He covered himself with armor of tanned leather that weighed more than four hundred pounds, took up his shield and mace and came to the meadow.

First he encountered Dinadano. He took him by the nose-guard of his helmet and lifted him off his horse and carried him easily to the castle wall. Tristano, seeing the size of the giant, who was taller on foot than he himself was on horseback, and the size of his mace, which weighed more than 300 pounds, was terribly afraid, and truly sorry he had ever rung that bell. But even so, he rode forward ardently and shouted at the giant, "Knight, let my companion go! I'm the one who rang the bell! I, not he! Now, I summon you to battle. Come on!"

At the sound of those words Lucano left Dinadano and came toward Tristano, and Tristano rode against him. Tristano struck the giant's shield with his lance, which shattered to pieces, for that shield was harder than stone. Then the giant tried to hit Tristano with his mace, but Tristano parried the blow so that it fell to one side. Nonetheless, the stroke fell on his horse's shoulder and sent the animal dead to the earth. Tristano, finding himself on foot, was very worried. He took his sharp sword in hand and tried to hit Lucano on the helmet, but found he could do him no harm.

Lucano struck Tristano's shield with great force, and broke it all to pieces, fracturing his left arm and sending him a lance length through the air. When Tristano felt that heavy blow, he almost died of it. But then, in anger, he grasped his sword and, wounded thus, roused himself to return to the encounter. He feinted as if he would strike the giant on the helmet, then quickly made the blow underhanded and thrust the point of the sword into his throat, between helmet and collar. The blow was so strong and skillful that Lucano fell to the ground and died right then and there.

La Tavola Ritonda