The two men removed their coats, and fought, first with a sword and dagger and then with a dagger alone. Their duel ended with a grapple, each holding a dagger at the other’s throat—at which point, both men decided to stop. Even so, blood would indeed be spilled that day: Their friends, witnessing the duel, had become embroiled in a scuffle that left one of them dead and the other seriously wounded. Although duels had the air of formality, they too often descended into chaos and bloodshed.