&gt; People forget that it was meant to always end in death. Even if you survived combat, as the looser you were proven a liar before god and executed.<p>From the historical resources I&#x27;ve reviewed, I don&#x27;t know that was always the case, although in the case of capital crimes of course that would have held.  At least it some situations, it looks like it was meant to be a formalised might-makes-right.<p>&gt; Letting people beat each other up over petty debts or teenage romances is never appropriate.<p>Why not?  If it formalises the process and becomes a mechanism through which both parties may be reintegrated to society at large, then it seems preferable to vendetta.