Unto the Populace of Ealdormere do We, Nigel and Adrielle, Lupine Prince and Princess, send greetings.

It is with sad heart that We pen this missive. It has been brought to Our attention that subjects of this fair Kingdom have been dueling amongst themselves and have even gone to such lengths that some have perished in these quarrels. It has been said that outlaws and brigands armed with rapiers and similar weapons have been taking the law into their own hands. While the practice of arts martial is allowed within this fair Kingdom, dueling is not.

Heretofore, let it be recounted that practicing the Art of Defence is held in high regard but the act of striking another dead is a crime against the Kingdom. Dueling has and always will be a crime within the sovereign lands of Ealdormere. An attack against the King's men is the same as an attack against the King himself.

We forgive all murders committed before the day We are crowned King and Queen; and those which shall be committed in the future shall be justly compensated according to the laws of the Kingdom of Ealdormere.

If any of Our Barons or men commit a crime, he shall not bind himself to a payment at the King's mercy as he has been doing in the time of Our predecessors; but he shall make amends according to the extent of the crime. If he be convicted of treachery or heinous crime, he shall make amends as are just.
We will impose a strict peace upon Our whole Kingdom and command that it be maintained henceforth.

Here we set Our hand and seal,
Nigel & Adrielle


In other, words this means We are outlawing dueling, not fencing but rather keeping the peace when it comes to "dueling."

It could play out something like this:

At the event fencers will need to find hiding spots to carry out the matches in the tournament or conduct their tournament in a creative manner. If they are caught by a kingsman (entourage) then they are arrested and are out of the tournament. That will make it as much about stealth as it is about prowess. Besides, it somehow seems very period to have to do it in "back alleys". Furthermore, if they look suspiciously like they are about to fight, they will need to come up with a clever explanation as to what is going on. We will limit our entourage to a number of arrests, based on fencers present, so that the tournament would still work out. We have no intention of robbing folks of their fun but rather wish to add to it. We will let the fencers work out the details as to how they can make this work and have the most fun with it.

Respectfully,
Nigel