Board Thread:What If?/@comment-5674726-20131121000033/@comment-5674726-20131126002322

Fimber wrote: After having been accused of using magic already when Arthur showed Uther the head of a snake, Valiant still used the shield in the tournament when fighting Arthur, probably intending to use it.

In fairness to Valiant, given that his stance was that the idea that there might be something untoward about his shield was a ludicrous allegation born of either Merlin's imagination getting the better of him or Arthur wanting to chicken out of their duel, it makes sense that he would carry on as if all was normal. Him carrying the shield and nothing untoward happening supports his claim that he has done nothing wrong. Him deciding to switch with a new shield when his own has served him well could look a tad suspicious.

Short of Uther "suggesting" that he try carrying one of the spare shields from the armoury instead - which he would never have done, as it'd be tantamount to suggesting that maybe the servant might have been telling the truth when he accused the noble - I'd say that it would be taken for granted that Valiant was going to use his own shield.