To be or not to be of good fame, that is the question

Abstract

A good conference has interesting papers, followed by a lively discussion, stimulating new ideas and theories. The 2015 conference of the Southern African Society of Legal Historians was a good conference. My own paper is being published elsewhere, but the discussion at that conference about the law of duelling stimulated the following thoughts. Duel comes from the Latin, duellum, a variant of bellum, war. A duel is a private war. Duelling was (and still is) illegal. It is a breach of the peace. And anyone caught about to fight a duel might be taken before the magistrates and bound over to keep the peace, normally for one year. The security required was sometimes very high. In 1798 when Lieut Bromley, of the Marines, and Mr Palmer, of Ayre street, Piccadilly, were caught planning a duel near Upnor Castle, Kent, Palmer was required to give security of £2,000 (£1,000 himself, and two sureties of £500 each), because he would not give his word of honour that the matter would not be pursued. Bromley was bound over in the sum of £500 and two sureties of £250 each. (Palmer had horsewhipped Bromley for sending a very impertinent letter to his wife.)