Serpent Shield

The Serpent Shield was a shield painted with three snakes that were magically enchanted to come to life on command and strike an opponent. The Shield was acquired by Knight Valiant prior to the Tournament in Camelot and used throughout the Tournament; he invoked the snakes only once, during a duel with Knight Ewain, who later died from a subsequent snake attack. The Shield was rendered ordinary when, during the final duel between Valiant and Arthur Pendragon, the snakes were invoked by Merlin and slayed by Arthur, who then killed Valiant to win the Tournament. (Valiant)