Duel of Honour

A "duel of honour" was a way of settling disputes between gentlemen over some injury or insult. The [blank] had to be arranged privately because duelling was never [blank] , but it became common in the 17th century. A social code governed the duel of honour and, as long as the rules were [blank] to, the survivor could usually escape without being punished by the law. Duels were fought with either pistols or swords, but pistols became the more usual [blank] after swords went out of fashion at the end of the 18th century.