Cuando las afrentas se lavaban con sangre: Honor, masculinidad y duelos de espadas en el siglo XVIII Chileno

Abstract

This works deals with the relationship between honor and social practices in Chile's eighteenth century and analyzes formal duels or expressions of legalized masculine violence. This article explores various manifestations of the social ways used to deal with honor at that time, together with the inquiries about mechanisms used to restore honor and its links with traditional masculinity. Theoretically, this work rescues contributions made by anthropologists and provides an overview of how honor and masculinity have been examined in the historiography. Starting from judicial records, the article considers the transversal character of honor in social terms and approaches its "double significance" as both a relational space for people and as a sphere for the confrontation of individuals. © 2009 Instituto de Historia. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile.