Why, you may take the most gallant sailor, the most intrepid airman or the most audacious soldier, put them at a table together—what do you get? The sum of their fears.
[T]he two contenders met, with all their troops, on the field of
Camlan to negotiate. Both sides were fully armed and desperately
suspicious that the other side was going to try some ruse or stratagem.
The negotiations were going along smoothly until one of the
knights was stung by an asp and drew his sword to kill the reptile.
The others saw the sword being drawn and immediately fell upon
each other. A tremendous slaughter ensued. The chronicle ... is
quite specific about the point that the slaughter was excessive
chiefly because the battle took place without preparations and
premeditation.