Duels between knights were coming to an end. They had been replaced by comparatively harmless jousts and tournaments that had casualty rates comparable to NFL games. There was only one serious fight during Francis's reign. In that case the king granted a “closed field” to the Sieur de Sarzay and Sieur de Veniers in 1538. The fight ended when one man was wounded on the heel and the King threw down his baton ending the fight. The King ended the thing without a judicial settlement saying to both men that their quarrel was foolish. At the time there were still three different types of recognized personal fights that would have the King or his representative present. The first was a judicial duel where a person was accused of committing a crime and appealed on the judgement of God. This would be fought by the accused and a representative of the victim . The second type was the joust and tournament. These were fights for the fun of it. While the intention was not to kill anyone, with the crude state of medicine at the time, death was an option  The third was a Duel of Chivalry. This would be betwixt and between the previous two. It arose over a pretty major insult between two parties. It would involve many of the ceremonies associated with the other two; much would depend on the rules agreed on by the participants. The Judicial Duel Dueling originally was a legal means of deciding disputes between two people. The “judicial duel” or combat was based on religious belief that God would protect the party in the right by allowing him to win. The judicial duel had evolved from the earlier “ordeal” where the accused was subjected to exercises such as holding burning objects. If the burns caused by such exposure failed to heal, the accused obviously was guilty of the charge against him. Although many combats were arranged to decide criminal matters, combat also could serve as a means for resolving civil disagreements such as disputes over real or personal property. There were exemptions: women, the infirm, very young, and very old men were not required to enter combat, but could engage champions on their behalf. The judicial duel was a ceremonial affair presided over by royalty who proclaimed the victor.  The earliest surviving law which governed the judicial duel is found in the Burgundian Code, an early East Germanic barbarian code promulgated in the late 5th and early 6th centuries under King Gundobald (reigned 474-516). The date of legal establishment of the trial by combat traditionally is stated as the year 501. Provisions of the Burgundian Code stated an unequivocal faith in the infallibility of God's judgment (“...God being the judge...”) and encouragement to potential combatants not to shrink from the fray (“...it is just that if anyone shall say without delay that he knows the truth of the matter and shall offer to take oath, he should not hesitate to fight”). As trial by combat became an institution in France, efforts to regulate it were mounted. The Truce of God, issued by the Roman Catholic Church in 1041, forbade duels on the several days consecrated in honor of the mysteries of Christianity. Other pronouncements included Louis VII's 1167 prohibition of all duels over claims not exceeding five sous. Eventually trial by combat was permitted only in cases of serious crimes, such as murder and treason. The fight was set up and run by the crown. They chose the weapons and set the rules. This was a pretty grizzly affair. In the first place, each man had to bring a coffin and it was displayed by his pavilion. Then a public gibbet would be erected and staffed by the public executioner. When the fight ended, the loser (and his champion) would be degraded and executed. The Tournament and Jousting This fight was a “mock duel” or demonstration of a knight's skill. These, however, could be as bloody as a duel. In fact, the Church was opposed to tournaments due to the high mortality rate of the participants, and the Council of Rheims of 1148 prohibited Christian burial for the casualties of such events. The parties running the event set up the rules. By this time precautions were taken. In the mounted passes, special armor was worn. Lances were blunted. A barrier was set up to keep the horses from running into each other. In combats on foot, a barrier would be set up to separate the fighters The Duel of Chivalry The duel of chivalry evolved from the judicial duel, co-existing with it for several hundred years. Scholars generally agree that knighthood originated in the 10th century, and duels of chivalry date from approximately that time. These also were events of great ceremony. The duel of chivalry is distinguished from the tournament, but since they were infrequent, the rules governing tournaments and chivalric duels were similar.  A major difference was that the rules, refereeing and equipment were agreed on by the parties themselves, rather than an outside agency. Duels of chivalry declined around the middle of the 16th century, giving way to the duel of honor. The evolution of dueling was not a seamless continuum, and this last chivalric duel displayed elements of the ceremonial judicial duel with its royal arbiter, and of the duel of chivalry with its pageantry.