Saturday September 13

The first World Championships of Parasol Duelling is happening!

If you are in Calgary come on down and cheer the Ladies on in their efforts to be the World Champion.

To follow the competition live the official Twitter and Facebook hashtag is #parasolduel.

Keep your sightglass full, your firebox trimmed and your water iced.
KJ

The Excitement is building!

There is less than a week until the First World Championships of Parasol Duelling are held at Beakerhead in Calgary!

Many Ladies are signing up to compete in this elegant and exotic combat.

After much agonizing, and ladylike gnashing of teeth, Madame Saffron Hemlock has put out the format that the competition will have and I have posted it in its entirety below.

This will truly be a one of a kind event and I will post photos and the results right here so stay tuned!

For more information go to:
Madame Saffron Hemlock’s Parasol Duelling League for Steampunk Ladies

First Parasol Duelling World Championship event details

For background on the history and development of Parasol Duelling 
or click the Parasol Duelling tag.

Keep your sightglass full, your firebox trimmed and your water iced.
KJ

Parasol Duelling World Championships

Calgary, Alberta, CANADA

 1:00pm, September 13, 2014

The World’s First Parasol Duelling Championships will take place at Little Big Street, adjacent to Calgary Stampede Grounds, Calgary, Alberta, CANADA

Competition consists of three Elements, from which the competitors’ points are drawn to calculate World rankings:
1. Compulsory Figures – to demonstrate proficiency in basic positions and transitions.
2. Flirtation Trials – to demonstrate understanding of the social functions of basic positions as well as their  physical mastery.
3. Duelling – two-duel Round Robin followed by semi-finals and finalist duels.

Open competition; no pre-qualifying necessary (subject to change as wider pools of candidates seek to enter).

Pre-registration is encouraged, via statement of intent to compete posted on the event copy or emailed to Madame Saffron (madamesaffron@gmail.com)

Registration at the event will be accepted up to the start of the Compulsory Figures Competition.

Competitors may enter any one, two, or all three segments of the Championships; however only those competing in all three segments will gain sufficient points to contend for the title of World Champion. Junior Ladies, those under the age of 16 years, are not permitted to enter the Flirtation Trials.


Competition Format: Compulsory Figures: 

      These demonstrate competence with the three basic figures: the Snub, the Twirl, and the Plant.
     
Format: 

      Each competitor will perform the sequence of Plant / Twirl / Snub within the 5-count, holding in the Snub for the Doctor’s ‘Hold.’  Each basic figure must be completed in its entirety before moving on to the next. Judges may, at any point in a sequence, call a Hold to determine whether a parasol is correctly placed in any figure.
     
Scoring:
     
      Each competitor performs the sequence three times, for a score out of a possible 10 on each sequence. Their best score of the three sequences, as awarded by each judge individually, is aggregated for a category score out of 30. This counts toward both the category ranking and the overall title of World Champion.

Judges’ Note:

Each of these basic figures has both a physical and a social component. In addition to watching for correct completion of figures and smoothness of transition between figures, judges will consider the competitor’s communication of the social purpose of the figure as follows:

Plant: Every lady must at some time take a stand, either in defence of her person or her principles. The Plant says, “This far and no further.” Or, alternately, as if she is Gandalf upon the Bridge, telling the Balrog, “You Shall Not Pass.” But gracefully. And without raising her voice.

Twirl: A lady in a tete-a-tete with a friend creates a personal space behind her, into which nobody can stick their long nose or their over-eager ears without looking ridiculous. A well-place Twirl not only frames the lady’s face becomingly from the front and enhances the intimacy of her invitation to a tete-a-tete, it protects her rearward space from busy-bodies and the over-familiar hands of passing cads.

Snub: Self-evidently, a Snub enforces a forward personal space against riff-raff, upstarts, former friends, arch-enemies, and other undesirable persons.

Competition Format: Flirtation Trials:

    These demonstrate the three basic figures in their natural habitat, the Promenade, where ladies would interact with each other and with gentlemen, as well as repelling cads and other uncouth persons. The basic figures are expanded upon to serve the purposes of social intercourse, either attracting or rejecting friends, acquaintances and potential suitors.

Format:

    Each competitor performs three 5-count sequences, each sequence elaborating on a single figure and ending in an artistic variant of that figure.  The judges decree the order in which the sequences are performed, and may vary that at will so long as each competitor performs a Plant sequence, a Twirl sequence, and a Snub sequence.

Scoring:
     
      Each competitor is awarded a mark out of 10 from each judge for each of the three sequences. These marks are averaged for that judge’s score. The three judges’ scores are added together for a category score out of 30. This counts toward both the category ranking and the overall title of World Champion.

Judges’ Note:  Junior Ladies, those under the age of 16, do not compete in Flirtation Trials, as Her Britannic Majesty believes very young ladies should remain invariably demure in public, and not attract attention to themselves. If there are sufficient Junior Ladies registered in advance for a formal competition, a suitable alternate to the Flirtation trials can be scheduled. In all other aspects of competition, including duelling, Junior Ladies compete as equals with their elders.

Competition Format: Duels

    These establish the competitor’s ability to read and react to changes in their social environs.

Format:

Each combatant is assigned two opponents in the opening round, and will duel with each in succession. Standard duelling format: overseen by The Doctor, duelists begin back to back, pace out as directed, turn, and commence to duel for the count of 5. At the hold, the winner is determined. Each combative pair duels three times, with the best two of three determining the winner of that combat.

Scoring:

Duelling points are as follows: each individual duel win gains 5 points; each loss gains 3 points. With six duels against two opponents in the opening round, a combatant may gain up to 30 points. These points determine who moves up to the semi-finals and count towards the overall title of World Champion.

In the semi-finals, combatants are assigned two opponents at the same scoring of 5 points for a win, 3 points for a loss.

The highest-scoring combatants (those with the most wins overall) advance to the Finals. The winner of this round is the Duelling Champion.


World Champion: Highest total points added across all categories.

It is on!

The first World Championships of Parasol Duelling will be happening at Beakerhead in Calgary on September 13, 2014.

For those of you looking at a calendar that is in about two weeks from the time of this post!

This will be a full formal competition which will include, in addition to the Duels themselves, the Compulsory Figures and the Flirtation trials.

This will be an exciting event!

Co sponsored by the Steampunk Arts and Sciences Society and Madame Saffron Hemlock's Parasol Duelling League, this will be a chance for people to see this elegant sport in action.

If you are in Calgary for Beakerhead this year come by and check it out!

We are looking to tweet the competition live so stay tuned for the appropriate hashtags to follow.

Keep your sightglass full, your firebox trimmed and your parasol at the ready!

KJ

Dispatch from the Austrian Court

Here is the second part of Jayne Barnard's wonderful post concerning a duel according to the infamous Hungarian Imperial Parasol Duelling Rules, popular in the Astro-Hungarian Empire.
An account of intrigue and death, by parasol duel, in the court of the Empress of Austria Hungary!
Part one is here.

Enjoy
Keep your sightglass full, your firebox trimmed and your water iced.
KJ 

Ed: Warning to those of a sensitive nature that this document contains descriptions of possibly disturbing violence.

The Duel Begins

To begin, it was as punctilious as any meeting of two Prussian Cavalry officers, the ladies’ grave demeanor a stark contrast to the oddity of their apparel. The Doctor took his stance at center, the duelists opposite each other with parasols aslant across their breasts and their leather-cased feet square across the line of the circle. A chime sounded, at which all the assembly fell silent. I turned to my neighbour to whisper a question – what it was, I now forget – and she hushed me with an imperative gesture. The chime repeated. All were still in that vast room, with only a bluebottle buzzing on a window to disturb the silence.

A Hungarian Imperial Rules
Parasol Duellist *

On the third chime, the duelists paced forward to meet before the Doctor, who spoke firmly of their obligation to act with honour and to abide by the Code. He released them, they turned on their heels and retreated to their previous positions on the line. The Doctor retreated still further, a good six feet beyond the line, and raised his arm high. As he brought it down, the chime sounded again and the duelists stepped warily into the circle.

Ah! My fickle mind returns the question: was this to be a timed bout, as exhibitions were, and as I had seen the novices do? But no, my answer must wait upon events, for no word was uttered in all that vast, echoing room, so silent that the slip and pad of the leather-clad feet was clearly audible. The combatants moved around their perimeter, perhaps ten feet apart, parasols shifting in their hands, gliding through rudimentary Twirls or resting a fraction in a Plant. The first minute passed. I expected a chime, and a pause, but neither arrived. The silence, and the circling, continued, with a gradual decrease in the distance between the two. The tension was immense. I confess I would have daubed my brow with my handkerchief had I not feared to disturb the mesmerizing ritual.

By my estimate two and a quarter minutes had passed before the first contact was made. Fraulein F_’s parasol whipped neatly into an incipient Snub by Madame S_H_, leaving a two-inch slit in the fabric. Madame gave no ground, but followed up speedily with an attempted Ankling, which caused Fraulein to hop backward. More circling ensued, but faster, and with feints and parries almost a blur. My breath held for long moments, awaiting a decisive thrust, but still they continued. A Cut down Fraulein’s left sleeve exposed her sturdy forearm, and was returned to Madame’s thigh, leaving several inches of pale skin in view. (The woman has freckles there, Aubrey! What decent woman would expose that part of her anatomy to the sun?). Madame repaid that slash with one that drew blood – the Cut Direct – through the leather and into the skin of Fraulein’s meaty buttock. They fell back, circling.

When they closed again, Fraulein thrust out a truncated Snub.  Madame Twirled into it, body and parasol both, and caught Fraulein a hefty smack on the cheek with the lead collar. Whether she was intent on a Cut Direct down the cheek, I cannot be sure, but by no change in demeanor did she betray either satisfaction or disappointment. Fraulein rubbed a hand over her cheek but briefly, before attacking once more, stabbing downward in a vicious Plant. Madame slid that foot neatly out of the way and, in a lunge that would have done credit to an Oxford fencing don, put the Coup into Fraulein’s upper left arm, to the full depth of the tip. Fraulein stepped unsteadily backward, clapping her right hand to the wound, bright red blood staining her fingers. The Doctor stepped forward.

I was more than ready to see it end there, for Fraulein was bleeding now in two places and her face was flushed, even sweating. This is no sport for ladies, dear fellow, and for a moment I seriously considered withdrawing from the hall. But the wounded Fraulein waved off the Doctor and saluted Madame across the circle, and the duel was on again. It was so fast I did not fully follow the events, a mere flurry of parasols before Fraulein fell to one knee with blood streaming from a second Coup, this to her right thigh. The Doctor rushed forward to examine her, but before he could reach Fraulein, she waved him off again.

A Dispatch from the Austrian Court

One of the questions I am often asked is for more details about the infamous Hungarian Imperial Parasol Duelling Rules.  They have taken on quite an aura of exotic mystery if only because they are considered barbarous and violent, in contrast to the stately and more elegant forms of the Brandenburg Variations.

Jayne Barnard has written this delightful post to shed some light on these other rules.  Couched in the congenial, yet precise, form of a letter from an English Diplomat in the Imperial Court of Austria to an old friend and compatriot in the Diplomatic Service back in England.

Enjoy
Keep your sightglass full your firebox trimmed and your water iced.
KJ

Ed: Holographic letter (undated) discovered among the private papers of Sir Aubrey Barrett-Burrows (deceased). The author of this letter, signed only ‘Charles’, is suggested to be the Honourable Charles Burrows, Aubrey’s cousin, who entered the Diplomatic Corps under Aubrey’s aegis and traveled extensively within the Austro-Hungarian Empire on both pleasure and official duties for the last decades of the 19^th century. 

Warning to those of a sensitive nature that this document contains descriptions of possibly disturbing violence.

Dear Aubrey,

You were correct in warning me that this Court, so stifled with protocol on the outer shell, has within it arenas of private wildness. Not that the Crown Prince R’s wildness is at all private. The man’s a byword for excesses across the Continent.

The Empress of Austria Hungary

In your ear alone, I dare wonder if he inherited it from his mother. His father’s misbehaviour follows established lines involving the fairer sex, but his mother! The Empress travels extensively, is absent for months at a time from her husband and children, remains obsessed with her beauty, and herself exercises daily to exhaustion to maintain her legendary slimness. A stunner indeed, but cold with it, I believe, despite persistent rumours of her amorous entanglements. Whether there is fire behind the rumour I know not, but it is highly suggestive that a young woman within the Court died abruptly soon after daring to mention before the Archduke’s revered mother the Empress’s predilection for the company of a certain Hungarian count. You will know which count, for you were in Buda-Pest when the Hungarians were brought into the Austrian fold.

You may also remember the Empress spent that entire year on the newly designated royal estates in Hungary, with that nameless count in close attendance. As I have since been informed, the usual gymnasium facilities she required were lacking at that estate, and the weather being often too inclement for her to be out riding and walking sufficient to ease her restlessness, the Empress caused the formerly demure practice of parasol duelling to take on aspects of martial combat, to make it more challenging physically and mentally. This resulted in the Hungarian Imperial Code of Parasol Duel, through exhibitions of which we all in the Diplomatic Corps since your day have sat marvelling at the speed and acrobatic capability of the duellists, or at their indecently form-fitting duelling costumes, as our preference took us.

The real duels, those held over matters of honour and repute, of which you have doubtless heard, are conducted mostly in private, overseen by ‘seconds’ and the requisite Doctor, with a staff of assistants and nurses at hand, for injuries are all but inevitable. This form of parasol duel is indeed much wilder than the drawing-room pacing and posing permitted under HRM in British dominions. Young women make no effort to conceal scarred faces but show them proudly, just as the men do their duelling scars.

I venture to describe to you in some detail the recent, bloody and violent duel overseen by the Empress herself, in the gymnasium built for her in the Hofburg gardens. That a fatal duel between women could take place in the very heart of Vienna without a public outcry is testament to how thoroughly established the Hungarian Imperial Code is amongst the Austrians. Not a month hence, as the Empress exercised with her ladies, throwing heavy leather balls back and forth, leaping over padded hurdles and performing a variety of acrobatic routines that anyone who has seen a duelling exhibition would recognize as rehearsal of movements for those, a most spurious-sounding quarrel was forced on a Lady of the Bedchamber, one Fraulein F_, by a cousin of the Empress, a Madame S_H_, whom you may have encountered on some embassy posting or other. She moves much in court circles around the Continent, although a mere daughter to some minor Bavarian noble house and the widow of an obscure French professor of philosophical botany. She styles herself a professor of applied botany, whatever that may mean, and it has been speculated that she applied some unwholesome botanical decoction to her elderly husband to speed her bereavement.

She has the favour of the Empress, that much is certain, for her egregious insult to the talkative young Fraulein was both overheard and approved by that sovereign, leaving the younger woman no face-saving way to avoid a duel. I, with a few other men from various embassies who had been invited to converse with the Empress in the intervals of her exercise, was invited to stay or leave as I saw fit, but warned that I must on no account make a disruption to the proceedings if remaining.

You may well imagine I stayed, for this private glimpse under the skirts (as it were) of the stiff Austrian court was not to be lightly bypassed.

My fellows departed, having, they said (but quietly), no stomach for watching women pretend to defend their honour, that quality being, in their minds, reserved only for the male sex. Had they stayed to see the duellists replace their ankle-length divided skirts with leg-hugging leather trousers – well, not to say I saw them do so, either, but they each departed to a separate anteroom with their seconds and returned so garbed – had they stayed, the unabashed display of nether limbs might have entranced or horrified them, such never being seen in England or indeed most European courts. Their hair, tight-braided and pinned to their heads for their earlier exertions, was further confined in heavy hairnets, well secured, that did naught to advance the beauty of either the Fraulein’s brown tresses or Madame’s deep burgundy locks.

A continental view...

Here is another faux historical piece about Parasol Duelling.

Written by the talented Stewart MacPhee of Calgary, it is a very interesting look at one of the many continental styles of Parasol Duelling that could have existed at the time of Queen Victoria.

Enjoy
Keep your sightglass full, your fire box trimmed and your water iced.
KJ
 
Ed: This evening, continuing the fascinating discussions on Parasol Duelling, I am happy to post a paper from a more European and Continental perspective.

This paper, by a Dr. Johann Portsmouth Adler, appears to have been written shortly after the time that the Brandenburg Variations were formalized by Her Majesty. It discusses the version of Parasol Duelling as practiced in Prussia at that time. The contrasts with the Queen's Rules are intriguing.

I am hoping to get more information on the specific provenance of this paper, but even without the details of its source there is much here that warrants close study.

Walzer der Schmetterlinge

(Waltz of the butterflies)

A treatise on the noble art of parasol dueling in the Germanic territories.

By Dr. Johann Portsmouth Adler

                With the rise in popularity of Parasol Dueling in England and her far flung empire ,thanks in no small part to the royal assent given by her royal majesty Queen Victoria, I feel compelled to sit and pen this account of Parasol Dueling in my families homeland of the Germanic principalities.

                There is no small amount of debate among scholars as to where the sport originally came from on the European continent.  These debates (heated at times I am told) have raged since the formation of some of the earliest dueling schools in the capitols of the major powers.  In the case of Germany I have uncovered evidence both confirming and contradicting the claims that Deutschland was the birthplace of the sport. 

                What I can confirm undoubtedly is that in the beginning it was the families of the Military aristocracy that saw to the spread and refinement of what today is called the Prussian style.  In those early days it was the wives and daughters that took to the sport with a relish.  While the men would engage in lengthy debates over military strategy and points of honor the women would have their own spirited discussions over the various points of the growing sport, weighing the pros and cons of a figure with the same fervor that a general would while forming strategy for an upcoming battle.

                Owing to their connections to the military it was soon that a highly formalized and some could even say regimented style started to emerge.  Where the sons of Military families were sent to one of the Military academies it was not unheard of for daughters of the same families to go to one of the quickly growing Dueling schools. 

                As each nation and in some cases each city developed their own style it quickly became apparent that the Germanic schools prided themselves on the efficiency and execution of each of the figures.  As one visiting dignitary to Berlin noted in a letter to his family "The way that they go about their training  you would think you were looking at a group of infantry practicing rifle drill. They are all formed in a tight well dressed group, at the head is the mistress, at her command the entire group presents the chosen figure.  again and again they repeat it.  Pausing after every one while the Mistress walks up and down the assembled ranks correcting girls on the proper display and posture of the chosen figure."

                It is said that some of the Mistress's of these schools would have custom made pace sticks made for them so that they could exactly measure the distance between a duelist and her parasol in any given figure.  This can even be seen in use today in some of the older Germanic schools.

                Of course their chosen course did have its drawbacks and while they were quickly becoming masters of the compulsory figures in the arts of the flirtation trials they were lacking, instruction in these arts was mainly left to the individual duelist to develop and expand upon at their discretion.  There did exist one school in Dresden where the arts of Flirtation were highly practiced and it is said that their "Ankling" methods were on par with some to the great Parisian schools at the time.  But overall they were in the minority when compared to the other schools.

                With the rise of the Brandenburg variations and the strict rules regarding contact the title of Doctor is usually purely an honorific given to the appointed adjutant of a duel.  In the early cases of German competitions  however this was not the case.  While there was a mandated distance decided upon it was still within striking distance of their opponent.  Usually it was only one marching pace away from your opponent and it was a rare case where the doctor was not needed after a match to treat a bruise, cut or broken bone in severe cases.  There exist multiple cases of renowned duelists who would bear these marks with pride after a competition.  One remarkable case details a young noble women who after a particularly brutal match was left with a small scar on her jaw line, instead of trying to hide it she wore it with pride, eagerly regaling the tale of how she obtained it to other young duelists.

                One disturbing trend that did arise was the use of weighted parasol tips.  The thinking at the time was that a well placed "accidental" strike to your opponents wrist would numb it enough that they would be unable to complete their figures in time thus giving the duelist an advantage.  While this did indeed numb the wrist if contact was made it resulted in more than one case of severe fracturing of a young woman's wrist.  More than one promising dueling career was cut short due to this method of thinking and the use was quickly banned though it was not unheard of for the occasional duelist to risk forfeiture and  expulsion from the competition with the use of a weighted tip in the hopes of gaining an advantage over a particularly skilled opponent.

                When comparing the Brandenburg variation figures to those developed by the Prussian style it is easy to see similarities between the two.  It is even joked about in some circles that the Brandenburg variation is just a British twist on the Prussian style.  One figure that is unique to the Prussian style though and hardly seen outside of German competitions is the "Ehre Nehmer" or Honor Taker.  This move is used when one wishes to show their utter contempt for their opponent or in cases where the duelist knows they will not win in a final show of defiance.  For this move the duelist places their parasol over their shoulder as if going to perform a twirl but then with a flourish of their skirt turns their back on their opponent, forfeiting the round but taking any honor that the opponent might have gained in a straight forward match.  One famous example of this was when a German duelist performed this maneuver on a Parisian duelist in an international competition that had soundly defeated the entire German team previously.  The French woman was so incensed by this that she launched herself at the German and both parties had to be physically removed from the venue for fear that a real duel might break out if they remained.

                The main Prussian style as it had evolved before the rise of the Brandenburg variation was indeed a very similar style.  Both had a core set of 3 figures, the Plant (Pflanzen), The Twirl (Drehen) and the Snub (Abfuhr).  While there did exist some secondary figures it was these three (Plus the above mentioned Ehre Nehmer) that were at the core of the style and the officially recognized moves used at German competitions.  Where they styles start to differ is in the separation of the duelists, in the Prussian style it is one standard marching step before the turn to face your opponent.  In case of disagreement on the length of the pace to be taken it is not unusual for a pace stick to be brought out and one full pace exactly measured to ensure that there is no further argument.

                On the matter of contact between duelists it was perfectly sanctioned in Prussian style duels for contact to happen in a match with extra points awarded on occasion if a duelist actually managed to disarm their opponent of their parasol.  But points could also be deducted or the match forfeited if an outright attack was made on the opponent in an attempt to disarm them or ruin their parasol in such a manner that they could not continue the match.  Any contact that did occur in later era matches had to be either accidental or a part of a sanctioned figure.  One example of this would be if when going from a snub to a twirl the duelists parasol made contact with their opponents person or parasol.

                Another exception can be found in the recent rise of "street dueling" that is quickly becoming an accepted part of modern competitions.  In the Germanic territories while this new method and style is quickly being picked up by the middle and lower classes the upper classes and schools have been slow to accept this new form of the classical duel and while it is starting to be studied in some schools for the time being it is still mainly up to the individual duelist as to whether or not they pursue learning on this matter. 

Ed: This is all that remains of Dr Adler's paper one wonders what else he may have discussed, alas no other pages have been preserved.

Hard copy!

Audra Balion, the admin of the "City of Bridges Steampunk Society" Facebook group in Saskatoon Saskatchewan, sent me this photo of a hard copy of my Parasol Duelling rules.

Audra produced this beautiful little 7 page pamphlet to help her teach a workshop on Parasol Duelling in Saskatoon this weekend.

She even did the illustrations of the figures!

Wonderful to see and good luck with your workshop Audra!

Keep your sightglass full, your firebox trimmed and your water iced.
KJ

Parasol Duelling in action!

Parasol Duelling continues to gather more interest across the country and around the world!

The Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo this year asked us to do three Parasol Duelling Demos.
We ended up doing two, an outside demo on the Friday and an indoor Panel/Demo on Saturday afternoon.
Inclement weather prevented us from doing another outside demo after the indoor one that afternoon.
Both received a lot of attention from the crowd of  97,000 attendees!

Special thanks to the lovely duelists:
Sarafina Kain, Monica Willard, Josanna Justine, Cali Kyhn and Raven Hawthorne.

The indoor demo was unfortunately in a fairly small room, maybe 100 people, and the Expo had to turn away as many again.

Since the Expo I have heard that the Steampunk Worlds Fair will be having a Parasol Duelling workshop this year and there will be several Parasol Duelling demos in various groups as well.

Plans are afoot for a formal competition in Calgary this year too!

UPDATE: The first World Championships of Parasol Duelling was held on September 13, 2014 at Beakerhead in Calgary!

You can see a report from the World Championships here.

If you are on Facebook keep up with the latest news through:
Madame Saffron Hemlock's Parasol Duelling League for Steampunk Ladies 


Follow all the Parasol Duelling posts here by clicking on the Parasol Duelling label.


Keep your sightglass full, your firebox trimmed and your water iced.
KJ

Amazing find from the archives!

It appears from this clip that at least one Parasol Duelling School lasted into the 1930s, in far off Japan of all places.

Perhaps this is not surprising as Japan has a long history of honouring martial arts. It is likely that Parasol Duelling was introduced soon after Japan was opened up to Western ideas during the mid 19th c.

Odd to think that when the Mikado was first being performed in London, and anything Japanese was considered exotic and wonderful, that Japanese ladies were having Parasol Duels.
 
The video clip shows the parade of the last school members through the streets of Ginza sometime in the 1930s. Most likely on their way to a formal competition.
 
More research into this last known remnant of Parasol Duelling is warranted!



Keep your sightglass full, your firebox trimmed and your water iced!
KJ

Parasol Duelling in art!

Originally posted in Madame Saffron Hemlock's Parasol Duelling League for Steampunk Ladies

Some strong evidence for Parasol Duelling can be found in these paintings by John Fredric Lloyd Strevens (1902-1990). While these pictures were painted in the first half of the Twentieth Century however they incorporate very interesting details when looked at from a Parasol Duelist's perspective. 

Key points to notice with reference to the Rules for Parsol Duelling I posted previously here:

1) No "hooks" on the handle to prevent catching during the "twirl"
2) There is no catch to keep the parasol closed so it is tied with the same ribbon used to mark the complete rotation during a twirl
3) When closed the parasol is hung from the arm by a loop, thus keeping it handy even when both hands were needed.
4) The cuffs are not plain, but where lots of lace is present they are mid forearm length thus preventing any interference with the parasol.

Key elements here are the lack of hook on the handle and the ribbons keeping the duelling parasol closed. Note how this duelist keeps her parasol handy in case of need by the removable ribbon that hangs the parasol from her arm.
 
While an otherwise unremarkable domestic scene, I would not be surprised if this lady did not figure very well in the competitions!

An elegant twirl!
 
Worthy of a Flirtation Trial finalist!

 A fine "snub" form.
 
Note the steely gaze of a hardened competitor!
 
The mid sleeve lace is common during the time when lace cuffs were fashionable amongst the non-duelling public.













Going for the "plant"!
 
Note how the ribbon that holds the parasol shut has been slipped back out of the way. This painting shows the confident stance and easy motion of an accomplished Parasol Duelist.
 
She could easily go to a "snub" or a "twirl" next.

This lady knows her business!
 
Things to note in this image, the relatively plain cuffs, the ribbon holding the parasol to her arm in readiness, the tipped forward hat. This latter is important because it allows a lady's hat to be elaborate but also prevents interference with the Parasol during a "twirl".

I particularly like the intense look of this serious competitor!










Paintings taken from this fantastic website Tutt's Art@

Keep your sightglass full, your firebox trimmed and your water iced.
KJ 

Duella in umbra,

I have been getting a lot of interest in the Parasol Duelling rules I posted recently.
In fact we will be holding our first public demo this weekend at an event in Calgary called:
Well, Basil My Rathbone - Classic Movie and Performance Series
This week's movie is The Time Machine and we will be putting on several  Steampunk displays which will include a demo of Parasol Duelling. I'm hoping to get  more feedback to enable some fine tuning so that we can actually have competitions later in the year.

So since this seems to have struck a cord in the Steampunk community I thought I would have a bit of fun with some alternate history.  What would it be like if Parasol Duelling had actually been a real thing in Victorian England?  What follows is some faux academic analysis of the mysterious Victorian Parasol Duelling.

I hope you enjoy it.
Keep your sightglass full, your firebox trimmed and your water iced.
KJ

The Rules for Parasol Duelling are here.

Duella in umbra
(Dueling in the shade)

Ed: After the publication of the Victorian era Parasol Duelling rules in our most recent edition of the Neo-Victorian Chronicle there has been much discussion amongst scholars and historians about the historical provenance of the rules. Many notable historians of the period have stated outright that the rules are likely a hoax, that no such formalized rules existed,and that the storied exploits of famous Parasol Duelists were simply children's stories and nothing more. Others have taken a calmer "wait and see" approach suggesting that if the rules are legitimate and can be further documented then they would indeed explain several odd features of the late Victorian era. 

Even though I am quite sure the rules themselves are authentic, in that they were written in Victorian times, I have not myself been convinced that they represent a real competition style. That is, I was not convinced until I received the following long and detailed letter from Professor Lackstone Merrywilson of the Neo-Victorian studies department at Mintercommon College outside Oxford. Professor Merrywilson's letter was stunning in its implications for the historical context of the Rules themselves and does shed some significant light on the practice of Parasol Dueling during the reign of Queen Victoria.
 

 I will let the good professor's letter speak for itself.


Dear Mr Jepson
I was most interested to read your article concerning the Parasol Duelling Rules of Queen Victoria. This is an area of particular interest to me and one on which I have spent much of my time in recent years. I also followed with some interest the debates amongst our academic fellows in which the Rules seem to have taken on the form of a phantom, a historical Loch Ness monster as it were.

Parasol Duelling, far from being a phantom, was a major form of Ladies entertainment. Much prestige attended on the duels and many famous duellists, whose names live on today in the children's stories, were feted, and attained significant social standing on their own from their exertions on the field of honour. Of all this I am certain, though as you are no doubt aware, this is not the orthodox opinion amongst our fellow historians. The reason that is so has to do with one of the great erasures of history.

Parasol Duelling as a sport and specifically a Ladies Sport has been erased from the public memory, erased as surely as Pompeii was erased by Vesuvius in 79 AD. But even the most perfect erasure leaves a mark, a sign that something was there before. Hints, little pieces of out of place information, even the children's stories themselves, all serve to point to that which has been lost.

If you recall the paper my colleagues and I presented, at the Victorian Historical Pastimes Conference three years ago, you will remember that we postulated that the main reason for the paucity of information on Parasol Duelling was that after the death of Queen Victoria there was a social backlash against it simply because it was a strictly Female Sport and at that time the social mores were swinging towards a more Male oriented culture with respect to public competitions. The tragedy of the First World War also helped to finally obliterate any remaining vestiges of the sport because of its association with the hated Hun and the resulting post war anti-continental feelings.

We based these conclusions on a compilation of news paper articles, court documents and the deeds and leases of the Duelling Schools themselves. By the end of the period many of these once famous schools had been converted to taverns, and in some cases bawdy houses, in order to pay the bills. As such they often ran afoul of the increasingly stringent social and legal framework that was coming into force after the old Queen's death. As we showed in our paper the common elements of all these documents do indeed show the shadow of Parasol Duelling from earlier in Victoria's reign.

Since the presentation of our paper I have come across a document that finally lays to rest any concerns regarding the historical provenance of the rules and of Parasol Duelling itself!  I am in the process of preparing a paper with other members of our faculty, for peer review and presentation at next years conference. But I have my fellow author's permission, in light of the controversy your article has aroused, to release some of the information from our paper in hopes that more eyes will be able to see the truth and historical veracity of Parasol Duelling. 

The document is entitled simply "Duella in umbra" which translates from the latin as "Duelling in the Shade".
Those who study children's literature will immediately recognize the title as being one of the lines of the rhyming song included in the "Adventures of Two Parasol Mary", by Algernon Oakham. This book is often pointed to by scholars as being the origin of the legends of the Parasol Duel.

The author of "Duella in umbra" however is none other than Maxwell MacDonald-Smythe himself!  
The manuscript was found amongst some stored boxes of documents rescued from the archives of an old airship hanger in Portsmouth that had been badly damaged during World War Two.  The document looks to be the final draft that had been sent to a publishing house to be produced as a book.

There are no extant copies of the book that we are aware of, so whether or not it was actually published is unclear. The copy of the rules that you published in the Chronicle is word for word the rules included in the manuscript!  This implies that at least one other copy of the manuscript exists and perhaps the book itself may survive somewhere. 

The manuscript is a history of Parsol Duelling, it documents the arrival of Parasol Duelling in England with a lady in the household of Prince Albert in 1840. How as it gained popularity the young Queen was apalled at the loss of parasols and the injuries sustained by Ladies of all classes in duels that were little more than brawls with parasols used as fragile clubs. MacDonald-Smythe also documents in meticulous detail the various schools that had sprung up in England and, as she became an accomplished Duelist in her own right, the desire of the Queen to organize and formalize the competitions between them.

It is in this manuscript that we see for the first time the formalizing of the Rules with the Brandenburg Variations, and the subsequent massive increase in popularity of Parasol Duelling at all levels of society.

MacDonald-Smythe also documents the rise of the Street Duel and how this form of informal duel eventually made its way into the organized competitions held every year at Wembley.

Now it must be said that MacDonald-Smythe is writing near the end of Victoria's Reign at a time when more conservative elements in English society were beginning to put constraints on the freedom of Ladies to partake in such open female only competitions.

In one revealing passage he laments the passing of the "Flirtation" trials that had been such a popular feature of Parasol Duelling competitions in previous years.

Rest assured that with the "Duella in umbra" we have an eye witness guide to the world of Parasol Dueling.
It is not a hoax or a bunch of children's stories, but rather a social phenomenon that had major effects on the role of women in Victorian society.  That it could be so thoroughly erased from the memory and social records of England is a subject worthy of further study and we intend to touch upon that in our paper.

I hope that this note has given you courage to continue your work and we would be happy to assist and collaborate with you in studying this fascinating period of English history.

Yours Sincerely
Lackstone Merrywilson
Professor Neo-Victorian Studies
Mintercommon College
Oxford

The Parasol Duel Rules!

Update September 26 2014
The first World Championships in modern times was held at Beakerhead in Calgary on September 13, 2014.
Read the report of the First World Championships here! 


The label Parasol Duelling will get you all my posts on this new and exciting sport!
For a Faux Academic piece on Parasol Duelling check out this recent post.
Here is another Historical piece this time Parasol Duelling in Prussia!
This piece is a wonderful description of a fatal duel fought under the Infamous Hungarian Imperial Rules.

Previously I wrote about coming up with some Steampunk Sports.
I have completed my Parasol Duelling Rules and have posted them below.
Take a look and let me know what you think.
We have experimented a bit with the "figures" used and they do seem to be workable, the timing is tight enough to make it a challenge. At least it is a challenge for me, all you Ladies out there who are experts at handling a parasol probably won't have too much trouble.
I have worded it in the semi archaic style of the Tea Duelling rules.
If you try them out please let me know how it goes.
Comments, suggestions and critiques are welcome!

Keep your sightglass full, your firebox trimmed and your water iced.
KJ

Parasol Duelling

Jan 18’ 14

By Maxwell MacDonald-Smythe
aka Kevin Jepson

The ancient and honourable art of Parasol Duelling has gained a bad reputation in recent years. This is mostly due to the importation of the more violent and aggressive forms of the Hungarian Imperial Rules, much favoured by Ladies of the Lower Classes. There have been many cases of contusions, broken bones, many lost fingernails, and an unconscionable loss of fine parasols. In one celebrated case, this violent form of duel has resulted in the death of one of the participants by concussion.

Her Majesty recognizes the long and honourable history of Ladies participating in this noble trial of arms and desires that her subjects continue to participate, but in a safe and honourable manner.

Her Majesty has therefore decreed that within the Empire, Parasol Duelling will be conducted using the following rules which do not permit physical damage to the participants. These rules are known as the Brandenburg Variations on the Hanoverian Parasol Duelling Rules.

The Hanoverian Parasol duelling rules permitted:

Plain cuffs and Lace parasols
Minimal Ankling, that is showing ones ankles as a distraction technique.
Minimal contact!
Note that generally no Doctor, also known as an umpire, was present.

The Brandenburg Variation on these rules
(The only style permitted by Queens Regulations in Her Majesty's Dominions)
Similar to the above except that:

1. ABSOLUTELY NO CONTACT IS PERMITTED.
2. No ankling is permitted (except as noted during competition).

These are enforced through the use of the initial two paces.

The three Parasol Duel "Figures" are:

1) The Plant- Parasol is held point down to the ground at the side of the player
2) The Twirl- Parasol is opened and placed across, but not touching, the shoulder and twirled.
3) The Snub- Parasol is held pointing towards the opponent and opened. The parasol must be closed before being opened again or the result is a "hanging snub" and cannot be counted as a completed figure.

There is a fine set of photos showing the figures here.

The Figure Rules

These are used to determine the outcome of a round and are similar to the street urchins game of Rock, Paper, Scissors.

Plant = Rock
Twirl = Paper
Snub = Scissors

Plant > Snub
Twirl > Plant
Snub > Twirl

All Duels consist of the following proceedings:

1) Opponents stand back to back, parasols held with one hand on the handle and the other 1/3 of the way from the top around the closed parasol.

2) The parasol is held across the body at a comfortable angle that must not exceed 60 degrees from the horizontal.

3) The Doctor will ascertain if the opponents are ready.

4) On receiving an affirmative reply from both opponents, the Doctor counts One! Two!.

5) Each opponent takes one step forward for each count.

6) After the second pace the opponents turn to face each other.

7) The Doctor begins to count out loud to five and then calls out loudly "Hold!"

8) During the counting the opponents try out various figures in an attempt to beat the other person at the point the hold is called.

9) After the completed count and the hold being called, the opponents must stand perfectly still and not move from their positions on pain of forfeiture.

10) If both opponents have a completed figure the round is concluded and the winner is declared by the figure rules.

11) Should one of the opponents not have a complete figure at the hold, the combat is decided in favour of the completed figure regardless of which figure it is.

12) Should neither opponent have a completed figure, or the figures are the same, the round is considered a draw and will be re-done.

 

The Types of Parasol Duel under the Brandenburg Variation of the Hanoverian Rules

Games!

Everybody likes games and competitions, after all sports drive much of today's mainstream entertainment.
Next month in fact, we will again be witness to a massive smorgasbord of winter sports during the Winter Olympics in  Sochi Russia.

So that got me thinking about Steampunk games and sports. There are not a lot of them out there frankly. Recently there has been interest in Tea Duelling in our area which is fun. The Honourable Association of Tea Duellists publish a lovely set of rules available at their website here. And while this is certainly a fine way to pass an evening or afternoon, I was thinking that we need something grander to sink our teeth into, so to speak.

Then I remembered an incident at the Beakerhead festival in Calgary this last September. There was a good representation of Calgary Steampunks involved in adding some classy colour to the event and during one afternoon along the major downtown mall two lovely Ladies got into a duel!

What rules and etiquette applies to this I wondered?
Perhaps this is something that could become a "sport" with competitions and skills and stories to go along with it.

A Steampunk Sport and a fine Lady like one at that!

I have been working on a draft set of rules for Parasol Duelling.  I still need to do some actual experiments to make sure it is workable, fun, and safe for Ladies and Parasols both of course.  But once I have a workable scheme I will publish the rules here so others can try them out too.

Who knows, maybe sometime in the future there could be a World Championship Parasol Duelling competition at a major Steampunk event!

Stay tuned for more developments as they occur.

Keep your sightglass full, your firebox trimmed and your water iced.
KJ