The Last Duel
A True Story of Trial by Combat in Medieval France
Ratings1
Average rating3
15
A True Story of Trial by Combat in Medieval France
Ratings1
Average rating3
In 1386, a few days after Christmas, a massive crowd gathered at a Paris monastery to watch two men fight a duel to the death. A trial by combat to prove which man's cause was right in God's sight.
The dramatic story of the knight, the squire and the lady unfolds during the tumultuous fourteenth century. A time of war, plague and anarchy, as well as of honour, chivalry, and courtly love.
The notorious quarrel appears in many histories of France, but no writer has recounted it in full, until now.
'Succeeds brilliantly in combining page-turning intensity with eye-opening insights' Sunday Times
'Suspenseful and well written' Spectator
Reviews with the most likes.
“Ai-je fait mon devoir?” (Have I done my duty?)
This was a really interesting glimpse into medieval law proceedings from the 1300s (such as they were), but unfortunately not much else. The story at the center of this book involves a squire and a knight's ongoing feud, where one party wrongs another party (or not?), and the wronged party demands satisfaction in the form of a formal duel. Legal proceedings are held, lots of testimony is given on both sides indicating how innocent each side thinks they are, but eventually things can only be settled one way. The duel is held, one party wins, and thus the feud is settled for the victor because God wants it that way. We never find out who actually did what, because it happened in the 1300s after all, but I still find it a bit unsatisfying.
I also felt like the author really stretched things a bit to create this narrative story. Each of the main characters felt like a predefined role in a story – the person who clearly was in the right, the person who clearly was the villain, the poor wronged wife, etc. History is rarely that clear cut, so it feels like a lot was narratively spun to create a cohesive story from beginning to end. I feel like there's good material here for a Historical Fiction book, but as a Nonfiction book things ring a bit false.
