Another way of divorcing

It was extremely difficult to divorce in medieval Europe, so couples who were fed up with each other sometimes opted to end the marriage with a divorce duel.

The combat instructor and advisor to the German court, Hans Talhofer, wrote Fechtbuch ("Book of Fencing") in 1467, an illustrated tome that included techniques for couples involved in such duels. Since men have obvious physical advantages, things had to be leveled.

Husbands, armed with three clubs, had to fight from within a waist-high hole and about one meter wide, with one hand tied to the body. Wives were armed with three stones that weighed up to eight pounds, tied in a cloth like a battery in a sock, and could move freely around the hole.

The weapons of both sides had to be the same length. A husband who touched the edge of the hole lost a club. If he did it three times, he had to continue unarmed. If that happened, he would probably have to try to get his wife into the hole before she hit him on the head.

Talhofer's manual offered advice on appropriate clothing, the best techniques for each gender, and step-by-step instructions for exploiting the opponent's vulnerabilities. The duels were surprisingly fair and numerous women came out victorious. Although the divorce duels were not to the death, death was the final result. If the wife won, her husband was executed, and if the husband won, the wife was buried alive.

Would you divorce?