Rocks vs. Club. The practice appears in the 1467 German fencing manual (Fechtbuch) attributed to Peter von Danzig. Under customary law, a wife could petition for separation on grounds of cruelty, infidelity, or abandonment. If her husband refused, the court granted a single judicial duel on neutral ground. To level the field, she was given three round stones and a sling, while he wielded a stout wooden club and stood in a shallow pit—his defensive posture compensating for her lighter weapon. Com