Duelling was a common way of defending one's honor.
Honour, spelthonor in theUnited States, is the idea of thetrustworthiness andsocialstatus of a person by the society, byjudgement of his actions. The idea of honour, like most cultural things, is very different from place to place, and through time. InEurope in theMiddle Ages, honour took form in thecode ofChivalry. InJapan, a similar thing happened withBushido. As time passed, the honour of a gentleman and his family was generally expressed in thepractice ofduelling. The idea has declined in modern times, but still exists, mostly as anapproval of one's actions by the society.
