Delope
Encyclopedia
Delope is the practice of throwing away one's first fire in a duel
, in an attempt to abort the conflict. According to most traditions the deloper must first allow his opponent the opportunity to fire after the command ("present") is issued by the secondary, without hinting at his intentions. The Irish code duello
forbids the practice of deloping explicitly.
The delope could be attempted for practical reasons if one's opponent was thought to be superior in ability, or for moral reasons if the duelist had objections to attempting to kill his opponent.
For one's opponent to insist upon a second shot after a delope was considered bloodthirsty and unbecoming. Often, it would fall to the secondaries to immediately end the duel after a delope had been observed.
(against rational opponents) who is given first fire.
Duel
A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two individuals, with matched weapons in accordance with agreed-upon rules.Duels in this form were chiefly practised in Early Modern Europe, with precedents in the medieval code of chivalry, and continued into the modern period especially among...
, in an attempt to abort the conflict. According to most traditions the deloper must first allow his opponent the opportunity to fire after the command ("present") is issued by the secondary, without hinting at his intentions. The Irish code duello
Code duello
A code duello is a set of rules for a one-on-one combat, or duel.Codes duello regulate dueling and thus help prevent vendettas between families and other social factions. They assure that non-violent means of reaching agreement be exhausted and that harm be reduced, both by limiting the terms of...
forbids the practice of deloping explicitly.
The delope could be attempted for practical reasons if one's opponent was thought to be superior in ability, or for moral reasons if the duelist had objections to attempting to kill his opponent.
For one's opponent to insist upon a second shot after a delope was considered bloodthirsty and unbecoming. Often, it would fall to the secondaries to immediately end the duel after a delope had been observed.
Notable uses
- Alexander HamiltonAlexander HamiltonAlexander Hamilton was a Founding Father, soldier, economist, political philosopher, one of America's first constitutional lawyers and the first United States Secretary of the Treasury...
, a 19th-century American politician, is thought to have perhaps attempted to delope during his infamous duel with Aaron BurrAaron BurrAaron Burr, Jr. was an important political figure in the early history of the United States of America. After serving as a Continental Army officer in the Revolutionary War, Burr became a successful lawyer and politician...
, then the sitting Vice President of the United StatesVice President of the United StatesThe Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people, through the Electoral College, to a four-year term...
, during their duel on July 11, 1804. Rather than firing into the ground (as was customary for deloping), Hamilton fired into the air; Burr, perhaps misunderstanding his opponent's intent, fired directly at Hamilton, mortally wounding him. However, Burr's animosity towards Hamilton was such that it is not out of the question that Burr understood what Hamilton was doing and intentionally shot to kill, or at least draw blood. Other historians have proposed Burr shot first and the wounded Hamilton reflexively pulled the trigger, which would not be an instance of delope.
- William PittWilliam Pitt the YoungerWilliam Pitt the Younger was a British politician of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He became the youngest Prime Minister in 1783 at the age of 24 . He left office in 1801, but was Prime Minister again from 1804 until his death in 1806...
, former Prime Minister of the United KingdomPrime Minister of the United KingdomThe Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
, chose to delope to indicate "moral superiority", having been forced into a duel with another Member of Parliament.
- Joseph HoweJoseph HoweJoseph Howe, PC was a Nova Scotian journalist, politician, and public servant. He is one of Nova Scotia's greatest and best-loved politicians...
, Nova Scotian journalist, politician, and public servant, who deloped during a duel in 1840.
- In the 1975 film Barry LyndonBarry LyndonBarry Lyndon is a 1975 British-American period romantic war film produced, written, and directed by Stanley Kubrick based on the 1844 novel The Luck of Barry Lyndon by William Makepeace Thackeray which recounts the exploits of an 18th century Irish adventurer...
, the title character is challenged to a duel by his stepson Sir Charles, Lord Bullingdon. A preliminary coin flip gives Lord Bullingdon the privilege of first shot, only to prematurely misfire. Barry fires into the ground honorably and hopefully, but Bullingdon demands a second round, whereby Barry's leg is critically shot, and requires amputation below the knee.
- In Flashman (novel)Flashman (novel)Flashman is a 1969 novel by George MacDonald Fraser. It is the first of the Flashman novels.-Plot introduction:Presented within the frame of the supposedly discovered historical Flashman Papers, this book describes the bully Flashman from Tom Brown's Schooldays...
, by George MacDonald FraserGeorge MacDonald FraserGeorge MacDonald Fraser, OBE was an English-born author of Scottish descent, who wrote both historical novels and non-fiction books, as well as several screenplays.-Early life and military career:...
, title character and scoundrel Harry Paget FlashmanHarry Paget FlashmanSir Harry Paget Flashman VC KCB KCIE is a fictional character created by George MacDonald Fraser , but based on the character "Flashman" in Tom Brown's Schooldays , a semi-autobiographical work by Thomas Hughes ....
gets into a duel with a fellow officer over a woman. He arranges, by promising a bribe to the loader, that his opponent will have no ball in his pistol. When his opponent appears to miss, Flashman makes a great show of deloping and in doing so, accidentally shoots the top off of an attending doctor's medicine bottle, winning renown as a crack shot as well as a gentleman. When his opponent angrily accuses Flashman of mocking him by deloping, he responds "I didn't presume to tell you where to aim your shot; don't tell me where I should have aimed mine." He later blithely refuses to pay the bribe, noting that the loader cannot complain of bad faith without admitting to a capital crime.
In game theory
Deloping is the best strategy for a duelist with lower accuracy than both his opponents in a truelTruel
A truel is a neologism for a duel between three opponents, in which players can fire at one another in an attempt to eliminate them while surviving themselves.-Game theory overview:A variety of forms of truels have been studied in game theory...
(against rational opponents) who is given first fire.