Single combat is a duel between two single combatants 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. Neither ancient nor medieval warfare always relied 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. However, the use of the longbow and the pike square against mounted knights (as at the battles of Crécy and Laupen) ended this tradition in the 14th century, although it was continued away from the battlefield, with the pas d'armes and the early modern duel.
witnesses or a confession in which two parties in dispute fought in singlecombat; the winner of the fight was proclaimed to be right. In essence, it...
the Israelites, daring them to send forth a champion to engage him in singlecombat; he was ultimately defeated by the young shepherd David, employing a...
receiving false news, rode alone to Angband and challenged Morgoth to singlecombat. He wounded Morgoth several times, but grew weary and was killed by...
killing countless Greek warriors. However, he is ultimately killed in singlecombat by the Greek hero Achilles, who later drags his dead body around the...
English Tiwesdæg meaning "Tīw's Day", the day of Tiw or Týr, the god of singlecombat, law, and justice in Norse mythology. Tiw was equated with Mars in the...
engagement in combat between two people with matched weapons. During the 17th and 18th centuries (and earlier), duels were mostly singlecombats fought with...
Persian; literally "man to man") was an ancient Iranian tradition of singlecombat, the Sasanian Empire being most known for using it. During a battle...
Roman general stripped from the body of an opposing commander slain in singlecombat. The spolia opima were regarded as the most honourable of the several...
of the war, Vrishasena overwhelmed Satanika, the son of Nakula in a singlecombat, and afterwards fought against the other Upapandavas and defeated them...
champions of both sides. One particular combat involved a Persian knight, who challenged Belisarius to singlecombat; but was instead met by a Byzantine bath...
A war god in mythology associated with war, combat, or bloodshed. They occur commonly in polytheistic religions. Unlike most gods and goddesses in polytheistic...
ensued between the High King and Ulster. Tinni challenged Conchobar to singlecombat, and lost. Eochaid Dála of the Fir Domnann, who had been Tinni's rival...
so that they had the opportunity to secure glory for themselves in singlecombat. Velites did not form their own units; a number of them were attached...
The following is a list of notable one-on-one duels or singlecombats in history and in legend or fiction. 7th century BC: The Horatii defeated the Curatii...
ancient history, in which the outcome of the conflict is determined by singlecombat, an individual duel between the best soldiers ("champions") from each...
opima, for killing the Gallic military leader and king Viridomarus in singlecombat in 222 BC at the Battle of Clastidium. Furthermore, he is noted for...
Combat reenactment is a side of historical reenactment which aims to depict historical forms of combat. This may refer to either singlecombat, melees...
The Combat of the Thirty (French: Combat des Trente, Breton: Emgann an Tregont), occurring on 26 March 1351, was an episode in the Breton War of Succession...
Challenging each other to SingleCombat under the Ramparts of a City (French: Chefs de tribus arabes se défiant au combat singulier, sous les remparts...
Warriors trained by throwing chakram at lengths of green bamboo. In singlecombat, the chakram could be thrown underarm like a modern Aerobie.[citation...
of the Muslim army with the purpose of engaging enemy champions in singlecombat. In Arab, Byzantine, and Sassanian warfare, battles usually began with...