Objective:

This article analyzes the circulation of news about national and international duels in the Brazilian press, which indicates to what extent this topic was in the sphere of interests and was part of a cultural substratum.

Methodology:

The research was based on the collection of the Hemeroteca Digital Brasileira, where we mapped the occurrences and flow of news between 1910-1930 in newspapers from Rio de Janeiro and Rio Grande do Sul, and analyzed three events that drew the attention of the press in the 1920s (Batlle-Beltrán duel, Lager-Saguier challenge and the Ley del Duelo).

Originality:

In the disputed universe of news circulation, characterized by the abundance of topics, diverse readership and restricted international means transmission, duels of different countries had a space for dissemination and proved to be part of a network of interests that pointed towards a shared bourgeois individualism and its particular notion of honor.

Conclusions:

The analysis indicated that the valorization of honor and duels was legitimized largely through the circulation of news in the press. This circulation worked as a means of arrangement and distinction for those involved at national and international levels.