Weapons such as swords circulated through Anglo-Saxon society as inheritance through family, birthed through the monsters, found under magic rocks, and as rewards between lords and their subjects.
As Unferth passes his sword to Beowulf, he admits the loss of his glory, and his submission to this greater warrior.
[4] In addition, Beowulf's defeat of Grendel prompts the Danish king Hrothgar to bestow upon him many gifts consisting of weapons; this further emphasizes the importance of weaponry to such a society.
Unferth's very act of giving Hrunting to Beowulf and the sword's unexpected failure in the battle against Grendel's mother bear much symbolism in the poem.
In this light, the giving of the sword seems to be an indication of Unferth's recognition of Beowulf as a capable and powerful warrior.
[7] It is possible then that Unferth's motive in giving away his sword upon being confronted with the problem of Grendel's mother could very well be to avoid going into battle.
First, Oglivy notes that if Unferth supplied an inferior weapon then it doesn't follow for the poet to have gone into extensive detail about the magical infallibility of the sword.
Another explanation that has been put forth connects Hrunting's failure to the broader underlying message of Christianity prevalent throughout the poem.