And the two kings were of great strength, and with their horses running as fast as they could, they dealt each other such hard blows on their shields, just above the bosses, with their lances, which were short and thick with sharp tips, that they drove through them, but their hauberks were so strong that not a link broke; and their horses were so powerful and the knights so skilled, and they had struck each other so hard, that their lances flew into pieces.

Then they took hold of their swords, which were very well made, and struck wondrous, heavy blows on each other's helmet, so that they broke the jewels' settings and knocked off gems and stones, of which there were some that had great powers, and they cut through their shields and hauberks and struck so deeply into the flesh that blood spurted out. Thus they had worked upon each other so thoroughly that they both needed a physician. And they had sliced through their shields that neither had a piece big enough to cover his hand, so they threw what was left to the ground and took their swords in both hands, and they dealt each other such strong and heavy blows that they cut open helmets and hauberks, so that their naked flesh showed though, and they were both tired from the blows they had given and taken. This is what kept them going on for a long time, for if they had been fresh and rested after they had been left without their shields, their hauberks had come unlinked, and their helmets had been split open and crushed, they could not have lasted without one or the other being killed; nevertheless they were both very badly wounded.

Vulgate Merlin.