Manners Maketh Man: Male Honor in the Eighteenth-Century Popular Dual in Staats-Brabant: A Comparative Perspective.

Abstract

The popular duel can be considered a lens into interpersonal violence in early modern Europe. This thesis employed a comparative perspective to understand the shift in the role of honor and the associated masculine aspects in eighteenth-century Staats-Brabant. By analyzing court documents found in the archives of the Raad van Brabant and including previous work that focused on the duel in metropolitan Amsterdam during the same period, this thesis aimed to differentiate the role of honor between Staats-Brabant and Amsterdam. This comparison revealed interesting differences - and similarities - between rural and urban regions within the eighteenth-century Dutch Republic. It was concluded that reputation played a bigger role in Amsterdam and the ritualization of the popular duel was not evident in Staats-Brabant. However, the role of masculinity in relation to honor was prevalent in both regions – suggesting that, indeed, manners maketh man.