"Beowulf" takes place in fifth- or sixth-century Scandinavia. Beowulf, a hero from a Swedish tribe called the Geats, agrees to kill the monster Grendel for the Danish king as repayment for a debt owed by Beowulf's father. That night, Beowulf mortally wounds Grendel, who runs off to die. Next, Beowulf kills Grendel's mother when she seeks revenge. Years later, King Beowulf dies while fighting a dragon.
Anglo-Saxons created swords that were strong and flexible from steel and either wrought-iron or low-carbon steel.They were about 33 inches long with a slightly tapered blade and a slightly rounded point. An indentation called a "fuller" made the blade lighter. An extension of the blade called the "tang" connected it to the handle of the sword called the "hilt." The hilt was wrapped in a wooden or bone grip and featured a cross-guard, which prevented the warrior's hand from sliding onto the blade, and a pommel, which balanced the blade and kept the warrior from losing his grip.
Beowulf receives Hrunting from the warrior Unferth right before the battle with Grendel's mother. Although Unferth swears that Hrunting has never failed in battle, it proves useless against the monster. Early medieval cultures such as the Anglo-Saxons built up their societies through warfare, and every man was considered a warrior. According to the website Medieval Literature and Material Culture, the failure of the sword is possibly a symbol for the failure of the warrior class and the ultimate futility of war.
Beowulf kills Grendel's mother with a giant's sword, which he finds in her lair. It is described as made by a secret process called damasking or damascening which produced extra-strong swords from high-carbon "wootz" steel. Perhaps one reason this sword succeeded was because it was superior technology to Hrunting. It is also decorated in runes and engravings depicting Noah's flood. Runes were letters used for casting spells, suggesting that the sword had magical qualities. The depiction of the flood suggests that the sword was blessed by God as a weapon against evil. However, it also melts like ice after Beowulf decapitates Grendel's corpse with it. According to translator Howelll Chickering Jr., this may symbolize the change in the world brought by the destruction of evil.
Beowulf receives Naegling as a reward for his heroic deeds. He uses it in his fight against the dragon ravaging his kingdom, but it breaks in two during the fight. According to the anonymous poet, the sword breaks because Beowulf uses too much force and not because the dragon is too strong. Scholars interpret Naegling's failure as the end of Beowulf's era and the beginning of era for a new hero such as Wyglaf, who aids Beowulf when his other companions flee.