Ole Bull: Violin and Sword

Handel wasn’t the only great musician to fight a duel. Ole Bull had his own episode—and by all accounts he handled a sword as confidently as a bow.

As a student in Germany, Bull fell in with a rowdy group of students headed for a concert. Their violinist was drunk beyond usefulness, so they persuaded Bull to take his place. He played brilliantly. The original fiddler, humiliated and jealous, challenged him to a duel.

Bull accepted, quickly disabled his opponent, and then decided it was wise to leave that neighborhood in a hurry. He headed back to Norway.