page_title: Single combat
section_title: Middle Ages
hierarchical_section_title: Single combat / Middle Ages
caption_attribution_description: Русский: Поединок Пересвета с Челубеем
context_page_description: Single combat is a duel between two single warriors which takes place in the context of a battle between two armies.
  Instances of single combat are known from Classical Antiquity and the Middle Ages. The champions were often combatants who represented larger, spectator groups. Such representative contests and stories thereof are known worldwide.
  Typically, it takes place in the no-man's-land between the opposing armies, with other warriors watching and themselves refraining from fighting until one of the two single combatants has won. Often, it is champion warfare, with the two considered the champions of their respective sides.
  Single combat could also take place within a larger battle.
  Both ancient and medieval warfare did not always rely on the line or phalanx formation. The Iliad notably describes the battles of the Trojan war as a series of single encounters on the field, and the medieval code of chivalry, partly inspired by this, encouraged the single combat between individual knights on the battlefield, in which the loser was not usually killed but taken captive for ransom.
context_section_description: In The Cattle Raid of Cooley, a famous episode of Irish mythology, all the warriors of Ulster but Cúchulainn are made sick by a curse and unable to fight the invading army of Queen Maeb, leaving Cúchulainn to fight a whole series of single combats by himself until they recover. The Welsh mythological tale, the Fourth Branch of the Mabinogi, depicts a single combat between the southern prince Pryderi and the northern magician Gwydion, to determine the victor of a war between the two kingdoms.
  Many battles depicted in the medieval Chanson de Roland consist of a series of single combats, as are battles depicted in various tales of the Arabian Nights. Guy of Warwick, the legendary English Romance hero, is depicted as defeating in single combat the Viking giant Colbrand; the story is set in the time of Athelstan of England, but actually reflects the society of the late Middle Ages.
  An important episode in Geoffrey of Monmouth's legendary History of the Kings of Britain  is the single combat between prince Nennius of Britain and Julius Caesar.
  Single combat was also a prelude to battles in pre-Islamic Arabia and early Islamic battles. For example, the Battle of Badr, one of the most important in the early history of Islam, was opened by three champions of the Islamic side (Ali, Ubaydah, and Hamzah) stepping forward, engaging and defeating three of the then-Pagan Meccans, although Ubaydah was mortally wounded. This result of the three single combats was considered to have substantially contributed to the Muslim victory in the overall battle which followed. Duels were also part of other battles at the time of Muhammad, such as the battle of Uhud, battle of the Trench and the battle of Khaybar.
  Single combats were characteristic of the Samurai fighting tradition and known as Ikki-uchi. As each samurai commanded his unit of retainers, successfully challenging and defeating the opposing samurai by a single combat can force the entire unit to retreat minimizing casualties and changing the course of battle. Those seeking a suitable opponent, frequently used Nanori to issue a challenge by announcing his name and bravery as well as ridiculing opponents to boost morale of his side as well as enrage the opponent to force the combat. As this is a high-risk-low-return strategy for the winning side, already defeated side, or ill-matched opponent (difference of personal standing or martial reputation) it was acceptable to decline or elude the single combat. An example of single-combat with the tragic result for the victor is told in Heike Monogatari as Kumagai Naozane defeated Taira no Atsumori at the Battle of Ichi-no-Tani. It could be banned by the overall commander as needed and notably during Mongol invasions of Japan, particularly during the second invasion in 1281, samurai fought as massed mounted archer/warrior with the annihilation of enemy as the goal. This tradition declines and disappears during the Sengoku period as each side prepared trained armies in thousands or even tens of thousands making the single combat have a limited, if any, effect on the outcome of the battle.
  In Russia, single combat is known as  bash na bash (an old Russian expression meaning "one-on-one"), substituting a fight between champions for a full-scale battle was a traditional way to avoid the bloodshed of an internecine war. The leaders of the opposing druzhinas or other armed groups either rode towards the centre of the battlefield or sent messengers to negotiate whether the two most skilled fighters or the leaders themselves would engage in single combat, usually to the death. The outcome of the champions' fight would then be taken as a sign of which side the higher powers favoured, and could have political consequences similar to the result of a full battle.
  The oldest written account of such a fight is found in Nestor's' Primary Chronicle; it describes a duel between a Kievan champion and the Pechenegs' best fighter. The most well-known fight, however, was that between Prince Mstislav the Brave of Tmutarakan and the Kasog Prince Rededia in 1022, in wh
caption: Alexander Peresvet fights Chelubey. By Victor Vasnetsov (1914)
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