Female Duel

One of the cases of a female duel occurred in August 1892 in Liechtenstein. Two Austrian noblewomen, Princess Metternich and Countess Kielmansegg, fought a duel over a dispute about flower arrangements for the Vienna Music and Theatre Exhibition as depicted by Émile-Antoine Bayard¹. Princess Pauline Clementine von Metternich, née Sandor de Slawnica, was the honorary president of the Exhibition. This socialite was considered a trendsetter in Paris and Vienna.

Anastasia Kilmansegg, née Lebedeva, was the chairperson of the Women’s Committee of the same exhibition and was also considered a highly respected lady. The duel took place in early August 1892, in Vaduz. The seconds were Countess Kinsky and Princess Schwarzenberg-Lichtenstein. The doctor and manager of the duel was Baroness Lubinska, who was specially summoned from Warsaw for this purpose. It was she who insisted that the disputants undress, since, according to the widespread opinion of the time, the cloth could cause infections in the wound.

1. Émile-Antoine Bayard, (1837-1891) French artist and illustrator born in La Ferté-sous-Jouarre, Seine-et-Marne. A student of Léon Cogniet, he is known for illustrating Victor Hugo’s 1862 novel Les Misérables. ↩︎