false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174370083m/389544.jpg 438538 3 <p><i>As the huge crowd seethed with pent-up excitement, the two deadly enemies studied each other intently, their breath hot behind their visors. Each sought the other&#8217;s death as fire and water seek each other&#8217;s annihilation. The walled field, at first a prison, now became a crucible where one man would be destroyed and the other purged in the name of justice. They would fight not only without quarter, but also without rules. And a horrible fate awaited the lady if her husband should lose . . . </i></p><p>The gripping, atmospheric true story of the &#8220;duel to end all duels&#8221; in medieval France: a trial by combat pitting a knight against a squire accused of violating the knight&#8217;s beautiful young wife<br><br>In 1386, a few days after Christmas, a huge crowd gathers at a Paris monastery to watch the two men fight a duel to the death meant to &#8220;prove&#8221; which man&#8217;s cause is right in God&#8217;s sight. The dramatic true story of the knight, the squire, and the lady unfolds during the devastating Hundred Years War between France and England, as enemy troops pillage the land, madness haunts the French court, the Great Schism splits the Church, Muslim armies threaten Christendom, and rebellion, treachery, and plague turn the lives of all into toys of Fortune.<br>At the heart of the tale is Jean de Carrouges, a Norman knight who returns from combat in Scotland to find his wife, Marguerite, accusing Jacques LeGris, her husband&#8217;s old friend and fellow courtier, of brutally raping her. The knight takes his cause before the teenage King Charles VI, the highest judge in France. Amid LeGris&#8217;s vociferous claims of innocence and doubts about the now pregnant Marguerite&#8217;s charges (and about the paternity of her child), the deadlocked court decrees a &#8220;trial by combat&#8221; that leaves her fate, too, in the balance. For if her husband and champion loses the duel, she will be put to death as a false accuser. <br>Carrouges and LeGris, in full armor, eventually meet on a walled field in Paris before a massive crowd that includes the king and many nobles of the realm. A fierce fight on horseback and then on foot ensues during which both combatants suffer wounds&#8212;but only one fatal. The violent and tragic episode was notorious in its own time because of the nature of the alleged crime, the legal impasse it provoked, and the resulting trial by combat, an ancient but increasingly suspect institution that was thereafter abolished. <br>Based on extensive research in Normandy and Paris, <i>The Last Duel </i>brings to life a colorful, turbulent age and three unforgettable characters caught in a fatal triangle of crime, scandal, and revenge. It is at once a moving human drama, a captivating detective story, and an engrossing work of historical intrigue.</p> 427391 10 2004 The Last Duel: A True Story of Crime, Scandal, and Trial by Combat in Medieval France total:76|5:9|4:37|3:26|2:3|1:1| 76 278 109 18 4 0 false false Thu Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Oct 03 08:59:28 -0700 2008 Wed Oct 07 20:42:19 -0700 2009
I was surprised how difficult the process was to have a judicial duel approved in France. I haven’t done much research on how it occurred in other countries but it probably wasn’t any easier elsewhere. Guess my expectation was of two m...more...]]> 0 0 false false Fri Feb 15 10:59:56 -0800 2008 Fri Feb 15 11:00:10 -0800 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Thu Jun 05 04:30:16 -0700 2008 Thu Jun 05 04:41:14 -0700 2008
The book in a nutshell is the true (with some extrapolation) story of two 14th Century nobles' friendshi...more...]]> 4 0 false false Fri Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2006 Mon May 07 13:09:02 -0700 2007 Mon May 07 13:15:33 -0700 2007 more...]]> 0 0 false false Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Wed May 20 18:49:56 -0700 2009 Wed May 20 18:52:30 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Tue Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Tue Jul 01 17:05:36 -0700 2008 Tue Jul 01 17:37:43 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Sun Jul 06 06:33:41 -0700 2008 Sun Jul 06 06:39:56 -0700 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false false Thu Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Mon Apr 16 22:47:19 -0700 2007 Mon Apr 16 22:48:43 -0700 2007 more...]]> 4 0 false false Wed Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Sat Feb 02 12:28:53 -0800 2008 Sat Feb 02 12:32:51 -0800 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Mon May 19 08:36:48 -0700 2008 Mon May 19 08:40:40 -0700 2008 3 0 false false Sun Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Sat Jul 14 14:48:39 -0700 2007 Sun Jul 15 10:46:50 -0700 2007 3 0 false false Thu Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Sat Mar 24 15:10:43 -0700 2007 Sat Mar 24 15:13:10 -0700 2007 5 0 false false Thu Jul 12 19:07:48 -0700 2007 Thu Jul 12 19:08:47 -0700 2007 1 0 false false Thu Jun 19 15:15:01 -0700 2008 Mon Sep 01 15:50:06 -0700 2008 3 0 false false Wed Aug 13 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Aug 04 10:30:51 -0700 2008 Wed Aug 20 15:20:28 -0700 2008 4 0 false false Fri Sep 07 21:29:25 -0700 2007 Fri Sep 07 21:29:47 -0700 2007 4 0 false false Tue Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Tue Apr 08 17:59:49 -0700 2008 Tue Apr 08 18:02:19 -0700 2008 0 0 false false Sun Jul 19 18:08:34 -0700 2009 Sun Jul 19 18:09:53 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Wed Nov 18 16:09:13 -0800 2009 Wed Nov 18 16:09:16 -0800 2009 5 0 false false Sun Oct 18 22:39:47 -0700 2009 Sun Oct 11 15:24:47 -0700 2009 Sun Oct 18 22:39:47 -0700 2009 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=389544