Last month, I watched Hamilton the musical. While I already knew that Alexander Hamilton died from a gunshot wound sustained in a duel, I learnt that his eldest son also died as the result of a duel, at the age of only 19.

Other 19th century figures like Évariste Galois and Alexander Pushkin have also died as the result of duels. In popular history, people are said to have accepted the challenge of duels back then to "protect their honour". Was the reasoning for duels really that simple? Or were there more serious consequences of chickening out which compelled people to actually follow through with a duel?