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The article discusses the legal history regarding dueling in France from the 6th to the 19th centuries. It describes the origins of the duel as a legal and legitimate way in criminal procedure to resolve disputes, the ways in which the practice of dueling evolved into an aristocratic custom among nobles resolving private disputes, and attempts by the French monarchy to ban dueling. Other subjects under discussion include the role of dueling in the democratic society of the French Republic in the 18th century, the tensions in middle class society and its role in shaping dueling customs, and the portrayal of dueling in French literature.