice became commonly frowned upon in the course of the 19th century. By the outbreak of World War I, duelling was not only illegal almost everywhere in the western world, but also widely seen as an anachronism. Military establishments in most countries began to frown on dueling because officers were the main contestants. Officers were often trained at military academies at government's expense; when officers killed one another it imposed an unnecessary financial and leadership strain on a military organization, making dueling unpopular with high-ranking officers.

With the end of the duel, the dress sword also lost its position as an indispensable part of a gentleman's wardrobe, a development described as an "archaeological terminus" by Ewart Oakeshott, concluding the long period during which the sword had been visible attribute of the free man. beginning as early as three millennia ago with the Bronze Age sword.