In Beowulf, Hrunting is the name of
the sword that Unferth, one of the Danes, gives to Beowulf when he goes to fight
Grendel's dam (mother).
And another item lent by Unferthat that moment
of need was of no small importance:the brehon handed him a hilted weapon,a rare and
ancient sword named Hrunting.The iron blade with its ill-boding patterns had been
tempered in blood. It had never failed the hand of anyone who hefted it in battle,anyone
who had fought and faced the worst in the gap of danger. This was not the first time it
had been called to perform heroic
feats.
We know from the story
that when Grendel tries to use the sword, it fails him; however, nearby lies another,
ancient blade. Beowulf picks this up and kills Grendel's dam. Her blood melts the blade
of the ancient sword, and when Beowulf appears out of the bloodied waters, he holds not
only the head of Grendel's dam, but what is left of the melted
sword.
Unferth is at first critical of Beowulf when the
Geat arrives. His gift of Hrunting to Beowulf might be a gesture of
goodwill to a stronger warrior, which is a change from Unferth's previous attitude. It
was not unusual for one warrior to give a weapon to another. However, in doing so, some
essence of the sword's history would travel with it. Though it at
first appears a noble gesture on Unferth's part, it was rumored that Unferth had used
this same blade to kill his family; if this was the case, this negative essence traveled
with the blade, so Unferth may, in fact, have been trying to lead Beowulf to defeat and
death.
The ancient sword in the monster's cave proves to be
a worthy weapon, and it is with this that Beowulf kills the "human monster," and returns
through the waters of the fen to his men.
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