That Time Two Aristocratic Women Dueled Topless Over Flower Arrangements

[Kazimiera]

That Time Two Aristocratic Women Dueled Topless Over Flower Arrangements

Source: https://www.thevintagenews.com/2018/...ce=penultimate



Two women locking swords, whilst wearing nothing above the waist but a determined expression, sounds like something from an exploitation movie.

This was no overheated tale. Not only did it actually take place but it happened back in the late 19th century. And the participants were no ordinary duellists.

They were European nobility, namely Princess Pauline von Metternich of Austria and Russian Countess Anastasia Kielmannsegg.


Pauline Sándor, Princess Metternich. Oil on canvas signed b.l: Fr Winterhalter / Paris 1860.

To say they disagreed would be an understatement. But what exactly led to these two ladies facing each other in the dramatic location of Vaduz, capital of Lichtenstein?

A place which, according to a report in the Pall Mall Gazette of 1892, “Prince Alois of Lichtenstein some time ago offered to the Pope as a city of refuge in the event of his being obliged to leave the Vatican.”


Female duelists.

Both individuals were heavily involved in the upcoming Vienna Musical and Theatrical Exhibition.

The Princess was Honorary President and the Countess married to “the Statthalter of Lower Austria, and President of the Ladies’ Committee of the Exhibition”.

It was customary on these occasions for nerves to get a little frayed. Unfortunately in this case nerves were not so much frayed as shredded and mashed into a paste.


Pauline de Metternich

The bone of contention lay in a truly unexpected source. Casting light on developments, the Gazette writes that a “fearful quarrel” ensued “over some arrangements at the Exhibition. The affair was regarded as so serious that it could only be settled by blood.”

And the nature of the dispute…? The flower arrangements. Yes, the flower arrangements. Flowers must have been a high point in the overall aesthetic of the Exhibition – yet for these ladies at war, they wanted a different kind of point to come into play. That of a razor-sharp rapier.



Those who believe that 19th-century socialites were all about being demure had better shake the illusion. It wasn’t commonplace, but women were known to duel each other and they took great pride in the event.

A 2015 article for Gizmodo refers to The Duel: A History of Duelling by Robert Baldick. It states “in late 19th century Europe, there was a movement toward encouraging ‘new women’ to fight for themselves… Gisèle d’Estoc said that a woman who employed a male champion was committing a ‘deed of inferiority.’”

Accounts claim Gisèle d’Estoc (a pseudonym) herself clashed with an actress this way, and the journalist Séverine “had a colleague fight for her in a duel to defend an article she had written.”


Duel

What set the Metternich-Kielmannsegg duel apart was its entirely female composition. A Daily Mail article from 2016 writes that as a result “The duel went down in history as the first ’emancipated duel’”.

Meanwhile, there was the small matter of both combatants being topless. This was down to a suggestion from Baroness Lubinska, who was medically qualified.


Princess Pauline, portrait by Edgar Degas, around 1865

According to Gizmodo, “the baroness noted, that if a piece of dirty clothing was pushed into a wound, that wound would be more likely to become infected. It would be much safer, she reasoned for the rapiers to touch only bare skin. So she instructed the combatants to strip down to the waist and ordered the male servants off in the distance to look away.”

The producer of exploitation films would argue exposed breasts were necessary for the plot, despite no evidence to back him up. In this case there was a legitimate and practical reason for the topless duel… health and safety.


Pauline de Metternich

And like any sporting event, the details of the contest were analyzed and argued over. Apparently Princess Pauline triumphed “in the third round, when she was injured slightly on the nose but also drew blood from the countess’s arm.”

Alternately, the Mail says “some sources report that it was Pauline who cut Anastasia on the nose while she was the one who was sliced on the arm.”

Either way, the Princess and Countess emerged relatively unscathed and went on to fight another day. The former lived to the ripe old age of 85. Her opponent was less fortunate.

Countess Anastasia was a lady in waiting, caught up in the events surrounding Tsar Nicholas II and his family during the Russian Revolution. In 1918 she was executed by the Bolsheviks.

[Selurong]

That Time Two Aristocratic Women Dueled Topless Over Flower Arrangements

Source: https://www.thevintagenews.com/2018/...ce=penultimate



Two women locking swords, whilst wearing nothing above the waist but a determined expression, sounds like something from an exploitation movie.

This was no overheated tale. Not only did it actually take place but it happened back in the late 19th century. And the participants were no ordinary duellists.

They were European nobility, namely Princess Pauline von Metternich of Austria and Russian Countess Anastasia Kielmannsegg.


Pauline Sándor, Princess Metternich. Oil on canvas signed b.l: Fr Winterhalter / Paris 1860.

To say they disagreed would be an understatement. But what exactly led to these two ladies facing each other in the dramatic location of Vaduz, capital of Lichtenstein?

A place which, according to a report in the Pall Mall Gazette of 1892, “Prince Alois of Lichtenstein some time ago offered to the Pope as a city of refuge in the event of his being obliged to leave the Vatican.”


Female duelists.

Both individuals were heavily involved in the upcoming Vienna Musical and Theatrical Exhibition.

The Princess was Honorary President and the Countess married to “the Statthalter of Lower Austria, and President of the Ladies’ Committee of the Exhibition”.

It was customary on these occasions for nerves to get a little frayed. Unfortunately in this case nerves were not so much frayed as shredded and mashed into a paste.


Pauline de Metternich

The bone of contention lay in a truly unexpected source. Casting light on developments, the Gazette writes that a “fearful quarrel” ensued “over some arrangements at the Exhibition. The affair was regarded as so serious that it could only be settled by blood.”

And the nature of the dispute…? The flower arrangements. Yes, the flower arrangements. Flowers must have been a high point in the overall aesthetic of the Exhibition – yet for these ladies at war, they wanted a different kind of point to come into play. That of a razor-sharp rapier.



Those who believe that 19th-century socialites were all about being demure had better shake the illusion. It wasn’t commonplace, but women were known to duel each other and they took great pride in the event.

A 2015 article for Gizmodo refers to The Duel: A History of Duelling by Robert Baldick. It states “in late 19th century Europe, there was a movement toward encouraging ‘new women’ to fight for themselves… Gisèle d’Estoc said that a woman who employed a male champion was committing a ‘deed of inferiority.’”

Accounts claim Gisèle d’Estoc (a pseudonym) herself clashed with an actress this way, and the journalist Séverine “had a colleague fight for her in a duel to defend an article she had written.”


Duel

What set the Metternich-Kielmannsegg duel apart was its entirely female composition. A Daily Mail article from 2016 writes that as a result “The duel went down in history as the first ’emancipated duel’”.

Meanwhile, there was the small matter of both combatants being topless. This was down to a suggestion from Baroness Lubinska, who was medically qualified.


Princess Pauline, portrait by Edgar Degas, around 1865

According to Gizmodo, “the baroness noted, that if a piece of dirty clothing was pushed into a wound, that wound would be more likely to become infected. It would be much safer, she reasoned for the rapiers to touch only bare skin. So she instructed the combatants to strip down to the waist and ordered the male servants off in the distance to look away.”

The producer of exploitation films would argue exposed breasts were necessary for the plot, despite no evidence to back him up. In this case there was a legitimate and practical reason for the topless duel… health and safety.


Pauline de Metternich

And like any sporting event, the details of the contest were analyzed and argued over. Apparently Princess Pauline triumphed “in the third round, when she was injured slightly on the nose but also drew blood from the countess’s arm.”

Alternately, the Mail says “some sources report that it was Pauline who cut Anastasia on the nose while she was the one who was sliced on the arm.”

Either way, the Princess and Countess emerged relatively unscathed and went on to fight another day. The former lived to the ripe old age of 85. Her opponent was less fortunate.

Countess Anastasia was a lady in waiting, caught up in the events surrounding Tsar Nicholas II and his family during the Russian Revolution. In 1918 she was executed by the Bolsheviks.

Lol you make the best thought-provoking threads!